They are fixing the AR by introducing the other racial assault rifles, otherwise there has been no comment

Again hoping for the next two patches of 1.8 and 1.9 for scout/heavies, I'll be playing dark souls again by then in preparation for dark souls 2

[quote=Cat Merc]In case you didn't notice, assault rifles are the all purpose backbone of any military. (In terms of ground forces, now days they just drop expensive bombs from planes)

People already spent their points on getting ARs as high as possible. It'll be the same as when they nerfed the Caldari Logistics suit; people will still primarily use it because they spent a metric ton of SP on it and would rather not start again at the bottom.

So, to summarize my ranting, New Eden should not have a jack of all trades(hopefully addressed in 1.7), the other racial's don't look too bright, and people will stay with what they have skilled into. Therefore, adding racials will be nice, but it won't solve problems inherant in the AR.

o look now its the real world is being used to justified why its over powerd
o yea in the real world a mini gun (hmg) has more range en the has more stopping power than a AR

Cat, the AR is a plasma gun that fires little bits of flaming sun at our foes to hurt them.

I really think that the "It's versatile in RL, why not in DUST" has been beaten to pieces.

The issue is that the AR is too versatile. You can kill 2 meters from you to 160 meters.

In RL that's a short distance, however given the size of map we have to play on, this basically can cover anywhere on the map with deadly effectiveness.

Something needs to change, which it has been, about how far it can grind foes into paste.

Interesting! Where did you hear about scout changes in 1.8 and 1.9? I'd like to read up on it. So they haven't acknowledged that the AR is super OP right now?

The m240 is a LMG not a HMG.

Interesting! Where did you hear about scout changes in 1.8 and 1.9? I'd like to read up on it. So they haven't acknowledged that the AR is super OP right now?

You can't assume that the only reason many people are using ARs is for its versatility. You need to look at the numbers as well.

That doesn't mean I disagree that it should be the jack of all trades and able to react to all situations in a moderately effective manner (which is its intended quality), but looking at the numbers and considering the accuracy and ease of use, it's clearly better than most other light weapons (and even a HEAVY weapon of the same intended role) in their specialized areas .

Hey I'm an infantryman in the 82nd ars are used to take precise slow shots not fire all over the place. If you just want to shoot a gun you use a m249 or m240. Which ones better m240 and guess what compared to dust the m240 is the hmg but it doesn't kill so your logic is flawed shut up scrub. Rifles are NOT the backbone of the military they are just the cheapest..... scrub

There is not supposed to be a jack of all trades in New Eden. Due to the heavily specialized nature of the other guns, the AR is more of a Queen or King of all Stats, depending on who you ask.

I disagree in principle. There should absolutely be a jack-of-all-trades weapon.

If you know the saying, a "jack of all trades" is also "master of none," meaning that an item trades dominance for versatility. That means that, in every situation, there should be at least one weapon class that beats the rifle* hands-down. However, outside of a niche weapon's prime circumstances, the rifle beats it fairly easily. The more a weapon dominates a niche, the more easily it's beaten outside of it. (Nova Knives are an extreme example: if you're within striking range it should dominate everything, because outside of striking range it is dominated by everything.) The reason rifles should be the weapons of choice is because they don't have to play in a specific niche.

However, current rifles are dominating in nearly every circumstance. They have better TTK than HMGs in real combat situations, range that nearly rivals LRs without the CQC weakness (to say nothing of drawing a straight line to where you're standing), and generally make killing easier than any other weapon in pretty much every circumstance. Their versatility comes at no expense, and that's a problem.

I think IWS gets close to this issue in his TTK post, although it doesn't specifically address weapon versus weapon balance as such.

* I use "rifle" to include assault/blaster, scrambler, combat, and rail rifles, but not sniper or laser rifles. I group them together because the different models are really only going to increase diversity within a very specific subset of weaponry. They all share the same general role on the battlefield, as an all-purpose weapon. Meaning they should all have roughly the same strengths and weaknesses against other weapon types (with some weaknesses mitigated and others enhanced slightly for each), and the variation is a matter of personal preference: "feel," preferred range of engagement, racism, etc. As a category, there shouldn't be substantial variation in how they balance against other weapon types.