Tallen Ellecon
KILL-EM-QUICK
RISE of LEGION
1215
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Posted - 2014.01.15 18:45:00 -
[1] - Quote
From a design perspective balance is probably on of the most difficult things to implement in a FPS/MMO hybrid. I can appreciate that it's not easy to let one weapon dominate when there are so many factors that need to be taken into account. EVE also has the problem where in theory things have balance but in practice certain things our outclassed by almost everything.
So how do we balance out suits to make each one unique enough to be better at something than every other suit, but also not completely useless 99% of the time.
From the 1.8 suit bonus leaks, which maybe not final, are a good look at the direction CCP is taking.
The changes to Logis are great. Minmatar losing hacking speed is probably the most disapointing, but the bonuses emphasing fitting equipment for all the suits make them the go to equipment suits, which work best when equipment is maximised. Each racial bonus towards their particular piece of equipment mean that each one has the potential of having the best version of something over every other logi. This is balanced assuming the base suits without bonuses are balanced
The scout bonuses are alright. I like the idea of making the Gallente scout the ultimate passive scanner and scan evader, assuming that the bonus is enough to make it so no other suits can fit the modules to outdo it and still be more useful in other ways. The Caldari and Amarr bonuses I can't comment on because there is so little to work off of. The Minmatar scout...... the melee damage/NK buff isn't a good idea. The melee bonus still won't make it the best close quarters even if mods were added, on top of that NK aren't even a minmatar weapon. The hacking bonus would be great on the min scout though. As for the blanket cloaking bonus, if it's not made so scout can cloak without losing too many of their other functions or that other suits lose most of their functions I would be surprised to see scout still about as popular as they are now, which isn't very much.
As for the assaults I think their bonus is a tiptoe in the right direction. Their biggest difficulty is finding a reason to use them over logis, and with their reduced slot counts PG/CPUs they are less desirable in most situations. A ROF bonus sounds like a buff, but passively being forced to unload your clip faster could be a nightmare. It also limits the number of weapons it's useful for. As for each races bonus, the Gallente and Caldari are the only ones who can make the most of theirs unless there is a slot layout change to allow each suit to make the most of their bonuses.
The sentinels blanket resistances is very good step in the right direction. HP Mods can only go so far with so few slots, blanket resistances essentially give them HP buffs. On top of that, since they reduce the damage taken instead of just adding more HP, repper logis can have an easier time keeping up with the HP lost. The specialized resistances are great at countering the inherent weakness to each sentinels form of tanking. With a shield transporter for more shield oriented heavies this could be the best class bonus all around.
The Commando bonus if a much needed buff. Keeping to the specialty in light weapons the faster reload and damage they have the potential to deal the most damage before damage mods. The Caldari Commando has the potential of being the best Sniper being a mobile sentry far behind the fight, while the Gallente has the potential to be equally as deadly at close range using either PLC or SG. The Minmatar can maximize a MD/CR combo which would make them very flexible, they also have to ability to field swarms. The Amarr would do better with a laser rifle buff or new light weapon. They all have the potential to carry their racial weapon and their racial niche weapon and use them both to the fullest. The only imbalances between each one is dependent on their races weapons.
Now that I've stated how the bonuses make each suit specialized or not you can start to see why fitting changes also need to be made in order for each suit to make the most of their respective bonuses. This problem is also inherent with shield vs. armor tanking, damage mods being more effective than shield extenders mean it's not likely anyone will add more shield or use rechargers unless they have more then 2 high slots.
Finally, the biggest problem when it come to balance is the logi. They have more slots to be flexible, but the higher CPU/PG coupled with maxed fitting skills mean they have the potential to outdo other suits at almost anything. They already have the inherent ability to be the equipment specialists, but the ability to be anything else and in many cases better than anyone else makes every other suit pale in comparison. Even with a slot and CPU/PG nerf wouldn't make the logi useless, they would still retain equipment specialization over every other class. Gal Logi is the only suit taken to 5 and as long as I can fit all proto equipment and keep the light wepon I don't care what they do to the suit.
To wrap it up balance must come from 3 diminesions.
Balance between each races respective specialized suit with each other.(Ex. balanced Min and Gal scout)
Balance between suits in one races frame (Ex. balanced Gal assaults and logis)
Balance between frames (Ex. balanced light and medium suits)
And every suits has to be able to do something better than every other suit.
TL;DR It's a rant, if you don't care no need to read or comment.
Also: If CCP is reading this, stop trying to balance things with a buff to one thing and a nerf to the other thing at the same time. Pick one or the other, every attempt to balance has gone bad because too much is done, vehicle versus AV and shields versus armor being perfect examples. Keep all balance changes incremental, and do more only if needed.
Where is my Gallente sidearm?
SoonGäó514
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