One more cinder
Endless Hatred
0
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Posted - 2014.01.31 15:10:00 -
[1] - Quote
I have been browsing the forums lately, and could not help but notice all the QQing going on about these two weapons. People are saying that because of the high damage output of these weapons, they are instantly OP. I agree that they are not entirely balanced at the moment, but they are honestly not all that OP if you look at how the class of weapon was implemented into the game.
The assault rifle weapon class was designed in a way to be effective at medium range, which they all are. However, in dust, the four types of assault rifles serve four different playstyles, and should be compared with this in mind.
Med/long range
The Scrambler Rifle (ScR): Arguably the most precise out of all the assault rifles at long range, this weapon has the second highest damage output per shot (without being charged). The reasoning behind this high damage is the fact that this weapon is more difficult to use than the RR or AR because of it's overheat mechanic, which forces its wielder to effectively manage his or her shots fired and precision in order to avoid overheating the weapon while getting fired at by an enemy.
The Rail Rifle (RR):The rail rifle essentially is the long range version of the AR. It serves a very similar purpose to the ScR, as they are in the same range category, but with one key difference: The rail rifle has a slightly lower damage output because it is much easier to manage and is less punishing to imprecision than the ScR. This allows it to be more of an all-purpose weapon more easily.
In short, The RR and ScR coexist because one is an all purpose weapon, whilst the other is a precision weapon that rewards taking the time to learn it more than the other.
Short/med range
The Combat Rifle (CR): Think of this as the short/med range ScR. It has the highest damage output per trigger pull, but punishes imprecision. The reason all the QQing is happening is because this weapon, in its current state, is broken. This is not because of its incredibly high damage output, but for that fact that it is not as punishing to those who are unskilled with the weapon like the ScR is. It is a precision weapon, and should behave as such.
The Assault Rifle (AR): The original weapon of the class, and as such people has a bad tendency to compare every new weapon to it. This is an all purpose weapon, it is simple to use and has a moderately high damage output. It really doesn't need much more explanation than that. It does less damage because it is not a precision weapon, just like the RR does less than the ScR. Yes, it was a precision weapon originally, but that was just because it was the only assault rifle. Just like how there were only a few dropsuits and they all had to do everything that all the suits of that type do together now.
All in all, The CR is just the precision variant of the AR. Like the burst variant was before the nerf. It should have a higher damage output, but also should be more punishing than it currently is. I believe the best way to remedy this would be to slightly lower its clip size OR very slightly increase the delay between bursts.. but not both. This would make its wielder have a similar incentive to make every shot count as they would if they were wielding a ScR.
~cinder |