Maken Tosch
DUST University
Ivy League
6927
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Posted - 2014.02.22 08:34:00 -
[1] - Quote
For those of you who don't know me, I'm among the closed-beta veterans who has specialized in nothing more than nova knives and the Minmatar Scout suit. The only two projectile weapons I have any skill points put into at all are swarm launchers and SMG and even then those projectile weapons are a just a means of scaring away the enemy. The knives do the real killing.
First let's review the numbers here on the damage output of the nova knives as they currently stand. This is not to say they are OP or UP but just give you an idea how powerful knives are in Dust if you haven't gotten to skilling into them. I'll skip the standard knives since no self-respecting knifer ever brings those to battle. The stats below do not account for any damage mods whatsoever.
[Advanced]
ZN-28 Nova Knives
150 HP Base damage per blade (you have two blades)
---300 HP total before charging
---600 HP total after charging
After applying Minmatar Scout bonus at Level 5
---375 HP total before charge
---750 HP total after charge
After applying Nova Knife Proficiency bonus at level 5 on top of the suit bonus
---431 HP total before charge
---862 HP total after charge
[Prototype]
Ishukone Nova Knives
200 HP base damage per blade
---400 HP total before charging
---800 HP after charging
Minmatar Scout Bonus at L5
---500 HP before charging
---1,000 HP after charging
NK Prof. at L5
---575 HP before charging
---1,150 HP after charging
As you can see, nothing has changed in a very long time in regards to damage dealt. Good. I like the damage as they are. The damage output is still perfect. Of course, I'm happy to see that the knives no longer lock up after 3 consecutive swipes.
Now for my critique on the knives.
First off, lack of stats. There appears to be an additional damage bonus that the stats don't show and are completely separate from the skill books. It's been confirmed by Mr Musturd and others to be approximately 20% but we're not sure if that applies to either shield or armor. Most likely it applies to shields. But still, it's important that knifers see this stat in the info window of the knives. This way, newcomers will quickly understand which targets to go after rather than just hope that the damage they deal with the knives is enough. This may also apply to other weapons. Not just the knives. Also, the base stats for the knives are not represented well enough. Many new players seem to have the misconception that the base stats are the total damage stats but they're not. They only represent the base stat for one blade before the charge. Which reminds me, the stats should also show the damage dealt when charged.
Second, updating the stats. As of now, the stats when fitted on the suits, don't update to account for skill book bonus or suit bonus and shows no changes in the stats when fitting damage mods. This is the same problem that other weapons have besides the knives. The stats need to be dynamic to show bonuses applied.
Third, the tunnel vision. It is absolutely annoying that it's been over a year and the tunnel vision has not been addressed. I have encountered many situations in every CQC scenario in which my tunnel vision causes me to lose sight of my target even though my target (according to my minimap) is right next to me. Why? Because all the target needed to do was just step to the side as I got close. VIOLA! They're magically gone for 2-3 seconds from my sight. Those 2-3 seconds are the most vulnerable 2-3 seconds of any scout's life when placed in this situation. Nothing is more dangerous to a Minja than a target it can't see after being discovered.
Fourth, the attack arc (or cone of damage). The damage cone has widened a bit and it has improved over time, but honestly I'm conflicted as to whether or not this is enough. As time goes by, especially when I run into a situation as I described in my third point, I start to realize that the damage cone doesn't hit anything that's somewhat close to my side. A pair of human arms have a natural range of motion that covers at the very least 180 degrees from side to side. It disturbs me to see that about only 1/3 to 1/2 of that range is effective (can't remember if it's 60 or 90 degrees at the moment). Anything beyond that are easily missed or at least it doesn't feel like I'm hitting anything at all beyond those ranges. This becomes even more aggravated as me and my targets are shuffling around each other in a dance of death trying to figure out if he is to my left or to my right in a room.
For points 3 and 4, the first thing that needs to be implemented is a wider damage cone at least if CCP is unable to address the tunnel vision problem. If a wider damage cone is implemented, this can at least compensate for the tunnel vision. I thought about the idea of having a dynamic FoV whenever you fit the knives, but I realized that can cause dizziness and might be more trouble than it's worth. So, a wider damage cone is preferable.
My fifth and final point is the fact that I'm unable to sprint with the knives charged. This is a huge problem for a lot of scouts out there. So far, the current remedy to this is to jump like a raptor and charge the knives mid-air when attacking, but that's just a band aid fix to the problem. Some say that back pedaling needs to be nerfed, but it seems many people have been somewhat divided on that debate alone. It looks like the best fix to the problem is to allow scouts to sprint with the knives charged. This way, back pedaling will be a non-issue. Besides, I specifically recall one of the CCP devs saying that sprinting while charging was eventually going to be implemented anyways. Some would say this would make knives OP, but it doesn't. It complements the knives rather than enhances them. I know this because I have seen sprint-charging as a glitch in action. I was hoping CCP would just let it stay as a feature but instead they removed it.
Dedicated Scout // Ninja Knifer
Everything I know about the Caldari I learned at Nouvelle Rouvenor
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Maken Tosch
DUST University
Ivy League
7097
|
Posted - 2014.02.28 21:53:00 -
[3] - Quote
ALPHA DECRIPTER wrote:`Sigh. Nova Knives. One of the top 3 most skill intensive weapons.
TBH if I could sprint and charge then I wouldn't need the wider arc (although it wouldn't hurt to have it anyway)
I recall Mollerz brought up an excellent idea on how to address the tunnel vision. It goes back to the old dynamic field of view I brought up earlier, but instead of making it automatic it would be player manipulated. It's based on the ADS system but in reverse. Since it would be player controlled, this would eliminate any possible disorientation it may cause. But I don't know the link to Mollerz's thread unfortunately.
Dedicated Scout // Ninja Knifer
Everything I know about the Caldari I learned at Nouvelle Rouvenor
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