<-- it says bear, but that is totally one cool cat.

Great thread Arkena. I think anyone looking at 1.8 with a rational mindset can already see the problems we are going to face.

I say this all the time and I hate to be a 'negative Nancy' however I honestly feel these changes were really ill thought out and certainly not balanced.

Where is the CPM in all of this? Were they reviewing this information before hand or have they only just found out themselves?

I want DUST 514 to succeed but time after time I really feel like CCP are just digging them selves a hole to sit in. They talk the good talk but when it comes time to look at actual stats'n'changes, they fall flat and certainly fall far from expectations.

The details and stats can still be changed, right? Right CCP?

Plasma rifle doing the highest overall damage of the full-auto weapons, with close to zero falloff range.

Also would be nice to see :

RR get a bit of a rate-of-fire decrease on both variants in exchange for a moderately more optimal and falloff range

Scrambler rifles get a little more optimal range, with a little less maximum range

Burst combat rifle get a slight increase in time between bursts as well as a small optimal range reduction for both variants, in exchange for a large increase in falloff distance for both variants.


Just my opinions

Haven't read it all, but I see in your analysis of the sidearms you've left off the flaylock completely. I know, it's easy to forget, but any comprehensive analysis should include it. I'm sure it is actually the worst of them all, not the ion pistol.


Damage mods have always been inferior to shields. Now more so. This also adversely affects snipers the most.


Reduction in grenade spam is fine, but it shouldn't affect flux or AV, but you know it will.


Also, in the end, you fail to point out the most important change - longet TTK. That's pretty much the point of all the rifle nerfs.

Combat rifle has recoil
Burst plasma rifle does not
there balance

And here I thought Arkena was also Adamance....


Pretty much everything you said here was right on the money. These are all weapon changes I have been waiting to see happen, and every new release that doesn't include them kills my desire to keep playing that much more.


Edit: Please, SOMEONE from CCP please take notice of this thread and take these weapon suggestions to the discussion table. They are genuinely GOOD ideas to put the weapons where they need to be once and for all, without this 'buff this, nerf that' nonsense.

Among all the garbage floating around on these forums, this one thread is among the few shining jewels

Riverdance 514 in 1.8, maybe some killing lol.

I honestly can't figure out why CCP fails to understand that short range weapons should dominate in their range while long range weapons need to stand off and slowly chip away at their targets. I don't think they have even looked at the Assault Rifle variants since they were originally designed other than gutting the Tactical.

I read somewhere, and no I don't remember where or I'd link it, that proficiency would be boosted from 3% to 5%. I don't know where I got that, but I remember reading it somewhere here.

<3

Regarding the AR, there are a couple of points people are missing.

Comparing the AR to the ACR:
Both the ACR's range advantage and fitting advantage are minor, however the ACR has a significantly smaller magazine when you consider rate of fire. This is going to be a lot more of a problem for the ACR with the upcoming increased TTK.

Comparing the AR to the AScR:
The scrambler rifles are significantly harder to fit than ARs. I really feel this is an issue that people overlook on the forums. I have equal skills in AR and scramber rifles, along with max PG/CPU skills, and I always feel a bit insane when i'm stripping tank off my suit to fit a scrambler over an AR. I do it because I love the scrambler rifle but it needs it's power to make it worthwhile.

On another note, there is a tendency to think only about the 4 rifles and forget the other weapons in the game. The rifles are not meant to be massively different from each other. The differences between blaster, laser, projectile and rail weapons are also covered by shotguns, laser rifles, mass drivers and sniper rifles.

However, neither of these arguments address the huge differences in range profiles for no difference in DPS - indeed, some of these weapons have more DPS with their longer range.

This is goin ta be a long-ass thread. Y'all KNOW dat ****, muthafucka! I wanna dis ta be a productizzle rap. I aint talkin' bout chicken n' gravy biatch. Please refrain from comments like fuckin GÇÿlol u nerdGÇÖ GÇÿu hav no game lolGÇÖ etc.

At long last, weGÇÖve gotten a thugged-out devSnoop Bloggy-Blogg on key chizzlez ta weaponry n' modulez affectin TTK. IGÇÖm shizzle mah playas has probably peeped tha chizzlez by now yo, but hereGÇÖs a quick summary:


GÇó All riflez damage output nerfed, SMG also nerfed (12% plasma rifle, 10% scrambla rifle, 16% combat rifle, 9% assault combat rifle, 14% rail rifle, 9% SMG)

GÇó Damage modz nerfed ta 3%/4%/5% damage increase fo' standard/enhanced/complex.

GÇó Proficiency skill chizzled from direct damage bonus ta increased affinitizzle damage (RR proficiency gives 15% bonus ta armour rather than 15% ta both shieldz n' armour)

GÇó Three freshly smoked up weapons introduced - bolt pistol, magsec SMG, n' ion pistol

GÇó Mass drivers buffed hella fo' damage

GÇó Laser riflez buffed up in range, scope, CQC damage, n' heat build-up


LetGÇÖs peep all of dis up in sections, n' then peep tha overall effect dat these sweepin chizzlez will have.

[P1] Rifle comparisons
[P2] Sidearm comparisons
[P3] Damage mod chizzles
[P4] Proficiency chizzles
[P5] Overall effect analysis + predictions

Firstly, letGÇÖs analyse tha freshly smoked up statz of all tha weapons.
Us thugs will begin wit straight DPS comparisons.

Any weapon which will likely be unable ta reach its maximum DPS cuz itGÇÖs a semi-automatic or burst weapon is ghon be indicated wit a asterisk *. This excludes charge mechanics.

DPS at standard:
Assault plasma rifle: 375
Breach plasma rifle: 300
Burst plasma rifle: ~350*
Tactical plasma rifle: 420*
Scrambla rifle: 750* DPS
Assault scrambla rifle: 380 DPS
Combat rifle: 540* DPS
Assault combat rifle: 380 DPS
Rail rifle: 360 DPS
Assault rail rifle: 375 DPS
SMG: 350 DPS
Scrambla Pistol: 530 DPS* Not includin headshots
Magsec SMG: 355 DPS
Bolt pistol: 340 DPS
Ion pistol: 310 DPS*
HMG: 600 DPS

What can we peep from this, biatch? We can peep dat wit tha exception of tha semi-automatic/burst weapons, all tha DPS joints is straight-up similar fo' they class. Da RR has hella higher DPS than tha other straight-up automatics yo, but it has a short charge time fo' realz. Accountin fo' tha charge time brangs tha weapon down ta a similar DPS level.



[P1] Rifle comparisons
A straight-up notable difference between riflez is tha range profile. Da plasma riflez have tha shortest range, tha combat riflez outranges tha plasma rifle, tha scrambla riflez outrange tha combat rifles, n' tha rail riflez outrange all tha other rifles.

Range is, like obviously, a thugged-out dope advantage fo' realz. A longer range than tha opponent can offer a big-ass tactical edge.

So naturally, if a weapon has a longer range than another, then if theyGÇÖre well balanced against each other tha shorter ranged weapon is ghon be mo' betta up in another area.

Here our crazy asses gotz a set of weapons wit straight-up similar DPS stats n' general operation yo, but varyin ranges. Compare tha ACR n' tha plasma rifle. Da ACR do not fall down hella up in any major area compared ta tha plasma rifle. But **** dat shiznit yo, tha word on tha street is dat it beats tha plasma rifle on range.

I peep dis as a funky-ass big-ass problem. Look all up in tha plasma assault rifle DPS. Look all up in tha other assault weapons. There is straight-up lil DPS difference yo, but all of these other weapons outrange tha plasma rifle. This is tha case fo' tha ASCR vs tha ACR as well. Da ARR aint as wack cuz of tha charge time yo, but it too has similar DPS at a much, much pimped outer range without any major penalties.


Basic Rifle Comparison Summary/TL;DR:

DPS differences between riflez is insignificant. Range differences is significant. Da tradeoffs fo' longer range is insignificant fo' realz. As a result, long range weapons is mo' betta up in dis model.

Shorter ranged weapons should gotz a higher DPS from tradin off range. They donGÇÖt. This should be erected.


Now letGÇÖs peep some discrepancies n' wack-ass thangs bout tha rifle class as a whole.
Firstly, tha plasma rifle variants fo' realz. As a general rule, they is ******.

Before we start lookin at each of dem specifically, IGÇÖd just like ta address dis claim:



I find dis statement ta be straight-up inadequate. Well shiiiit, it is skanky or lazy design ta git a weapon dat is simply GÇÿworseGÇÖ than others. Especially as tha assault variantz of tha other weapons is GÇÿmimicsGÇÖ of tha plasma assault rifle n' yet is as phat as or mo' betta than dat ****.

A prime example of tha variants bein wack is tha breach assault rifle. Presently, it has tha lowest DPS of any rifle, by a long-ass margin. I aint talkin' bout chicken n' gravy biatch. But **** dat shiznit yo, tha word on tha street is dat it is bein nerfed by tha same cementage as tha main plasma rifle, n' is bein nerfed mo' than much stronger weapons like fuckin tha ACR.
This is lazy work - itGÇÖs not a cold-ass lil case of tha breach straight-up needin dis nerf, cuz itGÇÖs blatantly obvious dat it donGÇÖt. This appears ta be simply a cold-ass lil case of tha breach havin not been looked at as its own weapon n' just hit wit a funky-ass blanket nerf. Well shiiiit, it is entirely unnecessary.

As it happens, even wit pre-nerf stats it would have tha lowest DPS of any 1.8 rifle.