Salviatino Maiano
Eternal Beings Proficiency V.
135
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Posted - 2014.04.05 00:34:00 -
[1] - Quote
We are only 10 days into 1.8 and obviously one new addition has made its mark, the Cloak. The cloak is a controversial piece of equipment that many claim needs to be nerfed or should not belong in Dust 514. A cloaked scout with a shotgun or ScR is a deadly force on the battlefield. Some say that these scouts are too deadly, unnecessarily deadly. I say as a cloak user, that a cloak is a great equalizer for the glass cannon that runs in the shadows.
In my opinion the worst part about the cloak at this point in time is its popularity. The number of new scouts operating under the safety of the cloak is as it should be for a new piece of equipment and will level off as players begin to adjust to the prevelance of cloaks within the battlefield. A lot of users have already become aware of the cloaking threat and stay focused and alert, and they stay alive. As many more players begin to learn and adapt to the shimmering blue players running around and the player shaped distortions standing in the corners, i feel the number of cloak users will decrease and it will find its rightful place in the battlefield. The scout now has a relevance in Dust and is not subjected to a below 1.00 KDR or only picking off the stragglers.
Once the cloak has become just another piece of equipment and loses its luster, it will take its places no longer being "the cloak" but joining all other equipment a scout uses as being "the scout". Once it has joined the rest of the scouts equipment and it becomes the scout not just the cloak, it will factor in the balance of the scout against other roles. The balance between scouts and heavies is exactly where it should be, If the heavies more skilled than the scout, heavy wins. If a scout is more skilled than a heavy, Scout wins. the player makes the suit the suit doesn't make the player.
The balance between the scout and the medium frame (i.e. Logis, Assault, basic Mediums) is unfairly balanced for the scout to come out on top the majority of the encounters. Such could be said between heavy's and medium frames as well. Using teamwork should be necessary for the majority of tasks within this game. It adds depth to Dust514 as it is currently lacking. Yet, i strangely find myself encountering three to four medium framed players and painting the walls with their suits. This... as fun as it is... is not balance. I as a paper suit with a hand cannon should be able to kill two, maybe three enemies depending on my skill, but, to clear out a squad with one scout seems.... what were those words... too deadly.
My suggestion to alleviate the imbalance between scouts and there slightly slower brethren is to implement a movement and sprint speed reduction while cloaked. I have experimented with many combinations of fittings on my beloved ck.0 and i have found my easy mode. A cloak, A shotgun and Kinetic Catalyzers, This combination allows me to move at speeds to fast for the majority of players to fire at even before the cloak was introduced. Now i move the quick and you cant see me, oh and btw that shimmer your looking for... good luck.. I'm in and out of your view before you know it.
The issues i see with a speed reduction while cloaked is the increase of camping scouts. If a scout cant run around cloaked from objective to objective, they'll camp. This isn't necessarily bad but its definitely not good, no one likes a camper and its good way to get the cloak a bad wrap. This also means that cloaked scouts must decloak to make a hasty escape, something i personally dont find comforting as a paper suit my life blood is being able to run away, quickly!
I dont know the future of the cloak and i hope it finds its place in DUST 514, it is a great equalizer for the sadist who dawned the scout suit pre 1.8 and puts us on the level with all our brothers in arms. My only hope is that we can find balance in the game as players adapting and learning rather than calling in CCP to give a hand out nerf because players can no longer run the battlefield by themselves for fear of men like me.
Lastly i will close with one blunt statement in the whole matter, Flux grenades should drain the cloak. It destroys all other equipment yet is useless against the cloak. You gave us this equipment now give them a viable counter.
Thank you for reading Happy Hunting
TL;DR: Give the cloak some time to not be so new and popular, Give players time to adapt and learn the counters to cloaks
EDIT: TL;DR: Flux grenades should counter cloaks
I'm right behind you...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=29eS4dXgT58#t=36
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