Tebu Gan
Dem Durrty Boyz
Dirt Nap Squad.
759
   |
Posted - 2014.04.07 12:48:00 -
[1] - Quote
Made this posting in response to another posters post. TL;DR Reduce damage on long range versions of railguns (Greater than 500M) to emphasise what it is, a support weapon. Not the alpha everything weapon.
Balancing the Large Turrets
Agreed with you to a certain extent on most of your points there. Though I have a few different thoughts and ideas to add. Going to start with railguns.
Railguns
When we consider railguns and balance, what factors are taken into account? First, what are we balancing.
Tank vs Tank interactions:
How one tank interacts with another tank. By shooting each other of course. But what are we looking for within those interactions. I personally look for longer, more engaging combat. The time to kill between tanks is far too short. And I feel the railgun is the main culprit in this.
Range and Damage
But when we look at the railgun, I think the biggest balancing factors to look at first are Range and Damage. If it has a huge range, and huge alpha, I see that as unbalanced. Though I do understand that you can balance this out by taking other factors into account, spool up time, RoF, even ammo capacity.
And as you mentioned, the damage number on the railgun is far too high atm. It simply alpha's everything in it's sights in comparison to the other turret types. So first things first,
Slash railgun damage by a third
Reduce damage mods from 30% to 15%
Range IS a defense
But here's my idea on balancing this particular turret, considering what range means for a tank.
Long range(500M +) = Support weapon
Short range(300M -) = Assault weapon
So let's consider the turret before the range nerf. 600M could hit nearly the whole field from extreme range. With a high alpha too boot. Is it just me, or does it seem inherently wrong to 2 or 3 shot a tank from 600M in 3 or 4 seconds. For the sake of balance, I say that a long range weapon, like the railgun, work as a support weapon when the range is 600M. Why, because 600M is an AWESOME defense that people never consider!
A long range tank, with a low alpha could sit in the safety of the mountains, raining support fire for other tankers on the field. They would be more like the bee, stinging their opponents over and over, forcing them to reconsider their course and actions. Range IS your best defense. The problem I see, not enough importance is placed on range when balance is considered.
Range is an incredible defense. And by severely cutting damage on a long range weapon, you emphasise the use of that range. IE, don't try brawlin with it. I know people would cry foul, "but it's just like a sniper rifle". Wrong, Tanks are not sniper rifles. I could go on all day about the difference between a tank, and infantry suit.
Something else to consider, Tanks are not finished. I know you know this Harpyja, so I'm going to mention railgun variants.
High alpha Long range:
People want a High alpha on a railgun, sure. But if you want that 600M range, it still needs to be considered a support weapon. I imagine it could hit with a lot of power on that first shot, but would need to cooldown between each shot. Or what I mean, have such a low RoF, that the time between shots means the tank they are shooting at has plenty of time to move and evade. Not to mention the importance placed on landing shots in succession. Again, place an emphasis on using the range!
Low alpha Long range:
This one would fire shots off very fast, with a high heat threshold, say like 15 shots. At the same time though, it would do very low damage, say like 250 a shot. It like I mentioned above, it would be more like a bee sting, but get enough of those bees together and it can kill. Meaning landing shots in succession are key to killing with it, placing an emphasis on having a little skill when using one (or anything for that matter!)
Anyways, I'm down for some discussion on this. I have idea's on blaster and missiles too, but I got a lot here already. No need to overload.
Good read fella!
Tanks - Balancing Turrets
|