Skyline Lonewolf
Ancient Exiles.
General Tso's Alliance
27
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Posted - 2014.07.13 13:05:00 -
[1] - Quote
The sniper discussion has been an ongoing one with many of the same points addressed in these threads. Still a bit early to get this discussion going considering they will most likely be post-poning Sniper balance/mechanics till a later hotfix, but if they're serious about making fixes to the role, I'd have to say the most important aspects to focus on would be:
Countering the Red: the most complained about aspect about sniping is p*ssy sniping from the red. Re-adding in some perches within the map is an idea i can stand behind since it'll make snipers vulnerable to attack, say from a sneaky scout or counter-sniper, but it won't get rid of campy SR play. In order to see less of that, coupled with the above proposals, the class has to have viable suit options that enable it to be mobile on the field. Currently, with the Commando Cko's hybrid-rail weapon bonus and the nerf to dmg mods, dedicated snipers are shoe-horned into using this suit to perform as well as they had before by armor-tanking in the low slots and putting complex dmg mods in the highs. Only, commandos aren't very mobile considering they are a variant of the heavy suit and are currently more suited for medium-ranged combat roles with a support weapon as backup, thus making the Commando Cko an ideal SR camping suit.
Increasing head shot multiplier damage - Base dmg increase by 50 for STD SR's has been touched on, so I'll touch on the need for the multiplier. Brick tanking has been a trend long before ppl started complaining about scouts started doing it via the slayer logi. apart from using the high DPS assault riles (balanced since Hotfix Alpha) and HMGs to chip away at HP, a direct counter to these guys is High-Alpha damage weapons. Precision shooting should be rewarded, so regardless of the suit, the multiplier should be high enough to OHK most proto suits and below with a headshot, 2 shot if body shot with a Proto SR. The heavy should be the only exception to this rule (based on max HP/dmg type resistance) in which they might have to be 2-shot if their HP exceeds the head shot multiplier dmg threshold, but they'll still have to be take multiple body shots to take down. All really vary with HP more so than the actual suit types themselves unless resistance is factored in. Heavies have a larger hit-box but can often get away with it due to brick-tanking and the need for a sniper to reload. This is taking SR proficiency and weapon meta-level in mind. Also, keep in mind that in EVERY FPS I've played, a head shot from an SR or 2 body shots usually results in death. DUST514 and Project Legion should be no exceptions.
Additionally, rifle sway should be reduced by either increasing SR tier or proficiency till the sway becomes zero at max while standing. It is currently fine as it is right now for crouching. It should be noted that in plenty of FPS, the hold breath option with the press of L3 steadies aim and allows them to do this. An idea may be to allow all tiers of SR's to do this but have the time taken to steady aim reduced as one increases in tier/proficiency. Adding a toggle zoom while ADS with the L2 button or variable scope types x4 x6 x8 wouldn't be a bad idea either to mix up the range of engagement for assaults and SR. There's no talk of DMR's lately but that weapon variant as a class of it's own would likely bridge the gap between red line and front line combat when it comes to the use and "fairness" of marksmen weapons.
The rest we all know, fix rendering issues/terrain glitching, hit detection shield flickering/no dmg registering, the need for target painting and WP instead of scanners, additional recon tools to assist the squad, etc. More on that when posting about SR gameplay actually matters.
In summary, increasing head shot multiplier damage to the SR would allow other suits to better utilize the weapon, off-setting the hybrid-rail weapon bonus commando cko's get for light weapons and the need to stack multiple damage mods. More mobile snipers on the field means they are very vulnerable to attack, whether it be 1v1 or focus fire, so they have to use cover and crouch tactics behind objects, be on the move when spotted, and may have to pull out their sidearms if the engagement gets too close. At the same time, however, they are rewarded for their precision shots, which would allow their team mates to move in on objectives much like it is in other FPS.
Till we have real talk on emergent SR gameplay changes in DUST from the Devs, I won't chime in. Till then, you know where to find me.
Destination: Destiny. I see you coming from a mile away. 18 KDR > ReGnYuM
Twitter: SkylineExplicit
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