TYCHUS MAXWELL
The Fun Police
389
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Posted - 2014.08.14 12:36:00 -
[1] - Quote
It's the same concept of tanks (When properly balanced) or heavies (when properly balanced) or mass drivers or AV.
What is that concept? Team Support.
problem that occurs in game is that in the same way that people oversimplify balance, people also over simplify tactics.
A good sniper, makes sure no one wants to step out in the open. Some maps this is pretty useless like that domination map where the objective is inside that furnace looking room but I rarely see anyone snipe on that map. In many others like the bridge map, the objective is highly vulnerable and a good sniper will either lower the amount of reinforcements a bridge push has or outright thwart a smaller advancement. Like all support roles and all roles in general however, a sniper is pretty useless if no one is on the front line to maintain the objective. The misconception is that a sniper is bad if they cannot kill anyone, however this is only true IF there was someone to kill. The presence of a sniper in the kill feed can funnel enemy forces and deter blitz tactics and high aggression. This in itself, can help turn the tide of battle. Most players, even vets, will forget that tactics are not simply about who kills who... as anytime a MCC is destroyed by a lower clone count, this fact is proven. Of course in ambush, it's all about the clone kills, but that's TDM.
Tanks would be another prime example of a misconception of a class. Tanks are highly volatile and near invulnerable (In respect to the amount of weapons that exist vs. the amount of weapons that can hurt them) and are the greatest weapon that can be employed by a team to cover infantry and push an objective. They are moving cover that, if ignored, will devastate the enemy team and in the least can force the gaining of ground. Where tanks often get confused is that tankers sometimes judge themselves based upon how long they survive, vs. how helpful they actually were. A great tank makes it difficult for themselves to be killed while also helping their team push towards the objective/objectives.
Much of this can easily be over looked by the average player because the average player generally gives in and plays the game as TDM. Ask yourself how many times have you seen an LAV with a rail gunner and driver take out dropships and blaster tanks? Their high mobility and the effectiveness of a small rail turret over great distances makes this combo highly effective... however I've never seen it done by a team of two, not to say that it doesn't occur. I know I've killed tanks and dropships with an LAV by myself and mobility would make me even more troublesome. But this is often the issue, how often to players actually branch out from their favored fit? When is the last time you saw infantry hiding behind a tank while it slowly rolls up and blocks incoming fire to the objective even at its own detriment? Often people think the only way to improve their teams effectiveness is to, at least these days, roll out their proto scouts and proto heavies (Which now is turning into roll out their proto scouts and proto amarr assaults.) Team tactics even in poor gear will always trump direct action. However, team tactics are not simply pile guns on a target, that's is where people find out quickly poor gear won't cut it. 4 militia suits with rifles attacking a proto suit isn't extremely effective. However a militia tank with an LAV driver that stops when appropriate with a blaster/missle/rail gunner both wearing militia heavy suits combined with a militia sniper with clear sight to the proto suit, now suddenly those 4 militia suits are going to destroy that proto suit regardless of its layout. This is what people mean when they say team tactics win in matches. They aren't talking mob rules, mob pile ups of clones its all about the better gear. Team tactics are all about combined arms of effective role support.
In summation, snipers do have both a direct and indirect role. They get the most flak when they are over used. Because you never need 5-6 snipers firing from the same position. Anything they would kill will be taken care of by 1-2 snipers. |