Shutter Fly
Molon Labe.
General Tso's Alliance
513
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Posted - 2015.02.15 05:07:00 -
[1] - Quote
Alright, first thing I want to get out of the way: this isn't a QQ thread, I'm not asking for any specific buffs or nerfs (sort of, more on that later). I think it's been apparent that shotguns have been in a state of perpetual imbalance since Uprising 1.0. It's never been early-Uprising TAR OP or Ion Pistol (when it was first introduced) UP, but it hasn't seen real balance for a LONG time.
My objective here is to get into what it is people (hopefully, one of them being a certain CCP Rattati) want out of shotguns.
What the Shotgun is Currently
Currently, the shotgun is a straight up "Blap and Gank" weapon. Ideally, you approach the enemy from outside of their FoV, then apply alpha damage to kill them before they retaliate. The Breach SG is, at best, extremely situational, and at worst, completely outclassed by the regular SG.
Due to the currently low TTK, the shotgun has very limited room for adjustment. If it killed much slower, the shotgunner would get shredded before having a chance to capitalize on it's initial burst of damage; if it killed any faster, there would just be even more frustrating OHKs.
Why is the Current Shotgun a Problem?
The way I see it, the altercations created by the SG are far too binary. Too many fights are determined before they even happen. Either the shotgunner can do enough damage to kill the opposition before they can retaliate, or they can't and lose. This is extremely frustrating for both the shotgunner and the shotgunned.
When the player on the receiving end loses, they feel cheated and helpless, their skill doing very little to prevent their death, the only preventive measures being scans and the random chance of facing the right way in a tiny window. When the shotgunner loses, they can do everything right: check lines of sight, dampen, and approach carefully; but one armor plate or one audible footstep can turn a perfectly planned attack into a completely lost cause.
What I Think is the Ideal Shotgun
Straight off, the insta-gank should be much less common. Only Scouts and conservatively tanked Assaults/Logistics should have to worry about OHKs. Most Assaults would be two hits, with well-armored assaults taking 3HKs (assuming all hits average to 85-95% full damage), and heavies taking 3-4 hits (assuming all hits averaging to 100-115% full damage). Instead, the BSG should be the OHK, ganking weapon. With a DM, the BSG should be doing enough damage to OHK a (slight) majority of Assaults (assuming 95-110% damage), and 2HK most Sentinels (assuming 100-125% average possible damage across both shots). The BSG could be a devastating weapon when used by an experienced player, but it needs to have the power to overcome its massive drawbacks.
Obviously, these aren't changes that would be ideal for the game as it is currently. Right now, it takes about 1.5 hits to kill most assaults (2 hits, averaging to 75% damage, or one headshot), and increasing that would likely cause more problems than it would solve. Instead, I think TTK needs to be increased to a similar level as in Chromosome, even after today's slightly improved hit detection is factored in. There would be less ganking, and more real gunplay.
What Does the Community Think?
In summary, I think all-gank shotguns are bad, more dynamic altercations are good, the BSG is a shining example of forgotten potential, and higher TTK is the avenue to reach those goals.
Does this mirror what everyone else thinks the shotgun should be? If so, is higher TTK the answer?
If not, what should the shotgun be? |