Alena Ventrallis
Intara Direct Action
Caldari State
2614
   |
Posted - 2015.03.09 07:07:00 -
[1] - Quote
Having used the scrambler since 1.8 dropped, here is my opinion.
I find the ScR to be in a really good place. Let's look at the Viziam's stats in relation to killing potential.
Damage: 71.5
ROF: 600
DPS: 715
Seems very high, and truly it is capable of mass destruction. Now modded controllers could be an issue, however even if we assume every scrambler user has one, we must make note of several things that heat adds in.
First, on average, I can get about 16 shots maximum before I seize up. I would like to get/borrow a modded controller and run tests with it to see what the actual max shots you can get off are, however, Let's play around with 16. Since we want to avoid seizing, since it leaves me unable to sprint, fire, melee, or throw grenades, let's look at the damage 15 shots can do. 71.5 x 15 is 1072.5 damage before the next shot seizes me. Again, seems like a large number. Let's compare it to your Plasma Rifle: 2380 damage before running dry and needing to reload. You can put out over twice the damage I can before you are forced to stop, whether by my seize or your reload. That is not an insignificant figure. In fact Kirk, I honestly ask this; how often do you decide to switch to your sidearm to finish an opponent? I feel like with my AR, I don't worry about my sidearm unless I missed a lot and he's still alive. With the ScR, my sidearm is an integral part of my battle strategy, not an afterthought or just-in-case backup weapon.
Second, let's look at the options I have once I hit the magic 15 shots fired. I now have to choose between 3 options. one, and most obvious, is I can fire again and seize up. I won't lie, I tend to seize up a lot, especially in the heat of the moment when I stop focusing on keeping mental track of my heat buildup. Two, I can switch to my sidearm (usually a breach SMG) to finish the job, the scrambler having removed all shield and some of the armor. Or three, I can simply let the heat cool down some then start firing again. I usually only do this at range, but I sometimes will fall back to cooldown if I think he has backup. More often than not, I take option 2.
Third, all thee numbers are excluding one of the most crucial factors in the game, and indeed in any competitive multiplayer game: human error. We can talk numbers 'til we are both blue in the face, but those numbers mean nothing if they don't hit your opponent. I'd love to say that I can hit almost 100% of the time with my ScR, but I will not lie; A good portion of them hit nothing at all. This is because of how much people strafe, how the hit detection can be buggy sometimes, and how excited I get when fighting which makes me put too much pressure on adjusting my aim. If you miss 5 shots with your PR, you lost ~7% of your total damage before you need to stop firing to reload. If I miss the same 5 shots, that's 33% of my total damage I can deal before seizing gone. That is a huge difference in lost killing potential.
And finally, let's run the numbers assuming AmAssault 5. With AmAssault to 5, I gain about 7 more shots, and I tend to seize up on shot 22 or 23. Let's look at shot 21. 71.5 x 21 is 1501.5 damage before I seize up. That's 878.5 damage less than you can deal before reload. This is why you see the ScR almost exclusively on AmAssault; that heat reduction is crucial to the success of any given engagement with the ScR. Even the AmCommando's 10% damage bonus isn't worth more than the heat reduction. And even WITH the heat reduction, our sidearms are what make or break us in the vast majority of 1v1. More often than not, I'm switching to my sidearm.
I will not cover the ScR's weakness to armor, because this is a symptom of the armor meta, and meta can change. If shield becomes the new meta, the ScR will jump to the forefront just like the CR and HMG are now.
This is why the ScR is balanced; we have great power, but that power comes at a high price. Our incredibly high paper DPS is mitigated by the low potential damage we can deal before overheat, and while AmAssault helps lessen this price, it does not remove it. Truly, if it were the all-powerful death-machine it is falsely accused of being, wouldn;t everyone and their clone-mother be using it? Yet it isn't the top boght rifle on the market, nor does it account for the most kills overall in Dust; it's not even in the top 10 killers for PC. Rattati's data showed us that shotguns made over 7 times more kills than ScR's did in PC. This is not insignificant. The evidence is clear; ScR is powerful but balanced, and AmAssault is working as intended.
Listen to my muscle memory
Contemplate what I've been clinging to
Forty-six and two ahead of me
|
Alena Ventrallis
Intara Direct Action
Caldari State
2625
|
Posted - 2015.03.10 03:42:00 -
[2] - Quote
Sgt Kirk wrote:Fizzer I'm not sure how you're not understanding that High RoF means being able to apply damage faster? Regardless of your views on it I'm not sure your grasping what Echo is saying.
Think of it as a drag race, you may say that the AR has a greater damage per clip but when they are in a drag race its all about who reaches the finish line the fastest. And with the Combat rifle its going to cross the finish line everytime before the AR gets into 2nd gear.
Also, I'm sticking with Base variants for now fizzer if you didn't catch that in the original post.
And you need to calm your tone down. This thread was keeping it level until you started throwing tantrums in post #17
I agree that the CR will reahc the finish line first, as you put it. But again, you are assuming that every shot will always hit. You aren't accounting for human error, which means some of the total damage you can deal will be wasted because you were shooting the air instead of your opponent. In fact, that's the whole reason for the strafe gameplay we have; to make your opponent miss his shots enough that he runs out of ammo in the magazine/seize/etc.The drag race is a great place to see some fast cars, but the drag racer will lose in a circuit race, to use your analogy.
Listen to my muscle memory
Contemplate what I've been clinging to
Forty-six and two ahead of me
|
Alena Ventrallis
Intara Direct Action
Caldari State
2628
|
Posted - 2015.03.11 17:50:00 -
[3] - Quote
Sgt Kirk wrote:
Pay attention to the point in my thread where I say if the Operator is able or skilled enough.
Whatever the word I used.
So skill is to be punished? Should we set all weapons to the same range, damage, ROF, mag size and reserve ammo, in order to have everyone on a completely level playing field?
Some people are really good with certain weapons. Why should we nerf weapons based on who is good with it?
Listen to my muscle memory
Contemplate what I've been clinging to
Forty-six and two ahead of me
|
Alena Ventrallis
Intara Direct Action
Caldari State
2628
|
Posted - 2015.03.11 18:00:00 -
[4] - Quote
Sgt Kirk wrote:Alena Ventrallis wrote:Sgt Kirk wrote:
Pay attention to the point in my thread where I say if the Operator is able or skilled enough.
Whatever the word I used.
So skill is to be punished? Should we set all weapons to the same range, damage, ROF, mag size and reserve ammo, in order to have everyone on a completely level playing field? Some people are really good with certain weapons. Why should we nerf weapons based on who is good with it? I have no clue what point you're trying to make in your strawman argument.
That operator skill cannot be ignored when talking weapon balance. Ease-of-use is just as valid a factor as range or DPS. For instance, the ScR has massive DPS, but operator error can easily cut 33% of your potential DPS because you missed.
I just don't understand the argument that since some peope are really good with a weapon, it's reason to tweak it. We have to take into account how easily a weapon can apply it's DPS in addition to other factors. We can't assume all users of a particular weapon are equally skilled.
Listen to my muscle memory
Contemplate what I've been clinging to
Forty-six and two ahead of me
|