J-Lewis
Edimmu Warfighters Gallente Federation
7
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Posted - 2013.01.31 13:54:00 -
[1] - Quote
I think the problem would be alleviated if sniper rifles were focused on specific aspects of sniping, and had variants (racial ideally) that cater to these roles.
DISCLAIMER: I haven't checked out sniper rifles since the latest patch.
Sniper as a support class, is meant for three overarching roles: Assassinating priority threats, such as:
- Heavies. - Exposed LAV and DS gunners. - That tanker busy calling in his HAV. Softening targets, this might be:
- Weakening targets to improve ally survivability. - Finishing off damaged or inherently weak targets. Harassing targets, including:
- Keeping targets behind cover. - Distracting vehicles and heavies.
What we have right now is a sniper rifle that does a bit of each, but doesn't excel at any one aspect. This is a rifle that promotes lone wolfing. It is a rifle that does not belong in DUST's team work oriented nature.
I posted this in another thread, but I'll just quote it in the hope of getting a bit more exposure:
J-Lewis wrote: Examples:
Amarr
Scrambler GÇô Harassment: - Shortest effective range. - Highest proportional optimal range. - Fastest bullet travel time. - No drop. - Shots lose damage beyond optimal range and dissipate entirely at effective range. - Excellent Shield damage, medium Armour damage. - Lowest recoil. - Lowest damage. - Fastest rate of fire.
An Amarrian scrambler sniper rifle would fit very well when it comes to harassing enemies into cover. A combination of extreme projectile speed, low recoil, and the ability to put many shots down range in short time - despite low damage and reach - would enable the user to fill much the same role as the Laser Rifle at sniper ranges but without the same level of sustained fire or crowd control.
Minmatar Artillery GÇô Anti Materiel: - Medium effective range. - Shortest proportional optimal range. - Slowest bullet travel time. - Extreme drop beyond optimal range, bullet falls straight down at effective range. - Damage does not decrease at any range. - Excellent Armour damage, medium Shield damage. - Highest recoil. - Highest damage. - Lowest rate of fire.
A Minmatar artillery sniper rifle would be unmatched at the GÇ£one shot one killGÇ¥ mantra, but sacrifices almost everything else to do so. The extremely low rate of fire means that priority targets are preferred (indeed, users would need to endure slow reloads between shots); the high recoil makes even the models with 2 shots unwieldy; the extreme bullet drop requires significant skill to use on moving targets; finally the mediocre range requires the user to get somewhat close to the target. The upshot is that these rifles can even pose a threat to lightly armoured vehicles.
Caldari/Gallente Railgun GÇô Target softening.- Farthest effective range. - Medium proportional optimal range. - Medium bullet travel time. - Medium drop beyond optimal range. - Damage decreases beyond optimal range but never hits 0. - Medium Shield and Armour damage. - Medium recoil. - Medium damage. - Medium rate of fire.
Both the Caldari and Gallente employ Railgun technology with regards to sniper rifles. Both racial variants focus on softening targets but are generally flexible. The Caldari version trades some rate of fire and damage in exchange for range and faster projectiles with less drop; making it more suited to finish off wounded or weak targets. The Gallente version leans the other way: sacrificing range and projectile speed for increased damage and rate of fire with increased drop; for applying initial hits on general infantry, or additional support against hardened targets. I did not attribute any concrete values to any of the rifles because they're arbitrary. The most important facet is that one rifle achieves a specific role better than another. For example: - Minmatar snipers are the go-to choice for assassination. - Caldari snipers are great at counter sniping. - Gallente snipers are kings of softening. - Amarr snipers are best for target harassment.
And while we don't have any racial variants at the moment, at least the Caldari sniper rifle could be tweaked to serve one of these roles for the time being. |