DUST Search - HMG Review (as unbiased as possible...I promise :D )

SoTa of PoP wrote:

Didn't realize we were ever at Odds Polish. :(

There's two types of game modes out basically: Zerg and Camp. In zerg - we have to stick as close as possible to the other zerglings. We need to read the map for player positions and have a knowledge of our terrain, all the while trying to find the best route so our speed isn't factored in so hard. This is cumbersome with reduced speed and range as it's already a trouble trying to keep up - so now only do I not keep up - my weapon can't reach. What's the solution? Flanking. But being a heavy who flanks on his own with this terrible HMG has lead to me getting laughed at as I pull back and wait for back up 75% of the time. It made me realize the gun was broken in Chromosome and in need of nerf - so I've gotten used to finding a way to get others to come with me, usually over comms. But this is usually like rolling dice - so a heavy being in solo so far - not viable.

What else can you do in a zergling match but try to steal kills? Murder Taxi. But using murder taxi requires luck since there's no way most of us have the SP to get a decent LAV and still call ourselves competitors. Even if you did the Hack AV nades shred 'em in two throws that happen within 4-5 seconds. So Murder Taxi - at least from my experience thus far - is not viable as most matches have squads of 6 and makes asking 1 person to carry AV nades very easy. So again - solo heavy - not viable. (No squads has been very rare)

So - we can't flank - we can't murder taxi - do we switch weapons? It would mean no proto - but I saw more success with Exile then Boundless. But **** that. The only true solution is camp areas where fighting is always the heaviest and don't be aggressive unless following zergs.

So I turned to Camp mode. We find far more success here. If you take a second after 3 minutes of the match has passed you can determine where the fighting will be focused by enemy behaviors thus far and just simply camp the objective they seem to desire so badly. Using LAV's for simple A to B Taxi's rather then murder vehicles will higher your KDR from earlier mentioned squads AV. (If your match has no squad tho - as happens once in a while in camp mode - murder taxi is hella fun).

Nodes themselves are our friends now. They even have peek holes we can shoot out of (not a new feature) to harass people and it being a circle we can run around assures us a spot to run from explosions and firearms. Luckily for us too - most objectives have boxes or some sort of cover for us to use and force players to come in closer. Baiting will be the only way you'll get kills here. Most people seem to understand heavies blow - and keep a good distance. Some flat out run without firing a shot then turn around and force me to run at them if they even see me.

TL;DR it's impossible to run solo now as a heavy with mild success in skrims - but I do not have a problem going solo as AR with an assault suit on an alt with 3.5 mil SP.

I wish I could test the HMG on a competitive level - I only know from the stats it'll fail. Without actual matches with coordinated teams I'll never really see where the drawback are showing now. Before it was that everyone elses speed meant they could escape and us chasing them meant trouble. Now I'm pretty sure they can charge us and LOLOLOL all over us.

We can be replaced in almost every circumstance by a scout now as well or any class. Remote Explosives (Once fixed from bug I hear) with SMG/SG do the HMG's role better for less SP.

The only benefit heavies bring is we force concentrated fire fights if we're any good and give our team mates a chance to bring in the pain. Which is awesome - but not what I expect from a class that's called Jugernaught.

Corp matches as heavy would be us spotting for the other team then holding people down - which also involves us trying our hardest not to get shot up by the ones we're trying to hold. Which also means we won't be holding them long SO GET OVER HERE QUICK GUNNER OR BLAZ OMFG SCRUBS. :3


Author	Thread Statistics \| Show CCP posts - 7 post(s)
Another Heavy SOB TRUE TEA BAGGERS Orion Empire 61	Posted - 2013.05.08 13:02:00 - [1] - Quote Musta Tornius wrote: Jesus christ guys, the optimal range was only decreased 4m. People are just unused to playing without SS causing massive qqing. This is true to an extent, most of the range shock is due to the loss of SS skill. I had SS proficiency I and a few times today when I had just rebuilt my Heavy I did find myself attempting to hit targets at 40M or so and not even registering a flash. In chromosome he'd have been shredded just as fast as if he was within 20m. I agree that SS had broken weapon balance and I could learn to live with range nerf on HMG's, Except for the buff to AR range....I played on my Assault today and I was just toying with the fatties. Even Amarr proto fits with a boundless just don't instill the fear they once did, not even in close quarters. I would simply outrun the heavy, break out to 40-50m and put down the poor waddling bastard with my Proto Tac or Burst AR. Admittedly none of the heavies I slaughtered really played Well. The damage nerf is maybe a bit too much, especially considering the loss of weaponrys passive gain. I use a Boundless with two complex damage mods with HMG proficiency V, yet it kills like a chromosome MH-82 with one complex mod and no operation proficiency. I honestly will not use anything but a Boundless or Six Kin because everything else just feels way to weak. ChromeBreaker wrote: Theres more to it than that, its not JUST optimals, or damage, or whatever, its eveything at once. range has effected spread, that has effected dmg, that has effected tracking, that has effected speed, that has effected range... Obviously I agree that there's more to it than Musta's statement but I'm pretty sure sharpshooter never effected "spread" or "dispersion". It simply increased maximum optimal range and maximum range. I always felt HMG became extremely accurate, a literal bullet hose out to 50m, and with SS bringing the damage out to that range it was a bit much. In my experience with Uprising I can't even make an Assault think twice about engaging me at 40m. I'm fine with an AR having a distinct advantage at 40m but I should at the very least i should do just enough damage to force him to take cover or strafe-peek from cover so I can get to my own cover, get away, close the gap if possible or hold him off until my own AR wielding squadmate can come to my aid by challenging my attackers range. This I believe is the biggest issue with HMG's in Uprising. The tracking issue I thought was just me getting comfortable with different feeling controls. Although besides noticing a decrease in turn speed I Also noticed that bullets do not leave the barrel as accurately as before while turning. Somewhat hard to explain but if you were to pivot around in circles while hip firing you may notice the bullet trails leaving the barrel at a steeper angle away from barrel than in chromosome. Maybe this has something to do with hip firing in close quarters feeling wonky, I don't know but I definitely feel it. To heavys who want to get back to kicking down doors...Boundless, HMG proficiency V, 2 Complex damage mods, Flux grenades and most importantly Close Quarters maps.
Another Heavy SOB TRUE TEA BAGGERS Orion Empire 62	Posted - 2013.05.09 23:50:00 - [2] - Quote SoTa of PoP wrote: Didn't realize we were ever at Odds Polish. :( There's two types of game modes out basically: Zerg and Camp. In zerg - we have to stick as close as possible to the other zerglings. We need to read the map for player positions and have a knowledge of our terrain, all the while trying to find the best route so our speed isn't factored in so hard. This is cumbersome with reduced speed and range as it's already a trouble trying to keep up - so now only do I not keep up - my weapon can't reach. What's the solution? Flanking. But being a heavy who flanks on his own with this terrible HMG has lead to me getting laughed at as I pull back and wait for back up 75% of the time. It made me realize the gun was broken in Chromosome and in need of nerf - so I've gotten used to finding a way to get others to come with me, usually over comms. But this is usually like rolling dice - so a heavy being in solo so far - not viable. What else can you do in a zergling match but try to steal kills? Murder Taxi. But using murder taxi requires luck since there's no way most of us have the SP to get a decent LAV and still call ourselves competitors. Even if you did the Hack AV nades shred 'em in two throws that happen within 4-5 seconds. So Murder Taxi - at least from my experience thus far - is not viable as most matches have squads of 6 and makes asking 1 person to carry AV nades very easy. So again - solo heavy - not viable. (No squads has been very rare) So - we can't flank - we can't murder taxi - do we switch weapons? It would mean no proto - but I saw more success with Exile then Boundless. But **** that. The only true solution is camp areas where fighting is always the heaviest and don't be aggressive unless following zergs. So I turned to Camp mode. We find far more success here. If you take a second after 3 minutes of the match has passed you can determine where the fighting will be focused by enemy behaviors thus far and just simply camp the objective they seem to desire so badly. Using LAV's for simple A to B Taxi's rather then murder vehicles will higher your KDR from earlier mentioned squads AV. (If your match has no squad tho - as happens once in a while in camp mode - murder taxi is hella fun). Nodes themselves are our friends now. They even have peek holes we can shoot out of (not a new feature) to harass people and it being a circle we can run around assures us a spot to run from explosions and firearms. Luckily for us too - most objectives have boxes or some sort of cover for us to use and force players to come in closer. Baiting will be the only way you'll get kills here. Most people seem to understand heavies blow - and keep a good distance. Some flat out run without firing a shot then turn around and force me to run at them if they even see me. TL;DR it's impossible to run solo now as a heavy with mild success in skrims - but I do not have a problem going solo as AR with an assault suit on an alt with 3.5 mil SP. I wish I could test the HMG on a competitive level - I only know from the stats it'll fail. Without actual matches with coordinated teams I'll never really see where the drawback are showing now. Before it was that everyone elses speed meant they could escape and us chasing them meant trouble. Now I'm pretty sure they can charge us and LOLOLOL all over us. We can be replaced in almost every circumstance by a scout now as well or any class. Remote Explosives (Once fixed from bug I hear) with SMG/SG do the HMG's role better for less SP. The only benefit heavies bring is we force concentrated fire fights if we're any good and give our team mates a chance to bring in the pain. Which is awesome - but not what I expect from a class that's called Jugernaught. Corp matches as heavy would be us spotting for the other team then holding people down - which also involves us trying our hardest not to get shot up by the ones we're trying to hold. Which also means we won't be holding them long SO GET OVER HERE QUICK GUNNER OR BLAZ OMFG SCRUBS. :3 Just felt this needed to be quoted to ensure CCP gives it a read. I will not play my heavy without a squad I know can stick together, solo play simply results in being surrounded by 6 red dots because I cannnot keep up with the zerg.