|
|
| Author |
Thread Statistics | Show CCP posts - 0 post(s) |
Snagman 313
Carbon 7
62
   |
Posted - 2013.05.07 07:50:00 -
[1] - Quote
Morning lads,
I decided to sleep before writing up a review on the Heavy and HMG just so as I didn't end up on a rant. So I'll try and view this as objectively as I can even though I've been on the wrong end of the nerf hammer since replication.
Ok first up the HMG, now we have had our damage cut but 2 points across the range on HMGs so a standard now does 14 adv does 15 and proto does 15.6 so a 12.5% damage reduction which is certainly not minor although it is possible to buff it back up to old damage levels but requires you to sink a lot of SP in HMG proficiency and get a damage mod onboard.
Moving onto the range reduction, now with all weapons having sharpshooter removed I think all weapons are on a level playing field and was a good move by CCP so as to allow new players a chance in game who don't have the sharpshooter skill levelled up yet. However the range nerf that was applied to it has hindered the HMG quite a bit, now it's not completely dead as some may say but it now means that you need to be very close to use it effectively. I can't give you exact numbers on range but I did manage one kill with it at 33 meters but it took about 100 rounds and the target had less than a 1/4 armour (I believe this is more about the bullet spread at range but is compounded by the damage reduction) but most of my kills where inside 10 meters which is what I would say is now the optimal range as even firing over a standard width road at a target generally just draws more fire onto yourself.
Death mode, currently this is really only good if the enemy isn't moving much since you need to get close in the first place and even a short movement can throw you off. Also the speed at which you can track a target seems to have been reduced, I couldn't even keep up with a target running normally at close range so don't know what's going on there as I didn't get a chance to discuss this with anyone last night. The new animation to get into view is longer so I really stopped using it in most situations that I found myself in. I used to use this mode a lot especially when I used to put up a beating zone for my squad (when we had sharpshooter you see) and it did work quite well in the last build as I could generally hold 2-3 redberries in cover if I did my bit.
Ok now I found the heavy last night to be quite a different animal from before and not totally broken either but it took a lot of work on my part and a reassignment of some of my skill points. I did quite well by staying close to my squad and making sure they didn't leave an area without me I also found the new spawn system was quite good at allowing me to drop in on objectives that where about to be taken, now this was where I really did quite well last night up close with lot's of cover and only fleeting shots. The HP buff did seem to help as well and I did notice a bigger difference in damage received from different weapon types, certainly lasers ate my shields but choked on my armour and I found against the Gallente assault suits once through their lighter shields I took them apart with the HMG whereas Shield types caused me a lot of grief. So not too bad as I kept my KDR positive all last night somehow even against a full team of Betamax.
Now here's how I see the current situation, with regards to the HMG I think it will have to be buffed in the short run as new players will have a very bad time with it in it's current form, I managed with it but I have been playing since last June.
However I believe it was nerfed to make room for upcoming gear (convoluted but I'll get to that) which is all well and good but the heavy class has no new gear coming for a while and leaves it open to getting stomped into the ground.
Now looking at the gear we have now 1 raicial type heavy suit and 2 heavy weapons, one which is a hybrid damage type AV and the other a conventional damage type AP. If we also had a hybrid weapon for anti personnel use with medium range (as the Assault guys have the AR kinda thing) then a heavy could put up a beating zone and allow the assault guys to move up and take out the enemy and then it would balance out with having the option to switch to the HMG for close up work and holding choke points. But we don't we only have one weapon to try and do both these roles which might not be what the grand plan for the heavy is but since we can't run and gun with the rest of the guys we should be able to provide some form of cover fire whether or not there's a long range support weapon coming up. I didn't get a chance to look at the Assault version of the HMG last night but I doubt it'll have anywhere near the damage or accuracy required to make people get into cover. The only route to go for such a thing right now is to spec into light weapons such as AR, LR, MD or the upcoming Scrambler rifle and Plasma cannon but you would do a lot better to use an assault suit with these weapons as you're more mobile and you can equip more damage mods (even with the penalty) and carry a nanohive for ammo neither of which a heavy can do as we now have a max of 2 high slots on the basic suit and only 1 on the sentinel type with no equipment slots. So unless the new weapons and suits are coming soon I'm afraid with this HMG nerf the HMG heavy will not die but become a one trick pony.
Also the Sentinel suits bonus that reduces feedback damage is pretty pointless right now, as unless the damage from a laser rifle overheat (50 hp) has be increased hugely a possible reduction of I think it was 25% means sod all to a heavy with over 1k hitpoints. If they bring out a Scrambler/Laser/Arc cannon that does over 250 hp when it overheats then yeah but currently no.
On a lighter note the FG heavy is alive and well quite capable of killing tanks which is most likely what I'll be using the heavy for from now on.
Regards
Snagman |
Snagman 313
Carbon 7
65
|
Posted - 2013.05.07 21:25:00 -
[2] - Quote
Ok for some reason my playstation network account has signed out and won't sign back in but it does give me some time to do a quick write up on day two a heavy in Uprising.
Well it's been a bit hit and miss.... literally. I managed roughly 10 or 12 matches tonight and I went positive kdr in 3, 1 for 1 in 4 and the rest mega negative.
So I took my own advice from last time and tried to control the ground I was fighting in by keeping to close range and using cover to my advantage now this worked when I had others to help keep fire off me, even just one other guy backing me up or me backing them up. However in most cases I was the preferred target and even with my uprated armour and shields I can't compete with more than one opponent regardless of my gear level I have tried STD,ADV and Proto admittedly the Proto does last a bit longer. The only solace I could take in this was that it takes two clones worth of damage to take me down and allowed my team mates time to take down the enemy but I don't get anything for dying and started to look for other avenues to allow me to fight more effectively.
I figured my main problem was not so much the lack of range but that as soon as I was in range I had to get closer again so I could do my maximum damage because of the damage drop off (that was compounded by the damage reduction) and bullet spread. I found I could always get close enough to make my rounds contact the enemy but at max range I may as well be using foul language (sorry CCP but I call em how I see em). So I slapped on and extra complex damage mod which did help a bit but not much in the grand scheme of things considering how many bullets miss at max range.
So I figured I would test it up close and see what's changed compared to last build since my damage should at least be comparable if not my range. Well with such a setup you can still hold choke points very well but you need to max out your damage however whatever has been done to the strafe speed has severely restricted my ability to shoot accurately on the fly and it's hard to keep up with faster moving assault suits which dodge around a lot.
Basically what I have found is that the Heavy HMG is no longer a shock trooper that smashes into the front of the enemy taking as many with you as possible. In my view you are now the guy who digs into and area with a couple of mates and as the enemy pushes into your area you pop in and out of cover knocking them back while the other lads out maneuver the enemy and take them down. So you are the Wall with this current loadout in the Amarr suit using the HMG something you bring in to hold an objective after you've captured it with a faster more maneuverable suit IMHO.
Now this will likely change when the racial suits come in as the Caldari and Minmatar suits will probably have a few more high slots for damage mods and move quicker so you can close the distance and keep pace with the assault suits, whereas the Gallente suit will be fairly epic.
However I have invested a lot of SP into the HMG and Basic Amarr heavy and while I can still use the Amarr heavy (which is good but not the racial suit I would like much like a lot of the other heavies) I can equip it with things like the AR and other light weapons to keep competitive but I feel compared to other weapons the HMG is becoming relegated to the back of the sock drawer.
The setup still works but I would advise Heavies to invest into another class for flexibility.
Regards
Snag |
Snagman 313
Carbon 7
65
|
Posted - 2013.05.08 07:32:00 -
[3] - Quote
Morning Mercs,
Ok I forgot to mention one thing in my post last night.
Assault HMG (for anyone who doesn't know it's a version which has extended range but lower damage)
Ok so like my above post states I figured if I could engage targets a bit further out I might stand a bit of a better chance since I could deal some damage without having to rub shoulders with my target to get maximum damage and bullet hits. So obviously I looked to the Assault HMG for a helping hand...... Wow did I get that one wrong!!!
I quickly made a basic STD setup and dropped into a quick pub match. I won't disclose my kdr as I think I may have been scarred for life after that match..... But anyway my basic heavy suit has 500 ish shield and just over 600 armour so 1100 Ehp for arguments sake. And I lost every gun fight versus I think every weapon type, I lost to a wide range of AR's and lasers ate me up at range regardless of my armour. After quite a few deaths I ran for cover and tried to use more normal tactics while having my extended range, I managed one kill and was quite chuffed as it looked like I had killed the target at about 45 meters but then it turned out they were also taking fire from my squad mate with his Duvolle *sob sob*. So I set about looking for more targets to test this whole thing out, well I suffered a truly epic fail and died to a scout with an SMG twice (Hat's off to whoever you are) as soon as I hit his/her shields they jumped forward out of my firing arc and by the time I got back onto target his/her shields had regened. And to say the least my game got no better after that, so I have sworn to never use that particular weapon again.
After that match I decided to get to the bottom of why I sucked so bad. I had someone watching at the time and asked if I had done anything stupid that I don't normally do, his reply was a dry "Getting shot and dying" *Glare*. Ok so I checked out the other players and there weren't any big squads or truly epic players. Still scratching my head I went to the stats to see what damage I was doing with the gun......... uhhhh huhhhhhh..........
Well I think I found my issue the standard assault HMG does 10.5 damage @ 2000 RPM so I got my calculator out, 350 DPS base damage without touching on bullets missing and the damage resistance of shields versus convention type weapons. So I then began crunching the numbers on other stuff and yes before anyone asks it does less DPS than a STD AR although you can buff it it like I did.
So I would recommend that my fellow heavies stay away from this version of the HMG for the time being unless you want to get the shivers like me. But hey test it if you would like and if you get it working tell me how you did it please.
I actually skilled into the AR last night, not much as I want the Scrambler rifle when it comes out, and I started having a far better time by equipping some damage mods, biotics and a shield regulator. I feel dirty but hey I've been told to adapt or die so many times and I'll be skilling into Gallente medium frame suits further that idea.
Regards
Snag |
|
|
| |
|