Zeylon Rho
Subdreddit
Test Alliance Please Ignore
166
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Posted - 2013.05.14 07:03:00 -
[1] - Quote
I think defensive bonuses (like the Caldari shield extender bonus, or the 5 hp/s) work fine for logis, and if the assault suits scaled hp up going to proto (that is, their base hp) - the fact that various logis can juggle modules to boost hp would be a footnote on their class flexibility rather than directly competing with assaults. The problem is the ability to combine that with super-death capabilities. I think right now the picture is is skewed somewhat. The DPS on something like a tactical AR can drop anyone in seconds, which makes anything outside of a players tank-iness irrelevant.
CCP was trying to make the assaults more "aggression" oriented than logistics, but things like reload speed outside of heavy weapons tends to be a very marginal bonus. Assault already do have faster base shield regen, speed, and hp. The slot loadout isn't far off either, meaning comparing most assaults with their counterparts shows pretty close slot allotments (or... identical in the case of the Amarr).
If the roles ARE about logistics being the more flexible of the two, then having more slots seems fair. Might need to look at that for the Amarr. Having less base speed, hp, and shield regen is fair also.
Some of the perceived inadequacy could be addressed with a relatively minor hp scale on the assault suits (20hp to ADV, then 40hp more to PRO). It would make a Cal Assault have about the same shield extenders as the current Cal Logi for instance if both stacked shield extenders in all the top slots, but the assault would still move faster and recharge faster. They'd also achieve higher hp with greater ease with the increased base, the logistics suit is forced to use maximum modules to compete.
I mention this not because the OP-idea is horrible, but I think you run into issues only addressing the balance on the passives. Part of the appeal of something like the armor rep passive or shield extender efficacy bonus is that they seem nearly universally useful. It's basically "die less", regardless of player skill.
Many of the suggested bonuses are either unappealing, dull, or questionably useful - the exact opposite of that. This isn't just a problem with your suggestions; the current system is rife with that. Compared to a more active boost like shield boosts, all of the fitting bonuses on Gallente are beyond dull. I wouldn't want to go near any of those. Some of them seem like too much as well - a boost to repair modules that ALSO gives passive reps? Didn't that just render the Gallente bonus horrible?
Some of them aren't bad (you see people getting use out of melee damage bonuses now), but it still seems to lock players to a certain playstyle. Again, if you compare something like "shield boost" - always effective to "Melee damage" - requires the player attack close range with a single weapon type or melee.
I think a lot of the bonuses people come up with are predicated on the idea that the logistics getting the shield extender boost was "too much". It's not "that" much stronger than an assault though (who is still faster, recharges quicker, and can run longer, and only has one less high slot, shield-wise). I think giving the assault a bonus that's actually useful (and other logistics/roles bonuses that are actually useful and not horribly situational) and making their suit better would be a better approach to fixing this. The issues with things like the TAR being insta-death weapons killing you from out of your range is probably making the problem look worse than it is too. |