Artificer Ghost
Bojo's School of the Trades
71
   |
Posted - 2013.06.02 01:18:00 -
[1] - Quote
First, background on me, if you don't already know me, and have no reason to follow these tips.
I'm a self-proclaimed veteran, having played for maybe 4 months now, accruing around 3.5 million SP in this character. I've had around 5 heavies, throughout my entire DUST career, not including times where I specced into Heavy suits on this/another character. I've gotten incredibly smart with the game, knowing what does what, and what works well with other things. Now, I think that's enough confirmation of my skill, down to business.
STARTING OUT
1st, a common misconception among new players that specced into heavies, is that they think they are invincible. Well, give me wings and call me the 'Truth Fairy'... You're not. In fact, you're quite weak, until later on.
You should see that when you start the game, you have 500k SP, and 500k ISK. I can't stress this enough, PLEASE see what the game is like before you try to spec into anything. I hear about a lot of new players that think they have amazing skill with FPS, but then come in and fail. Take off the band-aid by easing, not ripping. Also, I suggest buying the Militia Heavy Suit.
So, once you get used to how things work, and have gotten killed by a TAC-AR more than once, I'd go ahead and spec into the first Heavy suit. Start slow (No pun intended.), and go with the Standard Basic. Not a lot is different. Nothing noticeable, for a newbie.
TANKING CHOICE AND LIMITS
A tough decision to make, as a Heavy. Is your choice of tanking, and knowing your limits. There's 2 types of tanking.
1: Shield Tanking. This is the faster one. The Shield Tank uses Shield Modules, and that stuff. A Shield Tank gives less HP out, but Shield is easier to regenerate, and it sacrifices no speed. :)
2: Armor Tanking. This is the stronger type of tank. He sacrifices speed, in return for a bunch of HP. Armor is, however, harder to regenerate. A solution to the speed decrease of Armor Plates, is using a Kinetic Catalyzer. Note, this is NOT mandatory. :)
WEAPON CHOICE AND PLAYSTYLE
The Heavies have (currently) 2 choices of weapons. The Forge Gun, and the Heavy Machine Gun (HMG).
1: Forge Gunning. Using a Forge Gun is best for AV purposes. They're a charged weapon, around 2.5 seconds charge time. And can OHK a mercenary if hit. It's pretty much a mini-railgun.
1: The HMG. This weapon is pretty amazing. Range isn't bad, damage isn't bad, and RoF/Ammo Capacity is amazing. This is the weapon that will turn your enemies into Swiss Cheese. Multiple times.
Read on for more info! :D
[CONT...] |
Poplo Furuya
Crux Special Tasks Group
Gallente Federation
2
|
Posted - 2013.06.03 21:12:00 -
[4] - Quote
Main thing with a heavy, whether you're of an AV bent with Forge Guns or looking to give infantry a good slapping with the HMG, is positioning. Being at the right place at the right time is key. Being found in the wrong place is death.
This is because with the HMG you can be easily outranged by the most common weapon, the AR. You also aren't possessed of preternatural toughness, if someone shoots you it will hurt. Being a heavy grants you two things: heavy weapons and a little more time before you buckle under fire. Both are invaluable, especially in conjunction.
When you enter combat (first expose yourself to fire) you need to be within effective range of your targets. Your approach wants to be from outside their line of sight sight or covered by your allies until you're ready to engage. If you're on the defensive simply be close on hand to the side of the primary passage they need to push through. The one iron rule is that you engage them. Do not let them engage you.
If you're the one needing to push travel with others better suited to mid-range. Be in the open as little as possible. Flux grenades are your friends, the HMG tears armour apart while doing lesser damage to shields. If you can cook one and aim it true before you enter the battle proper you will scythe through your enemies like so much wheat.
At the end of the day it's about the terrain and how to use it. One module I've found useful is Enhanced Cardiac Regulators, requires level 3 in Regulators but provides around 80% Max Stamina and Stamina Recovery, a good step up from the basic. Not too costly to fit either.
As you want to end engagements or at the very least your closest targets as swiftly and messily as possible Complex Damage Boosters go a long way. I've found boosting your massive short range damage output by a percentage has yielded better results where it matters than increasing max shields. Killing someone faster means they have less time to shoot you and being able to switch targets sooner gives the second guy less time to collect themself.
|
Rynx Sinfar
Subdreddit
Test Alliance Please Ignore
777
|
Posted - 2013.06.04 16:07:00 -
[5] - Quote
As a heavy you can't jump over low railings. I play heavy, this is absurdly important. You need to know layouts because at the beginning you'll likely attempt to run a certain way and find you ended up taking a longer route because of a lack of shortcut a jump would have provided.
Predicting action and end of action is also important. If the friendly blob is a 20 second run away on a murder spree, but no friendlies are in a different direction (often objective) a different 20 seconds away, the action will likely be over at the first location before you get there, head to the second by predicting where enemies will attack next and be there to say hi. This is how slow speed is mitigated. Also if an enemy is hacking an objective you can often tell based on radar movement if incoming allies can deal with it. 1 out of 10 you'll be wrong, but you won't waste time by being farther away from the real stuff.
The last point is a bit tough and honestly no guarantee you can learn it quick or do it well. Instead get used to deploying LAVs. Need to switch a fit? Deploy an LAV before going in, hopefully it comes quickly and you can ride out to action after. Enemy destroying your team at the last objective in skirmish? Spawn near MCC and grab an LAV. You'll be able to get to an less guarded location and provide a relief valve to your allies by taking an objective/CRU. Not sure what some action is like? Deploy an LAV, and drive through the action once to get a feel for it. Militia LAVs aren't as tough but for quick non-repeated run through you'll do fine, maybe get a kill, and decide on a best course of action. It may be worth investing some points in later (suit first for a good while) as well, as in non-ambush style games it will likely elevate your play.
Lastly don't run through large open spaces when you know enemies are watching. You'll end up half way across with no cover or help and unable to hit them to protect yourself. Slow route is slower, but having to start over because you died is the slowest. |