DUST Search - [Suggestion] Plasma Mortar

Zat Earthshatter wrote:

Krasymptimo wrote:

By having it as a light weapon, the heavy can use it, but can also open up interesting tactics like scout mortar teams, that quickly rush into position, start their bombardment with burst mortars, then GTFO..

I believe that's the purpose of the mortar anyway: a light artillery that can bombard a location and then leave before a counterattack can reach them.
The only issue I see is lore-wise, being that a trait of the current Plasma Cannon is, as a volatile ball of plasma, it loses effectiveness outside of short-medium range (there aren't many long-range weapons in DUST for some reason)
This can be resolved by having a Mortar mode firing the entire charge in the form that it's loaded in the breech. This usage also falls in-line with EVE hybrid ammo, as well as allowing the PC to function as it does now outside of Mortar functionality.
As for switching into and out of the mode, the PC is short-range enough that ironsights aren't needed - use L1 to switch to Mortar mode.


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Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 28	Posted - 2013.06.06 12:12:00 - [1] - Quote Hello again, I have an idea which may bring a uniqueness to the battlefield and can be either an addition to an existing weapon, or a stand alone weapon. (Which ever occurs is due to feedback and CCP's own judgement I guess) This suggestion is for the Plasma Mortar, as a stand alone weapon it's fairly apparent at what it does, it is another light weapon which would allow all classes to use it. The addition idea I am talking about, is to make it a 'mode' on the Plasma Cannon, this would allow it to have it's own 'niche' when it comes to the battlefield of DUST. I think this idea fills in the gap made by the extremes when it comes to taking out a fortified position, normally the be all and end all is an orbital bombardment, either from the MCC or EvE, then of course you could have an air assault via dropships and then you could always bring in armor to punch your way through. The Plasma Mortar provides the little picking away at defenses should only 1 or 2 be used, but should a squad be put onto mortar duty, defenses could be quickly worn down. The mortar certainly wouldn't have the same devastating effects as an OB, but it's ability would be justified as a readily available weapon used by infantry. Now, lets talk specifications: The weapon and user would be stationary when this weapon is firing, this can be put down to lore such as "Due to the sheer recoil generated by firing a dense ball of plasma, the weapon has to be deployed onto the floor to dissapate the recoil appropiately, cases have been recorded that plasma mortar sized holes have been seen in soldiers that have bypassed this safety protocol" This means that while the effects will definately be felt by the defending position, you know that the mortar has to be protected as they themselves cannot move and are therefore vunerable to sniper teams and counter-mortaring. The splash range is up for discussion but a 3m radius should be adequate and proportionate to the size of the round. The direct hit damage should be catastrophic and would instantly kill a heavy and so that should be around 1500-2000 direct damage. Splash damage would be the same as a direct hit but follow an inverse square relationship, this means that damage is related to the distance from impact, squared. So taking the aboslute extremes, an enemy at the maximum radius from the blast of 3 meters would take (2000/(3^2)) = 222.2 damage. This wouldn't kill you at full HP, but certainly let you know what's going on. For magazine size, these can come in two variants, the regular mortars which have a magazine of 1, but the reload is generally quite quick (1-3 seconds) Burst mortars could be available, with a charge time of .5 seconds and a magazine of 2-4, but a reload of 5-8 seconds and so you can go for continous bombardment, or a quick burst of damage on an unsuspecting enemy.
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 28	Posted - 2013.06.06 12:16:00 - [2] - Quote Ammo ammount should be about 2-4 magazines, I am siding with about 2. So in short: This weapon could be used to wear down defences when orbitals are not available, direct hits are devasting but damage is drasticly reduced the further away from the blast zone you are The the weapon being deployed I believe adds some balance to the weapon (hitting someone who cannot move from an area because he is defending it, while you can't move youself) Fricken mortars man! thoughts? Thanks for reading,
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 30	Posted - 2013.06.06 12:31:00 - [3] - Quote Mikey The Bandaid wrote: Wow this is a really cool idea. I love the fact that it would have to be stationary. To me this would make a cool heavy weapon. They lack "heavy only" weapons and a mortar seems like it would be big and bulky. Maybe they could include different kinds of shells like shells that disable equipment or shells that would slow mercs down. All in all I love you idea! +1 Thank you! By having it as a light weapon, the heavy can use it, but can also open up interesting tactics like scout mortar teams, that quickly rush into position, start their bombardment with burst mortars, then GTFO. In all, I think having it as a light weapon would allow a larger range of tactical applications.
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 33	Posted - 2013.06.06 15:22:00 - [4] - Quote I suppose the user is revealed after a few shots, and also unlike a sniper, I think with the type of destruction it can create and it's purpose, people will start to look for them very quickly.
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 33	Posted - 2013.06.06 18:54:00 - [5] - Quote bump
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 33	Posted - 2013.06.06 19:31:00 - [6] - Quote A fair point, targeting could be like that found in BF3, I found that to be highly intuitive and easy to use
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 33	Posted - 2013.06.06 22:15:00 - [7] - Quote Zat Earthshatter wrote: Krasymptimo wrote: By having it as a light weapon, the heavy can use it, but can also open up interesting tactics like scout mortar teams, that quickly rush into position, start their bombardment with burst mortars, then GTFO.. I believe that's the purpose of the mortar anyway: a light artillery that can bombard a location and then leave before a counterattack can reach them. The only issue I see is lore-wise, being that a trait of the current Plasma Cannon is, as a volatile ball of plasma, it loses effectiveness outside of short-medium range (there aren't many long-range weapons in DUST for some reason) This can be resolved by having a Mortar mode firing the entire charge in the form that it's loaded in the breech. This usage also falls in-line with EVE hybrid ammo, as well as allowing the PC to function as it does now outside of Mortar functionality. As for switching into and out of the mode, the PC is short-range enough that ironsights aren't needed - use L1 to switch to Mortar mode. Fair points made, and a great idea for using L1 to switch to Mortar mode Also, towards the gears of war method, I guess it will add in communication so team mates have to say whether he was short or too far
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 35	Posted - 2013.06.07 07:02:00 - [8] - Quote With the points that have been made, I'll change the OP later to reflect how the weapon is aimed, also to prevent the much higher damage Mortar being used as a direct fire weapon, angle of attack is limited to about 35-40 degrees to the floor. For one hit killing anything, bearing in mind this is a DIRECT hit, I suppose that only the most armoured of heavies would survive such a devastating blow, but only just.
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 35	Posted - 2013.06.07 14:02:00 - [9] - Quote Quote: This is slightly larger than a Small Missle Turret and the same blast radius as a Breach Mass Driver and grenades, and let me tell you, this would hardly amount to anything. I know network latency, hit detection, and projectile trajectory and flight time all contribute to the poor quality of damage registration, but if this "Plasma Motor" should be implemented, then the radius needs to be MUCH larger. 9m at least a 9m radius is an 18m diameter blast, that results in an 254 m^2 blast area, I think that's too huge
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 35	Posted - 2013.06.07 15:30:00 - [10] - Quote ^ - What if this mode of fire is how a default mortar operates, and the Breach is a single shot round of pure devastation?

Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 35	Posted - 2013.06.07 20:49:00 - [11] - Quote updated the OP
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 35	Posted - 2013.06.07 21:59:00 - [12] - Quote I don't see any fault with what you've come up with for the different variations of the weapon Inviticas, however how should the weapon scale up to prototype? I think it would be best if radius stayed the same, and for a change, maybe only increase damage and maximum ammo storage, seen as clip size may alter the effect of balancing the weapons. I believe the Prototype mortar should take out all but the strongest of opponents, even more so with the breach variant. However, maybe it could also be possible to have specific attribute increases with the appropriate weapons? Breach could have a higher damage and maybe a smaller charge time or larger splash? Tactical could have an increased range and maybe an increased projectile speed? Burst I think would be best as a higher clip sized burst, and maybe a larger radius? I think these changes might further enforce their niche when it comes to the more specialized weapons.
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 35	Posted - 2013.06.09 16:41:00 - [13] - Quote justice bump
Krasymptimo SyNergy Gaming EoN. 36	Posted - 2013.06.09 22:30:00 - [14] - Quote Also, if it's made as scout LAV weapon, that is yet more things for people with vehicles to spec into, give power to the infantry!