CSR Sample
Ill Omens
EoN.
0
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Posted - 2013.06.09 18:25:00 -
[1] - Quote
The current Laser Rifle is considered to be too weak by many. Honestly I think it isn't as bad as people think it is, but it's down there pretty far. I want to go over some of the changes to see if there is anything that can be done to put the laser into a balanced role without going back to being too strong.
Changes from the old laser:
***Reduced Range***
-Fine change, everything got it. Makes us weaker to snipers but they *should* counter us, so that's fine.
***Reduced damage on Viziam***
-Also fine. It needed to be done. Lasers scale correctly now (Laser to ELM to Viziam) and with the reduced price the Viziam isn't as punishing to use.
***Position change to Heat Reduction***
-If you're reading this and don't know what I'm talking about, the old heat reduction (let the laser fire for longer periods of time) was placed on the core laser skill, meaning if you wanted to use a Viziam, you had to max it out. Currently the skill is put onto the Amarr Assault suit. This has some interesting consequences:
1) Removed logi-lasers.
-Logi's should not be using lasers now. The heat reduction is essential for the laser to do real damage. Logis using damage mods and complex shield extenders with a laser while having speed mods on the low slots is no longer possible, as the max number of high slots is now down to 3. Personally I think this is a good change. It means a laser user is now going to be slower, going to have to choose either to max damage or shield, and, if damage, is probably going to have to armor tank. I think a larger, heavier, and most importantly slower laser user is a good step towards balancing the weapon. The reduction from 3-4 equipment slots to 1 is also a good change. It means when you kill a laser on a building you won't see them respawning there unless they have friends with them (Laser's require a LOT of ammo to use well, so nanohives are almost always essential).
2) Hurt the new player who wants to learn lasers
-A likely unintended side effect, new players who want to use lasers are going to find them extremely weak and uninteresting. In order to unlock the laser's potential, it's almost required to have at least 3 (preferably 5) skill points into Amarr Assault Proto suits for the heat reduction. This skill cost is likely not going to be easy for a newer player to handle, as they are more likely to go into different assault suits to try them out. Besides laser/scrambler rifle using, the Amarr assault suit has no strong benefits over the other racial suits.
***New scoping/zooming... thinger***
-First let me point out I'm perfectly fine with the gun being centered, removing the player's view of object under her/him. This makes it more risky to try for headshots on the laser, and makes the laser more consistent with other weapons in the game. Don't get me wrong I would love for the previous laser sights back, but there are more important things to balance.
-What I WILL complain about is the new reticle on the scope. Most important is the simple fact that it blocks the player's sight of the laser beam itself. This is something that is incredibly important for a laser user to have vision of to determine tracking of players. If the little black line-piece with a red dot at the end inside the scope were removed it may do plenty to relieve this issue.
***New rifle turn speed while scoped***
-I'm not entirely sure what changed here, if it was the reduction in laser zoom range or an intended effect, but while I zoom in on my laser the speed at which I turn is painfully slow. At half my laser max range I can't even keep up with a sprinting heavy, let alone any suit with real speed. I don't want to be able to turn at crazy speeds, but a middle ground between this and what it used to be would be appreciated.
In summary I think some simple non-damage changes to the laser may be enough to bring it back into a balanced state. In my personal opinion most of the changes were positive ones. I by no means guarantee this will put the laser in a balanced spot. I'm merely trying to throw some ideas on how to give it a nice QoL boost to the point where it will again be fun to use without being strong enough to invoke the community's wrath.
NOTE: When I reference the "old laser" what I mean is whatever the previous build before the most recent laser changes was. I started playing in that build so I don't know much about what it was like before then. |