CCP has been nerfing and buffing so frequently that it's hard to imagine anyone trying to be competitive is spec'ing into anything, because you just don't know what it will be like after the next update and CCP has made it clear they don't want to do respecs.

If you're going to spec into anything, you have to commit to it like a marriage. If you love the mechanics of the weapon and are willing to stick with it through good times and bad, go for it. If you only love it because it dominates at the moment, hold off.

well as it stands now the mass driver (mostly proto) destroy dropsuits and do decent damage to vehicles and the damage and/or damage radius is the issue and in order to make it a support weapon instead of an assault weapon it needs the nerf

MD Splash damage is humble.

Flaylock's splash damage is INSANE. That does need some rebalance.

I skilled into MDs on all my characters AFTER beta, knowing that it would eventually be buffed again.
It sucked very much until it got fixed again.
Now it is a valid weapon for area denial, disturbing crowds and taking out enemies behind cover in certain situations.
It is however not a slayer like a Duvolle AR or even a GEK AR.
It is an effective counter to the HMG heavie, but also a very good support weapon (covering my heavy bros while they reload).
As a Dedicated Masshole Logi I will stick to this weapon whatever happens.

That said, I don't think this weapon is OP! As soon as you consider friendly fire, the MD shines only in very skilled hands.
The increased blast radius has killed me quite a lot especcially when people of my own team run in front of me blocking my shots... Thank you very much!
It takes skilled MD operators not to kill your own squad in CQC (in battles with friendly fire). You sometimes have to hold your fire, only for not to kill teammates!

One more reason why I'd like to see FF in FW matches (merc battles). It would lead to more surgical use of explosives!

If you loose a 1:1 against my EXO-5 with your GEK, it's definitely not because of weapon imbalance!

CCP has been nerfing and buffing so frequently that it's hard to imagine anyone trying to be competitive is spec'ing into anything, because you just don't know what it will be like after the next update and CCP has made it clear they don't want to do respecs.

If you're going to spec into anything, you have to commit to it like a marriage. If you love the mechanics of the weapon and are willing to stick with it through good times and bad, go for it. If you only love it because it dominates at the moment, hold off.

I'm not afraid to spec into the mass driver, but i would be ashamed to spec into it.. Still, for players of a certain point and click adventure game who can't aim straight it's probably their best bet, along with flaylock pistols and contact grenades

I think with the optimization of hit detection the Mass Driver is about as effective as it should be. I don't think damage or splash damage should be changed.

However, I do think that a moderate reduction in the rate-of-fire would put the weapon more in balance. Of course that is just my opinion.

What absolutely HAS to happen is improvement to the physics of the weapon in relation to the user. When I throw a grenade and I stand too close, I get damaged or even killed. Shame on me right? A Mass Driver shoots grenades. Players should not be able to fire the weapon in close-quarters situations without sustaining the same damage as their targets...period. Being able to kill and enemy from within the splash zone and taking no damage is ridonkulous.

These are the only needed adjustments to keep the Mass Driver a viable weapon class. Make it so.

I think with the optimization of hit detection the Mass Driver is about as effective as it should be. I don't think damage or splash damage should be changed.

However, I do think that a moderate reduction in the rate-of-fire would put the weapon more in balance. Of course that is just my opinion.

What absolutely HAS to happen is improvement to the physics of the weapon in relation to the user. When I throw a grenade and I stand too close, I get damaged or even killed. Shame on me right? A Mass Driver shoots grenades. Players should not be able to fire the weapon in close-quarters situations without sustaining the same damage as their targets...period. Being able to kill and enemy from within the splash zone and taking no damage is ridonkulous.

These are the only needed adjustments to keep the Mass Driver a viable weapon class. Make it so.

People have always cried about the MD and they'll continue to do so because it's designed for harassment and area denial. If you like the weapon, use it, enjoy it and defend it on the forums from people that don't understand that they can't run around in conga lines or hide behind cover when slow moving grenades from a weapon with only 3 clips worth of ammo fires down from above.

it doesn't just prevent them from going in an area it can hunt people down and destroy them that's why it needs the nerf not because the weapon should be removed in fact on my logi it seems to keep people away so I can heal/revive/give ammo or place uplinks

it can be useful and people not complain but it isn't there yet

People complain because it's useful and there's a general hate for splash damage based weapons in FPS anyway. Every weapon that isn't a rifle is situational at best but excels in specific areas. Just because the MD excels in a specific area, you want it nerfed? Why not just switch to a laser and leave my damn weapon alone then. Nobody complains about those anymore.

it excels in all close range/medium combat and puts the other close/medium range to shame plus u don't need to aim like the other weapons people don't complain about being too powerful

but no matter what I say or u say CCP will do whatever they want and even if the MD is nerfed it wont be as bad as the flaylock should be getting :P

The MD has already been nerfed in splash radius and damage. Hell, it took a double nerf to damage because damge got nerfed while dropsuit HP got buffed. It's actually in a good place now because you're forced to make those 18 grenades count even more than before. Try going toe-to-toe with a Duvolle in open field without flux grenades and tell me the MD is still OP.

People complain because it's useful and there's a general hate for splash damage based weapons in FPS anyway. Every weapon that isn't a rifle is situational at best but excels in specific areas. Just because the MD excels in a specific area, you want it nerfed? Why not just switch to a laser and leave my damn weapon alone then. Nobody complains about those anymore.

stop trying to play a war game competitively and you will not have this problem....this is not a sports game....sports games have balance....war games dont...its that simple.

it excels in all close range/medium combat and puts the other close/medium range to shame plus u don't need to aim like the other weapons people don't complain about being too powerful

but no matter what I say or u say CCP will do whatever they want and even if the MD is nerfed it wont be as bad as the flaylock should be getting :P

ehhh I always use flux for good measure ud be stupid not too but complex damage mods on top of the already high damage for mass drivers makes me think how much I could destroy :P muahahahaha

And what YOU think must do a primary weapon? spit rainbow?
How can be an area denial weapon if people dont fear it? "oh look someone is shooting with a mass, let's walk inside the range since is like being hit by a stinky ****"

Also this weapon suffer shield more than an HMG