Actually the plasma rifle doesn't fit its description, it is supposed to have high damage but low range similar to a modern day smg. To balance it, it should have its range lowered by 25-35% and DPS increased by 15-30%, this could be by increasing both damage or rate of fire. The other rifles should be low damage high range, so it ends up being Gallente High damage low range, Minmatar med damage med range, Amarr low damage high range, Caldari lowest damage highest range. Also the weapon system should be changed to unlock weapons of the same type, not specific weapons like the assault rifle skill should unlock all automatic rifles not just the Gallente rifle. That way the ASCR is affected by assault rifle skills and it is a easy alternative to the AR.

Part of the reason AR seems OP is because folks have skilled heavily into it because the other weapons get nerfed/changed so much but the AR stays pretty constant. Also, every suit can use the thing so why not?

If you skill the other weapons into lvl 5 profeciency, they are just as effective and deadly, difference is that they typically require a different play style than the run and gun most FPS players are used to.

COD Black Ops was same way with everyone using the same weapons until folks figured out how to be effective with the others, then you'd see folks killing the masses with hipfired sniper rifles or shotguns or pistols while they tried to stick with the ARs there.

I loved the MD until it was nerfed, now it's fixed and I'm working my way back into them again. But my AR fits won't be erased because it's a stand by. Also, a MD in Skirmish on an open map is pointless so choose a weapon that fits the map and role you want. The all around weapon of choice will still likely be the AR... stop QQ'ing about it

This is simply not true. I have 0sp in AR's and can drop plenty with it. Matter of fact it does better than the SG that I have heavily skilled into, the SMG which many an AR user has claimed is OP, ect. You do not have to be skilled into many of the weapons. The difference between std and proto is actually very minimal for almost any weapon. However, if you want to say the grass gets greener later, it doesn't. At later levels the proto AR is actually even more imbalanced than the proto's of others, (we can use SG for example). The cost, CPU/PG is higher to use for proto SG than proto AR, but the proto AR has a higher meta level, (7-9), dmg, RoF, Ammo Capacity, Accuracy......

So what were you saying about skills being a factor? They are actually more balanced at std than at proto.....and even here the AR outshines. Not because it's "familiar", (seriously an AR in a game is familiar? is this even a real argument?). How many space age AR's did you fire before Dust? More than space age shotguns? If familiar is the reason, why is it not grenade 514?

BTW: as a self admitted competitive COD player, I call BS on everyone using the same weapons. Everyone might use the same weapon in that weapon's class, but you did not see a huge percentage using the same class of weapon.

yeah AR should be about 10% worse than the other weapons as its versitality is its strength

Its an assault rifle.

...ASSAULT RIFLE

Literally THE most common infantry weapon. Complaining about AR spam in DUST, you might as well complain about AR in every armed force in the world.

It's just not fair I tell you, nearly every US soldier being equipped with an M4!

The army should nerf the M4 so it shoots rainbows, and force soldiers to use other more ridiculous weapons.

I can't even believe people complain about spam, from what is SUPPOSED to be the most common weapon on the field.

Its an assault rifle.

...ASSAULT RIFLE

Literally THE most common infantry weapon. Complaining about AR spam in DUST, you might as well complain about AR in every armed force in the world.

It's just not fair I tell you, nearly every US soldier being equipped with an M4!

The army should nerf the M4 so it shoots rainbows, and force soldiers to use other more ridiculous weapons.

I can't even believe people complain about spam, from what is SUPPOSED to be the most common weapon on the field.

It's spammed cause it outdoes longer range, short range, and mid range guns.

It needs its range brought down to 40m, and the other niche guns need to be buffed BADLY!

Its optimal range is 45 so 40 range is nothing, what should happen is that its optimal range remain the same or dropped to 35 and its max range drops to 65, and increasing its DPS so it is more of a SMG/AR hybrid. Then increasing the ranges of the next tiered weapon to be 45/75, then 55/85, and lastly 65/95 and their dps increasing in an inverse order to the the range increase. Also high DPS does not mean high damage, just high damage output depending on how the DPS is calculated*.

I remember their optimal being 60, but I haven't checked in a while.

Its an assault rifle.

...ASSAULT RIFLE

Literally THE most common infantry weapon. Complaining about AR spam in DUST, you might as well complain about AR in every armed force in the world.

It's just not fair I tell you, nearly every US soldier being equipped with an M4!

The army should nerf the M4 so it shoots rainbows, and force soldiers to use other more ridiculous weapons.

I can't even believe people complain about spam, from what is SUPPOSED to be the most common weapon on the field.

Let me make some clarifying statements.

What he says is absolutely true. The point of every other weapon system is to support the rifleman. Modern militaries wouldn't equip everyone with LMGs or HMGs if they could, because they're all support weaponry. The idea behind them is to suppress the enemy (keep their heads down so they can't shoot back) while the AR people maneuver to destroy them. Grenade launchers are made to deny the enemy an advantageous firing position, artillery is to destroy vehicles or infantry in the open, air support is to provide a unique vantage point to cover the movements of the infantry. Every single job in the military is either being in the infantry, or being in support of it.

ARs are imbalanced currently, and weapons as a whole need a looking at, but the AR should be the most used weapon on the battlefield. All other systems, and I mean ALL of them, should be in support of them. Mass drivers provide foot-mobile area denial systems, snipers provide a different vantage point to engage entrenched enemies, tanks provide anti-vehicle and anti-infantry support, dropships provide transportation and limited air support. The other weapons should be viable in providing support, but at the end of the day, the AR should be the one completing the mission, whether its to destroy the enemy or capture the objective. That's his job, everyone else's is to make his job that much easier, or harder if you're on the opposing forces.

By no means should the AR be the end-all be-all weapon that dominates all others at everything. They shouldn't be. But all other weapons should be made to support the AR, not take it's place.

I am happy you agree the AR is imbalanced, but I think RL combat doctrine should NEVER be applied to a fictional space game with lasers and ****.

Every gun should be fun and effective in its own way, able to get kills independent of the AR, not subordinate to just assisting it

I agree that every gun should be fun and unique in its own way. But the combat doctrine of RL hasn't changed much since we began having wars. Naturally, the weapons and tactics have changed as we have progressed, but it has always been one unit is the main effort, and the other units support them.

Romans used the legionnaires as their main effort, with the auxillia to protect their flanks from cavalry, had their own cavalry to break up the enemies formation, archers to provide ranged support, and catapults to assault fortified structures. But in the end, the infantry was the rock the other units moved themselves off of, either supporting the infantry's assault or protecting them from the enemy's assault.

To this end, each weapon should bring the flavor of the race it comes from. The plasma Launcher should be unique and perform differently from the Swarm Launcher. But there function should be the same: to destroy enemy vehicles so that the AR people can assault the objective.

Ok, now you sound less like blasphemy.

But there are several weapons that are designed to be hard charging, objective storming CQCers. (Shotgun, HMG, Novas, SMG....) and the AR is outdoing them in their roles, with much better range, and the like.

The AR is filling its role of the Light Assault weapon, but for what it gains, it gives up very little compared to the others.

I think that it needs to either lose a little DPS, or lose a bit of range.

That, along with the buffing of the other guns.

In this, I agree with you. An AR beating a shotgun at CQC is ridiculous, and SMGs and HMGs should get a buff to make them shine in their roles. One of the big issues is that we don't have all the racial weapons and vehicles out yet. Once we have all the weapons then balancing them out will be easier, and adding in new weapons will be easier as long as each race gets their version of it.

Its optimal range is 45 so 40 range is nothing, what should happen is that its optimal range remain the same or dropped to 35 and its max range drops to 65, and increasing its DPS so it is more of a SMG/AR hybrid. Then increasing the ranges of the next tiered weapon to be 45/75, then 55/85, and lastly 65/95 and their dps increasing in an inverse order to the the range increase. Also high DPS does not mean high damage, just high damage output depending on how the DPS is calculated*.

They just fixed the game being an imbecilic dance where you had to stick your gun up the other guy's nostrils. We don't need you tards clamouring for gun ranges to be dropped again.

Honestly making a weapon worthless to force players to use different weapons to increase "diversity" of weapon is just stupid. I could go into how stupid it is but as we saw with yesterday debate.........you have no logical reasoning to stand on. You just want to limit peoples options so that you can see different weapons on the kill feed.

Also I love how everyone complains about the ARs desite the ASCR being better in every way. I drop heavies alot faster with my ASCR than I did with the AR.

Honestly making a weapon worthless to force players to use different weapons to increase "diversity" of weapon is just stupid. I could go into how stupid it is but as we saw with yesterday debate.........you have no logical reasoning to stand on. You just want to limit peoples options so that you can see different weapons on the kill feed.

Also I love how everyone complains about the ARs desite the ASCR being better in every way. I drop heavies alot faster with my ASCR than I did with the AR.

You don't seem to get it Semper Fi, so let me spell it out.

It's the simple fact that the weapon is so overused is the problem, thus something needs to be done.

Call it OP, don't, I don't care. Tell me about how other weapons are better, I don't care. The weapon is hurting diversity, and thus the game, plain and simple.

Something needs to be done. I am tired of playing AR 514. The game is suffering due to being AR 514. It doesn't matter if it's because the playerbase is stupid or the weapon is OP.

Personally, I believe it to be OP, but that's not really the point. The community has chosen it in far too much excess, thus the community is using it as though it's OP. It needs to be less desirable, plain and simple.

You can do this by buffing the other weapons, or maybe even changing the maps, but that doesn't seem to fit the CCP way.

Honestly making a weapon worthless to force players to use different weapons to increase "diversity" of weapon is just stupid. I could go into how stupid it is but as we saw with yesterday debate.........you have no logical reasoning to stand on. You just want to limit peoples options so that you can see different weapons on the kill feed.

Also I love how everyone complains about the ARs desite the ASCR being better in every way. I drop heavies alot faster with my ASCR than I did with the AR.