Atheosis wrote...
There's a lot of discussion here about weapon balance, and what needs to be done about it, and after quite few hours I've come to realizations I'd like to share. First is the reality that the wide variety of guns in the game, with their disparate styles and roles, are never going to be truly "balanced". Players use guns differently with different character builds, so it's just not going to happen. However, there is a certain sub-group of guns that virtually no one uses at the moment because they are viewed as being utterly awful (or at least sub-par versus other comparable guns) by nearly everyone. And that's where game balance by Bioware needs to be focused first, because we need more options that are viable (especially on Gold) much more than we need every gun to live up to the standard of the GPS or the BW (this applies to class balance as well, but that's a different topic). Here's a list of suggestions as to how the "Gun List of Shame" can be addressed, mostly for discussion (and the consideration of Bioware on the slim chance they actually pay attention to these forums):
1. Geth Pulse Rifle
With the reduction in weight this gun got better, but it remains a weapon most people avoid like the plague. Right now it runs neck and neck with the Avenger for the lightweight AR option for power spammers, but seeing as the vast majority have the Avenger leveled much higher it generally loses that battle. Personally I only run it as a cryo ammo delivery system on my Drell Adept, and I know I'm in the minority for using it with any of my characters at all.
Solution: Increase its damage by 20% from 21.0-27.4 to 25.2-32.9.
2. Phaeston
The Phaeston suffers from a similar problem as the GPR. Namely that it's very comparable to the Avenger. This time though, it's also heavier. Overall the Phaeston is just an underwhelming gun right now, and honestly I almost never see anyone using it, especially high N7 players who know better.
Solution: Increase its damage by 20% from 34.7-42.2 to 41.6-50.6.
3. Revenant
The Revenant actually sees a fair bit of use by players, so it's the exception on this list relative to my original statement that these guns don't get used by most people. The thing is that I'm pretty sure the Revenant sees more use simply for the fact that it actually feels powerful when you use it and/or it's the only LMG in the game. It's also worth noting that it's only generally seen on Turian Soldiers, and if you ask me a gun shouldn't need a certain buffing power from a certain class to be viable. The problem with the Revenant is simple: it can't reliably get headshots and therfore its damage (which looks nice on paper) is gimped.
Solution: Reduce its recoil by 20% from 0.41 to 0.33 (0.61 to 0.49 zoomed in), and reduce its aim error range by 20% from 2.0-5.5 to 1.6-4.4 (1.2-2.5 to 1.0-2.0 zoomed in). This overall change should tighten the gun's grouping which will help it actually attain headshots fairly reliably at short to medium range (possibly even long range with a Turian Soldier).
4. Viper
It's simple with the Viper. The gun is simply outclassed by the Carnifex in every way outside of having more spare shots and an integral scope. It weighs considerably more, does less damage per shot, and has a slightly lower RoF. There is virtually no reason to ever use this gun and it shows, seeing as I think I can count on one hand how many times I've seen teammates use it.
Solution: Increase its damage by 40% from 229.4-286.7 to 321.2-401.4. This may seem like an extreme buff, but it's the only way to make the Viper competive. It's just that bad right now.
5. Incisor
Oh boy. Where do I even begin? This is quite possibly the gun I hate the most in the entire game. Its recoil is beyond idiotic and precludes consistent headshots beyond the first round, which are supposed to be a sniper rifle's bread and butter, and on top of that it does ridiculously low damage. This is a really bad version of the Vindicator, and the Vindicator is no more than adequate itself. Seriously, this gun is god awful.
Solution: Increase its damage by 20% from 67.8-84.8 to 81.4-101.8, and reduce its zoomed recoil by 50% from 0.437 to 0.218.
6. Arc Pistol
Why? That's all I've got when I looked at the design of this gun. The Arc Pistol just doesn't make sense. First of all it weighs as much as a Paladin while its charged shot does considerably less damage and is consderably slower at the same time. On top of that its rapid fire mode just barely surpasses the Predator and Phalanx while weighing more than twice as much.
Solution: Reduce its weight from 1.5-0.9 to 1.0-0.5.
7. Scorpion
I really want to like the Scorpion. It's the only gun that gibs enemies after all. And because I want to like it I've used it far more than its actual viability would warrant. But when it comes to my teammates I never see it, and I know why. For as much fun as it is to have a pistol that gibs enemies, the gun simply falls short in functionality for two simple reasons: its projectiles take too long to explode (leading to many shots exploding after the target is dead from others' attacks), and its ammo capacity is terrible due to wasted shots (see previous point) and the inability to headshot enemies like other pistols which is a major means of ammo conservation. This is an odd gun that can really be fun to use while at the same time being obviously sub-par unless enemies are having a giant mosh in a hallway.
Solution: Reduce its explosion delay to less than a second, increase its magazine from 4 to 6, and increase its capacity from 20-30 to 30-40.
8. Hornet
You can sense the excellent gun just under the surface with this one, but the ridiculous recoil wrecks it. It's as simple as that.
Solution: Implement the Shuriken's recoil parameters (or something very close). That would make it actually feel like a rare.
9. Locust
The classic pea-shooter, the Locust just doesn't do enough damage. It feels nice and unlike the other SMG's is pretty damn stable and accurate, but the rounds it fire do so little damage, there's just no point.
Solution: Increase its damage by 20% from 30.1-39.3 to 36.1-47.2.
10. Tempest
More or less the same issues as the Locust, just better damage, more recoil, and less accuracy.
Solution: Increase its damage by 20% from 41.1-53.5 to 49.3-64.2.
11. Eviscerator (and Wraith)
The description of this gun says it's an "accurate" shotgun. "Accurate" is a very subjective term, and when compared to the Geth Plasma Shotgun, the Eviscerator is clearly a joke in that department (the GPS is stupidly OPed, but that's a different topic). If this gun actually had the tight grouping its description suggests, it might be worth something.
Solution: Tighten the weapon's spread to be comparable to the Talon. This will both help the gun better match its description and give it a distinct feel from the other traditional style shotguns.
Anyway feel free to critique or add your thoughts. I couldn't sleep and I thought I'd waste my time with this. Cheers.
Geth pulse just needs its damage upped
the revenant never gonna happen
Retour en haut
