Solution for second fire mode on pistol.
alster
Join Date: 2003-08-06 Member: 19124Members
Join Date: 2003-08-06 Member: 19124Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Final solution I'm sure you'll agree.</div>I was playing and someone actually said "Why the hell does the pistol have a second fire mode!".
Solution:
The second fire mode shoots a nanite marked bullet that tracks any alien or structure it hits for 10 secs like the obs.
It does the same damage as a bullet, but it shoots slow like it does now, because the nanites need to be attached.
Ya I know, obs and com scan does the same thing, but this is mobile with the squad and the com already has too many things to do - ammo, health, shield, etc.
New tactics Yay!
Marine scout - scout ahead or with a squad to track targets someone didn't see.
Track a pesky gorge, fade, or onos.
Track a lerk in a vent or on the ceiling.
Track a lerk and make it easier to shoot down even through the spores.
Dark? no problem seeing and shooting tracked aliens.
Coordinate fire on structures or aliens.
Greater marine surviveability, know how many and where they are by tracking them.
Ya I know, you still have the regular fast shooting backup of the pistol handy.
Not overpowered and besides the 10 secs and damage it doesn't penalize the alien player much.
Solution:
The second fire mode shoots a nanite marked bullet that tracks any alien or structure it hits for 10 secs like the obs.
It does the same damage as a bullet, but it shoots slow like it does now, because the nanites need to be attached.
Ya I know, obs and com scan does the same thing, but this is mobile with the squad and the com already has too many things to do - ammo, health, shield, etc.
New tactics Yay!
Marine scout - scout ahead or with a squad to track targets someone didn't see.
Track a pesky gorge, fade, or onos.
Track a lerk in a vent or on the ceiling.
Track a lerk and make it easier to shoot down even through the spores.
Dark? no problem seeing and shooting tracked aliens.
Coordinate fire on structures or aliens.
Greater marine surviveability, know how many and where they are by tracking them.
Ya I know, you still have the regular fast shooting backup of the pistol handy.
Not overpowered and besides the 10 secs and damage it doesn't penalize the alien player much.
Comments
However I don't really see this as something that adds to the game very much. Aliens don't really receive that much penalty from being tracked and generally wouldn't be tracked because of the lengthy time required to switch to the pistol then turn on what would be the tracking bullets mode. I think, if the hitboxes get to where they need to be, then the second firing mode will offer an alternative to the DPS of the primary pistol fire to a burst capability (if marines are coordinated).
While this idea is in no means bad, it just doesn't add anything to the game itself in terms of balance or tactical depth.
i can see three purposes for the 2nd fire mode so far: 1. conserve ammo 2. penetrate onos' hide armor 3. if you are a slow clicker and cannot click as fast as 10 times per second
some numbers for reference (b205):
firedelay (can be a bit higher in practise since you have to click individually for each pistol shot) | rate-of-fire | damage-per-second
<!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1-->Pistol : 0.1 | 10 | 250
PistolWeapon1 : 0.1 | 10 | 280
PistolWeapon2 : 0.1 | 10 | 300
PistolWeapon3 : 0.1 | 10 | 330
PistolAlt : 0.2 | 5 | 200
PistolAltWeapon1 : 0.2 | 5 | 220
PistolAltWeapon2 : 0.2 | 5 | 240
PistolAltWeapon3 : 0.2 | 5 | 260<!--c2--></div><!--ec2-->
damage | damage-type (it takes 4 light-damage to destroy one point of armor)
<!--c1--><div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'><!--ec1-->Pistol : 25 | Light
PistolWeapon1 : 28 | Light
PistolWeapon2 : 30 | Light
PistolWeapon3 : 33 | Light
PistolAlt : 40 | Light
PistolAltWeapon1 : 44 | Light
PistolAltWeapon2 : 48 | Light
PistolAltWeapon3 : 52 | Light<!--c2--></div><!--ec2-->
onos' hide armor reduces damage from any bullet by 5 points.
Imagine a "hunter" squad with a guy using only the tracking pistol to mark any aliens or structures for the rest of the squad. A gorge trying to escape can be tracked down easily. Skulks can be spotted with no where to hide. Alien rts can be spotted and concentrated fire on quickly. If there are many aliens marked then the squad can know instantly to retreat.
These tactics are currently not possible for a mobile squad. Asymmetry with alien parasite should not be a forcefull wall against something that encourages teamwork and most importantly increases marine surviveability.
Imagine a "hunter" squad with a guy using only the tracking pistol to mark any aliens or structures for the rest of the squad. A gorge trying to escape can be tracked down easily. Skulks can be spotted with no where to hide. Alien rts can be spotted and concentrated fire on quickly. If there are many aliens marked then the squad can know instantly to retreat.
These tactics are currently not possible for a mobile squad. Asymmetry with alien parasite should not be a forcefull wall against something that encourages teamwork and most importantly increases marine surviveability.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The problem is that most skulks are just going to try to die instead of actually run away. Rare do you actually track anything; either you kill it, or it kills you. The only things that are really chased are gorges and onos, and you wouldn't really benefit from tracking them. Furthermore, because every engagement rarely ends without death of one side, very few people would prefer to actually use a weapon that deal subpar damage. If this was a game where engagements didn't 90% of the time result in deaths then it would be a decent addition, however it is not.
Or it could be a nuke that instantly wins games for Marines when fired.
Role: Option when primary weapon is empty.
<u>Good at</u>:
1.Finishing off a skulk up close. (when primary is empty)
2.Attempting to deal more damage or finish off a fleeing alien (when primary is empty)
<u>Bad at</u>:
1.Having a secondary function.
-Fires too slow to kill a still target before it can flee.
-Fires too slow at aliens that are too fast
2.Bad at being a primary weapon option
Recommendations:
-Remove secondary firing option.
-Slow down pistol fire rate slightly and increase damage slightly
-30 damage maybe a .15 fire rate or so
Stops Skulks wall walking for 15 seconds
Stops Lerks Bile Bomb or Gas for 15 secs
Stops Gorge Heal Spray for 15 secs
Stops Fades Blink but not shadow step for 15 secs
Stops Onos Stomp for 15 secs