Marine Weapon Switch speed is too slow.

virginboy

I think yall made super cool weapon-switch animations but I think they cause a gameplay and balance issue. When I run out of ammo and an enemy is right next to me, I try to pull out the axe or the pistol but the enemy kills me before the animation is done. It even takes a long time to hit the enemy with the butt of the rifle. There are really no options left for a marine. When an alien is in bite-range and the marine is out of ammo, he's pretty much screwed. It takes the marine roughly 2 seconds to switch guns, while the alien can switch modes instantly. That does not seem totally balanced to me.

Speaking of alternative attacks for the marine, he does not have much melee power. I know its supposed to be the aliens' specialty, to contrast with the marine's ranged power, but i think the marines deserve to at least stand a chance when they run out of ammo and I don't think the axe does enough damage. I really like that idea yall had early on with the stun gun. I think that might help some.

Frozen

I'm of the opinion that marines should be near useless vs skulks with no bullets left. Just as skulks are near useless vs shotguns. We're lucky to have a rifle butt to be honest (I'd rather see it removed)

It makes more sense when the game actually has clearly defined phases, which it just does not have right now.

joshhh

Didn't they increase the pistol switch speed? It just takes days to reload now. Axe is never really worth it unless your completely out. your better off trying to reload.

Now only if we had the NS1 knife...

virginboy

yes! the tanto felt so much more effective. Ironically, an axe would probably be better in real life, but its not in this game

Kouji_San

joshhh wrote: »

Didn't they increase the pistol switch speed? It just takes days to reload now. Axe is never really worth it unless your completely out. your better off trying to reload.

Now only if we had the NS1 knife...

Meh NS1 reload of pistol took 14 hours :P

Alkix

I think it's hard enough to get a marine to run out of ammo as a skulk without him killing you. If he's out and you are on top of him, that marine should be dead.

Draptor

In a single engagement versus a skulk, running out of ammo (Empty mag) is the penalty for not hitting the target. Situation depending (The smart skulk will engage you in a situation that favors him, not a long hallway), you had 5-20 meters to kill him but didn't because you didn't aim perfectly (we're all human), he dodged well, or both. You have a pistol as a fallback, and yes it takes time to draw. It's balance. It's not supposed to be an instant +10 lmg ammo.

Against a higher life form, they're simply going to be more powerful than you much like a shotgun versus a skulk. Ammo only matters in this situation for the amount of DPS you can put into an alien before he kills you or runs off. That's just balance.

If you're totally out of ammo after several engagements, it's the penalty for not being resupplied. Either the commander decided not to, bad armory placement, or some mistake on your own part.

In short, the skulk dies at a distance, you die up close. Hell the Marine even has a minor advantage there too- he can still shoot point blank, the skulk can only do a small amount of damage (leading to a two bite kill depending on armor level) with a parasite at range.

Enhance89

I have to side with Draptor on this one. Obviously, Marines have the advantage at long range, skulks have the advantage at short range. If a skulk is able to close quarter and you run out of ammo, that is the penalty for not killing it. Similarly, a skulk is penalized if they attempt to take on a marine from a long distance, because they'll likely die.

The switch from rifle to pistol is fine for me, and I use the knife as a way to save bullets when taking down Alien structures. If I ever get to the point in a battle where I resort to my knife, I know I did something wrong.

MaLuS

typically you should be able to take down a skulk with a mag or less of your lmg then one with the pistol (depending on weapons level and cara, babblers) assuming your accuracy is good enough to track your target. that last skulk still alive? well then you better be good and jump evading using your axe or welder but expect to die by the next step you take so if your com doesn't nano/med to give you a chance to reload then your a dead man.

If im on an RT hunting mission then I too save ammo by axing it (dropping a welder and picking it back up) but as for combat its rare I have to use it but I must admit it has saved my ass a few times. Oe thing I would like to see would be a short sword type weapon just to have a light bit more range (i.e. wakizashi or maybe some kind of machete) img560.imageshack.us/img560/288/coldsteelkopis97kp18s.jpg

MaLuS

typically you should be able to take down a skulk with a mag or less of your lmg then one with the pistol (depending on weapons level and cara, babblers) assuming your accuracy is good enough to track your target. that last skulk still alive? well then you better be good and jump evading using your axe or welder but expect to die by the next step you take so if your com doesn't nano/med to give you a chance to reload then your a dead man.

If im on an RT hunting mission then I too save ammo by axing it (dropping a welder and picking it back up) but as for combat its rare I have to use it but I must admit it has saved my ass a few times. Oe thing I would like to see would be a short sword type weapon just to have a light bit more range (i.e. wakizashi or maybe some kind of machete) img560.imageshack.us/img560/288/coldsteelkopis97kp18s.jpg

Draptor

Not only that, but the second/third skulk should be handled by your teammates. Unless you ran off on your own, in which case I don't feel bad for you.