Marine Turrets
Wavesonics
Join Date: 2006-12-02 Member: 58833Members
Join Date: 2006-12-02 Member: 58833Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Are they good?</div>I wanted to see what other ppl think of the Marine turrets having a field of fire. Remember in NS1 they had 360 awareness.
This made them infinitely more useful IMO. Right now they cost so much, and it's almost impossible to have them cover each other in a way that 1 skulk can't just get behind them and kill them.
I liked that in NS1 they weren't very powerful, but they could keep one or maybe 2 skulks at bay. Yet a determined attack would knock them out easily enough.
Right now I never build Marine turrets, because you need at a MINIMUM 2 so they can potentially cover each other, but I still find that they can't stay alive (can they not shoot through each other? Thus a skulk could sit perfectly behind one and be safe?)
One thing I really miss from NS1 is forward operating bases. Setting up a phase gate or even a command chair with IPs and some turrets, and you have a little base. In NS2 we don't have phase gates yet so this might change, but you also can't build CCs in random spots. Anyway with out turrets that are some what reliable, you REALLY can't set up bases.
Idk maybe there isn't room for FOBs in these smaller maps, but I digress..
Anyway, keep up the good work devs!!
This made them infinitely more useful IMO. Right now they cost so much, and it's almost impossible to have them cover each other in a way that 1 skulk can't just get behind them and kill them.
I liked that in NS1 they weren't very powerful, but they could keep one or maybe 2 skulks at bay. Yet a determined attack would knock them out easily enough.
Right now I never build Marine turrets, because you need at a MINIMUM 2 so they can potentially cover each other, but I still find that they can't stay alive (can they not shoot through each other? Thus a skulk could sit perfectly behind one and be safe?)
One thing I really miss from NS1 is forward operating bases. Setting up a phase gate or even a command chair with IPs and some turrets, and you have a little base. In NS2 we don't have phase gates yet so this might change, but you also can't build CCs in random spots. Anyway with out turrets that are some what reliable, you REALLY can't set up bases.
Idk maybe there isn't room for FOBs in these smaller maps, but I digress..
Anyway, keep up the good work devs!!
Comments
This basically covers the problem. You need to spend 40 TRes (or more likely 60 TRes) to get adequate coverage, which is a substantial amount of TRes to spend on not upgrading/researching/expanding. The end result is that I only build them after I have researched everything I want and only for static defenses in marine start.
I'd like to see them become cheaper, do less damage, and have a 360 firing range. That way it would make more sense to build them to support marine attacks rather than turtling in my main base.
If you put the NS2 turrets right in a corner, they work very well. They seems to fire straight up, if a skulk tries to attack from above. Unfortunately, I've seen times where the turret doesn't attack a skulk that is directly in front of it. NS2 turrets are not supposed to provide static defense, but rather only help with defense. In NS1 fades could laugh at turrets, but in NS2, marine turrets really hurt a fade after a short time, so they are more effective in that sense. But having said all that, I think a better price is 10 or 15 res. The current 160 deg arc is fine, however. Maybe buff the armor of them a bit.
making a base with turrets is no solution!
If you don't have one the skulk will go directly for the IP after it killed you and is going to kill you again if you spawn.
In my opinion turrets are great backup fire. If you have at least one marine around one turret is enough.
For example: If you build a forward amory to push a hive a single turret is enough to cover it and the marines, because there are always marines who cover the turret again.
At first I was very sceptical as they changed the turret from plasma to carbon cost. But now it grow on me and I think it was a very good decision to keep the turretspam under control.
Anyway I agree with you that, if you want to cover a certain spot with turrets without marines you need at least two or three.
<!--sizeo:1--><span style="font-size:8pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo-->(It is late, my english articulation is a little off, sry)<!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->
Right and I get that, just putting in my 2 cents :)
But it doesn't work. Also, its hydras, not sentries, that are the most serious spam problem.
I agree.
I don't know where but some suggested to make the hydras twice as big, increase the damage and the life... but also increase the costs.
That would reduce the hydra spam.. and will make the hydra more of a danger for a marine.
(currently less then 5 hydras on one spot are no danger at all)
If they do hit, they do a lot of damage, and are good for using in support of marine attacks but as actual base defences they're almost entirely useless, the best they do is distract aliens by giving them something nonessential to chew on.
I don't know where but some suggested to make the hydras twice as big, increase the damage and the life... but also increase the costs.
That would reduce the hydra spam.. and will make the hydra more of a danger for a marine.
(currently less then 5 hydras on one spot are no danger at all)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You know, I used to be on board with that idea, but after seeing rooms filled with hydras game and game again, I want to disagree. The feel of 10+ hydras on the floors, walls, and ceilings in an infested room creates an atmosphere that, once the performance issues have been resolved, I wouldn't want to see go.
Turrets have this problem a little bit too, but only for lerks for the most part (tracking fast moving objects). However, when it does connect, it hurts quite a bit.
If you are on an inexperienced public server, one of the first things I do along with dropping a RT and Armoury is place a sentry in the base to cover the IP.
It really does help.
They are also great individually for when breaching into new areas of the map.
For instance, if you have 2 men in west and you are building it up, you generally get a high level alien threat. Dropping a sentry gun down gives them that extra firepower, and they can stop pretty much anything coming into the room.
Armoury/Single Sentry Combos are very good as well when taking new ground.
If you have enough free res, and things are stalemating a little. I drop 3+ facing down long corridors that block off large portions of the map. Particularly west of Alien Start on Rockdown.
Once you hem an alien team in, they start to give up and soon after it is game over.
Turrets effectiveness rises exponentially the more turrets you have, once marines get too much ahead you can't stop them as kharaa.
Turrets are perfectly balanced I think.
Agree. Whips will have to be able to move much faster if they are to be useful for offensive attack via line of sight-only attacks. The animation should have been the whip tilting over and doing and inchworm-type movement with the whip tentacle itself rather than the little things at the bottom. Probably too late to change now. Has anyone really used the uproot feature of the whip that much? I've used to to retreat a whip from dying infestation or to reposition, but hardly ever for offense, as it's too slow.
I would say a health increase, and speed increase when uprooted.
It would be nice if they were quite impervious to Sentries as well, so that they can be herded into bases and begin to Bombard unless tackled by Marines directly.
The sentries just feel perfect at the moment, and there haven't been any posts but this since the new attack angles and tweaks have been implemented, which is a good sign.
<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The sentries just feel perfect at the moment, and there haven't been any posts but this since the new attack angles and tweaks have been implemented, which is a good sign.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Nicely put there. Not raging over certain game-elements is our way of showing UWE our appreciation ^^
Anyway... i'm pretty sure UWE will have things nicely balanced out in the end. They managed to do it before in NS1, remember?
Kinda like "no news is good news"?
bombard needs to bounce off walls like grenades
Whip bombard billiards anyone?
Armoury/Single Sentry Combos are very good as well when taking new ground.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Unless you plan to have a marine babysit the sentry, this is going to quickly lead to a loss of 20 TRes. As a comm I basically want to do 2 things
1. Have my marines go on offense as much as possible (you don't win by only defending)
2. Tech up to the best weapons and research as soon as possible
The current sentry hinders both. You generally need at least 2 (but more likely 3) to have them adequately cover each other so you don't need a marine to stay on defense. However, this represents 40-60 TRes that isn't going to getting flamethrowers/grenade launcher/armor1,2,3 faster, all three of which are much more useful for offense than the 2-3 sentries. In general, I'd like to see sentry cost drastically reduced (to 5 TRes or less) balanced by reducing their damage and hitpoints.