Docking balance is really bad currently
hozz
Join Date: 2012-11-20 Member: 172660Members
Join Date: 2012-11-20 Member: 172660Members
Docking currently is a very imbalanced map, especially after the no-research Gorge tunnel availability.
Aliens start in Generator -> they die without chance for a second TP, struggle holding Maintenance or Stability
Aliens start in Departures or Locker -> insta Gorge tunnel to the other TP (rush with Skulks to defeat possible Marines), and the map is blocked off. Free win. Marines have a 2nd TP in Cafe now, but Aliens have so much money, it doesn't help the Marines anyways.
This is how 99% of my Docking pub games are. You can pretty much say who wins depending on Alien spawn and whether that Gorge tunnel gets done (usually it does). Please no arguments "Marines just need to..." and "Aliens just need to...", it doesn't happen in reality.
Just saying, the map really isn't too much fun to play at the moment
(edit: bolded for clarity, I'm talking about pub games)
Aliens start in Generator -> they die without chance for a second TP, struggle holding Maintenance or Stability
Aliens start in Departures or Locker -> insta Gorge tunnel to the other TP (rush with Skulks to defeat possible Marines), and the map is blocked off. Free win. Marines have a 2nd TP in Cafe now, but Aliens have so much money, it doesn't help the Marines anyways.
This is how 99% of my Docking pub games are. You can pretty much say who wins depending on Alien spawn and whether that Gorge tunnel gets done (usually it does). Please no arguments "Marines just need to..." and "Aliens just need to...", it doesn't happen in reality.
Just saying, the map really isn't too much fun to play at the moment
(edit: bolded for clarity, I'm talking about pub games)
Comments
I won't argue with you if that's what you've seen but from my standpoint the gameplay on docking would be what I call, dynamic, always changing and having so many variety of strategies.
As far as things go, when we start café or term it seems really easy to me to just go through court to locker really fast, although I think with café going through bar would be faster. I'm sad to hear that you feel like a team immediately loses based upon spawns or a single gorge tunnel placed in a tech point.
If that honestly is the case though than I would only be happier to start in gen or let that gorgie get his tunnel up, because I prefer a challenge and if what you say is true, then my team has already lost by letting either happen, and that makes it fun to come back from such a state. ^_^
Oh yes, I find marines aren't doing a very good job of harassing alien economy if they aren't harassing both maintenance and stability monitoring regardless of alien spawn.
Almost anything sounds imbalanced that way. "The marines just have to get arcs..." But you can't say aliens "just have to get bile bomb!!"
IMO marines are the favoured side, especially with cafe tech point being reintroduced. I feel like anything other than a generator hive is doomed because stability and maintenance are actually pretty marine friendly once set up so they can cut the cyst chain to the first RT and beyond!
Also Marine spawn, Terminal is still the best, you get cafe for free, and can get to locker and dep quickly.
Also the RTs next to gen (maint, stab) are way to easy to kill with a terminal spawn, people can just walk in there constantly and kill them though courtyard.
Worst spawns in this game is on Mineshaft where marines are repair and aliens are forced cave. Marines can completely deny crusher and cavern with huge sight lines to boot and meanwhile it's just a short stroll to an easy double cap.
If they can respond well and coordinate 'balanced maps' don't matter. I don't think of maps as swayed towards aliens or marines... except on brand new 0 texture maps.
Locker should never be a starting spawn imo.
I think a Gen vent to Ballcourt or wouldn't be a bad addition just due to the level of bottleneck surrounding Gen but that would make it pretty easy for Aliens to backdoor Marines trying to endgame push through Maintenance so maybe in practice it would be overpowered...meh...
I think Gen is just to far away from anything.
This lol. The first time it happened to me I knew we were dead before I even got to try it. Locker blocks ALL the exits from cafe, and has the whole map behind it.
And yeah, mineshaft marines spawning in repair is gg for aliens. 2 nearest expansion rt's are right next to marine base, and the next one is at your 2nd hive. The next one AFTER THAT is at the THIRD HIVE. Now that's harsh. :P
Although easily the biggest reason I haven't liked it since the beta is because bar used to be both really important for aliens, and pretty easy to defend. It was a lot of fun to gorge up the door, get a some structures set up in there, and then hold off the entire marine team with just a gorge, and maybe another lifeform that just happened to be in the area. Perhaps not balanced, but it was so much fun.
i agree with this. imo docking is similar to refinery in that if aliens aren't vigilant to deny fast phase gate/sentry/armory staging area then you're pretty screwed. this is almost the same with veil and east junction/summit staging areas, but i think the 'proxy spots' are almost impossible for aliens to break in ball court or chasm.
Docking's balance isn't great, but it is better than Mineshaft. Frankly I think a lot of Docking's problems could be solved by removing courtyard, or at the very least making it so it isn't so easy to get there from marine spawns.
Sub sector spawn for aliens, *Marines cut cyst chain and starve the aliens from reaching Nano/Cargo.
Aliens spawn anywhere other than sub sector, *Aliens chew up RT's at skylights and pin the marines to their main.
Mineshaft is one of my favorite maps I would say, but I do agree cave could use a bit of work since it can be cut off too easily from aliens, then bombarded with jet packs.
As for refinery, bile bomb the power from the vent on the right side of containment, that's always a fun one in pub servers.
Back on the subject, Docking is an awful map for aliens, there's definitely still a marine bias as there's always been. Maintenance/Ball court and System constantly get phase gates dropped into them, the power positioning in Generator and Departures allows for ninja phase gates to be placed. I'm aware aliens are not supposed to allow this to happen, but currently in comparison to marines, aliens have a lot more areas to look over and defend at all times while marines can freely push up, and perhaps even guard themselves early game with sentries.
Im looking at you Descent/Docking
edit: Fixed typos.