Shaft with a Laser?

[KingKarthur 3]

Hey All!  KingKarthur here!

 

I am sure many of you were disappointed when the laser came out for the Shaft.  Sure, it was exciting at first, but then we (fellow Shaft-Lovers) learned that the enemy knew EXACTLY where we were!  Suddenly, no more stealth!  No more going out and hiding!  It's hard enough to hide withOUT a laser giving you away!

 

I read recently that the reason the laser was added was because many tankers were annoyed at dying instantly and without warning by a Shaft.  But isn't that the main idea of a SNIPER?  STEALTH!!!

 

Railguns give no warning, neither do Smokey's or Thunder's.  The Shaft must load up and then SIT, vulnerable, while enemies skirt outside their view (which is limited when in scope mode), and then AMBUSH them!  Wait, the Shaft just got killed withOUT warning.  Sound familiar? 

 

Why must we lose the greatest ability of the Shaft?  Why must we be forced to sit, getting virtually no kills, while enemies decide to go the other way?  The Shaft was a wonderful weapon; now, it is practically useless.

 

KingKarthur

 

P.S.

 

 I would have vented my frustration long ago, but I just recently realized I could post on the Forum.   :)  At last, I have found my voice!  A voice of Freedom!

Edited September 18, 2015 by MarineMan2

[robbiealdo 373]

Try to hide the laser. Like when you're behind a building try to point the laser at a point that someone who's behind the building can't see the laser.

[KingKarthur 3]

Yes, that is an option.  But in reality, it just does not work that well.  Besides that, if you are deep in enemy territory, when you shoot, they IMMEDIATELY know where you are, and your cover is blown.  

 

KingKarthur

 

#slavesnomore

Edited September 13, 2015 by KingKarthur

[PowerStrike1.1 270]

Yes, that is an option.  But in reality, it just does not work that well.  Besides that, if you are deep in enemy territory, when you shoot, they IMMEDIATELY know where you are, and your cover is blown.  

 

KingKarthur

So you can't use a suppressed sniper?

[KingKarthur 3]

I am not entirely sure of your meaning.  Do you mean a less-awesome weapon?  The answer: yes, I can, as do many.  But the joy is gone.

 

KingKarthur

 

#slavesnomore

Edited September 13, 2015 by KingKarthur

[PowerStrike1.1 270]

I am not entirely sure of your meaning.  Do you mean a less-awesome weapon?  The answer: yes, I can, as do many.  But the joy is gone.

 

KingKarthur

 

#slavesnomore

No, a more silent and deadly reference if you know what suppressed means. Shaft has a laser to balance out stealth and easy kills.

[KingKarthur 3]

It seems more as if the laser has cut out skill and stealth, making it more of a road block than anything else.

 

KingKarthur

 

#slavesnomore

[Rad-Powered 1,694]

I find your attitude amusing, and I don't mean that as an insult. I agree that the laser is a pain but it's not something that's going to be changed within the foreseeable future. I think before tanki start changing shaft again, they should fix it's occasional glitchy scope / turret controls.

[PowerStrike1.1 270]

I find your attitude amusing, and I don't mean that as an insult. I agree that the laser is a pain but it's not something that's going to be changed within the foreseeable future. I think before tanki start changing shaft again, they should fix it's occasional glitchy scope / turret controls.

That's probably a good idea.

[xT-KiNg-Tx 22]

I was thinking of this too, maybe make it so it just appears as a red dot on the tank, and you can't trace the laser back easily. 

[ERADICATIONNATION 185]

You should use a turret that requires skill.

Let's take a look at the disadvantages of Shaft:

 

-Limited visibility

-Long reload time

-You have to sit and charge the gun

-You can't move while sniping

-The laser scope

 

So, you mean to say that overcoming any of those problems requires no skill at all?

 

 

 

As for the main topic, I think the laser is too revealing. I think a laser dot (as said above) or maybe wind or distance being factors in aiming would be better.

Edited September 13, 2015 by ERADICATIONNATION

[Truthteller 4,204]

Shaft has allot of disadvantages but its amazing in some maps 

[Meowmix56 174]

Shaft has a high skill cap.  No autoaim sniping like rail, have to think strategically about where everyone is, has variable damage with charge time so you have no know all your paints really well to know how long to charge for a given enemy.  Slow reload so timing is crucial to miss or flip.  More than any other turret shaft performs a support role.  To really be effective it needs a team to distract the enemy. 

 

The laser isn't that big of a problem.  Can hide it on most maps and it keeps shafts from being lazy in one spot.  I much rather they fix the bug where your turret rotates after death.  The devs have buffed shaft with every rebalance.  Right now it can one shot an m3 viking without drugs.  With drugs it can one shot an m4 viking with a 29% shaft paint such as prodigi.  Of course when giving supporting fire this also means less charge time to finish off a damaged opponent.

[kostas604 106]

Once I saw a shafter who was so quick, you barely could see the laser coming right on your tank and from where it was coming.

[dilsharox 2,395]

lazer scope will never me removed

[SunnyQueen 609]

I like laser, without it, shaft was too strong. Many shafters are so lazy waiting 2 mins for shoot, they mostly complain and they are useless in battles on medium maps. 

 

I play with shaft on polygon, often killing others in 2 seconds time after turing on sniper mode.

[marc.jp_44 20,837]

I have used Shaft before and I hated the laser, it blew my cover all the time. Yes, Ik Shaft requires stealth and this removes it but imagine if there wasn't it would be so hard for Flag-Capturers like me. Think about Brest, for example, you're trying to get back to your base with Enemy's flag with a drugging Isida behind you, chasing you, trying to return its flag, he's a little behind you but your really nervous. You're nearing your base you excitedly jump up a ramp, you're almost in the base then BLAM! You're shot in mid air but you don't see anything. If you're far away and see the laser from the Shaft camping, you can take a different route and get the capture. See how biased it'll be for the Shaft if there was no beam? As a Shaft, you can just hide your laser then focus it when ur about to shoot. Or just use Railgun, it takes more skill. Take my opinion on board because I'm neutral to this topic because I actually really like Shaft and I use it often in big maps but without laser, Shaft is indestructible.

[Maf 32,300]

The main reason why Shaft's stealth was taken away is because this isn't the game where such stealth fits in. Yes, Shaft is a sniper, but that doesn't mean that you have to stay hidden in one spot throughout the whole game. You need to move around and look for appropriate enemies, use your fast shot ability if you need to. But only go into sniper mode if you actually see enemies advancing far away and you want to pick them off.

 

You say that Railgun, Smoky and Thunder have an element of surprise. For Railgun it's not true - Railgun's turret lights up for 1 second before the shot, which allows you take appropriate action (shoot back and knock his aim off, hide, activate DA, etc.). Notice how many Railgun players use the "rollout" tactic, where they hide behind the wall, press space when they see the enemy and expose themselves only when the shot is warmed up. Well, fun fact: you can do that with Shaft too. Just aim at a wall or tree in front of you and when an enemy appears on your screen - move your aim and shoot them. They won't suspect a thing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smoky and Thunder may have surprise on their side, but that is one of their advantages, while on the other hand they have many different disadvantages, which Shaft does not have. One of these is the fact that both of these guns lose damage potential over long distances, which is not the case for Shaft. This gives Shaft a massive advantage over Smoky and Thunder on large maps, despite having the laser.

 

Either way Shaft's laser is completely fair because it makes the gameplay more dynamic. Before the update, there was no interaction between the Shaft and the enemies he shoots, whereas now it takes skill to hide your laser and trick players into coming into your line of sight. The laser has turned Shaft from a basic "point and kill" gun into a weapon that has great potential if you get the skill to use it.

[smokeyh2 1,512]

i was in a serpuhov ctf using my m3 shaft and mammoth with 3 other team members also using shafts and we totally scared the other team to death :)

you could read on the game chat that the other team were afraid to move anywhere because all these blue laser beams were pointing everywhere

anything that moved on the opposite team was shot

so in some ways the laser can be a good advantage in a game

 

not so good in a dm on your own though :rolleyes:

Edited September 13, 2015 by smokeyh2

[KingKarthur 3]

I find all this feedback quite interesting.  I agree with smokeyh2, in the fun fact of scaring a team with lasers, but the fact that the laser shows still hinders the Shaft.  Yes, you can hide the laser, but it's not the same.  Give the opponent some credit: they catch on quick where the Shaft his, regardless of the laser, but the fact that they don't know if you're there or not, or loaded up, or even where they're aiming, is one of the biggest flukes.  And @mike above, isn't part of the thrill of capturing a flag the fact that until you get the capture, you never know if you're about to die?

 

KingKarthur

 

#slavesnomore

[Dragon-Judgement 1,529]

Railguns give no warning,

Actually, Railgun's a big telegraph turret, so is Isida, and Vulcan. Only issue I found with your claim, the rest I can support.

Edited September 13, 2015 by Dragon-Judgement

[E.Leclerc 1,887]

Devs ruined Shaft. 

 

#iagree :D

[smokeyh2 1,512]

i think one of the problems with earlier shaft without the laser was the fact that many players got really fed up with shaft users just aiming

at respawn points

soon as you respawned BAANG you died

i guess that would kinda xxxx you off :)

[robbiealdo 373]

Thanks to the laser you need more skill ,because else you could camp somewhere in a bush with Forester , and noone would ever find you. That takes no skill at all.

[Benefactor 6,888]

Thanks to the laser you need more skill ,because else you could camp somewhere in a bush with Forester , and noone would ever find you. That takes no skill at all.

 

Sounds like a compliment to the new Shaft.

Edited September 13, 2015 by Benefactor