v-log Episode 310 of the V-LOG!

[Cleric 1,385]

8 hours ago, TheCongoSpider said:

You should have just bought the Mk7 Tesla module bundle in the shop. 

If you think a 50% damage reduction is a must in order for you to play normally, isn't it already a very good sign of Tesla is outrageously broken?

[Incorp 2,084]

I bet tanker's day for this week's event last for two weeks 

[TheCongoSpider 8,942]

1 hour ago, Warpriest said:

If you think a 50% damage reduction is a must in order for you to play normally, isn't it already a very good sign of Tesla is outrageously broken?

Was a joke, if it wasn't obvious. Of course it's outrageous. 

[Hex 11,520]

 

[DMR 677]

4 hours ago, Warpriest said:

That's exactly what "drone" did in TX. Basically it spawns with limited duration and equipped with a minigun and will keep firing non-sop, even if you are dead,

I've made a topic about that but if you're dead, it will stop firing until you respawn

[DestrotankAI9 1,513]

On 8/27/2021 at 8:16 PM, ThirdOnion said:

The phrase in the v-log was "some additional experience in collecting supply boxes will be useful for newbies." I do not think this means that Engineer will give EXP for supply pickups. Rather, I interpret this as meaning that the developers want new players to become more experienced in / accustomed to collecting pickups.

My bad, you're definitely right - I was tired last Friday and somehow heard the wording wrong lol.

However, as I said offering the Engineer Drone with its current effect at Sergeant Major makes no sense - because battles at that rank are almost always crystal box battles with no "on map" supplies other than a rare repair kit - and in such matches Engineer Drone's effect is almost totally useless.

I am well aware of how useless it is since I have a third lieutenant account with Engineer - and even there you often get crystal box battles. Offering it 5 ranks lower, with an effect that literally won't work in those battles seen a bizarre. It is basically a more expensive and slower to upgrade Brutus drone at such ranks.

On 8/27/2021 at 8:16 PM, ThirdOnion said:

If a Booster player is "unskilled" they will simply use the boost to get a free kill, frustrating the player who got destroyed just because they happened to be in the Booster player's line of fire. If the Booster player is "skilled" they wreak havoc. Both scenarios are cancerous and there is nothing interesting or unique in either.

For sure, Booster doesn't require E-sports calibre skills to be used effectively - and with its current power level it is still effective even if used suboptimally. But it does require some level of skill and timing to be used well, and personally I disagree that it is not an interesting drone to use - certainly along with Defender/Crisis it is too strong right now - but making it a clone of Defender with a constant Boosted boost instead of Boosted Armor would be boring.

Examples of timing with Booster - when using it with scout rail you have to activate just as the charge up period is coming to an end - and not before - to get 2 shots within the extra damage window. With constant damage turrets such as Vulcan/Twins - you have to predict when you will get 3 seconds of fire on enemies, or preferably when several enemies are in line of sight. I have seen many opponents waste their Boost period by using at bad moments, when the enemy can easily get in to cover - and did so myself sometimes when I was first using Booster. So - not rocket science, but there is more skill involved to get the most out of Booster than there is for say, using Brutus or Assault. But the power of the drone does still lead to an advantage even if it's used badly, agreed.

It isn't fun to have all items - in this case drones - to be clones of each other and have no variety. And a constant damage boost takes away any requirement for timing - and any real interesting gameplay - from Booster. There are better ways to nerf Booster without making it a clone of Defender - and buffing up other weak drones is part of the solution. Balance certainly hasn't been helped when rather than enhancing weaker drones, the developers have handed out massive unwarranted nerfs to Driver, Assault and Blaster - while leaving drones which were already much stronger untouched, the opposite of what should have been done. These drones should have received slight buffs, not giant nerfs.

I have some ideas for more interesting balance changes to Booster/Defender, and also for Hyperion - which wouldn't be just to make them boring clones, which require no timing to use - which I will try to get written out tomorrow.

Edited September 3, 2021 by DestrotankAI9