Commando Archive

good stuff! Thank you for your insight! Are you sure your not a commando?

The suggestion you mention for the damage modifiers is reasonable, since one can just as effectively keep a melee attacker at bay with the barrel of a rifle or other large weapon as one can with a polearm. However, it is harder to defend yourself from meleeif you are kneeling, and near impossible if you are prone. Add to that that the aim modifiers have the inverse relationship to posture (better kneeling, better still prone), and there are sufficient balances in place for this.

The reduction in aim and corresponding chance to hit for allowing a melee character to get that close to you should be the only penalties in place. Adding 2.5x is unreasonable.

No, Ivanto (and I lovethe name, BTW), I am not a commando, and I do not even play one on TV. I like stealth and, somehow, getting in someone's face and lighting them up with a flame thrower does not seem to stealthy, but maybe that is just me.

Master Scout, Rifleman 1301 (heading for Master), Ranger 2030, and a dabbling of others.

I do, however, run with a commando. So I feel your pain.

As a rifleman who has had to suffer the 2.5x melee penalty from the beginning, I would like to speak up about applying the same penalty to commandos. Specifically, I would like to say to those who decided to do this, "Are you insane?"

I have stated this on the rifleman forum, but I want to say it here as well. Look, the 2.5x penalty is a reasonable suggestion to balance the fact that a melee character has to run through a hail of fire for 60m just to get close to his opponent. However, it is poorly thought out because the rifle's accuracy is severely handicaped once the melee character gets close enough to go into melee and rifle speed is slow giving him a greater chance to get within melee range given the relatively short combat distances. Thus, we suffer atriple penalty. Since no other ranged weapon, before now, suffersa similarpenalty, it makes no sense to apply it to us.

But to apply this same ridiculous penalty to the commando is exponentially more unfair. All the commando weapons suffer accuracy penalties, and their specials, to have any reasonable chance to hit has to be within 16m or so. So effectively they have to be within melee range to use their weapons. But now, you apply a 2.5x melee penalty to them just as you do us? Why?

For the rifle, you could at least justify the modifier as a penalty for allowing a melee character to get within melee range, but how do you justify it for the commando? Melee range is the range from which he is supposed to be fighting. So he is to be penalized for being where he is supposed to be?

Come on. The game should be about tactics. You use the strength of your weapon and skills against the weakness of your enemy. For instance, asa rifleman I know I cannot let melee characters with in melee range. I get out at 60m or so, and open fire. If the melee character gets close to me, I do not stay prone, and I do not keep my rifle up and take 2.5x damage unless I think I can finish him off before he finishes me off. I move to pistol and do what I must.

But what about the commando? He moves to his weapon's optimal range, and suddenly, the target goes melee on him. Does he get up and run before the target gets on him? No. It is already on him. Oh, he could switch to pistol. But wait, what is the point of having commando weapons if you cannot use them? Even if he switches to launcher pistol,from all reports, switching tolauncher or some other pistoldoes not help until the cool down timer for the previous special wears off. They continue to take 2.5x damage until then.

In other words, forcing someone to be within melee range to use their weapons, then applying a 2.5x penalty for being at that range is inherently unfair. Nerf if you must. Lord knows you did it to Rifle, but do something that is logical. Do not penalize someone for using their weapons the way they are designed to be used.

You my friend have show to all commandos that there are Intellegent and level headed Riflemen out there. You understand the limitations of your profession, as well as displaying knowledge of the profession on which you chose to speak. I personally applaude you and you have my respect (hopefully thats worth something).

As for this whole 2.5x dmg modifier I liked an idea proposed by a riflemen:

1x dmg Standing

1.5x dmg Kneeling

2.5x dmg Prone

I dont think commando should have the modifier, nor should riflemen be beat down so bad. Heck we all know snipers can get up to defend themselves and not suffer as much dmg in real life.... so we should do the same for our sharpshooters!