Rifleman Archive
Thread: Rifleman Myths
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Aden_Nak
Wed Sep 10, 2003 7:48 am
#1
There are a few Rifleman Myths that I want to address. Some of them good, some of them bad, all of them hurting the discussions in this community. Some of them aren't even really Rifleman-specific issues, but as frequently as they come up for us, I think they need to be addressed here.
The Myth of Range: One thing I am getting tired of hearing about in this game is the Myth of Range that gets trotted out whenever we complain that we have pathetic disadvantages compared to everyone else. This idea that since we have such great capacity to deal damage at range, we are compensated for our other shortcomings. This is wrong for several reasons.
First off, anyone who has played a Marksman halfway up the Pistol tree will know that our range isn't that hot. Pistols and Carbines consistantly hit from extreme ranges (54-64 meters) which is definitely supposed to be the Rifleman's sweet spot. But you know what? Let's say they fix this issue. Let's say they make Pistols completely worthless outside of 30 meters and Carbines a joke outside of 50. The Myth of Range persists.
Why, you ask? Because we will only ever get one shot off at our ideal range. Anyone with a clue or a brain will simply walk towards us, and our "range" is wasted. This applies to MOBs, certainly, but it applies doubly so to PvP where the player will be able to see what kind of gun we are using and take the appropriate action to respond. As soon as someone closes the range, we have the options of either just NOT hitting the target or running away. And when we start to run, we can always be chased (often chased down). Furthermore, we couldn't hit a target the size of the Death Star while in motion.
So the Myth of Range is a bunch of crapola. Even if we really had better range than everyone else, it would only be worth one shot. If we were lucky enough that the other player didn't see the huge red dot coming towards him on radar.
The Myth of Combat Spam: Okay, so that's one strike against Riflemen, here's one that works in our favor. . . as well as against us. A lot of people have been posting their Combat Spam as a way of showing that Rifles are underpowered. However, this doesn't really tell the whole story, and we know it. Especially with the fabled AP3 of the T-21.
The fact is that the piercing bonus does not display in the Combat Chat. Yeah, you heard me. Last night I was popping Tuskens out past Wayfar. I have a Pre-Nerf T-21. It's got the hosed up ranges, it does 200-533 sliced, it has a delay of 9.2 (oh yes, feel the pain), and the Heavy Armor Piercing. In the Combat Spam, I was hitting the Tuskens for around 1700-2100 with Head Shot 3. However, the damage that floated up above their heads was usually between 3700 and 4300. Turn your floating font size up, people. AP doesn't factor into the Combat Spam.
I fully believe that it's the AP making the difference, because my other Rifle is the Jawa Ion Rifle (I have not yet found a nice E11 and the Jawa is just so nifty for people in Composite Armor). It has AP1. Light Armor Piercing. My Head Shot 3 attacks with the Jawa were usualy the same as my Combat Spam, sometimes lower. I also have an older Laser Rifle with AP2. Medium Armor Piercing. I was seeing about a 150% increase in the floated damage over what displayed in my Combat Spam. And the number that floats is the actual damage done, remember.
However, this is where it starts to get ugly. Those incredibly powerful Commando weapons. . . you rememeber them. You may also remember that the Commandos were very upset that we were getting an AP3 Rifle. Why is that? Because Commandos are stacked up on AP3 (as they should be). However, what that means is that the Combat Spam from Commandos is ALSO only telling half the story. I find this highly troubling.
The Myth of Range: One thing I am getting tired of hearing about in this game is the Myth of Range that gets trotted out whenever we complain that we have pathetic disadvantages compared to everyone else. This idea that since we have such great capacity to deal damage at range, we are compensated for our other shortcomings. This is wrong for several reasons.
First off, anyone who has played a Marksman halfway up the Pistol tree will know that our range isn't that hot. Pistols and Carbines consistantly hit from extreme ranges (54-64 meters) which is definitely supposed to be the Rifleman's sweet spot. But you know what? Let's say they fix this issue. Let's say they make Pistols completely worthless outside of 30 meters and Carbines a joke outside of 50. The Myth of Range persists.
Why, you ask? Because we will only ever get one shot off at our ideal range. Anyone with a clue or a brain will simply walk towards us, and our "range" is wasted. This applies to MOBs, certainly, but it applies doubly so to PvP where the player will be able to see what kind of gun we are using and take the appropriate action to respond. As soon as someone closes the range, we have the options of either just NOT hitting the target or running away. And when we start to run, we can always be chased (often chased down). Furthermore, we couldn't hit a target the size of the Death Star while in motion.
So the Myth of Range is a bunch of crapola. Even if we really had better range than everyone else, it would only be worth one shot. If we were lucky enough that the other player didn't see the huge red dot coming towards him on radar.
The Myth of Combat Spam: Okay, so that's one strike against Riflemen, here's one that works in our favor. . . as well as against us. A lot of people have been posting their Combat Spam as a way of showing that Rifles are underpowered. However, this doesn't really tell the whole story, and we know it. Especially with the fabled AP3 of the T-21.
The fact is that the piercing bonus does not display in the Combat Chat. Yeah, you heard me. Last night I was popping Tuskens out past Wayfar. I have a Pre-Nerf T-21. It's got the hosed up ranges, it does 200-533 sliced, it has a delay of 9.2 (oh yes, feel the pain), and the Heavy Armor Piercing. In the Combat Spam, I was hitting the Tuskens for around 1700-2100 with Head Shot 3. However, the damage that floated up above their heads was usually between 3700 and 4300. Turn your floating font size up, people. AP doesn't factor into the Combat Spam.
I fully believe that it's the AP making the difference, because my other Rifle is the Jawa Ion Rifle (I have not yet found a nice E11 and the Jawa is just so nifty for people in Composite Armor). It has AP1. Light Armor Piercing. My Head Shot 3 attacks with the Jawa were usualy the same as my Combat Spam, sometimes lower. I also have an older Laser Rifle with AP2. Medium Armor Piercing. I was seeing about a 150% increase in the floated damage over what displayed in my Combat Spam. And the number that floats is the actual damage done, remember.
However, this is where it starts to get ugly. Those incredibly powerful Commando weapons. . . you rememeber them. You may also remember that the Commandos were very upset that we were getting an AP3 Rifle. Why is that? Because Commandos are stacked up on AP3 (as they should be). However, what that means is that the Combat Spam from Commandos is ALSO only telling half the story. I find this highly troubling.
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