Mattc0m's 1.2 Patch Thoughts (long)
My post from TWL, here. Enjoy!
Well, I've played the game for about 6 hours straight, and overall I'm pleased to see where it's headed, yet I am also extremely frusrated.
First off, let me explain that I am focused on infantry for my team - that means I'm C4 chucking and M203 whorin' all the way. I also play Helicopter Pilot backup, so I practice a lot with that as well. For both positions, I'm good. Not great, but I understand how to play at a competitive level.
I'll go through the pros and cons of what I've experienced so far. This is from an experienced BF2 player's prespective, but also from a relatively unbiased prespective as well. I'm willing to look at it from a critical prespective, but I'll also throw in my own thoughts as well.
Let me also warn you, as things go own, I get used worse and worse language. So if your easily offended by a few swears, you might want to skip this over.
Pros:
Kit Balance - This is the #1 thing I like what they've done. Everything has a place, now. Assault and Spec Ops aren't dominating servers. I could seriously consider picking every kit right now, and it'd be useful. Before, I wouldn't even consider choosing half of the kits. Now, all of a sudden, Snipers, Engineers, and Support isn't totally worthless. While I think this rebalance will turn out great in the future, currently I'm ****ed off not being able to, well, own a pub server. That's frusrating right there.
Air Balance - Let's be honest. Air power owns. A good helicopter pilot will own a map. AA is now effective. I do not think AA is overpowered - it is, however, USEFUL. Before, IGLA and AA vehicles were useless. There was no way you could shoot down an experienced pilot. Now, you can actually hit them. This is a huge bonus - and really balances things out. Now your not going to get raped from above, by a helicopter just sitting there, flying in circles. Your forcing both heli's and jets to use natural cover, their flares, ect. Pilots will have to play a lot more smart - instead of just playing to own as hard as they can. I know it sucks for a lot of pilots, I too enjoyed owning servers. However, air is a piece of the balance - instead of being the difference between a win or a loss.
On the other hand, the TV missiles seem a lot smoother, and I can hit a enemy helis a lot easier. However, the shortened length will deny the helicopter some of it's "rapage" value.
New Weapons - I love the unlocks. I've had more fun using the two new unlocks than I have any other unlock. P90 does a lot of damage, and is deadly in close range. Add that with a 50 sized clip, I found myself owning groups of infantry using an anti-tank weapon. Holy crap! Also, I've never been much of a sniper before, but the new unlock sounds incredibly cool. I love cool sounding weapons. That said, this has no effect on competition what-so-ever.
Accuracy - All the weapons seem a lot more accuracte. I like that. However, this is also a huge change of what I was before, so now at distances where I'd be "safe" while moving, I find myself getting picked off more and more. This will take some getting used to, but I think it'll turn out well, especially on larger outdoor maps.
UAV - It looks so pretty flying around up there. I haven't had any luck shooting them down, though, so I don't know if this'll be a large factor in competition.
Cons:
Pubbing - I really loved C4 tossing and ownin' up in a helicopter in pubs. I had a lot of fun scoring gold after gold on a server becaus I was really good at this. However, now everyone has a chance, and that kind of ****es me off. It's almost like a level of skill was taken off. These balances make everything on the battlefield a lethal piece of weaponary. And it makes pubbing extremely frustrating, as I keep coming in far below scoring a medal, every time. It's back to the good armor drivers to dominate a server, now, and infantry seems a lot less a factor in pubbing.
Infatry Power - The thing about C4 Tossing is it made infantry a real asset. Infantry played a pretty big role in winnning or losing a match. Now, it seems the power has been severly dimished. Though this balances things out a bit, which is a pro. However, in a match, these balances will all help in the strategy by properly balancing things. Still, infantry has become a lot less powerful - and now it takes 2 or 3 well positioned and communicative teammates to take down an armor via Anti-Tank. And Anti-Tank is incredibly weak in infantry combat. I feel the main power of infantry in matches has been limited by a lot, and Armor is once again king.
Relearning how to play - I've played a LOT on the current patch - and I've got a lot to "unlearn". So, in a way, this seems like a serious step back in terms of skill, and the understanding of the game. I understand that most of the skills I did obtain were unintended gameplay, however it still is incredibly frustrating to me.
Random Bugs - I have come a lot of some sort of errors. I'll list off as many new bugs I've noticed.
> Dark red distance meter... to nothing. Has no real effect on the game, but this sort of buggy **** is annoying.
> Anti-Tank rockets... ****ed up. I'ved noticed some rockets not firing, some rockets not responding to guiding, random unzooming on the rocket, sometimes it firing seconds after I pressed the button, rockets going through the tank which are DEAD IN THE CENTER. Very frustrating overall - I hope it has something to do with big servers, though, as that's what mainly I was playing int.
> Grenade Launcher - ugh, the new physics is horrible. Physics and mutliplayer simply do not combine well - simply because you can't show all the physics on all the clients. So you shoot your nade, and you never really don't know what's happening until it explodes. **** that.
> Server Browser - wtf is with it still being a piece of ****? **** THAT. UGH. Three patches, and its still the worst server browser that I've used. EVER. AGGH!
> That audio loop error is still there. So annoying.
Slower - Overall, the game feels a lot slower. I don't really like this, even though technically it could be better. However, the game I am familiar with was a lot more fun to play when it was more fast paced and in your face. Now, not so much. The slowness is pretty apparrent in pubbing, however I think camping and turtling will be a huge thing in matches, and the slowless will really rear it's head there. I don't know, however.
Effects on competition
12v12 - Air balance is going to be the hugest factor in this, and I think 12v12 will be the most changed. Anti-air tactics will once again be fruitful, and armor will be the dominating force on the battlefield. I can't comment much on this as we don't even play 12v12.
8v8 - I think this'll have the least amount of difference. C4 Jeeps will still play a big role. Infantry will be a lot weaker. Helicopters will no longer decide the match single-handly - however it is still possible for them to own. Overall, I think in the longer run 8v8 will prove to be the most fun out of any of the competition in the future - if the patch turns out to be fun down the road at all.
5v5 - I think the patch will kill 5v5. C4 tossing and nade whoring was a problem on 5v5, sure, however I think the sniper battles and constant turtling will become the next big thing in this. Overall, what was once the most fun and interesting gameplay mode I think will turn into a boring campfest. I weep for 5v5, as it was personally my favorite.
Rebalances in kits:
Sniper is now a powerhouse in infantry. Claymores do not detonate on teammates, and they are invicible to explosions. Sniper rifles are more accurate. While 1 shot kills are still tough to come by, snipers are quickly becoming a pretty huge factor in infarty battles, and own up infantry a bit too well.
Anti-Tank is about as effective as ever, however now since C4 tossing is gone, it's going to be a lot more highly used.
Spec Ops is quickly becoming the worst kit. On the bright side, you skill get teampoints for desroying a commander asset!
Support owns up, now. The increased accuracy, coupled with it's already powerful damage, is making it deadly to go up against at close range, and now is actually usuable at medium ranges. Don't really know if anyone will use this in a match, though, but in pubs it is becoming pretty popular.
Engineer is also now a viable asset, as you can close off choke points with easy because mines are inciviable. However, I'm not really certain how the shotguns have been affecting in the patch, so I don't really know if they can hold their own in a battle.
Assault is weaker at infatry combat, and I don't like it. Your suppoused to pick assault as your primary anti-infantry kit. Now it seems like your just as good off as picking Medic, Support, or Sniper - as the grenade launcher just seems a lot WEIRDER. Hopefully I can figure it out, though, but right now it's new physics just seems horrible.
Medic seems about as useful as it ever was, I'm not really sure how the new recharge system will work. Hasn't seemed to really make much of a difference yet, one way or another. Since I feel assault and spec ops are becoming less useful, I think Medic will become more popular.
Honestly, I think the patch will work out well. However, it's going to take some time to relearn a lot of your old habits is going to be tough. And extremely frustrating. In the grand scheme of things, armor is once again the most powerful asset, however infantry and air is now very fairly balanced. Still, if anything, they've overpowered the armor.
Well, I've played the game for about 6 hours straight, and overall I'm pleased to see where it's headed, yet I am also extremely frusrated.
First off, let me explain that I am focused on infantry for my team - that means I'm C4 chucking and M203 whorin' all the way. I also play Helicopter Pilot backup, so I practice a lot with that as well. For both positions, I'm good. Not great, but I understand how to play at a competitive level.
I'll go through the pros and cons of what I've experienced so far. This is from an experienced BF2 player's prespective, but also from a relatively unbiased prespective as well. I'm willing to look at it from a critical prespective, but I'll also throw in my own thoughts as well.
Let me also warn you, as things go own, I get used worse and worse language. So if your easily offended by a few swears, you might want to skip this over.
Pros:
Kit Balance - This is the #1 thing I like what they've done. Everything has a place, now. Assault and Spec Ops aren't dominating servers. I could seriously consider picking every kit right now, and it'd be useful. Before, I wouldn't even consider choosing half of the kits. Now, all of a sudden, Snipers, Engineers, and Support isn't totally worthless. While I think this rebalance will turn out great in the future, currently I'm ****ed off not being able to, well, own a pub server. That's frusrating right there.
Air Balance - Let's be honest. Air power owns. A good helicopter pilot will own a map. AA is now effective. I do not think AA is overpowered - it is, however, USEFUL. Before, IGLA and AA vehicles were useless. There was no way you could shoot down an experienced pilot. Now, you can actually hit them. This is a huge bonus - and really balances things out. Now your not going to get raped from above, by a helicopter just sitting there, flying in circles. Your forcing both heli's and jets to use natural cover, their flares, ect. Pilots will have to play a lot more smart - instead of just playing to own as hard as they can. I know it sucks for a lot of pilots, I too enjoyed owning servers. However, air is a piece of the balance - instead of being the difference between a win or a loss.
On the other hand, the TV missiles seem a lot smoother, and I can hit a enemy helis a lot easier. However, the shortened length will deny the helicopter some of it's "rapage" value.
New Weapons - I love the unlocks. I've had more fun using the two new unlocks than I have any other unlock. P90 does a lot of damage, and is deadly in close range. Add that with a 50 sized clip, I found myself owning groups of infantry using an anti-tank weapon. Holy crap! Also, I've never been much of a sniper before, but the new unlock sounds incredibly cool. I love cool sounding weapons. That said, this has no effect on competition what-so-ever.
Accuracy - All the weapons seem a lot more accuracte. I like that. However, this is also a huge change of what I was before, so now at distances where I'd be "safe" while moving, I find myself getting picked off more and more. This will take some getting used to, but I think it'll turn out well, especially on larger outdoor maps.
UAV - It looks so pretty flying around up there. I haven't had any luck shooting them down, though, so I don't know if this'll be a large factor in competition.
Cons:
Pubbing - I really loved C4 tossing and ownin' up in a helicopter in pubs. I had a lot of fun scoring gold after gold on a server becaus I was really good at this. However, now everyone has a chance, and that kind of ****es me off. It's almost like a level of skill was taken off. These balances make everything on the battlefield a lethal piece of weaponary. And it makes pubbing extremely frustrating, as I keep coming in far below scoring a medal, every time. It's back to the good armor drivers to dominate a server, now, and infantry seems a lot less a factor in pubbing.
Infatry Power - The thing about C4 Tossing is it made infantry a real asset. Infantry played a pretty big role in winnning or losing a match. Now, it seems the power has been severly dimished. Though this balances things out a bit, which is a pro. However, in a match, these balances will all help in the strategy by properly balancing things. Still, infantry has become a lot less powerful - and now it takes 2 or 3 well positioned and communicative teammates to take down an armor via Anti-Tank. And Anti-Tank is incredibly weak in infantry combat. I feel the main power of infantry in matches has been limited by a lot, and Armor is once again king.
Relearning how to play - I've played a LOT on the current patch - and I've got a lot to "unlearn". So, in a way, this seems like a serious step back in terms of skill, and the understanding of the game. I understand that most of the skills I did obtain were unintended gameplay, however it still is incredibly frustrating to me.
Random Bugs - I have come a lot of some sort of errors. I'll list off as many new bugs I've noticed.
> Dark red distance meter... to nothing. Has no real effect on the game, but this sort of buggy **** is annoying.
> Anti-Tank rockets... ****ed up. I'ved noticed some rockets not firing, some rockets not responding to guiding, random unzooming on the rocket, sometimes it firing seconds after I pressed the button, rockets going through the tank which are DEAD IN THE CENTER. Very frustrating overall - I hope it has something to do with big servers, though, as that's what mainly I was playing int.
> Grenade Launcher - ugh, the new physics is horrible. Physics and mutliplayer simply do not combine well - simply because you can't show all the physics on all the clients. So you shoot your nade, and you never really don't know what's happening until it explodes. **** that.
> Server Browser - wtf is with it still being a piece of ****? **** THAT. UGH. Three patches, and its still the worst server browser that I've used. EVER. AGGH!
> That audio loop error is still there. So annoying.
Slower - Overall, the game feels a lot slower. I don't really like this, even though technically it could be better. However, the game I am familiar with was a lot more fun to play when it was more fast paced and in your face. Now, not so much. The slowness is pretty apparrent in pubbing, however I think camping and turtling will be a huge thing in matches, and the slowless will really rear it's head there. I don't know, however.
Effects on competition
12v12 - Air balance is going to be the hugest factor in this, and I think 12v12 will be the most changed. Anti-air tactics will once again be fruitful, and armor will be the dominating force on the battlefield. I can't comment much on this as we don't even play 12v12.
8v8 - I think this'll have the least amount of difference. C4 Jeeps will still play a big role. Infantry will be a lot weaker. Helicopters will no longer decide the match single-handly - however it is still possible for them to own. Overall, I think in the longer run 8v8 will prove to be the most fun out of any of the competition in the future - if the patch turns out to be fun down the road at all.
5v5 - I think the patch will kill 5v5. C4 tossing and nade whoring was a problem on 5v5, sure, however I think the sniper battles and constant turtling will become the next big thing in this. Overall, what was once the most fun and interesting gameplay mode I think will turn into a boring campfest. I weep for 5v5, as it was personally my favorite.
Rebalances in kits:
Sniper is now a powerhouse in infantry. Claymores do not detonate on teammates, and they are invicible to explosions. Sniper rifles are more accurate. While 1 shot kills are still tough to come by, snipers are quickly becoming a pretty huge factor in infarty battles, and own up infantry a bit too well.
Anti-Tank is about as effective as ever, however now since C4 tossing is gone, it's going to be a lot more highly used.
Spec Ops is quickly becoming the worst kit. On the bright side, you skill get teampoints for desroying a commander asset!
Support owns up, now. The increased accuracy, coupled with it's already powerful damage, is making it deadly to go up against at close range, and now is actually usuable at medium ranges. Don't really know if anyone will use this in a match, though, but in pubs it is becoming pretty popular.
Engineer is also now a viable asset, as you can close off choke points with easy because mines are inciviable. However, I'm not really certain how the shotguns have been affecting in the patch, so I don't really know if they can hold their own in a battle.
Assault is weaker at infatry combat, and I don't like it. Your suppoused to pick assault as your primary anti-infantry kit. Now it seems like your just as good off as picking Medic, Support, or Sniper - as the grenade launcher just seems a lot WEIRDER. Hopefully I can figure it out, though, but right now it's new physics just seems horrible.
Medic seems about as useful as it ever was, I'm not really sure how the new recharge system will work. Hasn't seemed to really make much of a difference yet, one way or another. Since I feel assault and spec ops are becoming less useful, I think Medic will become more popular.
Honestly, I think the patch will work out well. However, it's going to take some time to relearn a lot of your old habits is going to be tough. And extremely frustrating. In the grand scheme of things, armor is once again the most powerful asset, however infantry and air is now very fairly balanced. Still, if anything, they've overpowered the armor.
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