r/GearsOfWar • u/Enough_Sale2437 • 5h ago
Feedback Do we want to talk about the Precision/Crit META in E-Day Siege?
I originally thought that the Gut Puncher was the King of the Beta, but then I saw just how devastating the Longshot could be with a critical hit build. Easily getting 150+ kills and around 1 million damage in many games. This can be done at all ranges and is more than double and often triple as efficient as any other weapon in the game. It's very responsive and consistently beats out shotguns in sub-5-meter duels. The question is this necessarily a bad thing for the game?
I'm not opposed to the firepower that the Longshot wields, what I am opposed to, is that it is either equal to or superior to all other weapons even in roles that it is not supposed to fill. Before you Marksman fans come at me with pitchforks in hand, I'm not calling for the Longshot to be "nerfed into the ground." It certainly needs tweaking, however. The only thing that I would touch though, is the weapon handling. It should not be able to whip around and get accurate shots at close range like it was in the Beta. It needs to be slow enough in CQB to make other weapons more ideal to switch to when being pushed by enemies. Make it move slower than the Breechshot and Ripper, that's it. Also, I would start the Marksman off with the Breechshot and put the Longshot at the Level 9 unlock. Marksman has 2 exclusive weapons, and the Breechshot is far better in the early game than in the late game. This is more to buff the Breechshot rather than nerf the Longshot. I also believe that scopes should buff player accuracy to 100% when ADS.
The main perpetrator for this particular META, is in enemy and encounter design. TC has decided to go with tough and intelligent enemies with high burst damage potential. They have also decided to give a lot of the weapons in this game a ton of bloom/bullet spread. This increases the threat of closing with the enemy and boosts the power of high burst damage and single target weapons.
I want the other weapons power increased. Not necessarily with more damage. The biggest complaints that I got from friends who didn't like the Beta Siege mode was that A) Enemies took too long to kill. B) The map feels empty! Where are the hordes?! After initially being confused by their complaints, I began seeing what they saw after maxxing all the classes. If I ran crit the map was empty, if I ran anything else, the enemies just ate entirely too many bullets. Look at the Torque bow. That sucker took forever to charge up to make accurate shots, but its damage was respectable with the explosive head. The fast charge, non-explosive torque bow from the supply cache was really weak imho. I believe that the enemies have crosshair evasion programming and move if your crosshair is on them for too long. I noticed this a lot using the torque bow. That is a lot of downsides for not near as much power as the Longshot holds.
Several Enemies, like the Reaver, Spore Matron, and the 3 flavors of Hunters will very often stay outside the effective ranges of 90% of the weapons available to us. The 3 flavors of Boomers were extremely dangerous at close range and were difficult to close with and fight. 2 of them are still dangerous at mid-range. All of this from a faction that is supposedly known for its love of CQB fighting. There aren't a lot of Wretches that pressure you, Rushers and lightly armored Drones have too much HP (especially in the head) as I'm pretty sure that they have nigh identical breakpoints as their armored versions for the vast majority of weapons. Instead of relying on toughness to get attacks off, lower their HP and send MORE of them (at least double the Beta spawn rates). This is going to do way more to bring up the power of other classes and weapons without cutting the importance of the Marksman. Also, give about 50-75% of the light armor Hammerburst Drones the same AI behavior as the Grenadier Drones. 25-33% of the armored Hammerburst drones should have the same AI as Grenadiers, too. Push in on the players! That's where this game shines.
One hit downs add tension to the game but can often feel unfair and frustrating for players without counter play. I would like a minigame to be added when being pummeled so a perfectly timed melee should fill your resistance circle by 25% and allow you to counter kill or throw off the drone pummeling you if the circle overfills. It's frustrating to sit there and not be able to play the game until someone else comes and saves you. You should still be punished/challenged for running off on your own, but I'd like to see more Wretches and Grenadier/Hammerburst drones do that over Hunters. I'd like to see you (TC) spawn these ambushes in with your monster closets via the windows and doors instead of spawning them in the middle of the street. It's jarring and annoying to experience being teleport spawned on. That's going to be harder around the Cathedral and Cemetery, although Space Marine 2 cut holes in their map borders to let attackers into the battle.
Spawn changes, higher aggression, and weaker chaff population increases are going to wonders for the balance of the other weapons and classes. Especially the Gnasher. Gnashers and Incinerators should fill the hearts of Marksmen with terror, and players should feel like a Phantom of Death when barrel stuffing the enemy. Only the Incinerator pulls this off and is more ammo efficient than the Gnasher, even against chaff. Give the Gnasher more chaff to chew on! This will also bring up The Lancers, Hammerburst, and even the Breechshot. Keep the HP of the armored drones where it is.
I hope these suggestions help. Look at the role of a weapon: is it good in its role? Is it fun to use? Is it encounter design or enemy health that hurts or benefits the weapon in its role? Adjust accordingly.
