Balancing the streaks (drones)

    Hey everybody!


    I have little shy off 30 hours in-game time at the point of writing this so I have a good feel for the game (but obviously still quite new).


    Something that bothers me in the game maybe even more than trading kills are the streaks. Not what they do, but when (and how) you get them.


    For those of you who don't know, you get the streaks by getting score(kills etc.) but also with time. Dying does NOT reset your progress.


    My gripe is with the strongest streak, especially the Hellbird (and Zeus). I "love" both, but since they can turn the game around drastically, and are easy to get since dying doesn't affect the progress,

    they become annoying. Yeah, I know we have something amazing called the LAWS, but here is my problem, you MUST have one on your team but the timing is so off.


    Since the laws score is 2000 points, whereas the Hellbird is in the high 3000's (3600 to be exact), you are forced with a stupid decision: Call, or not to call [the LAWs].

    It feels like I am forced to hold on to my LAWs in the chance of a Hellbird coming, instead of deploying it to take care of drones and then getting a second one later, before the Hellbird.

    Even if I'm crushing it, I can't seem to get it in time.


    If it isn't clear why this bothers me, it's that it locks me in, forces me to save it and not get my UAVs running again.

    What I would suggest is up the cost of both the LAWs (since it's strong) and the Hellbird. I'd up the laws with 250 points (to 2250) and the Hellbird with 750 (to 4350).

    I'd also up the required points for the Zeus and the Metal Reaper with 300 points for balance against the Hellbird.

    This would make the choice more simple. You have time to get 2 LAWs since you will have your drones to help gain you score,

    but you still have to perform well to be able to get the second LAWs before the Hellbird.

    This would make them harder to achieve, more rewarding to get, and gives great players the chance to get a second LAWs to counter them before that.


    What do you guys think? What do you agree on and what do you disagree with?


    I'm more than happy to hear what you guys are thinking.


    TLDR; Streak balance is off. Up the points required for Hellbird (up to 4350ish) and LAWs to balance them out to favor skill over streaks.


    Happy fragging,

    Max

    Lincuxe wrote:

    I have time to get 2 laws per game

    Yes it is easily possible to get 2 LAWs per game. It's not that. It's the fact that you can't get the second one before the enemy team gets a Hellbird.

    It forces everyone to use something that they might not want so that everyone doesn't have to camp for 30sec inside a building. It just freezes the game.

    And personally, using an EMP launcher would butcher my playstyle since I play highly aggressive and often switch to my secondary.


    It's that you can't really do anything against a Hellbird unless you are running these (I didn't even go into the fact that you can quite easily get Hellbirds in S&D as well which is bonkers). If they'd nerf the dps of the LAWs, and also make the other changes, in that case (if nothing else) the LAWs would have time to dmg the Hellbird enough for it to be semi-easily shot down manually. I do not want to render it useless, but since it can have a huge impact on the game and is easy to get,it should be more easy to take down.

    Voxda Try using the (much hated) MK49 on the hellbird, but instead of holding mouse1, spam it.


    The MK49 fires 3 bullets each tap. So spamming mouse1 ends up making the gun fire almost as fast as the famas (A similar bug also happens with the AN94.)


    Some weapons are pretty devastating on drones than others. Here are my picks:


    AK47, MK49, MSBS(on uavs), PKP, MG3, CFX50. These weapons work pretty well against hellbirds (apart from the MSBS)


    The Jammer Drone (NOT the UAV Jammer) hides you from the hellbird's detection (as well the observer drone, spy drone, blade drone and Metal-reaper)

    Your welcome! Glad to help!


    Also, just as double check that you are picking the right drone, this it the jammer drone:

    ironsight_20180727195923.png

    the reason for this specific is because many players confuse the UAV jammer with this when they hear "Jammer Drone" I would like to say that the "UAV jammer" only glitches out the enemies' radar, where as the "Jammer drone" hides you from enemy drones (spy drones, blade drone, hellbird etc)

    Lincuxe wrote:

    I have time to get 2 laws per game? Don't really see the big issue here :/
    You can also run EMP launcher secondary if you reaaaally don't like those helbirds and take it down with that too.

    Takes 2 EMP Launcher shots to take down a Hellbird, not to mention the Hellbird will likely get you first before you can lock-on.

    Robert_Ingersoll wrote:

    Takes 2 EMP Launcher shots to take down a Hellbird, not to mention the Hellbird will likely get you first before you can lock-on.

    You just shoot once leaving it on very little health then take it down with your gun after. If you actually pay attention to where the helbird is firing you can do it without even getting hit since helbirds have limited areas in which it can shoot in at a time.

    Lincuxe wrote:

    If you actually pay attention to where the helbird is firing you can do it without even getting hit since helbirds have limited areas in which it can shoot in at a time.

    Can the minigun on the Hellbird do a 360? I always thought it could and if it can, then so long as you can shoot it, it can shoot you...

    I usually get 2, sometimes 3 LAWS in a game. I've taken down so many score streaks. Not to mention I solely run the rocket launched as a secondary. I don't think any of the score streaks are overpowered. The Zeus is powerful, but it literally only lasts for like 10 seconds lmao.

    Atmos wrote:

    I usually get 2, sometimes 3 LAWS in a game. I've taken down so many score streaks. Not to mention I solely run the rocket launched as a secondary. I don't think any of the score streaks are overpowered. The Zeus is powerful, but it literally only lasts for like 10 seconds lmao.

    Depends on the game mode and what is your highest streak (but in this post I'm talking about LAWs being the highest I run). In TDM and S&D it's nearly impossible to get 3 LAWs since it would require 6k point.

    However, that has not been my point in this post. My point has been about the timing of when you get them and how it is restrictive. I've earlier posted about running EMP launcher and holding on to the laws so not getting into that again.