I'm not part of a Division gameplay analytics team, but I'm positive that the least used weapons in the game are all the burst weapons. There was that one time when the Burst MP5 was a thing, once people mapped the firing button to the scroll wheel, but after that change, the Burst MP5 was never seen again.
Would love to see the burst weapons get some shine. Removing the need to manually click / pull the trigger button for each burst would be a start. I can understand that mechanic for the Urban MDR, for accuracy reasons, but imo it's best removed from bursts. Also, speaking of the MDR, wouldn't mind seeing more hard hitting semi automatic assault rifles.
With the changes to mods and the general push toward more "pokey" tactical gameplay I would say that serious meta changes are coming. Facetanking from 2 yards away is gone. Its going to be cover to cover, and longer distance shots. I think Sniper rifles, and possibly burst weapons could be really good in Div2 due to how well they do at distance. Landing a solid burst from a beefy AR could down an NPC in one go. Burst weapons need to hit that high damage threshold to be good. Might be good.
Agreed on the damage. I see them being terrifying if they knock off a lot of armor in 1-2 bursts, same for the Marksman rifles.Originally Posted by Blkandwhtknight Go to original post
I hope the weapon balance in general is an improvement over the first game.
The overwhelming majority of weapons in the game remain completely irrelevant due to poor handling or bad damage output, often times both.
The prime example of terrible balance is the dominance of LW M4 and LVOA-C, these guns don't really need to worry about spread, their recoil is perfectly manageable (and almost exclusively vertical) and they still have one of if not the highest damage output of any AR.
On the flipside there are mistakes like SCAR-L which have bad handling and even worse damage output.
Then, it wouldn't be burst, it'll be autoOriginally Posted by Merphee Go to original post
As long as it takes more than 3 hits to down an NPC, and NPCs don't slow down after receiving damage, people will gravitate to full auto.
I love the sound of the SCAR-L or the Tactical 16, and the high potential damage numbers are tempting....and occasionally if I happen to get a random drop that has great talents I'll take the time to throw some mods on it and give it a whirl. But I always come back to the LWM4 because, like you said, while each hit may do a lot of damage the thing just is so inaccurate it's not worth it.Originally Posted by BOT_Coyote Go to original post
Really hope weapon balance is a priority this time around. But given how D1 is, both in weapon and now in gear set balance, my hopes are really low.
I would ask whether burst weapons are even relevant?
What I mean is there doesnt seem to be a design philosophy behind them. Theyre not more accurate or stable than a full-auto or other weapon. Theyre not as comparably powerful. They dont impact player speed. Or provide for easier maintenance. Or are less likely to jam, overheat or whatever. They dont even alot players to conserve amo as with between 1200-1800 (2300 LS) you dont need to, especially with all the ammo crates lying about, gs talents and character talents that allow you to replenish amo on the fly. Or amo drops from enemies.
Therefore I see them as nothing but a pointless distraction. Maybe keeping for level 1-30, story mode. With some RPG aspect. Past that.......
But we shall see when we have a better idea what the gameplay mechanics and dynamics are. Personally I cant see them changing much from the meta. Players want fast action. Lots of dps potential and no distractions at least in pvp. In pve perhaps with the RPG elements they could implement something near to realism where high rof weapons have the potential to jam, break or overheat the more they are used in a short space of time. (+ environmental effects) but I doubt that will happen. Cant see most players want to worry abt that sort of thing.
EDIT: and I never mentioned recoil either...... that should affect accuracy and stability..... but it wont. Pvp needs to be fun not realistic. Ergo they are not relevant in TD1 and just something to pad the loot pool.
In the end it comes down to positives and negatives.
TD1 had specific weapons/gear/perks that the positives far outweighed the negatives. So everyone is cornholed into using those.
Can Burst weapons be Viable in TD2? Sure they can, it depends on the give and take
For example lets take MP5 full auto verse Burst fire :
..... What is the advantage of using a Burst fire over full auto ? If they are the exact same in everyway except one fires in bursts = the full auto is the better choice 100% of the time. Why ? Because the full auto is landing more hits in the same amount of time for the same dmg = faster TTK... (if you are getting shot with an endless stream of bullets vs getting shot intermittently with a few bullets.. then you have more holes in your body in the same amount of time from the full Auto)
How do you fix that ? A few ways are
A) full auto does far Less dmg per bullet
B) full auto has far more recoil (and not just simpe recoil that pulls UP... Recoil should pull in a direction= up or down and to the left or right = more akin to Battlefield 3 where controlling recoil was half the gunplay it adds character to each gun and a Learninf curve to Master that Gun.
..(NOTE : 100% Random spread is ****** gun play that cant be overcome with patience,time,effort and skill)..
C) full auto fired much slower
D) full auto takes longer to reload
How to test if the 2 weapons are balanced :
You take a full auto MP5 and a burst fire Mp5 You test them in 2 states :
1) each with No attachments
2) each with Best in slot attachmemts
Stand them against each other. And the TTK should be Exactly the same = in the same Time One person dies because of Higher And more Focused dmg (Burst Fire/Low recoil) and the other person dies because of being hit with More bullets(Full auto/lower dmg)
Since these are the wepons at their Lowest set up(No attachments) and at their best possible set up (min/maxed/BIS) ...then the diffrences will be between Player Skill = using cover,Using your.Class skills/Perks, avoiding damage, out playing the other person, and also what attachments each person applies to get that perticular gun Min/Maxed the way the like it.
The same should be applied to All Weapons in the same category : why use a Vector 45 over a MP5 ? The Vector Does more dmg but has a lower Mag and Slower rate of fire compared to MP5. Stand them across from each other and they should kill in the exact same time (without attachments and fully Min/Maxed)
Then diffrent catagories like Assualt rifle VS Sub Machine gun.. you balance them on Distance.. Example at 20-ish feet apart the Sub machine gun should win roughly 70% of the time = faster rate of fire and more dmg at close range, At 60-ish feet apart the Auto rifle should win 70% of the time = less dmg than SMG, but less bullet drop off and less spread and more controllable recoil at distance.
Sniper rifle Vs Assault rifle = are same deal. At very far ramge the sniper should win 70% of the time and the assault rifle 30% of the time (Snipers need a counter balance other than Just another sniper.. in TD1 assault rifles are to powerfull against Snipers IMO. It should be Hard for an assualt rifle to take out a sniper at distamce but Not impossible)
I think Class abilities/Perks/Gear sets should follow the Same line = for each Positive there needs to be an equal and opposite Negative = Balance so nothinf becomes OP and the Meta)
(LmG's i see as more of a laying down Cover fire/support roll in TD = huge magazines make them OP if they do to much dmg)
(Pistols should be the best counter to Shotguns IMO)
Anyway.. just my opinions on how to balance out the game in such a away that all things have a more specific area of expertice and at the same time are weak in other areas to counterbalance their strengths. (Sure there should be some overlap here and there but the general rule of thumb should be if you an increade in one area then you need to have an equal decrease in the opposite areas : positive vs negative,give and take = balance )