KevinC
1621
Yea Houngan has it right, guns are balanced in power but they behave differently. Some are designed for close quarters combat, others are better at long range, and still others try to be decent at both roles (a lot of default guns fall into this category, although there are exceptions).
Weapn certs, only. So if you buy a scope for a weapon that’s usable for two different classes, it can be used regardless of which class is equipping the weapon. Naturally, stuff like armor and suit upgrades don’t carry over, but still, it’s a cool thing. Which also makes some classes much more synergistic.
Oh, yes. The one you start with as a Vanu Infiltrator is a disgrace. I use the Parallax with an 8x scope and like it. I also have the Artemis for close in work, with a supressor. It’s harder to use effectively because you are so vulnerable, but better than the Manticore for sneaking in and dropping prox mines and hacking terminals for sure.
I purchased the Eidolon for my Vanu Engy (Matherson) and I’m having buyer’s remorse. While it packs a punch, it’s accuraccy seems questionable given it’s supposed rating. Perhaps I’m just still too new to the gun to appreciate it properly, but I’m struggling to get more than one hit in at medium-long range (which is supposedly where the rifle shines). It’s not burst, so you have to click each time you want to fire, which can be done quickly, but at great cost to accuracy it would seem. It feels almost like a less powerful sniper rifle for non-Infiltrators.
I’d love it if we could get some QT3 squad action going on Matherson as VS. I also have an NC on SolTech. Sadly, both factions seems to be the least successful of the three on their respective servers.
Observation: Qt3 outfit/guild/whatever is usually a bad choice if you plan on sticking with the game long term, because people here tend to move from game to game rapidly.
Secondary observation: DARK is VS on Mattherson, ping Snargle if you want to run with us at some point.
As far as the Eidolon, I like it. I tend to use it at range with my Heavy more than my Engineer, and have had great luck sniping at the TI Alloys / Crown bridge (from the rocks on the Alloys side) using it in combination with an Annhilator.
I also have an NC on SolTech (Libussa). I wanted a TR too but early on I foolishly created my first Vanu (TheWombat) on Watterson or whatever it is. As soon as they fix it so that the gun I bought on that character is available to my Vanu on Mattherson , I’ll delete that one and roll a TR there. Three character limit is annoying.
Houngan
1627
Remember to use the weapon trials before buying; I tried the Eidolon and had the same experience, so it saved me from buying it.
I don’t know what it is, but I get very, very few kills when I try heavy + upgraded Flare. I do far better as engineer with an upgraded Serpent (forward grip, compensator, soft bullets, and IR/NV). Basically, as engineer, if I can keep the crosshairs centered, the target will die. If I don’t, I’ll have to reload, and I will die.
With Flare the damn thing bounces all over, and it’s much slower to kill with than the Serpent. You don’t have to reload often, but still the burst DPS seems lower (or something). It’s a little better with high-velocity rounds, but I haven’t been using it a lot since picking that up, just because I don’t feel very effective as a heavy.
I get the feeling I’m just not doing it right, but I dunno what it is I’m missing.
Houngan
1629
I can only keep 3 or 4 rounds on the target, so if I remember to burst I can take people out at the start of the second burst. If I hold it down it starts spraying everywhere, so it’s a discipline weapon. The carbines are usually deadly for me because I can hold them on target longer, but rarely can I engage two enemies in one reload. tradeoffs, I reckon. The Flare also seems more effective at long range.
Alan_Au
1630
There are a couple of things you should prioritize with your certs. There are a lot of 1-cert options, but I would avoid just blanket-purchasing them until you have acquired the must-have options.
- Buy a level 1 Suit upgrade for your preferred class (1 cert).
- Buy the level 2 medic Ability upgrade (1 cert).
- Buy a scope for your primary weapon (30 certs). I like the 2x-Reflex as a general-purpose scope.
- Buy the Sunderer AMS Utility upgrade (50 certs).
Once you decide on a preferred class, I would pick up the 10-cert Suit/Tool/Ability upgrades. After that, you can start upgrading secondary classes, saving up for expensive stuff, etc. Oh, and don’t forget to go into your loadout and equip your newly purchased stuff.
I don’t think you can put the compensator on the Serpent.
If you can then I’ve been missing a trick.
Djscman
1632
I was playing TR on Helios the other night when the platoon commander did a clever thing. We were assaulting a biolab. After securing a teleporter room in one of the satellite buildings outside, he assigned each squad to a corresponding capture point. Squad Alpha took A, Beta to B, etc. It went really well; we took the lab within about 15 minutes. It was an effective way of issuing orders, and in retrospect pretty obvious, but I hadn’t seen it before.
Alan_Au
1633
Bah, that’s nothing; just wait until you play with outfits who are able to capture two territories at once, and then swing around to reinforce a third territory with a pincer movement. Sadly, those moments are rare, mostly because of the way that the game has devolved into zerg warfare.
Oops, you’re right – it’s just the scope and ammo.
Teiman
1635
Biolabs are specially fragile to rush tactics, … is only when enough people of different factions have spawned that the combat can turn into a stalemate.
Houngan
1636
That, or everyone wants to try and get cheap kills through the shield at the teleporter destination. That’s something they could fix that would have an immediate positive impact. Here’s hoping it’s an unlisted enhancement along with more exits from the spawn rooms.
I wish I had, I could have saved 700 space quatloos or whatever. The Eidolon sucks, plain and simple. Last night I finally got into real combat with it, and it let me down big time. I scored one whole kill with it, and that was only because someone else got a shot or two in as well. At one point I came up some stairs and discovered an NC LA just looking out over the landscape, back to me and oblivious to my presence. I hip fired three times, twice into his back and once into his chest as he turned around, then he killed me in literally .3 seconds with his weapon. At the death screen it showed my 3 direct hits from 15 feet away had only done enough damage to down his sheilds, his health was still full. Fucking useless. The default Engy gun killed more efficiently than that.
Eidolon is not a close range gun.
KevinC
1639
It’s not a good gun at any range, really. :)
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Solstice SF, which is a brutal little close range weapon. The under-barrel grenade launcher is situationally useful, but doesn’t do that much damage; I wonder if it might not be better just to use a laser pointer instead.
