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Destiny

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10/16/2015 3:50:16 PM
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Class balancing: Gunslinger

The community has said much about Sunbreakers needing a revision to make them more balanced because they are overpowered when compared with other supers, but I think that another subclass that could use some revisions to make it more competitive and balanced with other subclasses is the Gunslinger. Currently, when Gunslinger supers are active, the player has three shots within a small time-frame, and no appreciable overshield (there might be a super small one, but it isn't enough that I've really noticed, either when I fought against one or when I've played one). Each shot in PvP is more or less a guaranteed kill, but you only have three shots, and you only have a small time frame to use them in. When we compare this ability with the offensive abilities of other subclasses (Bladesinger, Sunbreaker, Voidwalker, Sunsinger [if opting for an offense playing style, rather than support via self-res], Striker) the Gunslinger comes up short. With the exception of the Sunsinger, if you get hit with the super from any one of these other subclasses, it's an instant kill, like the Gunslinger, but with an important difference: all of these other supers function in a way that makes it difficult to shut down the player using them. (I don't have a problem with this protective function, but it should be extended to all offense subclasses, though varying in degree). Either the super includes an overshield, ranging from the rather tough one on strikers mid-super or bladedancers mid-super, or the execution of the super itself means that it's largely too late to do anything to stop it from happening (ex. Voidwalker super). Note: I'm not saying it's impossible to be shut down when using these other supers--I've played all of them (except stormcaller for my warlock), and in each case, I've been killed while using a super, but I can tell you that it happens far, far more often with my Gunslinger subclass. In order to bring the Gunslinger's super in line with those of its competitors, I propose three aspects of the subclass for revision: 1). Super should be tied to a number of uses within a time-frame, or should have infinite use within that time-frame, but the super should not be restricted to both (only three shots, and only within X time). There's no functional difference between the instant-kill of a Golden Gun and a Hammer of Sol, for example, and yet Sunbreakers can use as many of these hammers as quickly as you can hit the button on the controller. The blade-swipe from a Bladesinger in super mode is an instant kill as well, and the player can make as many of these within the timeframe as he/she wants. Gunslingers should either have three shots to use within the life that the super is activated, OR like the Sunbreaker and Bladesinger, have as many uses of the Golden Gun as you can press the button within the timeframe. 2). When Gunslingers activate their super, they should get a moderate overshield as well. It should not be as strong as the Striker's or the Bladesinger's, since a Gunslinger does not have to get into melee range to use his/her super, but Gunslingers should enjoy some moderate protection from regular damage. It should be strong enough that engaging a target or two while in super is not a lethal threat, but not so strong that the player knows he/she can take on three or more opposing players without a worry. 3) Keyhole should be built-in to the super use. In PvP, the number of times that I've been able to benefit from using keyhole by lining up players for shots is so small as to make activating that node a moot point. The max number of players you could possibly kill when using Golden Gun is six, and that's only on the impossibly rare situation where all six players on the opposing team are lined up when you have Keyhole active. Unless you're playing with friends who are doing you the courtesy of lining up for you, accomplishing this is truly the unlikeliest of possibilities. By contrast, it is far more frequent that supers from other classes (Bladesinger, Striker, Voidwalker, Sunbreaker) can wipe out the whole team, especially on objective games like control, or at choke-points and strongholds in clash. That's not to say that it happens all the time, or even most of hte time, but the number of times that I've been able to use a super from one of these classes to take out 4 or more enemies is much, much higher than the number of times I've been able to do the same with the Gunslinger. Constructive thoughts?

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