originally posted in:Iron Samurai
Yeah its fine. Not everyone likes every weapon class. I'm not a big fan of SMG's in most First Person Shooters, though I do know that they are better at close range than Assault Rifles while still being capable of mid range encounters compared to Shotguns.
I wanted a Grenade Launcher since it fills a role that none of the weapons really fill, and that is a utility weapon capable of dealing area-of-effect damage. By utility weapon, I mean a weapon that can be wielded fairly often and is fairly adaptable. We do have other special and primary weapons to serve as utility weapons adaptable for most situations, but none of those can deal AoE damage. We have Rocket Launchers, but Heavy Ammo is often rare and mainly reserved for dire circumstances/boss tier fights in PvE or limited by Heavy Ammo Drops in Crucible. Grenade Launchers are designed to fill the middle ground between Rocket Launchers and Primary Weapons.
Tracking rounds such as those of the Halo Needler or the Vandal weapons are interesting. Let's call these weapons "Seeker Rifles" for this case. Thinking critically, in what situations do the homing rounds of Seeker Rifles trump over using other weapons in certain situations? How much do the projectiles track their targets? How fast do these projectiles travel? Are Seeker Rifles capable of dealing precision damage? Do Seeker Rifles require a pre-charge time, or do they fire in semi-automatic, burst-fire, or fully automatic? Also, if we gave tracking rounds to an Auto Rifle, Pulse Rifle, Scout Rifle, etc. does it warrant a new weapon class or does it purely reach Exotic status?
I could see the potential in Seeker Rifles, though it is really hard to tell if they are unique enough unless I can actually use them in game. Keep in mind that I have both PvE and PvP in mind when designing weapons. I see Seeker Rifles as more of a Primary than Special Weapon. Also, there are some potential balancing issues, mainly in PvP, such as how to make killtimes balanced against other weapons, along with the tracking and projectile velocity. With some work, I think Seeker Rifles could work as great Primary Weapons.
[b]tl;dr Grenade Launchers are cool. New weapon class with Tracking rounds could work with the right balancing, but also feels somewhat redundant with current weapons.[/b]
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When it comes to tracking rounds, I was thinking it would be faster than the Vandal's. It would NOT be capable of precision damage, but it makes for a weapon with similar capabilities as a fusion rifle. Only difference a that it doesn't require charge time and it isn't burst fire. Longer range than a fusion rifle, and obviously more accurate. Or it could be used as a primary; one could find at a better competitor to an assault rifle as opposed to anything else. I see your point that it runs the risk of not being a unique class. Also: While yet would be awesome as special weapons, Grande launchers could work well as a heavy weapon. For instance, each grenade launcher could have a built in perk for encountering more heavy ammo. Grenade launchers would practically be quicker rocket launchers. Useful in more situatios, but dealing less damage overall, and with a smaller hit radius. In addition to your grenade types, it could be quite cool.
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Edited by cheezanator48: 1/14/2015 12:31:31 PMGrenade Launchers as Heavy Weapons runs the risk of being redundant with Rocket Launchers. In the Crucible, Heavy Weapon usage is limited by the Heavy Ammo drops. This really cuts down on your heavy ammo perk suggestion for Grenade Launchers, which then really narrows down the choice between higher kill potential (Rocket Launchers) vs. extra reserve ammo (Grenade Launchers). When Heavy Ammo drops in the Crucible, players tend to die very quickly. This is where the higher kill potential triumphs over extra reserve ammo, though a few skilled or lucky players will be able to benefit from the extra reserve ammo. In PvE, the extra heavy ammo drop might be a good thing, but then you might as well call Grenade Launchers special weapons if the ammo for it drops more frequently than typical heavy ammo. I just feel like it is a wasted opportunity putting Grenade Launchers in the same spot as Rocket Launchers when you could put the GL's in the Special Weapon slot where none of those weapons are capable of dealing AoE damage. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Considering balance for Grenade Launchers being placed in the Special Weapons slot. I don't like Grenade Launchers in typical first person shooters as they are often considered "noob-tubes", but Bungie did a good job in making it a skilled weapon to use in Halo Reach. This is what I am basing my Grenade Launchers on. I could see many uses for Grenade Launchers, such as lobbing grenades behind Cabal Phalanx shields, or clearing out mobs that are close together.