4. Game and Weapon Balances
Game and Weapon Balances

Hi, I have played just over 250 hours of Sandstorm (not a lot for some!) starting last year in the beta.
I have had some awesome fun with the latest iteration of Insurgency after playing Ins 2014 for a little under 200 hours in the 12 months prior to INS:SS.
I have a number of suggestions to "balance" some of the weapons features.

MP5 (Both), UZI and MP7

  • Increase hipfire stability - it is often more reliable to hipfire 7.62x39 rifles than these 9mm SMGs.

  • MP7 Flip-Up sights - Make it cost 0 supply, as there is no reason to use this attachment over the other reflex sights (and IRL its already on the weapon, just folded down).

  • Increase long range spread, I don't like being sniped with a MP7. Just saying.

G36K

  • Change ISM scope to the 1.5x magnification version, the current implementation is functionally useless.

M4A1

  • Flip-Up sights are 0 supply as there is no reason to use this over the other reflex sights.

SKS

  • A fairly redundant weapon, maybe make it cheaper? The only time I see it being used is by Marksmen wannabes.

M16-A2

  • 1x and/or 2x magnification scope options - the 3.4x and 4x scopes are situational at best, hell, an AKM with a 2x or 4x is generally a better option. I rarely see this used, let alone by experienced players.

VHS-2

  • Apparently it should use G36 magazines? A little nitpicky, but would be a point of difference over the M4A1.

MK17 Mod 0

  • Verticle recoil is a little tough compared to similar rifles, maybe drop it down a little.

G3A3

  • Bring it a little more inline with the FAL, not sure how, though it's currently overshadows by other options.

M249, M240, MG3 and PKM

  • Increase spread, particularly at long ranges. PKM gets the nickname "Auto-Mosin" for a reason. Would disincentivise MG sniping. We don't need or want more Marksmen on offensive push.

  • Have the "open bolt" delay on all MG's. More of a consistency gripe where the M249/PKM feel more reliable than the MG3/M240.

  • Match the supply costs of the MG3 to the M249 and the PKM to the M240.

  • Decrease stationary, non-bipod recoil. Just a fraction, as it's often more reliable to hipfire than ADS in some scenarios.

M870/TOZ-194

  • Buckshot and Flechettes are a little too strong at the moment. I love it.

  • Slugs are practically useless, and often flechettes have more reliable long range 1 shot kill potential than them.

M24/Mosin

  • Overshadowed by the autosnipers, though the M24 has it's place as the long range engagement option for SEC.

  • Greased Bolt is almost necessary, and costs a lot. Make it a little cheaper?

SVD

  • Broken as hell. No really. It's always a better choice than the Mosin. Except arm shot I believe.

  • Maybe remove 7x scope?

Anti-materiel Rifles

  • Maybe they will have a better place in future content?

C4/IED

  • A defuse feature could be cool if you sneak up on a trap someone has set.

  • Give the IED something to complement the C4 wall plant feature, more options aren't a bad thing.

Molotov/Incendiary

  • Reduce cache damage so they cannot 1 shot it. I didn't like this damage model in INS 2014 either.

AT4/Panzerfaust

  • Kinda pointless with the re loadable launchers costing 1 supply more.

  • Make them incompatible with the lethal underbarrel attachments. Too many explosives.

M3 MAAWS/RPG-7

  • Make them incompatible with the lethal underbarrel attachments. Too many explosives.

Underbarrel Grenade Launchers

  • Increase to 3 shots with Heavy Carrier.

  • Increase supply cost.

  • Make them incompatible with Rocket Launchers.

Gun Run/Bombing Run

  • Have some sort of direction indicator, would help stopping unintentional TK's.

IED Drone

  • Seems a little passive, and buggy in general.

Helicopters

  • Are BS and broken.

  • They are still a little too tricky to take out on some maps, no doubt a hard thing to balance.

  • They will often shoot almost directly into INS spawn, even unprovoked = not fun.

  • Have some sort of direction indicator for Assassin, would help stopping unintentional TK's.

Technicals

  • Not overly useful outside of Skirmish, maybe future content will find use for them?

Commander/Observer

  • Give them some identifying feature like a radio backpack, this would give opponents more strategical options, like removing them before they can call things in.

  • Change the weapon options to something other than a bi-podless Rifleman.

Adviser(INS)

  • Remove SVD. We don't want or need more Marksmen on Offensive Push.

Laser Sight

  • Could be cool and actually useful if it tightened up the hipfire recoil, though would be a tough one to get right.

Unique Scopes (ISM, SUSAT, PSO-1 etc)

  • Making them cheaper than the equivalent magnification scopes would be a nice touch.

Generally increasing the long range spread wouldn't be a bad idea, as at the moment, all weapons can be sniper rifles with a 4x scope, albeit poorly.

There is a fair bit there, and I would like to hear other players feedback and ideas on this stuff.
Most of what I am stating here is to encourage more variety in playstyle and weapon selection, as it can be chalk and cheese for some classes (INS Marksmen).
It is early days, and there is many months of updates to come this year, but I would be among the few would rather see less new weapons and the ones we have balanced better, than have every weapon in existence in game.

Cheers!

  • What do you mean by long range spread? Like, spread when aiming down sights?

  • M16A2 has no rail mount, those sight options were specifically designed to fit on the M16A2.

  • I thought there was always a delay on the machineguns, no?

  • Grenade launchers should at least be compatible with disposable rockets.

  • I agree that flip-up/iron sights should be free.

I can see that most of these balances are for pvp, but from a coop view, I would have to disagree with most.

@cptns

  • By long range spread, I mean in a minute of angle sense, some of the weapons feel like lasers. Though the more I think about it, the less sense it will make in the long run.

  • I am aware of that, though this doesn't resolve the issue that, in my opinion, the M16A2 is entirely redundant in the face of much better INS rifles.

  • Not that I am aware of, though maybe I ought to verify in the firing range.

  • That could be a fair trade, and IMO would be an ideal starting point.

I haven't played nearly enough COOP to really comment on that side of the game, though if you could elaborate I am keen to understand that perspective.

Cheers!

Hey @T3L3PATH and @cptns,

Thanks for your feedback. I'll pass it on to the team!