A Discussion on Balance...

Let's talk balance.

First off, I'll start with the main debilitating problem with the server.

Automatic weapons.
You spawn with 64 ammo.
"That's a lot!", you say.
No, it isn't.
That's just about two magazines.
Yeah, a 5 kill streak nets you another magazine or so, but can you really have a decent run/kill streak with only 3 magazines?
No. You can't. As soon as you run out of your 3 mags, you're ****ed.

For a free player, that's pretty annoying.
Plus, most free players aren't that skilled, and would probably only be able to get two or three, maybe four if they're lucky, kills with their 2 magazines.

"That's what scavenger is for!"
Yeah, that's correct.
But that's what's wrong.
You shouldn't have to purchase a perk with real life money just to be able to be on an even playing field with other players.

"Oh, but it donates to the server and helps keep it up! teh server wuld nut even b up without us donors!!1111one!!!"
Yeah. So?
I bet if we removed the donation rewards, pretty much nobody would donate.
If you'd like to argue that with me, send Chaploo some money through PayPal without asking for anything in return, or accepting anything in return.
Otherwise, shut your mouth.

The point is, autos are essentially useless for higher level play unless you spend real life dough buying a perk that you basically need to be able to use autos.
Guns shouldn't need purchased perks to be able to function well.

So, what do I say?
Take a note from Shotbow's Wasted TDM servers.
Have players drop ammo.
"But that negates Scavenger!"
No. It won't.
Not if we make it balanced.

Depending on what gun you kill the enemy with, they would drop a defined amount of ammo (Maybe 5 auto rounds/2 Shotgun shells/1 Sniper Round).
However, you would not automatically get it. You would have to run over to their body and pick it up.
This drop will be client-side (if possible), so it doesn't lag people out from the sheer amount of item drops being rendered. Only you will be able to see and pick it up.

Now, how does Scavenger fit into this equation?
Scavenger would double (maybe even triple if you guys want to be OP) the amount of ammo received, and automatically give it to you, so you wouldn't have to go over to the body and pick it up.

That's it for ammo balance.
That ammo drop system should fix the other weapons as well.

On to gun balance.
I'm just going to go straight and name overpowered weapons.

L120 Isolator.
Model 1887.

I haven't played the test server much, so I don't know if they've been nerfed or not, so I'm just gonna go off of what I remember when I actually played a month ago.

The Iso. Extremely overpowered. I'm serious.
Don't even try to argue with me.
A one-hit kill, with 100% accuracy, and a decent RoF?
Sure, it's reload is a bit long, but you can just hide. And you always have the Python.

As I see it, we have 2 choices.
Number one keeps the Iso a one-shot-killing machine, but makes it bolt-action.
Each magazine would only hold 1 bullet, with a reload time of around ~60 ticks/3 seconds.
Don't complain. One-body-shot-kill is overpowered, and you know it.
One-hit headshots I can deal with, but not body shots.

Option 2 is to make it more like the MSR.
A tad faster fire rate, same magazine size, a bit faster reload. 2 shot kill.

Now, the Mod(d)el 1887.
Just like the Iso.
Overpowered.
Even if it was the second prestige shotgun, it would still be overpowered.

I know that the Model 1887 was built to be a wrecking CQC machine.
I've been playing MW3 Survival mode for the past few days, and noticed these traits:
Stopping power. Almost a one-hit-kill all the time.
Rate of fire. Not that high. It's lever-action.
Reload speed. It's pretty damn slow, especially since it's on a per-shell basis.

What do we need to do to fix it?
Well, I suggest switching out the SPAS24 for the Model 1887.
Of course, the SPAS24 would look weird being a non-prestige, so change the name and texture to the R(emington)870.

Then, lower the fire rate for the Model 1887.
Lower its range. By a lot.

The Model 1887 should do what it excels at, and only that: close range devastation.
It should not be a goddamned sniper.
Yes, I've sniped with it. It's bloody hilarious.

I think those are the two most problem laden weapons in the game.
Now. Donor weapons.
Not all of them are overpowered.
In fact, I would say they're all balanced.
Except the Minigun. **** that ****. I have it, and it completely wrecks things when used in tandem with the Python.

Flamethrower.
Weak, but rightly deserved.
I see the Flamethrower more as a support weapon to "blind" enemies, instead of a full on killing weapon.
Seems fine to me.

Minigun.
Dear God, I use this, and it is extremely overpowered.
Yeah, it's limited in range, but you have a Python.
When you combine the two, you're essentially unstoppable.
If possible, it needs a "spin-up" time like the TF2 Heavy minigun.
If that's not possible, perhaps lower the bullet count per fire from 2 to 1.

LAW.
Balanced.
It was more of a niche weapon than a "let's go rambo and kill everything" weapon.
The people who complain about it just don't know how to use strategy.

RayGun.
Slightly overpowered.
I heard it's losing the AoE, though, so that should do it.

Crossbow.
Takes relatively little skill.
I can shoot a moving target with a bow 90% of the time, if they're within 20 blocks.
A stick with the arrow shouldn't always mean a 100% kill chance.
Maybe the arrow would do 10 damage, and the explosion, 9 damage.
Leave them crippled, but not fully killed.

That covers the donor guns.
Now, donor perks.

Dear God.
These are abominations.
Donor guns I'm fine with, which are niche, but giving paying players perks that free players don't even have access to?
No.
At least give free players weakened versions of perks available for purchase with maybe ~5000 credits.
Or maybe even 1-round purchases for ~100 credits.
If we give free players access to at least some type of perks, that'll be enough to balance.
I'll be nice and let the paying players get a bit stronger here.

I think that pretty much covers it.

A lack of metagame and real flanking/strategical opportunities saddens me, but is understandable due to the CoD-like gameplay this server is going for.

 

So did you even read the proposed change and buff for Scavenger?

 

That negates the VIP/MVP bonuses.

 

This logic...
Alright, let's just give all Level 100 players guns that fire as fast as a minigun and are accurate as the Iso, and one-hit-kill.

 

That's not the point.
I'm pointing out your flaw in logic.

Just because someone no-lifes and plays to Level 36, doesn't mean they should get an overpowered gun.