I was getting set to write a post on my process of thinking for how I wanted to spend my 3+ million SP when Uprising 1.8 is deployed. To be honest, my mind had already been made up. The Minmatar Assault Suit was slated to get a bonus to light damage mods. Coupled with my need for a faster proto-suit to compliment my Gallente Logi during Skirmish battles, it seemed a lock. However, with Chinese mega-siesta over for the year, CCP Saberwing posted on the DUST-O forums what they are now thinking for the medium suit bonus changes:
Assault [5% reduction to PG/CPU cost of light/sidearm weapons]
- Caldari Assault: +5% to reload speed of hybrid railgun light/sidearm weapons per level.
- Gallente Assault: 5% reduction to hybrid - blaster light/sidearm hip-fire dispersion and kick per level.
- Minmatar Assault: +5% to projectile light/sidearm and +1 to Minmatar explosive weaponry clip size per level.
- Amarr Assault: 5% reduction to laser weaponry heat build-up per level.
Logistics [5% reduction to PG/CPU cost of equipment]
- Caldari Logistics: +10% to nanohive max. nanites and +5% to supply rate and repair amount per level.
- Gallente Logistics: +10% to active scanner visibility duration and +5% to active scanner precision per level.
- Minmatar Logistics: +10% to repair tool range and 5% to repair amount per level.
- Amarr Logistics: 10% reduction to drop uplink spawn time and +2 to max. spawn count per level.
That really puts a monkey wrench into my plans. Originally, the Minmatar Assaults were to be given a 2% boost to light damage module efficacy per level, which would be a 10% boost at level 5. One of the benefits of Minmatar Assaults is they are nearly as fast as Gallente Scouts. In fact, the new Amarr Scout, unless they change the base stats, will be slower than the Minmatar Assaults. The game mode for Planetary Conquest and Faction Warfare is Skirmish. More often than not, the maps are large and speed is extremely important. Given the Minmatar Assaults were going to become fast, overpowered shock troops from Hell, I was chomping at the bit to skill all the way into them. Now I am not so sure.
One of the reasons CCP backed out of the original assault bonuses is they seem ready to address the short Time-To-Kill (TTK) issue in DUST 514. By giving bonuses to damage or tank buffer to the primary damage dealers in the game, there is no way to fix TTK. The longer Assaults are there, the faster people drop. In other words, TTK is being addressed by making Commando and Sentinel suits superior to Assault and Logistic suits in a firefight. Still another way to look at it is they are fixing TTK by reducing how long Assaults are able to stand there cooking fools.
Aside from those who thought CCP was never going to touch your Minmatar Logistic hacking bonus, few are taking issue with Logis becoming more of a specialized role. However, when it comes to Assaults people are going to be surprised at how marginalized they will become in infantry brawls. They are the most easily accessible battlefield role and I believe the game is leaning towards making the more heavier suits superior, at least when it comes to a 1-on-1 standoff. This will later be balanced by making the heavier suits more expensive. That's my theory at least. We'll see when they finally deploy Uprising 1.8.
Which leads me to another issue. CCP Saberwing also alluded to the deployment date of 1.8 to be close to Fanfest, which begins May 1st this year. I will easily have 4 million more SP by then. It makes more sense to have already deployed all the new suits weeks before Fanfest, have something to pat themselves on the back during presentations, and then have a big announcement during the festivities concerning a brand new expansion with PC 2.0. That would allow for the proper amount of feedback like they have done during the past two deployment cycles.
So for now, I am planning on having around 5-6 million SP to be used on a new proto-suit the day Uprising 1.8 comes out. I am now giving very serious thought to spending it all on either a Commando or Sentinel suit. I have to study it more, but if I go Sentinel, it will be either Caldari for the shield buffer, or Gallente for the specific damage resists. If I go Commando, I'm leaning towards Gallente or Minmatar for Assault Rifle/Shotgun or Combat Rifle/Mass Driver combinations respectively. (Proposed bonuses here)
In the short term, I'll likely spend a few 100k SP to get advanced Gallente Scout suits. I already have advanced Shotguns so I can use that if my team needs speed in a skirmish match. With the direction I think the game is headed, my plans for ruling the battlefield with a squad of Minmatar Assaults may be ruined.
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