Marine upgrade : faster reload

schkorpio · August 2012

<div class="IPBDescription">weapons training lvl 1</div>why not? aliens have adrenaline which is essentially a fast reload.

this upgrade would make marines reload somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 the speed.

researchable in the arms lab.

Darkomicron · August 2012

Sounds good, the more options a commander has the better. However, it does need balancing. I think marines > aliens if they are constantly firing (in damage), the weakness of the marine is that he has to reload so he cannot damage continuously, that's the moment the aliens can take the lead in this battle. If you take away that downtime then skulks might have too much of a problem getting through marine fire.

Sascha · August 2012

I agree and support this idea maybe a bigger clip upgrade wouldn't hurt too. :)

Daphisto · August 2012

+1 to 100-round Ammo Drum upgrade for LMG :)

MuYeah · August 2012

I don't agree with this suggestion, it would mess up the rhythm of melee/ranged combat.

maD maX · August 2012

Woot Bring back catalist!!

Shaker · August 2012

I've thought about these upgrades as well. However I think the fast clip dump and reload time is a crucial part of the flow of combat in NS2. Good players will bait as many shots out as they can and then close the gap during a reload or force them to their pistol. A faster reload would be incredibly powerful against early game aliens and they would definitely need a boost to something to counter it.

Kouji_San · August 2012

Like maD maX said, this is where catalyst packs come into play (movement speed and rate of fire increase) and it comes with the added benefit that it isn't permanent, which IMHO would be bad. And costs res to drop.

KaptajnKLO · August 2012

Maybe have it only affect the LMG so it's more viable in late game? Also if it is only the LMG then I don't have to have nightmares about a shotgun/GL with half the reload speed. =P

Oprah · August 2012

I believe after 9 kills with the Assault Rifle you unlock this. It's right after the UAV.

.ADHd · August 2012

Let's bring in rechargeable shields, dual wielding shotguns, and marines dropping grenades when they die while were at it!

Shrike3O · August 2012

I'd like to see something like a 99-round W-mag (magazine body splits and folds up on either side of the magazine well, turning it into a sort of bulky box that fills mostly the same profile) as an upgrade for the LMG, but deciding when to reload is a significant part of marine vs. skulk play. Marine players who reload after popping off 3-5 rounds leave themselves vulnerable to skulks, and while a larger magazine will stave some of that off, skulk players should have the opportunity to "wait for the reload" to attack marines and try to get some advantage for their timing ability.

Tiomat · September 2012

Problem I can see is then your maxed marines become even stronger, knocking the balance even more away from skulks being effective in combat later game. Having the panic moment when fighting a few skulks as you run out of ammo is one of the bits I enjoy! Switching to pistol, knowing you have limited shots to kill them before they turn your face into a small decorative ornament ...

Adding something which could be reasonably beneficial (imagine a gl with 1/4 the reload time) needs a trade off of some form.

You could turn it into a pres upgrade, say 5-10 pres, to give you a 100 round clip (and correspondingly more total ammo) or a 200 round drum with no reload at all. Turn the LMG into a support weapon for a small cost. Doesn't cost much as the benefit isn't massive, but costs enough that if you keep getting it each life then you likely will have difficulty purchasing the higher end tech later. It would have to be non-droppable on death or something though.

Beelzebub · September 2012

I'm hearing a lot of.. Aliens have "this" so marines should have their own version of "this". The game shouldn't work that way, each team should be uniquely their own.

Marine upgrade : faster reload

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