Today’s Patch

Just posting this because there are some significant balance changes to be aware of.

https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/index.php?threads/hotfix-2-25.215540/

I’ll skip the max stuff, because we’re generally not that gay, but some of the main things which will affect us I’ve quoted below:

EMP changes
• Will no longer disable friendly Spitfire Turrets
• Will now overheat enemy AI/AV Mana Turrets
• Will now destroy enemy ammunition packs
• Will now drain heavy assault over shields
• Will now drain Medic ability energy
• Will now drain Light Assault jumpjet fuel

We’ll have to wait and see how this is used, but it is potentially very powerful. An EMP on a heavy, already more or less renders it an easy kill to an SMG infil, and removal of the overshield makes it even easier. If people start using this a lot, we may need to consider running EMP shield implants. Secondly, it may make grenade bandolier on infil a viable alternative to nanoweave (which has little effect on an Infil anyway).

Ammo Kits
• Ammo packs can now be destroyed by weapons fire and EMP grenades

Minor, but worth knowing.

Burster Direct Hit (Non Flak)
• Max damage increased from 110 to 125
• Minimum damage range reduced from 50 to 10
• Minimum damage reduced from 20 to 5

Burster Indirect Hit (Flak)
• Max damage increased from 56 to 60

I’m not sure whether this will nerf or buff bursters, the max damage increase is welcome, but the reduction in min damage and range worries me.

Sunderer auto-spot range
• Reduced the range where Sunderers are auto detected on the mini-map when deployed. Instead of using the default 100 meters, they will appear at 15 meters. Having any rank of stealth equipped will remove it from the mini-map when deployed unless spotted.

It’ll be much harder to find them now, and I think maybe also worth our while investing in vehicle stealth for a sundy to at least test it out.

Auraxium LMG Tweaks:
• Butcher has had the velocity penalty from Soft Point Ammo removed
• GODSAW has had the recoil penalty from High Velocity Ammo removed
• GODSAW projectile velocity increased to 670m/s
• GODSAW now has Forward Grip and Compensator benefits
• GODSAW has had magazine size reduced from 150 to 65

I helped in the testing session for these changes the other week, and the Godsaw in particular got a lot of praise. It’s not OP, but expect to see a lot more of them out there. Same with the Butcher.

• VS Directive weapons which use heat mechanics are no longer able to be manually reloaded to reset heat.
• VS Directive weapons which use heat mechanics have had their heat capacities increased to give them 3-5 more shots from empty.

Not only is this a BUFF to the betelgeuse, it’s a buff to every VS auraxium weapon. The other directives may now be worth working on.