Bolt action rifle

[akb]

So why is it that in ro2 bolt action rifles seem so useless? They have to be the most underpowered weapon. Most of the time it takes at least 2 to three shots with either of the 2 bolts, and alot of the time the bullets are just absorbed into the body with no effect. Torso/chest shots and the guy just bandages and runs off, REALLY? Was it the fact that TWI wanted players to go with more of a run and gun style and punish those who try long distance shooting. Perhaps this will be fixed in RO classic but who knows.

RO Classic Mode- I don't know where this thread is at so its going here!

What it lacks,

[ikkiewikkie]

For Classic Beta forums, see my sig. Also, I mostly use bolt actions and when you use them right they can be quite effective. It may take quite some time to get used to them but once you mastered the bolt, you basically mastered every other weapon out there.

Just aim for head/upper torso and when all else fails, use you bayonet . I also recommend manual bolting and reloading. It spares ammo and it makes long range shooting ao much easier.

[Catalavos]

+1 for the bolt. Rifleman is the role I choose 98% of the time.

[Cwivey]

A hit to the shoulders, centre chest, head, heart and nuts will all result in a one hit kill with a bolt-action rifle. If you don't hit these areas, they wont go down in one shot. If the shot is in anyway a glancing hit, chances are it may take two shots instead. Limbs'll take three.

I myself generally find that I can put people down fairly easily with a bolt-action rifle, with most of them being one hit kills.

[Moskeeto]

I also mostly use the bolts and it usually only takes me 1 shot to take out a target, or sometimes even 2 targets!

[marsy333]

Bolt actions are the gun master race in this game. I'd take one over anything for any situation.

[PeteAtomic]

Can't beat a good bayonet attack

[melipone]

The bolts don't really do anything better than anything else in the game..a critical hit with anything will insta kill it seems, so why use a bolt that gives you no suppression and 1 shot only

I've been playing a bit of realism mode and the main complaints I have still are the 50% damage hits with bolts and the general arcadeyness with people sprinting around everywhere and using auto weapons. I have had some good games, but there are still issues with the damage system for me and general weapon balance

[marsy333]

If you're skilled enough, you'll only ever need one bullet ready. Chance out if you come across someone with a PPSH and you have a bolt action, your first full will hit and kill then first.

In my opinion they also force you to be more accurate as you only have one round. That and their aesthetic value are the things I like most about them.

[melipone]

You can say the same for all the weapons. I still dont see the advantage of them, except you might be more careful with only one bullet. But the game gives you a bonus for spamming with other guns anyway due to sight twitches

[Holy.Death]

Originally Posted by melipone

The bolts don't really do anything better than anything else in the game..a critical hit with anything will insta kill it seems, so why use a bolt that gives you no suppression and 1 shot only

It depends on the situation.

Good long range weapons are rare and some weapons fit different purposes - it's often better to use bolt-action rifle over PPsh or MG when you need to be mobile or exchanging shoots over 150 meters as submachine guns are now less reliable at distance and MG needs to be deployed for more accurate shooting. When I have no better weapon than bolt-action rifle laying around I take it.

In close quarter combat submachine guns are better option that bolt-action rifle, but when you have nothing else it is still deadly weapon and can be used in last charge. With some luck it'll allow you to get more suited CQC weapon and then allow you to switch between them as situation will change.

[Esh325]

I've only played the regular game and not the beta, but the reason why SMG's are prefered most of the time is because of the maps of HOS are set up for CQB. While the maps of Ost were not all set up for CQB, the ones that were, were submachine gun fests. Like Danzig.

[Torio]

Originally Posted by nxsakb

So why is it that in ro2 bolt action rifles seem so useless? They have to be the most underpowered weapon. Most of the time it takes at least 2 to three shots with either of the 2 bolts, and alot of the time the bullets are just absorbed into the body with no effect. Torso/chest shots and the guy just bandages and runs off, REALLY? Was it the fact that TWI wanted players to go with more of a run and gun style and punish those who try long distance shooting. Perhaps this will be fixed in RO classic but who knows.

RO Classic Mode- I don't know where this thread is at so its going here!

What it lacks,

Wait, are the beta servers running Classic or that "relaxed-realism" experiment. It seems to me damage was reduced all around. When i tried bolt it really did feel weak against other classes.

[Mekhazzio]

Originally Posted by nxsakb

So why is it that in ro2 bolt action rifles seem so useless? They have to be the most underpowered weapon. Most of the time it takes at least 2 to three shots with either of the 2 bolts, and alot of the time the bullets are just absorbed into the body with no effect. Torso/chest shots and the guy just bandages and runs off, REALLY?

A rifle hit to the upper torso or center abdomen will instantly kill everbody. The only hit location in the torso that can be bandaged is the sides of the abdomen, and even then, the target has only 3.65 seconds to do it before bleeding to death, and that only if they were completely uninjured and that was the only hit zone in the bullet's path hit.

You are simply not hitting people where you think you are, probably because of the default networking model. The networking makes precision shooting essentially impossible, so a weapon that requires precision, like the bolt rifles, is severely affected.

[marser]

I got LV 50 kar98, and I can kill one enemy with each shot so it's just the skill.

[MarioBava]

Originally Posted by Mekhazzio

A rifle hit to the upper torso or center abdomen will instantly kill everbody. The only hit location in the torso that can be bandaged is the sides of the abdomen, and even then, the target has only 3.65 seconds to do it before bleeding to death, and that only if they were completely uninjured and that was the only hit zone in the bullet's path hit.

You are simply not hitting people where you think you are, probably because of the default networking model. The networking makes precision shooting essentially impossible, so a weapon that requires precision, like the bolt rifles, is severely affected.

I was hoping Mekhazzio would chime in, because ^ this dude is very conversant with the hit detection method, the ballistics, and the damage system of the game. People that say the rifles don't do better than the other weapons in terms of round damage simply must not be familiar with these things other than the subjective experience in the game. They don't understand that the rifle rounds in the game do enough damage to kill in spots other than the instant death zones whereas many of the weapons do less damage and so do not kill to the same areas. That said, heart shot is heart shot whether pistol, SMG, rifle, or LMG, and that's a pretty precise shot also. People are mistaking this for equality of weapons. You really see inequality, round for round, only in the areas that are non-lethal for the lower energy rounds because in those areas the higher damage of some weapons makes all the difference.

[melipone]

There wasn't a single bolt used in the Scorched Earth tournament final few teams

Thing is, semi's and SMG's are way too versatile while still doing 90% of the damage of a bolt and actually gain the sight twitch mechanic

The recoil/sway/accuracy in RO1 balanced the fact you got 1 shot with the bolts and it worked well imo. I'm not saying the bolt is useless or something, it just doesn't gain enough for what it loses compared to semi's and smg's. Anything over the waist height should kill in 1 hit imo, without having half damage then bleeding out. Unless the semi's/smg's get it more difficult too, like more recoil/sway or lower damage

[tixhal]

"BLAM!chk*pling*chk"
bolt action is best action sure, it's easier to kill with a semiautomatic rifle or s/mg, but it's so much more rewarding with a trusty bolter. they don't need to buffed or nerfed, if i wanted to play a game where all weapons are at level, i'd do that. but i don't...

[Clowndoe]

Originally Posted by tixhal

"BLAM!chk*pling*chk"
bolt action is best action sure, it's easier to kill with a semiautomatic rifle or s/mg, but it's so much more rewarding with a trusty bolter. they don't need to buffed or nerfed, if i wanted to play a game where all weapons are at level, i'd do that. but i don't...

While true, it sadly doesn't counter the argument. However I agree that bolt-action are the most fun for me, and that doesn't stop me from doing very well (if not dominating) score-wise when I get into the groove. But that doesn't change the fact that once you switch to the MP 40 on these maps it feels like I just activated easy mode.

I fear I don't have much to add on the subject, because as with all balance issues it's impossible to be objective. For example, if one were wielding X weapon and killing Y-user repeatedly in one situation, you could argue forever whether X/Y are OP/UP, or whether it's just a case of pro X-er vs inexperienced Y-er. It also doesn't help that often Mister Y doesn't have enough experience to judge (this is not a jest at the poster, I don't know how knowledgeable you are).

I feel the weapons should be left alone (my only thought would be to increase reload time for SMG's because of the time it takes to but a magazine back into the pouch. I'll say this again and again what is needed are bigger maps, and even then, with the exception of Apartments they pretty much all have a role for riflemen.

Finally, in regards to semi- versus bolt-: Yeah ok, semi's are better but there's not enough of them going around in classic mode for them to replace regular rifles, so when that's out you can play that.

[Calumhm]

Bayonet = one of the best weapons in the game.

No other weapon can even be used while sprinting. SO many foolish SMG troops met their end on my pig-sticker.