Sharpshooter: Swap M14 with improved LAR?

[Justice]

Hello, I'm brand new to these forums and somewhat new to KF. I've logged about 30 hours. So of course, I'm going to make a suggestion like every other noob who thinks they know how things should be run lol.

I picked SS as my main class when I first started. I didn't start using the M14 for a good while because I couldn't really afford it for a long time. I'm now lvl4 though, and I am able to buy it on a regular basis. I'm finding what most people here say: It's enormously powerful. Basically, it rips **** up, and I agree with a lot of what's being said about it here.

I know a lot of people are calling for a nerf to SS or to the M14 to make it less spammy/powerful/commando-styled. Personally I don't think they're going far enough. I would suggest making the M14 much much weaker, and putting it in the slot of the LAR. More specifically, the main things I think could be done is a greatly reduced body-shot damage, with a higher-than-average headshot damage. Clip size and total ammo count should be reduced as well. In my opinion this would make a good starting weapon for the sharpshooter class, since it emphasizes marksman principles with the headshot damage and low clip size, but still gives the newer player something decent in an "oh JESUS i'm completely surrounded" scenario with it's high rate of fire and laser sight. Better than a pistol, at least. A good weapon until a player is experienced enough to start using more powerful but delicate weapons.

Now, this obviously would displace the LAR and create an opening where the M14 used to be. I personally think the LAR perfectly matches the characteristics of what I would expect from a high-level accuracy-focused weapon. Good iron sights, high damage, small clip, and slow reload. In the hands of an experienced player it's an excellent weapon. Being in the top slot for SS however, I think it could maybe do with a significant damage buff or something similar. Again, it is a good fit for the experienced SS since it offers great rewards for high accuracy and long-distance kills, and becomes rather ineffective in swarm scenarios. But the point of being an experienced player is that you are able to use the weapon to prevent such scenarios

This of course leaves the crossbow. I don't really have any specific ideas for it, but I do think it's almost too powerful with it's ability to take out FPs in one shot, especially on maps like Farm. But that's just my opinion, and not really the purpose of this post!

Anyways, this idea randomly occurred to me one night while playing. The M14 strikes me as a fairly noob-oriented weapon, so I figure, why not make it one? I did do a search for this idea, but the terms are pretty vague and I couldn't come up with anything, so I'm sorry if it's been suggested.

Thoughts?

 

[C_Gibby]

Swapping the two weapons doesn't seem like such a bad idea, but the M14 being a "noob weapon" will teach new SS players bad habits (spamming). If this fire rate is changed, it may not be so bad after all.

The LAR is an amazing weapon as-is so I think it should stay as it is. It's cheap, quite powerful and insanely deadly in the hands of a real sharpshooter. Its tiny price and good balancing is what gives the gun real "player value."

 

[Justice]

Swapping the two weapons doesn't seem like such a bad idea, but the M14 being a "noob weapon" will teach new SS players bad habits (spamming). If this fire rate is changed, it may not be so bad after all.

Hmm, yeah I suppose the habits thing could be true. Although, I think a new player starting SS class starts it with the intention of being a marksman in the first place, and won't necessarily gravitate to the commando-styled aspects of the weapon, especially if the clip size is reduced (I might say halved), and also with its poor effectiveness with body shots. If they do then clearly they picked the wrong class .

Besides, I don't think there should be golden rule that says a class should have no versatility. I'm currently leveling commando myself and I'm applying a lot of marksman principles to it, using semi-auto for headshots to conserve ammo. A lot of other classes use the crossbow, which I think is a classic SS weapon.

 

[CA_Hiro]

The LAR is an amazing weapon as-is so I think it should stay as it is. It's cheap, quite powerful and insanely deadly in the hands of a real sharpshooter.

Offtopic:
This is my new sig!

I also prefer the LAR rather than the M14. Though I time to time choose to use it, when I play with my (Rather less experienced) lowlvl friends, just to keep them alive, when they ignore my warning and chooses to play either on Suicidal or Hard.

But what I like about the LAR is that the Fire-rate is extremly fast, due to the fact that it's not even semi-automatic.

 

[C_Gibby]

This is my new sig!

Lol, I'm honored!

 

[playmaker_41]

the LAR is a good weapon, although i am not opposed to increasing its damage a bit more and also totally erasing the M14 from existence, its a disgrace to real sharpie's everywhere

 

[Temstar]

If it was up to me, I would never let Sharpshooter have a semi auto weapon in the first place.

There's nothing "versatility" about commando using semi auto and going for headshots, that's how commando is suppose to be played.

 

[CA_Hiro]

There's nothing "versatility" about commando using semi auto and going for headshots, that's how commando is suppose to be played.

*cough*What???*cough*

That's only 1 way to play it. You do actually need to spray, time to time. though I only find the bullpup usefull for spraying, I do it, when I am getting surrounded by clots or there is a big bad Scrake in front of me.

 

[Evilsod]

*cough*What???*cough*

That's only 1 way to play it. You do actually need to spray, time to time. though I only find the bullpup usefull for spraying, I do it, when I am getting surrounded by clots or there is a big bad Scrake in front of me.

If theres a big bad Scrake in front of you i'd be wondering where your other team members more suited for dealing with Scrakes are. I'm really not a fan of killing em with Commando, its always so hit n miss.

The M14 needs major nerfs, we all know this. There is absolutely no need to change the LAR from its current form. The M14 has been a disapointment for real sharpshooters since the moment it was added. Its iron sights are **** and theres no scope. It could have been a more sniper orientated weapon with a different approach to the Xbow but it wasn't. Its just a noobs weapon

 

[9_6]

Even with nerfs and all, the m14 will never be a good sharpshooter weapon.
The crappy sights and the laser will always encourage running towards enemies and the semi-auto firerate will always encourage clickspamming.
The m14 should go to the commando and thus lose its headshot bonus turning it into a semi-auto SCAR-sidegrade with high recoil and a long reload (take note how the sharpshooter perk reduces both reload and recoil by an insane ammount) and thus suddenly be a balanced weapon.

The sharpshooter should then get something that actually encourages aiming.
Something you can aim with over long distances.
I still have no idea what they were thinking when coming up with the m14...

 

[Psuedo]

The combination of a laser sight and semi automatic function together on a weapon designed for sniping just doesn't work. You can only have one without removing the "aiming" aspect of the perk, and even then there needs to be a cost.

I think the only way you can give the sharpshooter a semi-auto weapon is at the cost of accuracy and power. Most games with sniper weapons tend to make the semi-auto ones come with significantly less power than bolt-action ones, and are noticeably less accurate even at close range. You would have to make it a scoped weapon as well, so that the importance of focusing on your target rather than moving around and shooting at the drop of a hat is emphasized as much as possible.

The only weapon I can see a laser sight working on is a revolver. They are powerful, have decent accuracy, a slow firing rate, and a small number of shots. However, I really doubt a Revolver could be implemented into the sharpshooter perk above teir 1, which would mean it would have to bump the LAR and Xbow up 1 teir, plus if the Gunslinger perk is ever implemented, that perk would most likely have a revolver as its teir 3 weapon.

 

[Xolat]

Sure, LAR is the best weapon for quickly neutralizing husks, scrakes and sirens but what will you do with fleshpounds? Dual handcannons upclose?

Also I don't like the look of LAR, it's not modern enough, I want a high tech contemporary tier 3 sharpshooter rifle, not something from last century.

 

[CandleJack]

Hmm, yeah I suppose the habits thing could be true. Although, I think a new player starting SS class starts it with the intention of being a marksman in the first place, and won't necessarily gravitate to the commando-styled aspects of the weapon, especially if the clip size is reduced (I might say halved), and also with its poor effectiveness with body shots. If they do then clearly they picked the wrong class .

Besides, I don't think there should be golden rule that says a class should have no versatility. I'm currently leveling commando myself and I'm applying a lot of marksman principles to it, using semi-auto for headshots to conserve ammo. A lot of other classes use the crossbow, which I think is a classic SS weapon.

Just a tip, the correct term for what you're talking about is magazine, not clip.

Do not talk about reducing the magazine. That is the actual magazine, not enhanced magically like the Bullpup's from 30 (the real size) to 40 as the standard.

Just increase the recoil as sharpshooter so it's more punishing to spam. And reduce the number of magazines to be more in line with weapons like the Bullpup and AK47. Instead of 15 it should have 7-8.

 

[Justice]

Just a tip, the correct term for what you're talking about is magazine, not clip.

Do not talk about reducing the magazine. That is the actual magazine, not enhanced magically like the Bullpup's from 30 (the real size) to 40 as the standard.

Just increase the recoil as sharpshooter so it's more punishing to spam. And reduce the number of magazines to be more in line with weapons like the Bullpup and AK47. Instead of 15 it should have 7-8.

Yeah I've heard about the differenced between magazines and clips before. Years of calling everything a clip just makes me forget lol.

I'm not sure I see the issue with changing magazine size from its current "real" number. Like you said, other weapons already use different magazine sizes - not to mention the "magical" increase to capacity the commando receives when leveling up.

Increased recoil is a good idea though.