hayaku on 25/12/2004 at 19:42
ok... I have played through DX countless times, but never as a heavy weapons user, untill now. I just got the plasma rifle and I have to say... it really stinks!
despite a heavy weapon skill of 3 (Advanced) I have found that its really bad.
About 30% of the time it will kill an enemy in one hit (and so it should with 130 damage on tap) but most other times It will just kinda hit them and do nothing... just damage them. Even those low level black guards take two shots and a mechanic in robot maintenence actually took three one time. Is there some horrable bug, or is this weapon just plain lousy??
The other critical flaw is the speed at which plasma bolts actually travel... they are so slow killing just about anything at distance/moving becomes a real pain in the ass. and DON'T even get me started on its size!
So tell me... what exactly is the point of this weapon?
I estimate that even on Master level it would take 2-3 regular shots to kill an MIB or MJ12 Commando.... compared to a sinlge head shot with the sniper rifle or 2 face shots with the shotgun I really can't see the point.
Rolander on 26/12/2004 at 14:56
I have played a Heavy Weapon Mastery (GEP + Flamer + Plasma) game on Realistic Difficulty (backed with Pistol Mastery) so I guess I could answer ...
On Advanced, I agree that Plasma doesn't guarantee kills in one shot against normal troopers, but on Master, a head aimed plasma bolt have way better than 50% chance to kill a Commando outright. Any disrepency is probably due to potential inaccuracy, and since I play on Realistic (which means quick death in pitched combat), I still end up pumping 2 plasma rounds to guarantee quick kills against Commandos. (I don't remember about using Plasma against MIBs, but I think they don't fare any better than Commandos, and I prefer to Flame them anyway, they scream and burn just as normal humans do).
Plasma's greatest strength is probably it being usable against almost any opponets you can find; the only critters they don't work on are the hairless monkeys. On that game I used Plasma against the small Spider bots (2-3 shots does one in) and even attacked one large Spider bot with Plasma to see if it works (not too good, had to reload twice, so keep the GEP gun for the big ones)
Plasma doesn't work well up close since you end up hurting yourself with the splash damage; its splash damage also means that in a running firefight one should aim at the feet of the enemy to guarantee damage.
hayaku on 26/12/2004 at 19:34
still.... considering its size, and rarity of ammo.... i would have thought they'd make it alot better :rolleyes:
I'd have to say that the GEP gun makes up for the anticlimax that was the plasma rifle. Even on trained a single rocket will take out one of those really huge assault robots, and a WP rocket will clear an entire room of enemies. Really pays big dividents in the mid-late game.
BlackCapedManX on 27/12/2004 at 00:00
Agreed on the GEP deal. Whenever I play through seriously, the only heavy I ever use is the GEP. I generally get it up to lvl3 on heavy weapons, just for the normal walking speed, but at that point I don't think there's anything that can withstand more than one GEP round.
Plasma gun on the other hand is a huge dissapointment. Slow moving, innaccurate at low hweapons lvls, low actual damage regardless of what the stats tell you. I personally stay away from it.
D'Juhn Keep on 7/1/2005 at 07:45
It's easy to get 100% accuracy with it (yes, it's inaccurate on low skill levels - why are you using it at low skill levels?) and it's my weapon of choice for mid-range firefights. If you're being attacked down a corridor or in an open space, the accuracy means it'll go where you want. The slow projectile speed can be a downer, very true. A bit of leading combined with enemies stopping usually makes it OK though.
It also makes a fun novelty sniper gun. Pinpoint accuracy and a scope, with the slow speed havng the additional cool factor of watching the Flaming Death travel through the air towards your target. :D
MARK L on 7/1/2005 at 12:12
<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZRxdm356YYAU' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_13.gif' alt='Bounce' border=0></a> Iam going to give the gep a try
TF on 7/1/2005 at 13:16
Quote Posted by MARK L
<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZRxdm356YYAU' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_1_13.gif' alt='Bounce' border=0></a> Iam going to give the gep a try
What is that thing? Someone actually uses those scary things from smileycentral which plague nearly every site as banners? Also the smiley itself is a link to the site. How quaint. :U
Matthew on 7/1/2005 at 16:20
Then shouldn't half the head be gone?
TheNightTerror on 7/1/2005 at 16:26
Half of MARK L's head gone . . . would be nice, if I wasn't so sure he never had an intact, fully functional head to begin with. :erg:
