Arty Buff

(CCP115) #1

Was watching the dev stream a minute ago with SD Ming and shoe, and a few people asked about Arty ability buffs, only for shoe to say that Arty was really strong at the moment, and doesn’t need a buff. Sorry all you Arty fans that wanted one.
Though this is just kind of speculation, shoe could’ve been tricking us.

(SaulWolfden) #2

The only change I would make to him is giving him say a large ammo pack so his ability is slightly better than Skyhammer’s.

(Edzer) #3

Would be nice if arty’s attilery would go through glass roofs, it’s annoying having to break all of the glass first every time while skyhammer can just break it with his airstrike.

(JJMAJR) #4

Atry should have a change in weapons. He is strictly worse than Skyhammer in the Underground maps.

For example, he could use sniper rifles and LMGs instead of burst fire rifles. LMGs really need the ammo he has, while being poor in long range and oftentimes being considered bad by the high level players for this reason.

Sniper rifles can make a long-ranged Arty class suited towards spot removal, and as a bonus there is flavor to gain for this, as in real life snipers are often used to help artillery fire reach BVR.

The disadvantage Arty has is that he needs to get people scouting out and giving him information, while being easy to kill outright. He has a strict information disadvantage against Vasilli, and as a sniper that can mean a ton.

(ttownjoe) #5

Well based on this I just traded up all my arty loadouts… I really tried to make him work but fragger, skyhammer, and kira are all vastly superior to arty in their respective combinations of augments, health, speed, weapons, and abilities. It’s not even close. If a dev thinks arty is strong at the moment, it is a bit discouraging that he has no clue what he’s talking about. The easiest fix to arty would be to buff his ability by ease of use and time to call in. The targeting is wonked on it, you have to get the tiny sliver of an object for it to even work, and then you are exposed while calling it in. And on top of that if you are hit by one stray bullet the call-in is cancelled!. Many have said it should be like rtcw/et binoculars were it is point and click and the artillery spread out over a few seconds. Then, arty might be on par with the others.

(CCP115) #6

It was said by [SD] shoe, who apparently is a community manager. I don’t know how close they are to the dev team, but just keep that in mind.

(blueSparrow) #7

I have to agree with those who say that Arty could use a buff. He’s so weak that I don’t even play him unless I have to. Whether it’s being shot in the face while trying to call in an Artillery strike, or not being able to use his strike at all because the map is “underground” or being killed at short to mid ranges due to his crappy burst and semi rifles, all he seems to be good at doing is dying.

All in all, Skyhammer and Kira are better in almost every way, and I don’t even know why they bothered to release him in his current state.

I would even argue that he’s the weakest overall character right now.

(efficientCookie) #8

Arty isn’t bad, he’s just not as good as the other options. Theirs really no reason to use him over Kira or Skyhammer.

(efficientCookie) #9

Plus, his artillery strike truly does suck, so over all he’s not very good

(Frogteam) #10

Artillery is useful on every map, more useful on some, but still respectable on every map. He has at least one great weapon, and yeah he probably isn’t the best option for competitive, but a lot of mercs aren’t picked up in competitive often, doesn’t mean they need a buff.

As for the Devs thinking he’s strong, I really don’t see many players using him, probably because he’s unpopular. But when I do see someone using him they’re usually good and end up in the upper half of the leaderboards. So it’s totally possible that the Echo system is saying he’s strong because the only people who use him know how to use him effectively, and consequently do well. People who aren’t good with him just don’t play him so they don’t bring down the Echo statistics.

Just a theory.

(Edzer) #11

[quote=“Frogteam;55511”]Artillery is useful on every map, more useful on some, but still respectable on every map. He has at least one great weapon, and yeah he probably isn’t the best option for competitive, but a lot of mercs aren’t picked up in competitive often, doesn’t mean they need a buff.

As for the Devs thinking he’s strong, I really don’t see many players using him, probably because he’s unpopular. But when I do see someone using him they’re usually good and end up in the upper half of the leaderboards. So it’s totally possible that the Echo system is saying he’s strong because the only people who use him know how to use him effectively, and consequently do well. People who aren’t good with him just don’t play him so they don’t bring down the Echo statistics.

Just a theory.[/quote]

Here comes arty!
[spoiler]http://puu.sh/jfeci/9c1bb7c3fe.jpg[/spoiler]

(god1) #12

Arty is considered shit because none of the talented players use him extensively and he happens to have one of the highest skill ceilings in the game.

(Sorotia) #13

[quote=“JJMAJR;55320”]Atry should have a change in weapons. He is strictly worse than Skyhammer in the Underground maps.

For example, he could use sniper rifles and LMGs instead of burst fire rifles. LMGs really need the ammo he has, while being poor in long range and oftentimes being considered bad by the high level players for this reason.

Sniper rifles can make a long-ranged Arty class suited towards spot removal, and as a bonus there is flavor to gain for this, as in real life snipers are often used to help artillery fire reach BVR.

The disadvantage Arty has is that he needs to get people scouting out and giving him information, while being easy to kill outright. He has a strict information disadvantage against Vasilli, and as a sniper that can mean a ton.[/quote]

Maybe give Arty the PDP? Not a pure Sniper Rifle but do many really use it much on Vas? Giving him that wont take away Vas’ Sniper power but would give Arty range and maybe more use.

(CCP115) #14

I do top score, and keep an positive KD fairly easily when playing Arty. But this is usually because:

  1. Ammo packs give SO much EXP, it’s just an easy ticket to topscore town.
  2. I always have a positive KD, but it’s always really low. Something like 20 kills to 10 deaths, because as Arty i’m forced to play safe and stay behind lines.

Arty has a much worse killing potential than Skyhammer, and I can’t comment on Kira. I just feel as though he needs a buff because he just doesn’t play as well as other characters. i have to stay back and play super conservatively, and that limits my KD and also makes playing Arty a lot less fun than Skyhammer for example.

(LJK) #15

Arty is stronger than most people think. He is a monster in open area.
The only really downside I can see: his arty strike can be awkward sometimes (hard to target in some situations, don’t break glass…seriously, why?).
Kira may be stronger in combat, but Arty is more versatile with his ammo pack, life pool and low CD.
He don’t need really buff IMO, just some little fixes.

(Gi.Am) #16

[quote=“Frogteam;55511”]
–Snip–

As for the Devs thinking he’s strong, I really don’t see many players using him, probably because he’s unpopular. But when I do see someone using him they’re usually good and end up in the upper half of the leaderboards. So it’s totally possible that the Echo system is saying he’s strong because the only people who use him know how to use him effectively, and consequently do well. People who aren’t good with him just don’t play him so they don’t bring down the Echo statistics.

Just a theory.[/quote]

Well if those people who play Arty regulary, are strong doesn’t it mean he is fine. I mean sure he would need a buff if players who play him constantly would on average do worse than people who play as much with other Mercs, but seems like that’s not the case. So only problem is that Arty is not a merc you can pick up and rofl stomp on day one. Gotta learn his quirks first.

(Edzer) #17

[quote=“feveredWarlock;56236”]Arty is stronger than most people think. He is a monster in open area.
The only really downside I can see: his arty strike can be awkward sometimes (hard to target in some situations, don’t break glass…seriously, why?).
Kira may be stronger in combat, but Arty is more versatile with his ammo pack, life pool and low CD.
He don’t need really buff IMO, just some little fixes.[/quote]

Even though he is great on maps like Chapel, don’t go over the top and call him a monster… He’s just very good on chapel, not a monster :stuck_out_tongue:

(Crash) #18

Ya know, Arty isnt terrible and Im not sure I can join the “he needs a buff” wagon. His weapon selection involves a bit of practice but when you get proficient at any of them, especially the stark, combatively he can be nasty. His arty strike on the other hand is amazing at EV obj’s for a few reasons.

The marker showing his arty strike position can be extremely hard to see, unlike Sky’s, so denying a rear repair on an EV and forcing the enemy team to repair from a different position is tactically viable.
Being able to land both strikes on an EV does not insta destroy it like an airstrike but it does a ton of damage and can be used as a follow on in the event the airstrike partially misses or if you dont have a sky on your team. Remember, if no one is pushing the EV because theyre getting toasted by the strikes, the EV doesnt move and the arty strike is close to coming off CD.
The recharge rate on the arty strikes are obviously quicker than the airstrike. Without doing the math (someone is more than welcome to) I would gander that damage output is greater with an arty strike than an air strike simply because volume of fire.

Sky and Kira are arguably better suited for area denial and obj destruction than Arty but in the hands of a proficient Arty player, he easily runs with the pack.

(deerMirror) #19

I like Arty, but my biggest bugbear with him has to be that in particular. If he’s suppose to be able to call in arty strikes quicker and more often of the three then shouldn’t it be less finicky as all hell trying to paint targets?

His weapon selection is fine, if a bit harder to get use to and his support ability doesn’t need to be touched. Just… something needs to be done with that arty strike. You have plenty of time to clear out of the way before it touches down after being called in so why not just have it point and click like mentioned above?

(god1) #20

Apart from the bugs in the laser designator (can’t call in through windows, traintracks are a huge pain) it’s completely fine in terms of how you call the strike in, it just takes a moment to learn how and when to use it.
It’s not a hard concept to grasp but still I see even top level players using the artillery strike like they have sustained some sort of a brain damage.