So, I was thinking about all of the different play styles of each class, as well as all the different play styles of each body type, and it got me pondering about what the most effective “combinations” between these play styles are…or at least what you guys think they might be with what we know at this point. I’ll break down my own personal thoughts on each body type/class combination and at the end of this post my make my picks for what I believe to be the “best match up”. I invite you all to do the same.
Soldier
Light Soldier
Light soldiers, at least to me, seem somewhat pointless. Soldiers are supposed to be front line infantry, and to be on the front line you need to be durable. Light body types are basically the opposite of durable. Unless a light soldier has a medic right behind him boosting and healing him the entire time there is little use for him on the front lines, and especially no use for him in planting bombs while under fire. However, if the player stacks a light soldier with upgrades for his ammo boxes, he/she could be quite useful as a speedy and responsive mobile resupply station. Having someone maneuverable enough to get from one area of the map to another quickly can be useful if your team is running low on incendiary or AP ammo or needs a hard-to-access shortcut blown open with an HE charge. However, overall at this point in time I don’t see the greatest uses of soldier being accented with light body types just based on the fact that soldiers are made for being in the thick of combat, and light body types aren’t.
Medium Soldier
Medium soldiers seem perfectly balanced between all of the soldier’s main duties. They are fast and maneuverable enough to keep an entire team supplied with ammo, and are durable enough to have a decent chance at getting a bomb plant off under fire. Combine that with mediums getting access to more well rounded weapons and you have yourself a jack-of-all trades soldier that should be competent at any mission thrown at him. If your team needs something blown up, throwing on a medium soldier definitely doesn’t seem like a bad option.
Heavy Soldier
This I think is really where a soldier can shine. Based on gameplay previews from people who have tried out the game, in brink you die, and die a lot. Based on that unless you are working with an unstoppable team that never gets killed I believe planting bombs will be a far more important job for the soldier than supplying ammo simply because it seems like more often than not you will die before you run out anyway. Sure supplying special ammo will be important for your team, but all the incendiary ammo in the world still won’t blow open that door.
This is where the heavy comes in. Heavy Soldiers can take a lot of punishment, so if you are in a pinch and absolutely positively need a bomb planted, have a medic boost his health and send in a heavy soldier. He’ll be walking talking bullet magnet and will have the greatest possible chance of getting off a successful plant in a tight spot. Combine that with a minigun and a grenade launcher as a secondary, and you have yourself what could possibly be the best offensive combination out there. Suffice to say that when it comes to soldier, a heavy body type definitely seems to fit the class role the best.
Engineer
Light Engineer
When I think Engineer, I don’t think fighting - I think supporting. The high maneuverability of light body types should really come in handy for this role. Whether its putting down a turret in hard to reach high ground, darting from cover to cover to get to team mates to buff their weapons, or climbing around the battle to lay land mines to greet the next enemy spawn wave, a light engineer has the potential to be an extremely effective asset to the team, both in terms of providing quick and reliable weapon buffs as well as highly effective harassing techniques. I actually can’t wait to try this matchup out just to see if it is affective as I hope it is going to be.
Medium engineer
When push comes to shove and the game turns into a meat grinder in one hallway, even the engineers are going to need to get in the fight. It’s because of this that I think medium engineers could be useful. If you take into account the ability to use the breach loaded grenade launcher, that could also be a great option for wiping out entire enemy squads by yourself (lob a grenade at a group of enemies and let the turret mop all of them up while they are weak). Maybe it’s just me, but I see medium engineers as more combat oriented than the other body types. They are fast enough to get good positioning, durable enough to survive a firefight, and big enough to wield weapons that really pack a punch. Overall, if you want to support the team and have a great killing potential, be a medium engineer.
Heavy Engineer
I see a heavy engineer as the single greatest lethal force in Brink. They are big, durable, and can buff up their miniguns and grenade launchers to the point where it doesn’t even seem fair. If they get lucky enough to also get health buffed by a near by medic, you have yourself a one man wrecking crew that has the potential to bitch slap an entire team by himself. Even if he gets overrun he has the health to survive a retreat and the equipment to make sure he doesn’t lose too much ground. Just lay a mine and throw down a turret and just like that you can make sure that you aren’t pushed back that far, if at all. To be honest, this is what I plan on trying the second I unlock the heavy body type. I’d be lying if I didn’t think that all of the potential destruction a heavy engineer can lay down doesn’t make me tingle a little inside.
Medic
Light Medic
A medic’s primary purpose in life is to heal everyone else in sight. To do that one needs to be quick on their feet and even quicker on the sticks. Although not the most exciting prospect for medics of the three, I will admit that light medics do seem useful in terms of being able to deliver healing syringes extremely quickly to their team mates. Even if they don’t have as many pips to work with as the other body types, sometimes its just about being able to actually get there that counts, and light bodies certainly are the most reliable choice in terms of getting to where you need to go. In addition, health buffing themselves will give them the durability of a medium with the mobility of a light, which could come in handy if things get hairy. Overall, I feel like light medics are kind of “meh”, but if you want someone on your team who can respond quickly and efficiently to your being downed, light medics are the way to go.
Medium Medic
Medium medics are alright. To me, they are basically the same as light medics just a little less maneuverable for the sake of being better equipped to defend themselves. If they buff themselves they can be quite durable, but those pips are better spent on team mates then themselves. Overall, they seem alright. I recognize their uses, but they just don’t seem as awesome as a fit for medics as heavies to me.
Heavy Medics
In my opinion, heavies seem born to be medics. They have loads of pips to use on healing and buffing, and if they buff themselves they basically become a walking tank. Heavies are durable enough to walk in the line of fire to heal people, and large enough to carry big guns to defend themselves with. If there was any body type I want my team’s medics to be, it’s heavies. Even if they are getting to me slower, at least they have a better chance of getting to me alive.
Operatives
Light Operatives
No, operatives are not ninjas. They are a support class designed for reconnaissance and frustration. That being said, they do some pretty cool ninja stuff. Lights are the ideal class for operatives, considering most of the operative’s time will be spent maneuvering around the fight and behind enemy lines to pee in their cheerios. Such maneuvering calls for…well…maneuverability, and as we all know light body types are basically the poster child for maneuverability in Brink. Whether its hacking command posts, disguising themselves, or sneaking up behind people to plant sticky bombs on them, none of these can be done if you aren’t fast and agile enough to get behind the fight in the first place. Suffice to say that if you want to be an operative, you should be a light body type.
Medium Operatives
Like I said, be a light body type.
Heavy Operatives
No seriously, be a light body type. You really better have a good excuse for being a heavy operative. Like…something that we don’t know about the game yet for operatives that doesn’t involve a constant necessity to back flip over 15 foot walls.
So overall here is how I see the classes and, at this point given the limited information we have, what I think the most ideal class/body combinations are going to be. This is in no way me fortelling some grand strategy of what to be in Brink. That is all up to you guys to determine how you want to play. Consider this more of a theory post than a “my word is truth” post.
Soldier - Be a Medium. They can take enough punishment to plant bombs and are more than capable of fighting their way through front lines.
Engineer - Be a light or Heavy. It depends on your play style; Lights for annoying the hell out of the enemy and Heavies for throwing down serious firepower.
Medic - Be a Heavy. They can actually survive the run to get to downed team mates and have enough pips to keep the buffs coming all game.
Operative - Be a light. Seriously…be a light.
What are your guys’/gals’ opinions? How do you see the potential match ups of body types and classes?
