Change starting merc Aura for Sawbones

(Juan518) #1

I think sawbones is more run & gun and new players who have played FPS are used to that. What do you think?

http://forums.dirtybomb.nexon.net/discussion/19955/change-the-starting-mercs#latest

(watsyurdeal) #2

Personally I think we should just give them Phoneix, but that’s just me.

(Juan518) #3

@Watsyurdeal said:
Personally I think we should just give them Phoneix, but that’s just me.

That also would be fine. But sawbones cost 30k and phoenix 50k and i think sawbones abilities are easier to understans and use

(blisteringOwlNest) #4

I think having a more skilled medic that isnt for running and gunning helps reinforce the idea that this isn’t a typical TDM game, whereas I can see most sawbonez only using health packs on themselves while trying to take on everyone themselves.

(Hibbsan) #5

i don’t really see the point in doing that.

(Juan518) #6

When i started using aura i found very hard to use shotguns and frustrating (could only happen to me :confused: )

(sentimentalDime) #7

Aura’s healing station is one of the simplest abilities to use, and some of the most basic, and potent strategies rely on it.
She’s perfect for a beginner, except for the fact that she uses shotguns.

(blisteringOwlNest) #8

@Juan518 I know what you mean, I couldn’t (and still can’t) use shotguns to save my life (literally, in some cases) but I think it’s good as it shows what the games standard is. Then, they can buy. Merc more in line with their tastes at about level 5 when they get their first 50/30k credits.
That’s also why I think there should be a starter engineer, to have a taste of everything.

(Juan518) #9

[quote=“blisteringOwlNest;106877”]@Juan518 I know what you mean, I couldn’t (and still can’t) use shotguns to save my life (literally, in some cases) but I think it’s good as it shows what the games standard is. Then, they can buy. Merc more in line with their tastes at about level 5 when they get their first 50/30k credits.
That’s also why I think there should be a starter engineer, to have a taste of everything.[/quote]

Like proxy

(Maggot) #10

Most newbie Auras do the exact same thing. Only plant their heal station when they need healing, soon as they reach full hp, they pick it back up and rush back in.

(Izzy) #11

Most newbie Auras do the exact same thing. Only plant their heal station when they need healing, soon as they reach full hp, they pick it back up and rush back in.[/quote]

Well, depends on the situation. It is also sometimes as stupid to let it unattended, get it wrecked, and not being able to use it when needed. Either you play area control, and let it on the ground with you nearby, or you play roaming but should keep it with you.

(Bestfinlandball) #12

Yes and no.
Aura is fine since the healing station is simple to use, but aura is also hard to use effectively.(good station placements, flanking, etc)
I also see a lot of new players sticking the healing station down in the middle of a firefight where it gets destroyed right away.
Sawbonez would be nice because he gets access to weapons that are easier to use, and medpacks would possibly be a bit more familiar to new players.

(Cappe) #13

@Maggot
Same can happen with sawbonez only using his healthpacks for himself, at least with aura’s healing station you can use it while its there.

(Apofenas) #14

Hello.

I dislike the idea of making Sawbones a starting merc. Because he has best combat potential out of all medics and very good healing potential. However he lacks ability to restore his own health which is one of the main reasons new players take medic.

But i dislike Aura being starting merc either. She is the merc that requires knowledge of how to move to dodge, how blishlock works or how to operate with shotgun load out on long distance ect ect. What i mean is that without knowledge of the game basics this merc is just a fast low HP merc with shotgun. Yes heal station heals everybody, but players also need to know how to, where to place it and when to reclaim and change position. However in hands of experienced player it’s very powerfull medic that scores a lot of kills and gets even more points from health insurrance of entire team. I think if there wass a statistic which merc has most kills and most XP per game, Aura would be in first place.

The medic that should be starting one is Phoenix. He has average hp and movement speed, good SMG weapons, healing ability that heals him and all allies nearby and what’s most importantly every player has him these days. And his self-reviving ability would actually be a good way for new players to learn to finish enemies from first DB game.

(wolvie) #15

Sawbonez 2 stronk

(HoopleDoople) #16

Aura is a really bad starting medic IMO. Low health and a Shotgun is going to make the vast majority of Auras terrible at combat. The healing station is seemingly simple, but newbies still can’t use it effectively. Without map knowledge or the ability to defend their health station, beginner Auras rarely place their healing station anywhere useful and if they do it doesn’t last long at all.

Phoenix is probably the most beginner friendly, though even he is often misused horribly by beginners. Bad Phoenixes selfishly heal only themselves and play overly reckless, assuming their self-revive will save them. The fact that his heal can be charged is also pretty unintuitive. I personally didn’t figure this out until I noticed other Phoenixes delaying their heal.

Regardless of who is the starter medic, the game needs to do a better job of teaching beginners how to play medic and encouraging them to not neglect their duties in favor of combat.

(magnanimousMagician) #17

Aura really isn’t easy at all for new players to use. You are right that simply by placing down her healing fountain she does SOMETHING, whereas Sawbonez has to actively participate to contribute, but that shouldn’t be the metric. How helpful the noobs are is way less important than how much fun they have in the first 30 minutes. The fun a player has in the first thirty minutes decides whether they stick with the game.

So the question is: which medic is easier to do decently with (including getting kills) the answer there is clearly sawbonez.

Noobs playing aura are likely to go something like 4/15. Noobs playing sawbonez stand to do a bit better. Longterm its important we make the introduction experience as enjoyable as possibile. Sawbonez.