To Solve The Support Class Once and For All

As defined on Google.com:

Support - support materially or financially, back: be behind; approve of, a military operation to strengthen a military force or aid in the performance of its mission

Alright, now that we're all educated in what Support means, lets move on. Now before you flame this post Mr.Support man, hear me out because this will benefit your class in a way which it should have been in the first place. The Support class can hack into turrets to make them stronger in all ways, correct? This is great! The Support class can even create his own turret (firebase) to aid his teamates in combat! This is also great. The Support can call in artillery to help out which is fine because it has a large cool-down! That is what I like about the Support class.

So if this class was meant to be supportive, why do I often see them running around racking up kills? This is what I am proposing; a change on this class for the better. How about UberEntertainment makes it so that Support can build turrets for cheaper. Lets say around 10-15% cheaper. Then we lower his base health (make it the same as Assault?) because lets face it, he has a LOT of health. Then we slightly lower his movement speed, and put a reload on his infinite Heal/Hurt gun. Are you still with me? Instead of nerfing the firebase, how about we make it so that once the Support dies, his firebase gets destroyed too.

I couldn't decide whether to post this on the Feedback/Issues section or the Wishlist section because this IS feedback, and the things I've posted above ARE issues, but this is also a "wish" I suppose. Please take this in to consideration for those of you who read the entire thing. Thanks.

I play as Support a lot and have been commenting in the 'Support is OP...' threads around here but I have to say that this may be the first reasonable suggestion I've heard. I completely disagree with the reload for the HH gun but I like the idea of cheaper turrets and his health could be lowered to compensate. I'm not sure the FB should go away if the Support is killed but if it is then it should be fully cooled so it can be deployed again at spawn.

I've been pissed lately watching supports run past nub without building turrets or running past turrets that are damaged without healing them. I like playing a little more offensively wiht the Suoopt class but when they are the only ones who can do these things people really need to do them. That's why it's a class based team game.

If you're going to have the firebase destroyed whenever the support dies you'd need to reduce it's cool down, and maybe have it start healing at level 2 since you want to lower his health as well.

Glad to see that there are some reasonable people on these forums. Alright so you don't want the HH gun to have a reload. How about you only need to reload it when you use LT and use the Hurt part of it? Give it a pretty large mag, and a quick reload. As for the firebase cooldown, I'd say its fine how it is but how about (assuming my idea where you die, so does your firebase is active) that instead of spawning with another firebase ready, the cooldown is already ... half done.

Not gona work unless the turret can be setup instantly with faster cooldown as well. Do you know how vulnerable it is when you are trying to setup a turret at choke-point against good opponent?

The best offense is the best defense.

Even if you are playing the support role, you still need to charge in and assist your teammate. Seriously if you only camp in base setting up turret & healing...you are only giving your opponent the opportunity to keep pressuring your team. I thought we should be discouraging camping...not encouraging it.

May I suggest that they add more points for healing or assists for healing someone who killed someone. Give supports more points for providing support instead of kills. Although I do play support and I do love his shotgun ever so much, I think the firebase should be nerfed among everything. I don't find the support has that much health, if you lower their health they will be insta killed by assassins from the front. Maybe toning down damage of assassin frontal grab as well then it might be a good idea. It is annoying that I get less ponts for helping than camping a firebase.

I took you seriously, as I play Support myself, until I read this.

It's player preference, more or less. The way I play my class (I operate as a base-defense/field-medic combination) is my choice, just because you don't like it, doesn't mean it should be nerfed.

I could bitch and moan about how I hate that a majority of MNC's snipers just use traps and the SMG, but that's their choice. I won't ask them to nerf the traps or the SMG, I'll just keep letting them play.

Oh my, for once someone made a topic about the support That does not rage or bash the class outright. Anyhow, Lowering his Health just a wee bit would be good. But the reload on his HH gun or the his firebases getting removed when he dies.

Also, maybe a 15% to 25% discount for supports on building turrets and a 10% discount for upgrading them further?

So, in other words, just remove all incentive to play as support.

the support just needs a reason to play support, whats the point of camping in your base getting bored and getting a pittance for healing turrets when you can go out and kill stuff?
needs a buff more than anything

I have experimented with all of the classes in blitz, but have ALWAYS played SUPPORT in crossfire. As a person that gravitates toward support roles in all team based games (MMOs, shooters etc.), I do think the support class has a tendency to lean toward being more offensive. I realize that people have free will and can choose how to play. Depending on my team I either play a base defense or teammate/field defense/offensive mix. I think that support should not be "nerfed" but altered to be more of a support archetype.

1. By all means keep the airstrike...yes it does massive damage, but good players see it coming a mile away and can be avoided. Despite what people say it takes skill to really use the airstrikes effectively and strategically. Yes the common noob can spam three airstrikes and maybe get a lucky kill, however, I enjoy pinpointing my airstrikes by toss them a good distance at a unsuspecting target (deployed tank/gunner, tunnel vision sniper etc.). Again if you get caught with an airstrike its your fault..there are both visual and audible clues to GET AWAY!

2. Turret: The only way I rack up kills is if I have good turret placement and stupid opponents. I think it is the Support's real moneymaker. Since I try to not to be a camper I usually place my turret, hack and overheal then move elsewhere. Instead of the turret being destroyed when the support it dead, why not have a "trigger". As soon as the support is killed, the turret immediately begins to decay...and is then destroyed after a certain amount of time.

To counter the decay the support would have to pick up the turret. Reasoning: If a turret it destroyed then it has to have a FULL skill recharge. If the turret is picked up the skill does not have to fully recharge again. This gives the support a choice..let turret stay where it is for the decay time and wait for full recharge OR go retrieve it and place it again, overheal again, and hack again.

3. Shotgun: Keep it the way it is....its really the only good assassin defense IMO.

4. Hurt/Heal Gun: Hurt: This is what needs to be changed...the damage it does is small than I only use it against bots and other Support who think its a good idea to shotgun me....silly silly. Instead of HURT why not make it have the effect of the scramblers...skill drain or some kind of debuff. The Support could choose to support his teammates by healing or debuffing the opponent.

Discuss

Interesting idea but they would need to make sure you got an assist for draining skills to make money. Right now if you do any damage you get an assist unless the target heals fully.

Is that too much to ask?

its fine how it is.

One thing I dislike about the Support Class, without really getting into the class, is the ability to cancel an airstrike. If they target and place it that should be it. Now I don't know if this is for sure but I am almost positive. There have been times where a Support lays down an Airstrike and I notice so I get out of the way only to find nothing happen.

What really was going on was that Support was trying to get that Airstrike to be locked on me instead of the ground. Like I said I haven't played Support enough to know, Is he canceling his airstrike or did/does something else happen?

The HH gun having some kind of reload just will not work for this class nor would the firebase being destroyed upon death. Maybe a slight aesthetic and physical change to the HH gun such as a button press (character animation and slight waiting time) that switches between the two.

I'm pretty sure you CAN"T cancel your airstrike.

You cannot cancel the Airstrike after throwing it. I noticed that most of the time it is when you throw an Airstrike under a bridge/second story it will either not recognize the right layer to hit and hits the top floor / hit the bottom floor / or not go off at all.

I think the reload on the Heal/Hurt gun is a bad idea. It is primarily used for healing friends/turrets/bots instead of hurting foes/turrets/bots. Making it to where you have to reload would just be an annoyance beyond anything. I would say if ANYTHING was to be done to the Heal/Hurt gun it would be to lower the rate of heal slightly and raise the rate of hurt slightly.

The Firebase should remain alive after the Support death. It is really NOT that hard to destroy especially for Gunner/Tank/Assassin/Sniper when the Support is not around. If anything I would LOVE to have an auto destruct button on the Firebase for AoE damage.

I do not feel that the Airstrike is overpowered in the least. It takes skill to be able to stick a pro in the middle of a fight ( especially for Support in the middle of a fight and SURVIVE ). Think about it this way, the Airstrike has to be UPGRADE to level 3 for it to be completely effective, the radius on it for level 1 is so small it wouldn't destroy the normal wave of bots ( 1 Blackjack and 2 Slim ).

The only thing that I think is overpowered is when 2 Support are running at you giving each other overshield and nothing can be done about it. There has to be completely focus on one to kill that one before starting on the other. This could be changed by lowering the rate of Heal ( or better yet, overhealing ) that a Support can do to another Support. I find it that the Support IS a great class because it can be multifunctional and support his team on multiple levels of strategy. Limiting him in so many ways will only make the Support so useless and boring to play that it would be rare to find someone WILLING to play one in ANY gametype. The Support main offensive capabilities is at mid to close range which are easily out classed by 4 out of the 6 classes ( Assassin not included. ) Please keep in mind that his is coming from a multi class player who favors the Support because of the multiple roles he can fill at any ONE time in match.