I'm tired, so I'll probably be echoing other posts. I'll also start rambling as well, so be prepared for this to go on longer than it needs to
I'd say MAXes are pretty well balanced, I'd say. The TR MAXes might need a wee bit of tweaking still, but even they're far from invincible.
You say out of your "huge mass," you had no MAXes yourselves? What about anti-armor infantry?
The fact of the matter is, MAXes fall quickly against the prepared. The empire-specific weapons excel at knocking them out at range, while the decimator, which
everyone has access to, is the single fastest MAX killer in the game.
Also keep in mind the MAX armors have 5 minute respawn timers. So sure you and your buddies might die assaulting a wall of MAXes, but guess what? You're back in the action in about a minute. There's no timer on your reinforced armor or your rocket launchers. All you have is a short respawn timer, a couple seconds to rearm, then a short run back to the action, depending on how close your AMS is (you DO have an ams, right?).
Your constant pouring into the base (as a TEAM) will have them attrited pretty quickly.
Certs arent exactly hard to get a hold of either, you know. You can get up to BR3 in 10 minutes without actually fighting anything. That's 6 cert points total. Getting to 5 can be done easily in a casual, solo evening. Getting to 8 is also a simple matter for your first night if you're in a good squad that's seeing some heavy action. That's 11 cert points for Medium Assault, Reinforced Armor, and either Anti-Vehicular or Special Assault with points left over for a support cert or a vehicle...
...which brings me to my next point. MAX pilots give up a lot for their armor and firepower.
They cant heal themselves or repair themselves. They cant lay turrets, mines or even clear their own path through said mines.
They cant hack a base or any terminals, let alone doors. They cant drive or ride any vehicles, except the galaxy or sunder, both of which require specific bases to be held to gain access to.
And with the exception of TR chaingun MAX, they cant efficiently engage targets outside of their specialization either.
Not to mention the fact that they cant be spawned at an AMS...
They're also very easy to overwhelm, given their turn speed. Two prepared soldiers can flatten a MAX by a coordinated assault. The single MAX will die so fast that the soldiers suffer little damage, or even none at all if the MAX pilot gets flustered even for a second.
Of course, even odds are more difficult, but equally so for both sides.
Three MAXes will do serious damage to 3 infantry, but god help them if the inf are prepared with decimators. If that's the case, 2 of the MAXes will likely fall almost instantly, but the inf will get whomped by the last one while swapping weapons. In circumstances like that, it's been my experience that winner is decided by sheer luck... like who opens fire first, or how much focused-fire the fight sees.
Aaanyway, my point is MAXes are not invincible... not by a long shot. They fill their role, and us regular infantry fill ours.
They draw fire, help us clear a room and cover us up while we hack.
In turn, we help them take out soldiers with anti-vehicle weapons, repair them and transport them.
Sorry if this was stupidly long. my mind wanders when I'm tired
Oh, and I'm not a "big ass leet" or a "max slut."
