My take on MAX abilities.

[Vectorian]

Some of these ideas I got from other people but tried to balance with other factions. Each MAX has a main ability and a Long Cooldown special.

VS:

Skiing ability - to quickly jet to the left, right, or forward and backwards and shoot at the same time has a bar that replenishes over time.

Coalescent Shot - Long cooldown High Damage similar to samus' shot from metroid lol, They charge up their gun for about 3-5 seconds and slows them down a bit while charging. Has a large plasma explosion when it impacts the target for high damage.

NC:

Shield - Keep their shield they have now has a bar that replenishes over time.

Sonic Punch - Long cooldown Blasts enemies in front of them outward does Medium damage maybe enemies can take fall damage as well added onto original damage lol.

TR:

Overdrive - Guns fire much faster their overdrive has a bar that will replenish over time.

Artillery Strike - Long Cooldown they hunker down and cant move while doing this and shoot rapid cluster bombs into the targeted location and it rains down shells that explode in the air and split into many bomblets good for taking out fortified positions.

[SniperSteve]

Sounds like you have been playing League of Legends too much. :P

[Vectorian]

Actually I've only played that a game a few times lol

[CutterJohn]

I rather wish the MAXs didn't have unique empire specific abilities. It was a very weird aspect of PS1 that existed nowhere else in the game, and I worry about such a thing being in PS2, or worse, expanded on to other infantry and vehicles.

[Vectorian]

Originally Posted by CutterJohn

I rather wish the MAXs didn't have unique empire specific abilities. It was a very weird aspect of PS1 that existed nowhere else in the game, and I worry about such a thing being in PS2, or worse, expanded on to other infantry and vehicles.

What would be the point of having different unique empires if none of them had unique weaponry or abilities. Seems like the game would be kind of stale to me if everything was common pool imo.

[WorldOfForms]

I hate to say it but skiing sounds like fun for the MAX user, but no fun for the opponent.

Anti-MAX weaponry will likely be similar to PS1: slow firing with limited ammo. This means that a MAX that can easily dodge your first shot will be like instant death and that's not fun.

PS1 VS MAXes could jump to dodge, but it was rather slow and predictable: they could only go in one direction so if you were smart you'd be ready for it.

Skiing, even if it could only be used once before a cooldown, would mean the MAX would basically have a free kill whenever its cooldown was ready.

The MAX is slow, but armored. Don't give it a dodge ability, thus negating its only weakness.

[Vectorian]

Originally Posted by WorldOfForms

I hate to say it but skiing sounds like fun for the MAX user, but no fun for the opponent.

Anti-MAX weaponry will likely be similar to PS1: slow firing with limited ammo. This means that a MAX that can easily dodge your first shot will be like instant death and that's not fun.

PS1 VS MAXes could jump to dodge, but it was rather slow and predictable: they could only go in one direction so if you were smart you'd be ready for it.

Skiing, even if it could only be used once before a cooldown, would mean the MAX would basically have a free kill whenever its cooldown was ready.

The MAX is slow, but armored. Don't give it a dodge ability, thus negating its only weakness.

MAXs are inherently going to get more kills than other soldiers just because they are heavier armored. But they turn slow and the other empires will have abilities that will get them kills just as well. Like the NC MAX having a shield will allow to take more damage just as the VS MAX if it had an ability to ski every once in a while they both avoid direct damage. In the original PS I still downed many MAXs as long as you used strategy against them like strafing around them or phoenix or lancer from afar it wasn't hard to destroy them.

[Blackwolf]

Originally Posted by WorldOfForms

I hate to say it but skiing sounds like fun for the MAX user, but no fun for the opponent.

Anti-MAX weaponry will likely be similar to PS1: slow firing with limited ammo. This means that a MAX that can easily dodge your first shot will be like instant death and that's not fun.

PS1 VS MAXes could jump to dodge, but it was rather slow and predictable: they could only go in one direction so if you were smart you'd be ready for it.

Skiing, even if it could only be used once before a cooldown, would mean the MAX would basically have a free kill whenever its cooldown was ready.

The MAX is slow, but armored. Don't give it a dodge ability, thus negating its only weakness.

Since skiing is my brainchild, I must defend.

I understand the concern but I really doubt the DEVs are going to limit you to 1 option for AV. I suspect that you'll have at least 2 options, and highly modable ones at that.

And if the VS had a skiing ability, it would be easy and fair to present TR and NC with mods that made countering that ability easy. Going up against the VS and plan on MAX hunting? Grab your modded striker.

One concern that I had in PS1 was that MAX suits were easy kills. You read me. Anyone with a deci could take a MAX suit out with impunity by popping in and out of cover. It destroyed the MAX concept of powerful but slow because it made them just slow. They were suppose to be superior indoor fighters and they were dumbed down to just walking walls of free exp.

And no I didn't pilot a MAX suit often. Like I said, they were easy to kill.

[Metalsheep]

Originally Posted by Blackwolf

Since skiing is my brainchild, I must defend.

I understand the concern but I really doubt the DEVs are going to limit you to 1 option for AV. I suspect that you'll have at least 2 options, and highly modable ones at that.

And if the VS had a skiing ability, it would be easy and fair to present TR and NC with mods that made countering that ability easy. Going up against the VS and plan on MAX hunting? Grab your modded striker.

One concern that I had in PS1 was that MAX suits were easy kills. You read me. Anyone with a deci could take a MAX suit out with impunity by popping in and out of cover. It destroyed the MAX concept of powerful but slow because it made them just slow. They were suppose to be superior indoor fighters and they were dumbed down to just walking walls of free exp.

And no I didn't pilot a MAX suit often. Like I said, they were easy to kill.

As a dedicated MAX user, i will have to say that you should never try to Solo in a MAX. They are quite easy to kill since everyone has AV now.

But they most certainly arent free XP if used properly and with great teamwork. I've held tower CCs with just me and a Rexo, or me and a MAX if im Rexoing it up against huge numbers of enemies untill we eaither get reinforcements or i run out of ammunition. (With a TR MAX, running out of Ammo is quite a feat) When a group of enemies comes running towards you with their HA out, the MAX jumps out and wipes the floor with them, when they run away and draw their AV weapons, the Rexo descends upon them with his HA and finishes the job. If a AV MAX comes rolling up, the Rexo takes him out while the MAX stays in cover.

A combined force of MAXs and even just ONE softie can be devestating and highly effective.

MAXs are like Tanks, they are powerful combatants but weak against AV weapons, and require constant support from Infantry to keep it safe and doing its job effectivly.

[Metalsheep]

Samus has many different kind of Charged Shots... which kind are you thinking of specifically? Just a high damage shot, slower shot, does it leave burning damage? Or something like the Zero Laser that forces you to hold still, but hits and pierces things infront of you? (Metroid nerd) And as long as the VS dash is only usable once every long time, i could live with it. I'd hate to see MAXs like armored core ACs, dashing everywhere and dodging everything.

All MAXs already have a Melee, supposedly. The Sonic Punch seems a bit much to add on top of a Melee Oriented NC MAX.

And TR MAXs can already hunker down and unleash hell, what kind of Hell depends on what weapons they have equipped. Since TR is focused on speed, perhaps they could get an ability that speeds up their MAXs movement speed for a short period. Not quite like the VS dodge, just a general footspeed increase.

I cant think of a second ability for NC MAXs... the shield is pretty awesome all on its own.

[Vectorian]

Originally Posted by Metalsheep

Samus has many different kind of Charged Shots... which kind are you thinking of specifically? Just a high damage shot, slower shot, does it leave burning damage? Or something like the Zero Laser that forces you to hold still, but hits and pierces things infront of you? (Metroid nerd) And as long as the VS dash is only usable once every long time, i could live with it. I'd hate to see MAXs like armored core ACs, dashing everywhere and dodging everything.

All MAXs already have a Melee, supposedly. The Sonic Punch seems a bit much to add on top of a Melee Oriented NC MAX.

And TR MAXs can already hunker down and unleash hell, what kind of Hell depends on what weapons they have equipped. Since TR is focused on speed, perhaps they could get an ability that speeds up their MAXs movement speed for a short period. Not quite like the VS dodge, just a general footspeed increase.

I cant think of a second ability for NC MAXs... the shield is pretty awesome all on its own.

In regards to the VS Samus shot ability - I was going for a shot that just explodes on impact that has some area of effect to it but long cooldown on it and you cannot move very fast while charging it up to fire it. No burn damage or anything like that prob would be to op.

In regards to the Skiing ability yes it would be very limited wouldn't be able to spam it as I mentioned there is a power consumption bar for each main ability. Example: you prob could only Ski 10-20 feet in a direction maybe twice back to back before the power would be drained and have to wait for it recharge and that would be depending if you used it to go 10-20 feet. They could balance it to Ski distance to power consumption cost. So people would have to choose how much to use and when. So no abusing it to keep doing it over and over again.

[EVILPIG]

Originally Posted by Vectorian

Some of these ideas I got from other people but tried to balance with other factions. Each MAX has a main ability and a Long Cooldown special.

VS:

Skiing ability - to quickly jet to the left, right, or forward and backwards and shoot at the same time has a bar that replenishes over time.

Coalescent Shot - Long cooldown High Damage similar to samus' shot from metroid lol, They charge up their gun for about 3-5 seconds and slows them down a bit while charging. Has a large plasma explosion when it impacts the target for high damage.

NC:

Shield - Keep their shield they have now has a bar that replenishes over time.

Sonic Punch - Long cooldown Blasts enemies in front of them outward does Medium damage maybe enemies can take fall damage as well added onto original damage lol.

TR:

Overdrive - Guns fire much faster their overdrive has a bar that will replenish over time.

Artillery Strike - Long Cooldown they hunker down and cant move while doing this and shoot rapid cluster bombs into the targeted location and it rains down shells that explode in the air and split into many bomblets good for taking out fortified positions.

Interesting. You have long range mega-shots for TR and VS, yet a punch for NC. lol

If my memory serves me right, there will be at least 2 empire specific abilities for each empire plus common pool abilities. VS will have an overdrive type ability and shields will be a common pool.

The skiing for VS could happen, as some of the team is playing Tribes and could draw influence. Don't know how well it would work or even if it would be balanced. I imagine just the ability to run will be a common pool ability now.

Of course, nothing you hear is gospel. When you hear about something at this stage of development, take it as, "That's what we're thinking about right now" instead of "That's how it will be live". It's more realistic and makes things that sound overpowered easier to swallow.

[Vectorian]

Originally Posted by EVILPIG

Interesting. You have long range mega-shots for TR and VS, yet a punch for NC. lol

If my memory serves me right, there will be at least 2 empire specific abilities for each empire plus common pool abilities. VS will have an overdrive type ability and shields will be a common pool.

The skiing for VS could happen, as some of the team is playing Tribes and could draw influence. Don't know how well it would work or even if it would be balanced. I imagine just the ability to run will be a common pool ability now.

Of course, nothing you hear is gospel. When you hear about something at this stage of development, take it as, "That's what we're thinking about right now" instead of "That's how it will be live". It's more realistic and makes things that sound overpowered easier to swallow.

In regards to the NC punch ability it would prob have a bit of range on it but directly in front of the MAX maybe 15-20ft so you don't have to be point blank lol. Kind of like sending out a conal shockwave out of your fist lol and yes saying falcon punch while doing it would make it awesome. Also when they do it their suit lunges forward a little for the effect of its power.

[Blackwolf]

Originally Posted by EVILPIG

Interesting. You have long range mega-shots for TR and VS, yet a punch for NC. lol

If my memory serves me right, there will be at least 2 empire specific abilities for each empire plus common pool abilities. VS will have an overdrive type ability and shields will be a common pool.

The skiing for VS could happen, as some of the team is playing Tribes and could draw influence. Don't know how well it would work or even if it would be balanced. I imagine just the ability to run will be a common pool ability now.

Of course, nothing you hear is gospel. When you hear about something at this stage of development, take it as, "That's what we're thinking about right now" instead of "That's how it will be live". It's more realistic and makes things that sound overpowered easier to swallow.

When I originally came up with skiing I mentioned that activating the ability would let you move omni-directionally without friction on the ground, as in hover. The idea also included it being a bit tougher to control since you wouldn't stop moving in direction X just by letting up on that key, you'd coast to a stop like an actual hover vehicle (regardless of the direction you turned) unless you put energy into the opposite direction or took off hover. Easily explained as a MAX suit being too small and complex to include inertial stabilizers that automatically do a job most scientists figured the soldier could damn well do himself.

This could be easy or tough to implement depending on the way the game is coded. I suspect that since they are using a physics engine, it would be fairly easy.

I also suggested that there not be a capacitor for the ability, being harder to control would balance it out IMO, and cause players to jump from hover to standing modes frequently, even in mid combat.

Also, for the OP, this forum isn't the "idea vault" forum. You really should have just posted your ideas there.

[Ceska]

From what they said so far :

TR : keep the anchor mode and get a charge mode

NC : shield and not revealed

VS : not revealed