Also the EOC. I remember liking it way more "back in the day", this could be because i was playing lower level and it worked better against easier opponents. May also be because I played a lot of siege pre TPG-S1. Now its kinda lame. Make it fly faster or something.
EOC why you don't fly alittle faster??? It would make a huge difference for flying targets. Right now flying is kryptonite to EOC R
EOC Repeater, I really like using it, but its projectiles are too slow. Only really use it in co-op.
I find all the different assault rifles and shotguns boring.
Sooo, I've been using EOC Infil pretty extensively. My conclusion is that the EOC is actually a very easy weapon to hit with. It's difficult to get a full hit with, but you can hit and do damage with it nonetheless - and in 1v1's, it shines.
The problem is that the reason it shines in 1v1's is that time is not an issue. On Test Arena - the designated area for one on ones, there are a million opportunities to stick to cover. It's very densely packed, perhaps moreso than any position on any map, and more importantly - as is the nature of 1v1s, you only need cover from a single direction. In any game that's actually a challenge, including DM, time is of the essence - you never know when unidirectional cover will cease to be effective. Your weapon is not capable of taking out multiple mechs without at the bare minimum, significant distraction or a 500 point difference in MMR.
One of the strategies I use - and one of the only effective methods of playing infil - is to get behind enemy lines, gain superior intelligence on enemy position, anticipate a moment of weakness, and strike, whereby the first time the enemy is aware of your presence is when you strike. (if you have a team pushing in at the same time, all the better.)
However, more often than not, that moment of weakness occurs in the open, and in this case sustained runs the show. Here's where we run into a problem.
The maximum fire rate of the EOC R is once every 1.5 seconds. If you're lucky, and the weakness falls on a technician, a scout, or another infiltrator, AND you happen to have a Det or HE charge, AND you land every single shot from your fully charged EOC, as well as landing a direct shot with both your Det and your nade (that's 100% accuracy with all three weapons that you are firing) AND you manage to do this from a distance in which three weapons that deal splash damage won't hurt you - then you'll probably live. (it's a 1 shot kill)
Playing EOC infil is fun.
However, if you are unlucky enough to be standing in front of ANYTHING with more health than an infiltrator, there's a big chance you'll die.
1.) It's difficult to land every shot. It's rare to catch someone repairing or standing still at the exact moment you fire. You usually miss 1 or 2 pucks regardless. Add in the pressure of it being pretty much necessary to pull off if you want to live, and that difficulty can multiply. But, difficulty is one of the reasons Hawken can be so rewarding. My only real gripe with this is that one of those weapons pretty much has to be an item.
2.) This is the important one. 1.5 seconds until your next shot - and that shot is going to net you a maximum of 76 damage. It is in most scenarios better to keep on charging through that 1.5 seconds to 3 seconds in the hopes of getting a shot off for 152. Yes, that's correct, the charged and uncharged variants do the same DPS.
However, in 1.5 seconds,
a)both the AM SAR and slug reaper without scoping in can do 174 damage to you (181 for the AM SAR), and 195 scoped in (196 for AM SAR). The RPR will net a max of 215 damage in 1.5 seconds - 200 if the reaper does not scope in. This is literally the only mech that after getting a full alpha including an item off you actually want to push.
b)a berserker using an assault rifle can do 263 damage to you without the ability. With the ability it can do 303 damage, and that means if you've taken any self damage, you are dead before you can finish the job. Obviously it gets worse with the other primaries.
Now those are the mechs that are going to actually be at a DPS disadvantage after you land that initial alpha - and that's conditional on the berserker having an assault rifle and you not taking almost any self damage at all. Those are the mechs that after 1.5 seconds, you will be able to kill them.
c) The slug SS is debatable. While you will not be able to kill a fully alpha'd SS in 1.5 seconds, you can kill them in three - while they cannot do the same.
On other mechs the damage that can be done in 1.5 seconds varies, but at this point it does not matter - your next shot at 1.5 seconds will never kill them. At 2.5 seconds for the grenade launcher or 3 for the charged EOC, your options grow a little, but almost every competitive mech in the game has a DPS at or above 130, and that's all they need to kill you before you're even able to fire another grenade (lets not forget that if you die before your grenade makes contact with something, it will disappear, soooo there's that - and all of this is again conditional on a charged EOC or grenade being what you need to finish them off - so seriously - forget about C classes completely if you're in any danger of another enemy engaging during your fight [and of course if survival is imperative].)
The EOC puck's speed is not what debilitates it. It's that in combination with the grenade launcher which does 125 damage per direct hit every 2.5 seconds for a total mech DPS of 102 (up from the 2.25 seconds and equivalent damage of the TOW), it is just numerically improbable that you will win your fight against almost every mech. After that initial alpha, chances are you're already short on fuel due to the fuel draining ability and it's frequent necessity of use to get into position, (and while playing a burst mech, mobility is critical) and if you have a maximum of 102 DPS - accessible only after a significant period of time, after your alpha drops, you are caught with your pants down, hard.
Super run on sentence.
Speed is not what debilitates it - it is sheer DPS.
I can't speak for either the raider or the predator, as I've never been particularly talented with the raider, and the predator has a much more fun accessible primary, and the rocketeer is just derp regardless, but on the infil, using the EOC is like chopping off your hand. In a fun way.
EOC needs greater DPS. Period. Preferably in the form of a decrease in reload time - though an increase in shot damage might also work.
You sir, are an uncultured donkey.