Posted this in the announcements section earlier thinking this thread was dead. Just noticed the recent posts. Also added to it in response to latest changes in the game.
Alright, so I'm back on my PC after a whole month, downloaded the new Live version and played a long while with most of the latest stuff. Just wanted to drop a bit of feedback regarding that.
Regen Core: Love the new mechanics. When I was playing in a "proper" game, I was LO with the Regen Core. I noticed that it has become a bit of an annoyance to hold the button rather than to just tap it which was previously the case. Because of the small cooldown and the good bit of health regeneration(pros of the core), I feel that the button hold mechanic is the right one for this kind of core, justifying those two pros even if it's a bit irritating to use.
Healing others is a bit of a hassle. I healed my flag carrier once and I tried to do it again, but ended up making him throw the flag as I probably looked like I wanted him to pass it to me. This isn't a problem with the core, it's just a matter of being aware of what your teammate is trying to do. I was actually a bit surprised by his action cause the healing effect of the core is clearly visible.
Too bad the Ally healing is 25 points and not 25 % heal to the ally, don't know if that's even possible cause 25 points aren't much for heavies since their health pool is the largest and natural regen rate, the slowest. If it's 25% it'll be worthwhile to heal a heavy when he's got the flag, and that kind of thing might even encourage players to go heavy on D more often and get help from one other player to heal them every now and then. There isn't also a way to abuse this to constantly heal the heavy, as I've noticed today that it's really hard to heal the other player while under attack(the target keeps moving). Overall, I think this core is very useful especially in the hands of people who like to take on supportive roles like Stay-D and Capper Escort.
Dodge Core: Another core I played around with for a while today. I have mixed feelings on this one. First of all, I'm bummed out that it's not "dodge where I point to". I've felt this way since the day it was introduced. Wish it was more like the iOD, where I get to dodge to where I point and not in the direction of the last key pressed. Also, I feel that the cooldown time is a bit much, kinda breaks the rhythm or something, can't put my finger on it.
My suggestion for this core would be to change it so that you dodge to where you see(i.e. to where your reticle is pointing), and not according to the last directional key pressed. Also would like to see something like a bounce-off mechanic after hitting a wall. Like let's say I look at the wall at an angle like 45deg up and dodge, I hit the wall, bounce and travel a 10m extra distance after. The 10m would be the distance no matter at what point of the core's activation your body touches the wall(won't work if you hit the wall after the dodge core subsides).
Shield Core: Well, I'm not sure how the current mechanic will fare(the 2 second activation with 50% damage resistance), but just in case it doesn't seem that effective, here's my idea. Make it hold "R" mechanic, complete damage nullifying capability until energy is 0(like the previous tap R to activate/deactivate iteration). Basically, what this does is to allow the player to time his shield activation by holding R and releasing it when the danger has passed. So I guess it's more accurate to say he's holding up the shield rather than activating it. There will be no energy gain while the shield is up, instead the energy will be drained at a minor pace.
There will be no cooldown between uses of the shield. The player will be given seamless access to the core with only the energy to be paid as price for the damage nullification. But, if the player's shield is up, and his energy being too low for the shield to fully block the damage, there will be a shield break effect which will add a cooldown penalty of 10 seconds. For example, let's say I held up my shield at 25% energy and got directly hit by a rocket, my shield would "break" and the core will enter a 10 second cooldown as penalty. It's pretty much a warning to the player; Use the core whenever you need it, but don't overuse it. The 10 sec penalty is just what I was able to think of, I was also thinking reduced energy regeneration but that could be overkill.
Boost Core: Could use a bit of damage debuff. I mean while it's made to provide newbies an alternative who can't use the Boost grenades, it's quite punishing. You also can't ignore the fact that the one "Core slot" is used for the boost, people who are able to boost with the grenades equip other cores like Regen/Shield and carry an advantage.
Let me know what you guys think.
The old warp wasn't bad, it's just the fact that it gave cappers such a huge advantage, that some players found a way to get back to the home base without actually touching the ground. And with its mechanics it was just impossible to get close enough to even scratch them. It was just ridiculous.