(keep in mind this in is regards to t3 and PUGs but really applies to all) OK, so here’s my problem, buff gets significantly less points than a debuff on a kill. Yet they may have been equally effective. No way to know for sure on either.
Buff is up more than debuff generally…which usually indicates a higher usefulness, yet again gets far far less reward in points. This isn’t even mentioning either the bug or the purpose behind not always getting the buff points for a kill.
You might mention range of effects…well what about all that passive time regening your hulls and shields while not in combat?
Trust me, I’ve played guards as well as engineers, and guards are way way way easier to get points/credits with.
Now risk vs reward. Specifically engineer vs guard frigate. So yes, engineer used to be way overpowered, but I think we can all agree they’ve been put back into line? Anyway, engineer style generally puts them back behind the front line (while remaining in buff range) yet still being the number one target. And therefor almost never get beacon caps (or being in optimal dmg range, or i.e. getting as many kills) which puts them behind on points and more importantly on contracts/loyalty. In PUGs I die constantly (mostly talking t3 here.) So its not even worth it to go engineer. I’d rather play selfish. Which isn’t great for overall game.
I really don’t think this is right. All I ask is that buff is equal to debuff in assists.
Thanks
The only problem though is if everybody else on your team is thinking the same way…play selfishly for kills, fighting away from objectives etc. Then nobody brings an engineer, and with no heals in any game type other than Detonation it’s just a matter of time until your team gets rolled. This also creates a problem for that one person who does fly an engineer…he’s the only healer and because of it get’s focused.
An ideal setup is for at least 3 players to play engineer. This way engineers can support each other with remote shield regens, drones, shooting targets harassing the other healers etc. This also means the enemy team has 3 targets to worry about versus just 1 meaning unless you overextend (i.e. flying out in the open without support) the enemy team will have to focus all 3 healers back to back to take away your team’s regen auras. This leaves time for the rest of your team to pick off key targets (the other team’s engineers, guards, etc)
Debuffs tend to be single target or very short range. Buffs are usually 4.5k in radius, so you should expect to get a lot more buff assists than debuff. I still frequently finish top 3 in my engy with 40+ assists.
LRFs also don’t get beacon caps. It’s kind of annoying but not strictly an engineering problem. Some ships are just more likely to get caps than others.
This also creates a problem for that one person who does fly an engineer…he’s the only healer and because of it get’s focused.
*Raises hand*
That would normally be me…
The key to making good points with buff assists is positioning imho.
For engineer this can be quite difficult as enemies like to focus them, but if you manage to support your team with buffs while staying alive then you’re doing it right.
Warp Gate helps a lot getting out of trouble if you react in time.
And remember, you can turn buff assists into kill assists easily by firing on the target that your team fires on with your long-range weapons on an engineer, bringing the assist up to 80 points.
Also, as a support player (I play command fighters and engineer frigs mainly) I can tell you that imho engineer frigs healing is still overpowered, at the very least its effect on the team is. And winning is a lot of fun, while playing selfish chances are you need to console yourself with the number of kills/assists you made because yet again, it was the other team who won.