What is to be considered an "unfair" weapon?

[steveo_justice]

Call me crazy, but I think the W1200 with a grip was ridiculously overpowered in CoD4. For those of you who don't remember, it was the pump action shotgun.

If you take it with stopping power, it essentially became a really long melee knife (thats what she said) that instakilled anyine whithin 20 feet of you. It's fucking awesome.

Usually, in my opinion, most instakill rays are things like the rocket launcher in Halo and get used only by n00bs who have no skill, and consequently win. The majority of gamers would be too good to use such weapons, but not skilled enough to weild guns like said W1200 and kick ass with them, and thus end up loosing.

 

[keyton777]

i would think a weapon that is unfair is something like the far-sight XR-120 from perfect dark, way back when on the n64, damn thing could shoot thru any walls, and it had an X-ray scope, how do you take on somethign like that when a human is useing it, they dont need to sit still you can walk and still be able to assassinate anybody in a 10sq. mile radius

 

[Albino Ninja]

I think all guns should shoot butterflies and marshmellow fluff. But seriously, the thing is if you base the game off of modern technology it is going to be unbalanced. You see the point of war is to create the most powerful weapon you can so that encounters are as short as possible with minimal casualties.

 

[brainless906]

It depends on the situation, really. People complain when a weapon allows players of obviously lower skill (or at least so they think) to defeat them or their tactical advantage. Any weapon that is far better than it has any business being.

I dunno what state the balance changes made to Halo 2 are in now, but do you guys remember back when it first came out the whole game was just a mad dash for the sword and to a lesser extent the shotgun? Because once you had one of those you were basically a god. That kind of thing. It's definitely open to interpretation, and which weapons are "far better than they have any business being" depends on where the metagame currently stands.

I would also go as far as to say that the so called "unfair" weapon really changes from person to person. merely because of the skill in which the player has.

Just because the weapon does the most damage does not mean it is the best. and people saying no using the "unfair" weapons are merely saying "hay dont use what will kill me" personally this happens to me alot in halo 3. i am constantly called a "shotty whore" while everyone rushes for a sword or a rocket launcher.

 

[Soulgaunt]

every time I, or anyone else, kill my friend in Halo, the weapon I use to kill him is automatically considered a "noob weapon".

 

[DaMunky89]

Usually, in my opinion, most instakill rays are things like the rocket launcher in Halo and get used only by n00bs who have no skill, and consequently win. The majority of gamers would be too good to use such weapons, but not skilled enough to weild guns like said W1200 and kick ass with them, and thus end up loosing.

To be fair, I can't comment on it if it's not Halo, because while I'm not a fanboy, I don't own an Xbox and that's just what my friends play when we hang out. But to that end, the rocket launcher is not that broken. As of Halo 3 it doesn't track anymore, and if you time your jump right you can survive to regenerate your shield in all of five seconds.

 

[Curtmiester]

I don't understand why there called noob weapons. I mean aren't noob supose to suck?

 

[SBoggart]

If it can be outwardly exploited to have an unintentionally powerful result then I call that unfair. Sure, there are powerful weapons that require minimal skill, but if you have it and can use it to its fullest extent, then you're playing the game as the designers intended.

 

[O277]

i love it how people say that Chainsawing in GoW is for noobs
but getting beaten down doesnt go as a noob atack

anybody who let's someone come in close enough to get meleed or chainsawed or tagged or whatever is not using the right tactics

But its the most fun! Not that im a n00b or anything lol

 

[keyton777]

Call me crazy, but I think the W1200 with a grip was ridiculously overpowered in CoD4. For those of you who don't remember, it was the pump action shotgun.

If you take it with stopping power, it essentially became a really long melee knife (thats what she said) that instakilled anyine whithin 20 feet of you. It's fucking awesome.

Usually, in my opinion, most instakill rays are things like the rocket launcher in Halo and get used only by n00bs who have no skill, and consequently win. The majority of gamers would be too good to use such weapons, but not skilled enough to weild guns like said W1200 and kick ass with them, and thus end up loosing.

-_-
they were both pump action shotguns pick one, and it wasnt over powered alls i have to do is have a better connection than you and i win, or lacking that use martyrdom, or jsut fire first, which most sub-machine guns got off the first shots in a shotgun vs machinegun fight, course that doesnt work if ur playing normal and not hardcore in which case, the shotgun needs a perk jsut to make a one shot kill, ur better off useing the m-60 LMG, or the SAW, better damage per-shot and it fires faster and you dont have a lag between bullets, that and the saw is actually useful over a distance

 

[brainless906]

Call me crazy, but I think the W1200 with a grip was ridiculously overpowered in CoD4. For those of you who don't remember, it was the pump action shotgun.

If you take it with stopping power, it essentially became a really long melee knife (thats what she said) that instakilled anyine whithin 20 feet of you. It's fucking awesome.

Usually, in my opinion, most instakill rays are things like the rocket launcher in Halo and get used only by n00bs who have no skill, and consequently win. The majority of gamers would be too good to use such weapons, but not skilled enough to weild guns like said W1200 and kick ass with them, and thus end up loosing.

So from what you are saying is, if you were really good at halo 3 then you should only use an empty pistol and merely melee? from what i'm hearing you are saying that the stronger the weapon the more sign of "noobieness" there is.

And ninja has a good point. that is the point, to have the advantage over your enemy.

 

[DaMunky89]

i love it how people say that Chainsawing in GoW is for noobs
but getting beaten down doesnt go as a noob atack

anybody who let's someone come in close enough to get meleed or chainsawed or tagged or whatever is not using the right tactics

But its the most fun! Not that im a n00b or anything lol

Oh, forgot to mention I do play Gears as well, sometimes. I suck so hard, but the chainsaw is just too much fun because once you get close enough there's no stopping you. *lol*

 

[O277]

i love it how people say that Chainsawing in GoW is for noobs
but getting beaten down doesnt go as a noob atack

anybody who let's someone come in close enough to get meleed or chainsawed or tagged or whatever is not using the right tactics

But its the most fun! Not that im a n00b or anything lol

i ddidnt say that it wasnt fun

Fair enough

 

[-Seraph-]

The Lancer. People always whine about the chainsaw... which is why I love chainsawing them.

Oh I love using it, so satisfying. The ONLY thing I hate about it are assholes who always hide behind corners and just saw camp half the time. That and nade rushers are annoying but thanks the the overly power but inconsistent shotgun they can be easy to counter.

 

[roblikestoskate]

Sirlin.net has a lot of interesting ideas about how to make a game "balanced". I'd say that's a good place to start, but to me, a weapon or tactic is only unfair if its strengths severely outweigh its weaknesses such that such that there is no viable counter-strategy. A tactic that is "broken" oversimplifies the game and refocuses it around using or countering that tactic. If all available weapons have a purpose, and those situations of purpose occur frequently enough in the gameplay, you have a fairly balanced game.

Of course, you should adjust your tactics depending on the terrain of the map you're playing on and the game should be smart enough to not spawn map-inappropriate weapons. Fighting games have a harder time with balance, as you are locked into a limited set of options once you select a fighter; there is no changing weapons.

Thoughts?

 

[steveo_justice]

I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying a truly talented player would, instead of running around with a rocket&sword like a noob, or a BR and shotty like an average guy, would carry a sniper rifle and quickly score headshots before the otehr guy could do much damage.

I never said anything about using shitty weapons indicating l33tness, itt just indicates stupid. I sad that some weapons can be far more devastating than classic n00b guns, but require more skill to use.

 

[MorsePacific]

I don't believe any weapon is "unfair". Some games have balancing issues with their weapons, but it's still fair game.

 

[Goldbling]

a weapon by my standards becomes unfair when it has some kind of magical power attached to it and it becomes the "ultimate" weapon in the game