Class Overhaul

April 2021

Introduction

The class system in PS2 was a radical departure from the freely customisable exosuit system of the original. You can understand the shift - not only are class systems more familiar to FPS players but it has a whole host of other benefits. It makes team play easier for one - you know if there is an engineer around that they can drop ammo, a medic can revive you, etc. On top of that it makes squad composition easy to manage and it allows for more play styles (and directives), keeping people playing for longer while they experience everything. The original games inventory system gave us far more customisability as we could equip any weapon or tool on any exosuit, but certain exosuits had a limited inventory and fewer holsters.

Both systems have their perks, but both have downsides. In the first game individuals were too versatile, for example a pilot could carry the heaviest AI and AV weapon and stand toe to toe with dedicated infantry. This reduced the need for logistics and devolved into most players using fighters for transport rather than transport vehicles. Most players carried not only a medical tool but also a repair tool and a hacking tool. This reduced the need for teamwork and cheapened the actions of dedicated medics, engineers and hackers. The second game has unbalanced classes with HA being the go to class for almost all situations due to its' versatility and domination of infantry play.

What we need is the best of both worlds, namely:

• Balanced “classes” so there is a fair fight 1 on 1

• Set battlefield roles that make teamwork vital

• Customisation so each character is the players' own

Any changes made must of course factor in players' purchases to avoid any loss of items which they could have spent money on.

Core Concept

I believe a hybrid system could work - one in which an individual picks both a team play role and a type of exosuit to allow them to tailor their playstyle to their wants and needs, while still encouraging teamwork and balance:

Classes would be simplified to 4 roles:

• Officer

• Medic

• Fire support

• Engineer

Exosuits would be similar to PS1 with a few key changes:

• Crew (for vehicle use)

• Light Assault (with jump jets)

• Infiltrator (cloaking)

• Heavy Assault (heavier weapons)

• MAX (extra armour)

These exosuits would have certain weapon restrictions, so the Heavy Assault exosuit could carry larger, more cumbersome weaponry while lighter suits would have special features which give them other advantages in combat.

Details

Role

The role of a player determines the job of the player on the battlefield and within a squad.

Officer

The officer role would lead groups; be them fire teams of 4 or platoons. To do this effectively they would be equipped with a command uplink device (CUD), granting them access to various abilities dependent on how large a group they lead and how successful their group is. For example fire team leaders would be able to direct their group to attack certain vehicles, defend buildings, hack doorways, etc and be able to call in support equipment to keep them fighting. A platoon commander on the other hand would by able to direct their squads to different areas aided with intelligence from across the platoon, showing them where enemy forces are and their movement. Officers would also capture control points faster than other roles. There would be a limit of one officer per fire team of 4 however, and it could only be used by those in a group.

Medic

Medics would support their group with healing and fast revive abilities using their medical tool. They would also be able to set up routers or spawn beacons in the field for their fire team only, thereby supporting their immediate group.

Fire support

The fire support role would be equipped with heavier weaponry than the rest of the classes. Being the only role that can equip launchers, deployable LMGs or sniper rifles (as well as current generation LMGs). They also have a light weapon slot in addition to their squad support weapon.

Engineer

The engineer would be ready to fortify areas and break into enemy strongholds using their engineering tool, able to set up cover, turrets, mines or being equipped with C4 charges.

Exosuits

All exosuits have inventory slots for a knife, grenades, sidearm and a class tool. All exosuits also have a light weapon slot (eg SMGs, carbines, etc), except for the Heavy Assault exosuit which has a heavy slot (rifles) instead. Fire team leaders could decide what exosuit their group would be using at any time if they wish to allow them to tailor their group to their desired style.

Crew Exosuit

The Crew exosuit is equipped with vehicle interface modules, giving the user the ability to operate all ground vehicles and aircraft. This exosuit is the only one within which the player can operate a vehicle controls or their weaponry, other exosuits can however fill passenger slots.

• • Purpose: Controlling vehicles and their weaponry

  • Weaponry: Light

  • Armor: Light

  • Notes: Old Engineer nanite auto repair shifts to this exosuit

Infiltrator Exosuit

Ideal for special operations behind enemy lines and intelligence gathering this has a built in cloak field generator which makes the user invisible for periods of time allowing users to slip into enemy strongholds unnoticed.

• • Purpose: Infiltration and Sabotage

  • Weaponry: Light

  • Armor: Light

  • Notes:

Light Assault Exosuit

Designed for rapid assault through dense terrain the Light Assault suit has a short range jump pack built in, allowing the player to cover ground quickly and reach high places to attack from unexpected angles.

• • Purpose: Fast attack using jump jets

  • Weaponry: Light

  • Armor: Light

  • Notes: Loses the Rocklet Rifle as default (only the Fire Support role could equip) and C4 could only be used by Engineers using the Light Assault Exosuit

Heavy Assault Exosuit

This suit allows its users to carry heavier weaponry, although fire support players can still only equip light weapons, in addition to their support weapon.

• • Purpose: Holding territory

  • Weaponry: Heavy

  • Armor: Light

  • Notes: Loses the over shield

Mechanised Assault Exosuit (MAX)

• • Purpose: Fighting against the odds

  • Weaponry: Heavy

  • Armor: Heavy

  • Notes: Could only be pulled behind front line bases and in those front line bases where the individuals faction is outnumbered. Could use some basic role tools which would need some tweaks.

Note 1: Cosmetics are an issue, and would require some art work to alter existing items to fit the various combinations of exosuits and roles.

Weaponry:

Above you can see that weapons are split into light and heavy categories, which would break down as follows:

Light

• SMGs

• Carbines

• Pump action shotguns

• Battle rifles

• Fire support only:

  • Infiltrator: Sniper rifles

  • Crew/Light Assault/Heavy Assault: Grenade/Rocklet Launchers

Heavy

• All Light weaponry

• Assault rifles

• Auto shotguns

• Fire support only:

  • Light Fire Support options

  • Rocket launchers

  • Deployable LMGs

  • Existing LMGs