I'd like to hear opinions from long time Unreal players. Nostalgia aside, is there any point to bringing back the Link Beam in future UT games, except to use as a repair tool in objective games?
IMO, given the complex and unique skill-based nature of all the other attack types in the Unreal series, the Link Beam just doesn't measure up. I have never cared much for Quake's Lightning Gun either. Why are we taking a full-auto hitscan weapon, and granting it ridiculous damage, no spread, no warmup or cooldown, plus lockdown and a margin of error where the beam curves to hit enemies when you miss? Yes, the range spontaneously drops off after a short distance, but is that really an interesting way to balance a weapon?
I think the Stinger primary is salvageable; take the damage down to 9-10, and with the warmup and cooldown, combined with the spread, it's balanced and does what its supposed to. But I really feel like for TDM and Duel the Link Beam is just a waste of space, there are plenty of other interesting things which could be put in that slot. After the horror which was UT2kx's lame over-emphasis of hitscan, we really don't need extra no-skill OP'ed hitscan attacks in the game.
IMO, given the complex and unique skill-based nature of all the other attack types in the Unreal series, the Link Beam just doesn't measure up. I have never cared much for Quake's Lightning Gun either. Why are we taking a full-auto hitscan weapon, and granting it ridiculous damage, no spread, no warmup or cooldown, plus lockdown and a margin of error where the beam curves to hit enemies when you miss? Yes, the range spontaneously drops off after a short distance, but is that really an interesting way to balance a weapon?
I think the Stinger primary is salvageable; take the damage down to 9-10, and with the warmup and cooldown, combined with the spread, it's balanced and does what its supposed to. But I really feel like for TDM and Duel the Link Beam is just a waste of space, there are plenty of other interesting things which could be put in that slot. After the horror which was UT2kx's lame over-emphasis of hitscan, we really don't need extra no-skill OP'ed hitscan attacks in the game.