Rise of the Triad's Weapon Balance and Hierarchy

Neuro · 07-12-2009, 01:36 PM

So, as an avid fan of oldschool deathmatch, I've been playing a lot of Quake Live and Doom recently and, having not played ROTT multiplayer in a really long time (the last time I actually played it without attempting to use DosBox's IPX emulation feature was probably almost ten years ago using serial cable), I've been wondering about the weapon balance and food chain in ROTT; which weapons are the most advantageous? Which can be used at what time?

I remember someone saying that the weapons are "overpowered" and therefore ruin the ROTT multiplayer experience. If they're all "overpowered," then isn't the game fair? If not all of them are overpowered, then which ones are? I think that each weapon has its pros and cons and is reserved for its own kind of situation like in Quake III.

I've always said, "You gotta use and do what you can and act how you can, whenever and wherever." In other words, don't rely on game and map designers to spoon-feed you your favorite guns, ammo, and levels. Use your head and the tools spread around you on any map. Appreciate and appraise variety and thought.

Pondering such matters, I scribbled down a list of my personal view of the Hierarchy of Weapons, excluding power-ups (God Mode and Dog Mode). What are your thoughts? What experiences have you had with the weapons and how do you look at them?

Top class

Firebomb
Drunk missile
Flamewall

These weapons cause the most immediate damage and are the fastest to kill the enemy with.

The Firebomb can not only deal the most massive firepower, but can also provide its user with the best rocket-jumping ROTT has to offer as long as the player has plenty of health and wears asbestos armor. The Drunk Missile shoots a hell of a lot of missiles that are guaranteed to not miss (at least when you repeatedly and sweatily pull the trigger to finally knock the damned enemy down), and the Flamewall will scorch anything that's on the ground in its path; it can be either a really deadly weapon or a really useless one, depending on the map you're playing. If there is a lot of open space with few obstacles and height changes, then you're good to go with the Flamewall.

Standard class

Split Missile
Heat-seeker
Excalibat
Dark Staff

These are the fairly reliable, up and coming arms that can do their job, yet not as explosively as the guns sitting up in the Top Class smoking room can.

Now, I wasn't so sure about what exact order I should put these babies in, but I'm quite confident with what I've done; the magic weapons really aren't that great. As the only melee weapon in the game, the Excalibat can deliver a good amount of damage upon striking someone upside the face, but with rockets and people flying all over the place, I don't think the chance to satisfyingly slug someone with the slugger is very obtainable. However, the Excaliblast can tear and gib in a New York second, but it takes time to charge up, and the enemy can easily dodge the area that the Excaliblast is limited to covering. The Dark Staff is basically the Bazooka's instant-gibbing, magic counterpart: it spits a lone projectile along a straight line that blows up on impact with anything or anyone. But, unlike the Bazooka, which can pump rockets one after the other freely, the Staff has a firing delay that can make it awkward and frustrating to use, especially in fast-paced, tense firefights demanding a quick frag. The Heat-seeker is a likely very sought-after weapon simply because of its name and game. As the Bazooka's heat-seeking brother, it doesn't have a Top Class membership; it can seek the heat, but it can't bring much. The Heat-seeker can't throw much of a punch and can easily be distracted by nearby lights and lamps. The Split Missile, however, is basically the new and improved Heat-seeker: it can not only seek heat, but also bring it by doubling the rocket and notching down chances of the opponent scrambling away in fright. One missile lazily zipping along an even, uninterrupted line? **** that; let's launch two of those things along crazy, curved paths so we can conclude the match already with a ludicrous gib here and another one there.

Basic class

Bazooka
MP40
Dual Pistols
Pistol

These are the bare basics, the guns you should be carrying at all times (well, most times, since you probably won't always lug the rudimentary Bazooka around and obviously will have to hunt down the bullet weapons).

The Pistol is just a pea-shooter, but the Dual Pistols are decent at popping the enemy from a distance or gunning him while circling him and dodging his missing missiles. They can get the job done, but once you grab the MP40, the dynamic duo entirely lose their point and purpose. The MP40 fires way faster and can bring a foe to his knees in a matter of seconds if shot accurately. The Bazooka is just your run-of-the-mill missile weapon, a tube that solemnly and linearly dispenses rockets. It's good to use for quick, vertical action; you just aim and shoot at the right spot. Originally, I was going to list it as a Standard Class weapon, but I then decided to place it as a Basic weapon because of its generic, straightforward nature.

Nubwagon · 03-17-2010, 12:05 PM

Hey, this is a very well written post. I would agree on almost every aspect of your class definitions except for the bazooka. Even though it has no tracking properties, it still does way more burst damage than the MP40 would. So I would place it in the standard class.

But like I said in my previous post in another thread, there needs to be a recent multiplayer game that takes into account ROTT's mplayer style. Fair & simple and let the best fragger win!

07-12-2009, 01:36 PM	#1
Neuro	Rise of the Triad's Weapon Balance and Hierarchy So, as an avid fan of oldschool deathmatch, I've been playing a lot of Quake Live and Doom recently and, having not played ROTT multiplayer in a really long time (the last time I actually played it without attempting to use DosBox's IPX emulation feature was probably almost ten years ago using serial cable), I've been wondering about the weapon balance and food chain in ROTT; which weapons are the most advantageous? Which can be used at what time? I remember someone saying that the weapons are "overpowered" and therefore ruin the ROTT multiplayer experience. If they're all "overpowered," then isn't the game fair? If not all of them are overpowered, then which ones are? I think that each weapon has its pros and cons and is reserved for its own kind of situation like in Quake III. I've always said, "You gotta use and do what you can and act how you can, whenever and wherever." In other words, don't rely on game and map designers to spoon-feed you your favorite guns, ammo, and levels. Use your head and the tools spread around you on any map. Appreciate and appraise variety and thought. Pondering such matters, I scribbled down a list of my personal view of the Hierarchy of Weapons, excluding power-ups (God Mode and Dog Mode). What are your thoughts? What experiences have you had with the weapons and how do you look at them? Top class Firebomb Drunk missile Flamewall These weapons cause the most immediate damage and are the fastest to kill the enemy with. The Firebomb can not only deal the most massive firepower, but can also provide its user with the best rocket-jumping ROTT has to offer as long as the player has plenty of health and wears asbestos armor. The Drunk Missile shoots a hell of a lot of missiles that are guaranteed to not miss (at least when you repeatedly and sweatily pull the trigger to finally knock the damned enemy down), and the Flamewall will scorch anything that's on the ground in its path; it can be either a really deadly weapon or a really useless one, depending on the map you're playing. If there is a lot of open space with few obstacles and height changes, then you're good to go with the Flamewall. Standard class Split Missile Heat-seeker Excalibat Dark Staff These are the fairly reliable, up and coming arms that can do their job, yet not as explosively as the guns sitting up in the Top Class smoking room can. Now, I wasn't so sure about what exact order I should put these babies in, but I'm quite confident with what I've done; the magic weapons really aren't that great. As the only melee weapon in the game, the Excalibat can deliver a good amount of damage upon striking someone upside the face, but with rockets and people flying all over the place, I don't think the chance to satisfyingly slug someone with the slugger is very obtainable. However, the Excaliblast can tear and gib in a New York second, but it takes time to charge up, and the enemy can easily dodge the area that the Excaliblast is limited to covering. The Dark Staff is basically the Bazooka's instant-gibbing, magic counterpart: it spits a lone projectile along a straight line that blows up on impact with anything or anyone. But, unlike the Bazooka, which can pump rockets one after the other freely, the Staff has a firing delay that can make it awkward and frustrating to use, especially in fast-paced, tense firefights demanding a quick frag. The Heat-seeker is a likely very sought-after weapon simply because of its name and game. As the Bazooka's heat-seeking brother, it doesn't have a Top Class membership; it can seek the heat, but it can't bring much. The Heat-seeker can't throw much of a punch and can easily be distracted by nearby lights and lamps. The Split Missile, however, is basically the new and improved Heat-seeker: it can not only seek heat, but also bring it by doubling the rocket and notching down chances of the opponent scrambling away in fright. One missile lazily zipping along an even, uninterrupted line? ** that; let's launch two of those things along crazy, curved paths so we can conclude the match already with a ludicrous gib here and another one there. Basic class Bazooka MP40 Dual Pistols Pistol These are the bare basics, the guns you should be carrying at all times (well, most times, since you probably won't always lug the rudimentary Bazooka around and obviously will have to hunt down the bullet weapons). The Pistol is just a pea-shooter, but the Dual Pistols** are decent at popping the enemy from a distance or gunning him while circling him and dodging his missing missiles. They can get the job done, but once you grab the MP40, the dynamic duo entirely lose their point and purpose. The MP40 fires way faster and can bring a foe to his knees in a matter of seconds if shot accurately. The Bazooka is just your run-of-the-mill missile weapon, a tube that solemnly and linearly dispenses rockets. It's good to use for quick, vertical action; you just aim and shoot at the right spot. Originally, I was going to list it as a Standard Class weapon, but I then decided to place it as a Basic weapon because of its generic, straightforward nature. Last edited by Neuro; 07-12-2009 at 03:53 PM.

03-17-2010, 12:05 PM	#2
Nubwagon	Re: Rise of the Triad's Weapon Balance and Hierarchy Hey, this is a very well written post. I would agree on almost every aspect of your class definitions except for the bazooka. Even though it has no tracking properties, it still does way more burst damage than the MP40 would. So I would place it in the standard class. But like I said in my previous post in another thread, there needs to be a recent multiplayer game that takes into account ROTT's mplayer style. Fair & simple and let the best fragger win! __________________ "Work gets in the way of life"