Hello all, this post will be part suggestion box and part brainstorming session regarding the ship’s Keystone Cops some people love and others love to hate, the MP Department. Some days it’s easy street, you kick back and relax and let the operation run it’s course, zero effort required. Other days YOU Officer Krupke are the sole bastion of reason in an insane asylum. The kind of rounds where the Predator is bombing research, the CLF is onboard, the MT has kidnapped Jones and is demanding ransom, and the Gunny has thrown the CL down the ASRS pit again. This could and WILL be you. Are you ready? Fuck no your not, your broke, you have nothing but a pistol and spraycan full of hate, and your fashion is trash. Your situation is dire, but not hopeless. I’ll be outlining the problems and possible solutions. These are just suggestions, not something that absolutely must be done. If you like them great, if not feel free to suggest alternatives.
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Part 1: Quality of Life Changes and Weapon suggestions
First off is gear. As the MP you spawn with M2 armor and are restricted to sidearms on Code Green. At Blue these restrictions for MP’s are lifted and you can grab longarms, the ones in the Brig Armory being Battle rifles, the very cool Tactical Shotguns, and SMGs. Problem with this is neither your vendor or the armory have ammo rigs. Your vendor has sidearm belts but that’s it. Armory has flashbangs, teargas, and riot launchers but no explosive pouches to hold them either. So in both cases unless someone had the idea to bring some ammo belts to Brig your stuck just filling your satchel or backpack with ammo, which isn’t very efficient. Maybe the thinking is due to brigs close location to CIC you could just run there to get shotgun or rifle belts which they do have, but it’d be much nicer if the MP’s had everything they needed to fully gear up inside brig, rather than having someone go to marines preps or have to rely on the CIC armory.
There’s also the possibility that your first hint that something is wrong is the CIC staff screaming bloody murder so you can’t always rely on heading their to get kitted up. Just a locker in the Brig armory with shotgun and rifle ammo belts would be enough. And usually whether General Quarters is being sounded for Hijack, Boarders have been spotted arriving at a port, or the CO is deploying RIGHT NOW and has no intention to wait for his Honor Guard to gear up time is a crucial factor for an MP. With Hijack players can rely on a sort of meta gut feeling when the DS goes missing and go gear up, but loose larva and Predators raiding Research’s meth lab can have very little warning, and having everything you need in Brig within arms reach for when shits hits the fan would be lovely.
Second is your default weapons and attachments. Don’t get me wrong, your default M4A4 and 88 Mod 4 are good pistols, the Revolver being okay, but there is a lack of variety with just three. Even PFC’s are eating better with access to the M10 and the strongest sidearm in the game the Flare Gun. It’s time for a change. The ideal MP gun to me would be a SU-6 so you can shoot at Boarders without fear of FF. Just make a variant that you can turn the IFF off in case of a rogue marine. And at the risk of making the VP-78 even more widespread I’d suggest adding it to the roster too, integrated laser and light along with burst fire means you’ve got a very strong pistol. Another option for SWAT fans is the modernized M1911 both because it’s historical police use and because it looks cool as hell. These plus the M10 would lead to a very strong sidearm roster, and would be welcomed by MP’s while maintaining a sidearm focus.
Two I’d love to see but would be very unlikely would be the Rogue Incursion Revolver and the MK-45 CMB automagnum, but modified for military use. Not unusual for military groups to choose non-standard weapons so there’s possible lore justification, but I’m not holding my breath. The lack of attachment options in your vendor is also painful, leaving your default pistol even more lacking. To be fair a quick trip to preparations or requisition can see you holding a shiny new pistol with the latest accessories, but Req can be deserted and I feel bad for using the marine vendor when there’s a chance I might not even draw my weapon. My personal ideal solution would be a vendor similar to the one for the Pilot Officers and DCC’s. All the items you need at one convenient area, no trips to Req needed. A buyable motion detector would be amazing, when the Worm Sign occurs Req turns into a Black Friday style rush and the MP’s are left playing Marco Polo with people screaming on the radio. It’s possible that the three gripes above are deliberate choices rather than oversight, which might make sense if the idea is to force MP’s to focus on their non-lethal tools rather than guns but Mutinies are damn rare these days, Hijackings, hostile boarders, and Predators blowing shit up are much more common. Give them the tools and it’ll be the MP’s hunting down the ship’s deadliest threats, rather than the current top fraggers the Researchers, OT, and Chef, shoutout to my man.
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Part 2: Armor, SOP, Skills
Despite being unfashionable as Hell the default MP armor isn’t bad being as nimble as light armor while having the same brute damage protection as B12. The problem here is in the MP’s responsibilities. Your serve as the ship’s law enforcement bodyguards to the Commander and the rest of CIC and the first line of defense against hostile boarders. The issue with this is that with your skillset, armor, and loadout your not well suited to any of these. Your armor is aimed towards brute damage, the idea being your fistfighting grunts but it works in your favor brawling with xenos too. Problems arise when you go to arrest someone and they bolt now your armor is a hindrance while MT Shitstain runs ass naked and greased up through the maintenance tunnels like the crackhead he is. Until you get SOP lifted and lose the armor you aren’t catching a damn thing. Second problem is your usual brand of boarders. Hostile survivors getting onboard, UPP, Freelancers, or CLF invasion forces popping up do happen, which despite your stated mission of shipside defense the MP’s armor is weaker to their firearms than what’s found in the shipside armories. I suggest a change in wardrobe, it’s time to accessorize.
This can happen a couple ways. One is give the MP’s tiers of armor, light, medium, and heavy just like the combat marines. All covered under SOP and legal to wear at a give Code Level. At Code Green the MP’s wear their Service Jackets, speeding them up and allowing them to actually function as Police rather than just ditching your body armor in a checkpoint. Blue they use their standard M2 armor trading their speed for firepower, maybe give them a flak jacket variant instead if we want a more unique look. My idea for Red and Delta would require a bit more effort in the form of revamping or replacing the never used Riot Armor. Which is never used because it lacks a shoulder lamp, making your ass Ray Charles while your enemies see in the dark. If I had to choose an already existing armor set it’d be the Gunner set from the CMB Riot squad. A Ten out of Ten on the intimidation factor and fairly protective. Looks fantastic, and is enough to make me wonder what strings the CMB had to pull to look that good. Another idea we might want to steal from them is their squad loadout, which the Honor Guard might try and emulate. Rather than the current dispensed kits give them something similar to the Squad Specialists, a list of loadouts the MP’s can choose from.
Something like medic, breacher, squad support, HPR gunner, with the armor and weapons to match. Nothing on the level of the Specialists of course but something that gives each MP a distinct role and usefulness. These kits would be in a vendor placed where the HG safe currently is, and can be unlocked by the CO, XO, or CMP. I don’t think they’d be overpowered either , given that the CMP can hand out the Brig’s shotguns to deploying officers and whatever and Riot Armor or what would replace it isn’t any stronger than the default Heavy Armor regular marines can use. Skills would be increased by an enclosed pamphlet just like the ones that give JTAC or Engineering skills. If I had to choose which skills to buff for regular MP’s I’d give them one category in both engineering and medical, making them a bit more useful in helping out in FOB and keeping the body they are guarding alive.
SOP changes would be light, and mostly focus on Escort missions, other than the ones involving new types of armor. One would be to change the Commanders SOP so they are required to ask for an escort if MP’s are available, we want our “Get down Mr. President moments” and I’m sad seeing Commanders die in the ass end of nowhere with marines unable to reach them. Let me die for you sir. I’m also slightly confused why the CO escort mission stresses the Voluntary part. CIC orders people to do shit they don’t wanna do all the time, not sure why the MP’s are exempt. But since they are if the MP’s still say no the Commander can happily deploy as per usual, with their gibbed remains being collected later. Not that bringing Honor Guards results in guaranteed survival but they can still come in clutch. Another suggested change would be letting an MP escort any SO’s who deploy. Currently MP’s can escort the CO, XO, or any designated non-combatant the CO or XO choses. Plus MP’s can also guard the FOB if they’re tired of picking up trash onboard. This would allow more MP’s the opportunity to deploy if they wanted plus now the SO has a buddy, which is nice. I’d also petition for the CO Escort Mission number to be raised back to four at max, granting the CO or XO better protection. The CO deploying is usually either a final attempt to get a stalling mission back on track or for the CO to raise the United American flag over the Queens smoldering corpse. Deploying the maximum number of MP’s you can makes sense, especially considering that for all intents and purposes onboard You are the Law. Hopefully some of these changes seem interesting to those viewing and gets you thinking about changes you yourself would like to see made.
