Let’s take this simple situation. As a marine, your cool-ass M2C is wrecking shit on the battlefield. Then, a warrior kills you, destroys your gun, and then some prae melts it. Say goodbye to your weapon, because now your loadout’s fucked. And then you ask req for a new gun, but because everything’s gone, you have to go back to using some basic shotgun or pulse rifle. It feels shitty to have your entire loadout invalidated because you wanted a scope instead of a magnetic harness, not to mention you likely have to go shipside for an ENTIRE LOADOUT REWORK anyway.
So, why not make the acid less punishing. Instead of completely destroying your cool-ass XM88, acid instead makes it jam, forcing you to click once or twice more to shoot a shot. Or maybe the capacity to your MOU53 is lowered because the top barrel melted off, causing it to become a double barrel.
Maybe your M2C overheats faster because its cooling jacket was melted away. Maybe some of the attachment slots on your Heavy Pulse Rifle are melted off, thus making your gun worse. Or maybe it’s just a straight damage decrease for your M56D or M56B. You still fucked up by letting the xenos nab your gun, but you aren’t just straight ruined by it.
This weakens acid way too much, it would barely be worth the plasma. Marines would get way less punished for getting pushed back.
Simply don’t let your gun get acided. One of the primary functions of acid is to punish people who drop their heavily attached weapon, as you rarely see attachment free M41As get acided.
Like the last time this came up: acid is too effective and requires almost as little effort as a runner slashing up a rollerbed to destroy any gun with no way to undo it, which I don’t think is a fair risk/reward balance.
I’ve quite literally seen and myself experienced dropping a gun for all of about 5 seconds and a praetorian, runner or spitter ran up and acided it in the actual middle of combat while actively being shot at, which is quite frankly ridiculous.
I don’t necessarily agree with the suggestion in specifics, but I do think acid on equipment/weapons needs better counterplay than the current situation of “just never drop it lol lmao” which I honestly can’t view as an actual serious reply rather than as an attempt at complete dismissal of the issue. (and I imagine would balk at a solution like giving all marines magharnesses rather than limiting them)
IMO, acid either needs to take long enough that you can only safely acid a gun outside combat, or marines should be able to hose down their weapons with extinguishers to save them.
The current situation is only bearable because it’s relatively rare, not because it’s actually balanced and fun.
The issue of acid on guns is only a “issue” when it comes to rare or uncommonly issued firearms like the m56d, m2cs, m41ae2, mou, etc, etc. No one really cares if a m41a mk2 or a shotgun is melted and they are not typically high priority targets outside of a opportunity.
On the one hand I do think this is just a part of the gameplay loop, that xenos do want to deny marines access to their weapons if they drop them.
On the other hand, the ease of aciding weapons is quite a issue. A acid runner, drone, praetorian, anyone really can just sprint up, acid a weapon, and disappear very quickly. Once a weapon is acided there is no need to ensure it remains acided.
I don’t know if this is a issue that needs a solution but it is a gameplay conundrum you have to face.
Nerf acid placement speed, I want to cry when a prae melts my rifle in 0.1 second because I got tail swiped and lunged.
Mag harness
Not enough mag harn patriots in chat.
the rail attachment slot is a monopoly held by magnetic harness producers
nerf maghar too op
reflex sight for life
Magnetic Harness is quite powerful. It’d be a brave person who dares try to nerf or remove it.
True man