APD needs balancing

[william]

1 hour ago, CJNasty said:

 

Side note: My fix would be to increase the arsenal of the rebels to some what match that of a cop. Currently the cop strider takes 3 rpg hits to blow up, which at 40k a shell is dumb.

Ok you spent 120k to disable a strider? Well not being funny but with 1 mag (if you are a good shot)(you probably aren't) you can kill its driver then just pop the rest as they get out, not hard.

[Quenton]

3 minutes ago, william said:

Ok you spent 120k to disable a strider? Well not being funny but with 1 mag (if you are a good shot)(you probably aren't) you can kill its driver then just pop the rest as they get out, not hard.

Not even. 3 days ago I was shooting at the front glass from 300m and killed everyone inside the strider with 15 bullets

Edited August 5, 2016 by Quenton

[william]

Just now, Quenton said:

Not even. 3 days ago is was shooting at the front glass from 300m and killed everyone inside the strider with 15 bullets

ikr Striders are so easy to shoot people out, like most things in this game its just game sense and knowing where to shoot. 

[Midamaru]

Just now, Quenton said:

Not even. 3 days ago I was shooting at the front glass from 300m and killed everyone inside the strider with 15 bullets

I killed a full strider with a vest last week. #Feelsgood

[Bikstok]

16 minutes ago, Midamaru said:

It's globably declared in the rules as exploiting. 

Examples: Combat logging is against the rules. 

Your perception:  

I didn't hear a bullet in the last 5 seconds, combat over *alt f4* IT AINT AGAINST THE RULES CUZ THERE WAS NO COMBAT ANYMORE. 

Like the staff always likes to ask of you: Please use your common sense. 

You think picking up a SWAT gun from the ground is exploiting?

[JIMBO]

1 hour ago, CJNasty said:

 

Side note: My fix would be to increase the arsenal of the rebels to some what match that of a cop. Currently the cop strider takes 3 rpg hits to blow up, which at 40k a shell is dumb.

What a waste, it takes 1 shot from a 7.62 to remove the drivers head.

[Goldy]

Cops aren't OP. I love these new policies. I just like getting my gun seized the second I get restrained. I also love the fact that I see cops at rebel bases more than civs now!!!!! So fun!!!

[Dredge]

People just dont like the prospect of losing. "Kops is OP, they might actually get us plz nerf"

 

And to add it in, you are throwing the price of loadouts in the mix. How many times do you get killed just driving? Or get rdm'ed just stepping out of your car in Athira? How many times per server restart are you killed? On a good day I only get RDM'ed less than 10 times a restart. Thats 80k right there. Not to mention any other time I am killed while trying to arrest someone. I dont use the standard loadout. I have my own setup that I like. Costs me roughly 8k a pop. 

[CJNasty]

The rpg was just an example of how much more rebels have to spend, chill out m8s.

[JIMBO]

1 minute ago, CJNasty said:

The rpg was just an example of how much more rebels have to spend, chill out m8s.

You don't have to spend anything, you chose to buy it, might aswell use a vest and speedbomb as an example too

[Dredge]

1 minute ago, Gnashes said:

RPGs are intentionally coded by Paratus to be shit.

And bless him for it

[Midamaru]

16 minutes ago, Goldy said:

Cops aren't OP. I love these new policies. I just like getting my gun seized the second I get restrained. I also love the fact that I see cops at rebel bases more than civs now!!!!! So fun!!!

Since when do rebels need a safe zone? 

Everytime i see a cop at rebel he's dead.. 

[Clint Beastwood]

at least cops pay for their load outs now...  Any 2 year vet can tell you about what it REALLY was like.

[Goldy]

1 hour ago, Gnashes said:

RPGs are intentionally coded by Paratus to be shit.

Your argument revolving around them is mildly stupid; to be fair.

RPG's OP. FSA 1 shot an ifrit yesterday. Not sure if that is intended but it blew up in 1 shot.

[Dredge]

1 minute ago, Goldy said:

RPG's OP. FSA 1 shot an ifrit yesterday. Not sure if that is intended but it blew up in 1 shot.

Maybe they hit the ammo rack or the fuel tank? Lol

[HotWings]

8 minutes ago, Dredge said:

Maybe they hit the ammo rack or the fuel tank? Lol

Rockets are specifically coded not to damage the fuel tank if someone is inside (i believe thats what I read anyways)

[Dredge]

10 minutes ago, HotWings said:

Rockets are specifically coded not to damage the fuel tank if someone is inside (i believe thats what I read anyways)

Well there goes that theory then. Thanks @HotWings

 

 

[Hanzo/Dirty Scrubz]

3 hours ago, CJNasty said:

Currently police officers just aimlessly rush into objectives with no tactics. They don't care if they die because they don't risk anything, I feel this needs to be changed. Doing a bank or prison break with more than 7 cops is almost impossible, when it just constant waves of police. Either increase risk or introduce a new life rule. Honestly, it's like playing zombies from CoD they just keep coming and coming. We did a bank yesterday and killed around 40 cop kills with only 8 cops online. Just my opinion, would like to see others thoughts.

Side note: My fix would be to increase the arsenal of the rebels to some what match that of a cop. Currently the cop strider takes 3 rpg hits to blow up, which at 40k a shell is dumb.

Each time I die as a cop, I lose my loadout and have to rebuy it. So there is a penalty associated with death. 

[Pentax]

Lol this thread again? For the gazillion of times now...

[JimmyBeans]

You've got better guns, better armor, better vehicles, less rules that leave you at a combat disadvantage, and every event is setup for you to sit in a defensive position while those with lesser equipment get to assault your position.

What other advantages would you bad ass rebels like?  Life rules?  What a joke.

At the time, cops had to start paying for gear under the claim that rebels would need to craft top tier weaponry, but the rebels cried and now cops just get to pay for lesser gear.  Good times.

Edited August 5, 2016 by JimmyBeans

[Phil.]

5 hours ago, NotEqualTo (Eazy) said:

lol if you can't do in a bank with 7 or more cops on while in a group you must be god awful at the game, look at this video, im pretty sure bikstok did this solo

 

RIP LOL

[AegonTargaryenTv]

15 hours ago, CJNasty said:

 

Side note: My fix would be to increase the arsenal of the rebels to some what match that of a cop. Currently the cop strider takes 3 rpg hits to blow up, which at 40k a shell is dumb.

I am sorry my friend but rebels have much bigger arsenal than cops. Dont blame us if you are potato rebel. Rebels have : Ifrit, orca, 7.62, rpg, mk200 and they defend at every event. If you have problems to do the bank when there is 7 cops than something is wrong with you. 

[explicit]

On 8/5/2016 at 10:27 AM, CJNasty said:

Doing a bank or prison break with more than 7 cops is almost impossible, when it just constant waves of police. 

Almost impossible for the fingerless, yes.

[william]

55 minutes ago, explicit said:

Almost impossible for the fingerless, yes.

[Tyler]

On August 5, 2016 at 10:43 AM, CJNasty said:

I can almost guarantee you come on the first wave with an mxm then you just use the default kit.

Actually, we have had a full group of rebels doing a bank and i probably lost around 35-40k from MXM, Carrier lite, Pilot covers and helmet (around 14k loadout) because we went to a bank and did around 2-3 lives and called it. Idk where you did the bank but certain precincts are different and keep in mind if there are no higherups to tell everyone to not respond anymore they will keep respawning until you leave, you die, or you are restrained.

[Phil.]

On 8/5/2016 at 10:40 AM, HotWings said:

Cops are required to cross a wasteland of no cover, face opponents with better shit, and far superior positioning.  The only actual advantage their is is respawns.

This is the most true statement I have ever seen....

 

I'd actually be for cops not having to pay for standard MX loadout, back to how it used to be.

Edited August 7, 2016 by Phil.

[Eric916]

On 8/5/2016 at 7:37 AM, CJNasty said:

We did the bank and we're successful but it was retarded that the cops just keep aimlessly rushing in and dying. Some of them died because they smashed into the bank at full speed lol. My probelm is the cops don't know when to draw the line. They just flood and flood even 20 mins after the bank is over. The other two members went to rebel and I was on bank building and they just rushed and rushed until I ran out of ammo.

What cops look like doing a bank:

 

[One Eye Jack]

On 8/5/2016 at 10:27 AM, CJNasty said:

Currently police officers just aimlessly rush into objectives with no tactics. They don't care if they die because they don't risk anything, I feel this needs to be changed. Doing a bank or prison break with more than 7 cops is almost impossible, when it just constant waves of police. Either increase risk or introduce a new life rule. Honestly, it's like playing zombies from CoD they just keep coming and coming. We did a bank yesterday and killed around 40 cop kills with only 8 cops online. Just my opinion, would like to see others thoughts.

Side note: My fix would be to increase the arsenal of the rebels to some what match that of a cop. Currently the cop strider takes 3 rpg hits to blow up, which at 40k a shell is dumb.

*LONG POST! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!*

I'll give a break down of my brutally honest opinion, and this by NO means is directed towards any other officers in particular, as I've met some great people since joining the APD and some dedicated players. It also means that it's not directed towards the people who actually give up their free time, by helping the server/community grow...we all have lives outside of the game.

But this is my perspective from the lens of someone who spent 5 years in the military, and 2 years as a beat cop with the Boston Police Department.

I'm a 31 year old, who has been gaming since I was in diapers, literally...and I play everything under the sun. 

Why am I saying this? Because it's adds context to where i'm coming from with my opinions, even though it's strictly anecdotal.

I will break this down into sections; training/requirements and in game/real time play.

 

Training:Firstly, the training the APD offers have offered is mostly very lack luster, this is the average opinion from most players I encounter. It consist of "tell you obvious stuff that as an ARMA player, or white listed player in general, you should honestly already know" and then a glorified PVP match. The training sessions need to be far more developed, in depth and focus on honing players reaction skills and teamwork. Simply making call outs and following loose orders every now and then, is nothing special. In my opinion, all officers should have a mandatory training they need to attend at least once a month, to refresh their skills, go over rules of the APD guidebook and develop their communications and tactics as players. (I actually do this with friends on my private server). It's as simple as setting up 4 different training opportunities throughout the month, but as long as you attend 1 out of the 4, you're good. If you miss more than two months (consecutive) of training, you'll be demoted or kicked back down to cadet. This would enforce some amount of minimum standards for the force, beyond just being a good player, as not every player can be a good shot, but every player can learn to be good at communicating, if you can't at least do that...then the APD just isn't for you.

Requirements: On most private servers, the requirements to get into their police force tends to be far tighter, and fall under a few requirements, other than your age and why you want to be a cop. I'm seeing a lot of cadets who are more than half way through their cadet week, yet barely understand the basics of ticketing, etc. Unless they have the opportunity for a mock RA (which from the feedback i'm hearing, hasn't been that great with certain players, whom i'll not name here...I.E. mock RA givers being too distracted, doing things in the background, talking on their phones, etc).

There needs to be a more direct approach to how we're training cadets, we want to develop them, not just have them memorize a guidebook. Cadet week should be broken down into two time requirements, time and day. If a cadet has put in "X" amount of time and has attended at least one of the required training sessions I proposed, then they should be able to test. On the other hand, if a cadet has reached "X" amount of days as a cadet (this would be higher than the current) and has attended at least one training event (once again, par the requirements I suggested before), they're ready to test.

There should be a Constable First Class, or SFC/SPC for more veteran constables, so people are easily able to point out who more seasoned officers are, as currently there is a very large amount of Constables, and with the even more lax RA that just came to light, I haven't been confident in some of the players i've played with due to their knowledge, team work and communication skills. Constable First Class cops should be the focal point for cadets to mimic, they're the ones who have play time under their belts, know their stuff and meet the more defined requirements of team play/communication and RP quality. 

Real Play: This section is more of an echo chamber of what I was saying earlier, that there is an adherent lack of cooperation within the force, communication and tactics. The most common thing I see is people just gearing up as fast as possible, grabbing a car and zipping to wherever the action is happening. Officers are just concentrating on small areas, rather than the island as a whole, and sticking to the familiar rather than broadening the APD's scope. (Such as this: I'm amazed how many times i'm told from players that they're surprised to see cops in Sofia, the hunting grounds, southern Altis, etc). It seems that the APD does two things, hangs out in Kavala/Georgetown and deals with the same thing everyday (you're just feeding these types of players) or just searches drug fields/randomly goes after a warrant once in a blue moon. And that's it. My dream would be that (with the right amount of total players) officers became assigned to certain areas on certain days, I.E. "Oh hey it's Tuesday, today is my Highway Patrol day" or "Oh hey it's Friday, todays my day for patrolling illegal areas and responding to 911 calls", and so on and on. We are of course far from being able to do that, but it would be ideal. It would help unify a more spread out force, with clear objectives/goals. Combined with correct training, and we could have an organized police force that could help breath a more realistic life into the server.

 

Final Thoughts: At the end of the day it seems like the APD is short staffed, and is afraid to loose players, so they've removed many of the old requirements or goals to reach. Yet since this has happened, the quality of the APD in general has declined over time (this is a general opinion of players) and has started to be more of a means for easy cash and virtual power trips. The ideals of what a police force should be in an RP related game, seems to be falling to the wayside in favor of quantity, not quality. Something needs to change eventually, and I certainly don't have all the answers...but this is just my (long) two cents towards the situation as a whole, as a veteran ARMA player and someone who truly loves the community/game as a whole. I'm sure i'll get flack for some of this, and i'm sure there will be players who hate the APD and would rather troll this post, or the type who just complain/make fun of the fact that this post is long...but we all have opinions, I'll gladly respect yours, if you respect mine.