the new changelog looks good and is live tommorow.
http://battlelog.battlefield.com/bf3/news/view/2832654785571482527/1/True/infantry side they mostly nerfed m16/m4 finally with longer reloads and higher recoil and buffed a few alternatives with the opposite to stop scrubs crutching on them. Rebalanced the suppressor to be a bit better and heavy barrel a bit worse. Nerfed the 93r because fuck that spray gun. Buffed the m5k with higher damage and gave it burst mode so maybe it will be a bit more usable. The aug smoke round glitch seems to have gone missing though, i'm sure that was in the pre-release changelog from about july, hopefully they just forgot to add that to the list.
There are some fairly hefty vehicle balance shakeups though.
• FIM92 and IGLA now lock on to air vehicles at both lower altitudes and longer distances. (already usable but maybe I can kill good pilots too now).
• Removed flares from gunner position in helicopters. With the right combination of unlocks, an attack helicopter could be effectively invulnerable to lock on missiles. Removing the flares from the gunner balances the attack helicopter against ground fire. (well shit! least pilots won't moan when i take thermals anyway.)
• The Laser Designator unlock on the Scout Helicopters has been changed from a Pilot Upgrade to a new stance in the Copilot seat (position 4). Like the CITV turret on the Main Battle Tanks, the Scout Helicopter’s Laser Designator is permanently available to players who have received the unlock. (RIP scout helis, in large battles their only combat effective loadout was laser+guided. Still if I use teamwork I guess now I can use motion scan all the time and actually scout for the team, its a useful unlock that just gets pushed aside by the laser).
• Changed reload behavior on Tank / Tank Destroyer cannon weapons to prevent being able to fire 2 shots from different weapons quickly one right after another. (This one is scary, I rely on tank shotty to put down spammy engis, either this just stops reloading after you switch which I can live with, or it reloads everytime you switch which is going to be a horrible lag versus infantry and slightly crippling unless you have an amazing tank gunner who isn't a dribbler.)
Bunch of other minor changes not super interesting although they fixed helis not being able to splash kill soflams.
Damn they fixed some awards finally. Coop dogtags have been broken since release.
• Changed how MCOM station defend/attack kill score is calculated. Victim no longer needs to arm/disarm the crate but rather be in a 5 meter radius of the crate. Also increased kills needed for the Crate Defend Ribbon from 2 to 4. Overall, these changes should make it somewhat easier to get the ribbon, while increasing the opportunity for strategic play around MCOM stations.
• Premium Engineer assignments are now counting all shotgun kills independent from the class using it.
• Fixed so you can get score from awards in coop.
• Accuracy dogtags now show the correct stats.
• Coop Stars and dogtag are now properly unlockable and equip able.
• Gun Master and Domination Winner ribbons and medals added.
Also about damn time
• Added letters to the capture point icons displayed directly over the mini-map.
• Fixed so the spawn menu always disappears when you are revived.
And finally a small mortar buff?
• Mortar strike explosions are now shown on the HUD for the shooter.
And some slightly weird unlocks for AK vehicles
Need Repair
Unlocks Tank Destroyer Firing Extinguisher (in a tank?? I guess its restricted to AK maps though where MBTs are going to wreck them if stationary)
> Repair 20 friendly vehicles
Rocket Specialist
Unlocks Airburst for Mobile Artillery
> Get 10 kills with Mobile Artillery
Anti-air Support
Unlocks Anti-air missiles for Mobile Artillery (its gets AA?? whut)
> Get 15 kills in the Gunship
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