Adrenaline Masters and Weapons

I read Em's message about feeling guilty, and I know we've discussed this before but I'd like to revisit it - to put the non-AMs at ease ...

If I've got a coolio weapon that I want to max, I'll let you know and make you wait.

But if you've got something, go ahead and ask - especially if it's sharable! The MWM isn't always that cooperative (some days, if it weren't for the fact that I'd have to sit on it like an egg to pick it back up, I'd throw it at a wall a few times). It can take 5 or 6 waves (or more) to come up with a decent flak (for me, the first thing I work on). Before wave 6, if I've gotten a decent flak by then, I usually try to crank out a Vorp Shock, but they are rare things and really, I'm happy if I can get one maxed by wave 12 or 14. After wave 6, rather than continually working on my Vorp Shock, I usually finish making any Flak I'm working on (I have a wide variety I'll accept: Vamp, Freeze, Null, Piercing, Energy - gonna probably start accepting Poisons if they come premaxed - but even +4 Damage Flaks usually get hit by the MWM again), and then make a pass or two at a decent Mini and Link (usually looking for an Energy in there somewhere, but anything the MWM makes that's already maxed is usually fine).

So yeah, it sounds like a lot of work ... and it is, but only because I'm picky. But that doesn't mean I mind being interrupted. Maxing for someone else can very easily be a welcome distraction.

As for when I give up on the Vorp Shock - usually by wave 10, I'll switch to dumping adren into the Lightning Rod.

If the MWM is being particularly uncooperative, I'm usually very happy to help out a teammate with a max. At least I'm being productive then! We don't always advertise our availability unless we already have a choice set of weapons - and even then, there's places to put our Adren. But just because we aren't advertising our services doesn't mean we don't want to provide the service.

Here is my take. Like BotFodder, I may not advertise it, but I will generally max a weapon, especially on a map where there is plenty of adren coming in, either through kills or pickups. This is true even during the earlier waves if you have a really spiff weapon. But, most of the time, I am having to burn through adren like crazy just to get a couple of decent weapons. Mind you, I am not after every weapon being one to drool over. Indeed, most of the time, I focus strictly upon three weapons, those being the flak, the rocket, and the shock. At times, I may even try for a good sniper, but given I mostly only use it for headshots... not much point. As for what I like to get... Top of the list is to get either a piercing or energy rocket and flak (i.e. one piercing and one energy). Vamp is nice too for one of those two, but given how things get in the latter waves at my level, it is not quite as nice, and a healing weapon, even at max+1 generally cannot restore me quick enough to avoid dying. As for freeze, null or poison... can we say AM suicide... I knew we could!

And the damage flak... I used to do a MAX+1 to get them to a Flak +5, but because of all the changes, and how little damage it does for me any more when we are getting down to just a few players, I generally just hit it with the MWM unless it came pre-maxed, and then I may keep it until wave 5 or so. And on the shock, it is either piercing or vorpal. As for when might I do it, I will start out between the Flak and Shock, hoping for one of the two to come up with what I want. Then, I will start pulling the RL into the mix, though on the larger and more open maps, I might go Flak, RL, shock, repeat until I get a good weapon. And, somewhere, around wave 10, like BotFodder, I start going for filling up my adren for waves 12, 14 and 16.

Oh, and what do I do with all the other weapons? I may toss them to someone, particularly if I have a few seconds to wait for some adren. And the rage weapons, I almost always try to find a willing medic to be their home... and may even max it. The longer the medic can stay alive (and they can self heal), the longer I will stay alive.

But I generally do not like to spend all wave waiting to hand out a weapon, and so you might want to hurry if I am offering weapons up.

Oh, and if you have an energy RL or Flak, or a piercing of the three of them... I am quite willing to take a copy, max it and hand it back.

I would rather spend 150 adren maxing one barely magical than to try to get one all my own. So don't throw them away... somebody may want them, and that may be me!

I usually go for any type of good flak unless its a very open map. Knockback, Energy, Freezing, Null, and Poison are my best (prettymuch that order) after that I usually go for a good mini (no sense wasting adren on energy weapons since their almost useless once the metal skaarj appear) then I may try for a poison, freezing, or null lightning or sniper to use on wave 14 since I don't have enough ammo to keep the mini or link going for long (plus titans have trouble throwing rocks at you after getting shot with the lg). I barely ever bother with getting myself a vorp since they don't seem to "vorpal" for me even when their +10.

I'll put this out there for most of the adrenaline masters. I know and have seen how hard it can be to get decent weapons, so if I have something like a Vorpal Sniper, Lightning or shock, I will quite usually part with it and toss it to one of you guys. Also any decent weapon that I can pass out, I will try to hand out the soonest possibly time I can. I look at it that even though I'm a weapons master, I can still help out my team and improve our chances of surviving by parting with a weapon or two. The better weapons the AM's and Medics have, the better chance we'll survive overall.

So if I ever see you guys on I will be more than willing to usually part with a decent weapon, especially vorpals. All you have to do is ask.