any weapon that has to be run 100% of the time isn't necessarily broken, but if you can't run something else in favor of it then its unbalanced for sure.
OwenlucrativeolbapWithout the crossbow, this game is unfun and deathly slow.
always an interesting comment to come from players who barely played the game before crossbow or even at all beforehand. Played med for 10 years in this game and crossbows have always made the game slower because doing damage isn't as relevant to pushing as it used to be.
Do you think that the skilled/fun mechanic of giving med a crossbow is worth this tradeoff, or was the skill inherent to knowing heal priorities at all times (which i imagine is lost to a degree with crossbow) was a better system? I didn't play pre x-bow so it'd be interesting to hear your opinion.
Also, aside from banning it, are there any changes to the bow that would make it more balanced?
there is absolutely no denying that the addition of the crossbow has made the class more engaging and more approachable for a wider range of players and i think has resulted in more people willing to play the class, but I can't say I prefer the style of game we play nowadays based around crossbows. Its very un intuitive and yes it does slow the game down because you can't push off significant damage and allows players to play more carelessly with their hp and when they decide to fight.
it has altered the landscape of how this game is played by a massive margin (not as much as the gunboats have though). is it for the better? likely, but to deny that it doesn't slow the game down, allows for less intuitive play and that it is a balanced weapon is simply just not true. if it was brought in line with other medic primaries and allowed for actual trade-offs in any way it would make the game and the class better.