Re-Thinking Blacked Limbs

I think we need to take a look at how we get penalized for having black limbs

1st- remember that a body part being "blacked" represents that its been damaged to such a degree that its functionality has been compromised. Its not just "grazed" by a round

2nd- This game is advertised as a "realistic combat simulator"

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Goal:

Blacked limbs should SIGNIFICANTLY affect how you play

(Right now blacked limbs seem a minor inconvenience, especially if you have painkillers)

It should put you at a SERIOUS disadvantage in a direct fight

Players should play with the fear of being hit, even ONCE, regardless of armor worn

This would also make "low pen" ammo and weapons much more effective

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Right now, blacked limb penalties are a bit of a joke, especially with painkillers:

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Legs:

Running inflicts damage (a laughable amount- try running the full duration of stamina on 1 or 2 blacked legs, barely noticeable)

Lose the ability to walk quietly (But what does that really matter at all, in a straight fight?)

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Arms:

-Slower/Louder ADS

-Faster Stamina drain while aiming

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Again, these seem to be MINOR inconveniences

I have made a 200m Sniper shot, standing, with a blacked arm- laughable penalties

The only time ADS speed REALLY matters would be in CQC, but in CQC you can just point-fire with high levels of accuracy anyways so nearly irrelevant

The stamina drain is annoying, sure, but doesn't really come across as a definitive disadvantage in a fight

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Here on reddit I saw a clip of an unarmored mosin player, get both limbs blacked, stomached black, and then headshot his opponent (all while wildly side strafing)

You could def argue the poor accuracy of his opponent, but that's NOT the point here

I had an experience myself where I found a player looting in an open field on shoreline. I started rippin into him from about 50-75m away. He gets up, I hit his legs, he starts walking to cover WHILE I am hitting him, eats painkillers (while I am STILL hitting him) and then proceeds to sprint off behind cover while I reload.

I was a SCAV with M855 at the time, but its still like "bruh"

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On the EFT wiki page regarding health, blacked limbs have additional penalties which for some reason are not in the game right now:

Blacked arm- reduced reload speed by 66%

2 Blacked arms- weapon reload speed reduced by a FURTHER 66%

(Maybe just because they haven't yet added a "wounded reload" animation)

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What can we do to make blacked limbs an ACTUAL "oh shit" aspect of the game:

-I have always liked the idea that if you get an arm blacked, you drop the weapon you are immediately holding (We kinda see this in the RAID clips, one of the BEARS gets hit, drops his weapon, goes to Sidearm)

You could pick it right back up, sure. But if you get shot out in the open, and have to run to cover, well your weapon is sorta outta reach

This would encourage bringing sidearms as a backup

Would make fights much more about cover and positioning, rather than purely headshots

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– Deny ADS all together?

Holding a weapon up at the ready requires muscular strength and endurance (irl, nobody holds their weapon at the ready constantly like we do in game, but I digress)

Compromising an arm would make it VERY difficult to hold the weapon in a proper manner.

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-Legs

This is a bit trickier. On the one hand, not being able to run or walk fast is a pretty solid drawback

On the other, painkillers basically negate this by 100%

BUT, I do agree in having the ability to negate the limping effect for the purpose of reaching extracts in time (as much as I love my games hardcore and realistic, having to limp from one end of the map to the next is quite tedious, I agree)

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So what is the middle ground?

Personally, I like the idea of painkillers taking TIME to kick in

So they wont do you much good in the IMMEDIATE gunfight you are in, but will allow you to reach exfil in time, afterwards (if you survived)

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Maybe a collapse animation, when a leg is blacked?

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I do think stance changes need to be MUCH slower with a blacked leg

Getting up from prone, with a blacked leg, should be SLOW

Even standing from crouched should be slower

A blacked leg should also negatively affect your ability to hold the weapon still while standing (its more your character has a harder time standing up, steadily, than its harder to hold the weapon)

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Conclusion:

The point here, is all players, should fear all calibers, regardless of armor worn

And play the use of cover FAR MORE than they rely on armor

We have this detailed health system, which you would think should result in dynamic fights based on whether you are wounded, how you are wounded, etc

Instead, it seems to merely serve as a means of making players seem tankier, with minor penalties that are almost unnoticeable