I'm good with them not linking, just we need to change the beam so it doesn't look like a link beam, and maybe a message like "Grapple Beam Activated!" I don't think it makes sense..those boards fly, they are super fast and hard to hit = game breaker, since they'd allow you to pick up deemer, link, fly away and boom...fast easy and super sneaky....
At least as you're lumbering across the map in Link Tank, you're big easy target, on a board not so much...
I don't really like the link vehicles in onslaught. I think they break onslaught quite a bit.
You still have to be on foot to start the node.
They should be used sparingly on non randomizer maps (even then have a higher point value), as they link up nodes very fast. I'm ok with that with especially with linkers (team work), but a couple of the Link Vehicles that are OP IMO:
- Link Badger, fast, high link, high health
- Linkatron, links up nodes = to about 3 linkers by itself, but its a 1600 pt mech, so its one of those power vehicles.
- Heavy Link Tank with a bunch of linkers -- high multiplier, lots of health -- but likely still one shotted from a Mino so....
By that logic half the vehicles we have are OP. Omni's favorite maps are vehicle heavy in which Link vehicles are ok. On the more DM/foot based maps -- no.
A big part of the risk/reward is you have to get out of your vehicle to link the node, possibly eat a tank blast to do it. Having all these link vehicles negates that.
True except you're no longer dealing with slow inaccurate goliaths, and raptors that take 8 shots to kill you on foot. Now most badgers kill you on foot pretty fast, Hammerheads = dead linker, and we haven't even gotten to Minos, FireTanks, Hurricanes etc. I think without any link vehicles, much harder to link nodes.
In the end comes down to map / vehicle balance. For example, Link Tank is pretty potent on Tyrant, on Minus-KitchenSink, not so much.