disclaimer: i do not know if this has been suggested before and any similarities to any older posts is entirely coincidental, because i never check the forums except when i try to sell something on the bazaar (in which that is the only one i check).

i propose a new format for PVP that i like to call "heist". it is a capture-the-flag that is designed to favor gunners, inspired by a cops-and-robbers type theme. i am aware there's a game called Payday:The Heist, but its not the inspiration!

objective
both sides will have a "flag" that the other team must capture, in which a single team member must carry (much like a grim totem or statue) back to their home base. while attacking the other side, each team will have to somehow ensure their own flag is safe. the winner is determined by whichever team has more enemy flag captures.

rules
if the captures is a tie, then the game enters sudden death in which players defeated after sudden death began will not respawn - the winner is decided by either annihilating the enemy team or succeeding in another capture. a "flag" can be forced to drop after only one hit, and after a set period of time, perhaps 20 seconds, the "flag" will teleport home. there is a speed penalty when carrying the "flag" and your teammates should cover you.

the following is a ROUGH sketch of potential classes and attributes, and discussion is encouraged!

classes:
Raider

• can sprint for 1 second, designed for quick evasions and re-positioning for better attack angles (CoD inspired)
• 1 second limit is designed to prevent recreating the striker in lockdown and therefore sword superiority
• sprinting can be canceled by taking damage, recharges in 4 seconds when depleted
• +medium gun attack speed
• +medium gun attack damage
• +low ctr (all weapons)
• -high sword attack speed
• no life bonus

Tank

• possesses a personal shield that resembles the guardian's shield in stats, but behaves like a clockworks shield (recharge in 4 seconds)
• +12 health bonus
• +med ctr (all weapons)
• +very high gun damage
• +med sword damage
• -med movement speed

Warp Bomber

• blinking ability - teleport short distances within screen view. recharges in 12 seconds, cannot attack or move for 1 second after blink.
• +6 health bonus
• +med bomb ctr
• +med bomb damage
• +med movement speed

Assassin

• cloaking abilities like the recon
• +4 health bonus
• +med gun ctr
• +med sword damage

Analysis/Discussion. The idea pitch ends here, here's some extra food for thought and will most definitely be tl;dr

I attempted to create classes that would favor play styles that I've seen in LD, as well as disruptions for play styles which would hinder progress for the match. For instance, the tank is designed to break pulsar spamming formations and excessive bombing in relatively equal numbers, and the Assassin and Bomber are likewise capable of directly interfering. The "soldier" is the inspiration for the Raider, a run and gun class designed for guerrilla tactics. The Assassin is designed for a class where swords could thrive without having them take over the game. The warp-bomber is designed for bombers to engage in disruptive, commando-esque operations to prevent excessive defensive postures, whether it be spawn camping, polaris spam or status-bomb spam. I tried to create a class to represent all the weaponry that is within SK while keeping it balanced, fun and playable for skills of each play style. I also tried to use existing in-game mechanics to make it easier to program.

A fight between gunners will probably be drawn out and longer than a typical fight in LD, simply because it is easier to evade guns which also do less damage. It is necessary for the pace to drop compared to striker hordes in LD, which can easily wipe out the enemy team in less than 10 seconds. Guns aren't designed to respond to this level of activity in SK and I think some people who greatly dislike LD because of broken mechanics and would appreciate a game where lag is less important due to slower pacing.

The nature of the game means offensive is very important, but defense is equally as important. In LD most teams do not coordinate at all and often rely on strong players to annihilate opposition in basically 90% offensive, 10% defense kind of game. When the game is close, most teams rely on increasing their offense even more instead of defending. A pick-up game will obviously have profound problems with coordination, but if the entire team is annihilated in a failed offensive, their flag can easily be stolen without much resistance.

Naturally, the different nature requires its own maps. The crystals which reform would be an interesting addition to a gun-based PVP, and even the rockets may play an interesting dynamic. A shoot out in the candlestick keep would be very nice!

Problems:
i recognize that UVs will still be a big problem, especially for the bombing class. it is possible to get a vh movement speed, damage bonus vh, and ctr max bomber teleporting into bases and causing absolute hell. will UVs be OP?

stagnation may be a problem with teams getting too defensive, perhaps carpet status bombing their home bases. counters? thoughts?

once a team's flag is taken, it may become very difficult for the opposing team to try to intercept and retrieve it, especially if the team was wiped. i'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing, because interceptions could very well be the most exciting parts of the game. if they are few and far between we could be dismissing some great entertainment potential! also, if there isnt much time left, and people believe they cannot capture a flag, won't they simply give up and/or quit?

i know its possible for the raider to still be something of a striker, and with a VH asi pokey stick, skolver and the right trinkets, the max dmg and asi skolver can be recreated. possible counters? im thinking that slowing down the sprint compared to the current striker will suffice, but is that too much of a nerf?