I feel like playing this way could help me when I'm staging a comeback—especially if there are multiple ones. Plus, since playing in a coordinated group is harder, it’ll feel easier when I play without one.
Basically, if I play one match with the burst rifle and then switch to the hunting rifle, my skill drops significantly—or sometimes it happens out of nowhere right when I start. Is this normal, or is there something I should be doing about it?
I’m not a very patient person—especially when it comes to games—and today, this one really pushed me over the edge. Here’s the gist of it: At first, I wanted to play with a buddy, but the game wouldn't let us. I got impatient, so we didn't end up playing together. I jumped into a match on my own, and it kept dropping me into games that were already underway and essentially lost—basically, the opposing team had 15 respawns left, full armor, and upgraded weapons, while my team was out of lives and down to just three players. We lost, and I started losing my cool. Then, in that same lobby, I got stuck with a team full of bad players—mind you, I played poorly too; that’s just how I get when I’m angry. I quit the match. I joined one last game, and it was the same story as the first: a match that was already a lost cause, and there were only two of us. I bailed because I was so furious with the game that I felt like I was going to break something.
I love Factions, but a lot of the time it feels like the game does this on purpose. I mean, what’s the point? By the way
I’m not posting this to whine or say the multiplayer is crap; I just want to know if this happens to anyone else.
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To set aside comparisons between the Reich and faction X, it's time to talk about the Red Line versus another major faction of the Moscow Metro:
**Soliders**:I've been thinking about how the Red Line is far superior to Hanza in both quantity and quality. We see this in Oktyabrskaya, where Hanza is mostly relegated to helping refugees (as Khan mentions), forcing the Rangers to intervene to repel the Reds.
Hanza’s weaponry isn't exactly cutting-edge either. In Market Station, their soldiers carry standard Bastards and Shamblers with extremely poor defenses. Even in the Koltsevaya line, they mostly use slightly modified Shamblers and bare-bones AK-74s. In contrast, during the "Contagion" level, we see Red Line soldiers equipped with AK-74s, Kalash 2012s, and Saigas. In D6 and "Heavy Squad," they even deploy rocket launchers, Gatling guns, and "tanks" (heavy armored railcars), while Hanza only seems to have light armored scouts and almost no heavy equipment.
On top of that, the Red Line easily captured Hanza’s train carrying the Little Dark One and stole it. Hanza did absolutely nothing to recover it; in the end, it was up to Khan and Artyom to board it, and Ulman eventually had to blow it up. It really shows how outmatched Hanza is when it comes to actual combat.
**Weapons**:
As mentioned, the Red Line has much better gear than Hanza. On top of what I already listed, they have access to Preved rifles, VSVs, Clappers, Tikhars, and even the Abzats. While both factions share the use of heavy machine guns, the Reds' overall arsenal is just on another level.
**Vehicles**:
Both factions share the use of armored trains, but they use them differently. The Red Line uses theirs as a battering ram to smash through defenses that infantry can't break. Hanza, on the other hand, seems to use theirs mainly to intercept anyone trying to leave Moscow or for assaults; theirs appears to have more weapons, though it's hard to compare since we don't see much of the Red Line’s train.
The Reds also utilize two-man vehicles (a driver and a gunner) for fast transport. Both factions share the 4-man troop transport railcars seen in Metro 2033. Interestingly, the Red Line seems to have stopped using them by the time of Last Light, while Hanza continues to rely on them
**Strategy and Battlefield Intelligence**:
While the Red Line is known for throwing waves of soldiers at the front, in Last Light this strategy is "perfected" with sniper support and rocket launchers. Hanza has no defensive feats to suggest they could hold off a mass offensive from the Reds, especially considering what happened at Oktyabrskaya.
The Red Line also deploys a huge variety of specialized troops: heavy units, snipers, assault infantry, and shield bearers. On the other hand, Hanza's defenses (from what we've seen) are just machine guns at the gates. Their soldiers simply lack the weaponry, morale, equipment, and fanatical ideology to withstand a massive long-term offensive.
Finally, we can't forget their intelligence capabilities. The Red Line has spies like Pavel Morozov, who could easily gather intel and sabotage Hanza from the inside before the first shot is even fired
Protective Gear:
Hanza’s soldiers have almost no protection; at most, they wear standard helmets (like the Rangers) and zero body armor. In contrast, even regular Red Line infantry wear helmets and some form of armor. When it comes to their heavy infantry, the Reds have protection on key vital areas and even if it's low quality and leaves the legs exposed, it’s still way more than what Hanza offers.
Red Line heavy units (like flamethrowers and Gatling gunners) along with shield bearers would be practically unstoppable for Hanza if their static heavy machine guns are taken out. Hanza soldiers would drop in droves due to their complete lack of armor and their inability to effectively return fire against such heavily protected targets.
**Military Feats**:
Hanza’s military record is basically non-existent. Their only major wars were against a much weaker, early version of the Red Line, and even then, they couldn't win—it ended in a stalemate. The Red Line we see in Last Light is vastly superior to its predecessor, as I’ve already shown. On top of that, Hanza wasn't even able to wipe out simple bandit groups, as Bourbon points out:
"Ha! And Hanza was bragging about wiping them out."
Meanwhile, the Red Line has managed to:
Repel and humiliate Hanza with small squads while gaining strategic advantages.
Defeat the Rangers on their own turf in D6, only being stopped by external help from the Dark Ones.
This leaves us with the conclusion that Hanza has practically no relevant military achievements; they are nonexistent as a real fighting force.
**War Scenarios**:
The Red Line would win in 99% of possible scenarios. They can easily win an all-out total war, a sabotage/intelligence war, or even a defensive one. The only way Hanza could theoretically win is in a long-term war of attrition based on economic endurance. However, since the Red Line can sabotage Hanza's infrastructure and economy so easily from within, such a scenario is highly unlikely, or at the very least, it wouldn't last very long.
Red line low diffs