Another month, another handful of updates to the legendary "Snap's Mod" mod... and I've recently added quite a spicy change that some would argue to be "cheating". SNAP forbid - I take the opinion of the Payday community very seriously....
The change in question in this: removal of the (in)famous SWAT turret.
That's right, this monumentally horrendous excuse for an "enemy" was effectively removed, without hesitation. "Why", you ask? Well I'll tell you.
A shoddy attempt at area denial
Before we start, let's analyze just what the SWAT turret is: it's an automated turret.
What are automated turrets good for? Defense and area denial. Unless an automated turret is given legs, it cannot move around on its own, therefore it exceeds in the field of being a stationary deterrent.
Now there's a huge problem in being a stationary deterrent: you specialize in nothing else besides spitting bullets in key places. Match that with being heavily armored (you need to knock it's shield off 3 times just to actually start doing damage) and congratulations, you're the worst enemy anyone has ever implemented into a game.
Ladies and gentlemen, the SWAT turret.
For some ungodly reason, when Overkill finished making this portable cheese grater for heisters, they had to put it everywhere; effectively ruining the classic missions and rendering them unplayable when going loud.
If the "Diamond Store" heist wasn't painful enough, now you have to mind the mechanical menace maintaining the main mullions. The entire front of the store is completely exposed to a constant barrage of bullets. Genius.
Same with GO Bank, Another building cursed with large windows at the front of the building. If the several dozen snipers weren't bad enough, now here's a high-tech lawn ornament waiting outside. A recipe that goes together like water and electricity.
Then you have Bank Heists. The OG in terms of classic heists. What did Overkill do? Well, if one wasn't enough, they decided to place TWO. Yes, two gigantic bullet dispensers on each side of the bank. Christ almighty.
Overkill put no thought anywhere else into this thing, aside from calculating the worst possible places to put it.
They'll demolish converts and AI teammates in seconds. There's no "gotcha" moments, making them exhausting to fight against. They practically have three lives, so if you didn't bring some stupidly overpowered weapon, then you have to suffer through its bullet monotony.
Two steps back
And you know what's worse? Payday 2's AI was already equipped with area denial capabilities. Just take a look at this post and scroll down to the "reenforce" section.
Basically: Cops were once programmed to fulfill the same role as the turret: acting as a blockade to keep important areas defended.
The reason for removing this feature is - objectively, dare I say it - idiotic. According to Jules (the genius who made this decision at the time), it made NO sense for them do this! That is coming from the same person who introduced balance changes that were more geared towards ADHD gameplay than teamwork and tactility. It is no surprise.
So, fast forward a little, Overkill needed an alternative for besiege. Rather than going down the engaging route of making the cops fulfill that role, they just opted to plop a rectangular block in the worst possible places on the map (and I mean the WORST), fitted it with infinite bullets and ludicrous health, and called it a day.
Ladies and gentlemen, the SWAT turret. Good riddance.
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