The Abysmal State of POs

[Ttly]

PO is only needed for the dropships to launch more effectively, it's not *mandatory*, technically CIC can replace POs but the only difference would be slower flight time and that's bad.

Also I am strongly against making the role of POs mandatory, there are times when there are no POs such as deadpop but luckily there's the lone SO or an SL and so the round is saved.

[WinterClould]

I don't think PO needs any massive reworks, just reasonable changes here or there to make it more enjoyable for everyone. Simple shit that makes the game more interesting for them, not tedious and repetitive at least.

[FGRSentinel]

Honestly I think if POs had other skills it'd help them out with uneventful rounds. As a PO I've had rounds where I've got nothing to do, but CIC has one SO and Medbay's swamped... but the PO's leadership skill is just one short of being able to use OW (making them the only Officers unable to use the console) and they don't even have the medical skill to open a pill bottle, so all I could do was sit on the dropship and twiddle my thumbs.

[Ttly]

Then what? The 4th or even 3rd PO'll just go ultra unga, there are already problems with some SL, COs, doing no leading but using the extra stuff they get just to unga harder.
You throw those skills on a role that doesn't have real job in the round and that's what you get.

[MattAtlas]

Transport is, at its very core, a boring job. You go from A to B - there isn't much that makes it interesting.

What USED to make it interesting was the lack of lockable doors when we had dropship shutters - you had a lot of xenos rushing the dropship and that kept you pretty occupied.

[FGRSentinel]

Then what? The 4th or even 3rd PO'll just go ultra unga, there are already problems with some SL, COs, doing no leading but using the extra stuff they get just to unga harder.
You throw those skills on a role that doesn't have real job in the round and that's what you get.

The problem is, we already have that issue on rare occasions. POs have gone MIA only to later be found nested on the other side of the map or fighting at the cade line for 5+ minutes every time they land. The simple fact is there's a very small number of people who go PO because of the gun so they can wander off. I'll admit that, sure, but what about the handful of us POs that take our jobs seriously and do it well? Are we supposed to be doomed to both boring gameplay and a lack of support skills to give us something to do while the engines are on cooldown, the ship is in transit, or we're Alamo CASEVAC on Ice?

[Madventurer]

The issues with PO being the most boring job on Almayer is further exacerbated by the short duration of rounds: Even before the mutator changes, I've had rounds as PO when I literally did nothing but sit in the cockpit of Normandy all round because nobody called CAS or CASEVAC.

[Heraclitus]

When I say refueling I don't mean after every run, more like once every 4 or 5 runs. Yes it's just clicking but it's a break from the regular clicking. The one really bad thing about it that would really suck is making marines wait even longer to go down if they late join/get out of medbay, since waiting for the dropship is definitely more boring than flying it. Again though only once ever 4 or 5 drops so not a massive impact.

[CABAL]

When I say refueling I don't mean after every run, more like once every 4 or 5 runs. Yes it's just clicking but it's a break from the regular clicking. The one really bad thing about it that would really suck is making marines wait even longer to go down if they late join/get out of medbay, since waiting for the dropship is definitely more boring than flying it. Again though only once ever 4 or 5 drops so not a massive impact.

It would be on lowpop rounds without PO to refuel. And how would you explain dropship hijack if it would lack fuel for a flyby to the planet?

[Ttly]

The problem is, we already have that issue on rare occasions. POs have gone MIA only to later be found nested on the other side of the map or fighting at the cade line for 5+ minutes every time they land. The simple fact is there's a very small number of people who go PO because of the gun so they can wander off. I'll admit that, sure, but what about the handful of us POs that take our jobs seriously and do it well? Are we supposed to be doomed to both boring gameplay and a lack of support skills to give us something to do while the engines are on cooldown, the ship is in transit, or we're Alamo CASEVAC on Ice?

If your idea of making a role better is by letting them do other roles instead of its designated one then you can just play Synth, fundamentally PO is a role that can be replaced by an NPC and they'll do the basics just fine and no one would have to suffer playing it or playing around it.