Humans have nothing to counter a goon @ s1?
what about the shottie or chaingun?
a GOOD goon you say?
what about a GOOD player with a painsaw? or a GOOD team of 2 with rifles?
Whether the game is or isnt balanced is probably impossible to prove, but its DAMN near balanced. with all the gadgets @ yer disposal, if ppl would stop camping they might realize that ANY weapon can be deadly against ANY alien (except blaster vs any).
Painsaw can easily kill a careless mara or goon. Shottie easily kill careless bigger aliens, and dretches. Las EASILY catch a wounded, careless anything.
Its when ppl try to rely on the weapon (ie lucispam), and not their skill, that the game seems unbalanced due to a bsuit luci getting owned or their shiney new tyrant falling fodder to a group of shotguns/mass drivers.
Try playing with ONLY a rifle and no armor for a few days. Youll be suprised how versatile a weapon it is. Hell, take any weapon and learn to use it and youll realize that the game is pretty damn well done.
Moving the goons to S2 would make S2 seem like more of an upgrade, but goons really arent s2 material--do you HONESTLY think a goon is equivalent to the top s2 human gear (ie, pulse+armor+battery)? Goons really do seem to be good s1 material.