Can we talk about...
Blast Shield - especially in Hardcore game modes
I'll use DenKirson's numbers not as the gospel, but because it offers a decent outline of the problem.
Blast Shield started off as a piece of equipment in MW2. It wasn't very effective overall, negating 35% of explosive damage. It was a direct counter to Danger Close, but not much else. In Core modes, this meant explosives would still need to be highly accurate, but in Hardcore modes, it still did almost nothing. While limited in functionality, it was only a piece of equipment and usable for as long as you were alive, which made it a valid option and somewhat balanced.
The Blast Shield equipment was modified into a perk by Treyarch in Black Ops, renamed to Flak Jacket. In Core modes, it had the same effect as the Blast Shield equipment from MW2, negating 35% of explosive damage. If an explosion were to do 100 damage to you, you'd only take 65. However, Treyarch realized that this made zero impact in Hardcore game modes since you only have 30 total health and that reduction still kills more than twice.
So, they added an additional damage reduction modifier that takes effect in Hardcore games. In Hardcore modes of Black Ops, Flak Jacket negates 91% of explosive damage. This means the same 100 damage you'd take in core is reduced to 9 damage, instead of 65. Before anyone thinks that is overpowered, remember you have only 30 health. This change was enough to surive an explosive that hits the wall behind you, or a semtex that lands 5+ meters away. Yet, skilled players who shot their tubes directly at their target or threw their explosive on target would still kill a Flak Jacket user. On top of that, by making it a perk you had to sacrifice Ghost in order to use it. Hardcore was great.
Now fast forward to MW3. The devs have decided to keep it as a perk for good reason. Unfortunately, they did not include the additional changes made in Black Ops that add a second damage reduction multiplier of 91% for Hardcore. This makes the Blast Shield perk completely useless in Hardcore modes, which in turn encourages explosive-spamming behavior because there is nothing you can do about it.
As a lot of you Core players might have noticed coming over to do the Hardcore clan challenges, HC matches are often a plague of SMAW/RPG/M203/Semtex/C4 spam and very little actual weapon usage. In game modes like Domination and HQ, you can utilize the Trophy system to protect you briefly while securing a flag or point. However, unless you camp your trophy system all the time, you are vulnerable to death by explosive no matter how unskilled your opponent. A SMAW that hits a wall 20+ meters behind you will still kill you at full health.
The irony of this is that the additional health and shielding granted to you by Ballistic Vests is more effective than the Blast Shield perk for surviving explosions in Hardcore.
You gain nothing by giving up a crucial perk slot that offers amazing alternatives: QuickDraw/Hardline/Assassin/Overkill
Not asking for nerfs of explosives. Not asking for nerfs of Ballistic Vests. All that needs to be done is to copy what already exists in Black Ops: a different Blast Shield damage reduction multiplier for Hardcore game modes.
