I wouldn't say it's that bad.
I think security is pretty shit to play as simply because there's no weight to it. If someone tries mugging me as security the most I can reasonably give them for slipping and cuffing me is like ten minutes; whereas they can do all but murder and hide my body. Once my sec ID and gear is gone that's it for the round essentially as the shitter will just use it to be even shit.
If non antags were punished by admins for engaging security without a reason then it'd probably be more playable as a role. Or of they bring back tasers and instant stun batons. But by the same merit security should really be obeying space law. If you give them more power, then they need to be held to higher standards. Security being the only ones allowed to escalate should in turn mean they should have a good dammed reason for escalating. From what I've seen playing as Kiwisecurity, it's a toss up between incompetent and psychotic when it comes to officers.
Also as a general note I feel like there should be an explanation of what picking a job means when you log in. For example I've legit lost count of the number of assistants I've seen breaking into secure areas, that they 'reeeeee' like fuck when they're gunned down because 'I wasn't doing anything bad!' The ID access is there for a reason, and if you don't have ID access you shouldn't be in a place. By that same standard, adding random ID access to your job and wandering into the armoury still means I'm going to shoot you, it just means I'm gonna take away your ID as well because you shouldn't have that access.
Security is shit for a couple of reasons, and here's why nobody plays as Sec
1: You have no license at all to be a shitter.
Assistants are basically "A for Antag" in my experience of things. Other roles will often be shitters, but as Sec, you are beholden to not just start murdering people off the cuff for no reason. Nobody else is under that same restriction. Ahelping, the supposed ultimate weapon against the shitters, does nothing.
I have ahelped every single round I have played on kiwi for the past five rounds. (Last round I played, two Heads, an Assistant, and the Chaplain were all total shitters.)
2: You have weak as shit gear.
The stun baton is pretty weak. After one hit, a couple of seconds later someone falls over. That's more than enough time for them to kill you or get into a hard to reach place to wait out their tiny knockdown. The disabler needs four shots to put someone down and has maybe twelve shots, I haven't counted. Pepper spray is situational and most people wear gas masks anyway. Flashes are okay. Energy bola are somewhat useful. The only good thing Security has, the only thing they have that isn't just immediately outclassed by something a random person in Medical or Engineering could make for themselves, is their armor. Contractors have stun batons that shit all over your own, because their stun batons actually work.
(Heads also have the shitty telebaton, which is basically worthless as someone can just get up after the first hit and kill, but heads usually also have things like flamethrowers, poisons, or real guns.)
3: Space Law
If some shitter is a total shitter and you don't find antag gear on them, you have to put them in the box and let them sit for five minutes. If they win the fight, you die and they hide your corpse.
4: Reliance on others
I cannot tell you how many times on /tg/ station I as a sec officer watched all other officers be total retards and run off alone and die. Sec comms are frequently taken from empty lockers and most officers don't seem to want to coordinate at all. Screaming futilely over :S as everyone runs off one by one and dies is one of the most frustrating experiences in SS13 as it isn't your fault that the station is getting fucked.
5: You're horribly outnumbered
Even if you did coordinate, almost nobody plays as security for the above reasons, and it's only a matter of time before the shitters beat you to death and steal your gear.
I'm genuinely considering going to a real MRP server with more admins because having more self-antags than actual antags is annoying as shit. If the admins want this level of chaos, bump up the threat level so that everyone has a chance to antag. Don't let the retards who were too autistic and antagonistic to not get banned from /basil/ be the ones having the most fun.
