Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

1: NC

2: NC and TR

3: NC, TR and Vanu

[darkrider2]

The problem is that there is a segment of the flier population who has been flying forever, and have refined their expertise with a certain playstyle, and have been very loud to the point that the devs have made serial balance changes that favor their playstyle.

And the funny part to this is that a skynight on the DBG forum posted a link to an Extra Credit video about punishing people for doing exactly this as an argument for removing A2A missiles.

...what??? I'm going to have to look for that video...

Ok, then make it so when you swap to the second weapon you lose all flight controls. Solo Liberator pilots do it all the time.

To be frank all ESF secondaries are borderline useless anyway outside of maybe the antiground rocket pods.

Thanks to endless rounds of nerfs on almost every secondary.

The problem is that there is a segment of the flier population who has been flying forever, and have refined their expertise with a certain playstyle, and have been very loud to the point that the devs have made serial balance changes that favor their playstyle.

If you crash a lot when you're flying close to the ground, it means you can't fly an ESF like it's a helicopter, which means you're not the people G2A is being balanced around. Which is unfortunate, because those people have a seriously warped and frankly myopic vision of what A2A, A2G, and G2A should be (and it pretty much starts and ends with "how I've gotten good at playing").

Seriously, the only thing that needs said about how messed up PS2 ESF mechanics are (and by correlation, ESF roles) is that it's taken for granted in balance discussions that the way two ESFs will fight each other is point blank facing nose-to-nose for the duration of the "dogfight" (I'm kinda reluctant to apply that term here, even with the scare quotes)...

+1. spot on.

[DJ]

IDK, I'm quite fond of hornets with max stealth. If you can find a good tank fight you can usually score some easy kills by looking for smoke. The trick is to come in from behind the enemy lines, and to stick as close to the ground as possible to avoid getting attention of other ESFs.

[Mattk50]

a big problem with ESF balance is that the default controls are awful with no way to change them, creating a pretty big perceived divide in the effectiveness and usability of ESF for most people who are simply unwilling to learn this method and have no way to rebind to a better way. wayyyy more people would use ESFs and they would feel a lot stronger than they are now if people had the option to control them how they want, and it would likely lead to the realization that no, piloting them doesn't really take much skill at all when you can just hover and rain death.

[Aklyon]

I'm assuming you mean the mouse part? Because I certainly could rebind the keyboard part if I wanted to try to fly again (emphasis on try).

[MDFification]

ESF's should just be made more vulnerable. Seriously, so few players are packing counters to them (I see maybe one Sunderer with an AA turret a day if an entire outfit's not pushing, and haven't seen anyone with AA missile launchers in the past six months) that them having the kind of health they do at the moment is the root cause of the hover-and-shoot style of play that's predominating at the moment. They already have absurd degrees of mobility, they should be using it in dogfights and doing strafing runs, not pretending they're a helicopter. Making them more vulnerable would encourage this kind of play and compensate for ESF's strengths, despite how much whining would ensue from people who do nothing but pilot them.

If you want a stationary-ish gunship, that should be the Valkyrie and the Liberator's job. It shouldn't be what supposedly is an interceptor's ideal role.

[E. Albright]

Making ESFs fragile is probably the easiest solution, yeah. Right now, they're able to fill too many roles; if everyone else's means of dealing with you is "go change your loadout or pull a different type of vehicle", while your means of dealing with everyone else is "keep on doing what you're doing", there is a very, very big balance problem.

[Ozyton]

Ok, then make it so when you swap to the second weapon you lose all flight controls. Solo Liberator pilots do it all the time.

I wasn't being serious, I was trying to make a point. Unless we get some coaxial guns on MBTs and Lightnings (and how about both a Fury and a Renegade on the flash just for good measure).

I've yet to achieve a static hover at any angle in a Mosquito. Supposedly the Scythe can, but I don't play VS. Also, there is some justification for the aircraft physics: if you look at the craft in third person, you'll see that most if not all have vectored thrusters. Slow down and apply upward thrust, and you'll see the thrusters changing orientation.

I'm aware of the vectored thrusters, but they can only point straight down or backwards relative to the ESF. You can hover pretty effectively looking almost completely vertically downwards as long as you don't throttle back all the way. As soon as your throttle (not speed) falls below a certain point you start accelerating towards the ground. Yes, they can't hover in place forever like a Galaxy or, with a bit of fenangling, a Valk, but they only need to hover for long enough to fire off all of whatever "farming" weapon they've chosen.

The lock-on speed relative to distance sounds nice. It's frustrating when an ESF is just sitting there forever while I stand in the open trying to lock on, only for it to be able to just boost away and not have to deal with any damage that may have been dealt assuming the rocket doesn't fly into the ground or a random obstacle. Using dumbfire rockets is pretty much not worth it, since they can dodge those pretty easily. It's also kinda frustrating that you can't lock on until they're basically within spitting distance. Oh, and if they have flares good luck, might as well just avoid them altogether unless you really have some kind of grudge.

Hmmm, what if you cut the ammo capacity on ESFs by... a lot. How many rockets can you fit on a mossie? What about missiles? Just how many hardpoints do these things have?

ESF's should just be made more vulnerable. Seriously, so few players are packing counters to them (I see maybe one Sunderer with an AA turret a day if an entire outfit's not pushing, and haven't seen anyone with AA missile launchers in the past six months) that them having the kind of health they do at the moment is the root cause of the hover-and-shoot style of play that's predominating at the moment.

Making them more vulnerable to small arms fire could be a thing. if they could have a value where after the first couple bullets hit it its armor rating towards small arms falls of dramatically it would encourage surviving using mobility instead of tanking, while not punishing being hit by a dozen or so bullets.

[Sonlirain]

Well i used to use a striker. It needs exactly 0 seconds to lock on and hit someone... it is kinda weak if you don't hit all the missiles tho.

[Akura]

The problem is that there is a segment of the flier population who has been flying forever, and have refined their expertise with a certain playstyle, and have been very loud to the point that the devs have made serial balance changes that favor their playstyle.

And the funny part to this is that a skynight on the DBG forum posted a link to an Extra Credit video about punishing people for doing exactly this as an argument for removing A2A missiles.

...what??? I'm going to have to look for that video...

I tried looking for the post for that had the video, but the DBG forums are such a toxic cesspit, especially posts by skynights, that I had to stop before I did something I'd regret. I even forgot what else I was going to say here.

[Itnetlolor]

Just sorta dropping a heads-up, also since I might be jumping in for the event too, but:
http://www.accursedfarms.com/planetside-2-recruitment-video/

In a little less than an hour from now (maybe happening right now anyway since some might be early arrivals before any potential server-clogging happens), there might be a little bit of chaos (potential understatement) to hit the servers, if anyone is gonna be playing today. Just thought you ought to know what's up once it happens.

EDIT:
I guess this can also be a session I can broadcast myself too, if anyone wants to watch me do dumb stuff with all kinds of stuff. Feel free to drop suggestions during my broadcast.

[Ozyton]

Tell me about it when it's over, I have to go to work =<

[Akura]

That explains why the NC were shouting "4ross!" while they were swarming Quartz Ridge.

[miauw62]

LIVE FREE, IN THE ENN CEE

[Itnetlolor]

I haven't done this well (relatively speaking) in a good while, and I don't usually fight alongside the herds of infantry.

[Aklyon]

That explains why the NC were shouting "4ross!" while they were swarming Quartz Ridge.

More bloody NC, I'm not sure we needed more of them.