Pay2Anni-lock

Enclave member... What did you expect?

Because it was also given a significant damage drop and can no longer be used against other targets and other situations.

OK. Lets get some figures in place to try to reach actual solutions then.
Given that the thread seems to be about annihilators rather than rendering issues, how many infantry do you think each tank is entitled to require in order to kill it?

At what range should infantry be able to engage vehicles at? The range that they can be seen at, or at which the vehicles they are defending can be attacked at?

Should more infantry be given anti-vehicular options (AV MANA turrets, anti-materiel sniper rifles etc) in order to reduce the requirement to play Heavy Assault?

Define 'take on'

If you added all the damage from the default launchers and the average number of HA in an area. There would be a single vehicle not smoldering in a crater. What limits the infantry's mass damage and numbers is the fact they have to aim. 15 HA in a base all firing at a target 100m away and you'd be lucky if 3 of them hit. So while there are many Ha they are only as lethal as the average accuracy of RL at those ranges are. The closer you get the more deadly and screwed the vehicle is. Which is how you balance infantries insane potential damage. The more bold a vehicle gets the higher the risk it faces.

What we have going on now is all 15 of those HA able to lock and hit the target from 500m without having to worry about missing. There is no way vehicles can stand up to that kind of combined firepower that never misses and have no risk/distance factor. I've begun seeing it happen in large battles. Where tanks and sundies are well behind the main line and hiding behind cover like frightened gophers waiting out a Hawk. If they dare break cover and get within sight of the enemy zerg for more then a moment they explode. Because 43 rockets just impacted without so much as a sweat broken by the firing HA. Infantry is now the only thing that matters in big battles and while that sounds awesome and from a distance it does look impressive. It makes for a very bad game and shows the weakness of having a lock-on weapon with that kind of distance and ease of use. Infantry shouldn't be defenseless but they should be far from the best counter to everything. HA should be able to defeat armor and air in close ranges and when they can surround them. Typically in or around bases. If they are getting shelled from a tank line they should be pulling their own tanks or missile ESF. That is what promotes combined arms. Is the needed to change from infantry into a more specialized and focused role.

That is a point very well stated. The Annihilator is not really "Over Powered"...it just does "Funny Things" sometimes since the latest patching.

its funny that not long ago the vehicle Faction showed the "L2P" or whatever silly argument down the infanterys throat. Now that Inf has a viable option to engage Target at longer ranges people cry.no ESF or Tank should expect to survive an attack against 5+ heavys shooting at you twice (you have those Flares to ignore the first salvo....havent you, if not l2p!). on top of that, the ani-launcher is a pain against a SMART player, since its easy to lead into the ground if fired from max range (if you hover to rockedspamm or on open ground with your tank, raining death on infantry expecting to be safe...well good luck)

Infiltrators aside, I actually hope they do something like that if they can ever make MANA turrets more reliable. Something you can't be sniped off from distant bases, but doesn't protect itself, so it can be used outdoors for some fire support without being nigh invulnerable in bio-labs and the like. Maybe a small cannon or large rifle firing single (solid) shots, with the DPS of a basilisk or so, but lacking the high zoom optics to properly target distant infantry (mind in this game infantry have no momentum and can change direction as fast as you blink, so even with optics it's best to just wait until they stop moving).

Again.

Annihilators are fine, render making them risk-free and invincible is not. SOE needs to go back and look at its 'threat-based rendering' and make HA that are equipped with Annihilators render to vehicles at the maximum lock-on distance of the Annihilator, sorta like they did with burster MAX. That way the missiles will also render to vehicles so they can at least time their smoke/flare for maximum effect, thus bringing some modicum of skill in defense into play for the vehicle user in question. If Annihilator users were exposed to danger by using it, there would be a balance. Obviously it's still going to be less dangerous than using a dumbfire rocket launcher because you can't really miss except through terrain and anti-lock, but at least vehicles being targeted can try to use cover to protect themselves.

Same needs to be done with G2A lock-on for air, and G2G lock-on for tanks. If it can shoot at you and do damage to you, you should be able to shoot back at it.

I run vehicles a lot and I don't mind Annihilators being in the game. At least it gives infantry a chance which is nice and rewards player/team coordination.

HOWEVER, i do have a problem with the current state of them where I am being locked on and damaged by things that don't render for me. I'm hoping this is a bug they are looking to fix soon rather than a stealth "feature" they implemented for the weapon.

Fix that bug and things can start to settle back down again.

Even if they fix the render it will not help the issue. Infantry at max range will still beat the tank at max range due to one of them not having to aim.

Annihilator misses a lot since the last patch. Its like the dam thing is on crack or downed an entire keg. It still hits ground vehicles fairly well, unless they are gophering from cover or even moving back an forth. Now if the HA attackers have the high ground you lose. So counter it, don't just feed the opponent with superior numbers and position. Can pretty much guarantee if 15 HA with shrikes in my outfit fired on a ground vehicle that same vehicle would be dead. Against air, lock-on (or guided) is a necessity unless they make the rockets move 10x faster. And well against air i am lucky to hit 50% since the drunk missile concept.

Air/Ground vehicles are just feeling the pain the infantry felt for 2 months and all the same whines. Give it another 30 days and SOE will adjust the game or l2p.

There is smoke/flares in the game. I suggest you use them wisely and don't just zerg forward thinking you are invincible anymore. I still live just as long in a tank/aircraft as before and i am not that good, but then i don't hover farm infantry or go near murder ridges expecting to win.

I didn't know tanks had to aim. I swear they never miss me even at 300-400m sniper distance. With the huge splash even cover is useless most of the time. Yes 6+ infantry will beat a tank ( a 1 man vehicle, rarely 2). Put in 6 tanks which there are usually 10+ that is a ******** of infantry needed to kill the tanks, before they start spamming you to death.

Again if your dumb enough to drive your tanks into an area where the HA have the upper ground, well you deserve what you get. Call in some air support and infantry before moving tanks into that area or better at the same time. Make them choose targets wisely.

Seems to me the Annihilator spammers all want to keep there OP boom sticks. Guess we wait a see what SOE do. Probably nothing since they seem to never actually play the game they created.

Flares for aircraft and smoke for vehicles should be standard without using any upgrade slots if they are going to allow this many lock on weapons. You should still be able to cert them to make them more effective, but they shouldn't take a utility slot and the basic version comes standard on the vehicle.

My graphics settings are so meh I have issues making out infantry at 300 meters on Indar, even if I could render them. :|

Hey look, Missile Lock!

Agreed. Flares should indeed be standard issue if lockons are here to stay.

A lot of players were complaining that this was TankSide. I like and approve of the annihilator, and there are counter-measures for vehicles to utilize. But when we have an impressive column roll up and it only takes a dozen guys to get an annihilator Heavy Assault to take them out one or two at a time per shot, it's just kind of silly. (not per shot, but 'per volley')

There is no true quick-fix to this unless they simply decrease the damage of the Annihilator by 5% or 10% or have it take 0.5 seconds longer to lock-on. However, a prepared armor column that uses terrain and has engineers ready in the field and drivers that know which way to back up and engineers that know not to stand behind a tank (magrider engineering is the most dangerous engineering) then you should easily be able to survive 6 hits if you have top or side armor. Alas, when I see 15+ of my fellow vanu launching from an annihilator.. it is silly. Watching enemy columns be wasted before they even get kills equivalent to their numbers and reverse, watching entire vs columns be wiped out from meerkat assaults.

I'd rather see more anti-C4 complaints, but I guess the annihilator deserves some heat. It is, afterall, the launcher worth buying. But to have it anti-air AND anti-tank, hell might as well make it anti-infantry while you're at it SOE. It needs to have a slim nerf, something almost unnoticeable.

My biggest beef with it though, is that, despite the fact that enemies can lock me at such a ridiculous distance, silently at that, I do not hear the sounds either, I also DO NOT RENDER THE ROCKETS. So I have no idea where they are coming from. And I have the distance up to 4000. You don't have to render the infantry but please at least let me see which direction 7 rockets are coming from.

I wish I could enjoy other equipment selections for my tank besides the IR smoke screen... There are some pretty cool attachments, but the threat of a launcher blasting me to oblivion is significantly overwhelming when it comes to choosing what to cert all of my vehicles in. If I am careless enough to let someone C4 my vehicle, I deserve that.

I do not want the annihilator removed, but some kind of minor nerf needs to be made. Perhaps even missile velocity could be put on the table. it only needs one minor little nerf.

I get seen and killed while i use annihilator very often. also work for some.. with render distance..

what is OP is how Air got CertFarm for very long period, and now they cry. bad bad infantry, not more easy certfarm anymore..

Annihilator is BALANCED. deal with it

Exaggerate much? Are you playing the game? There is nothing like that happening in the game. The hovering is gone...vehicles are still as numerous and still are destroying everything in the game with little effort.

SOE should put up a Test Server and test the Annihilator with laser lock-on-target while keeping the other missiles unchanged.

I'd give it a go.

I like this. If they insist on filling the game with easy to use lock-on weapons then flares and smoke should be standard, opening that slot for other upgrades.