NC15 Phoenix Review -or- "Why addiction led me to get the NC15 Auraxium Medal"

Here's is me...
https://players.planetside2.com/#!/5428047126282444481/stats

And I am VERY proud of this.

Before I say any more, this should be your first Rocket Launcher purchase, hands down.
Even if you're not a primary NC player, you gotta try this ASAP.

And for god's sake, don't use it in the VR!
It doesn't interact with the human test dummies there.

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The Phoenix is so addicting it should only be given to the sick and the dying.

Just based on my own happiness while using the NC15, I am surprised the USDA hasn't questioned SOE about it's distribution of 5-hydroxytryptamine and 3-hydroxytyramine.

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Still, there will be LOTS of trash talking this Rocket launcher.
I love the Phoenix, and wish it were not riddled with bugs and flaws.
If SOE removed this launcher, I would cease playing Planetside 2 altogether.

It's fun as all hell, so fun it's like dropping LSD 25 (Or at least what I imagine tripping on acid is like).
In fact, I wish SOE would change the name to "NC25 Phoenix".


I love the Phoenix, and it takes skill to use one properly depending on the target (Though most anyone can hit a parked sundy. Though sunderers take 5-7 hits to kill depending on it's armor, and -if there are even two decent engies- the Phoenix cannot do enough damage to kill it).

Flying that thing isn't the toughest part, but judging if the target can escape or not between shots is an acquired knowledge.



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It's a two shot on infantry, a 5 shot on MTBs as well as sundies, a 4 shot on lightnings, a 3 shot on harrassers/libbies (It's not possible to kill a libby with the Phoenix if the pilot knows ANYTHING about how to use one), and it one shots ESFs/engie turrets/flashes.

Engine shots on MTBs and Lightnings do extra damage, enough so that MTBS are 3 shots there, and lightnings are 3 (2 to burn).

All these are based off the base stats, not counting armor or any other vehicle stats.


Now, the ESFs are by far the funest kills in all PS2 with the Phoenix.
That's because they can escape any time they choose, and often even below-average pilots will taunt an incoming Phoenix by waiting til the last second to dodge.

They can hover, thrust, and boost so fast you have no chance against anyone who knows how to pilot one.
They are VERY small where it concerns targets within the VERY limited range of the Phoenix (And the range is not possible to increase past the current 280-295 meter range unless SOE redoes the game's engine, which would take months, maybe over a year).

Flashes (With people on them that is) are so rare on the field they're like unicorns, and gone by the time you are able to hit them. Rare occurrences involving newbie BR 1's do happen, but any kill you get on a flash with the Phoenix would be FAR easier with a ground lock on rocket.

This wasn't the case before the ESRLs though, and I have one word as to why the majestic flash species has gone extinct on the plains of Auraxis:

Strikers




Lastly, Engie turrets.
Easy kills if they are new, but impossible if the engie knows the counter available to both AI and AV engie turrets.
It's so incredibly easy that a BR 1 noob could do it in his sleep.
Not gonna say it, because that would take away a good 60% of my kills if everyone knew it.




I've said it before, and I will continue to do so. The NC15 Phoenix is my one true love of Planetside 2.

But GOD did SOE do a number on it when they nerfed it.

Don't get me wrong, after using it for so long, I know full well that it was ungodly back when it could one-shot infantry.

However, the turning speed on it allows Galaxies to outmaneuver it and OUTRUN IT!

In addition, the range is terrible, as hitting anything with a gun attached to it that is under 50 meters away is impossible to do without being killed while you stand around with your thumb up your butt.
The reason for this, if you fire this, you MUST be behind cover, as you are deaf to your surroundings (Easy infi kills unless you're in the saferoom) and entirely immobilized.
Then, if it's behind even partial cover, you must be around 90 meters away (There goes nearly 1/3rd your distance just to hit a damn vehicle around a small rock or outcropping) which allows them even more time to escape the kill shot to repair.
Anything over 160 meters away and an engie with the rank 3 or better repair tool can fix it up faster than you can hit it, and that if you're lucky enough have an engie to give you unlimited ammo, or in a safe room.

This means you must pick targets between 90 and 150 meters away, 100-110 is ideal.

lastly, killing vehicles is all this counts for, if you want the driver, you gotta track him down after he bails out, which pretty much never happens unless he thinks he can escape in time, and he doesn't.

Now, we come to the subject of shooting from in safe rooms...

This is a last ditch reserve for experienced Phoenix users.

Ever shoot a rocket at something through the saferoom shield, only to have it detonate on the shield?
Okay, that is due to the shield clipping with the rocket's hitbox (The thing that determines if the rocket has physically hit something in order to cause it to detonate) in a manner it should not.

All other rockets have a 1x1x1 pixel hitbox at the very tip of the rocket, meaning while they can be shot down, it's a 1 in a billion chance... if you are trying!

Now, the phoenix has a GIANT hitbox, this is why you can shoot it down with relative ease.
In fact, by my estimations, the Phoenix has a hitbox that is the same as a player hitbox.


This means it clips friendlies like freaking MAD. Friendly fire is rampant, as any poor sap to get even too close to your side will detonate it.

So the phoenix is god-awful difficult to shoot through a spawn room shield other than "Straight Down Center Lane" so to speak.

As you can imagine, it's nearly impossible to do from a safe room with a group of 3 or more NC15 pilots.
Two is only a little tough, but coordinating and hitting the target can be a bit of a trial.
Also, 95% of the time any is vehicle sitting around -and in range- it's in a large zerg.
This means that there are plenty enough engies that those in the vehicle can laugh at your vain attempts as the engies feed off your delicious rage tears .

I think just the length and incoherence of that thread says everything we need to know about the type of person required to get to Auraxium with the Phoenix.

In some ways, man, I salute you. In other ways... I'm glad you're a 10 hour flight away. Mind the padded walls.

Yes, I am usually quite calm and relaxed, however the past few days I have been giddy and excited.
I have noticed a marked decline in my capability to form linear sentences...
...Add to that my having written much of what I said in this thread as a comment, realized it was going off on a tangent, And in came the copy/cut/pasting.
I put it together in a slightly different order, with minor editing to make some sense in the form of it's own thread.

It would appear I failed.... Miserably.

As for the "...I salute you.", Thank you. I realize this was a not a full-hearted comment, but I appreciate it all the same.

Side notes:
32 more kills and the NC15 is my new top-kill-count weapon. ^_^
Also, all I need is 25,136 XP more with the Phoenix til I hit 1,000,000 XP earned with this launcher.
It was worth the 700 SC.

Almost 4,000 certs earned with it!
(Plus 232 from all the medals).

Do you find yourself eating soup with a fork too, just out of interest?

Great job and thanks for the review!

phoenix-auraxium... - congratulations!
you explained well why it's so hard to aurax this weapon. there are veryveryvery view situations in the game where the phoenix rules - but a non-phoenix-addicted player is equipped with another launcher in those moments. i think the phoenix would need a normal dumb-fire option (maybe with different damage to targets) to be on par with any other RL in the game.

I have a titanium spork I bought a while back, and I use it every chance I get.
Does that count?

On an eating implement-related note, I have always wanted to eat my morning cereal (Milk and all) off a plate with a spatula!

OH! It's 06:28, that's morning enough for an early cereal.
I'm gonna go eat breakfast so I can check that particular box off my mental "List of things to do just so I can say I've done it".

Well, Goal accomplished.

Uploading and whatnot took a while.
I also got side-track with sorting the other pictures I had on my camera that needed sorting, but here ya go!
Cereal Off A Plate With A Spatula.

That you eating ur life away? Or is that chex? But still..that pic.lol

His outfit name. Nuff said.
Only a true masochist would aurax this thing.

I didn't even know that many people could die to one Phoenix.

I would have had Auraxium on the Phoenix, but TR/VS QQ'ed hard and it was nerfed 2 days after release.

Is that a weapon?? Coz i never see one on my deathscreen
Maybe on my server no one carrying that thing

Ok, I like this guy. He is not one of those idiots who loves a weapon, and tells everyone they are bad for not liking it. He gives a critique but in the end likes the style despite the flaws.

This is me and the lancer. I think its the best launcher in the game.

Say...have you made a vid of your pheonix awesome?

i salute you for getting aurax on phoenix!
ever since the nerf within the first week of release (because TR didn't like NC having a weapon better than theirs)
i've hardly used phoenix, the slow turning mixed with the limited range meant targets had to be in a certain Sweetspot,
if they were too near you'd never manuever to them, too far and you'd never reach them,
and the lack of OHK made it useless v infantry (compared to the one shot a dumbfire would give you)

i've recently tried it again using Ctrl+f10 to turn off the hud and i'm noticing a huge increase in usefulness,
but its still far too situational to find a place in my regular setup.

you should have got 1000 certs for getting aurax on that thing! 200 doesn't do your achievement justice!

I love the Pheonix too, have done since PS1, but you're absolutely right that it is often a frustrating mistress (much more so than the PS1 incarnation).

And I just don't understand how people claim to get regular ESF kills with it (although the lack of video evidence from the people claiming it probably speaks volumes).

Best used in groups by far.

Whilst most weapons are better used in groups and still useful used solo, for this one, it pretty much must be used in groups unless you're attacking an enemy that simply isn't paying attention.

5 shots to kill a sunderer means 5 phoenix operators focusing the same target = instantly dead sunderer. No chance to react, no chance to repair. Its just dead. Of course, finding 4 other people who have the attention span to keep focusing the same time until its dead is difficult outside of outfit operations.

you can dumb fire it actually (sorta) press E (default) to exit the missile, just like you would a vehicle... the only thing is, just like a vehicle, it "powers down" as you exit it, and loses forward momentum quickly, so you need to aim above your target a fair bit if you're any distance away, but at least you get to reload early if it's on target.

Actually, I do get ESF's at a decent rate, but I'm too lazy to edit through days of my recordings for footage of it.

My favorite place is Hvar tech for getting ESFs.
I have killed quite a number there from one of the safe areas. I may upload a short clip from the video I have.

Sadly, uploading videos is a pain for me, as I'm rural, and have a DL speed of 1.75 mb/s and an upload of 42 kb/s.