NC AI Harasser Help!

I'm going to have to agree that the Fury, heavily upgraded of course is the best bet. At least it seems to be for me. Don't overlook an upgraded Basilisk either. It may be stock but will tear sh*t up as well for what you are trying to do, not to mention provide some defense against air and other vehicles that are inevitably going to come after you.

Dont use a basilisk on a harasser. Theres multiple reasons but the primary two are this.... First, for whatever youre hunting whether it be tanks/sundes or infantry there is a gun that has a better accuracy and ttk than the basilisk, it is stock for a reason. The second reason is that if I see a basilisk on top of a harasser I shoot at that harasser first. If you put the stock weapon on top, people will assume your buggy is stock as well, ie, an easy kill, and for the most part theyre right! I think Ive died to one basilisk harasser in the 6+ months of playing this game and that was only because I was already on fire and crossed paths with one at an unfortunate moment.

^ This guy knows harassers.

Well I haven't used harrasser that much in my VS character, but I gave it a fair bit of use in my TR character (about 30 hours).

I'll try to give you an extensive review of each weapon and ability as well as a TL;DR loadout at the end.

Starting with the utility slot:

• Fire suppression:
  • Activate to instantly put out fire (red health) and restore a percentage of damage.
  • I think this is generally the go-to option for most vehicles, I recommend you cert this out first in a harasser as it will allow you to more easily get out of bad situations or win certain fights thanks to the instant health boost.
• Gate Shield Diffuser:
  • Activate to be able to cross vehicle shields for a short period of time.
  • Too situational to be useful on the harasser in my opinion, unlike the sunderer, which can be deployed inside of the shields, or used to drop a full squad into the enemy base. I don't recommend you buy this unless you're sure you really need it.
• IR Smoke:
  • Activate to create a smoke cloud and disable lock-ons for a bit.
  • A good option for open field fights were you don't have much terrain as cover. It only gives you a few seconds of concealment, but this is usually enough to get out of a bad situation. I recommend you cert this out only if you fight in open fields often.

Next let's move on to the defense slot:

• Composite armor:
  • Gives you a resistance to damage.
  • I don't recommend this, it just simply doesn't protect you enough to be worthwhile. Sadly it doesn't let you survive a fourth AP round from a lightning or else this would be very well worth the investment.
• Mine Guard:
  • Gives you resistance to tank mines.
  • Again this is very very situational. Tank mines are primarily placed down on roads, and since the harasser is made for flanking the enemy, you usually want to avoid roads which make this a bit irrelevant. I don't recommend you cert into this, as you're very unlikely to step on mines.
• Nanite Auto Repair System:
  • Repairs your vehicle after a few seconds of not receiving damage.
  • I'd say this is the best option for most vehicles, It's a very good upgrade, and helps you out in most situations. While it won't give you a real combat advantage, it can help minimize the amount of times you have to stop and repair and in turn keep you alive for a lot longer. I recommend you cert this first if you're starting with the harasser.
• Vehicle Stealth:
  • Increases range for auto detect on enemies radar and completely takes you off the map at max rank.
  • Again it's a very situational upgrade, and is only really useful when going up against lone tanks that are trying to flank the enemy, or skyguards that tend to stay a bit far away from the main tank columns. I don't recommend this unless you play this way primarily.
• Proximity Radar:
  • Reveals infantry that are close to your vehicle as blips on the mini-map.
  • Only useful if you use the harasser as sort of a long range "sniper". Since you use the kobalt, I'd say give this a look, but only if you find yourself in situations where you stick around the same area for extended periods of time.

Now come the chassis upgrades:

• Scrapper:
  • Improves the mobility of the harasser.
  • Since you plan on using the harasser against infantry, this is a very good choice for you, as it allows you to reverse faster. I'd say if your play style revolves around peeking around cover to take shots and then hiding again you should use this. Also the go-to choice if you mainly fight inside of, or close to facilities, as the turn speed will help you navigate around buildings.
• Racer:
  • Improves speed and acceleration of the harasser.
  • Best used for hit and run tactics, or against tanks/sunderers, where it's important to deal as much burst damage as you can before quickly running away. Mainly useful if you fight in open fields often, where there is not much to run into and the extra speed will help you out.
• Surger:
  • Improves handling and hill climbing.
  • Best used for sniping from far away, or if you don't fit 100% in the above categories. My personal favorite and the one I recommend you cert out first, as the extra stability while driving around will help you spin out less and get stuck in ditches or hillsides much less.

Finally on to the fun part, weapons!

• G30 Walker:
  • Anti air rotary gun, has good ROF and projectile speed which make it ideal for AA. Interestingly this weapon on the harasser, unlike the sunderer version has a nicer view angle which allows you to shoot at infantry directly in front of you at around 20m+. If you plan on doing any sort of AA work, this is the best choice, as it still does some damage against vehicles, won't leave you defenseless against infantry and can help clear the skies for your team. I think you should give it a look, trial it, and if you feel you can kill infantry with it fine, then definitely think about purchasing.
• G40-F Ranger:
  • Flack based AA gun. Slow projectile velocity makes it more useful against targets that are close, but with practice it's easier to use than the walker because of the air burst. Now one thing to keep in mind is to use this weapon is if you are ONLY going to use your harasser for AA. I don't recommend this for you since you plan on going up against infantry.
• M12 Kobalt-H:
  • Long range AI weapon. One of the best guns for AI on the harrasser, but requires you to be quite a good shot to use it effectively. I definitely recommend investing certs into this gun, it's very good at AI work, and won't leave you defenseless against ESFs or other harassers. However keep in mind that you must use this from longer ranges to be effective, there are better options if you prefer to fight close up.
• M20 Basilisk-H:
  • Mid/close range AI weapon. Default gun, and while not useless, there are better guns for each area you wish to specialize in, whether it will be AA, AV, or AI. Unlike the sunderer version, you only have one gun on the harasser, and it's high TTK will make you loose many fights, only use this if you don't know what else to use.
• M40 Fury-H:
  • Close range AI weapon. Good option if you tend to fight small groups of enemies, as it doesn't require you to be as precise with your aim and kills infantry relatively quickly. It does do some damage against armor, but consider it do similar damage to the basilisk, as in it won't keep you alive against a tank or ESF, but will do good damage against other harassers.
• M60-G Bulldog-H:
  • Great weapon against groups of infantry. Has a large splash, which makes it useful against groups of infantry, and is really the only option you have besides the ES weapons if you find yourself in these situations. A very good option as well if you want to be able to hold your own against both tanks and infantry. The only downside is that aiming it is hard.
• E540 Halberd-H:
  • Weapon specialized for long range AV use. Your best option for AV use without completely sacrificing your AI capabilities, while it's hard to hit infantry in some cases, you will be able to OHK most infantry. I don't really recommend this for you if you don't have very good aim.
• Enforcer ML65-H:
  • This is like the ranger in the sense that you will completely sacrifice your AI and AA capabilities in order to deal more damage to tanks or other heavily armored targets. I don't recommend this to you as it's very hard to kill infantry with it, and won't really do much for you.
• C85 Canister-H:
  • Similar to the bulldog in the way it can damage groups of enemies. Having to get close to enemies is dangerous however, so I only really recommend this gun if you find yourself fighting inside facilities such as amp station courtyards where you can get the jump on groups of infantry and quickly take them out. I'd say give it a look, but be aware of it's very short range, as unlike the bulldog, good aim will not make this work at longer ranges.

TL;DR:

• Weapon:
  • Kobalt.
    • Buy thermal if you use it close range, buy zoom for long range. Upgrade ammo capacity, or reload speed (your choice).
• Utility:
  • Fire supression.
    • It will save you many times from threats in general and help you win hard fights, your go-to option for a quick health of boost when needed; this is always useful.
• Defense:
  • Nanite Auto Repair.
    • Simply put, minimizing the time you spent outside of your vehicle repairing will greatly increase your chances of survival, as staying mobile is key to survival.
• Chassis:
  • Surger:
    • Very underrated, and is in general the most useful chassis for most situations and will help with getting into good sniping positions that go very well with the kobalt.

I know what you mean but for me stealth is useless if someone is already chasing you but it doesn't matter tank shells are slower than bullets so ifyou don't drive straight then they can't hit.you and aircraft are no threat to my harrasser since with turbo it moves to fast for rockets. Also I am talking about.my anti tank harasser with Vulcan so its a close range vehicle so turbo allows me to get close to tanks and escape them without taking a single hit.

He sure does!

@Reydelchicken- I looked through your entire thread and I want to know the reasoning for most of your choices. The Kobalt is fine for a weapon, I think Fury (or since your VS the PPA) kills faster especially if your hitting groups of people with splash damage but to each his own I have no real problem with this choice.

Heres where I think your advice gets dicey. Nanite auto repair and fire suppression and heres why I think this: I already commented my setup of Triage medic driver, engi gunner, engi backseat repair works better than Nanite auto and fire suppress or more accurately it eliminates most of the need for it. Your going against infantry so you wont be taking that much burst damage if your driver knows his way around especially if you have smoke to dissuade lockons. NAR is 12 seconds now, and therefore completely useless, you can drive to cover and fully repair yourself outside the vehicle before it would even activate in most cases now. You can have comp which is an extra 8% against small arms (doesnt do diddly for tanks but against small arms is quite noticeable) or stealth which will allow you to start or end a fight mostly on your terms either by coming in or getting out OFF the minimap. I would mainly choose comp, especially since with further small arms mitigation the backseat repper becomes even more just pure win.

As for surger chassis, why would you choose this? youre talking about getting on a mountain and sniping with the kobalt. I promise that this is not always possible, and extremely limits your kill potential. People will avoid coming out to where you can shoot at them, or they will just pull launchers and laugh as you run away tail tucked between your legs. It what you do when you dont have the option to even enter a base like say the rink on esamir (only there are no good hills to shoot into the rink from). Also, if your determined to do this, dont use the kobalt use a halberd its a one shot kill and is the best range/sniping weapon available to you. Instead, I recommend SCRAPPER CHASSIS and circling as close as you can to wherever the infantry are coming from. Sure this brings you closer to being tank mined, but the rewards FAR outweigh the risks, especially since if done right youll kill any infantry that gets near your circling lane and will usually see them try to plant mines (hint: if theyre putting down mines slow down and shoot them as they will not be shooting back then if you have rank 6 rep tool, go and just rep away the mines if you have time theyre worth way more that way instead of just blowing them up [this is not always feasible use discretion]. The only fight that specifically comes to mind where I would willingly choose surger is if you were going to the top of Indar Comm Array, that hill is brutal (or the oldschool Quartz ridge but theyve improved that area considerably.)

Again, your paragraph doesnt make sense to me, but my point was that Stealth and Turbo arent competing in fact they have a symbiotic relationship, especially if your using a Vulcan. Sure your turbo can get you close to tanks, but dont you also want stealth so they dont know your coming up on their rear until youre unloading your magazine in them? Thats what stealth helps to do.... Also, if aircraft dont see you on the minimap because of stealth and you arent in the middle of an open field they usually WONT be firing their rockets in your direction. Also you will not outrun rockets purely on Turbo. Turbo is finite and they fly faster than you, they will catch up and they will rocket your rear.....

Also, I die more to aircraft in a buggy than I do to anything else in this game, they have a huge advantage on harassers (especially my halberd) as they can and will fly above where you can fire and will then lay into you with guns/rockets. Saying theyre not a threat is just well, silly.

I was gonna say, on Indar and Amerish, I'm a huge fan of Fire Supp, Autorepair, Racer, and Kobalt with thermal.

It's even usable soloing, which is a nice touch compared to other builds. You have enough range to help in scattered combat, with the speed to move inbetween, and the utilities to recover if something goes wrong.

In Esamir I'm a fan of max-ranked magazine Fury with 2x zoom. Get up on a hill and lob shots over walls.

I had the chance to set up during a rather large 50/50 48+ fight to shell out a single doorway as I sat right next to an ammo sundie (dual furies, btw) that a squadmate brought for the exact occasion, and we slaughtered a massive group of TR as they streamed out this one building.

It's less effective during general combat due to the requirement for enemy groupings for the best effectiveness, (so a Kobalt would be a better choice out in the field) but if you can use it as an AI artillery platform, it works surprisingly well.

Just my two cents.

I like jumping.

I use stealth only when I am in bases what I mean is I use turbo against tanks since if you get close and circle the tank the player can't rotate its cannon fast enough if you are drifting circles around him plus rockets and cannon shells take time to get to its target so that's how I can dodge them using turbo as a sudden speedup and brake if I am at high speed the strategy i am talking about is for my Vulcan harasser with turbo and nanite repair I can kill lots of tanks without taking a hit for example I once destroyed 5 lightings 2 vanguards 1 harasser and 3 sundys before blowing up and 2 of the 5 lightings and 1 of the 2 vanguards got destroyed when I didn't take a single hit

I just dont get you. Something is getting lost in translation here....
PS this is an AI thread, talking about vulcan harassers and how you kill tanks is not on subject.
Im just going to assume you really like Turbo and dont like Stealth even though they have nothing to do with each other cert line wise. I disagree with you on the merits of stealth but its not worth banging my head against a wall.

To answer your questions, the reason I think that auto repair + fire suppression is good is because it means not having to stop for repairs at all if you play carefully, and yes it does have that 12 second window before it kicks in, but when you run it along with fire suppression you can use this as a quick health boost as you get away, leaving you with a somewhat intact health pool before the repairs start.

Also the reason I prefer the surger is not only the hill-climbing ability, but the handling improvement, it makes a very noticeable difference when it comes to the stability of the vehicle, which means less flipping, less spinning out, and in general an easier time driving around. Additionally you loose much less speed when going up slopes which can be very helpful in certain situations where going over a hill will provide you with good cover to reposition.

What I just said there also applies to the choice of auto repair, you can hide behind a hill or something, and instead of getting out for repairs, you can use the time to find a new route of attacking your enemy which they will not expect, instead of staying there and risking them catching up to you while you repair, or simply coming out of the same place you went into.

How many examples would you like to disprove that notion? Give me a week or so to go through film I have.

Am I reading this right? The people who know harassers say Stealth and Turbo aren't mutually exclusive and the guys that don't say they are?

*cough*

All he knows is, sitting nice and comfortable in his gunner chair.....

"I don't have a shot!!"

"What are you doing!!??"

"Get out of here!!"

"Dead!!"

One of the biggest problems with auto-repair is all it takes is one guy to make it unusable.

Every so often, *ping*, disable auto-repair. Ugh!!

Again, for the most part, good advices on AI setups. Stealth is way under estimated, 1 sec delay to lock ons. May not seem like much, but it's always on, can't be disabled and ever sec counts.

Yes, stealth, keeping off the mini-map is very limited when running into masses of enemy fighters. Or hanging around a bunch of friendlies. But otherwise, it's godly, to be able to remove the vehicle from the mini-map. Engine sound be damn, if you are not on the mini-map, the less people will know you are around. Less awareness of you means, more kills and less deaths.

Engine sound means very little. If around infantry, more than likely, battle field sounds will drown out the sound. If not, generally the engine sound is ignored from my experiences.

I have to throw this out here. If a strict AI setup is wanted, why not a tank or sunder AI? Those would be more robust and better at that task.

I'm of the mind set with a harasser. I should be able to take on anything I come across on the battlefield. By having a strict AI setup, leaves too many areas vulnerable. And too many areas lagging to where I can't respond to changing conditions on the battlefield. Outside of, pulling another harasser to meet those changed conditions.

Using a fury and get jumped by armor or air, then what? Halberd or enforcer, at least there is a chance. Those two guns do not kill infantry as fast as a fury. But they still kill infantry well enough.

Its scary how well you can quote me, lol! You forgot to add "sh*t Im missing too much!" before "get out of here!!" Thats usually how it goes, I miss, they hit us and I yell for a reset

This is more of a how to drive it comment, but I'd say use it like an infiltrator and like an ESF. You're squishy but fast. Your speed lets you pick your fights, so only pick fights you can win. So you should be taking the long way around and flanking, hitting guys who are alone, hitting people when they're distracted. If there are heavies with rocket launchers or AV MAXes do NOT sit still. And don't overstay your welcome, bolt like a rabbit when they return fire.

I personally love the bulldog. Its large splash radius means you can hit people in drive-bys while you're bouncing up and down. I don't usually don't stick around for more than one magazine, so magazine size is pretty important.