Someone explain the logic of having the game's most powerful weapon on the liberator.

The tankbuster. Stock, it can kill anything but a sunderer if positioned correctly. Defenders claim its horrible spread is the balancing factor. However, this ignores the fact that the lib can fly, has a forgiving HP pool in all but the most crushing of fights, and is immune to many types of weaponry, and the ones it isn't can refer back to its HP pool.

On its HP, we can review:
It takes three Titan AP shots to put it down, an average of about 12-10.5 seconds to kill. The tank buster needs a single clip. If it can't, due to missing, its belly gun absolutely will. No second man needed, seat switching is perfectly feasible. Source: the three billion solo lib videos on Youtube.

It takes at least two or more AA turret full shoot and cooldown cycles to put it on fire. The TB needs two reloads. The belly gun negates the need for another. Skyguards are even worse off and in the same position as other armor. Amusingly, perhaps, the burster max is the least vulnerable to the tank buster. Unfortunately, the belly gun isn't held up by such trivialities. This thread isn't about that, though. The TB is faster to kill the burster then the other way around, regardless.

It takes a smattering of shots to down an ESF. Which is typically known as the 'hard counter'. This wouldn't be so bad if the 'matador' technique weren't so effective. For those unfamiliar, it's an exploitation of the fact that the ESF must always move forwards. It's very possible to dodge, but it then leaves you in close quarters with a weapon that can kill you faster then you can humanly react and against a foe with a lot of HP and lack of danger free zones.

Tanks...well. Only thing faster then a TB on you to death? C4. And it's really the difference between 'instantaneous' and 'so close as to be indistinguishable'. Lack of angles means tanks can't fight back, and even if they manage to find a rock to prop on, the TB is faster TTK in direct engagement with a main cannon.

So, all in all, to be success with mlgpro tank buster, you must do two things: get a little closer and don't die. Pretty easy.

Keep in mind this isn't a nerf the liberator thread. All its other weapons are more in place with what it represents, even if a dalton overhead on a tank is one of the most infuriating. I'm asking why the second most HP'd unit in the game has access to the kill-all shotgun of the game.

The first shot doesn't count in TTK calculations.

The answer is to get so much AA (and focus fire) that they can't even make a single pass. There's usually not more than one or two Liberators overhead at any given time.

Sadly, there are very few situations in which people will coordinate to do this. Even in platoons in an outfit. It can be like herding cats to get enough AA weapons deployed.

Okay. That still puts it at two reloads, which is eight to 6.5 seconds. TB is still faster.

Well, there is the small disadvantage of everything for 800m being able to see you, and having dedicated ground pieces that would love nothing more than to light you up for all 800m.

7-8s.

Lockdown prowler > tank buster in terms of TTK. Often you can make a Lib easily flee and potentially crashland/explode from allied fire with two P2-120 AP rounds and a burst of Walker, you just have to see them coming and not let them catch your rear.

Vanguards and Maggies though... basically free certs for good tank busters.

I know how to math!

But yeah I did forget to account for only two reloads.

My main gripe with the tank buster is it's equal effectiveness versus air. Will also one clip liberators and ESF's, 2 clips galaxies making it the best nosegun full stop.

And you're comparing one versus one here, which is rarely the case in actual combat unless you're that kind of person who drives their vanguard atop a hill with 0 cover and support then whines about getting singled out.

Tankbuster kills tanks, more news at 11.

In other news, AA doesn't kill air, it just deters it. And anti-tank cannons which deal more damage to air than does AA, don't kill air either.

I regularly see libs doing TB tank pop runs. With their HP pool, stealth (unnecessary but useful), fire suppression (an extra 11~% HP) and racer/AB, you can build the lib to varying dedication to the role. However, most setups will support it with a smidgen of intelligence.

AA is not meant to kill air, it is only meant as a deterrent..
If you don't believe me, check the devs twitter... I don't have time to paste the quote.

Its like nobody has heard of ESF's and C4

If you think tank busting is so easy... prove that you can.

2 blocks of C4 wont even make a lib smoke...

ITT: Someone who got Tankbusted (maybe more than one... dunno, didn't read lol )

But it will instagib almost everything else for much less nanites

I feel like I've seen a post like this before somewhere.

The TB is powerful but it chews up through allot of ammo, main downside to it is ya gotta get really close to a tank to use it, sure you can get a tank kill if you hit it right but everything else can punish you for that kill. Remember that the liberator is a pretty big thing and flanking enemy formations with it, is like trying to take a galaxy to an enemy warp gate..

Actually you need 42 bullets to 1 clip (3rd clip upgrade) a MBT or anything really. And it's only if you hit the BACK. Not the uper back, the side-back. The kind of side that's easy to hit with a rocket while standing behind, but a pain when you're flying. 2 Ap will make it in the red, libs can't fly after that, you simply fall; Even with High G 3, you're forced to land and repair where you were last shot, unless you can somehow drift to safety and land and repair without blowing up. EXTREMELY easy to dumbfire or hit when it's diving on you. Also 1 burster can keep the lib away, or 2-3 walkers as secondary. Or one skyguard, ideally with infantry or other tanks nearby. Or just a lot of basilisks. Or one AA turret, or one good ESF pilot.

Or the kind of thing you would know if you flew libs.


I Dare you to use the TankBuster and do anything with it. But I got a feeling that You won't be able to hit anything with it.