Flash buffs are overkill.

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Mrasap, Oct 2, 2014.

  1. Mrasap

    To whom are you referring to and what is your point exactly?
  2. DorianOmega

    The flash buffs are more then welcome, by no means are they "overkill" considering before the flash required way too high a skill ceiling to reach before being able to properly use it. Just handling the thing alone to not make it flip took a lot of effort, trying to utilize the passenger in tow was then even harder.
  3. Ixidron

    Wow, I've been playing since the beta and never thought the flash could be called overpowered, I means seriously, a year ago the fury was OHK and people could drive behind you while cloaked and kill you, but I never thought that was OP, it happened to me like 4-5 times, also I've never lost a single tank to a flash team.

    What the flash needs is more utility, so we can see it as an small support vehicle, something like a medical/repair station, a deploy mode that makes the flash into an engi turret like vehicle, ammo boxes, or even a resupply terminal instead of the rumble seat.
    • Up x 3
  4. sf17k

    You may be right about top speed, but Racer acceleration is definitely worse (I should try the other options too I guess). I remember being impressed every time I accelerated from a standstill because it would "surge" forward immediately. That's no longer the case, except, oddly enough, when reversing. Try it with Racer in VR - come to a stop and press forward, then come to a stop and press reverse. You have far more torque when reversing, which makes no sense. I think this is just a programming oversight, but it's also similar to pre-patch torque, so it gives a good comparison pre vs post (with Racer at least).

    That's true, I'm beginning to appreciate that aspect.
  5. sf17k

    I tested all three chassis in VR.

    Long story short, Surger is now WAY better for combat than Racer (based on VR experience alone).

    To start with, Scrapper has nothing going for it. I could find no advantages whatsoever. That leaves the comparison between Surger and Racer.

    Racer used to have great forward acceleration, now only its reverse acceleration is improved over the default. If this is a bug, it's a serious one, because one of the main advantages of Racer - its acceleration - has been completely nullified.

    For turning/handling, Surger is hands down the best. It used to be you could do tight handbrake turns with Racer, so it was perfectly fine for combat turning. Since handbrake turns aren't possible anymore, Surger gets a HUGE boost to combat effectiveness. It's very controllable. It can weave through tight obstacles easily. It gets me into the angle I want very quickly compared to the sluggish Racer. Most importantly, I can weave to dodge tank shots MUCH better with Surger. Racer turns really slow, it takes a long time to get into firing position, it's harder to navigate obstacles, and frankly I feel like a sitting duck in it, given how little I can turn to dodge incoming shells. Again, pre-patch I used to be able to do all sorts of crazy maneuvers with Racer. Now I'm forced to use Surger to fill the same need.

    FURTHERMORE, Surger is now amazing on hills. It used to be Racer's acceleration meant it could climb hills very well, and Surger was good, but not great, because the Flash didn't like rough terrain in general. Now that Racer doesn't have acceleration, and the Flash is overall better with hills, Surger shines. It can climb slightly steeper hills, but more importantly, it retains great control on hills, whereas the other chassis start to slip around. Surger can navigate rough bumps easily and comes to a standstill quickly for aiming, even on steep slopes.

    The other chassis can't do any of that, so e.g. with Racer you'll be trying to get at some infantry coming from a sundy in the hills, and it'll be slow to get up over a peak, and then slow to stop (making it difficult to take aim), and then slow to turn so you can escape, and it won't face the direction you want to go and it'll slide sideways, etc etc etc.

    To me, Surger is now the clear winner for combat. It controls much better in all situations, and has advantages that are impossible to beat. Top speed is the only good thing left with Racer, and Scrapper is useless as far as I can tell.

    If Sony fixes Racer's acceleration, it might become a more viable option. But there's NO MORE HANDBRAKE TURNS and turning is so important to combat that I think Surger will be the best choice anyway.
    • Up x 2
  6. Bixli

    ..agree, definitely surger.
  7. LibertyRevolution

    Surger flash is now back to its previous state it was at launch, I am really happy with the change.
    And I can put a guy on that shoots forward... what a bonus!

    I don't say this much but.. bravo devs, bravo!
    [IMG]

    Now please move that dev over to the Valkyrie team.. I think they could use him.
    • Up x 1
  8. sf17k

    Whoops, I did a crappy job of testing. Someone on reddit pointed out that Scrapper turns even tighter than Surger, and I think it has a bit more acceleration from standstill as well. It does feel slightly slippery, but it can actually do the pre-patch style handbrake turns that I was missing so much! Forget everything I said, lol. Scrapper is my new favorite. Though I like Surger's control on hills as well!
    • Up x 1
  9. Rohxer

    Thanks for the review of all three; I need to do that myself. I've settled with scrapper for a long time now, ever since one patch (now lost to history) made it the best at that particular time. I've really gotten used to the maneuverability of scrapper as my flash style usually has me weaving around tight spaces. I REALLY like the way the flash handles now. Not having to worry about dying to rocks and pebbles, and letting me focus my efforts against the real bad guys, has made it a much more enjoyable experience. Previously I'd lose about 80% of my flashes to terrain mishaps. Now I think it's more like 20%, if that.
  10. Plorf

    I think the recent buff is calling to attention why the Fury is on the Flash in the first place. You wouldn't put a Bulldog on a Flash would you? What about a PPA? Or a Vulcan? Or a Walker? Because those are all Harasser weapons.
  11. Ixidron


    Funny how the harasser came long after the flash.
    • Up x 2
  12. Nintyuk

    Or changing the wraith module in to a class based power upgrade, EG. Heavy's can overshield the flash to survive damage, medics provide shield healing bubble engy's provide infantry ammo plus a very slow and very short range vehicle ammo and finally LA's get jump-jets al-la the landmaster.
  13. PWGuy93

    The flash is the new suicide weapon.

    Driver puts tank mines on the front of the flash, goes back into their outpost and changes class then aims at the rear end of an enemy vehicle, jumps off while it's in motion and followups with an AV grenade and/or decimator shots or if they didn't change class and remain infiltrator (why not a couple of front mounted tank mines on a ramming flash will do the trick 99% of the time) they then stealth out, respawn at the nearest outpost and rinse repeat.

    The flash is disposable, cheap cheap points to pull. It's rinse repeat play.

    I can foresee the OP's outcome, that the Flash will get a nerf when enough people complain and it will become mediocre once again.
  14. Ixidron


    Seems like a pretty stupid strategy, also you can only pull this off 3-4 times in a row since it's 200 resources (that's more than C4, and C4 is easier to use).
    • Up x 2
  15. Jackplays17

    your idea of putting an HA on the back of a flash shouldnt constitute a nerf of the flash, but of the decimator. the wraith flash has a MASSIVE cert cost to use. fully certed its around 5K certs (Fury, full auto repair, wraith, sight for fury, more ammo, more ammo in mag)
    • Up x 1
  16. WTSherman

    If the Fury is getting buffed, I'm more worried about Sunderers and Harassers running it...

    I mean yeah, that is causing a lot of damage considering it's a Flash (and wraith cloak is super-annoying with how long it lasts and how fast it recharges), but that buff looks like it would be absolutely terrifying on a battle Sunderer.
  17. Mrasap

    Thanks for underlining my point. Sadly, I am afraid SOE will nerf the wraith and/or fury instead, as they have done in the past.
  18. MiniSentrygun

    Flashes are really easy targets. I'm glad that SOE increased the flash kill exp.
    The driver is vulnerable as hell, you can't really strafe with a flash. All the enemy infantry needs to do is to shoot the driver driving at a straight line.

    The flash itself is also vulnerable as hell, small arms fire from 2+ people can hurt it significantly. ( if they choose to shoot the flash instead of the driver that is. ) Basilisks literally tear down flashes, and almost every explosive weapon in the game is a one shot kill. Shoot flash, get exp bundle.

    Also, If one has the manpower to run a wraith flash squad with heavies, they would be better off running a lock on squad that destroys tanks one by one with focus fire.
  19. ronjahn

    Let's just stop saying the wraith flash has a high cert cost.

    1000 certs for a fury, level 1 wraith costs I believe 30 certs(possible 100-150 idk, but from my experience level 1 is all you need unless you are truly dedicated to the flash) So we have a total of 1650 max to have a serviceable wraith flash. Yeah chassis, defense slots, thermal, ect are helpful, but if we are talking actual costs to achieve what the OP is talking about we are looking at 1650(maybe a lot for a low BR guy, but I personally have 3500 certs sitting around with everything I could need maxed out and see 1650 certs as a small investment)

    Prior to the buff I was killed a total of 1 time by a wraith fury in a MBT and it took them 6 flashes to finish me off, I killed 4 of them. I haven't been killed by wraith since the buff, but have seen video and heard of people who have.

    Personally I have been attacked by this new Wraith/Deci combo in my solo harasser probably 10+ times so far and only died once(the same two guys attacked me 5 times in a row and finally found me low on health). Usually I end up just running them over or quickly killing them with a few canister rounds.

    I guess what I'm saying is let's just give this some time before people start screaming OP; remember we are talking about an ATV that dies in 1 shot to almost everything .
    • Up x 3
  20. Commander Beanbag


    SOE listening to tankers?

    You have nothing to worry about, friend.