Higby: Return of the Tankside

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by BlueSkies, Jan 16, 2015.

  1. Juunro

    Pfft, that's a goddamn lie. 90% of the TR Prowlers I run into while Vanguarding on Emerald couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. :p
  2. Flag

    I have played on Emerald, and every time I've seen larger quantities of tanks it's much the same as what I see on Miller.
    People who barely qualify as "better than headless chicken" milling about.
    With some exceptions here and there of course.


    Dakka != damage.
    However, the prowler gets both, so it has to give up something else.
    The logical one in this case is accuracy. Having high volume of fire (dakka), high damage output and accuracy is simply too much. So if the Vulcan is made more medium-range than it already is, it has to reduce something else to make up for it (or buff all the other alternatives for all factions to keep up with it - a solution with a great potential for trouble), else you end up with a weapon that can/will be overpowered.

    An example of this would be shotguns compared to slow RoF LMGs.
    Shotguns have amazing damage, but are very range restricted. Meanwhile the LMG, which is likely to lose the CQC engagement has the advantage of engagement range.
    Which is why slug shotties have such a low velocity and unimpressive CoF stats. They still hit like trucks so they can't also be made very accurate, or else why would you use anything but a shotty?
    Same with vehicle weapons. If it's a high DPS gun, you don't also get accuracy (one of the serious flaws with Prowler Anchor btw).
  3. EliteEskimo

    I didn't say it was the majority, I said we have them. And yes while BWC"s Armor task force may be within that 10% we do exist. Happens Tuesdays and Fridays
  4. ColonelChingles

    Kinda sorta. While vehicles do have timers, usually your empty tank won't last nearly long enough to reach that. The defenseless target that is a driverless vehicle is just too tempting for the enemy to pass up, and I'd guess 95% of the time your vehicle will have been destroyed long before it even gets halfway to the deconstruction timer.

    Even when you take great care to park it back a hex or so, some crazy pilot is going to come across it and rocket it to death. Empty tanks are almost magnetic in how they draw enemy fire. :D I even occasionally leave my empty Lightning around as bait in lightly defended bases, just to kill the infantry that will invariably wander up to it thinking they're getting a free lunch. :p

    Tankers don't like leaving their tanks because:
    1) They paid good nanites for them
    2) If you leave your tank for any extended period of time, it's probably going to be blown up

    There's of course a few ways around this problem:
    1) Drastically reduce nanite costs for tanks, so they really are "throw aways". Not a great solution because it'd upset game balance and wouldn't always be effective (It's my tank that I pulled, and I'll be darned if I'm gonna let it blow up!)
    2) Drastically increase tank armor/health so that it would take a long time for them to be blown up and allow the tank crew more time to respond. But again, balance issues.
    3) Give empty tanks an invulnerability "parking" shield after they have been empty for 30 seconds. Empty tanks are not an immediate threat to other vehicles or infantry, and making empty tanks invulnerable would alleviate tanker peace of mind that would let them dismount when needed. The 30 second timer prevents tankers from hopping out of their tanks when critically damaged and gaining free time to repair.
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  5. WTSherman

    I would totally use that to create cover in the field, or block access to areas that are narrow enough that you can plug them by turning the tank sideways. I'm sure you can think of a few locations where having the path blocked by an invulnerable tank would be a problem. :p
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  6. FBVanu

    The Prowler has a disadvantage in health and reliable shots... the two cannons are really not that user friendly, (IMHO), .. I either hit with the first, then miss the second, or the other way around., very rarely do you hit with both shots.. recoil is atrocious The Prowler is also weak in terms of HP
    The Prowler also appears to have a rather over-sized hit box... anyone, it seems, can hit a Prowler from anywhere...
    The Prowler Vulcan , in its current state, can't hit a barn from the inside, unless it is a small barn.. any distance beyond 100 meters and I can see the vulcan tracers going in the direction of the target, but never reaching it..no hit detection, no damage.. might as well be a potato gun... (so far I regret putting 1500 certs into that thing)
    And the cone of fire is extremely large

    Not sure that the proposed changes will bring it to a "useable" state, or if they buffs might make it a bit OP... we have to wait and see.
  7. Flag

    No, the prowler doesn't have a disadvantage in health, as it's the same as the magrider. The vanguard has a benefit, and with the Van being the one deviating from the rest, it doesn't make sense saying the prowler has "less". Just... don't use that as your argument.
    Second, for the 2-shot thing. Sure, it can be. Just like how the mad has problems because it doesn't have a turret, and the restrictive gun elevation.
    But to get back to the prowler, it makes it harder, but also more forgiving. On one hand you have to hit with more shots than the other tanks, but on the other hand you have a a much easier time using rangefinder shots. Where the Mag and Van fires, then waits the full cycle to adjust the aim the Prowler can do it n the 2nd shot.

    Lastly, the Prowler hitbox isn't that bad. The tank is a bit boring to look at, but it's not a massive model. That "prize" still goes to the Mag. And unlike the scythe which has a slim side and a fat side, the mag has a fat side and an even fatter side.


    Speaking of the Vulcan, rumour has it the CoF is slated for a tightening (as I'm sure you know). It might do the balance snafu and give a gun both high damage and high accuracy. But for now the Vulcan (on the Prowler) is more or less fine.

    Besides, with the HP increase on the horizon the prowler may benefit a lot more than what the other tanks might, simply because the damage-output advantage will start to pull ahead. Atm it's less than the advantage of surprise butt-fondling from behind, but that can easily change with some ill conceived buffing. And of all the metrics available, damage is by far the most potent one.


    TL;DR:
    Prowler isn't that big, the mag is.
    Damage as a perk should come at the cost of accuracy.
    Current Prowler Vulcan is fine.
  8. ColonelChingles


    Hey, infantry get indestructible cover to shoot from, so why shouldn't tankers? ;)

    It would be totally awesome if we could build improvised tank bunkers out of empty Lightnings or something. Or better yet, keep pushing an empty Lightning in front of an MBT for indestructible rolling cover!

    [IMG]

    So long as PS2 uses silly mechanics like indestructible cover, infantry shouldn't be the only ones who benefit from that!
  9. Kanil

    If only you could deconstruct your tank when it was no longer needed and get those nanites refunded, letting you pull it again once it was time to resume tanking.
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