Now that VS no longer has a tank

So after the sunderers blockade armor nerf, VS no longer has a tank that can hold a line in armor fights. Yes, we have the empire specific harasser / Anti-friendly-infantry weapon known as Magrider, but this is not a tank.

Will VS eventually get a tank?

What's the problem with the megrider?

http://ps2oraclestats.com/?stat=br100kpu&weapon1=3730&weapon2=3461&weapon3=4008
And yet it has the strongest KPU @BR100 strange

I think we are doing fine with our heavy harasser...

You are aware that you are comparing the magriders HE cannon to the AP cannons of the other factions? The AP for the magrider is the FPC.
http://ps2oraclestats.com/?stat=br100kpu&weapon1=3460&weapon2=3730&weapon3=4008

To avoid mixing the two up, remember that the F in FPC stands for focused, the V in VPC stands for volatile.

Want some cheese with that?

EDIT : Nevermind... The guy posted the stats used the wrong weapons.

I'm not saying the magrider is bad as a heavy harasser. it's fine as a heavy harasser. But I'm saying: Well, we still don't have a tank. We used to have a ghetto Linebacker in the form of the blockade sunderer behind which the Mags would hide and take pot shots, while the sundy would get repaired. The Mag can't even be repaired like other tanks can because it automatically kills every engineer attempting to repair it in a 30m radius.

The problem with the magrider isn't the magrider, its the game. The magrider was given the wrong advantage to use in the game due to the clear absence of bodies of water. The only advantage the magrider had over the other tanks, outside of any discussion regarding weapons, was its ability to be a spidertank and crawl over anything, anywhere. It still can in some areas, but the point is that the hover mechanic is supposed to be something important when bodies of water are taken into consideration, yet they are not in PS2 unlike in PS1.

They included the VS because the VS were part of the PS1 brand and image. Fans of PS1 would probably hate PS2 without the VS (and I ******* hate the VS still anyways), but the issue is that they included the VS without giving the VS the advantages they had to work with in PS1. The magrider, for all intents and purposes, is terrible for PS2s gameplay because it has nothing to take advantage of. Its basically not in the correct element or environment. If the magrider uses its mobility to get to places where it shouldn't be, then it becomes, in some ways, a bit ridiculous.

The Magrider just doesn't fit in PS2's current form. Thats all.

wth, magriders are best all-rounder tanks. The function of a heavy harasser actually has much more utility than a boring, lumbering tank, especially when "true" tanks are much more easily countered by omnipresent infantry based AV weapons. Once they get ambushed it's over. Movement is life and all and their evasive capability is worth a lot, above what the nominal armor resistances say.

Vanguard is the battleship of PS2 mech, guess what, we don't use battleships anymore because WW2 proved that big and clumsy < maneuverability and/or numbers. Just look how vans and prowlers fold in cramped spaces of hossin roads which can be entirely avoided by vanu magic.

HAHAHA - the Magrider...under powered....

HAHAHAHA good one OP xD

VS always make me laugh. I don't care what you call it, even if you don't want to call it a "tank" its still outperforming "actual tanks."

I wasn't aware that VS strategy even required "holding a line".

They win 2/3's of the Alerts on Connery and it's almost never by "holding a line". They take the most territory in the final 20 minutes every time. Every single.... time... And it's like the NC are just dumbfounded by this each time. Like they never expected it. It's literally the Purplish Inquisition every few hours and no one saw it coming again and again and again.

Magrider is awesome. I really don't understand this thread

Magriders are amazing it's the only tank that has it's front armor aimed at enemies and can strafe side to side. I have no idea how many rockets, tank shells, liberator shells, rocket pods and galaxy slams I could dodge without them probably none lol. Slap Nanite Auto Repair on with Fire suppression go to Amerish and wreck enemy armor and infantry. When you get injured scoot over the hill Ta-Da enemies can no longer hurt you while you repair. Then come back rinse and repeat.

No, they're not. They serve well as harassers and ambushers, but can't hold a line, provide cover to infantry, you know, the actual "Tank" stuff. We already have a harasser and while it doesn't have the firepower of a maggie, it has twice the top speed. What we dont' have is a TANK. One that in battles serves as a damage sponge & damage screen.

2 Armor zergs run into each other in the middle of a road. A line battle develops quickly. The line that doesn't hold is the one that loses this battle.

I'd argue it's never by holding a line, because VS don't have a vehicle that can do it. We used to have blockade sundies, but with the "fix" to blockade armor, blockade armor now is basically worthless. You could be arguing "holding a line" is not necessary for winning an alert, and obviously you're right, but the reaction of VS when running into another armor zerg of equal size is to quickly get killed / redeploy / galdrop somewhere else. This is turning a disadvantage into an advantage.

I did not say such a thing. I said the Magrider fails extremely hard in a specific "Tank" way.

That's the point. Maggie DODGES hits. It doesn't TANK them. Like a TANK would.

Also, other Tanks can hide behind low cover so only the turret is exposed. The Maggies main gun meanwhile is at the center of its hull frame. So since it can't tank and can't use cover like the other tanks, it HAS to dodge, like a harasser, who incidentally still can do the "turret peeking out" trick that the maggie can't. With the generally slow bullet velocities of AP ammo, dodging is obviously rather effective. None of that changes that you can't tank for ****.

To be fair, the Vanguard is the tankiest tank that could ever tank in PlanetSide 2 and even it can't tank incoming fire as well as it looks like it does. To even approach its current level of tanky goodness, it has to rely on a secondary shield that is often marked as a poorman's tactic by its drivers for the vehicle at the same time it gets lauded and reviled by its enemies for the exact opposite.

I would argue the concept of a "tank" really has no place in PlanetSide 2, as it is currently structured.

You're basically asking for making all the factions the same. This is the whole idea of faction diversity.
The VS just doesn't have the tools to do a proper line holding. VS is all about pushing or ambushing to which the Magrider is perfectly capable and excels. The same with the VS MAXes, you can see that with the ZoE ability. I must admit that the ZoE was overnerfed, but it still gives increased movement speed and firepower, perfect for popping up on the side of the enemy.

Holding the line with a sponge is the NC's specialty. The NC takes the Vanguard, shields it while it shells and generally doesn't move much. Same with the NC MAX that won't be shelling from range, but hiding behind a corner waiting for the enemy to come to him to blast them to bits. Sacrificing all ability in the open to excel on short range.

And the TR is a bit in the middle. Their way is to throw as much ammo to the enemy as they can. The Prowler isn't the most maneuverable and doesn't take the most damage but can anchor down and shells the enemy. While this can still be used to hold the line, it's not the best ability for that. If you become stationary in a large tank vs tank fight you're dead, so they can't use their main ability. In my opinion the Prowler is the most versatile of them all. The TR MAX I don't know much about. It doesn't seem to have a clearly defined role like the NC one. Just throwing ammo basically.

In short, because we have asymetric balance there is a difference between the factions. Each faction has their own tactics because of the tools available.

There's Capture points in the middle of roadways now? .... that would be corny AF, my favorite part about random openfield line battles is that nothing's ever at stake. No pressure, No HIVE / JPGuardians showing up to TRYHARD fastcap it, just pure durping around

Bah magrider is fine. Stop complaining and start looking at the cute baby hedgehog.

Umm - you're comparing the wrong gun - the VPC is the AI gun, the FPC is the AP.

So these are the droids you're looking for:

http://ps2oraclestats.com/?stat=kpu&weapon1=3460&weapon2=3730&weapon3=4008

...which shows the FPC to be the lowest generally (not that i'd use this stats to prove anything btw - just wanted to correct a glaring error)

I play all three and the Prowler feels the best for farming (anything), the Vanguard is the tankiest tank and can go 1v1 and win against just about anything (with shield), the Magrider is by far the most fun though. Sure it can't go toe to toe with either of the others but the maneuverability is great and gives it all sorts of advantages. It just isn't very 'tanky'.