I find C4 Fairy play to be hilarious. I appreciate those diabolical enough to dream up incredibly cowardly and brutal ways of killing other gamers. Some are complex and cunning, many are the opposite. Either way I relish them all. I especially enjoyed this on some of the maps from Battlefield 1942. Not so complex but cunning and cowardly: I loved playing a German Engineer on the Battle of Britain map. Bail out on the British coast and then run around dropping a landmine in the backseat of all the jeeps. The sadistic laughs I got thinking of all the profanities that flew out of the mouths of the unsuspecting sods who hopped in a jeep only to get blown to smithereens was giggly good fun. Somewhat complex, extremely cunning and most definitely brutal and cowardly: On the El Alamein map there was a winding road leading from the German base up to a fork that in one direction led to the far Southern conquest point. A few hundred yards before this fork there was a blind corner. Just around this blind corner was sheer rock-face on the right and a runoff gulley to the left. Knowing that most players in jeeps or tanks would speed up this road and around that blind corner I would lay 4 landmines stretching the width of the road just past the runoff gulley. These landmines were merely decoys. Invariably as they raced pell-mell around the corner they would spot the mines in time to frantically bail out down into the gulley....where I had also dropped all my X-pacs.... *click* BOOM!!!! Sure this was all rather slow, but man was it funny imagining how many little brothers got wedgied, how many family dogs got punted, and how many mice and keyboards were destroyed in erage. In one form or another this game is all about camping, some methods are just inherently more cheesy than others. Embrace the cheese in all its forms. Oh, by the way, since I just finished my sidearm Directive weapon I can now focus on my remaining goal to receive my C4 ARX. Cheese, I mean C4 kills. <3 U
C4 fairies is a legitimate strategy. But so is baiting. I mean, tanks and harassers will chase down a lone infantry player, thinking they're easy pickings. So, I lay down c4, position myself so the enemy vehicle will drive over it, and detonate. I usually have to dodge the flaming wreckage. That... that is how you use C4. I even had a friendly tank come over to congratulate me for the sheer awesomeness once. Never been so proud of my pwning skills ever. However. You park a tank where a Fairy can get you... you deserve it.
Because you know how to not die immediately in a tank. Most people who fall for my baiting are either "Sit at the edge of the base and fire through doors" tankers/harassers, who deserve to be Fairied. Or they're overly aggressive, and deserve to be c4 mined.
I just don't like how much damage a brick of C4 does to tanks in any game, barring the addition of jetpacks. Realistically, if it's not a shaped charge it won't really do anything unless you get it on the treads, and that still only immobilizes it.
Realistically, tanks also can't materialize out of thin air in 10 seconds at a terminal. Perhaps air-constructed tanks made out of nanites are weaker than their real life counterparts.
My best C4 kill... was definately the time a VS harasser was trying to hunt me on Esamir. I dodged his topgun, and hid in some rocks after spotting him. He started driving right for me, and hit the rocks next to me like a ramp. In a splitsecond click of godly timing, I managed to plant C4 right on his belly. What I didnt know? He had a 3rd passenger.
I've been playing LA almost exclusively on my new TR alt and haven't really gotten into it. I don't find it all that useful (or fun) to carry around C4. I see how taking out an enemy Sunderer is useful, but there seems to be more efficient ways to do so. Most of the C4 faes end up suicide bombing themselves if they actually manage push the button.. it's like the "spray and pray" of Light Assaults. Anytime I'm near a Sunderer that is locked down they're pretty much free kills thinking they can actually fly that distance. Like shooting fish in a barrel. As a LA, I do everything in my ability to minimize the time I'm actually vulnerable in the air. So, many thanks to all you C4 faes for all the free kills. =D
C4 is not cheesy in the least. It's very slow to deploy and the only people who dislike it are those who deserve to be punished by it: stationary, inattentive players focusing on camping some location. Moving, frequently switching camera views, and having a gunner who isn't just looking in the same direction as you are great ways to avoid tank death to C4. So 350 + 75 + 75 to pull an ESF and two bricks of C4, plan a location for this, execute the maneuver, which itself has a variable rate of success depending on your skill but is somewhere under 50% for the average player. So, what are you even talking about? Every reasonable person can agree that anti-tank (and anti-personnel explosives) take zero skill to use (they self-detonate) and require minimal thought to place. Whether or not they are un-fun to play against is debatable. I somewhat enjoy checking doorways for claymores, or scanning key roads for mines instead of listlessly driving through. I don't enjoy sneaking up on some Infiltrator in a rock and killing them only to be blown up one second later by the mine they were crouched on. When it's "random" instant death I don't consider it to be fun. But, I think both kinds of devices are probably necessary for the game. They help mitigate ghostcapping and careless armor rushes. If the complaint about C4 on Light Assaults is that it's used in conjunction with Drifter Jets and deployed from altitudes such that the targets ""can't"" interact then here is something you didn't think about: Drifter Jets are garbage and have virtually no application outside of deploying C4 in this specific manner. If there is a discussion to be had about "annoying" playstyles it's the current meme of knife & pistol Stalker Infiltrators. It's quite funny, because in BF3 I frequently did something with the same play style: Recon with squad spawn beacon, sprint speed, T-UGS (motion sensor) , KNIFE, and trusty unscoped .44 Magnum Revolver. I have to brag, I was very proficient, and often felt like some kind of serial killer. I would often have the best K/D on 64 player Caspian Border servers. Enemies would become increasingly paranoid as the round went on and while watching them from my bush I would see them check their six while running across an open field. The difference being, I wasn't INVISIBLE while doing this, and it was on hardcore servers with faster TTK than PS2. There's basically no reward to trying to fight these Infiltrators, and there is almost no risk to trying it out yourself. The worst case is you stay permanently invisible and probably face a 5% risk of being seen each minute if you're sitting still in a corner in a reasonably populated area.
(deep narrator voice) Last night, somewhere on Emerald Esamir... The TR had 2 LAs and a pilot keep 1 Valk above a base's spawnroom, at flight ceiling so it didn't render for anyone. They kept respawning C4 there and doing rapid drops with drifter. On top of that, they placed a spawn beacon in an LA-only spot nearby. No one figured out that they weren't actually using the spawn beacon and no one went after their spawn Valk except the 2 that figured it out, because no one could believe what they couldn't see. TOP KEK. I got a decent farm and taunt spam going though they weren't bombing much but the vehicle terminal :/
On Esamir, Team has a Sunderer deployed behind a wall. See a Flash coming towards us which goes invisible. Track his movement as he drives out in a big arc to come around the back. He comes out of stealth as he gets into some rough terrain and begins maneuvering into position. Fly over a rock and throw some C4 on his dashboard. Just enough time passes for me to see him trying to get off the Flash.
I was fruitlessly trying to catch up to a harrasser to C4 him. Just about to give up / wait for jetpack to recharge when he reverses right back up to where I am standing and stops. Boom. KTHXBI. Holding a control room in a Biolab aganst fierce incoming fire. Place C4 by door. Retreat to shielded corner. Hello Max. Boom. Bi Bi Max. Repeat (3 infantry this time). No more C4 (kek). Baddies get in. 'Nade. Spray carbine. Bi Bi some more bad VS people. Die. Respawn in time for tea and medals. This, without even flying around.
It's cheesy but as others have said tank spam is more cheesy, and if you are getting C4ed in a tank then maybe try looking up/around once in awhile and also MOVING. A moving tank is almost impossible to C4.
I'm not a tanker. I do not mind C4 killing vehicles (even though HE explosives should do less damage to vehicles than shaped-charge mines do, but, hey, what ever.) I absolutely hate what it does to the LA class, though. The class is almost completely dependant on C4 for viability, and you will find infinitely more auraxiumed C4 than mines, grenades, AI mines, etc. The class in the current meta is a very hodge-podge collection of gimmicks, and it really hurts the class' potential in a multiplayer game. It's jetpack gives excellent 3D mobility, a semi-unique ability assuming the other player's do not know how to wall/cliff jump (then it's benefit becomes ease of use not ability). They are amazing for fighting around towers and in some niche environments, but the real problem is 3D mobility is only really useful in outdoor places, where engagement ranges routinely increase beyond the effective range of the LA's carbine, SMG, and Shotgun weaponry. As a result, the number one advantage of the class (the high ground, be it a ridgeline, support beam, or building roof) works against the class' primary armament's purpose, because elevation increases distance. The ideal weapon classes for the LA should be either AR's, or at least the Scoutrifles/battlerifles (Which I do not understand why they do not already have access to, as they are designed for mid/long-range flanking and aggressive reconnaissance for the infiltrator class- at least in combative sense, the exact role the LA fills much more than the Infiltrator does. C4 fairy gameplay is basically the only thing to commend the class, and it is a tragically unpopular (in the community) playstyle which does more to reduce overall player enjoyment (Nobody enjoys losing their nanites to the one-of-twenty C4 fairies that -will- come for you if you are within 100m of any objective), than it adds to the class. The class would be much, much more rewarding if it were to be empowered to work well where it's jetpack actually matters (Open field, vertical combat, rooftops, etc), and if it would be given a combat role that would involve closer assistance to other classes- such as designated marksman support, mid-range flanking, counter-sniping, and spotting. This is why I strongly feel C4 should be removed from the class and replaced with default grenade bandolliers (For breaching those rooms you're flanking into), and access to a wider variety of grenades, especially the AV grenade from the HA class, as it would allow for similar anti-max and anti-tank use as C4 would, but would not be as slow to deploy nor as frustrating to be hit by. Furthermore, this would encourage the use of say, the Battle-Rifle, with it's UBGL, which combined with 2-5 AV grenades would rapidly take apart a single armored target- but would be best as a supplement to dedicated AT HA/Engineers and Maxes, or with vehicle support. This would re-integrate the LA into the squad/platoon unit-structure, instead of being the go-to for lone-wolf suicide runs on enemy vehicles- and would make the class much more appealing to a much wider segment of the PS2 playerbase.
there is no way to escape LA's 100% of the time unless you want to sit with your tank in a hex all alone. it is simply not possible, regardless of your awareness or caution, if you think it is you are wrong. lol. maybe if c4 faries were the ONLY threat to the tank you might almost have a leg to stand on. if they were the only thing that could possibly blow up a tank ever in the whole game, then yes, blaming people for not looking out for them 24/7, having eyes pointing in all directions, is perfectly valid there are boost pads all over the place making drifting LA's fly super high and super quickly and for MASSIVE distances, and lol "if you're a tanker, look up!" yea i'll get right on that with my narrow as hell view angle. please, even if the camera was unlocked and you could look up you only end up looking into the *** of your tank you cant actually look upwards in a vehicle that isnt a skyguard 1st person view. and on hossin its even more obnoxious since there are swamps everywhere and if your camera goes into the water it ***** up and you just see streaks and craziness until you take it out again, so.. once again unless you are a skyguard you arent going to be able to look up at all in 75% of the map, not to mention all the billion giant trees and gals and valks dropping people onto them. The best way to maximise the chance you wont be C4'd is stealth+200m from any base or installation which is impossible to be honest if you want to actually enjoy the game in a vehicle, lol. What C4 needs is a deployment time and to be stationary when using it (then you can get rid of the red christmas light) and have them be much more powerful than they are right now. people throwing c4's like grenades is silly.
and that is a bad thing how? There is no way to never die to tanks unless you sit in a hex alone. There is no way to never to die to air unless you sit in a hex alone. There is no way to never die to Heavy Assaults unless you sit in a hex alone....etc etc. No class or vehicle should be invincible/godmode. If you could avoid deaths 100% of the time in any class/vehicle then there would be something fundamentally unbalanced and broken in the game. Also while you can't avoid 100% of LAs by having situational awareness and moving, you can avoid A LOT of them that way. Most of the tanks I C4 are stationary and have total tunnel vision just looking one direction, and most of the times I've been C4ed in a tank I was sitting still and not paying enough attention myself. I really don't understand the complaints about LAs with C4 when Liberators can hover over your tank and kill you so fast too. Even moving won't help you against them unless there is a roof/rock to hide under nearby, and if they stay above you. you can't get an angle on them because they are much faster and more maneuverable than a tank. LAs are very slow in comparison.
never did i once say that being in a tank should be godmode, you've just gone full assumption mode. Anyways Liberators are Huge, loud as hell, relatively slow and require at least two people (usually) to do as you suggest, they dont immediately kill you 90% of the time, meaning there IS a chance to be saved by getting to a hiding spot, or somebody else making it fall back before it can finish you. conversely, LA's are Tiny, extremely quiet, can hide literally anywhere indefinitely in waiting, which negates their need to worry about how fast they are going, and they kill you immediately, for a 1/3rd the cost of the libby and with half the man power. there are also about 3000% more LA's with C4 than there are Libbys in the sky at any one time.
It looks like the traditional C4 Fairy mode has been being outpaced by the use of a Suicide Turbo Flashes and by Suicide Wraith Flashes with C4 wielding passengers.
