[Suggestion] Ground-based AA could use a buff.

The decimator is high skill, but ouch is it awful when I see people using aimbots and a decimator.... I literally watched a guy sitting behind a rock and hitting deployed sundys at 250m - and I thought ya it's possible with several shots - even though he can't see the sundys - then I saw him hitting ESFs 100m off the ground at high speed - without missing a single shot....reported.

basicaly give lightnings a walker equivalent .. but imo that equivalent should be fairly useful against infantry were the skyguard can fight against vehicles ..

another option that has been talked about is giving vehicels a saron-esque autocannon turret that requies good aim ..

i personaly am still for increasing the turretpitch on a number of vehicle and engineerturretoptions

I can't remember who or where, but someone crushed my longstanding idea of a smaller explosion radius by claiming a dev stated that they tested different sizes and for whatever reason anything less than its current size didn't reliably register a hit.

Projectile size might be another trick, but then you'd be wrecking infantry...

So it seems we're stuck with either a direct hit or flak/Striker at its current size. I think a Walker-type with much more dps, a much smaller Mag, and a long reload would be ideal. A little spray and prey, but you have to aim, lead, and aircraft have an opportunity to fly evasively then have a window to return fire.

I think the Saron/enforceresque autocannon was one of my idea's . I also think that HEAT canons should have their damage nerfed against ESF only so they cant OHK them anymore (set to burning is OK) and then their turret turn ratio's turned up a lot more, allowing them to be a skillful AAA gun against aircraft and simultaneously have more capabilities dealing with high infantry (especially the much complained about C4 fairies).

If that is still the case (I doubt it) then instead of flak you can use coyote-style lock-ons. It might not make real sense but the difference between flak and coyote is so small in this case that you might as well use it. It guarantees a higher hit %, which is the entire goal, and circumvents potential hit registration problems.

Just stop with the AA already. Everything in the game is ground based AA even the little pistol everyone starts with. The problem isn't that there aren't enough options against air, it is your unwillingness to use it. Instead of firing back you just get farmed and then cry on the forums.

imo coyote and hornet turrets would be another option to the vehicle AA pool ..
both are a fair alphadamage option one that is a bit forgiving were the other requires dedication and is rather for more armored targets ..

I was going for "use an A2A nosegun on a Lightning and give it's ammo a slight coyote-style effect". That said using coyote's would be a great idea. Hornets though... Wouldnt a reticule-aimed high DPS weapon for the Lightning be far better than AP for example?

no small caliber weapon is capable to damage liberators, and they don´t reach far enough nor do they enough damage to attack esf´s with pods effectively in any way ...

also if by unwillingness to use it you mean to jump into an esf with those ****** controls then yes i´m not gonna use them and neither will i go to abandon a battle that way ... any other option requires at least 3 people using said option to kill an aircraft in a quick manner ..

you mean kinda like the viper .. for a noviceplayer sure but it all depends on the playstyle of a player and the ballance of the turretoption .. unless i missunderstood the question ..

I meant the Hornet. It has a significant damage, it has much more range and accuracy than the Viper and great DPS.

Viper: 1500 damage per dump, 1.5 seconds per dump. 4.5 seconds reload (certable to 4.05).maximum dps of 270 when reload is included. Has COF, has relatively high shell drop.

Hornet: 1000 damage per dump, 1 second per dump (first shot is instantaneous but after the second shot it takes another 0,5 second before the reload starts). 3 second reload certable to 2 seconds. 250 DPS before upgrades and 333 DPS after, reticule-aimed and thus higher accuracy.

Seems a clear winner for the Hornet.

The original poster was talking specifically about a2g esf. I have seen a handful of infantry turn around and instagib an esf with their main hand weapons. By unwillingness I mean by using your weapons. You don't have to jump in an esf to kill an esf and saying so is being a liar. There is no reason to have trouble with any vehicles in the game as infantry unless you are playing bad. Most of the objectives are inside where vehicles can't even participate. Single squads of infantry can destroy an entire platoon of vehicles. There is a reason people already call the game infantryside. Get real.

the game is infantryside because objectives for the most part are only contestable by infantry .. get real propperly ..
any vehicle with a kobalt mows down infantry no problem ..
no trouble as infantry to take down vehicles? the only infantry capable of doing any damage to armored tanks are heavys and lights .. engineers at best can only kill vehicles were they are sure they will pass through with AV mines, standing in a turret is a deathsentece since flak no longer helps against direct tank cannonshots .. medics unless massed can´t do **** with underbarreled launchers or explosvie crossbows or need to be in butttouching range with c4 .. infills unless massed with explosive crossbows can´t do **** against armored vehicles ..

and of the 5 classes again only 2 classes are able to actualy somewhat harm armored aircraft unless you spam enginers with archers for rapid plinking ..

against esf´s i had plenty situations were i unloaded a full magazin (no lmg) on a hovering pilot just for him to escape and come back later and to repeat the same process .. it requires numbers of infantry to take down a esf relieably .. it however requires only one esf to take down a number of infantry .. same goes against harrasers when using small arms only ..

that might be true but let´s not forget that the hornets here are used on the esf were they can have different values on a vehicle .. as well the different resistencevalues of armor against varius vehicles ..

I started this thread because I'm a shameless ground pounder who thinks my job is too easy. And I'm not even that good of a pilot.

I'd wager people would more readily pull AA, if they thought it was actually reliable and 'usually' effective (currently, unless it's outright spammed, it barely kills anything unless the skill gap is disproportionate).

Not without cheating they didn't.

I'm guessing you fly TR.

All this whining just proves how bad you really are. You listed a lot of options, but missed so many. Did you every think that you aren't supposed to be able to 1v1 everything in the game as anything you feel like being at that current moment in time? This whole thread shows just how uninformed most of these people are about the balance of the game.

If the controls are so messed that you can't even fly imagine how skilled they must be to be able to kill you. It must take insane amount of skill to even be able to get a kill while wrestling with the controls if they are so messed up. I think you are just being a baby about things you don't understand.

Anyone can just make up they are anything. Saying you are a pilot does not add any weight to the discussion. It's not like noone has ever lied to push an agenda before.

Yes without cheating. Esf are very vulnerable to small arms fire. When focused they drop very fast. I am surprised so many of you plebs leave them up for so long and get farmed by them. It is almost like many people have some sort of notion pre programmed in them that they can't hurt vehicles so they just don't even try. Then they come to the forums and say there is not options to fight them. Smalls arms fire will melt esf and harasser some of the most complained about vehicles very easy.

Two step process would fix a lot:

1) NERF AA RANGE. Getting plinked 6 hexes away at ceiling is silly. Base AA turret range was nerfed, rest should be
2) BUFF DAMAGE, by a lot, maybe 50%+, add a damage bonuse the closer to the aircraft you are.

Done in one..er two.

I've flown the ESF of all 3 factions, actually. And I began my ground pounding career on VS, then I started up an NC and TR alt to try and spice things up a bit.

Yet, whether I use the Banshee, the Air Hammer, or the Light PPA, it doesn't seem to make much difference; grinding infantry to dust from the air, is still laughably easy, on the whole.

In that sense, I miss when the lock-on AA launchers actually hurt. Those were legit scary to contend with, if you weren't using Flares at the given moment.