Striker needs tweaking. This is rediculous

SOE, Fighting the TR has become something of a chore. I wont call for any nerfs, but something needs to be done about the Striker. I could care less about its damage output. I could care less that its easy to spam. My contention with the striker is that you have essentially created and any vehicle (any vehicle) weapon that it so easy to use, and so child proof, that anyone, and therefore everyone, can use it.

Add to that the fact that the striker missiles seem to work around mountains, ignore flares, and pass through obstacles. a single striker team can essentially deny any, and all vehicles to an opposing faction with such ease, that the gameplay seems rather boring to me.

I dont have all the answers, but I can sure as heck tell you that this weapon is broken, and needs a few tweaks. There have been many threads on this, I just wanted to bring it to everyones attention one more time.

Again, this is not a damage issue, its a usability issue, and a complete lack of ability to avoid the problem. Please correct me if im wrong.

Remove the striker
Add this

Slap some red paint on it

Yes, I want to be Arnold! Loyalty Until Death RAAAAAOOOOOH!

So...you really are calling for a nerf, aren't ya?
Striker is fine.

Give us a shoulder mounted fracture and you on!

I hate lancers more.

If all the TR had for AA and AV would be a spear with a stone tip that did 250 damage and had to be picked up after throwing, bad pilots and drivers would still complain about it being ridiculous when used in a group...

Oh yes, strikers are fine especially because they go over, around, and through inanimate objects.

XD

Phoenix missiles can go around objects too. Don't see you whining about that?

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Striker must be removed

Just give the Striker the ability to lock on ZOE MAXes and everyone will be happy,

No, this is what is amazing about the forums. People believe that they know what you mean better than you do, and eveyone thinks everyone else is a liar. Give the striker a damage buff, i dont care, but dont make this think so spammable. Add a mechanic that requires the tiniest bit of skill. Is that to much to ask? Lock-on weapons are the lowest for of any FPS mechanic. IT literally removes every player controlled variable except for sight, which is stage one of any FPS.

IMHO, the striker should not be a lock-on. Nothing should. Lock-ons dont belong in FPS's as they simple serve to lay detriment to the gameplay mechanics of the game and bring down any engagement to the lowest common denominator. IMO, the striker would be much better suited with the same mechanics as the AV turret or something similar.

Whining? Its not whining if its a valid complaint. And yes while Pheonixes do the same at times, I notice Strikers do the same a hell of a lot more. Praise your broken, noob friendly, (probably the reason why you love it so much) AV some more scrub.

pheonix's have a very limited mobility, They have INCREDIBLY limited range, and are COMPLETELY player dependent: they dont self track. Its apples and oranges.

Just a comparison from a PS1 Vet here...

PS1 Empire Specific AV:

TR Striker - LOS Lock-On Missiles (Dumb fire capable). 5 Round Clip. LOS must be maintained for missiles to track, I'd say medium. I would rate projectile speed at Med-High and ROF the same. Damage per shot Medium. (One full clip to kill a MAX suit)
VS Lancer - Anti-Tank Precision Laser. 6 Round Clip (I believe). Very accurate, outstanding range. Projectile speed was very fast, ROF was Med-High. Damage per shot slightly lower than the Striker. (One full clip to kill a MAX suit)
NC Phoenix - Camera Guided or Dumb-Fire missiles. 1 Round clip. Accurate when camera guided but low projectile maneuverability, Medium accuracy when dumb-fired. Projectile speed was medium, range was medium, ROF was very low. Damage per shot was high. (3 shots to kill a MAX suit)

Overall, the original AV was pretty well balance. An generally their attributes are reflected in the new versions. Before I move onto that though, I want to touch on my perceptions of each AV from the first game. Strikers were a pain in the neck because TR could sit just behind a ridge line and spam a ton of missiles at any incoming force but the mechanics of the game made it manageable. The same holds true for the Lancer. If I had a complaint about this one it would be that I could never figure out where the hell I was getting shot from because the projectile moved so fast and hit so accurately that one guy could do serious damage before he was made. The Lancer was the perfect vehicle sniper weapon. The Phoenix's strength has always been that it could be used indirectly from behind cover, but it leaves the user incredibly vulnerable. So while assaulting a well defended position was hell since the heavies could be out of sight, they were open to snipers and cloakers to pick off because they were immobile while using the launcher.

Now the new ES-Launchers are almost direct reflections of their ancestors but I do have a few suggestions on tweaking not only the striker but all of the AV.

Striker - Overall, it's not that bad even though I personally dislike the TTK in PS2 for all things, the one thing I would change is require that LOS is maintained for missiles to stay locked. Anyone stupid enough to hang around a bunch of strikers should die, but missiles should not chase me across the cont. As an after thought, maybe make them a little more in line with other lock-on missiles in terms of maneuverability.

Lancer - As much as I hate to say it, I don't fear this gun at all. It needs to be buffed up some more to be legitimate. I feel like returning to something more like the original lancer would be better. The fact I don't run into that much tells me that it isn't as useful as the Striker or Phoenix.

Phoenix - The thing I'd like to see changed here is add just a little more range, 50m maybe, though as an NC I'd prefer 100m and perhaps just a touch more damage as well. Compared to the damage the striker does both the Lancer and Phoenix seem kind of lacking for me but the damage thing I know will get shot down. I still felt it worth mentioning however.

Those are my thoughts and memories on AV - Hope this helps somewhat.

PS - I'm expecting heat since the striker was the only one I suggested debuffed, to that I say it IS the best AV out there right now. I'd use it myself if I could and if old PlanetSide nostalgia didn't kick in and make me miss the Phoenix. Striker works well in every situation and is down right impossible to dodge. I'm not proposing to change much other than you need to be able to see your target to hurt it, not fire and forget.

It sure is fun to run to the forums and call for a nerf because something killed you in game.

Make the Striker accuracy of missiles diminish dramatically if some Striker user is not painting the target actively. So if you lock-on, and fire, while you maintain lockon the missiles are very accurate. If they don't directly hit, they explode like flak, doing less damage.

If you don't maintain lock, the accuracy of the missile as it tracks the target gets worse. Let's say it now thinks a Scythe is 20 meters wide instead of 3 meters wide, for example. On the code side the "target point" would be a virtual dummy box that trailed behind around the vehicle in a plane perpendicular to the direction of travel of the strike projectile.

To allow better teamwork, allow the painting from another Striker user to make other people's missiles more accurate. So Player 1 fires 5 rounds, but loses lock. His missiles now get much less accurate. Another player gets lock before the original 5 run out of fuel, and the missiles reacquire a tighter lock. For more "realism" (read pilot skill rewarding) limit this effect to missiles on the same hemisphere as the locking on launcher. IE a missile that flies at the target from the opposite side of a launcher can't benefit from that launcher's lockon as the radiation from the radar isn't reflecting back directly.

Striker is a fine weapon and works as is, but there is a limitation as to what should work and what doesn't work.

Locking on to air and ground - works as intended
Damage output - works as intended
Maintaining a lock after vehicle breaks lock behind cover or via flares/smoke - does not work as intended
Striker Missile clipping through obstructions such as mountains, trees, walls, etc - does not work as intended

How I would balance the striker:

Increase rate of fire by 10%
Decrease reload speed by 10%
Damage per missile remains the same
Maximum lock-on distance of 350m (Air and ground)
Minimum lock-on distance of 50m
Lose lock-on when target breaks LOS or not under reticule