Dealing with Harassers

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by P4NJ, Jul 2, 2013.

  1. Ender


    Here we have a classic example of assuming things about a person and their play-style without due diligence. Way to contribute! https://players.planetside2.com/#!/5428010618020715185/vehicles 32 Hours in a harasser, 478 kills in it total. This is clearly a player abusing something OP and posting in defense of their shiny not-so-new toy.

    Here's my entire post history on these boards https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/index.php?search/4499598/ wait a minute... I thought I was going into every harasser thread and spreading heresy??? Surely something is wrong here.

    You however seem to have quite the fancy for these harasser threads you speak about. https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/index.php?search/4499641/

    Lets see....

    Thread #1 https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2...ing-with-harassers.138461/page-3#post-1929796

    Thread #2 https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2...to-repair-harasser.138063/page-4#post-1926453

    Thread #3 https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2...up-with-harrassers.137765/page-2#post-1917180

    Please don't accuse me of something I haven't done.

    1. Obviously not all factions have strikers and lancers, they are ESL's after all. I left out Phoenix because it's not as viable a choice as the other two. I figured this would just be assumed, and obviously the NC get the shaft here. This was a post in regards to harassers and not faction balance after all.

    2. It's not 50/50 if you're better than them or if you're hunting them and they're going after anybody. Not even close to 50/50.

    3. Hitting one isn't an easy task? What? How is it not unless you're at 600m+ above your target. This is as easy as it gets. Maybe you run with sub-par Lib crews.

    4. Not sure how you drive your Python but mines a beast. Having used it for less than 10 hours total i'm already 10th on Mattherson VS for kills in it so maybe i'm an outlier, but Harassers do not get away from my AP lightning. The shot travels fast and if you can aim at all its 3-4 shots for a kill. If it's not a halberd harasser it doesn't even have a remote chance of winning.

    I find it funny you say they move too fast.... yet here https://forums.station.sony.com/ps2...g-vanguard-drivers.136679/page-2#post-1899188 you claim you're pretty good at hitting aircraft with tanks. Am I to reason that this means you can more reliably hit an aircraft moving 200kmph+ than a ground target moving 100kmph?

    5. You seem to be mixing and matching AI Harassers and AV harassers as if they were the same thing at the same time. Most Halberd gunners will not reliably hit infantry and if theres multiples they can only hit one per reload, if they miss they're SOL. Smart Infantry will wreck a Halberd Harasser that ventures too close. Fury Harassers are infantry's nightmare, but lock-on ranges are quite great. By your arguments all harassers slaughter infantry in every situation. Harassers are good at picking their own fights because of their speed, but a fury harasser is basically helpless vs armor and air which is probably lurking around any decent infantry push. And don't kid yourself, small arms fire does hurt, its just that you've usually only ever got one guy shooting at you.

    6. I'll give you this one, because the NC take the shaft here again. My Comets **** vehicles, I don't care if you're a Harasser. The only time a Harasser is going to beat my comets is if he's fury and I have 0 cover.

    Cherry picking situations is easy, so I'm going to cherry pick one of your stats. You'll notice I highlighted part of your post in red, above. Here's your vehicle page https://players.planetside2.com/#!/5428013610457228097/vehicles . You have a grand total of 26 minutes in a Harasser on this character and a laughable amount of kills. I'm not sure you're quite up to date on what the words slaughter and quite often mean... you may want to check a dictionary. I can only guess you've been on the receiving end only and you're telling a story as if you were the person on that other side, please stick to topics that you have actual experience with.
    • Up x 3
  2. Steveru

    A two-man Harasser team can easily be outclassed by a two-man MBT team. The Harasser can repair on the move, sure, but it sacrifices it's ability to SHOOT at you. The MBT doesn't, and while it can't move too quickly with a buddy repairing, it's not as if there's much a Harasser can do against a tank shooting AND repairing, even if it's not moving. AND the Harasser seriously goes slower when it takes hits! Small arms slows it a little , and rockets and AP rounds practically make the driver slam on the brakes! I'm not sure if people know this or not.

    When I roll a Harasser, I usually go with a friend of mine who has the Saron HRB, and when we do take on tanks we take one on at a time, we avoid MBT's with gunners and we always flank unless: the driver is terrible at aiming, we have backup.

    Our Harasser can take some punishment, sure, and we're not even using fully certed composite, but keep in mind, that's quite a few certs (1350 for full composite armor). Think of how much more formidable a tank would be with that many certs invested. When we see a lone tank, with no gunner, no "pro" camouflage, then it's usually soft-meat. In otherwords, a tank with no buddies, no gunner and less than 1000 certs invested against a two-man ANYTHING team WITH 1000 certs invested (Lib, MBT, Lightnings, Harasser, Phalanx Turrets, HeavyAssualts, MAXes) is going to have the odds against him. Is this an issue?

    The OP wanted to post a thread discussing ideas for destroying Harassers, not complaining about them.

    -Tank mines, tank mines tank mines.
    Wherever you think a harasser might pass trough, put down some tank mines. NOBODY uses mineguard on their harasser! If there's a bottleneck somewhere near a battle, no reason not to tank mine it. For example, if you're NC and are advancing from East Canyon to the Palisade. You have a sundy on the road. Put down some tank mines on the road to prevent a harasser pass that would decimate your infantry. Or in Amp stations, put them down in random locations!
    -Yeah sure. This goes for all vehicles. Your mine placing tactics don't change much or at all against the Harasser. It's just as susceptible to obliviousness as anything else. If you got 'em, use 'em. Use their location to your advantage. Know where the Harassers CAN'T go, try to corral them towards you mines either by scaring them into them (with a tank), or by luring them (with your soft, fleshy bodies).

    -Tank support
    The Harasser has only one weapon, and it can only be AI, AV or AA (some AV weapons are semi effective against infantry, but they are not as much of a threat). Having a tank nearby, especially a fully manned tank, will give your infantry some cover and will scare away or take out the harasser.
    -Yes! If there's a tank around, start shooting that Harasser like crazy!! That MBT or even Lightning is going to have the Harasser's undivided attention. You're safe to shoot! Your help is needed! Everyone thinks of these Harassers like slightly more hefty ATVs, but don't be fooled! They're worth 300 Mechanized points, there's usually two competent players operating it and it wants to kill you! Treat them like the threat they are!
    -Man the turrets!
    If you see a tank nearby and there are harassers around, man the turret! Basilisk is very good against harassers and if you have several basilisks manned by decent gunners a Harasser will have a very hard time staying alive. Since most sundys have a basilisk or two, and there is always a sundy around, this is the cheapest way to handle them. Even a Kobalt firing at a harasser can be very effective.
    -YES! It's not unusual for me to see a tank give up on the main cannon and switch over to his basilisk (admittedly I'm in the Harasser at the time, but still), if you're not carrying a rocket launcher, or even if you are but you don't trust your own aim, hop in those turrets!

    -Shoot at them
    Yeah, pretty obvious, but too often do I see large groups of infantry just sitting around getting Fury farmed. Get your LMG, Carbine, AR, even a pistol and fire at the harasser! A single guy isn't very effective, but a large group of infantry will do heavy damage to the harasser. Also, hitting a harasser with a dumbfire isn't difficult, you just have to learn to lead a bit and position yourself in a good spot.
    -This one depends.

    Are you in cover? → Yes? Then shoot!
    No? Can you get to cover? → Yes? Then get to cover and shoot!
    No? Then shoot dammit!
  3. Locke

    I think the fact that we are even comparing AP equipped main battle tanks and a transport buggy indicates there is an issue. Harrasers need a reduction in armour.
    • Up x 3
  4. NC_agent00kevin

    Not getting into a forum argument - you are far from the only one who defends obviously imbalanced toys. You've spent a day and a half in a harasser...thats a LOT of time. Its obvious that you oppose any changes to it because you use it a lot.

    Im glad you spent time reading my posts; you'll see that I am not the one who comes out of the gate insulting people who dont agree with me. (unlike some people here) It also makes me feel important and special. Perhaps a little flattered as well. You should have also seen that I present a fair solution to the problems, and dont blow things out of proportion.

    Which brings me to this: I never once said nor implyed that I hit aircraft blasting across the sky doing evasive maneuvers at full speed. (200kph) Watch the vid in my signature; you'll see plenty of aircraft hits. Hitting an aircraft in the clear sky with no obstructions - who hasnt actively engaged you and has no idea you are aiming at him - is a completely different thing than hitting a buggy thats low to the ground and can easily get behind cover - and it requires little height to cover a Harasser. What do aircraft do when they dont want to be hit? Fly very low. Aircraft that know tanks are shooting at them tend to do just what Harassers do - evade.

    You dont get to make up an imaginary scenario and present it as truth. You also dont get to 'cherry pick situations' and present them as the end all/be all. Theres a lot more to game balance than your own singular experience.

    And guess what?


    I have characters on all three factions, and two NC Characters for a total of 4 toons. But I bet you didnt consider that now did you?

    Maybe you dont know as much as you think you do. Enjoy playing forumside 2, you are obviously yet another passionate defender who will never admit when something is a bit imbalanced. Not worthy of further discussion.
    • Up x 1
  5. Locke

    [IMG]

    Say what?
    • Up x 3
  6. zib1911

    When you spot it, they call it a transport. Of course the guys that made the game are wrong and you must be right. Sorry for offending you.
  7. Rebelgb

    HAHAHAHAHAHAH~~~~~!!!!!

    Didnt take long for the old tired and sad "tank driver needs to have better situational awareness..." argument.

    Must be a LA C4 monkey who also drivers a Harasser......
  8. Dvine


    Thanks I've grasped that after the first read, however you're still dodging the point that I1ve made as you compare an 1 seater double weapon ESF to a 3 seater one MBT secondary weapon ground veichle.

    Hence the apples to oranges analogy :eek:
  9. Dvine


    For one hit detection is so borked in this game that its beyond ridiculous, I have to drive over the same guy like 4 times to finally get a roadkill. For two, a 2ton veichle driving at 100km/hour should do what with infantry in your opinion? How is roadkilling is an "exploit" there is even a separate bonus for it? :D
  10. Dvine

    If you point at an ESF it says the same thing buddy.. With your logic every veichle ingame is a transport! Besides what kinda transport it is when there is one driver and one gunner and one extra seat in the back? Common sense where art thou?
  11. Dvine


    The only possible comparsion is an 1/2 AP MBT to a 2/2 harasser, as a 2/2 AP + whatever (even basilisk) MBT will completely destroy a full comp harasser unless its Stewie Wonder driving and Ray Charles gunning the MBT!

    The only issue is that most tank drivers got lazy and used to be able to get away with 1/2 MBT's, I cant even fathom how anyone expect to last in a tank that HAS ONE OF THE GUNNER SEATS EMPTY!! Common sense buddy!!!
  12. Xasapis

    It really is a 2-seater. The rumble seat is usually empty. People swap to it to repair on the move and then go back to the gunner seat in exactly the same manner they do with a liberator. I wonder how well received repairing from the third seat of a liberator would be.
    • Up x 1
  13. Vaphell

    try to run over someone with flash, then we'll talk about hit detection.
    2 ton vehicle at 100kph shouldn't turn on a dime and have free roadkill attempt every 5 seconds on the same guy while completely ignoring 8 other guys trying to pepper it with small arms fire (or even better, nuking them with the OP cannon).
    Furious wraith flash harasses, harasser is a ******* harvester that mows infantry and laughs at mech.
    • Up x 1
  14. zaspacer

    Poor Harassers and ESF users. Having to cut into their valuable farm time with annoying speed off and repair annoyances.

    They should just allow ESF and Harassers to get XP from VR so we don't have to deal with them on the battlefield.
  15. Cinnamon

    I said that Skyguard is OK meaning that it can do meaningful damage to them reliably but is not an easy win.

    If you need a highly specialised AV mbt with a skilled crew with bot level aim to deal with any scrub harrasser then they are not a great counter imo. But I agree if that happens in right circumstances the MBT will own the harrasser pretty quickly, much faster than skyguard. But it's a glass cannon.
  16. Thrustin

    You'd be surprised how often I pull that off with the AP lightning. It seems to me that you are either exaggerating like everyone else in this thread (you tend to do that quite often, maybe cut it down a little?) or just bad luck. The harasser did exactly what its intended role was: go in fast, hit unprepared enemies hard, and run. Seems to me more like you want the vehicle removed.
  17. deggy

    Okay, let's look at it this way.

    The Harasser is one of only two ground vehicles that is ever capable of surviving two bricks of C4. The other is the Sunderer.

    The Harasser is the only ground vehicle that can sustain a speed of 100 kph. The only thing that can catch a Harasser is an ESF or Liberator.

    The Harasser is the only NS platform that can use ES weapons.

    The Harasser is the the only combat vehicle that doesn't have a rear weakness. Sunderers and Flashes aren't combat vehicles.

    The Harasser is the only combat vehicle with a proper afterburner. Magburner is not an afterburner.

    So here's a summary:

    The Harasser can outmaneuver you easily. It can then turbo away if it feels at all threatened. If you happen to outmaneuver it, it doesn't help, because it doesn't have a rear weakness. You can't run from it, because it's faster. You can't kill it, because it's dodgier and has as much health as your side armor.

    Trying to kill a Composite Harasser is like trying to kill a perma-Magburning, miniature Magrider, from the side. Except it has a full-rotating turret.
    • Up x 1
  18. Phrygen

    I exagerate? Lol....

    I was pretty clear with exactly what happened in the fight. By virtue of the fact that the harasser and a perfect set up, it implies I had bad luck. From what i can tell, you are trying to find faults in a story that i provides to undermine pooints ive made in other threads.

    Seems to me like i dont want the vehicle removed and i have always been clear in my belief that the composite armor cert line is OP. its a ridiculiusly large armor and survival boost and the other defensive certs arent even remotely comparable. Repairing from the drivers seat is also too strong, which sucks because its a great game mechanic (pun intended). Repair needs to be reduced when the harasser is moving.
  19. MFP_TK_02

    Every vehicle in game is a transport.

    trans·port·ing, trans·ports 1. To carry from one place to another;

    But you are wrong on the sound byte. When you Q a fighter your character yells 'Enemy fighter Identify!' which to me is kind of stupid because you already know he's an enemy fighter, and its not like he's going to actually tell you who he is. You also say 'Enemy fighter incoming' and I believe 'Enemy fighter spotted'. When you Q a galaxy you hear 'Enemy Air transport inbound!'
  20. zib1911

    Its called the fastest ground transport in the game. You can pretend its whatever you want, thats why your going through all these posts trying to defend your idea of a harasser, regardless of what it actually is.


    Plus ESF's are called fighters

    Your wrong and your mad your wrong so now your just making stuff up. GG kid.