Can lancer be a top AA launcher in proper hands?

Discussion in 'Heavy Assault' started by pirron, Jul 4, 2013.

  1. pirron

    I'm trying to use the lancer as AA but I find lock on to be more potent overall. I don't know how to estimate my skill lvl in this game but I don't think it's terrible.

    My question is: did anyone managed to be really effective with it, lets say on par with lock on or better (overall)?
    Maybe some videos someone made I'm not aware of. Uncut gameplay preferably...
  2. RogueComet

    I've tried a TON to use it as AA. Hitting is a real pain in the neck because aircraft move too quickly. Sure you score some hits when they are sitting still, but then you have the other problem... super low damage. Yeah, the damage of the Lancer is so poor, you often can't even scare off ESFs with it if you hit them. So I'll be surprised if anyone really is effective with it vs aircraft. Same goes for the NC weapon, which puts the TR leagues ahead of the rest. *sigh*
  3. Van Dax

    you need three full charges on an esf, you aren't going to kill it by yourself. As a deterrent its marginal, against guys who are clueless I've spam shot in front of their cockpit and caused them to swerve and smash into mountains or buildings though. The lancer is good, but for most things you'll find yourself better off with a purpose built launcher.

    biolabs and close quarters bases: deci or solar 1
    Outdoors defense(and sometimes attack): lancer
    Versus air: nemesis
  4. pirron


    3 full charges is an overshot. 2 full charges will make it burn if I'm correct, so it might realistically be finished off with an lmg.
    That makes it killable with one clip plus some shots from your primary.
  5. KnightCole

    LOL, it takes 2 hits with a full charge Lancer to kill an infantry guy in the VR......against a plane? good luck...
  6. Van Dax

    Hmm I always thought it was 'just short' of burning, either way its not very efficient
  7. Hrafnagaldr

    Thats just plain wrong. Two fully charged hits will set an ESF burning (even an Reaver). If the ESF flies a straight line, you just need some pratice to hit them, at 800m/s projectile speed not that hard. I shot down a lot of ESF with the Lancer. Mainly escaping ones that were already damaged and trying to escape. Liberators and Galaxy are sitting ducks for the lancer. But if you are alone, they have plenty of time to escape before you can ripp off their full health.
  8. Van Dax

    charging the shots adds velocity, sorry that I was off by a charge or twos worth of damage. The rest of what you said is just confirming what I was saying: you aren't doing it alone.
  9. MrEclectic

    Only as a mildly annoying detterent against any semicompetent pilot. Perhaps you can get a kill or two as part of an AV battery, which the opponent is trying to dislodge with some aircraft. Still, Skyguards and burster MAXes should be watching your back in such a scenario, as your AV nest is trying to destroy their vehicle column.
  10. pirron

    It seems like the potential is there. Pilot has no warning, so until the hit lands they don't know what to expect.
    You can pre charge the weapon while hearing the ESF incoming even without LoS, then it's a matter of charging another shot. Assuming both hit he will be nearly done. In this scenario TTK seems to be quite decent.

    I know that landing 2 consecutive shots with lancer is a toll order hence the question. I just wonder if with high skill and lots of practice anyone managed to gain enough consistency to become more effective with it then nemesis.
  11. Mekhazzio

    Today I got Lancer kills on three or four Liberators, three Reavers and two Mosquitoes....and I wasn't even running into that much air. Soloing an ESF with a Lancer is nothing special; if they've taken any damage at all, and ESFs in hostile territory have usually been plinked by -something-, the second full charge will pop them on the spot.

    I find the Lancer a -lot- more effective for surface to air than the Nemesis is. The Lancer is far more reliable at landing hits on approaching or crossing targets, and, of course, no warning or flare susceptibility is a game-changer. You can hit an ESF with your LMG, right? Full charge Lancer shot goes much faster. If they're going slowly or towards/away, it's pretty much just point and shoot. Liberators are a freebie; you can peg them reliably from really ridiculous range. I've taken more than a few shots at Libs that -would- have hit, except the projectile fizzled out before getting there (so >700 meters)
  12. Hrafnagaldr

    No, its actually quite easy: land the first charge when the ESF ist hoverpodding something. Thats the easy hit. Then he will attempt to escape. If he does that in a straight line, you will hit him again (with some exercise). If he doesnt have fire suppression, he will have only a few seconds left exiting the ESF or maybe crash it. Or the ESF explodes and you get the kill. Easy as that. A skilled pilot will recognise he got hit by a Lancer and escape und unpredictible lines. Well, maybe you land a lucky shot or he is gone. Maybe you will receive an assist later, but I dont care. A fully charged hit does a lot of damage to an ESF. I also got some Dual Vortex Kills with my MAX on ESFs. After the nerf, I already prefer them over the Bursters :D

    Although it is way more convenient, if the ESF got hit by an lockon missile and some flak fire before. Then 1 fully charged hit will be enough.

    I also got the Nemesis (even some time before the Lancer) and use it also in CQC vs. infantry, but I get way more kills with the Lancer, no matter what im fighting. Lock on rockets are avoided quite easily, but not the Lancer. Assists stay roughly the same.
  13. Ganjis

    There are times I have got assists with the Lancer against ESF where I would not have had time o get a lock with my Nemesis (which would usually have been flared anyway). I find using single shots best against ESF since charging takes too long. I get between 3 and 5 hits per clip against ESF that I am confident of hitting (sometimes I will take wild pot-shots that have little chance of hitting). Even a single lancer hit can be the straw that breaks the camel's back if there are allies attacking it.

    Keep in mind that no single infantry is going to take out a competent ESF pilot on their own unless they get really lucky or the pilot does something risky.
  14. Crewell

    I'm not bashing you, but this made me giggle. It contradicts itself.

    Anyways I think the point to take away on this thread is that the Lancer is won't do much vs. skilled ESF players, but is ok for the average target.
  15. Hrafnagaldr

    Exactly. And you just cant miss Liberators or Galaxies :)
  16. FnkyTwn

    Lancer is great against ground vehicles (except fast moving Harassers)
    but it suuuucks against Air unless it's slow (Liberator, Galaxy), flying
    directly at you in a straight line, or hovering.

    So the answer is "no". It can never be a 'top' AA launcher even in proper
    hands. Even cheaters have to wait until it fully charges.

    If you want the top AA launcher go TR and buy the Striker, otherwise
    for VS the Nemesis is your only option other than Bursters/Skyguard.
  17. Posse

    If you manage to get together 3 guys who are really good with it, then it's possible, hitting libs and galaxies is really easy, but hitting ESFs consistently (and not those that are hovering or flying in a straight line) is really hard, in that aspect it's the ESRL with the highest skill ceiling by far. I don't know if anyone is able to hit ESFs consistently with it, soloing them is hard because as soon as they recieve the first fully charged shot they get away, and landing that second shot when they're getting out in a non linear route is really hard, the potential is there though.
  18. Mekhazzio

    That's...pretty much exactly the -opposite- of how it is. No good ESF player will ever be downed by SAMs unless they intended for it to happen. They have to LET you hit them. You need about 10 seconds of exposure time before you can hope to deal any damage to them at all, and nobody's going to give you that but the hoverers and newbies. I don't consider a weapon to be effective if it requires your target to cooperate with you. (C4 has always underwhelmed me for the same reason)

    With the Lancer, it's all up to the shooter, and all you need is a moment. Hitting ESFs with it is pretty easy, especially since they generally have no possible way of knowing where or when it's coming from.
    ...and this is just weird. The Lancer is the only infantry weapon that presents any credible threat to Harassers at all.
  19. FnkyTwn


    It's certainly possible that it has something to do with my mouse speed.
    I could see how being able to switch dpi with a button would help me out
    a lot.. like the difference between sensitivity with the AV Turret, but when
    i'm running and gunning as an HA, i often find it hard to hit moving targets,
    so i almost prefer a dumb launcher or the Nemesis so I have both options.

    When camping a point with the outfit then the Lancer is all kinds of fun.
  20. Badname0192



    Today at Mani biolab on Mattherson there was a Lancer user that made it a pain in the **** to get near. That 800 meters a second basically makes the Lancer a hit scan weapon and when it hits it's pretty disturbing.

    I think it is possible for the Lancer to be used, yes, as AA :D.