Reverse maneuver nerf will ruin air combat!

Long time player of the game almost BR 100... but have only just started flying and when I was becoming a little bored with the game.. ESF in it's current state breathed new life into the game for me. It is so unique compared to any other game, and immediately fell in love with my Scythe.

Having gone to the test server, I was horrified to find that I could not only do the reverse manouvre but my Scythe also feels horrible when i want to do my acrobatics using the VTOL button. I don't see how this is a fix for anything or where people asked for a VTOL nerf?

Seriously you were on to a great thing and it would be silly to change this part of the game! As you can see I don't post on forums about almost anything but felt I had to come here after trying test server as was horrified by the new flight model proposed.

I'll try and explain why this nerf is bothering pilots so much by using a tanks as an example.

We at SOE have noticed that experienced tank drivers effectively use the game mechanic of cover and terrain to their advantage by ducking in and out to return fire on enemy tanks. This is causing issues for new and in-experienced tank drivers and therefore we have decided to reduce a tanks ability to accelerate and decelerate by 75%. This will ensure that players who practiced their tactics, aim and control of their vehicle will not consistently destroy players who have not.

Experienced tank driver: this nerf is ridiculous, everyone has access to cover and terrain, they only need to practice their game play in order to reach the same level of success.

Inexperienced / new tank driver: This nerf has been a long time coming, I'm sick of good tank drivers abusing their ability to move to kill me.

Pilot: I don't drive tanks all the time, but when i do i expect to be able to destroy people who have practiced longer and have better aim than me without attempting to learn those same skills.

This scenario is not EXACTLY the same I know. What it does is demonstrate that, like terrain and cover in my example, the reverse maneuver is something that is accessible to EVERY player in the game, It only needs to be learned. Using the mag rider nerf was a terrible example because the MBTs are fundamentally different in almost every way. The Mag rider had a ridiculous KDR against other tanks of something like 2.8 for memory. ESF are fundamentally the same, they all handle similarly apart from slight variations.

In order to effectively use thrust flight you need to learn to preform the maneuver first, this is essentially the easiest part and anyone can do it. It becomes far more complicated as you learn to return fire while undertaking it and even more so when your enemy is flying in a similar manner. You need to be able to compensate for your own movement, your enemies movement and your bullet drop. You need to do all these calculations and simultaneously be aware of your altitude, the rounds in your magazine, the rounds in your enemies magazine and the amount of afterburner fuel you have available to you at any given time.

Personally the majority of my gameplay is undertaken on the ground as infantry but the ESF is definitely my most used vehicle. I consider myself a good pilot and I'm sure a number of enemy pilots on Briggs would agree. Experienced players SHOULD be able to defeat less experienced players, it goes without saying. Practice makes perfect, this nerf takes a game mechanic that is avliable to everyone and reduces its effectiveness by 75% to cater to people who couldn't be bothered putting in the effort to learn it.

As a side note i've seen that scythe video before, he has excellent aircraft control and he uses the terrain very well. That said those enemies are horrible, they cant aim and have very little understanding of leading targets or predicting the course they take.

The reverse maneuver turns a dogfight into a case of who can land the most hits, rather than who can bum their opponent when they were/are focused on something else. All it does is allow both parties engaged in the fight to shoot at each other.

The best argument you see coming from those who want it nerfed is that it's some kind of "technique that has to be learned". Heaven forbid that you actually learn something and apply it in-game. If your attitude to the game is willful ignorance, then I got news for ya - you'll never be any good, reverse maneuver nerf or not.