So new update thought I'd test some things out that looked troubling. Here is what I found. Max Lock-On Range for Air: >Annihilator - 450m >Striker - 400m TTK at Max Range against ESF: >Annihilator - 23s >Striker - 22s Max Lock-On Range for Ground: >Annihilator - 300m >Striker - 300m TTK for Sundy: >Annihilator - 36s >Striker - 33s I tested a few other ground targets as well. In general Striker shaves off only 2 or 3 seconds against each target. Considering total TTK is above 30 seconds, the advantage is insignificant. Annihilator is Fire & Forget. This means you can Lock, Fire at target, and instantly start reloading; all the while your missile tracks your target and attempts to hit. Striker is NOT Fire & Forget. This means you Lock, Fire at target, and MUST WATCH TARGET WHILE MISSILES HIT. After which, you may start reloading and continue the cycle. If you do not watch your target your missiles act as if your target Flared/Smoked. They fly up and away from target, hitting nothing. Neither Annihilator or Striker allows their missiles to be dumbfired. Meaning you can NOT shoot it without a lock. You must have a Lock. Both Annihilator and Striker still use THIS method of tracking targets. The only difference is that now the 'Intercept' mode acts just like the original generic Lock Ons. It follows targets. This means that if you can fire your rocket before you lose LOS you have a better chance of hitting the target. This chance is much much higher when using the Annihilator rather than the Striker. Where as with the Annihilator you fire off 1 rocket ensuring your hit, the Striker must fire 5. When you take into account actual battlefield performance... Fire & Forget systems are superior. Also, Targets will generally find cover when they are locked. Taking this into consideration the Annihilator isn't simply equal to the Striker, it is BETTER than the Striker. Why does an NS weapon share the exact same function as the TR Launcher specialty? Why is this weapon clearly better than the TR Launcher Specialty? This is not fair. VS and NC both get unique capabilities for their ESLs which are also competitive in their dmg versus the generic launchers.
I totaly agree Fire & Forget System are far better on the field, than +50m lock-on range or -3sec TTK a sundy This is fair that VS and NC have blablabla? Nope. Who care? Get your annihilator, and with your 50 mate go clean the field ! Make them feel the striker nerf pain moaaar delicious tears incoming "Annihi blabla OP..."
Striker was annihlator 2.0 in the past. Now annihilator is striker 2.0 Ironic isnt? I still use the striker mostly for cosmetic reasons. It has the potential to make bad pilots and tankers bail early because of the never ending lock on notification they get. Its mostly a pyshological warfare weapon. The "chunk chunk chunk" sound is really annoying. We TR have been asking for a rework practically since release, we never wanted another lock on launcher that mirrors the annihlator. Phoenix is insanely fun and not as bad as people think. Has its own damage multipliers that essentially makes its a decimator. It can be somewhat dumbfired by pressing E as soon as you fire the rocket. However it has a low velocity and huge drop. Now it got buffed to a 4.7 second reload time. If you are close range firing at a tank by using E to exit camera mode. It now has a shorter TTK than a decimator!!!. Plus it one shots turrets as well. I'm not claiming this weapon is OP but it is effective at what it does. Allows you to put pressure on armor zergs from the safety of cover. I have an NC HA with a jackhammer and phoenix, most fun I've ever had. Only thing holding me back is that I like the MCG just as much as the phoenix. Lancer is unique and interesting and can be used to snipe from extremely long ranges. Also it can feel like a dumbfire striker (low damage however) with its 6 round clip. Striker is boring even in its old OP state. They have effectively gutted this weapon and there is no reason to use it over the annihlator UNLESS you are using it at very short ranges. Which you are better off using a dumbfire anyway. It has the advantage of burst which can make the difference (If you dont get shot while firing it in the open) I've suggested that it should be changed to something like a mortar with moderate splash damage. You can use it to lock on to a location rather than vehicles and shell an area with 5 striker rockets. It would need a lot of balancing and testing but it would make it unique and fun to use.
Yeah, I've basically binned the Striker for a while now due to it having the reliability reduced because it killed things effectively.
Was thinking this myself when I read the patch notes. Will probably be switching to the annihilator for long range work. I hope that they would completely overhaul the Striker, and make it more fun and interesting to use. We have enough lock on launchers in this game.
IMO, they should turn it into a scoped dumbfire weapon whose rounds travel a little faster and follow a slightly flatter trajectory as compared with the default launcher. It would do a little more damage than the default launcher per volley should all rockets hit. It would fire at the rate of 1 rocket per second (which could be adjusted up or down by the devs to tweak the weapon's overall effectiveness in balance passes). Different, practical, and fun. You get a little more damage per reload, a little more precision at range, and the ability to whiff a shot or two and still do some damage at the cost of having to expose yourself for 4 seconds to fire a full volley and the possibility of losing damage on a target if it's quick to move or duck behind cover. This is a Striker that I would actually bother to buy.
Phoenix and Striker are both relatively poor launchers that only begin to shine when used in coordinated groups, but when they do they are uniquely effective. Striker needs to be the same way.
I have the striker on my TR - I liked it pre patch to where its not fire n forget Problem was the NC phoenix was nerfed right after release from the sniper rocket cannon it was and has been made almost useless too I also have the lancer on my VS which I think has always been and will always be a stinking pile of crap. Striker isnt great now , Phoenix isnt either , Lancer never was - So I see them all as being on par now - all worthless Annialator is a better alternative to all 3 IMHO and playtime/testing
The new mechanic of the striker must be annoying but I'm glad of the changes the devs made to some of the TR weapons. Striker is no more a better anihilator. Marauder is no more a better fury. If you don't like how the striker works move to anihilator or other launchers Making it dumbfire isn't a good alternative. Imagine 10 TR heavys in a biolab spamming strikers
I already posted this in gameplay and I'm over this subject, but: Point is, 3 Strikers is as effective as 5 lockons, by volley That is 3 men versus 5 men, the most precious resource in the game. TTK wouldn't matter if 3 volleys already dispatched the target from existence all at once.
