Empire Specific Tank Utilities - if all factions had access to them...

So it closes the gap a bit, but not all the way.

Also, dat shell velocity. Just imagine a Lockdown AP Vanguard.

ODAM. I can only imagine, having Vanguard AP Shells moving at a speed of 450+ meters a second. It would be hell for galaxies and ESF's though, not so sure about liberators after this update since I haven't played enough to see how powerful Liberators are now.

The NC would literally cease to pull Skyguards. 450m/s shell velocity on an AP round would beat out the Skyguard at almost everything AA-related.

Higby plz. Wasn't the Vanguard supposed to have Lockdown originally in the concept art or something? I think it would have worked well with the Vanguard, maybe not with it's current Prowler multipliers but with a bit of tweaking so we don't have Vanguard's becoming the best AA weapon in the game.

The VG was supposed to have Lockdown. I think it ended up with the Shield as an afterthought, someone couldn't think of an ability for it.

And we get Shield on the prowler... and Vulcan will one more time put fear in heart of enemies of the republic

And Magrider will bee screw even more

Aw poor Magrider.

1) Get Anchor Vanguard.
2) Slap side/front armor on it.
3) Get 2 pocket engineers.
4) Acquire advantageous sniping position.
5) Thanks to your naturally stronger armor + reinforced front/sides, your engis are able to out-repair almost all incoming damage.
6) Enjoy enormous staying power while having almost the DPS of anchored Prowler.
7)?????????
8) Profit

10/10 would do.

Nah, I would much more like if each MBT stayed as empire specific as it can, since they are one of the fewer things that actually really stay empire specific.
Only things regarding abilities I would like is nerfing the vanguard shield (while also buffing Vanguard as whole to offset) and then adding additional empire flavoured and specific abilities to complement different playstyles, for example something for Vulcan Prowler to use to be competetive with other tanks up close.

Sorry if this strayed bit off topic.

For killing power a Lockdown Vanguard, also for looks. Prowler looks rubbish.

For fun, mag rider with shield, you could have such fun with that.

Prowler with Magburn

Pretty much this. That shield isn't as great as everyone thinks it is. Its just that the VG is a tough tank to begin with. Its survivability is its only strength. The DPS of a single Vanguard is pretty abysmal. But its not the DPS that makes VG's hard to deal with. Its the fact that you can't just leave it alone. It still can wreck your day if you ignore it. But its hard to kill and thats the part that many don't like about it.

Its not poor design, its what was intended for how the VG is supposed to work. Its there merely to be the elephant in the room so the infantry aren't being focused on. And its actually very good in that role. But nerfing that ability would mean upping the DPS of the tank. That means giving it a 2.5s reload, or increasing the damage to 3300 (speaking of AP rounds for both examples). And I don't think anyone is willing to do that. I believe increasing handling or speed is just out of the question.

I think there is something many people don't consider. With max VG shield. You get 8 seconds. 8 seconds with how slow that damn thing moves doesn't get one very far. So what experienced VG drivers do is setup in a place with an escape route. This limits where we can deploy these tanks in a very noticeable way. There are many times I have the opportunity to pull a VG but get a lightning instead simply because I know the next base we're hitting has no such location.

In the same situation a Prowler would have given me the mobility I need to deal with. Prowler vs Lightning.. what do you think is a better choice? Magriders have options with Magburn. But Magburn alone doesn't give those options. The strafing allows them to avoide attacks and keep their front pointed at the danger, taking less damage. Granted the Prowler is probably still better. But Magriders can do what VGs do with more sorts of Terrain. Remember side slipping behind something is much easier than turning a tank, and rolling back. VG drivers usually have to burn their shields just to do that when crap hits the fan. MR's don't have to Magburn everytime.

Most times people complain about the VG in a 1v1 scenario where they get in close, about to finish off the tank, and then shields go up and they take two more tank rounds (AP is 4s, so two rounds while shield is up), and go boom. My question to those scenarios is why get that close? VG's aren't incredibly hard to hit compared to other tanks. And getting that close is inviting NC infantry to get involved. And if its me, I'm not an engie, and neither is my gunner. I'm a pissed off heavy with a deci, and my gunner is even more ticked off and is a LA with C4, and you just put yourself very close to us. We're more than happy to bail out of a burning tank that just weakened yours. If we're talking 1v1, that means there's no zerg involved, pull back and let him come to your base. Then you can make running passes. If they don't come then they aren't a problem. Either way they are mitigated.

Yeah I know you can't kill a VG at long range because they'll simply pull back and repair. But you know what? So will Prowlers and Magriders. So how do tanks deal with 1v1 fights? They don't. That ridiculous, why would anyone want to 1v1 in tanks? Wait for infantry support and then support them. Thats what tanks were designed for. Its how they were designed in WWI, and I see no reason for that to change in PS2. Remember what I said earlier about the elephant in the room? Yeah ignore the VG and tank out its infantry first while yours move in. He's screwed now. Shield won't be enough unless that VG is in one of those places I told you about. But then its smart tanker vs maybe not so smart one. Skill does need to be a factor somewhere.

Shield gives 8s of invincibility. Not 100% of the time.

This seems incredible. Man, I wish I was that good.

Well it'd still be slower than the old prowler lockdown. I'd say the biggest advantage of a VG in lockdown is that the enforcer is actually pretty good at long range, where the vulcan blows, also just the thought of a hover tank with "lockdown" makes my head hurt, lol.

My prowler with shield. The possibilities would be great.

Not a fair way to consider the faction-specific abilities really; they're tuned with their faction tank in mind.

I agree that the shield is the most useful one and that everybody would use it if it were available. But I also don't think you'd see that many vanguards in general, if everything was NS and you could mix and match vehicles and abilities.

Lockdown Vanguard would be amazing. ESFs and Liberators beware.

VanBurner, Now with the Ability to Get to our deaths faster!
Vanguard Lockdown, Now An easier target to hit!
Vanguard Shield, Ability to Run away Without taking Damage!

With a rough estimate on reload speeds and anchor, a vanguard, which does about 570 dps today, would do about 1087 dps with AP, or around 1300 against other MBTs, if you have a fully certed anchor and reload speed.
The prowler, by comparison, would do about 1143 dps, or around 1400 against MBTs.

These are rough estimates, and include the reload certification, though from the top of my head I don't remember the exact numbers on the prowler one.
On a pure % level, the VG will benefit more from the 48% faster reloads than the Prowler, which is frightening to say the least.

As a curious side note, the VG would actually have a shorter cycle than the Prowler would, ~1.84 seconds per cycle v. ~2.1 seconds for the Prowler.
The numbers are for AP guns, where the first number is without the +20% anti MBT damage.
And the Titan AP would lob shells at 357.5 m/s with the current anchor. The prowler, today, sends them off at 325, and the old one was 400.
Still, it's a substantial increase.

Yeah.. got to make do with that 1v2.
Damn shame, eh?

Edit:
I want to point out that in my previous post I wrote "VG" where I should have said "Prowler". My bad.

I personally don't believe that.

Prowler would do better with speed, magrider would do better with a shield and a Vanguard would make more sense with lockdown.

Shield would be best for prowler, since it can keep up with targets, and get 8 seconds to just lay dps into something.