Hey all, this is a fairly short and simple guide to getting a half-decent Reaver loadout for pretty cheap (compared to your standard rotary/lolpods). The idea of this is to get more F2Pers in the sky faster, fighting off all those damn libs and ground pounders. . I'll start with the loadout itself: Mustang AH (the shotgun) w/ zoom optic, magazine size, and ammo capacity Afterburner Tanks Engagement Radar Nanite Auto Repair And if you want a chassis, I'd probably go with Racer High Speed, but I don't own any as I am indeed a fairly poor man (at least on my NC alt, where piloting is not my main focus). . Basically, this loadout tries to make good use of the Reaver's powerful upwards thrusters and afterburner to get an ESF that works best at: Ambushing ground-pounders Anti-liberator duty Pissing off small groups of infantry with your instagib shotgun You can also try to CQC dogfight if you want but if you're alone I'd try to avoid it just because it's hard to lone wolf as an ESF in the first place and having a shotgun doesn't really make it easier. Otherwise this loadout works pretty well, though it doesn't really have the best survivability (which is fine with me because it's pretty damned fun to use). . If you get rank 1 of all the above (which is what I have) as well as the second rank of afterburners, it will cost you 1+10+50+250+1+1+100 = 413 certs, or 513 with rank 1 of a chassis. If you're ultra cheap and don't want any attachments for your nose gun, it's only 311 certs -- so, really, this isn't even a huge time investment if you end up not liking it. If you don't like the Reaver, or just want to try something new, cert this loadout and have some fun! . A short guide to upgrades if you enjoy this loadout and want to throw more certs at it: Replace Engagement Radar with Fire Suppression or Flares (it's only there because 1 cert, and it can be useful for avoiding sneak-ups [Scout Radar is also an option if you just want to irritate infantry]) Get/upgrade a chassis -- Racer is good for ambushing, Hover is good for increasing accuracy and can be useful if you're a good pilot, and Dogfighting... maybe somebody will like it, but I wouldn't use it Upgrade magazine size -- this is literally the most useful (though not the cheapest) upgrade because the default mag is only 3 rounds, and 6 rounds can kill an ESF Replace afterburners with A2A missiles (for extra dogfighting capabilities because magazine size) Obviously, max out auto repair Get thermal optics for nose gun (zoom is only there to make it easier to see targets, and more importantly because I like right clicking to do something)
I like the idea, I just have one serious suggestion. Stick with the default Mustang. You save certs, you learn how to handle a 'traditional' nosegun, and most importantly, you'll have a fighting chance against a Lib. Allow me to explain. First, the default Mustang is free, because, well, it comes default. It is also cheaper to get it setup. You do not need any utility certs to make the default decent, whereas the AH necessitates MagCap extensions ASAP. Second, the default Mustang is pretty standard issue, and will allow you to adapt easily if you decide to change factions or setups. The AH is, IMO, the most genuinely unique ESF nose weapon, nothing else is quite like it. Granted, if you like the AH, getting it early will only help you get better with it, but that is a serious playstyle decision with lasting repercussions. Finally, and most importantly, while the AH isn't bad at killing Libs, it has one serious drawback. You have to get reasonably close. The closer you get to a Lib, the more likely you're gonna get shot down, unless you are awesome at staying on their back, which the target audience of this guide will likely not be. The default lets you sit at medium range and plink, watch how the Lib moves and guns, and refine your own strategy. Like I said, I like your guide. This is almost the exact same setup I run on my Reaver, only swapping FS for radar, and I actually like hover frame. It's a blast to play, effective, nimble, and relatively well-rounded. I just don't think the AH should be a primary investment for new pilots, they'll get way more bang for their buck putting those certs into better AB tanks, a second rank of defense or utility, etc.
Is that really much cheaper? How much do rocketpods cost? The default magazine size on the AH is pitful, and upgrades aren't cheap. Plus I'd consider thermals to be a necessity, especially if they are flying at night. Does an AB/Racer certed Reaver outrun locks?
I agree with everything you said about it being very unique and not necessarily the easiest thing to use, as well as requiring a playstyle unique to the weapon, but the point of this guide is to provide one thing only: a cheap, usable Reaver. I just find that it's very hard to use the default nose gun for anti-infantry purposes and they don't do enough damage fast enough to have any use against armor. However, if you want to dogfight, and that's all you're interested in, then yes, I would stick with the default. . I consider this to be a loadout that works better with other pilots or if you're in friendly territory, provided you're not an amazing pilot already, as I should have stated more clearly in the OP. This is more what I threw together because I was irritated about not having lolpods (which I run on my Mosquito) for as few certs as possible than a loadout for new pilots still trying to find their way into the game, and I should have acknowledged that. . Also, an update on the prices -- I've checked the price for the Mustang AH and it's actually 100, not 250, so take 150 certs off the prices I've listed.
Thermals are nice, but not really necessary since you should be fairly close to targets. NV should work fine if you can't see. Pods+rotary = 1250 certs, and you can still use the AH without all 4 levels of magazine size. Pods also need a ton of ammo capacity upgrades since it takes at least 3-4 for a single infantry kill (unless you can pod a huge group of them without getting instagibbed by rockets and bursters). This is also more fun than pods IMO Also, on the lock-on question, I haven't tested it, but I usually just get rid of locks with terrain, so flares aren't terribly necessary.
Forgot about AI, you're gonna need Zoom 2+ on the Mustang to make that work. Understood, to each their own. I was confused about your math also, it's the AH at 100 that was throwing me off, haha. Anyways, solid guide. Like I said, this is basically the exact same loadout I play, ha.
I don't know if you've used NV lately, it's basically useless. And I don't think the rotary is really worth worrying about, since the stock cannon can hold it's own. I went ahead and got the AH, tthermal optics, lvl 2 racer, and mostly certed ABs. A few thoughts; The magazine is far too small, even for a starting size. It's sad that the gun only costs 100 certs but needs mag upgrades to be decent. And to make it even worse, adding another 100 certs only give you 1 more round. I usually play TR and run a banshee, and I'd say that the stock magazine size on the banshee(25 rounds) is far more useful, and 1 upgrade takes it up to 31, which is very good. I'm not sure why SOE made the mag size so small on the AH, maybe to tone it down against vehicles? I'm going to keep using this though, because I do enjoy it and I love flying a reaver. I think after I sink 300 certs into the mag size it will be far more useful. I do think the banshee destroys the AH when it comes to infantry farming, but the AH is probably more versatile. And I've been using the fire extinguisher, but I think I'd be able to get a lot more accomplished with flares.
Farming infantry with default nose gun is easy. AH is only there for the sake of auraxiuming it. It was much better before doe.
I run a similar setup on my nc toon. ah, hover, nars, fs, burners. While its not the most effective build of the various ones i have on my toons, its by far the most fun and different one. Nothing quite like getting that perfect ambush and blowing up a enemy esf before they even knew what hit em or seeing that mix of surprise and terror in a max's face when you drop the hammer xD That said, if i know i need to fight (rather than gank) some hostile esf/s i pull out the default nose gun, theres really no getting away from that if does better at this. The exception being if i fly with a wingman i know, in this situation mixing it up so one uses ah and the other default or rotary actually seem to work better than both going with a more traditional A2A setup. Oh and one small tip for anyone starting to cert out a "nose-only" esf, try to get the AB tank maxed out soon. its cheap and, once you start to learn how to use it, provides you with more survivability and maneuverability than any other upgrade. Thumbs up for enlightening ppl on the fun of air-hammering!
I have, and I agree. It's good for actual night fighting, though, since infantry (without doritos) can be pretty hard to see otherwise. I disagree. I personally can't hit anything smaller than a Harasser with the default nose gun (I'll get like 1-3 shots on infantry then they run to cover), but the AH is extremely fun to use and if you're fighting against small groups of infantry (i.e. >48, no flak/lock-on spam) it's actually pretty effective.
Couldn't really be bothered starting a new thread so I revived this necro'ed thread. I am starting to use reaver. I can farm ~100 certs a day as I'm not new to the game and I wasn't planning to buy a whole deal of things that would be made obsolete. My plans were. Rank 1 stealth (so I don't show up on radars, seems a good investment for 30 certs) Hover Frame (I've been using this in the VR testing room and I think it fits my playstyle more than speed) Lolpods (also been using these in the VR testing room and is a reaver even a reaver without these?) Default nosegun (I noticed that the vortek has roughly half the ammunition while not certed and seems like it would be better in any situation other than nose fighting) Change Stealth rank 1 -> max rank fire suppression system Thermals on lolpods The only real question is do I need the thermals and the added ammunition on the default nose weapon or will this all be redundant if I decide I want to use the vortek instead as massive redundant expenditures are what I'm trying to avoid. I've only made a few purchases I've regret thus far. The way I would play would be to try and gain air dominance as I think its a precursor to picking off the ground. I mainly really hate it when zerging starts to occur as tanks just seem to annoy me and I don't find the kind of lock on style of heavy assault or repair engineer/spam auto turrets to be a very fun aspect of game play so it seems the only real answer to avoiding tanks altogether is to go up high and so I've been practicing maneuvers (p.s. I have way too much time on my hands since I quit my job) but yeah so in this I would presume the overwhelming ground armour would require the heavies to pull their ground lock-ons and thus not really leaving them with a great deal of air deterrence. But yeah so to dogfight initially as to gain air dominance so I can pick off ground targets.
Doesn't hover increase the V-thrust power? If yes it's still better to pick that as it lets you make sharper and faster manouvers, even on infantry heads. Also the reaver afterburners should be already enough to ambush people, as they are the strongest. EDIT: Nevermind, racer improves afterburner, a good choice for the reaver, even in dogfights.
Lee, you need to find a mentor on whatever server you're on. Thermal optics were removed from the game and basically every mechanic has been turned upside down and backwards since this thread was created. On a side note, air has been nerfed to near worthlessness in the past few months and honestly isn't worth the effort. Prepare for a year+ of pain and anguish to become somewhat competent in the air if you're insistent on going that rout. Good luck.
Ah I was mistaken, its actually the "threat optics" 200 cert upgrade not "thermal optics". I think you're a little bit wrong about air not being powerful, I know they can be shot down by maxes pretty quickly but considering how slow maxes are at running and how they can't be pulled from sunderers I think if you pick your place, avoid certain maps and train up with the maneuvers you can swoop in pick up an infantry and fly over the hills land, then repair, then repeat. I also think it depends on what server you are playing, since I'm on briggs and theres rarely more than 10 soldiers on each map you're not likely to get 5 lock on launcher shots on you directly before backing off to recovery. Also I know that in weapon stats the anti air turrets have the highest KDA of any cause and I plan to avoid these mostly as well. I don't know excactly where each one is but I'm battle rank 44 now and I understand the structures of the maps well enough to know if i'm hovering over one. I know it has a steep learning curve but I think air can still be powerful and fun. I'm going to cert it anyway.
Thermals showed infantry, and Threat Detection shows vehicles, and is basically useless. The Air Hammer is worthless against anything but infantry. Racer is complete garbage compared to Hover. Stealth has been completely redesigned. Engagement radar is free for all aircraft. Rocket pods pale in comparison to Hornets for anti-vehicle. Nanite Auto Repair is free for engineers. There's just nothing relevant about this article in 2018. For your own sake, please find a mentor on your server. Best of luck to you, this game needs more pilots, especially NC.
