Is the lightning strong enough vs armor?

This was dumb luck, the mag rider ran over mines, you had no resistance when taking out the sundies and both esfs actually crashed the second one was trying to suicide on you, and it worked.

To put in my few cents. Most has already been said though.

These tanks can dish out quite some punishment, while being able to absorb only little less than a MBT. Especially the AP version is a good tank killer, and with good aim you can snipe infantry very well too.
The tank is quite fast and agile at the same time. This makes it great for one of the greater tactics. Flanking. There are many places where you can sneak up on enemy tanks and surprise them. With the fast tank and a stealth frame it is relatively(!) easy to gain a good position behind enemy lines. I've seen friends, and done so myself, rip through some stalemates at several facilities, all on their own. Their distraction and destruction of several tanks can be enough for your own forces to rally and push the enemy back. If they notice you or react correctly, you still might be defeated without killing a thing, but risk and reward are very well balanced.
You are very dangerous to your enemy if you flank, but if they keep their cool than you are at an incredible risk yourselves. Vanguards can pop their shields and destroy you. Deployed Prowlers can just stay deployed, turn around and reduce you to ashes, despite you having the first shot and all other shots into the back. The Magrider can boost away and come back to bring the pain. But if you can get the second shot in before they really realise what is happening, that is a nearly certain MBT kill before they get to you.

Besides its ability to surprise other tanks, it is actually a pretty decent tank overall. It does very good damage, more so than the Vanguard and the Magrider their AP guns. They compensate their lesser armour for a lower and speedier profile, which makes them harder to hit. The MBT's have their own quirks however that make them quite strong in some situations, as well as their secondary gun that can be devastating to the niche they chose. But overall Lightnings can be a nearly equally strong addition to your battlefront as an MBT.

My own opinion is that a single tank pilot is often better off with a well certed lightning. For a single tank pilot, the MBTs extra power often isn't warranted for the extra costs and downsides. Less damage on the NC and VS, unwieldy, slower, a much larger profile and people tend to target MBTs more quickly than the lightning. They also underestimate the lightning, which can give another surprise edge. Go for it, and be amazed by its versatility and power!

Ap lightning: 1600 damage per shot
Mag Ap canon: 1865 damage per shot
Vanguard Ap canon: 2075 damage per shot
Prowler Ap canon: 2x 1250 damage per shot

DPM maybe since it as a 2.7 reload speed at max rank, i have try to do the math for dpm correct me if i'm wrong:

Ap lighting: 35.555 damage per minute
Ap magrider: 34.430 damage per minute
Too lazy for other MBT sorry

As you can see even if you firing for a minute and of course with no interuption (wich honestly is never going to happen because you always have to wait between shot at some point, the map is not a flat land with nothing on it) even in that case the DPM is pretty much the same and not going to give you a real advantage.

I also read that max stealth make you invisible on the radar when you firing, i wish it could be true that would be so OP.

AP lightning is 1600 damage per 3s reload (DPS: 533.3.) Mag is 1865 per 3.75s (DPS: 497.3.) Vangaurd is 2075 per 4s (DPS: 518.75.) Prowler is 1250x2 per 3s (DPS: 800.33, including second barrel refire time.) I didn't realize how high the prowler came in, though in practice its main gun DPS is probably quite a bit lower.

prowler and lightning get less gain from reload certs than the vanguard and mag do, so the gap tightens up a little bit as you cert the guns out

versus MBTs the current Lightnings are fine. You need some serious superior skill and the right equipment to beat an MBT head-on with a Lightning as it should be. Their strong point is their availability and mobility not their high health or damage.

A good tank if you know how to be a tanker and an awesome push if you have a squad that knows what to do in numbers with lightnings. Seeing those roll down a field on armor and **** them up when coordination is at play.

For some reason most people assume Lightnings are little to no threat when you are near an MBT. However, this is actually the opposite, and the Lightning is a cheeky bugger that can pop MBTS and Sunderers faster than you can most can react. A single Lightning is not a huge threat to MBTs, but a pack of 2-5 with a support sunderer can make any armor zerg's life a living hell (provided you have a walker or two to scare away aircraft).

People underestimate the Lightning, which is what helps make it so powerful.

I love my Lightnings.

I use maxed Proximity Radar and Racer.
I have to run from MBT's but can usually avoid meeting them.
You just have to know when and where to use them.
As an NC I have to take into account what NC are doing.
I can usually read the tide to whether or not I need to retreat or can advance.

Get on Test Server and check out all the new Exterior options for the Lightning.

oh man they added lightning exteriors?

****

miiiiight actually have to get some SC for the first time in years

I'm not convinced a 5% DPS increase offsets your lower velocity and armor. I'm pretty sure you only win that engagement because the opponent isn't shooting back/can't aim, and you'd probably win that engagement just as much with an MBT.

When I go up against MBTs I have about a 50-50 chance. Part of that is the Lightning is more than its cannon and armor/HP... it is an entire weapons system. Just as how the Magrider performs surprisingly well given its poor weapon/chassis characteristics, the Lightning weapons system is great at ambushing enemy armor in a cost and personnel-effective way.

Lightnings have a greater speed and turning rate than MBTs, which allows them to flank, retreat, and dodge. This in turn can affect raw DPS... because MBT shots that don't hit can drastically increase TTK.

Lightnings have a smaller profile than MBTs. This can let Lightnings hide behind cover which would at the very least expose a MBT. And I'm not talking about just rocks and stuff. Lightnings can even hide within shallow ridges, while an MBT would be exposed. This allows the Lightning to flank or escape.

Lightnings tend to be more paranoid than MBTs. Precisely because they are a bit fragile, good Lightning tankers tend to be very wary of everything, including enemy MBTs. Lightnings take better shots than MBTs and are thus more accurate... Lightning AP accuracy goes from 51-52%, while MBT AP accuracy ranges from 39-49%. Lightnings are also less likely to die to C4 than MBTs (about 3% for Lightnings while up to 4.33% for MBTs) or Tank Mines.

So the Lightning as a weapons system is fairly decent... for a cheap 1-person tank. Not expecting it to go toe-to-toe versus an MBT, but it isn't terrible against them.

Of course the proper way to use Lightnings is in a mixed Lightning-MBT formation where the MBTs are the anvil and the flanking Lightnings are your scouts and hammers.

My tanking has improved in gratification ever since I certed an AP lightening.

I win most matches in my mbt... with over 10 days in a prowler that could be expected...

BUT, sometimes you need that extra speed or dont have the resources or ability to pull mbts so if you have to take one on go either long range or stealth and get in behind them.

Okay? Yes, I've pulled Lightnings before. Thank you.

Right. I guess my point is that the Lightning isn't particularly well suited to the long range pot shot role. It doesn't do it any better than an MBT... (actually it does it a lot worse, so trying out snipe an MBT will just get you killed.) It doesn't play to the strength of the Lightning, which is it's stealth/nimbleness as you just mentioned.

Yes.

Long range pot shots with an AP lightning work pretty well actually, a team of 2 AP lightnings are more than a match for any mbt, and thats how I like to operate. We stay at distance popping sunderers until we get the attention of someone who tries to pursue then we surround and kill them.

The Lightning needs AI weapon Options.

Lightnings have been known to blow up my tank before...

in impossible numbers.