A message to all "Flyboys"/ a general overview of the air situation

I just skip that guy's stuff. That red hurts my eyes. Don't care about the grammar, that color is awful to read.
If you have to change the color of what you write just to get more attention, the content probably isn't that interesting.

pitchforks

No. Tanks already have hundred times more kills on me than skyguards do.

When skyguard opens fire on you, you can just locate him by tracers, facetank incoming damage, come to him, sit right on his face and casually win damage/hp game.
It's not rewarding experience. It doesn't feel like I won the fight, it feels wrong, it feels like I cheated.

Skyguard massacre starts at 23:30 (not my video but I fly in the same style)

Back in beta, flak was hilariously overpowered and one guy on AA duty would instagib every single plane in the hex, and also probably in the surrounding hexes. Because of this, nobody flew at all.

The game was honestly better for it.

Not even gonna attempt to copy/ paste text on my tablet, so just note that.

First of all, note that I didn't suggest changing either health or damage values. Just the cof and range, skyguards and G2A lock ons still require some skill to track a target, it's not a point and click.

Note how mostly the overview references the liberator. In my opinion, it is the most OP aircraft, it can simply tank damage to the face and destroy a tank in a single pass. Even if the gunship only has a pilot, the gunship can typically just annihilate me anyway. ESFs are in a good spot, they are fast and hit hard, but they are fragile. The lib is not only a realitively quick aircraft, but has the HP of a tank and hits like one.

The argument of tankers deserving no respect is ridiculous. (Note that I'm a tanker and I've experienced all these things). Tanks have to fight or die in a close up situation. Our AI is garbage or overpriced and HE is nerfed to the ground because we are wrongly accused of being the only ones to shell a spawn room. (An argument for another thread).

Please also note that I'm trying to fix the issue here by suggesting fixes and not being a jerks about it. Everything in this game takes skill, some people are better at some things than others.

(Special note to crazy guy with red text insulting me): not cool man, you are merely making yourself look stupid.

Please also note that this is a team game. One AA unit shouldn't make a giant no fly zone, but a group should.

I don't think libs should be able to shake off a tank round of any sort, I think they should at least be set on fire
And also I dont think libs should get afterburners, such killing power shouldnt be almost as fast as an ESF

Telling some one to leave the forum when half the words you wrote were spelled incorrectly...

If you actually bothered to follow the flow of fights and balancing problems in the game over the past couple years you would not be complaining about tanks instagibbing infantry.... it is a tank what do you expect? If you honestly have a problem with ground vehicles in this game as an infantry player then someone needs to find better strategies for killing them. Infantry AV is incredibly powerful, use it.

I didn't realize it took too much time and too much effort in Planetside 2 to become a "Flyboy". I think for me, it was about a month to feel comfortable flying without the fear of not knowing what I was doing.

What should it be instead, a week? A day? An hour? Or not time? I am confused.

Weekly threads, almost daily about someones lightning got tank busted and comes here whining.

I can tell right away you dont fly so whatever you say has no merit.

I get shot down a lot in my lib and sometimes i feel its to weak. Please tell me when you have ever seen more then 2 libs working a hex. What is more common is 1lib working a 12-24. You wont see libs very long in a 96+. The lib is fine where its at. Its one of the few things balanced in this game.

I love you and I love this post.

Just to clarify something Maybe its just me but I get hit by tank canons more then I get hit by dalton. Some tanks climb a hill which gives them elevation and angle towards air and they are pretty deadly with those heat seeking rounds.

To clarify, I'm not a good pilot, I tend to gun more often than not. But the reason I posted this thread is because I've experienced things that really made me think about the balance of air and their pilots.

As a gunner, I've noticed that libs tend to be very tanky, to the point the only quick way to counter them is the use another lib with a tank buster. It just seems that libs are a bit too well rounded, being quick and tanky with lots of dps. All I wish to do is simply request some changes without whining or complaining.

The reason of calling out the skyknights is that whenever there is a thread suggesting changes to either air or AA, there is a select group of individuals that hawk around the thread and deride it. It's bullying and it shouldn't be allowed.

Oh why, thank you <3 im glad you looked past some of my stupid grammar mistakes and still loved the post. Very soothing gif

Well, to be honest, it's not a balance problem, it's because you authentically suck at this game.

Alright, as a representant of "flyboys" "sky knights" "air scrubs" or whatever else you fancy calling me. I'll answer everything. And I'd appreciate if you actually read what I say here. I'm going to try to be as concise and polite/explanatory as possible.

The reason some of us are just being dicks sometime and saying "git gud" is because we don't know how to reason with the person in front of us. Look at my signature, 2015 Iridar I believe. He's talking about a2g specifically, but he'll say and people would say the same about any air. Now, what do you say to someone who says that they don't give a darn what you say, they hate you and you should suffer? Would you spend 30 minutes writing an essay that won't be read just to get replied "Skynight scrub, air is OP deal with it"? That's what we get replied on a daily basis, so the obvious answer becomes to give them a solution, all while being a dick about it. Hence the "Git Gud".

You used the therm "Flyboys", some others would use "sky knights" and plenty of things like that. Those are meant to be derogatory. The correct therm is "Pilot". So, as far as bullying goes, it's not like Pilots are shown any respect. And so, we call you guys "peasants" which only seems appropriate coming from a "Knight".
But if you're polite, Pilots will be very polite with you. I know most if not nearly all Pilots flying on Emerald, and they are all quite respectful if you're not a dick to them. You can ask any of us for help, and we will come personally help you. It's not like we're trying to keep the air a private club. I've never once refused to help someone, even if I had to spend a few hours doing nothing productive me-wise. And in the same direction, I was never refused help either.
If you want to practice, you can practice in front of the enemy warpgate dueling with someone, and if you simply ask, nobody's going to bother you. Pilots will even team-kill their own allies if they try to interrupt (after a fair warning). We're not cert-hunting machines like some people might think.

The tools to fight aircrafts are extremely strong. A lock-on launcher which does 49% of your ESF life in damage? (Keep in mind that an on-fire aircraft can't move much)
The skyguard already shreds an ESF in 4 seconds. Can you imagine if some kind of automatic weapon shredded your lightning in 4 seconds? Just imagine that damage, that's what we're talking about. Yes we have the possibility to escape, hence why the TTK is significantly lower than on any MBT. Here's the problem though, skyguards can hit aircrafts over 1000m away (no joke, no exaggeration). Skyguards don't even render for us at that distance (walkers can do the same, ranges... They can, but...).
I just want to point out how easy the AA is to use in this game also.

There's also something that most people don't seem to understand. It's that, although they can move faster/are harder to hit, aircrafts are extremely weak armor-wise. They are weaker than harassers by a huge margin. 1 Tank shell will annihilate an ESF. 1 AV turret gun hit will do the same. Double that for liberators (or triple as far as AV turret gun goes). If you go on an infantry-nest, you're nearly guaranteed death by dumbfires (which also 1 shot you in an ESF, or 2 shot in a liberator).

Now, a crucial point that is often forgotten... Aircraft can't repair mid-air. A tank can repair at just about anytime for instance.

Now, keeping all of this in mind, aircrafts hunt each other down as a priority. So what are we left with...? Extremely vulnerable vehicles that everybody wants to shoot down. AA does not need any buff. In fact, I think flak/walkers need a range reduction. If they don't render for me, they shouldn't be able to kill me. People whined about that as far as tank goes vs AV-Mana turret. They thought it wasn't fair for tanks. Nobody cares about air except Pilots though, people just want them to suffer most of the time.


I already have a thread for it, but I'll re-do an offer (still valid) that I said a little while ago. Come fly with me. My aircrafts are fully upgraded, and you can fly them. You can fly an ESF with me, or I can take a liberator out for you to pilot. Try it for yourself, with a fully upgraded aircraft. See how long you can last in the air even being fully upgraded.
I'm on Emerald, I'd prefer NC, but otherwise I got a liberator (decent, but not maxed) on all factions. You can make a brand new character, it doesn't matter (if you got your own though, all the better).

Hopefully I'll hear your thoughts. on what I just said and my offer.

PS: I just read another comment of yours, and there was 2 things I thought I should address.

Alright, honestly, do you really think the G2A lock on requires skill? I mean, it IS a point and clic, literally. Not that I think it shouldn't, but it would be ridiculous to pretend otherwise.
Also, as I said before, the range is already WAY out of render-distance. And multiple fights, even if extremely far appart as to one cannot see the other, can both fire at the aircrafts because of how their render-distance work.

You're suggesting buffs to AA, not fixes. Let's not get confused on that. But you're being more polite than most about it, which is a big plus in my book.

The Skyguard IMO is a better vehicle for dealing with ESF. When it is confronting Liberators and Galaxies it should be in groups or in combination with other AA sources. I feel Tanks, sunderers and harassers are better platforms for dealing with Liberators & Galaxies, because they are also multi crewed vehicles and if any AA would deserve a buff it would be the ranger.

Well, I have had Liberators attempt to do exactly what you have suggested, and I have absolutely wrecked their face, Attacking a skyguard head on in a liberator is a mistake if you are going against a good player. I will blind you with flak and move under you, just as you are shooting your TB, making you miss and over fly me, then I will light you up from behind, the big exception would be if they have a Dalton or a Shredder, but even then I win occasionally. But even then you are talking about 2 or 3 players in an AV vehicle that is going up against a solo vehicle, in my world a multi-crewed vehicle should pretty much always defeat a single maned vehicle.

Let's look at your scenario in another way....
If you shoot at my AP/AV MBT with your AP lightening, do you really think you are going to live in that confrontation? NO! I am going to turn my main gun on you and my gunner is going to target you and we are going to wreck your face 99.9% of the time. If you shoot your AP Lightening at my manned Dual Fury Sunderer, do you think we are not going to wreck your face? Why would players expect a different result when a solo skyguard lightening takes on a multi-crewed AV Liberator?

Nice video, it proves nothing...other then a Liberator with 3 veteran players, coordinating and using teamwork are a force to be reckoned with. You can get similar results with a fully gunned Galaxy, Sunderer, harrasser or MBT. Team work is ALWAYS OP.

"Killed ground pounder once"

Giving the skyguard the Kobalt-F wouldn't be a terrible idea. Maybe a version of the Kobalt-F with a slightly reduced RoF, say only 500 RPM. Useful against infantry at closeish ranges but useless against other vehicles except flashes and harassers. You could toggle between the two weapons the same way you toggle fire modes on other guns. "B" by default I believe.

Honestly I feel the only thing the skyguard could really use is a moderate increase in projectile velocity. And I am not sure it even really needs that.