[Suggestion] Remove all repairs from aircraft

To deal with lock-ons you are supposted to have flares. Repairs-on-fly gives you both repairs without going down and a nice thing about surviving a rocket, or just flying very far far up and shoot from there. I really like some ideas suggested by Demigan.

At best, the infantry anti-air weapons are a tactical distraction.

It is possible that I used ambiguous language. When I said the C/B equation must favour air I did not mean must (as in it should) I meant must (as in surely this is why so many people fly).

I don't actually think we are disagreeing all that much. I would love G2A lcok on (the only anti air weapon I use) to be more effective. I was just saying that I do manage to get kills with it given enough time i.e. when there are sustained air attacks underway.

Oh, look, we've found a best way where to put 350 nanites, no need lightings or tanks, pull ESFs and they will live forever!!

A single rocketman not gonna save a sunderer for scumlords.

They only thing that needs a buff against air is the sole dedicated AA entity apart from AA turrets, e.g. the skyguard. It's CoF is rediculous at any distance further than within 200 meters. You're given huge magnification options, only to find out that the range you can aim at with these are already well beyond reliably hitting the ESF there.

It should have a smaller CoF to start with which increases to what it is currently within like 10 shots. That way you can send "calculated/estimated" volleys at more distant ESF's and completely tear ESF's apart at close ranges. I mean, ESF's are NOT jetfighters. They're even slower than today's combat helicopters and AA guns like the skyguard are specifically meant to combat these low-altitude-low-speed vehicles. If they come close to a dedicated AA gun like the skyguard they should be torn apart by it the moment it starts hitting.

The same with liberators. If a lib straigth up goes against a skyguard in a "dive attack" the lib should be dead meat. But, of course, we all know how PS2 is really like.

Your whole argument is largely based on the fact that Ground Locks don't One-Hit Kill. (Uh huh, cause a no-skill, pocket Lock-On launcher is supposed to be more lethal than a dedicated AA platform).

You fail to mention how G40 Ranger, G30 Walker, or AA Turrets can sustainably suck hit points. (I died 3 times to G40 Ranger, once to Skyguard, and once to an AA Turret just last night).

Perhaps you play on a low pop server (Briggs) so you rarely receive the kind of AA support we see on Connery.

I understand that you can feel frustrated when you get hit while driving a Sunderer without an AA weapon or running out in the open. Keep calm, respawn, pull real AA or find a group with AA.

Or run with me so I can shoot down Cyro for you.

There's very few things that go beyond sheer stupidity, but this is one of them.

Congratulation on finding it.

This.

Indeed, my topic being bombed by those ESF scumbags.

ESF weapons aren't hard to use at all and don't have high skill requirements. What's hard about hovering around, or flying in a line towards a base, dumping some rockets and flying off again? At best you can argue that learning the basic flight controls is difficult, but other than that startup skill there's not much skill required for groundpounding.

The only thing that's hard to use is RM and hover fighting. No one has problems ground pounding, it's the fact that if you encounter another aircraft there's no escape, literally. Even the best of the best complain that if you get attacked by G2A while in a dogfight that they can't move away from the fight because they would be handing over the victory since normal flight gives your opponent all the advantages and only hover fight matters.

So people avoid it and there's few aircraft in the air at a time. Why bother with ground pounding if your attack is cut short at the first sign of an enemy ESF? Why bother with ground pounding if G2A weapons can't be avoided either and force you to repair or find a base without G2A? This problem is taken even further with the rise of gank squads. An aircraft player who isn't skilled in HF or RM can't compensate by learning alternative skills to for instance just escape, so they use the only thing available to them: Gank squads. In turn the high-skill players also create gank-squads of their own to combat the gank squads etc, making it virtually impossible for solo aircraft to survive if they encounter enemy ESF.

1) This is basically already in the game with every system. Pulling more is the answer to any tactic in the game. However with how G2A works this works exponentially better if used in groups... Assuming they fight isolated aircraft as grouped aircraft can still go up against them.
2) Also already there in the form of G2A. Unfortunately they are different from every other counter in the game. An AV weapon is a counter to tanks. And it doesn't do this by deterring but by destroying the target so it's no threat anymore to anyone. Same with AI weapons or A2A weapons, they are all designed to murder the heck out of your opponent.
Everything except G2A weapons, for no reason at all. G2A weapons weren't created to be killers killers and were nerfed to "deterrents", and everyone has complained about it since the beginning. The idea behind it was that it would encourage A2A combat. And it did! Up until the moment that RM and HF started becoming the go-to A2A maneuver and the skies drained of pilots except the one's that could pull it off efficiently enough. The powercurve of HF and RM compared to any other maneuver is way too steep, giving too much power for increases of skill. A good powercurve is in fact the other way around: It provides lots of skill at the start of the learning curve and smaller amounts of skill the farther you progress.
3) Yes this sorely needs to happen. AV weapons can simultaneously used as anti-infantry weapons. At the same time tank-mounted AI weapons can't do anything noticeable against other vehicles (exception: Fury), and these weapons are completely ignored overall. This shows how bad G2A weapons are: Not only are you forced to counter only a single unit, you are only a deterrent no matter how many resources you paid for it and to top it all off you can hardly use it against other targets.
4) Definitely, I've been calling for a "every class, vehicle and aircraft needs something" approach since forever. Roles could be maintained by giving specific niches to other classes, such as the Heavy having general-purpose and the LA receiving more short-ranged weapons like we'll get in the Rocklet Rifle.
5) Yes yes yes! I've been using my VS character more, focusing on vehicle combat mainly. And the complete lack of viable G2A weapons is simply appalling. You are just a sitting duck when there's aircraft around.
6) Not sure what you mean but I think I agree with the general idea.
7) Do you mean that every unit needs to have a skill ceiling that you can try to achieve?
8) The game needs better rewards for teamplay similar to how a MAX+pocket Engi reward teamplay. If that happens than players will be more likely to jump in. But other than that, yes easier finding people for multi-crew vehicles would be nice.
9) Definitely.
10) Rather just ping them every 10 seconds or so. That allows for them to be in uncontested airspace but warns players of their presence.

You are actually suggesting the exact things I've been suggesting.

Most people, like you, assume things like the Vanguard AP to be a skillful G2A equivalent. However it is also a OHK weapon, which makes it a bad weapon to balance as the pilot often has no idea he's being engaged until he's already dead.

However you then suggest something else: Stock lightning gun with better velocity and X shots to kill an ESF. Now that's exactly what I've been advocating for a long time now. Auto-cannons that don't have large magazines so you can't spray&pray and hits are rewarded. You suggest upgrading the Viper with better elevation, higher velocity and a 2-hit kill, I would rather go a bit less powerful. For instance a 10 magazine auto-cannon, 500m/s velocity which makes it a relatively short-ranged weapon in aircraft terms and a 4-shot kill on ESF while a full magazine puts a Lib at 40% health, reload is a whopping 6 seconds for instance. That way the weapon can deal with ESF if he's got the aim and even be threatening against Liberators before they get close. The 6-second reload gives aircraft an opportunity to retaliate or re-engage their original target. The 4-shot kill means the ESF has a chance to react, rather than getting OHK'd or being hit twice before you can react.

You can make a million variants ofcourse. A 15 magazine auto-cannon, 6 to 8 shot kill on ESF, 600 to 800m/s, 6 sec reload.
10 magazine auto-cannon, 0,5 seconds refire instead of the Viper's 0,25 sec refire, 700m/s, 4 sec reload.
Extra-shortrange weapon: 10 magazine, 4-shot kill on ESF, 200m/s, 3 sec reload, 0,5 to 1m flak detonation range for easier hits at short range.
20 magazine laser-guided missiles, 9 shots to kill on ESF, 900 to 1000 m/s (laser-guided is harder to lead so it needs high velocity to be effective), 5 sec reload.

lol thats it remove repairs let's make the esf equal suicide

I do really like half of your ideas. The other half are just crazy because you don't spend enough time flying. Then the rest of them I just miss because you write a novel with every response.

There is a distinct lack of decimator rockets in this thread. I've owned the thing for only a few days ingame and probably 30% of my kills with it are aircraft...

100% chance to get a kill with this only if:

1)Its shooting at you or its very close
2)It has no fire supression
3)The enemy has no way to dodge it

The G2A solves all problems just by giving enemy 2-3 hits from multiple sources withoit headaches.
Decimator is more directed to defending YOURSELF from enemy ESFs

The Decimator for AA is in the same class as C4, it only works against the worst pilots.

Nah, every pilot is vulnerable to the deci, like every pilot is vulnerable to tank rounds. Besides most A2G guys completely suck.

I only now realize this was aimed at me, sorry.

Ok we understand one another.

In theory you are right. Aircraft are vulnerable to dumbfired rockets and I've been using it to get aircraft kills instead of using my G2A launcher. The problem here is that you have to give the aircraft so much ease at murdering your allies and so little resistance that they don't expect to be killed. Then when they are hovering about you move towards some part of the base where few enemies and allies are and blow one out of the sky.
But for general-purpose G2A combat? These things suck balls. You have to rely almost 100% on the pilot to do one specific thing in close proximity before you can engage them. You also have to hope that no allies are actively trying to get rid of the aircraft, and you have to hope the aircraft doesn't make an unpredictable movement as even pressing space for 1 second can get them to safety.

What we need is something skillful but dedicated to G2A combat. I'm not talking OHK Deci's or Vanguard AP's, I'm talking about weapons that require multiple hits, need skill to do it but don't have to wait for the aircraft to do something like fly low or hover about to pull it off. And if you can get the hits on that aircraft, you've got to be able to annihilate it. Just like a Liberator can annihilate an MBT, or even an ESF can crush most vehicles with it's Hornets (or Rocketpods, seriously those things still pack a punch against vehicles).

That sounds great for a Skyguard replacement, but I really think OHK lock-ons are the way to go. Forget about the current mechanic, with missiles that fly circles around you till they hit. Dodging missiles could become it's own little mini-game, so they're actually fun to try to dodge. I think a directional indicator on the map showing you the lock direction would be necessary, so you'd have to stop what you're doing, face the missile, then reverse maneuver out of the way as it travels towards you. The annoying thing about the Dalton is that there's so much randomness involved. Skill as a shooter only gets you so far, and even if you're doing everything right as a pilot you'll get pegged now and then. Your multi-hit weapons fix that part of it, but all I'm getting at is that not all OHK weapons have to be annoying. And for infantry to reliably kill aircraft, they need to be OHK, as they can't fire rockets fast enough and can't chase the aircraft once it leaves to go repair. While I think rockets should cost nanites, I'd settle for a very long reload time to keep them from being spammed in the air.