They can't make up their mind can they? Either the Dalton goes back to playable or back to useless. Ffs with all these nerfs they may aswell remove the lib altogether.
Dalton vs ESF: I support the weapon setting them on fire. Dalton vs armor: This is tricky. I think it needs degrading damage with range, as pegging targets from outside of AA effective range is just too easy. I think the Shredder also needs a long range nerf. Long range A2G is one of the biggest problems in balancing AA. The Dalton and Shredder are why the Ranger/Skyguard have to be effective at 800m, and why they're currently OP at 300-400m. I think AA needs damage degradation as well. The closer the fights get, the more fun and engaging gameplay is, which is why I like the Dalton vs ESF nerf, ESF no longer plink from render range, they get up close where the tail gun can join in on the fun, and piloting becomes more of a thing.
Dalton vs ESF nerf is THE dumbest thing I've ever seen in this game. Amy pilot with more than 4 hours if seat time should NEVER, unless jumped from behind, die to a SINGLE SHOT HIGH ALPHA gun. Timing the Dalton shots and correcting Hoover location or flight path every few sec is all you need to don't get hit. It's the ****** pilots that die to a Dalton. The ones that fly in straight lines and the ones that don't throttle adjust and fly all the way up into the Dalton pipe where you can't miss as a Dalton gunner. It's just a tiny fraction of a percentage that is actually good with the Dalton against air, and even then they can't kill(unless luck or ESF pilot makes an error) kill pilots that is mediocre at best. The Dalton was nerfed, because people are idiots and 0.01% of the player base got somewhat artificially good with it. I'm fine with the Dalton vs ground. I'm fine with the OP skyguard challenge. But Dalton vs air? ********. What good lib crews should do now is to go Lib w/ racer and Afterburner and a shredder/walker or hyena Loudout and go on rampages. Where you before could dance a dalton/walker and get away if you were loosing, any duel you get locked into with a shredder/walker lib will kill you. The constant plinking will eat you up and if you try to run, they will match your speed long enough to kill you. And if they get the drop in you in CQ, a shredder/walker won't one shot you in rounds, but kill you in about the same time non the less.
The Dalton nerf had to happen. When you fight someone you should feel like their skill beat yours. Whenever you're doing everything right against a noob Lib lobbing shots from 400m and one random shot hits you, you feel like fate was just against you that day. Even good gunners agree that long range shots are either half luck or against crappy (90%) of pilots. Now fights are close where Dalton hits are pure skill and an easy finish for the tail gun. It forces teamwork in a 3 person aircraft, which is nice. I do feel bad for solo libbers, it does suck having your toy taken away this late in the game's life, I'd quit too. But blame the majority of lib pilots for that, the ones sitting for hours taking pop shots from render range and running when you turn to engage. As random as you make it sound, they get random *** no-skill kills all the time, otherwise they wouldn't do it. That long range ******** was the worst. I'll happily fight a Shredder/Walker lib, that's the way air combat is supposed to be, maneuvering around your opponent to stay out of his angles while keeping him in your sights. Not plinking from a distance. Hyenas are cancer, same as Coyotes and Tomcats. But, whatever, this has never been the game for competition or good fights.
Have you ever fought a good 3/3 shredder walker/hyena lib? You can't out turn it. He will have belly and nosegun on you 98% of the time and waste you.try to run and he will still kill you. Hell, you even admit that most ESF kills BY lib non CQ are more or less luck. Yet you can't just accept that luck happened.
Question, that has an obvious answer, but I feel may get dodged a bit. If Shredder walker/Hy are so great and strong... Why were they not commonly used when Dalton was OHK ESF? Why Was the Dalton the go to gun for 95% Libs?
To put it simply, it was boring. The shredder is just a boring weapon to use in general, and the dalton was far more fun trying to aim at other aircrafts. It's like the basilisk of the skies.
They just nerfed it damage so much it's better to use the nose-gun to kill other Valks/libs/galaxys instead.
Im not concerned with that change, Change it back, don't affect me. I don't like the OHK ESF, if a guy lobs 10 shots or so and finally connects one it's a clear sign that (as others have said) the gun benefits greatly from "luck". Also side note if you don't get OHK ESF that means you get to aim more... YaY?
Shredder seems more like the "Basilisk of the skies" if you compare effects and handling. The Dalton is (was) more like the "Halberd of the skies."
3v1, against an AA Lib. Of course the Lib should win. Of course lucky shots will happen, but the game shouldn't be balanced around luck, as was the case with the Lib. Skill should take the front seat in a fps, not randomness.
But that's the thing. Dalton isn't an AA gun and it's mostly luck shots that hit. SOME gunners adapted it for AA duty cause they were good with it and had a decent percentage hits with it cause alot of pilots are bad.. Luck shots happen but it was never a dominant factor or OP in any way so the nerf was ridiculous. The fact that luck played a fairly big factor for hitting, and it got nerfed shows that the balancing (nerf) that happened was balancing it around luck shots.
Here's my suggestion to the Dalton/ESF dilemma. Keep the 1 shot kill Dalton keep it strong. Nerf the upside down liberator. Make them drop out of the sky faster than an upside down galaxy. ESF/Liberator= fixed.
I've never argued it was OP, only that the gameplay was annoying. Too much chance is bad for competition. No way. This game needs more emphasis on piloting, not less. The belly armor change was great because it gives good lib pilots a way to fight back against solo ESF. It makes taking out a Lib a group effort. What's holding the game back at this point from having good air combat are the A2A missiles and difficulty of controls.
