Can the ANT get some attention? It's just a nice, unused vehicle...

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by karlooo, May 7, 2020.

  1. karlooo

    The ANT visually looks nice, it's pretty intimidating, its design is good, it's big and easy to hit, fully armored...basically it would fit in the combat role very well.
    It would be a pity to ignore such a nice looking and finished vehicle.

    In combat or in the real game the ANT just sucks, which would make sense because it's a transport but so is the Harasser and it's a light tank in game.
    The ANT is not good at transporting infantry, suppressing enemies, it's not good at anything in combat compared to the other vehicles. It can only do what it was designed for and that summed up is unplayable trash lol.

    Something I don't understand is how come this quad bike - the flash receives all these cool weapons, like a flamethrower, some plasma gun but the real armored vehicle ANT receives nothing. Why does a quad bike even receive weapons?

    [IMG]

    So I'll start off with why is it bad in combat? I don't mean the type of combat like vs tanks, of course it's going to get decimated.
    I'm talking about the type of combat with infantry only. Use it's turbo or its speed to get into locations the tanks cannot go - inside a lattice base like in the picture.
    Why is it terrible there?...its immune to small arms fire.Well because every single infantry is either Heavy Assault or Light Assault - everyone has an anti tank weapon lol.
    It's impossible to stop just 2 infantry poking out of cover and quickly shooting you, there is absolutely nothing the ANT can do in this situation. Not even the Bulldog can solve these situations most of the time because it's hard to aim.

    A simple Solution to this problem would be to give the ANT a fast firing weapon that both deals direct and indirect damage. That would solve the issue and make the ANT a much more interesting vehicle.

    The weapon doesn't necessarily have to kill everything that is able to shoot at it....All it has to do is deal some constant damage and that's enough to clear the vehicle from threats and push the enemy back.
    If I wanted to kill stuff I can just play as infantry, spawn in 3 seconds, instead of wasting all that time driving some vehicle up there. The ANT should do something unique infantry cannot do in the objective.

    The faction specific Flash guns like the flamethrower and plasma gun would be perfect for this.
  2. karlooo

    Forgot to add in the issue I have with transporting infantry.
    The Harasser can hold 3 ppl maximum, including a MAX unit. How many can the ANT carry? - 4 non MAX infantry lol.
    Like the ANT should be able to hold at least 5 ppl. 2 in the passenger seat and 3 in the the back seats and also at least 1 MAX should be able to fit inside...I always have MAX units thinking they can enter my vehicle and just waiting for me to unlock it.
  3. Campagne

    I mean... Kobalt and cortium shield is a pretty powerful combo given small arms immunity.

    Don't get so close that a Rocklet Rifle is a threat and you'll be fine. Most launchers aren't a great threat with a bit of speed and/or distance either.

    But regardless, the ANT isn't supposed to be a combat vehicle.
    • Up x 1
  4. TRspy007



    And yet I've seen a lot of Kobalt ANT farmers in fights, and invisible/turbo ANTs terrorizing armor and infantry alike.


    One of my acquaintances runs invisible ANT + 4 C4 engineer combo and has gotten some pretty impressive killstreaks. He usually logs off with little to no deaths after hour long sessions.
  5. That_One_Kane_Guy

    ANT is bad at combat because ANT is not meant for combat. HEMTTs have an MG mount for self-defense but we don't slap TOW launchers on them so they can go fight tanks. A "combat" ANT would just be a fat Harasser with some window dressing.
    • Up x 1
  6. Endlave

    I am pretty disappointed that the first new ground vehicle we got after the harasser is just a farming tool to play minecraft. If you do not buy into construction, you won't ever get a use out of ANTs. I would have loved a support role for it to buff existing bases or something. Anything to really give me a reason to pull one other than constructing useless bases. Too bad there is none.
  7. karlooo


    Well neither was the Harasser originally designed as light tank. Why would all it's weapons have to get downsized, why does its structure look so weak and light, why is it a buggy, why does the player call it a transport vehicle when spotted?

    The Harasser is basically an Improvised buggy but would it be fun? No, nobody would use it, everybody would just pick the tank.
    The ANT is the same story - construction is useless, unfun, doesn't even fit with the game and the ANT is unusable outside of that. It needs a rework.

    I just said in my topic that shouldn't be done...
  8. Demigan

    "Why is this vehicle so bad when I take away its ability to maneuver, use its speed and limit its firing angles?".

    The ANT does need some love but you have to sell it better. Putting it right in the worst position and complaining about it isnt a good way to go about it. What is worse is complaining about your enemies having weapons to attack you effectively in that situation. Do you really want to be invulnerable to them?

    The Harasser is the wrong example. Its far too unbalanced as an attack vehicle and it does so precisely by making sure it can keep moving. But there are plenty of ways to make the ANT useful:

    Make it a support vehicle, allowing nearby allied vehicles to change their loadout for a cortium cost. Let the driver build temporary but tough cover inside NDZ's from the driver's seat

    Make it a tankdestroyer. Big gun upfront with just a small forwards facing turn angle that needs to be aimed mostly by turning the chassis, with some elevation range thrown in.

    Make it a mechanized infantry transport. Let infantry grab specialized equipment from an ANT that only functions when it remains near the ANT. A co-dependency with both infantry and the ANT wanting to be close to eachother would work wonders for actual teamplay.

    Swap its seats and cortium storage out for an artillery platform on the back. Deploy the ANT, buy a target painter and get to work.

    Swap its seats and storage out for a rumble-seat operated AA/AT/AI gun, like an advanced technical with different options to choose from. Just imagine a nice big quad canon on the back while it tries to take down an aircraft.
    • Up x 1
  9. Campagne

    It's not a light tank though, that's the lightning.

    Even if the harasser couldn't even look at an enemy tank it'd still be fun against infantry, just like the ANT is now. With a Basilisk and a driver/gunner I've gone against Magriders and won with the shield, but against infantry it's already more than powerful enough.

    Construction is junk though, I agree. I'd suggest it could be like a harasser that runs on cortium to fuel special combat abilities but it really already does that.
  10. That_One_Kane_Guy

    Semantics and visuals aside, the Harasser is clearly a vehicle intended for combat. This is supported both by it's weapons and equipment options as well as its performance in-game.
    The ANT is a mining vehicle intended for mining. It's weapons and abilities are intended for defense and evasion.

    The usefulness or lack thereof of construction is immaterial to how capable it should be in combat. If you aren't doing construction you shouldn't be requesting a construction vehicle. You don't rent a convertible and complain when you can't haul your couch with it.

    I was going based on your request for the Starfall which is explicitly anti-vehicle. But if it makes you feel better we don't typically festoon our transport vehicles with Bushmasters, either.
    • Up x 2
  11. Werkitten

    ANT can't be replaced by any other machine if you're building. This means that it cannot be considered useless a priori. This is a specialized tool and it is good that the game has at least one version of this technique.
    Among the real military vehicles, there is a huge amount of equipment designed for such purposes: creating barriers, installing bridges, creating minefields, etc
    Often such vehicles do not have any weapons, but this does not make them useless. On the contrary, they are the priority target for the enemy, since their influence on the course of the battle can be enormous.
    The fact that the benefits of building bases are doubtful is a question of the development of the construction system, and not to the ANT machine.
    • Up x 1
  12. LodeTria

    Just give the stupid thing a halberd already.
  13. Caesar_REDMIST

    Why you want to turn an harvester into a combat vehicle? always need new stuff?
  14. Quimcity

    I think the ANT is mostly OK for it's intended role and with the right loadout for the situation you can do a fair amount of damage.
    My favourite loadout is with Howler lasers that can damage enemy construction, AA gun on roof, Combat Chassis, Auto repair and Cloaking.
    Using that combo I often go deep into enemy territory looking for player made bases and destroying them if I can. I'm usually Engi with AV turret, 5 AV mines, AUX Spitfires.
    I Can get a lot of road kills on my way behind enemy lines by cloaking and mowing them down before they have any idea you are there and then a similar thing with ESF's, goad them into attacking you by plinking them a few times then go invisible as they come after you, move behind them if possible (or at least in a direction they aren't looking) and then start firing when they are at closer range.
    I can often go for a few hours without losing a life and just return to friendly territory to stock up on vehicle Ammo and more AV mines etc... Something I like to do when the only big fights are just farms and I want a less hectic session.

    Also quite good for doing the Circuit around the D point at the Crown when TR and VS are fighting over it. I have the implant that shows mines at 35 metres as that area is often mined up heavily. Drive up to it invisible, jump out and emp the mines if any, go back invis and go round again and mow down the TR and VS that are fighting over it. Run off and top up with cortium for the cloaking and rinse repeat if they are still there. Can often rack up 20 or so kills there before they get wise to it and get more AV weapons or vehicles out.
  15. karlooo


    Weren't ppl complaining about that? Vehicles being able to snipe infantry from range while their guns cannot touch the vehicle.
    I know how to use the ANT, that's how I get kill streaks but its just not fun and especially using the cloak in combat.

    Lets say it this way. I don't buy a massive, fully armored truck to go invisible and ram somebody lol. Same with using it's speed and range of the Kobalt....the Harasser is for that.
    I and probably others buy a big, heavily armored vehicle to get right into the fight! and because of how the Lattice bases are designed the ANT will always be in a bad position, every base would need a full redesign.
    A much simpler way of changing that would be to give the ANT a short range, fast firing weapon with indirect and direct damage and it won't make it invulnerable, like it would just kill everything. The weapon should just deal some constant damage to suppress the enemy, push them out of some position.

    From the receiving end I think it would be pretty cool too, like everyone has weapons to deal with it, they just need to use it more cleverly.