[Suggestion] ANT Variants

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Blam320, May 15, 2020.

  1. Blam320

    As part of a comprehensive, hypothetical collection of changes to PlanetSide I've been assembling, I came up with an idea to fill a few gaps in the vehicle roster, while also making a small improvement to Construction and expanding on the role of the ANT.

    I was thinking there could be three different types of ANT, each with unique equipment and roles in the game. The first variant, the Worker ANT, is essentially the same as the current iteration of ANT, except it's only a two-seater and lacks some other defensive options. It's primarily meant for base construction and maintenance.

    The second variant, the Soldier or Warrior ANT, is effectively an Infantry Fighting Vehicle. It seats 6, and boasts a smaller-caliber version of the Lightning's main gun as it's primary armament. It also comes equipped with the Howler mining laser by default, but as a trade-off it has a much smaller Cortium carry capacity. It's primary function is to act as a support vehicle, defending friendly bases and transporting troops for raids.

    The final variant, the Queen ANT, is a Sunderer-sized vehicle that effectively functions as a mobile silo. Taking a cue from PS1, the Queen doesn't have a traditional mining laser, but "wings" that spread when the vehicle deploys, allowing it to automatically harvest Cortium in a radius around it, as well as providing power to Cortium-fed modules. However, it lacks any self-defense options, making it reliant on protection from Soldier ANTs or other allied vehicles. Queen ANTs could allow for more mobile construction bases to be set up and torn down at a moment's notice, allowing bases to follow the flow of battle more easily. Silos then become the hallmark for more permanent bases.
  2. Johannes Kaiser

    As nice as more variation is, what precisely would be the use in the end of the day?
    Yes, the 4 seats on a normal ANT are a weird thing, it only needs 2 and isn't a transport vehicle anyway, so cutting those would no no harm.
    With the Warrior I can kind of see how with a smaller Cortium capacity it could be the option that doesn't venture far and takes in the close hauls while sacrificing the capacity for protection. But in the end, you can have a normal ANT be accompanied by 1-2 Lightnings.
    The Queen can't pack the base surrounding it, and the construction of an even moderately useful base takes too long for it to be a temporary semi-mobile solution; means the Queen would be relegated to being a backup-silo in case a glitch deconstructs your original one, as has happened to me recently. And do we need a dedicated vehicle to be a backup plan?
  3. Blam320



    This is just a basic run of the suggestions; I'm still working on more comprehensive changes, including ways with which Construction can better interact with the flow of battle.

    But the basic idea is Worker ANTs are your main source of Cortium, Soldier ANTs are tankier and more offensive but lose most of their ability to directly support a base, while Queens you can just deploy in an area and bam, instant silo without needing to wait for one to be constructed and filled. It'd have overall less capacity than a regular silo, but Queens don't have the same restrictions. Once it's deployed, it will immediately be available for building and powering nearby construction objects and other Cortium-powered entities. And when the battle moves on you can undeploy the Queen and move your ANT colony up with the rest of the fight.
  4. TR5L4Y3R



    considering how the ant has stealth capabilities it could very well have some use for small striketeams or constructionsquad, iirc it can even carry a max or 2 (correct me if wrong) it may not be usefull as a primary transport vehicle like the sunderer but i think it still could have some specialiced use for construction/pioneersquads that can´t always go and redeploy arround especialy when it comes to raising an outpost close to an enemy laticebase .. like mentioned in another thread i would like to see constructionterritory to be increased ... then have said squad with 2 or 3 ants that gather cortium but hold up to 12 players all with at least the basic constuctionassets to quickly build the outpost like in about 3 or 4 minutes if possible maybe less with a praticed squad ..
  5. Blam320



    Which is what the Soldier ANT is built for; it can carry less Cortium than a regular ANT but it's perfect for smaller strike teams, since you can use them to both build and effectively defend a smaller base. Plus as an IFV it's a halfway-point offensive transport, like a mix between a Lightning and a Sunderer. Worker and Queen ANTs are mainly for larger base-building ops where you need a lot more Cortium.
  6. TR5L4Y3R



    no reason to go and spent the limited resources RPG have on just variants of an existing model you can already modify with certs ..
    and that queen sunderer of yours .... nahh ... no player would want to just go and harvest cortium while being defenseless, no player would be intrested in playing the guard the defenseless vehicle or be forced to harvest again game ..

    this was already bad in PS1 were ant players were only capable to get nanites from a warpgate or nearby base to eventualy get shot down and have to do the work all over again ..

    just leave the ant as is .. heck i wouldn´t be against giving it a couple few hard to use turrets like a halberd or pelterturret maybe even hornet missilelauncher and some ES turrets .. but the way the current ANT is is fine enough ..
    PMBs themselves are rather what need clear tweaking .. a buildtimedecrease for sure, tougher walls, more flexible placemeant as well as the ability to quickly relocate a existing base and its harvested cortium that hasn´t been destroyed or damaged too much ...
  7. Peebuddy

    You know what I would like to see on the ant, the invisibility bubble the AMS gets. I'm so sick and tired of being killed by these 360 no scope snipers every time I go to the terminal. We get it, you're super cool, save some women for the rest of us!
  8. Trebb

    Just a friendly correction that you're wrong ;)

    I do find it odd that it can seat 6, and as much as I've played around with the invisa Ant, I've never really used it's full potential in a squad. It could be obnoxious to drive 4-5 people with C4 right behind a tank column, even staying stealth and preventing them from moving lol. As it is, unstealthing behind them with a bulldog is pretty nasty, not sure if ANT needs more stuff to be honest.
  9. TR5L4Y3R

    ok



    well yea as i said there could be special case uses for it within trained platoons or squads ..
    i don´t think using 2 of them carrying a contructionsquad would be that out of the ordinary .. especialy since PMB assets are now cheeper to construct, 2 or 3 filled ANT should provide plenty cortiom to build a PMB in one go .. only the upkeep would require more harvesting ..

    as for more stuff ... i´d say if said stuff requires skill it should be ok .. i´m not asking to put vulcans or hyenatype lockonlaunchers on it ..
    bulldog is not exactly easy to use same with halberd and especialy hornettype missilelaunchers ..