Pretty much the title, new to PS2 and like playing for Armor so be speccing myself into that area, was looking to upgrade/changing my top gun on my Prowler, but after testing the guns in VR, outside of the Halberd for tank vs tank battles, all the guns seem very sad in terms of damage. was hoping there was something that was a little more designated for Armor both air and ground. But only weapon that kind of fit that is the Halberd which isn't very reliable for hitting Air. Should I just stick with the baseline gun? or is maybe the Gatekeeper better ?
there isn't really anything besides the base gun Basilisk that is designed to be universally "ok", but noone really jumps in an MBT if they see a basilisk on top! the guns designed to fight ground armour all have fairly low angles of elevation to deliberately stop them from being universally useful. and the two guns designed for anti-air are underwhelming at damaging ground vehicles (though walker is way better than ranger). so yep it is a tricky pickle! and what is best will depend on how you play! if you generally stick near other people then you should be fairly safe from aircraft, there is always someone with AA around who can scare them away! so i'd just recommend going with a good ground weapon, Vulcan if you like to get close up, or gatekeeper/halberd if you like to stay at safer ranges. however if you like to lone wolf and go far from allies, i'd definitely recommend an AA gun, you WILL get terrorized by ESFs when they see a lone tank. ranger is easier to use, but walker is more effective at anti-infantry and anti-tank.
Idk just feels awful being in the middle of an entire friendly Armor column and still feeling helpless to 1 Liberator, you wanna be able to deal with it, but having an AA base gun and having it being useless to anything on the ground hinders the tank too much
yep it does suck when you can't do anything to a lib, but if you're sticking with other vehicles then there should be others who can deal with it, the joy of combined arms! or you can indeed stick some AA on your tank and be the one who deals with AA by sacrificing some AV potential
I'm going by the comments and experiences my friend has had with the Gatekeeper for the Prowler when I say this... but the Gatekeeper for AA is terrible. It fires a volley of shots in one go, and by the time it's reached the target, a few rounds have hit but the most miss. Unless the air pilot is incredibly dumb, by flying very slowly or hovering somewhere close, you're not going to hit much with it. Personally I tend to do a lot of the AA work with my AP rounds. It takes some practice and some wonky angling but it can be a really valuable skill to have. If you're looking for something that's a bit of both, I agree that the Basilisk is probably going to be the best option. With all of that said, I personally just go with whatever weapon fits the battlefield, so commonly I tend to have AV as a topgun, so the Halberd or Gatekeeper. Especially when I'm with a group of teammates whom I know has AA or at least a Skyguard milling about. On the other hand, it doesn't hurt to deck out a Skyguard for yourself in the event that you're with a group of friendlies and there's no AA, as is unfortunately a more common sight.
yeh working on Lightning classes will be my next thing once my Prowler is fully certed in the things I want on it
Topguns should get more to do. They are perfect for adding some additional tools and gadgets to a tank. Imagine if the topgunner can create an aerial smoke screen to become hard to detect from the air, or has access to a variety of scanning equipment, or has a concussion grenade launcher capable of creating a light concussion effect on enemy vehicles if it detonates nearby. There's a dozen things you can give them to make topgunning more interesting and also useful for removing some of the painpoints that vehicles have.
He's probably been in a Vulcan Prowler a few times... Trouble is they camped on some hillside Firing his weapon resulting in only the first shot hitting as the rest sprayed everywhere but anywhere near directly in front of him More or less his usage delegated to repairs post air making a single pass OR Main gun is running heat and some big bad Vanguard clobbers the poor guy before he can finish a single clip lulz Not really hoping to appear like whining Not that it is totally different for NC or Vanu But it is kinda Vulcan or nothing Walker seems great dealing damage to any and everything right up until an enemy MBT slips past everything and rolls up on you (pew-pew-pew doesn't empower/Lesson learned type deal) Halberd arguably in skilled hands is most versatile Again Air can still make quick work of you based on knowing angle of attack if nothing else Seems we would need the Basilisk to be stronger, especially against Air Trouble being that it's already the default gun
But yeah OP I would quite literally say anything but the Gatekeeper In the right scenario a gunner may even use the Ranger to some advantage helping out friendly Air (Nothing is gonna be cure-all) Pretty much same w/ Cobalt only having a specific niche While I would enjoy hearing recent stories of success w/ the Marauder It would seem to offer the most versatile success you need to consider what's left... Believe it then comes down to how you roll most of the time Single tank? Is it with a squad Good playa's (Worse options than a Halberd) Several armor vehicles? Walker might do the trick and help to keep air off the Sunderer's Halberd again here, may make them think defense before the battle really gets started AP/Vulcan may help you slice a path up until the other enemy MBT(s) realize their immediate threat Not to mention if you chase smoke you may wind up on the business end of a few nasties requiring such blunt force I could be wrong but based on SPM I would consider leaning towards the Walker... Seems you may be smart enough to figure out escape routes leading to some lulls in the battle (Not everyone is willing to give chase for one MBT especially w/ Harassers existence) tbh The walker almost seems less legit on the Prowler so you could flip a coin between the Vulcan/Halberd What ya may wanna consider is looking at stats for Wintergaming to see whose working what and ask questions based off that Chance the walker is a no-go from the start Makes for visions of patiently waiting for a target which sadly becomes multiple What perks you gonna run 99% of time? Flanker OR Stealth might just dictate what ya need to run (IMHO) Here's what ya need to really consider before asking questions... Especially the last part! (Fighting in a tight area/Unable to flank) A real gunner is gonna know when to exit and confront the enemy The most sick trick loadout in a specific engagement is only as good as the gunner's skills ie. Watch the indicator for amount of ammo! Also look to see where and what they looking IF it's usually where you looking that's pretty much a fail Dude may engage before you Hell maybe even just spot which is hella funny if running stealth (Got a MIC? OR YOU both need one) IF you don't have in your mind specific times to choose between Stealth/Radar and Barrage/Fire Suppression you may not be ready to hear much on the Top Gun (tbh) It just may not be near as important Following info is off the "Fandom" page... https://planetside.fandom.com/wiki/Prowler Depending on your intended range of combat, you have two serious options in this category. If you're planning on engaging at medium ranges or further, you may want to take the E540 Halberd, to help increase your damage output versus vehicles. However, if you're taking the fight close to the enemy, then you'll want to give your gunner the G30 Vulcan, allowing him to deal incredibly competitive anti-vehicle damage to complement your slightly lower damage-per-second assuming you've loaded up the P2-120 HESH. Utility: Fire Suppression/Barrage You may be noticing a theme at this range; you have another choice to make. At this range, you're much more vulnerable to retaliatory fire, making Fire Suppression a viable option to help you win knives' edge encounters. However, you can also double down on the Prowler's incredibly high damage-per-second and equip Barrage, allowing you to deal insanely high burst damage especially if you're using the P2-120 HEAT. Defensive: Vehicle Stealth/Proximity Radar Thanks to the Prowler's incredibly high damage, the chance to get the drop on an opponent can almost guarentee a kill. Normally, an MBT will be highlighted on the map if they move near you. However with max rank Vehicle Stealth the Prowler becomes invisible unless specifically spotted, allowing you to flank hostile vehicles and unleash a barrage of fire on their vulnerable rears. However, if you're fighting in a tight area, you will likely be unable to flank, and instead become incredibly vulnerable to infantry. If the base has high cliffs or walls that Light Assaults can easily use Drifter Jump Jets off of, you may want Proximity Radar.
If you are TR there is the Chaingun, it chews through armor and aircraft and the occasional infantryman, hitting something with it is actually a lot easier than hitting something with the Halberd.
