So I play ESF a lot and have the A2G rockets, I do think they are a little bit too strong especially as dual burster MAXs' seem to be the only decent AA in the game currently. I've read into a lot of the arguments about how OP they are and so on. Though I think they are slightly OP, the majority of posts seem to think they are game breaking.. So what do people think of the idea that the rockets can only damage lightly armored targets eg: Lightings, turrets, Liberators? It just seems to make these rockets go from being overly versatile to kinda situational, you have to pick your targets (especially in a large tank battle). I guess in some ways it feels like the ESF packs more punch than Lib while having significantly better survivability... Tl:dr Its my opinion that the ESF should not be an all-round bombing unit and the rockets should only effect lightly armored targets such as the lightning, lib, turrets and infantry.
The rocket pods were perfectly balance right before launch in beta. For some weird reason it got reverse maybe or im seeing things. Now Rocketpods can graze infantry and kill them, instantly jib a Anti-air turret base in one round. Jib a tank from behind in 2-3 rockets or take them down to under half shooting from the front or top. It kinda sad that the Prowler get the short end of the stick when it comes to easy kills for Rocket pods, the GIGANTIC backside, enables esf to easily jib a prowler. With that much firepower you would think ESF would be kinda squishy, but they're not. The combination of higher armor and crummy AA just makes ESF super tanky. Not to mention in various post, no one in their right mind would pay 1000 certs or 7 dollars for an AA weapon that doesn't even do it job. Another problem with ESF is that dog fighting is nonexistent, it all A2A rocket spam, I personally literally kited a A2A rocket for a full minute or more through trees, caves, did a reverse back flying, made sharp turns, nose dived into the ground and pulled up, and the dumb rocket still hit me. Air really annoys me but I still won't drop 1000 certs on a Skyguard when it can get instantly jib by a Dalton or a couple shots from a Zepher.
I agree, the dual burster MAX is quite powerful especially with an engineer. Hardly ever see them though. Fun fact: it costs 1000 certs to unlock rocket pods, and 1000 certs to unlock a dual burster MAX. If a pilot spends 1000 certs to specialize A2G, then ground forces should have to spend an equal number of certs to counter it and that's exactly how it works.
I like how someone thinks it only takes 2-3 rockets to destroy a tank from behind, lol. And also that the ESF is "super tanky", when it is far from that. AA isn't meant to be able to completely wipe out every enemy aircraft in sight, otherwise who would play aircraft? you need combined AA and air support to rule the skies in large battles.
They already have a low ammo capacity. I don't think people realize that you have to spend a lot of time resupplying/repairing as an ESF pilot.
Except the reward and kills and effectiveness are all still completely in the Rocket Pods favor. Recca's post sums up all my thoughts, well said.
This is a good discussion, keep it up guys I will add that the HA G2A rockets are actually pretty decent, and actually add a dynamic to the game, I mean a good pilot can take risks to dodge the locks, a bad pilot can buy CM's or constantly die. Though I think these rockets need to have the cost reduced to around 500-750.
It's a well made point, and I do agree that MAX suits are not rewarded nearly as much as using rocket pods. I haven't read the post, did Recca offer a solution? I guess AA MAX's can only really scare aircrafts away, and since MAX suits are incredibly hard to move around the map there is some inherent issues that the ESF doesnt have (considering its the fastest way to travel about the map).
Sounds like we just need a different xp system for ground based AA. It does its job - you really can't stick around in an area with a couple burster MAXes on an ESF. Just need better rewards for deterring. Maybe give xp for each hit regardless of if the ESF dies or not.
Here's a radical idea... attrition damage on vehicles when at 0% influence. That'd effectively make playing the game as intended the actual counter.
Could you make the rocket pods more like the max anti armor (small projectile and large dropoff)? I think that would solve alot of problems
This would certainly be a good start, any ideas for what changes could be made? I dont quite understand, could you clarify?
Reduce the amount of XP people in vehicles get for killing infantry and increase the amount of XP infantry get for destroying vehicles. Farming infantry kills in a tank or an airplane is too easy and too rewarding. And rocket pods need a serious drawback to them. As they're now, they've turned PS2 into a pay to win game.
Well, lets say there's a massive 3 way air battle of doom over The Crown... Too many Air, like THOUSANDS of aircraft. One brave squad goes and captures Ceres, Zervan, TI Alloys and so on until The Crown is at 0% influence for the other factions... their vehicles start taking chip damage,
Rocket Pods only seem op because no one has Burster Maxes yet without spending SC. In the future it will even out.
A good idea, and in some ways I agree, the only problem is that players may stop using tanks and aircrafts altogether. There would have to be a sweet spot where both infantry, tanks, and planes could be earning roughly the same income. Ahh I understand, though I can imagine implementing this would be very difficult, and for the most part wouldn't solve the problem in most cases.
Another huge problem right now is liberators flying at maximum altitude and bombarding zones (Although they can't see what they're hitting, they're still doing damage), AA flak can't hurt them because of the damage reduction at range and HA rockets can't get them because it can't locked on. Essentially you have an invincible plane bombarding death onto you unless you get into an airplane to shoot it down. Everyone should know this game is an ARMS game, combined arms should dominate, not just spam as many liberators and ESF as possible. People saying that you should get air to counter air is completely wrong, each type of force whether it air/ground/armor should be able to counter the other. As it stands now, Air just utterly craps on everyone else. Only AA unit that perfectly balance right now is the AA MAX, but even then a Liberator at maximum altitude can just bombard a max to death without any risk. There's actually one easy temporary fix they can enact, that is to make an AA SC pack. The main reason why air is so dominating right now is because of the Mechanical pack they just had that gave rocket pods, HE ammo, Zephyer, etc.
High alt bombing cant hit infantry. infantry not renderes - no damage to them. u can simply stay next to the sunderer and repair faster than the lib can deal dmg xD
