Are HEAT cannons the way to go after the update?

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by ArmorMan, Apr 26, 2017.

  1. ArmorMan

    Right now on PTS, HEAT requires 1 more shot than HE and AP to kill an MBT, but it has a faster reload.

    I'm a prowler main, and i almost fully certed ap (reload speed 4), in terms of TTK against MBTs, should I start to cert HEAT?

    HE for prowler has never been a good thing, and right now (even if it does more damage than HEAT to heavy armor) i find that the bullet drop is obnoxious for a Prowler and the velocity is too bad for someone that relies on muscle memory since 1 year. Of course AOE damage of HEAT would be great to farm, i can rely on precision and kill infantry with AP too, but sometimes i feel that HEAT would be a more versatile option.

    What's your opinion? Could you post TTK of HEAT VS AP cannons for Prowler against MBTs? I'd appreciate that a lot.
  2. Demigan

    Currently it's "go AV or go home". There's barely any reason to pick HE and HEAT. And that's unfair for newbies who start out with a HEAT canon and have to cert into an AP canon just to start with vehicle combat. With the change all 3 weapons have their uses, and a newbie who won't be as capable of a vehicle combattant will at least start with the best general-purpose gun vehicles have to offer.

    But I don't have the numbers and I'm not going to calculate it right now.
    • Up x 1
  3. BartasRS

    Can't say much about Prowler but with Magrider HEAT seems like a decent option for AV combat. Experienced players (with good aim) will benefit from fastest reload speed and it will enable them to have quite nice AI potential. Didn't tested HESH much but for me bigger splash makes a little difference when fighting infantry unless it's a typical clusterfck situation which I try to avoid.

    So to sum up, HEAT will become really all-rounder weapon.
    • Up x 1
  4. JobiWan

    I wouldn't cert into anything until things have settled down. It seems to be a WIP and will continue to be tweaked. You could cert heavily into something then it gets nerfed big time.
  5. FLHuk

    Glad all my toons have fully certed Viper though.

    Fingers crossed :D
  6. FateJH

    If you are this paralyzed by choice, and have the certification points lying around, just cert into all of them. It won't matter what they do now or what they do in the future that way. Short of adding a new weapon, a long-term option that you will have the time to work your way up to funding, for you will have whatever they do covered already.
  7. Diilicious

    Arma 3 is the way to go after the update. lol
  8. Kristan

    Yeah, right, where single well placed dude with a machine gun might mow down your entire squad. Good luck out there.

    I'd stick to Planetside cuz I'm not a drama queen and don't think it's that bad, except for few flaws that might get fixed.
    • Up x 5
  9. pnkdth

    The question is, will the lower velocity of HEAT cause you to miss more?

    Theoretical DPS is fine and all but when you start to factor in range and movement things doesn't become as crystal clear.
  10. Diilicious

    [IMG]
  11. Daigons

    Remember that the OP is a proud owner of a Prowler. While I was testing it on PTS, it seemed to have some impressive melting power.
    • Max out the HEAT reload for a 10% reload bonus.
    • Max our the Anchor mode for a 48% reload bonus.
    • Max out the Anchor mode for a 30% bonus to projectile speed.
  12. Problem Officer

    I'm playing half just to see just how much they can **** this up :D
    Then if by some miracle PS2 becomes deserving of my cash again, that'll be so worth having stuck around for.
  13. ArmorMan

    Hope they don't finger smash the keyboard too much, AP must be AP and everything else shouldn't be as good (but not too bad) in vehicle combat.


    But they don't play the vehicle game so it will be like: F**K BALANCE!
  14. OldMaster80

    My suggestion is to wait.
    The update is a work in progress, it's not the final version and many things do not work as intended. Large part of the Combined Arms Initiative is missing completely.
    Soon a massive test will be hosted on PTS, and based on that feedback other things will change.

    Imo it's too early to decide where to cert. If devs do a good job in the end everything should have a position and a role.
    • Up x 1
  15. LodeTria

    If the changes to tank goes live as is, then HE is the way to go as you get similar TTK as AP but also some okay infantry killing power. The only downsides of the new HE is slower projectile speed, but you'll get used to that after awhile.
  16. BartasRS


    My thoughts exactly. Lower velocity is not that big problem especially if you consider DBG wants tank combat to be more close range. If anything it will be the obvious advantage of AP over HEAT/HESH - velocity and ability to hit targets at distance (easier).

    Me, as rookie Mag driver, will go for HEAT as I tend to sneak closer or fire at stationary targets. Higher reload speed coupled with better efficiency against infantry is my selling point also.
  17. repairtool6

    Going AP will still support the classic cover/peak&shoot/back-to-cover&reload playstyle. If you like this stuff - or depend on this stuff, stick with AP...

    HEATH will have higher ROF (and higher DPS) but to get full advantage of this you probably will need stay OUT OF cover all the time. No peaking.


    So....What will be "best"? Again, the answer will become "situational"..
  18. Demigan

    Number crunching:

    Titan AP
    • Now on Tank Shell Resist type (from AP Tank resist type)
    • Damage from 2075 to 800
    • Gravity from 4 to 5
    • Blast
      • Inner Damage from 450 to 500
      • Inner Radius from 0.5 to 1
      • Outer Damage from 1 to 50
      • Outer Radius from 1 to 3
    • New DPS (without reload upgrade): 200
    Titan HEAT
    • Damage from 1300 to 600
    • Reload: from 4 seconds to 2.75 seconds
    • Projectile Velocity from 275 to 225
    • Gravity from 4 to 5
    • Blast
      • Inner Damage from 750 to 500
      • Outer Damage from 1 to 50
    • New DPS (without reload upgrade): 218,18
    Titan HE
    • Renamed “Titan-150 HESH”
    • Damage from 1300 to 750
    • Projectile Velocity from 275 to 225
    • Gravity from 4 to 5
    • Outer Blast Damage from 1 to 50
    • New DPS (without reload upgrade): 187,5
    Magrider
    Magrider cannons now have the best-in-class reload speed.

    Supernova FPC
    • Now on Tank Shell Resist type (from AP Tank resist type)
    • Reload 3.75 seconds to 3.25 seconds
    • Projectile Velocity from 225 to 250
    • Damage from 1865 to 700
    • Blast
      • Inner Damage from 450 to 500
      • Inner Radius from 0.5 to 1
      • Outer Damage from 1 to 50
      • Outer Radius from 1 to 3
    • New DPS (without reload upgrade): 215,38 (the Magrider now has a slightly higher standard DPS than the Vanguard!)
    Supernova PC
    • Reload from 3.75 seconds to 2.5 seconds
    • Projectile Velocity from 225 to 200
    • Damage from 1410 to 500
    • Blast
      • Inner Damage from 750 to 500
      • Outer Damage from 1 to 50
    • New DPS (without reload upgrade): 200 (the Magrider HEAT version does lower DPS than the AP version. Which is reverse of what the Vanguard has)
    Supernova VPC
    • Reload from 3.75 seconds to 3.25 seconds
    • Projectile Velocity from 225 to 200
    • Damage from 1175 to 650
    • Outer Blast Damage from 1 to 50
    • New DPS (without reload upgrade): 200
    Prowler
    As mentioned above, Prowler cannons are now slower to reload (and are now the slowest between all factions when factoring in fire rate). This is offset by being double barrel and having the highest damage potential out of all the tanks.

    P2-120 AP
    • Now on Tank Shell Resist type (from AP Tank resist type)
    • Damage from 1250 to 600
    • Reload from 2.5 seconds to 3.5 seconds
    • Gravity from 4 to 5
    • Blast
    • Inner Damage from 375 to 450
    • Inner Radius from 0.5 to 1
    • Outer Damage from 1 to 50
    • Outer Radius from 1 to 3
    • New DPS (without reload upgrade): 266,67(Those calculating this: You need to add the 0,5 seconds between the two shots and another 0,5 seconds before the reload start, meaning a full cycle takes 4,5 seconds but you fire two shots so double the damage listed)
    P2-120 HEAT
    •Damage from 1000 to 475
    •Outer Blast Damage from 1 to 50
    •Projectile Velocity from 250 to 200
    • New DPS (without reload upgrade): 271,43

    P2-120 HE
    • Renamed “P2-120 HESH”
    • Damage from 725 to 550
    • Reload from 2.5 seconds to 3.5 seconds
    • Projectile Velocity from 250 to 200
    • Gravity from 4 to 5
    • Blast
      • Inner Damage from 650 to 600
      • Outer Damage from 1 to 50
    • New DPS (without reload upgrade): 244,44


    So the answers are:
    NC needs to go HEAT, unless they are doing pop-up attacks then they are best with AP.
    VS needs to go AP
    TR needs to go HEAT.
    • Up x 1
  19. ArmorMan

    Thanks alot guys, really appreciated!
  20. Liewec123

    i feel like HE will be the obvious choice, the AV damage is so similar between the 3,
    but HE makes you a much more noticable nightmare for infantry than heat and AP.
    so you're a monster against infantry and just as good against armour, its a no brainer imho :)