Default: 1700 damage 115m/s or 414km/h 5.2 reload 1/4 ammo STK: 6 front / 5 side / 2 rear Add one shot for Vanguard front armour Decimator: 2000 damage 60m/s or 216km/h 5.7 reload 1/3 ammo STK: 5 front / 4 side / 2 rear Add one shot for Vanguard front armour Not going to include TTK because it's a useless figure. I'd have thought that the increased damage was balanced by the decreased velocity (perhaps even decreased by too much), but it also has two more penalties on top of that. Discuss
Actually tried it in game, didn't notice the decreased velocity at all, at first I was over shooting targets so it wasn't that big a deal. The reload also isn't that big a deal when your talking .5 of a second. Honestly I didn't even notice the difference in reload and wouldn't have known there was one if you hadn't list it. The real trade off I see with it is more damage per shot or more damage per resupply. I play in an organised squad so there's usually Engineers around to provide ammo, so the lower ammo count isn't a problem for me. If I was playing lonewolf I would probably stick to the standard for for the extra ammo. Back in Beta I even used nano-weave when I was with a squad versus munitions pouch for when I was running on my own.
I had buyers remorse for it because I ended up using the SKEP more, But I still use it on my raiding loadout, shorter range weapons for amp stations and biolabs
Given that no competent Tank driver is going to let you unload a full complement of rockets into his side, rear armor makes no difference, and in squads it makes no difference either, I kind of agree it has a lot of drawbacks. But it's quite serviceable; Certainly has a nice punch against maxes. Also, keep in mind using an ammo pouch will not give you 0.8 missiles per level.^^
What if they gave it an extra rocket so it's on par with the other launchers or remove the rocket drop and make it the slowest launcher in the game?
The armour lock-on rockets just seem like a better deal to me as the majority of my (successful) anti-armor battles are at medium+ ranges, where the slow projectile speed of the decimator will be a complete hindrance, while a lock-on rocket can be arced over a hill to hit the poor sap who thinks it's a safe place to rush to for repairs. To actually hit consistently with the decimator I'd imagine you either or have to be shooting at an idiot who's moving in a predictable pattern (or not moving at all!), or be way too close for comfort which is a position I'd never plan to be with my HA. I suppose it's one of the situations where if you want to invest the smedbucks into getting weapons for all occasions then there's a definite place for it, but if you don't want to spend 21 bucks on just one role of one class then the lock-on gives you more bang for your buck.
I think the Deci does the most damage per rocket so in that respect it's good for Deci-popping a MAX around a corner just like PS1. That and the lack of a huge, glowing purple trail obscuring my vision and pointing out my exact location to everyone within 2000m makes it a good alternative to the VS's S1.
You are picking more damage per missile. If you get the rocket belt cert utility (I forgot the name) you'll have more ammo, thus more damage potential or if you're near engineer ammo or Sunderer AMS, you can resupply. It takes less hits to kill something from front and side as you've shown. It's a good weapon in close vehicle combat where you need that extra damage on target as quick as possible, so the less velocity is fine. If it had everything you wanted then it would be a pure upgrade from default to decimator. I choose the default only because I find myself alone more often and I'm pretty ballsy about going around a tank to shoot it in the back so I need the extra missile (plus I have C4). But the Decimator gives a person a chance to have a different playstyle.
