ESF are based on Harrier Jump Jets

From all the threads I've seen about ESF acting weirdly like a cross between a Jet and Helicopter, that would be a VTOL Jet, like the Harrier Jump Jet



Those things under the wings are bombs, designed to kill ground targets.

This plane is a mixed role fighter, can used both in defense (Interceptor), and as a strike aircraft (A2G). From what I can tell its whats the ESF in Planetside are based on its why they can both engage air and ground.

It is something to consider when discussing if air is OP or not. As far as I'm concerned Air is not OP, yes its difficult to deal with as a lone wolf or uncoordinated group, just like any MBT, sniper or very good lone wolf player.

Yes rocket pods are easy to learn and use, flying the ESF effectively is not, and dealing them them efficiently is easy to learn.

My outfit dealt with them here, though some simple teamwork.

To spare anyone else from having to watch the whole video, they spend 14 minutes using G2A missiles on ESF's that never make a single direct attack at them, let alone with rocket pods. And liberators that appear to be at 1/3 person capacity, and have no HE cannon with which to wipe them out but instead crash or bail half the time. Next can you please prove catching fish with your bare hands is easy by showing us a video of fish in a barrel ?

Even a heavy machine gun would **** up a harrier jet. I wish dedicated AA actually did a reasonable amount of damage to ESFs. It should only take 1 anti air missile to bring an ESF down to critical on fire.

Maybe if they make AA rockets come in less capacity unless specced, so a HA would only get one or two, which would also render them less effective vs tanks, which wouldnt be a bad thing.

Big difference, Harrier is probably the most difficult aircraft in the world to fly. They probably have more crashes from pilot error than any other fighter.

The ESF is in no way a relation to the harrier jump jet. The harrier only has one engine, it vectors the thrust from the engine to achieve vertical movement, while the ESF has two separate engines, it has an entirely different set of thrusters for vertical movement as it does for horizontal movement.

This whole "It's hard to fly ESF effectively" bull is getting on my nerves. Yes, you will blow a few of them up before you learn how to fly, and yes, the controls are kind of awkward, but seriously the ESF is incredibly easy to fly. You cannot stall it, you cannot lose control of it, it maneuvers exactly the same no matter which way you are turned or how fast you are going, G forces don't exist in an ESF... There is absolutely no element to the ESF that requires actual attention while flying other than not hitting anything.

no, the harrier was probably based off of some VTOL craft from some game or movie, these things can move sideways and stuff a harrier has to turn to go sideways and can only go up or down, maybe the harrier was based off of a hummingbird! maybe the VTOL's in this game are based off of a hummingbird!

Aircrafts are inherently powerful against ground targets. They are the only vehicles that can engage an enemy on the ground and disappear very quickly. To counter this, ground targets need defenses that can balance their power with the power of the aircraft. This, in my opinion, no longer exists.

yeah now with the modern jet-fighter/bombers the only way to stop it from killing you is to hope that you detect them on radar and either send up some fighters or hope that a ground-to-air missle hits them in time before they drop whatever they are droping on you

You know every time you get that red circle pop up, you scored a hit, maybe to save everyone else reading you comments you have never played the game, see what I did there

Went off topic, brought up an irrelevant and obvious game mechanic, maimed the english language then gave yourself a pat on the back. Oh sorry was that supposed to be rhetorical ?

yeah i agree, oroshi that response had nothing to do with the topic and you either spelled that weird or something.........

Let's not forget the F-35B USMC Variant, which has VTOL capabilities. But that's off-topic.

I think comparing ANYTHING in PS2 with real life varients to justify 'balance' issues is out of the question, considering how inferior almost every weapon in PS2 is compared to modern ones.

This. ^^

Their VTOL capability is also only usefull from a logistical standpoint (they dont need runways or super large carriers). their VTOL capability not only fails to increase their performance but actually hinders it considerably. Harriers gained notariaty for being the FIRST VTOL aircraft, not for its insane tricks. Its usefulness was its logistical flexibility but it was NEVER used as a front line fighter, or bomber, in a main conflict. They were used after air superiority was gained, or as a small CAP force on lesser carriers. Hell even the F35 does not use its VTOL capability as a performance enhancer and the transition from flight to hover is considerably long and makes them EXTREMELY vulnerable in this position.

For the sake of preventing the spread of misinformation; that jet and the jets in the video's have at no times flown with any armaments including bombs. Those two large things hanging from the jets are fuel pods and the rest of the equipment under the wings are used to hold and launch missiles and bombs.

The photo looks like it has two AIM-9Xs.

The way they work is obviously quite different. The harrier is basically the first generation of VTOL jets.

The f-35 is more similar to the mosquito atleast. The engine tilts downwards



Also, the Osprey helicopter is like a big propeller version of the mosquito

ESF are based on Noobish fantasy.

You failed to mention that it also has a large scout helicopter attached to the vertical stabilizer / rudder.

>Play fictional video game with laser guns
>THIS ISN'T REALISTIC ENOUGH FOR ME