Higby wants us Tankers to come on PTS at 4 PST and give feedback

x1000

Please community, make Higby drive the Magrider against other tanks. The developers just don't seem to have a clue about the current MBT balance.

Did my 50 minutes on the test with the invulnerable floating devs watching from the sky.
Here's my feedback from a lightning with AP.

Surprise, the changes make the Harasser viable now...

The Bad

• If the target is moving, for-get-a-bout it as a tank driver. Hitting something moving with the velocity change is nye impossible. Not impossible, just not the same play, not at all. Drove circles with a few tanks (Vanguards) and none of us were connecting shots well. I couldn't even touch a harasser.... Could see the tank rounds "curving" instead of flying straight. Velocity definitely made this more difficult.
• If targets were near the extreme range they simply disappeared from screen using a 2.x scope. Example: At the ammo depot at Xenotech, couldn't see the targets at the top of the hill coming in from Regent Rock (sigh).

The Good

• Range being shorter means rounds now arc. I could hit other vehicles that ducked behind a slope or hill. That was a new experience.
• Could still hit targets at range, had to aim higher and just hope they weren't moving.
• Reverse speed does get you out of bad locations very quickly.

General Feedback

• All in all, tanks will definitely feel more like harassers with their speed boosts. Vanguards ripping along was an odd sight.
• I don't see how the stabilization is going to help my personal play style. Don't like the limited 1st person view and can't see utilizing it or featuring it as a benefit, it's more of an oddity, very situational. Maybe near Indar excavation where there's a lot of open space I could see using it, but not really any where else on the map.
• The changes aren't game breaking, they're game adapting changes I can personally live with (until Harassers read this and realize they now have the upper hand with tank velocity nerfs). There's going to be a forum explosion when that happens... I'll wager certs on it.
• Will I keep playing in a tank, not sure yet, really not sure and that should say something? It's not so much a point of protest as much as the feeling that the game is losing its appeal with all the changes to weapons and vehicles, the game still lacking basic meta game features and population balance issues, the fun of playing, well it's just not as fun as it once was. I'll stick it out for the remaining 12 battle rank levels, after that... I'm just not sure - I hear Destiny is coming to the PC.

So you just want to be half life?

These changes shouldn't go to live without the magrider getting something meaningful and significant because its strafe, projectile, etc. are all being nerfed, along with it giving up stabilization.

There is a twitter feed ON THE OFFICIAL FORUMS!. If he asks there, he asks here at the same time.

open your eyes.

Well, thanks, I guess?

I also made it just in time.

Edit:
The general consensus from the tankers who took part in the test is that the changes leaves the magrider rather borked.
Although I doubt we'll see them all pushed to live, given how the post-fight discussion went.

As predicted Magriders got steamrolled. Inb4nochanges.

Actually at the playtest VS had a pop advantage and it seemed like the Saron spam was taking advantage of the now nerfed MBT cannons.

We completely understand some folks prefer forums while other Reddit, Twitter and a few even Facebook. You guys are everywhere and taking feedback from just one communication medium is honestly just silly. We are going to continue to gather thoughts from various places and you'll continue to find the big news here first.

And how exactly did the post fight discussion go?

So they're calling for feedback about the tank changes, but are the harsh hand of censorship mutes all feedback about the removal of the cert screen....

I wonder if one of the changes here will go through, feedback will be negative, and they'll start shutting down those threads as unproductive, like they're doing to the cert-screen removal threads.....

Anyway, my feedback is simple. Do whatever it is you planned. I learned my lesson. I'll be quiet and take it.

The only threads being shut down are those which are violating the forum guidelines. If you want to ask about the cert screen revamp, by all means. It's not being discussed right now but who knows what the future holds. As long as feedback is constructive, it will absolutely remain.

What I don't get, is why they're forcing tanks out of their current position of indirect fire support and basically demanding they approach bases and fight close range. This is completely contrary to the ENTIRE DESIGN of the Prowler especailly, which has ZERO defensive abilities when compared to the Vanguards shield and the Mag-dash.

You're indirectly nerfing the TR far harder than either of the other two. In fact, with the Vanguard you can safely brawl two Prowlers and win before your shield wears off while they have to get into and out of their stupid deploy state to even come close to matching them.

This is the worst design choice I've seen in a while from SOE. Forcing tanks to get farmed harder, C4'ed more, instagibbed by VS lancer crews. Etc.

A vanguard can not kill 2 prowlers within 6 seconds "safely" even if they are reversing into it, it can beat a single prowlers safely at close range (as long as no lock down, otherwise it is basically even).

On topic, as much as I quite enjoy the current "peek and poach" method of tank vs tank positional warfare I am not ruling out that this new method may be fun too.

The prowler is the fastest and there is a good chance that lockdown will be providing a more significant range advantage now.

The vanguard may be able to close to point blank 1v1's more easily (I say may because unlike on live the victim in this case can reverse at 70 kph).

Both the vanguard and prowler may well find more uses for the vulcan/marauder and C85 canister now that fights will probably happen closer.


As for the magrider I guess less velocity and more drop would be extremely beneficial to it currently but this all depends on how effectively the other tanks will be able to "sideways strafe" in the new system. One thing for sure is that the saron got a significant buff by exclusion.

the 1 thing that i think will certainly will be addressed is the double tap acceleration on the vanguard (dunno how it works for other tanks but still )

This pretty much. It's very appreciated that he tries to get in touch with he communit but what is so difficult for him to just get here where the mayority of players is... there is even a vehicle sub forum for crying out loud.
Ha - maybe he is annoyed by the fact that he can not autologin here

Because tanks are supposed to support infantry advances not act as field artillery. If you advance with tanks on live server you can't even fire your main gun because of the shaking and you get farmed as you go in unless you are really well organised.

So here's what happened:

A few hours before the event started a number of us were testing things and chatting in the TS. After enough people joined, we made a huge armor column and lined up on the hill between TI Alloys and Snake Ravine. Higby, Kevmo, and one other dev joined the TS. Higby started coordinating us and we split into our respective factions and went to our respective bases to fight.

As we were all fighting for the next hour or so, we were having constant dialogue in the TS discussing the changes amongst ourselves and also talking with Higby and Kevmo. After a while we started a "Q/A" where we asked questions specifically to the developers.

It was good and bad. A lot of the time was spent on tangents with very little to show for it. When you have 100 people or so in one TS channel you can understand. The problem was that it was hard for a lot of us to ask the important questions we wanted to ask over the few people who like the sound of their own voices. Eskimo, myself, and a few others managed to get the discussion focused on important topics as best we could.

I was able to ask two questions specifically:

1.) "Regarding the velocity and gravity changes, on the forum you said, 'this should encourage tanks to get closer to the targets they intend to fight'. Is that the only reason you're reducing tank effective ranges?
Kevmo: "Yes"

2.) What exactly is the intended purpose of the reverse speed increases?
Kevmo: "We want to give more options for tanks."

There was one other question someone asked that I would like to mention:

"What do you and the rest of the development team think about the role of tanks?"
Kevmo: "They're force multipliers."

The general consensus among tankers was this:

- The reverse speed increases have a negative impact on tank combat.
- The velocity/gravity changes are noticeable and have an impact on the fights.
- Anchor mode isn't very strong anymore.
- The Magrider is now completely outclassed.
- Vanguard/Prowler strafing is too powerful with the stabilization and reverse speed increase.
- The Vanguard is objectively superior to the other two MBTs with the current build on test.
- The ES abilities need looked at.
- We're not going to get closer to the battles even if you reduce our effective ranges.

If you had to make predictions, what would you say will be the likely course the devs will take now, having heard and seen our feedback?

Did the devs mention reconsidering some of the changes/tweaking them further?