In the Beta there was an Anti-vehicle turret, never certed for it though, but it could be nice to be able to get Anti-infantry, anti-vehicle and AA variants of the mana turret, that and i think we could have a Mana Impromptu wall with no gun attached, and possibly Mana turrets at crouch height to reduce the surface area you show to your enemy. maybe its just me but i also think we should be able to sub it out for C4 or mines.
I use mine a decent amount of time. I find it does ok for suppressing fire in long distance fights since most everyone but snipers are innaccurate at that range. In shorter ranges I can rack up a lot of kills on choke point areas where there are few avenues of approach to get at me.
When comparing the starter gun to the turret I find the turret has long range. I've put it down when I knew someone was coming at that range and killed them (but would have lost if I used my weapon). Perhaps I should say the turret works at medium range? Fine. Tanks will shoot at turrets when the infantry is not in view. That wastes ammo and makes them reload which gives you the time you need to get from point A to point B. They do provide cover in that they take a few hits to destroy. If you live long enough you will see people being very creative with something that most people think is useless.
TR should get a new version of the mana turret available, modeled after the G30 Vulcan! VS would get a mobile Saron. For NC, the Enforcer unfortunately sucks. I'd suggest an improved Enforcer AV/AA lock-on launcher with much faster projectile speed/greater range than the current multi-use HA rocket launcher option. The Vanguard also really needs the improved Enforcer. Make this missiles smarter too, so that they avoid terrain and can track beyond the hill. These would take the place of the mana turret, consume infantry resources, and you can only carry 1 at a time. Plus they will have limited ammo and no way to refill their ammo pool. Maybe have some certs to allow for additional spare ammo, but it will still be pretty limited compared to the use infinite use/limitless ammo mana turret. They will be options unlocked via SC/certs - 700/1000 - SOE has to have income to continue to develop the game after all. This also gives infantry squads some much needed boost vs. the vehicle/air zergs.
I actually used the turret gun to some good effect the other day. The enemy had parked a sunderer in the middle of nowhere and infantry were forced to run across mostly unprotected ground to get to the capzone. From a tower, I was able to hose them with bullets. Obviously, this was a niche situation. The success of the turret gun was more a testament to the incompetence of the enemy than the effectiveness of the gun. In 98% of situations, I find the mana turret more effective as an ammo box, deployable cover, or a colorful distraction. I would love to AV/AA weaponry for the mana turret. Additionally, I would love a deployable item that is merely a deployable shield. A large shield with firing slits or something.
Here is the thing about the mana turret. I'd say that 80% of the time that you can deploy one for its intended use and not die instantly to snipers, your faction has already swarmed the area and you don't actually need a mana turret for any real tactical advantage. Upon reflection I'd say that case is more like 90%. In Beta when generators were destroyable by small arms fire mana turrets had far more tactical uses, not just to destroy the generators but to defend them. Now they are just novelty items at best because of their head shot vulnerability. They should have the mana turret's shield be "breakable" as well as rechargeable, but cover the entire user from the front, including their head. This would prevent Engineers from being instantly sniped the moment they deploy but allow the enemy, with either concentrated fire or persistent fire to take down the defensive position. The balance is that the mana turret is bright, visible, stationary, and can be very easily flanked. As they stand now, they are a joke that I, myself, will never employ. In this game, because of the obscenely short TTKs, mobility is survivability. From both ends of the Mana turret spectrum of both its users survivability as well as it's ability to effectively kill mobility makes the mana turret, currently, useless.
Eh, I realize that I'm in the minority. But I feel that this game has obscenely long TTKs. Mobility allows you to reverse a situation where you should have died. I usually play red orchestra. 2-3 torso shots from a pistol tend to be lethal. 1-2 torso shots from a rifle tends to be lethal (usually, 1. They're lucky if they survive a torso hit). ~3 from an SMG to the torso are lethal. Single bayonet stab is lethal. Headshot/heartshot from anything is lethal. Compared to that, I feel like superman in this game.
As far as firepower, range, etc I think the current AI MANA is generally fine. HOWEVER, there are 3 things that need tweaked with it: A. If it's going to render at vehicle distances, the shield needs to actually work against rockets and shells to some degree, at least. One HA rocket and the turret loses about 1/3 health(?) and OSK's the engie on it. Dead Engie, turret still standing there? Of course this could be said of every shield in the game when it comes to explosives. B. If it's going to render at vehicle distances, the Sniper aiming crutch needs to go away, full frontal coverage. This still allows a sniper to shoot from the flank, which is fine. C. Turret placement is a joke. I die a disturbing number of times just toting the thing around praying it turns green, and will rarely deploy anywhere useful. ie, 20 meters from the nearest cover outdoors, or in the middle of the path/floor indoors.
A tip for a new Character: Play as HA (you get these shiny shields), DONT EVER get in an outfit... name yourself: Turret. Most Snipers will see the Colour and the "Turret"-Tag and will go elsewhere xD and people closer will mostly see the same and wonder then why the heck they got a rocket into their back xD (So the turret is used as a Name as well )
In case you didn't know yet (or anyone else who reads this thread): You can both deploy the turret and the ammo box at the same time. Deploy one or the other, wait until it's available again, select the tool and hit B to switch, deploy the second one. I tend to do it a lot: Turret in front of me, acting as shield, for suppression or to direct friendly AA fire by shooting in the general direction of new enemies, ammo in the back of me.
