Is spitfire useless?

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by Codex561, Jan 9, 2016.

  1. Codex561

    Let me pre-phase this by saying that I am now whining about anything being underpowered.

    I usually play as medic or light assault and happen to occasionally stumble upon a spitfire auto-turret. However, I don't really give a damn about it. It's damage is ignorable. I can WALK away from it without taking more than one shot. If it annoys me I can kill it WHILE fighting someone else.

    What surprises me is not how ineffective they are, but how much I see them. It's almost as if they are used for warnings and not as actual weapons.

    Ridiculous. Even though buffing it would directly hurt my playstyle... buff maybe? Just a bit? Make it useful? A bit? Please? Cause the status quo is sad...
    • Up x 2
  2. Eternaloptimist

    I think they are more useful as an early warning system than for the damage they do but as I don't use them myself that is about all I have to offer on the subject.
    • Up x 1
  3. FieldMarshall

    Well its certainly not very good. I do however use my spitfire all the time.

    Why? Because i already auraxed the turrets and rarely use them.
    So placing a spitfire and forgetting about it as i go is a nice way to (rarely) get free extra kills.
    Though i do wish it had faster tracking and better range. And was reduced in size.

    I also wish there were ES variants. For example:
    NC gets a shotgun turret (ofcourse) with less range and more damage.
    VS one can be placed on walls, and charges up over time when not in use, causing the first shot to deal a plasma damage over time effect.
    TR gets a a turret that spins up dealing less damage at first but most damage over time. It can also fire the furthest but has less accuracy at range.
    All three should be tweaked to perform roughly like the current spitfire. Its just to add some faction flavor not to make it OP.
    • Up x 3
  4. Azawarau

    It depends on placement

    For me its an easy way to get kills on C 4 fairies and non heavy assaults in one on one encounters

    Perfect when someone enters a room firing at you and dont realize its there because youre acting as a decoy with poke play

    Or just out in the field with the team getting quick kills
  5. TheFlamingLemon


    They are very annoying to a C4 fairy. If you put it by the ammo/repair sunderers in armor zergs you'll probably get a couple of fairies.
  6. HAXTIME

    In huge battles when I found a good spot for my Prowler to Deploy, I always back myself with a Spitfire. It has saved my life from fairies countless times, and it remains a very useful tool in my arsenal for this reason.

    It is effectively a counter against fairies in most situations.
  7. JobiWan

    I use mine as a decoy all the time to draw fire. I have a decent number of kills with it but it's far better to assist you than to just plonk it down and hope for kills.

    Just the other night I was doing my duty as an Archer engi and shooting at some NC Raven-spamming maxes and a sneaky infil tried to get the drop on me but my Spitfire warned me, actually it even killed him.
  8. eldarfalcongravtank

    - it has pitiful damage (no offensive power)
    - it has pitiful armor (no defensive power)
    - it can only be supplied once (not really that universal and useful)
    - it has a large hitbox
    - it bleeps and is noticed right away
    - it attacks infantry (no AV/AA)

    + the ONLY thing it is really good at is to warn you of enemy presence (within 50 meters) right away. you dont even have to look at the minimap like with the Motion Sensor/Spotter, it will alert you instantly with its bleeping
    • Up x 4
  9. Reclaimer77

    The Spitfire is fine. Do we really want them to become killing machines? This is a PVP game, not PVE....
  10. Goretzu

    Essentially they aren't very good, they are just the best option if you're not going to be actively AI or AV turreting or if you're Auxing it/doing directives.

    Really (as many have said right from the beginning) it could do with a buff, probably ONE of the below:

    1) a bit tougher to kill - it really is easy to kill
    2) a bit more DPS - its DPS is very low (especially with its low defence, big size and lock-on issues)
    3) better lock-on - this compounds its low DPS, because it can take forever to lock-on and begin to burst-fire and often just doesn't fire.
    4) smaller size - this would at least allow it to be hidden.




    Really I'd like to see some sort of specialisation for the Engi turret where it (or another turret type) can be properly buffed into a decent option, even if it had to relace the primary weapon or something, but then I'd love all sort of engineering options.
  11. Haquim

    I wouldn't say it is useless, just far too frgile imo, and there is really no rational reason why I have to resupply at a terminal to place a second one.

    The AI and AV MANA turrets are a lot more useful usually and don't require this.

    EDIT: To place a second one after the first one got destroyed of course. Just to clarify
  12. AxiomInsanity87

    If everyone could be as honest as the op with their whining, there would be far lower levels of people berating op/up calls.

    If you're going to whine or/and have an agenda, be honest about it lol.
    • Up x 1
  13. Demigan

    They are not useless, they are pretty damn powerful but have one huge design flaw: You can only carry one before needing to resupply. If that flaw wasn't there you could make better use of them.

    Spitfires are support weapons, and nothing but support weapons. Like a Motion spotter or any other support weapon you or an ally needs to be nearby it to make use of it. The other turrets are even worse: They anchor you in place, remove your ability to look around you 360 degrees and remove your ability to use other weapons.

    Spitfires can be used as sentries to warn you of an incoming flank attack.
    If you really defeated a Spitfire+engineer, than that engineer was bad. A Carbine simply is a powerful weapon, the Spitfire adds 10 to 30% guaranteed extra damage. If the enemy attacks the Spitfire you need to deal 2000 damage and are unlikely to be able to kill the engineer as well. If the Engineer is any good he'll be about equal to most classes, and the Spitfire will finish you off if you kill off the engineer after which you don't have enough to one-clip the Spitfire.

    All in all, the Spitfire is a pretty powerful tool to have next to you, but like any tool you shouldn't expect it to work without you or an ally nearby. If it ever gets a cooldown or the ability to carry multiple at a time I expect the Spitfire to be recognized for the power it actually has. Especially in teamwork scenario's and after the Heavy overshield nerf you will be able to use 3 or more engineers and place Spitfires, replacing destroyed turrets when necessary. Engineer groups would likely become the strongest class in the game because of the extra firepower, health and better situational awareness.
    • Up x 2
  14. Taemien

    Spitfire has a faster TTK than a Gatekeeper. I'd say its pretty useful.

    You do have to be squirrely about using them. You only get out of them what you put into them. What many try to do is setup the turret and leave it unattended, thinking they'll get a kill or two. That's using it improperly.

    My favorite is to place it so that it beeps just as someone enters a room. The beep draws their attention up and to the turret. Then they step forward ADS'ing to take it out. Right onto a mine.

    You can also use it as an early warning device. But when I use it in close proximity to myself. I set it up so it has full access to the entranceway (but hidden so it can't be shot from outside). And then utilize it as extra DPS. It only has a TTK of 1.35. But add that to the engineers's and you effectively can turn 2 engies into 3. Mathematically speaking, the spitfire makes the Light Assault look like garbage. But that's mathematically.. not realistically. Either way, the DPS increase can be significant.

    If you intend to stay in one spot, I recommend a MANA AI turret. If you're moving back and forth from point to point or gen. Use a spitfire with mines. Be ready to resupply it though. That's its biggest flaw. You can only carry one.
  15. The Shermanator

    They sucked in Planetside 1, too. The difference was that in that game, they were much smaller and you could place several of them. They kept them from being spammed by enforcing a minimum distance between each one.
    • Up x 1
  16. Liewec123

    spitfires are BRILLIANT when used right, awful when used wrong.
    the big buff that needs to happen though, let us replace it (on a cooldown) without the need to walk slowly back to a terminal.
    just put it on a 40 second cooldown to simulate the dull walk back to a terminal while letting the player continue having fun :p
    • Up x 2
  17. OldMaster80

    The Spitfire would be perfect if it had a pretty long cooldown like 25-30 seconds. There is a long thread about it and RadarX is perfectly aware that there is a strong demand for this change. Unfortunately he clearly stated this is not even in the scope. If it will ever be changed then it's going to take as much as innate safe drop for the Valkyrie.
    • Up x 2
  18. Diilicious


    yep
    • Up x 1
  19. Scr1nRusher


    Exactly.........


    So many downsides hurting it.
  20. Scr1nRusher



    You legitimately believe what you are saying.


    This is hilarious at this point.