Liberators are the new ESF

Maybe people who run secondaries other than extended afterburners, but I have found the changes let me dance around libs far better now than I ever could before. That 40% reduced time interval from no fuel to full makes a huge difference.

yeah but the vthrust activation made it a lot harder

One shot win vs anyone? I'm a pilot, so I can't 'one shot' ANYTHING in the game.

If you're referring to my gunners using the Dalton, it will 'one shot' an ESF ONLY. You can't even 'one shot' infantry with them anymore. Those guys deserve 1 shot kills with the Dalton against ESF's because it is the single hardest thing to do in the entire game.

If you are in an ESF and you get hit by a Dalton, it's your own fault and you deserve to die. Good ESF pilots don't get close enough to get Dalton'd on the regular (sure it happens sometimes) but good pilots wreck Libs no matter how good they are.

I'm a drama queen? Because I post logic backed up with facts and in game experience?

You should stop posting now.

Great pilots always tear us up, good pilots usually kill us, and it's a very steep slope after that.

For example, MountainDrew shreds Liberators apart on a regular basis and we hardly EVER hit him because he's just that good at not playing to the Liberators strengths.

Meh, maybe I just find the safe way of fighting libs the boring way. Up close and personal is both far more fun and far more challenging

Anyways, the only Liberators I do have trouble with are Shredder Libs, but that doesn't mean a good Dalton gunner won't get me in their sights on occasion. Your various gunners have gotten me a few times, as has T0rin, Phunksauce, Goodgood, etc

Like I said, if you are running something other than Extended Afterburners then sure, but the increased fuel regeneration is a huge benefit. I have been in some terrible scenarios versus multiple good liberator crews and the ability to get even a brief afterburner-powered dodge or reverse is what saved me. I would die in those same scenarios with how afterburners were before.

true, I still think the penalty needs to be removed if ab pods are equipped

I would have to agree. comp armor should be the same on a gal as a lib. The biggest problem i have is one guy (usually scythe) at extreme range just hovering and shooting, where walkers have to much spread. A good lib crew vs a good Gal crew is a decent fight, usually based on first hit. However its easier to find 3 guy's that are good together then 5 (and lets face it, one gun is almost always unused).

How and why are you determining roles? Both a MBT and lightning can be AA, AI, AV. The MBT is the heavy version with 2 gunners and the lightning is the solo version. A lib and ESF can both fill all 3 roles the same way. They are effectivly the same thing as ESF/libs on the ground (with 1 less seat on the MBT).

I really have to disagree with this. You can build an AA Galaxy by going with 2 walkers and 2 drakes, and it will tear up good lib crews, it's just not popular because it's the default weapon. I agree that IF libs are meant to be A2G units, then they should be countered by A2A units, however the loadout defines that, the same way ESF loadout defines their type.

For instance, i run a zepher/bulldog lib. Against any A2A style ESF (Fuel tanks or coyotes), i run, as i have no dedicated A2A weapons. However if i am running a shredder/walker combo, i tend to do very well against an A2A style ESF. If i'm running zepher/bulldogs against a rotary/missile pod, the ESF still has the advantage, though i can escape the majority of the time. If I'm running shredder/walker and the ESF is running Rotary/Missiles then it's typically an easy fight.

I dont think this is a game where you can say a specific vehicle is dedicated to a single role. It undermines the idea of load outs.I think people have a misconception. They either "Think" a vehicle should fill a certain role, or they perceive the most common load out as it's role. I think it boils down to "should they offer the weapon and let the player figure out what it is best at" or "balance all the weapons by the indentended roles". Right now its the first one, if you do the later, then the game would have to be dramaticly re-balanced.

I defently see your point here. I don't think i agree 100%. I think your ignoring a big part of the team work factor. 2 A2A ESf's working together kill a shredder/dalton lib quite well. 3 ESF's that are simply in the same air space tend to get slaughtered by a compatent shredder crew. I don't understand the idea that every plane in the air is an island and should not have to work together with anyone else to do its job. At least you understand that their should be some team work in the air. I think the team work should not be limited to ESF's supporting libs, but ESF's supporting other ESF's.

Case and point, My outfit runs a zepher/bulldog lib with 2 A2A reavers under ideal situations. Typically they do exactly what your describing. We also run 1 A2A reaver and 1 A2G reaver with a shredder/bulldog lib. They both tend to have the same effect against air. The first tends to be way better at AI the second better at AV. Both setups work together for air superiority, it's just that they have differn't roles.