[Suggestion] Magrider needs some attention

The one thing for the Magrider that still doesn't make sense is the fact that the main guns muzzle velocity is lower than all the other ES equivalents.

The Magrider's main cannon didn't receive no bullet drop so the lower muzzle velocity shouldn't have been added on. Plus since the gun itself is lower down it makes it so the magrider has a very limited ability to hit targets either using cover or if the magrider is behind cover.

In a lot of cases the other MBTs main cannon AND secondary can reach over tank high hills giving them an edge in tank vs tank combat as the magrider has to always expose its body to fire its main gun when the others could just expose their turret. Now some would argue the lightning has the same issue but the lightning isnt twice as high and floating half a meter off the ground.

The example above is one of the reason the Magrider has to ALWAYS have a secondary gunner.

The Magrider design itself is fully flawed and over a year ago the devs even came out and said they ****** up but they aren't sure what to do as the Magrider "was still performing competively" even though at the time its was behind the other 3 tanks in everything.

The Mag is meant to use its superior strafing ability to avoid fire and always stay on its target but there is a huge flaw in that. Most continents are riddled with narrow road ways and canyons making it useless unless Magriders move in 1 at a time. In larger than groups of 2 Magriders become their own worst enemy. Also the combined arms nature of the game make it so if a Mag tries to flank another tank then all they do is expose their back to the infantry/other tanks behind them.

The Vanguard is built for face to face confrontation and us such no tank can take them one on one or head on.

The Prowler is built for extreme speed and DPS making so unless you fire first with everything you have you are most likely going to lose unless you back armor hit them. Even then if they are close enough and have a Vulcan you lose regardless.

The original Magrider was half the width of the Prowler and now they nearly share the same size. It was also meant to use its levitation to cross water which is useless now as there are no bodies of water that restrict army movement.

By design the Magrider should at least stomp the Lightning as the Vanguard and Prowler since both of them can destroy one only 3 salvos of AP on front armor before they can put up much of a fight. The Magrider though it takes 4 shots on front and the Lighting can siomply rush the Mag, go under him and then hit his back armor.

The truly sad thing is these days is VS are willing to pull Lightnings over Magriders as its easier to utilize its speed and muzzle velocity to hit targets.

If the Magrider's main cannons aren't going to receive our only empire benefit then they might as well have their muzzle velocity increased to being the highest since at the moment the main cannons have zero benefit over there ES equives.

As a side note, I feel the Vanguard as a whole is in a good spot but there are a few things that need to be adjusted with its shield ability as currently it itself out performs the other ES MBT abilities if used correctly. First let me state that the shield ability is imbalanced in itself. It gives tremendous boons for no downsides while the others either have a downside or give very little in return.

The Vanguard's shield needs to NO longer use the vehicles armor when calculating damage received. Higby himself said it was intended to take 1-2 AP rounds from another MBT but as it stands it takes around 4-5 since the damage the shield takes is lowered by the Vanguards armor values which doesn't make sense as an external shield should not be affect by armor it surrounds.

It should also disable if an occupant leaves the vehicle as its extremely unfair that the driver can activate the shield, even exit the vehicle, have the shield still running and give him the opportunity to repair the tank. This makes the hardest to kill ground vehicle nearly invincible against groups of 12 or less players since they just don't have the opportunities to take it down.

The VGS doesn't even last 2 main gun shots, not if you have a secondary gunner or another tank firing. Post-nerf it only lasts 6 seconds, and if you pop it under fire when you actually need it, it will never last that full 6 seconds because its health pool is too small. Getting out and repairing while shield is up is basically the only thing it is good for, that way you can get back in once the shield goes down and have like 20% more HP to engage with than you had before. If this weren't a viable tactic and you had to stay in the tank during the shield period, you probably wouldn't win too frequently against people who were firing back at you. That's sort of an unspoken NC faction trait. NC have the best weapons when the person you are firing on isn't firing back. As soon as the enemy opens fire on an NC, the downsides of NC gear explode and become very apparent as a balancing mechanic.

Except the stats show that magrider main cannons are pretty much performing on-par or better than vanguard primaries in terms of vehicle kills. Imagine one less shot to kill, which would practically put the cannons on par with those of the vanguard's. One less shot means ~3-4s less TTK, which is really not "minimal" at all and would probably end most MBT fights in the magriders' favor.
You can put it into another perspective; if the magrider were really visibly underperforming overall as a tank, Higby and co. would have addressed it early on.

The magrider's mobility is something a lot of VS players take for granted, e.g.:"no one's going to miss you at 100-200m" or "even if you get to a flanking position, you'll get C4'd," while no one's ever tried to drive a magrider with only the W and S keys, or ignored any mountainous shortcuts or flank routes that only the magrider and harasser could climb. Being able to run and gun is a big deal.

TL;DR: One less shot to kill would kill the game for vehicles on TR and NC's end when the magrider is already a solid tank.

The magrider is a good tank. Using it's mobility to dodge shots makes it more than a match for the vanguard.

And to anyone still complaining about the vanguard shield. It is now inferior to the anchor mode. No need to complain about it anymore.

Haha sure!

All VS are MLG ready that plays PS2 16h/day since 20 years (yes even before PS1 was in developpement) now and can lock a continent alone in 30 second only using the mouse.

That explain why even any single VS weapons is way worse than TR/NC ones, they still won more alerts and leading on most servers.

Last time i killed 2 prowlers following me under a bridge, i received a rage tell and instantly replied to them, that they should be ashamed to have lost against the weakest tank in the game in a 2v1.

Whats my point here? Learn how to use the strengths of the magrider

The main problem I have with the Magrider is how the Magburner works.
After two years playing with this vehicle, I can't stop thinking that something is missing.
When you need to retreat, you are forced to turn back and boost, so you expose your critical spot or side and your are unable to shoot back with your main cannon.
(( Does the shield of the Vanguard gives the same malus? I doubt it does. ))

This is why many prefers the fire-suppression instead.

The Mag does not need more firepower, but it needs to be even harder to catch.
However, after two years I believe that this will never change.
In my humble opinion, they have failed to design a true ability for this awesome tank.
(( Someway, I share the same opinion on the lockdown of the Prowler. ))

That doesn't even make sense given the vanguard cannon is statistically superior in just about every way. Higby isn't on the team anymore and before he left he did discuss a velocity buff in addition to omniburner. It wouldn't kill the game, it is called balance.

They aren't way were they are just mediocre outside of orion. Again it is because VS is on average better and we don't TK constantly like NC.

Duno what you're smokin, but you looks high dude.

The competition YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Tanks are always a sitting duck for air, and if you're in cover you're a sitting duck for c4 that's just how it is for all tanks, (vanguards just get a second chance with their shield). Hunting infantry isn't what I use my tanks for, however never had the problem with hitting them with AP guns.
The saron while has little splash and lower dps at range its more reliable than others where distances will be changing against moving targets meaning you have to adjust aim constantly.

In any case who pulls a tank to kill infantry anyways?
HE scrubs that's who

Lol thanks, I didnt notice that XD I upgraded my tank when it was a 8s shield with 3k HP, still had no impact on my tanking though lol

Touch my prowlers lock-down and I'll cut you...
The shield of the vanguard is effected by armor so if he turns around his shields gonna be gone in a single volley and the vanguard is slow as balls and turns like a 2 legged cow. I will die if it trys to run, same with all the other tanks.
However, the magrider is the only tank (imo) that can successfully use the maneuvering chasis, so it can move faster in reverse than the others, move side to side, keep the front armor towards the enemy and shoot reliably. Turns pretty damn fast as well, so it can burn and turn right back around.

However depending on the terrain running wont be a good option anyways and will just get your tank killed

It's not more reliable.

What?? But why?

Vanguard with Racer 1/2 FTW

Only thing I ever pulled Lightning for on my NC was AI

I only ever turn my side to enemy tanks (which is reinforced no less).

I might give them a tiny peek of my rear, but it's VERY brief, and I'm moving at high speed so I've never been hit in the rear doing it.

Because somehow the magrider's mobility and ability to climb over impassable terrain for flank spots doesn't count towards its ability to kill at all?
"Statistically superior," weapon-wise, doesn't mean anything until you factor in all the variables. I could deploy a maxed-out AP prowler or a dual-mercy lockdown MAX, and that could make their respective weapons "statistically superior" to their VS counterparts in every way, and yet they're easily C4'd, shot in the back, or bombed by air. Sure, the vanguard's gun is statistically superior if it's a MBT face-to-face slugout match, but you don't see magriders and prowlers trying to duke it out against a vanguard in their best game, or you'd probably see a much higher VKPH for vanguards in stat-trackers.

What proof do you have that the magrider is underperforming besides "the magrider's main guns have lower stats and it goes 5-10 kph slower, vanguard's guns are better, etc." while stat-tracking sites say it's performing just fine, or sometimes even better than the "statistically superior" vanguard cannons? Everything you say is subjective unless you provide proof or it's been proven. How do you know that your suggestions would change the game for the better in the long run?

And I'd be pretty skeptical about balance changes and suggestions coming from the old SOE team considering their track record. You're talking about the "balance" that left prowlers with near-hitscan main cannon velocities, liberators that were more annoying to take down than galaxies, VS armies rampant with ZOE MAXes (and now rarely touch ZOE at all), and the list goes on—not to mention their general habit of implementing 20 different buffs or nerfs at once, instead of slowly adding a change or two at a time until things were balanced.