[Suggestion] Prowler stabilizers

Ok, tell you what.

When anchored (assuming fully certed reload), the prowler goes from having a firing cycle of ~3.1-3.2 seconds (base is 3.5) to having around 2.1 seconds.
It doesn't improve the cycle time by 48%, as the 2x0.5 second firing delay can't be reduced by reload certs, or anchor.
So in reality the DPS is improved by about 30-35%.

Worth keeping in mind.

I just tested it.

Without Anchor mode it took ~29s to shoot 10x2 (= 20) shots with Prowler.
With Anchor mode it took ~18s to shoot 10x2 (= 20) shots with Prowler.
With Anchor mode Prowler does 25 000 direct damage and 10 000 indirect damage in 18s.
Thats actually 61% increase. Lets say I made huuge mistake when tested it fast so lets round it to 50%. Thats ALOT. In top of that your bullet velocity is increased from 225m/s to ~290m/s.
Correct me if the weapons damage in tooltip is for both shots and not for one shot, but I doubt so.

It took ~30s to shoot 10 shots with Magrider.
Magrider does 18 650 direct damage and 5000 indirect damage in 30s.
So even without Anchor mode Prowler has higher DPS than Magrider. With Anchor mode it just face roll everything.

Too lazy to test Vanguard.


So Prowler has superior DPS and with Anchor mode its even more superior.

I never denied it, although that's where TTK comparisons come into play.
A normal prowler facing off against a normal Vanguard, the race will generally come down to if one side uses reinforced armour or not, and who shot first. Also, if any shots are missed. Point is, they're very close.

With anchor, compared to shield, as long as the VG isn't caught completely unaware, the TTK will favour the VG, if only just.

At the end of the day, those two do in fact balance one another quite nicely.
The problem arises when one has a serious flaw, and the other does not. Which doesn't even touch upon the 3rd MBT that gets the benefit of neither durability nor damage.

That's when the question becomes very complex.

Yeah, but the Prowler is stuck in one place that whole time, while the Magrider can strafe and shoot off in another direction if it needs to. Raw DPS doesn't say much about actual in-game effectiveness.

I think tank duels would take more skill and be more fun if all tanks got turret stabilization. As it stands now you race up to another tank and then stay perfectly still as you slug it out, or at most move a few feet forward and backward between shots.

Some people are of the opinion that unstabilized turrets take more skill, I don't agree with that. No amount of skill can correct the totally random turret movements that little bumps in the terrain cause, so your only option is to eliminate that uncertainty by standing still. Even on a perfectly flat surface the tank's acceleration throws off the aim during gear changes and transitions between forward and backward movement.

Besides that these unmoving slugging matches just aren't much fun. There's no maneuvering or positioning involved, the only deciding factors are tank abilities and the element of surprise. It's nothing like the tank battles in PS1 where both parties were constantly vying for position and dodging shots all while trying to keep a stable platform for their gunners. That was fun and engaging.

Obviously a change like this would require another balance pass over the MBTs, but I think the tank game as a whole would be much better off for it.

The Prowler has superior DPS even when mobile. So there's that.