Prowler's unique utility - Only one with a downside?

Lately, I've been getting more into tank fighting. Tanks vs tanks, tanks vs infantry, even tanks vs air. Most my fights have been against Vanu, and one thing I have noticed about the Magrider is that it is very hard to hit. Now, I'd say both the Prowler and the Magrider play their parts best at range. But still, I find it quite difficult to defeat a Magrider in most scenarios. If there's a big zerg or a smaller fight with only a few, perhaps only one or two Magriders, it doesn't really matter, I try to do it the same way most times; I find a spot, preferably somewhat elevated, with a ridge or a cliff nearby where I can take cover if I should take enough hits that I need to get out and repair. Once I've found a good spot, I go into deploy mode and start firing - and lately, it always turns out the same - the Magriders strafe and I manage to land, say... half my shots. But as I am in anchored mode because I want that fast reload speed and improved shell drop and recoil, I am just a big *** target, easy as hell to hit. While I've taken enough hits, I exit the Prowler to repair, and at the same time, the guy I was exchanging shots with - can continue to shoot at other Prowlers or infantry, however the battle is being fought. And while I've just repaired my tank to full, he never really took any dangerous amounts of damage, meaning he can just get back to shooting at me while I miss many of my shots, and the process repeats itself.

TR has the anchored mode, Vanu has the Magburner and the Vanguard has the shield. The Vanguard shield I'd use as a safety measure, a last resort if I am being showered with shots or if I am almost down to the last, lethal shot. The Magburner obviously works similarly, giving you the option to quickly get out of enemy line of sight in order to retreat and repair. So out of the three, the TR's anchored mode is obviously the most offensive (as in most "forward, attacking").

I don't say "My faction is obviously underpowered, nerf the others of buff ours!" or anything. I'm just stating that I have a hard time using our faction specific tank utility effectively, and most of the time I just end up dead. No, instead of calling out the classic nerf whine, I'd like for you to discuss tactics to use with the Prowler, tactics that actually work and give TR tankers a chance to survive against the enemy, and especially the ever dodging Magriders. Hopefully there can be some useful information provided, for everyone who wants to improve their TR tanking skills.

Its the only offensive one therefore it has to have a downside!

The Problem with the Magburner:
It pushes you forward
you can use it to get closer to an enemy, but as you said, at range Mags are harder to hit
or you can turn around and boost away die instantly because you turned your backarmor to the enemy.

Pretty much this. Vanguard Shield is the only one without an ability related downside. The only disadvantage is that it is mounted on the Vanguard, which sucks at everything that isn't AV.

Are you saying immobility is an advantage? If so, I would love to hear how you use the anchored mode effectively without being an easier target than a moving Prowler. Again, I only said that I have trouble using it in a good way. There might still be methods that work perfectly fine, and that's what I asked you to share.

I suggest you create a Vanu toon and take out a Magburner and see how well it works for you. You'll be amazed at how hard it is to hit anything with slow projectile speed and ungodly drop. The prowler is excellent becuase of its hgh projectile speed and low bullet drop AND the fact you get 2 shots means the first can be range finding shot to help you get dialed in. The Vanny only gets one shot, so misses hurt. The NC and Vanu tanks cannot outgun a prowler (especially in lock down) so only the IWIN shield and Magburner offer some help. The best use for the mobile artillery (prowler) is long range engagements, but...... I have been amazed at how hard they are to follow due to their high speed while chasing after them, they are almost on a par with the lightning and although the Magburner may offre some instantaneous burst of speed you will find driving them is like wading thru molasses.
Try the others before complaining.
And we all know moving tanks cant hit anything in general, so your point?

I know your post is about the deploy mode, but there is another HUGE advantage that the Prowler has that not many TR would realize, unless they have spent any significant time in the other's MBTs: maneuverability.

The vanguard, which I have a TON of time in, is a rhino. It's slow and fat. The magrider, while having fantastic strafe, is slow and requires much more work on the driver's part to maneuver. They're also limited by their turret. The prowler can literally run circles around both the vanguard and the magrider, which is a great strength 1v1.

Using deploy mode to face a magrider is quite simply the wrong move. You want to get up close and personal when facing a magrider 1v1. Even in a vanguard I teach all new tankers to take away the magriders ability by getting as close as possible. At close range their strafe is ineffective, and you're much less likely to shoot UNDER them (even when getting hit markers, it could be just splash as you hit the ground under).

Deploy mode is best used to make the prowler artillery. That fast fire is amazing. Use it with other prowlers to create a firing line on approaching enemies.

What I said might sound like complaining, but I suggest you read the OP again. I never said the other two utilities are better or worse, I leave that entirely out of what I want to say. I am no experienced tanker, and the anchored mode could very well be the best one there is, but that's not what I want this discussion to be about. If you think the Prowler is good I would love to hear how you suggest using it effectively. I clearly stated that in the first post.

I disagree totally!

I change the course of entire battles using the Lockdown on my AP prowler. I can destroy sunderers at render distance and they are impossible for the engineers to repair faster than I do damage. I can get in and out of positions to do this quickly. I shut down offensives even in 48/48 battles almost on my own.

I am a much more effective anti infantry weapon and as long as you do not drive right upto a 2/2 AP Vanguard you win nearly all tank battles.

The Prowler is the most offensive tank in the game. Yes Vanguard has the noob shield, but it sucks other than the shield. The Prowler is out there all day reaping destruction.

The best tank ability is the best tank ability, downside or no.

Prowler's ability works whether or not my opponents are awake. So when I catch them offguard, I get to use my ability the entire time, and because of the ability the battle ends dramatically faster than it would without it.

Whereas my Vanguard shield is only useful when my opponents are actively attacking me. While it's mostly reactionary in that regard, it's also powerful enough to frequently win the fight in the moment that you most need an "I win" button.

My Mag's agility and magburners are somewhat useful for both types of situations (and also for escaping) but it's a much lower magnitude overall effect.

Personally my Prowler stats are substantially higher than my stats with the other two tanks (which are pretty even), and it's largely because of Anchor.

It even sucks at anti vehicle if you don't use shield. And even then a lock down prowler trumps it.

Shield is a short term band aid. At the distance the shield is used it might have saved the tank for a few seconds but normally it is over extended and destroyed seconds later.

Lock-down AP Prowlers are absolutely evil.
The other day a Prowler on top of Rust Mesa wiped out every one of our sunderers at Zurvan Amp.
There was nothing I could do about it, one by one I watched our spawn points fade away...

You could have pulled a Liberator :|

In all seriousness, A prowler (especially an AP prowler) can do massive damage with a competent driver, you just have to understand its designed to be artillery and play it as artillery if your using anchor. Its much more situational than the other two tanks but when its in that situation it is amazing.

That seems to be the answer to most problems on Auraxis these days.

There was a tank camping my spawn: could've pulled a Liberator

There was an Infiltrator sniping me on the hill so I couldn't get to point A: could've pulled a Liberator.

I was late to infantry basic training and my Harasser was out of gas and I.... : could've pulled a Liberator.

It's similar to the game's launch when Liberators destroyed everything and were spammed constantly.

On a side note Anchormode is the best ability when your enemy isn't paying attention to you, but is the worst ability when the enemy knows you're there. It's not good for much outside of artillery, so if you like to play on the front lines more you'll probably get far more use out of fire suppression.

Well I would have said lolpod ESF but not everyone has lolpods. However, anyone can use a Lib to destroy a stationary tank lol.

The Prowler's ability lasts all the time. That is why it has a downside.

Have you honestly not even considered this? Really?

ZOE lasted all the time as well

Anchored Mode requires a good deal of foresight and positional awareness to use well. Despite what you will likely hear, the ability actually meshes really well with the high top speed of a Prowler, as it lets you reach good positions quicker. When you see an enemy armor column, flank it so that you're attacking from the side, if not the rear. Paired with a Halberd gunner, you can unload on targets and drop them extremely quickly before they can react. Call a target with your gunner before engaging, then open fire together. I've dropped dozens of vehicles from an armor zerg this way.

If you get the jump on a tank in this way, don't stop firing. You will out-DPS even through the Vanguard shield if you've gotten the drop on someone. As to hitting Mags, realize that they're not dodging your shells mid-flight, rather they are using their strafe to throw off your aim/lead. Try to instead predict how they are going to move, and you'll likely start nailing them pretty easily. Many Magrider drivers will strafe back and forth pretty regularly, so once you have the pattern down you can take them down. Finally, fire as fast as possible, even at range. The whole point of Anchored Mode is to maximize the damage you can push downrange, so always take advantage of that.

However, Anchored Mode is a pretty poor choice on the front lines. Any place where you will have infantry in close proximity is a poor place to run the ability, basically. You are too likely to take additional damage from multiple angles, and will be unable to respond in time when that happens. Keep with Fire Suppression if you want a CQC fighting tank instead.

And a final note, max out Anchored Mode if you plan on using it. It makes a world of a difference when you get that final rank, particularly if you have reload speed of your main gun certed as well.

Ever been on the wrong end of an anti-armor Prowler in anchor mode? If one of those gets the drop on you, or if you focus solely on it, your tank is going to die.

Ever seen what a group of HE Prowlers does to a base? A well-coordinated Prowler team can out-shell a liberator wing, done properly. I still have nightmares about fights at Indar Excavations...

My point is, anchor mode is a wonderful ability, so long as it's used appropriately. In a one-on-one tank duel, it's a mistake to use; your higher top speed will serve you better. But if your opponent can't attack you immediately, or if you've got someone to cover your rear, it's absolutely devastating.

Shh. You aren't supposed to point that out!