Sept. 16, 2022 - PTS Update

I had some time today so I tested out the changes to the NC Vanguard JGX12 cannon. Here's my feedback:


One major change I discovered in testing that wasn't noted on the patch notes is that the NC Vanguard's JGX12 tank cannon now has extremely slow turret traverse. I think it might be a first for any weapon mounted on mobile vehicles in the game. For reference, all tank turrets (so, Magriders are excluded) turn at almost the same speed as your cursor. For most intents and purposes, turret traverse is simply a non-factor and does not properly exist in the game outside of base turrets you can find on the walls and towers of bases. Until now, I guess.

I did some testing and apparently the JXG12 now takes 8 seconds to make a complete 360 degree revolution, which is a turret traverse rate of 45 degrees per second. So just to aim at something perpendicular to you (90 degrees) takes 2 seconds, not to mention the extra half a second or so you might need to make fine adjustments to your aim before firing, especially given the gun's heavy (yet insufficient for artillery uses) projectile drop that means you need to account for drop even for targets within 50m. Magriders might be able to literally circle strafe a JXG12 Vanguard while remaining untouchable the entire time, and Javelins definitely will be able to. Prowlers doing a high speed driveby will be completely untouchable unless the JXG12 pre-aims.

Now, I'm not sure if this slow turret traverse is an intended feature or not because it was neither noted in the patch notes nor applied to the Lightning's JXG11 tank cannon (which is basically the same cannon in both role and looks). However, if it is an intended feature then its a complete gamechanger and makes the JXG12 absolutely unplayable in CQC. Which sorts of puts the JXG12 in a terrible position. It simply does not have what it takes to be primarily an artillery cannon, nor is the Vanguard really suitable for such a role, and now it also can't be used in proper close-range brawls.

So, where do things go from here? It can either be returned to normal, or actually change the gun to be useful as artillery. That means probably increasing the projectile drop even more, increasing the splash radius, increasing the AV splash damage and most importantly giving the Vanguard some form of "artillery sight" that would allow it to properly lob shells over terrain and hit things without relying on luck. But personally I don't think adding uninteractive indirect fire spam is a good idea, but maybe that's just my PTSD from facing artillery in World of Tanks. And I definitely don't think turning the brawling tank into a fire support platform is a good idea. I'd be happier if AV splash aspect was ditched entirely and instead you went full ahead with its role as a CQC derpgun rather than artillery. I'd love for the AV splash to be kept as a bit of a gimmick, but IMO this new tank cannon should be derpgun first and foremost, artillery second. If its primary role is really going to be artillery then the Vanguard needs to be given a lot more than just a big cannon (a dedicated artillery sight fire mode comes to mind).

As a side note, the changes to the JXG12 tank turret's positioning on top of the Vanguard chasis does fix most of its clipping issues with cosmetic pieces. And its good to see that the topguns no longer float. Although now the turret seems slightly too high on the chasis (the turret ring is clearly visible), whereas previously it was most certainly too low down. I think the JGX12 turret could do with being lowered just a tiny bit to cover up the exposed turret ring.

I still beleive the larion (both versions) should receive a headshot multiplier. Not a buff, but rather just something that rewards the occasional lucky shot.

Basilisk audio cuts out when switching between 1st & 3rd person camera.
Tank cannon tracers don't render properly on the 1st shot of a freshly spawned vehicle.

Yeah the slow turret turning speeds will make this unusable in any sort of close range engagement but that's ok if it's intended to be used as an actual artillery. The one thing that really irks me is the round disappearing mid air if you aim too high. I think there's a few things that can be changed to make it usable as an actual artillery:

1.) Remove the capped flight time. It has such a high amount of gravity that you wouldn't be able to fire it further than ~750m so I don't see an issue with allowing the round to soar through the air until it hits the ground unless this is a technical limitation with the game's engine.
2.) Add some sort of elevation angle meter to the HUD relative to the map floor so that when lining up long shots you can see what angle your turret is currently at. This would be very useful information for both the driver and possible others if they are running an artillery squad.
3.) Maybe allow the third person camera to be detached from the turret so that you can move the turret up and down without the camera sinking down to the ground behind the tank, you could allow the vanguard to "deploy" so it's in an artillery mode which enables this.
4.) Since the JGX is seemingly geared towards long range engagement, it should be rewarding to those who work together and take the time to land the shots. It's not easy hitting things at a distance with it first try, there is trial and error. By the time you are dialed in, the vehicles or whatever you're trying to take out will most likely move. So it would be interesting to make the round do more damage or maybe even increase the splash damage range (or both) the longer the round has been in the air for. This would entice people to actually use it for long range instead of trying to roll up close to an enemy vehicle vehicle to cheese it.

I know the new cannons are still in testing but these were just some things I had come up with while testing the JGX. Thank you for attending my TedTalk.