This is a miniature guide to combating me, and others, since I'm fed up of upsetting people who don't realise that a burster isn't an instant kill switch or an auto win against air. The Story So last night I turned up to a fight of about five on five, to defend a minor outpost in friendly territory. We come in a Sunderer, and go into a fairly even infantry battle against the enemy. The cap point swaps sides a few times, but eventually the enemy kill our Sunderer before we kill theirs, and effectively win, with the cap about to fill up. Dang.So I decide it's about time I get back in the air and help my faction the way I don't suck at. I turn up in my Scythe, loaded with PPA and A2AM (for defence and deterrent, I don't hunt with them, honest. >_> ). The Sunderer had already move on, and only two guys remained to get the cap points/ensure the cap. I gun them down easy, but not close together enough to allow me time to stop the cap, and they get the territory. I keep them pinned whilst I wait on someone to turn up and cap the control point back, which they do soon enough and then leaving. The two guys continue to spawn many times and try many times to run or sneak over to get the control point back, using various methods trying to shoot me down. Small arms, AT rockets, trying to spawn a vehicle (they don't survive at the terminal long enough), mana turrets (lul whut?), shooting from the newly roofed spawn room (doesn't work, still easy for an ESF), and so on.EVENTUALLY, they have the bright idea to try a burster max. Unfortunately for them, they do it individually one at a time, and badly. The Actual Tip If you spawn a single burster MAX and walk out alone into the open, in a battle ground without any other dangers or distractions to aircraft, any good ESF pilot can and likely will kill you. With direct hits, the PPA, Banshee, or any default air cannon will kill a MAX before his single burster can kill the ESF. So whilst the idea of an ESF slowly swooping in and tanking the damage might well shock the MAX user, provided the ESF has steady aim, it will win every time. I end up doing this almost every time I play.Thus...Do not stand in the open and make yourself a target.Use the doors, windows, corners, roofing, and shields.Make use of the charge ability on 'F' for quick evasion.An ESF is either looking at you, or cannot hurt you. A good pilot can turn quickly, but is vulnerable to others if forced to hover.If in a communicative squad, team up with either another MAX, or an Engi and play it safe. A smart MAX is a tough weed to pull for even the best pilots. Had the two guys I was fighting both came out at once and picked their angles well, I would have had next to zero chance of harming either. But instead they came out one at a time, stood in the open, died, and *****ed at me and the game for it, yelling about how AA is ********. It's not my fault, it's not the games, and it's not the Bursters' balance either. They died because they didn't play well. And with a game as complex and layered as Planetside, it's far too easy to blame things on perceived balance issues. Single burster maxes can be virtually as effective as double burster maxes in keeping flyers at bay, but for all of the simplicity of using a burster, they still need a bit of brains to position and use effectively. Despite the easy certs, it honestly feels bad to kill the same guys like this again and again. So at the risk of making my job harder, I would rather face good burster users than bad ones, because I'm sure nothing stings more than seemingly getting taken out effortlessly by your intended target, and with how often I'm killing foolish single burster MAXes the thrill no longer outweighs the guilt.
