SKYGUARD??

Hi...i just invested in the skyguard thinking maybe it would do what its name suggests....ooooohhhhh noo.

Please why is it so bad?? you have to lead the target soo much cxoz the bullets r slow...i was saving up all my 1-15 lvl certs and i have wasted 875 on this crap....why is a dedicated AA machine less effective at killing aircraft when every single thing in the game can kill a max in 2 secoinds...
i feel like i wasted my certs/time.. should have bought AP for lightning instead.. oh well!!!

It's almost as if you need a little bit of skill to use a weapon. Shocker, I know!

The skill ceiling and skill floor are almost equal. Leading a target quickly yields no better amount of hits due to the large COF, the distance aircraft are at and the flak detonation range.

I'm trying since forever to change how flak and lock-ons work. Most aircraft players will tell you how flak and lock ons are everywhere and will lock them out. Any new AA user (confirmation bias pilots aside) will complain same as you: Where's the power? This is simply not a good G2A system for both aircraft and the AA users, so it needs changing, badly.

Flak(Ranger,Skyguard,Burster) needs buffs, G2A lock ons need to be dodgable.......


ESF's need Mass Drivers that are geared to take out Heavy Aircraft( Liberators & Galaxies) along with some general Nosegun(non ES AI noseguns) buffs, along with Locust Cannons as a Area pelter wingmount(think how the Tankbuster has a pellet spread).

Liberators need splash back on there Belly guns & The Vector needs a ROF buff to 450, and the Spur needs a minimal damage buff to 200 damage.

Galaxies need to get the "liberator treatment" when it comes to resistances, They need to be weaker against Tank Rounds & dumbfire rockets. Flak armor(which would be changed to be Composite Armor) following the new resistance changes should protect against Tank rounds & rockets exactly like the Liberator Composite armor does. Galaxies should also get a AWAC's system that gives engagement Radar to all nearby friendly Aircraft & skyguards, aswell as boost the range of any allies Engagement Radar.

It's actually very effective at killing ESFs as long as you have learned how to keep a bead on the aircraft.
Nothing is really good against a Liberator.

AP has a drop that makes shooting at aircraft non-trivial to impossible depending on the altitude.

Directly buffing flak DPS (either damage or ROF) would make them OP. Flak is almost guaranteed to score a hit on aircraft without them having any real chance to dodge, except breaking LOS. A good system punishes aircraft that do something stupid (like getting under fire by AA while hovering nearby) but rewards those that are flying smart and are on the move.

The missiles of lock-ons don't need to be dodgeable. The aim of the lock-on user needs to be dodgeable. Right now you don't even have to aim very close to the aircraft to get a lock. You can force players to aim closer to the aircraft for a lock, so an aircraft doing quick dodging maneuvers can shake off a locking player.
As a bonus for aircraft, the lock-on user needs to maintain a lock. No more fire-and-forget! You need to keep a LOS with the aircraft and make sure they don't dodge your aim. Since aircraft now can make maneuvers and break the lock, the missile would suddenly stop chasing them.
The missiles would also have a limited turn ratio, so that aircraft that are passed the missile have very little chance to still be hit by one.
To compensate, missiles that are already fired will move towards a locked-on aircraft... Even if it's a different aircraft than originally locked on. So yes, flying in front of a friendly aircraft can break the lock and cause the missile to start tracking you if the player manages to gain a lock on you!
The lock-on time is also reduced to something like 0,5 to 1 second, so that players actually can pre-fire a missile and lock it on an unsuspecting (or totally expecting) aircraft.

Not sure about the rest of your ideas, but the Mass Driver is one of the things I would like to add: Specific big-aircraft killers. Weapons that have a tough time hitting ESF but can deal tremendous damage against Libs and Galaxies. That way G2A and A2A weapons have a specific role, and Galaxies and Liberators can be made highly resistant to light aircraft killer weapons.
Libs and Gals can't dodge the ESF killer weapons, so it would be unfair to them to allow those weapons to kill them easily.

Liberators definitely do not need their splash back. The Vector and Spur need to be buffed and/or Tankbuster needs nerfs to make them all equally viable.
Galaxy pilot needs to get a Vektor gun under his control.

Not sure if I agree here.

should have stuck a walker on harasser,
cheaper to buy, cheaper to pull, arguably similar damage, ACTUALLY SHOOTS WHERE YOU AIM.

Air is in the state its in for several reasons:

AA is generally ineffective, leading to Air farming Ground.


ESF's SUCK against Liberators & Galaxies. ESF's are supposed to be the A2A aircraft, but because they sucked at there job they said "can't beat em, help them farm the Ground" and are now known for A2G MORE THE THEN LIBERATOR, which is the A2G primary aircraft.


Liberators are the A2G aircraft, but right now they suck against ground targets due to being nerfed. They got nerfed because the ESF didn't properly do its A2A job for **** & AA is ineffective against Large aircraft. The liberator was punished FOR DOING ITS JOB AS THE A2G AIRCRAFT!

Galaxies are too durable against too many things. Much like the liberator used to be. They need to be weaker against the Same things the liberator is. Dumbfires & Tank Rounds.

Most bases being a bunch of swiss cheese like buildings strewn around doesn't help either.

1 Skyguard can't surely score many kills but it's great to help ground forces against A2G farmers.

In my opinion the biggest drawback is lack of flexibility: if there's no aircraft to shoot at then you are useless because the Flak cannon deals ridicolous damage to ground units. This makes it a very boring and unrewarding vehicle to use.

What if we had two types of lock-ons, one for fast moving craft and another for slow moving?

The 1st type locks easily, moves quickly and does decent damage to ESF's, but lower damage to Liberators.

The 2nd type has a small lock radius, lower velocity, but a very small capacity to adjust trajectory, making it difficult to hit fast-moving craft. But, if you hit, the 2nd would deal massive damage.

Zephyr still needs something, Duster is still crap and always has been crap, Dalton and Shredder are fine.

Vektor needs a higher RoF and/or AP-HMG. Also, it desperately needs a cosmetic overhaul.

The main problem I have with the Vektor is that as a weapon that leans towards AA, it's still bad at AA. Since the Liberator is so slow and lethargic, you can't really use your nosegun for AA work on moving targets.

Now, had the Vektor gotten that adjustable aim like we ******* wanted it to, it would have been perfect as a weapon that provided better ESF defense for less AV potential. But no, we got stuck with the Spur.

Spur is a bad concept with a utility that should have been given to the Vektor in the first place. It's bad at AI, bad at AA, bad at AV, just plain bad. I would rather it have been a sort of Banshee on steroids, something that almost works like a nose-mounted Duster. Would be more balanced, being on the Liberator rather then an agile, fast ESF, and would actually have killing potential/symbiosis with the Liberator's other AI weapons.

Tank Buster is okay, great AV, bad AI or AA(Unless you are floating there like a complete moron).
If I were to change it, I would reduce it's burst DPS in exchange for better range, without lowering it's sustained DPS. Let it still kill tanks quickly from the rear, but give them at least a chance to react in hectic battles. As well, Liberators using it would not have to stick their Daltons into the rears of tanks just to be in TB range.

It's really not that the TB is super OP. It's just that the Vektor and Spur are so bad, there's no point in using them.

it good against Harasser

It's good against a Harasser or Lightning. But contrasted with dual Bursters, it feels way more difficult to aim and hit anything.

I love Skyguards, they're easy certs for any ground vehicle. When I see one with my rasser, it's meat.

OK. So I don't fly, but ground locks are a massive pain in the *** on a vehicle that they do significant damage to, like the harasser. And although they are ******* everywhere, I learned to deal with them in several ways, but not by trying to change them.

Though seriously, the lock range feels obscenely long considering it's probably past infantry render distance, or at least really feels that way.

I learned to work around it. I learned the terrain, and the likely hiding spots. And then I come back to kill. Is it annoying when you're cruising and you see LOCK GROUND MX3 everywhere? Yep. There's plenty of ways to deal with it though.

Don't lie to the poor guy, lol. Skyguards are a guaranteed kill for us.

Here's a tip to using the skyguard. This is something I don't see people doing a lot and it's mind blogging to me.

DO NOT FIRE AT THINGS 5000M OUT!!! (Caps to stress how important that is)

Let stuff get nice and close and than melt them.

Heres a tip on using the skyguard

Don't bother, just do a request for a refund of cash, or certs....

Better tip, get a 2nd guy to help you.

Watch as every aircraft in the hex cowers in fear.

Or respawn as 2 Libs/ESF's toast you and your friend...

Skyguards only work when covered by the zerg, outside the zerg they die.

2 Skyguards have a 4.5 second TTK against a Liberator, a fraction of that against ESF's.

I hate to say it, but this really is a case of "get gud".

I don't use the skyguard usually (needs group support to survive and usually is overkill) but i can give you some hints from my experience as pilot ... aka the receiving end of the barrel.

There are generally 2 ways to use a skyguard (at least vs esfs)

1. Airspace denial
Shoot as soon as they render ... land maybe one or 2 bullets of the clip and watch em run away.
Yaiii ... day saved the evil esfs bugger off to the next base.
Btw do this vs a liberator and you might as well c4 yourself.

2. Close Range Carnage
The skyguard in strong contrast to the stationary turrets is a close range wrecking ball.

From the pilots perspective it's pretty much impossible to tell if you are an ordinary lightning or impending doom.
Don't fire at them until they start groundpounding ...
usually most pilots will get closer to the ground (if no other aa is present and playing the airspace denial game) and slow down.

While hover mode is fun to use it means certain death for a surprised esf ... it takes quite some time to get from hover back to flight mode ...
meaning once the first hits (usually 1/3 to 1/2 of the esfs hp) get registered and compressed into a split second for the pilot (yaii wonky lag compensation mechanics ftw) the pilot has 2 choices.

1. Immediatly burn trough your afterburner tank to do an evasive manouver.
Simply stop shooting or slow down a bit till he is done with that ... NOW he has 0 ab fuel and still no momentum.
-> Guaranteed kill

2. He will push his nose done, dive and pray that he survives long enough to get into flight mode and behind a rock.
If you see that, aim lower and draw a line ahead of his cockpit ... Contrary to what common sense suggests the esf will NOT head directly where it's nose points.

The switch from hover to flight mode will push him up a bit and smart pilots try to use the spacebar thrust to accellerate themselfs a bit ... which results in the esf more or less following where the top of it's cockpit points.

If you have a full clip unload on him ...
IMPORTANT: Manage your clip ... if you wasted some bullets, expecting him to ab burn upwards then IMMEDIATLY RELOAD and make sure you have a clear view ahead.

You missed the window and having to reload when the esf is already in flight mode and afterburning away is a sure way to let him get away.
Instead recognise what happened fast enough, reload and you ll have a full clip to fire at him once he is burning away.
If you struggle to lead, burst fire a few rounds by drawing a line from his nose forward and upwards (or downwards if he is descending), till you find the sweet spot (but if you have to do that ... well then at least experienced pilots will get away ... smoking and burning but they will get away)


To sum it up:
If you want kills ... wait till the esf is in hover mode or close (preferably both) ... remember you can move towards them.

If you only want to protect your brothers on the ground then just hit the guy a few times as soon as you see him and watch him burn away in a panic.

When it comes to liberators ... well libs are op and we all know it.
Better to hunt libs in an ap tank tbh (except vanu but who cares about those guys)


Edit:
Also your cert investment into the skyguard is way to low for it to be at it's peak performance.
You will probably never face a stock uncerted esf ... usually you will face maxed out ones, which just for comparisons sake means about 3k-5k certs ... just keep that in mind