T2 Striker - Confirmed coyote mechanics

from what i have seen on the receiving end it does not seem to be nearly as versatile as the other two.

it's an entirely new mechanic for ground infantry, there are almost certainly going to be balance issues. right now i am expecting the first iteration to be severely OP and stay that way for a couple weeks until they figure out what stats will work.

i am fairly certain that my lightning will be torn apart repeatedly by swarms of striker shots for a while, but i still support this idea because in the long run i think the game will be better.

That's the thing, I know a way to at least make it very unlikely to be spammed for anti-infantry use.


Ya know how you have regular locking mechanics (like we see on the Striker now)?
Well, a glitch on the PTS back when they did the lock time/range rebalance early this year allowed you to lock instantly with the Striker and Annihilator.

The very instant you looked at a vehicle while ADS in range to lock it, the indicator would turn green and you could fire.
I propose it have that functionality before allowing you to dumbfire.

You still have to ADS, and you still have to have a vehicle in sight (Present somewhere. Just somewhere, it wouldn't have to be almost exactly dead center like the lock mechanics do right now), but as long as it remains on your screen, and with LoS, you can dumbfire it.
It can still be abused around sunderers and whatnot, but at least this will greatly reduce blatant "Lasher 2.0 mode" use.


If you were to try to just run up to a max and blast him, or hop over to a biolab and try to spam through a doorway to the point that the enemy infantry are on, you'd have no vehicle to lock, and so the ability to dumbfire would be denied.

Your ideas are horrible because in your version of this weapon the TR are right back to having the only ESAV that cannot hit turrets, Max units, or engineer turrets.

Lasher 2.0? Seriously, stop being ********.

The Lightning is a single manned tank that requires no teamwork, and frankly is too strong as it is. You SHOULD be getting torn apart by AV the minute you get near infantry.

Not as-.. You should try it then. The Jackhammer does not need any loving.

Errr... I have far more time as an infantry player as I do in vehicles. I have 250 hours playing as a Medic alone... whereas my Lightning experience only adds up to 140 hours. I am primarily an infantry player.

Nothing that can shoot through terrain is "merely effective". If any player would be doing that in the game, they would be rightfully be accused of hacking. Shooting through walls and mountains is tantamount to cheating, and if the Striker was using the same mechanic then it would fall under the same category. Not only did it require very little skill to "aim", but the high damage combined with absurd levels of accuracy did in fact make it OP during its prime.

This did impact infantry players as well, as Sunderer and Galaxy infantry transports would be instantly lit up anywhere near TR territory. It was pretty crazy.

If you weren't there at the time and your argument boils down to "oh, it couldn't have been that bad" then you have an extremely weak argument.

i have never had any major trouble popping lightnings with dumbfire rockets, including the kills i have been collecting recently by dumbfiring my AA launcher (the grind to the kraken is very long), so i think we should try to keep launchers around that level of deadliness.

the lightning is also a TANK and should be able to take a few hits. i split my time between my skyguard and my heavy assault so i am well aware of how difficult the fight is from both sides.

You play VS so our perspectives are quite different. I would murder someone to have the Lancer on my TR toon.

i am currently grinding up the lancer, but my weapon of choice is the decimator and as soon as i get the auraxium for the lancer and the two lock ons i need for the kraken a i will probably not be really using them again. the lancer is tolerable and has it's uses for long range vehicle harassment, but it really doesn't fit my play style most of the time.

Perhaps this will be our version of the lancer. I'd love a lancer on my TR but hey that's life. Although getting the striker to be able to aim a crowd of vehicles and shooting knowing that if they get close they will auto lock makes me feel better.

I might not be able to snipe flashes like i used to but hey that's life.

it all depends on the shot velocity, aggro radius, and how well you can lead, with the right combination you might still be able to pop flashes regularly.

So Higby confirmed in stream that the Striker will take some time before change, so it won't come with the Valkyrie update. The AI damage will be around a lasher shot. Valkyrie will have four rumble seats, thus two pre-change Strikers on each side is possible.
Beware NC/VS

So you're saying that they should make the Lasher and the Phoenix lock on only too also right?
If not, then I'm not sure I get your logic at all.

The lancer and phoenix cannot kill a max in less than 2 seconds within one reload.
Thus they never needed a lock restriction to begin with.

The same cannot be said for the striker.

So unless the NC and VS are getting 2 round per reload decimators that fire with the speed of the original Halo: Combat Evolved launcher, they need to have some sort of "vehicle only" limitation to keep it from being a blatant instagib infantry held Viper Lightning tank.

But the FACT remains that the Lasher and Phoenix can actually HIT maxes PERIOD and the Striker cannot, in its current implementation. Using your logic, it's also close to impossible for the Striker to OHK a max either....since it cant directly hit them period. I'm not getting how you're not seeing that.

Only way Strikers can hit maxes is if they jump in the way.

Let me test something and I'll get back to you.

++++Edit++++
Latest PTS test results are back.
Got a friend to pull a max and stand in front of a deployed sundy.
I then locked the sundy with a striker at 250m, shot 5 shots, and had him intercept them.

4 hits kills a base max.
So, yeah, I don't want some guy dumbfiring a max with the Striker and being able to paste him in less than one reload.
(5 shots is 66% more damage than a base dumbfire in half the time that it would take firing, reloading, and firing again would take for a default dumbfire.)


Don't get me wrong, I want to see the dumbfire change made to the Striker.
I own both versions of all 3 ESRL's, and would love nothing more than to use all of what I paid for.

I just don't want to see a mistake made for this weapon twice.
They've messed it up once, and they've messed up the vulcan the same way.

TR get the OP weapon of the month that out-performs all other weapons of the same class, and then it gets nuked into the stoneage of uselessness.
Now, you have to admit, any infantry weapon that can kill a max in 0.6 seconds (the time it takes to fire 4 rockets from the Striker, not counting missile flight time that is) would be blatantly OP in the realm of anti-infantry weapons.

Forums are a terrible cesspit of uselessness. Honestly, they should just announce stuff on their front website, and do community things through fan sites/twitter/reddit/twitch/youtube.

Forums can be a good balance and overview system, supposedly that's partially when they like reddit.

But really the problem is that game "news" often just doesn't appear here (or at least doesn't until it is secondary posted by someone), or the main page or the patcher or any other official channel (even the offical twitter one for that matter).

Come on guys, SOE has released some new weapons in a OPness state, but when it comes to "change" current weapons, they usually nerf them, not buff I think they know a dumbfire Striker means its DPS would be higher and therefor damage per rocket has to be toned down. I bet is going to be similar to shooting a Lancer without charge, with nearly nonexistant splash

I actually agree to your sentiment that the splash damage needs to be reduced - if its true that it is 500. It would result in an Striker on infanterie spam.

The test your friend did - was he using max flak armor? If he did and got killed by 4 rockets - you are right, that is a problem. If he didn't have max flak armor, I think its ok.

But I disagree on the 0.6 seconds for 4 rockets part. I couldn't test it in the VR room - because you can only shoot vehicles with the striker if a actuall player sits in it. But from my past experience - I takes more than 0.6 seconds (around 2 seconds). But somebody would have to test it with a stop watch and make a video.

On a sidenote: I disagree with the sentiment that more shots are better - even if the damage per "magazine" is higher. I often hear it regarding the Prowler "it has more theoretical Dps and if you miss one shot - you got a second chance". Truth is: Good players move immeadetly move if they take damage - thats true for infanterie, tanks and Maxes. Thats why the Prowler is ****** at range, because you can't make use of the second shot - the enemy will move and you will miss. It will be true for MAXes who are hit by Striker rounds - a MAX player must be pretty oblivious if he takes 4 rounds without evading or taking cover. And if he gets shot by several people using Strikers, the result would have been the same if they would have used Decimators.

Only thing which would need tuning is the splash damage.