The Magrider is a Heavy Harasser and NOT a Tank.

Sorry to hear your experiences have left you hating the shield like that. I wonder what the Magrider gods would say who have learned to flank from cover to cover, to land the first shot in said vanny, and then magburn over or around them, to land an FPC and Saron mag dump in their rear, and firing through the shield to the vanny's death. Just like a harasser does, only with a different dance since harasser weapons are stupidly under powered compared to the tank variants. (This too is a separate discussion.) Just because a Magrider won't beat a Vanny nose to nose doesn't make it a bad tank. It means that's not how you use the Magrider. The Audi A4 makes a lousy jetski. Doesn't mean it's a bad car.

When you jump a Vanny and land the first shots, let him use his shield. If you can't tactically maintain the advantage by shooting through the shield in his rear, back off, go hide behind a rock and watch the sun set. You have 45 seconds to kill him before his shield resets (at the max level).

If you want to beat competent vehicle crews, you have to learn to fight the shield, and leverage directional armor damage relative to positioning. The shield isn't going anywhere, and frankly 99% of tankers use it as a crutch and never learn to become better tankers, so they keep making the same mistakes.

Maybe I need to organize a tournament like we did here and here for the harasser. And have it filmed. Anyone can make videos of farming oblivious players and score it to cool music, but rarely do we see great players duel and share in the experience.

skilled vanny drivers will rarely let themselves be caught up in this/can keep that booty hidden well once it happens. and Getting to said cover to wait out the shield Usually mean showing Your butt because A. maggys revers slow and B. you cant see where the F youre going. most vanny drivers arent that good so its not a super big deal but it Does underline some of the mags issues. the not being able to see where im reversing too drives me crazy, and kills friendlies lol

I am grateful that I get to fight skillful tankers on all factions on Emerald. You're absolutely right about trying to bait better players. Phatalend told me last night and I quote "You can't bait me bro." All I was doing was honking my kazoo at him while we baited his butt buddies. The smart tankers will not be baited. However, the curious tankers will see what they can get away with. That's how I managed to find Calisai and Fleech in the best of places.

In the grand scheme of things though, if you're whining "Press F to Win", you're doing it wrong. As for showing your butt, well, don't. Reverse and strafe your way to position yourself, or burn into cover or into a trench. It's a chess game with a tank. With a harasser, it's cat and mouse, a faster chess game. But if he's repairing, he's not shooting. Risk getting hit to score a rear shot, and be in the rear. If his gunner is shooting, make sure your gunner is shooting. If 1/2 versus a 2/2 - stay 100 meters away.

And if it's a Prowler lockdown with a rep bus parked behind him, go for the rep bus 100% of the time. Prowler's are invulnerable when a maxed rep bus is covering their rear. Directional armor is not in effect unless you're in a lib, and above them.