There is NO reason that NC and TR tanks should be able to shoot aircraft out of the skies.

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by HowCanSheSlap, May 5, 2013.

  1. HowCanSheSlap

    Awhile back the bullet velocity of TR and NC tanks was increased to help them counter the Magrider's dodging capability.

    The only problem is, this buff has created a whole new capability for these tanks: Shooting aircraft out of the skies. Easily.

    I have a feeling this was never intended, but sadly the devs have done nothing to fix it despite it being an issue for weeks now. The devs specifically said that the increased bullet velocity was to help their tanks counter the Magrider. NOT to counter the enemy aircraft.

    This has reached a point to about 40% of my deaths in a scythe are contributed or fully caused by being hit by a tank on the ground, with their super fast bullet velocity. In a liberator, it's even worse. My death is usually contributed to by tanks at least 50% of the time.

    SOE, this is just ridiculous. By increasing bullet velocity (which was never necessary, btw, after you nerfed Magrider manueverability anyways), you have created a whole new capability for TR and NC tanks that the VS tanks can't even participate in.

    A Magrider can't even ATTEMPT to shoot aircraft out of the skies, because our Magrider main cannon shots move so slow and have HUGE drop on them. I have almost 500 hours of playtime on VS and I have only hit an aircraft with a Magrider main cannon about 3 times in my entire time playing this game.

    Meanwhile, me and my VS friends who I play with are constantly complaining that they are being shot down by TR and NC tanks whilst flying. This happens literally every day now.

    SOE, this needs to be nerfed. Buffing the bullet velocity has created an anti-air purpose for lightning and heavy tank weapons that were intended to be anti-ground only.

    This is unfair and unbalanced, and needs to be changed ASAP.
    • Up x 8
  2. Farlion

    Utter nonsense. With a Prowler you need to land two shots on a plane. One is already difficult enough, but to land another?
    You have to be damn lucky or have a damn stupid pilot to accomplish that.
    • Up x 51
  3. HowCanSheSlap

    You're missing the point.

    1. A lightning or heavy tank equipped with anti-vehicle or anti-infantry weaponry should not be able to counter aircraft to begin with.

    2. Only 2 out of 3 of the factions can do this at all. The VS Magrider main cannon fires bullets that move slowly and drop a lot. This makes it nearly impossible to shoot aircraft at all. (In nearly 500 hours of play time as VS, I have only hit airacraft with a Magrider main cannon maybe 3 or 4 times, ever.)

    If you want to keep this broken mechanic (anti-ground that also counters air), then you have to at least admit that it is currently unbalanced because VS don't even have access to this mechanic.
    • Up x 3
  4. Farlion

    A Prowler is as good at shooting down planes as a Magrider, meaning it's not.
    Name me one logical reason why a tanks weapon should not be able to shoot down planes. Other than "CRY CRY MY ESF GOT SHOT DOWN BY A TANK NERF"
    • Up x 5
  5. Gustavo M

    So you are telling us that ground vehicles are meant to be completely ineffective against aircraft, simply because it's a aircraft?
    Are you one of those who wants to see realism in a Science-fiction First Person Shooter? I hope you don't.
    Because, you know... the word fiction is pretty much self-explanatory.
    • Up x 1
  6. Hibiki54

    I've been shot by Magrider AP gun while flying ESFs and Liberators. It's not common, but possible. And I deserved it for getting tunnel vision and being objective orientated.

    QQ somewhere else, please.
    • Up x 9
  7. HowCanSheSlap

    Because anti-vehicle and anti-infantry tank weapons are supposed to counter GROUND UNITS, not air.

    If you want to counter air, you should be forced to actually use an anti-air weapon.

    Also, like I said, the VS can't even do this AT ALL. The Magrider shot is almost like a trebuchet shooting a big rock through the air: it is slow and has huge bullet drop.
  8. HowCanSheSlap

    You have obviously never played as Vanu and never used a Magrider.
    • Up x 7
  9. Liquid23

    the tank guns are AV (anti-vehicle) weapons... news flash but planes are vehicles...

    and you can do it with a Mag... just go hull up and again find a dumb/really bad pilot... honestly the ONLY pilots that can ever be hit with a MBT's main AV gun have to be really stupid or bad

    I shoot down ESFs with LMGs... OMG AN ANTI INFANTRY WEAPON KILLED A PLANE ! SOMEBODY CALL FOX NEWS!
    • Up x 3
  10. SneakyTouchy

    So nobody finds it unusual that HEAT rounds are more effective at dropping aircraft than skygaurds?
    • Up x 7
  11. gudman591

    If you're getting shot out of the sky by tankers, you're an outstandingly bad pilot (or there's always a possibility that you're actually a good one, just got sloppy), simple as that, no further discussion needed.

    That's skyguards' problem, not HEAT's.
  12. NinjaTurtle

    I disagree. If you hit an ESF with the canon from ant tank you deserve the kill because it was either a great shot on your part or the pilot was making themselves to easy to hit to begin with.

    Anyway call me stupid but an ESF is a vehicle right? Yes it may fly but if you can land a AV shell onto it, it should do the same damage asif it hit a ground vehicle.
    • Up x 1
  13. NinjaTurtle

    Skyguards need buffing anyway, it isn't a problem with HEAT
    • Up x 6
  14. HowCanSheSlap

    In my nearly 500 hours of playtime, I've managed to hit enemy aircraft with a Magrider main cannon shot maybe 5 times total, probably less.

    Meanwhile, whenever I fly a scythe, I usually end up dying or at least being hit by a NC or TR tank on the ground. This happens every freaking day that I spend much time in the air at all.

    NC and TR have capability to hit aircraft with their tanks that the VS doesn't even come close to having.

    SOE nerfed Magriders and buffed NC/TR tanks after discovering that Magriders won a majority of the engagements between other heavy tanks. They also nerfed anti-infantry tank shots to prevent TR heavy tanks from killing enemy infantry by only using splash damage.

    If they measured those statistics and made adjustments to weapons based on them, I am surprised and confused why they aren't measuring "number of aircraft shot down by tank weapons that aren't even supposed to counter aircraft to begin with" and adjusting based on this statistic.

    I GUARANTEE you that if SOE publishes the number of aircraft shot down by lightning or heavy tank anti-ground weapons, the NC and TR numbers will both be at least 50 times the number for Vanu.
  15. EliteEskimo

    Have you ever seen a Fighter Jet Pilot take a tank shell from a M1A2 Abrams Tank in the cockpit and then land to tell the tale? You get back to me on that OP.
    • Up x 1
  16. HowCanSheSlap


    1. The Vanu can barely even participate in shooting down aircraft with anti-ground tank weapons. Their bullets move too slowly and the Magrider main cannon has huge drop off.

    2. Tanks aren't supposed to counter aircraft to begin with, unless you have anti-aircraft weapons equipped.
  17. HowCanSheSlap

    Have you ever seen an actual tank use its main cannon to shoot down an aircraft currently in flight almost directly above it?

    You get back to me on that.
    • Up x 3
  18. ColdCheezePizza

    Our tanks can't strafe, why do people insist on homogenizing everything to the point where factions will be like Nascars, everything identical but in different colored and shaped skins.
    • Up x 1
  19. gudman591

    Tanks shooting down aircraft is an insignificant value. It's probably not even 0.01% of the overall aircraft deaths. So Magrdier not being able to do it is nothing to worry about. It's not a disadvantage.

    Tanks are not designed to shoot down aircraft. But if they have the opportunity to do it, then they should be able to. Tanks IRL can shoot down helicopters if they come low enough (theywon't because it's idiotic, but it's also dumb to make yourself a target in PS2). Seems fair to me.
    • Up x 4
  20. EliteEskimo

    Have you ever seen jets hover above the battlefield and endlessly spam rocket pods with complete disregard for the threats around them? That's the only time I shoot ESF's out of the sky, when they hoverspam! lol
    • Up x 6