This regards the soon to be released ESF patch now currently on PTS 1/15/2014. SOE has done a great job at adding new ESF content, particularly in providing weapons with an eye to training new pilots. Coyote Missiles: The heat seeking mechanic has been an excellent addition. This combined with slower projectile velocity allows to be a good training tool for target leading fire. The increase from 2 to 6 per clip is critical for this, larger clip size allows for more gun like behavior, providing a valuable but more forgiving tool for newer pilots to learn critical skills with. For suggestions, I advocate that the clip remain at least 6, increasing to 8 or even 12 (corresponding damage drop and increase in fire rate to maintain current dps) to accentuate effectiveness as a training weapon to learn target leading. Overall this weapon is in a great place and needs large scale testing to tune further. A2A Missiles: The change to require that the lock must be maintained on target has been needed for quite some time. This does significantly improve it as a training tool because it forces the pilot to try and stay on target. Hornet Missiles: The laser guided mechanic is interesting. It effectively limits the missiles to air to ground role. While the original 4 rocket clip did deal too much damage to armor, while the current 2 round clip is to weak. This weapon will be competing directly with rockets for ground attack power. What it offers is attacking at a longer stand off rage, something that has to be handled very carefully in balancing for ESFs. Suggestions: Return to the original 4 round clip, but reduce the damage of each round to 75% of the current round damage. Missile speed needs to remain fairly slow so engagement from long range forces the ESF to stay relatively stationary and on target longer. Overall this weapon is in a weak state and will likely need a big bump before fine tuning from large scale testing is beneficial. Locust Cannons: This nose gun along with the other Empire Specific variants has been the hardest to try and use effectively in a particular roll or situation, the regular nose cannon tends to outclass it in each case for effectiveness. Right now the gun can sustain for about 8 seconds at rpm even less then stock nose guns. This gun seems to aimed at giving a new player a forgiving high mag weapon by allowing sustained fire while trying to track a target. Suggestion: If this weapon is being aimed at training new players, it needs a much higher rpm. Highly granular damage isn't friendly to new players as it tends to provide to inconsistent feedback. I would also note that high rpm combined with high CoF also tend aiming more forgiving to a new player in terms of feedback as well. If game performance will allow it (hopefully a margin the OMFGUpdates provided), this class of weapons could move into the RPM space vacated by the original ESF rotaries. The spin up mechanic, could be used to tune the dps to be close or even better then stock nose gun but only when the gun was fully spun up (0.5-1 sec spin up period [lower dps]). Frankly though, this weapon is may be better suited to be an under wing mount for choice in combinations, particularly with the current Empire specific AI guns. Fuel Tanks: This certline needs to be split into at least 2-3 separate lines with a meaningful choices in performance between them. AB tanks grant base 80%, regen rate stays original rate, no additional AB cost in reverse. Cert Lines (1) AB fuel regen rate increased: 10,20,30,40% more (2) Additional AB capacity plus a small ab speed boost: +5%/+3 kph, +10%/+6kph, +15%/+9kph, +20%/+12 kph (3) Reduction in AB initiation cost: 10,20,30,40% less I hope that have you taken the time to regard the input of a veteran pilot. SOE has built a viable framework with these existing weapons. It is very possible that these weapons can be tweaked and balanced for very interesting and engaging air play both for veteran and new pilots as well as complement the combined arms nature of this great game.
They need to return the locust cannons back to the wings, hell keep it as a nose cannon slot weapon but it needs to go back on to the wings. 2 locust wing mounted cannons will hit a flying target better than a single locust nose cannon.
