[BUG] Tomcats or A to A lock-on

Then you currently understand the point of view of the majority of players who do currently fly and find no problems that you currently speak of. IF your facing against a coyote user stay at a distance, assuming you are one of those skyknights that only use the nose gun. IF it is a tomcat, close the range. this is really cut and dry tactics there is nothing new here.

If your came into the forums looking to remove lockons or negating them altogether your gonna have a real bad time.

Every keeps thinking i wanted them removed. i said i wouldnt care if they were but my original post was just a change. People pick one of my suggestions and take it as thats the only thing i want...... no, like i said they are suggestions. Are Tomcats fun for some people using them.... Yes. Are they fun to be used on.... No, but what weapon is. My point to this thread originally was based on the voice of new players, as well as my experience first coming in.

Now for my loadout, i like my loadout for the things i do with my mossie. Is it the best for dealing with Tomcats.... no, looking at it its probably the worst. I get what all of you are saying that there are moves and techniques toward this, i know that. BUT new players wont. People need to understand that this thread is more for new players then it is me. Some people dont get that.

I have people saying learn to fly better........ I do know how to fly but new players dont know what counters what to start off.
Like i said to someone else who posted if they had a proper tutorial for the tomcats i wouldnt have a problem. Again this is more towards the new players not me, and some people arent getting that. I hope i did not sound harsh or cruel in this reply and i hope you see my point and i do see yours as well.

You can't get sniped by lock-ons if you get a warning that you're being targeted and have tike to respond in between the targeting up until the moment of impact.

Try not lone wolfing... An AI ground driver doesn't get his panties in a bunch when an AV vehicle pursues, especially if they're out in the open with no kind of help.

I rarely play the airgame but when I do I make sure I or an ally are more A2A capable in order to play babysitter. Maybe it's not racking in the certs like podding away, but not everything is about making your KPH/SPH.

so if I am to translate this:

I love playing scissors but rock keeps killing me and i know it should

... so I would like to make a thread and solutions about how rock not to kill scissors because new players wont understand this...

I do understand that you are presumably thinking about the new players....but you started this thread with points such as:

1. Have the A to A lock-on damage dramaticly reduced to that it doesnt take away 45% or more of your health.

2. Have Flares as a passive and allow them to be used the most every 7 seconds (If the Lock-ons have the same stats).

3. Decrease the maximum range of the tomcats.

4. Increase the reload time but alot.

5. Have all of the above done to them because something needs to change.

Which negates rock altogether.....

Nothing wrong with the Homing rockets, they have some harsh counters that make them less useful. Also I don't know where players are getting this 45% damage from, come back with some real facts.

its mostly the mentality that you most do things in the "honourable" way. Such as you most only use your nose gun, afterburners, speed frame, fire suppression, and nano repair...

All the time and money the devs have spent balancing the other weapons, frames and utilities you have to ignore....because they are bad and you should feel bad using them

They should play some WW1 pilot simulator.

If they want to handicap themselves, fine with me. Just don't blame others when you underperform. I don't fly with chivalry. I LOLpod pilots who bail into the ground, I have no qualms with blasting Galaxies or a mess of not so smart bunched up infantry with a salvo of rockets. The only conscience I have is to help any fellow pilots or friendly infantry, as well as not trying to steal a kill.

If they want to handicap themselves, then prepare for the worst.

Somehow you still have this pointed towards me, but is daybreak were to decrease the maximum range would that make tomcats useless??? Having flares as a passive would that really make tomcats useless???

I don't mind the flares improvement or whatever, but nerfing A2A range is a no no. They don't even have that much range in the first place to begin with, and you actually have to keep your nose pointed at the enemy waiting for it to lock when you could have been using your nosegun.

yes...I would have to point those specific facts to you since that is how you started this thread to "help new players"

At this point I would have to wonder if you even picked up tomcats or used them at all on a mobile target.... Seriously going in the VR and pointing the tomcats at the stationary vehicle saying wow....that took out 45% of its health this is really op >_>.

The tomcats firing cone has been reduced to a reasonable size....decreasing the maximum range of the tomcats would defeat the purpose of the weapon it self since it meant as a long range weapon.... you are essentially saying the sniper killed me from to far away please nerf the rifles distance.

So you are for the having flares as a passive......

I'm sorry but you did not really think this one point through at all.....

Do you not realise that this would effect the Heavy Lockons as well? We still get threads of ESF OP PLZ NERF from ground units getting farmed by ESF A2G pilots.......yet you want flares as a passive.....hmmm please tell me how this is a good idea...

1. I have owned tomcats for months now probably even over a year, so your first statement is invalid.

2. You know i listed a bunch of options for changes so it doesnt have to be decreasing the maximum range.

3. Yes i would love to have flares as a passive and i can have a bunch of people who agree with me as well.

4. Ground units, i can see where they are coming from. If they are going around in a small squad or by themselves..... Yes air is annoying. But in a huge fight with 15 burster max, heavies with lock-ons, AA turrets, and skyguards pointed at you, what can a pilot really do.....

While you have come up with several points, there was an earlier thread in which it was suggested to put the flares on an active, ammo-based system, with a percentage rate in terms of success, so that you could use the flares rather often, but once you ran out, you would need to go rearm and resupply at an air pad if you wanted to get more flares. I think this is a much better option for dealing with missiles, rather than immediately heading straight for the nerfing tables.

There are too many requests to nerf these things already, because people haven't learned that if the enemy is using lockons, you are supposed to try to engage in a turning fight, where lockons are hard to use because of the active radar track required with the Tomcat A2A missiles. Against enemy AAA, there isn't that much you can do without ground armor support in this game, because of the damage rates of the AAA weapons available.

Instead of saying "PLS NERF" about everything you (in this case, people in general, not you specifically) have problems with, think of things that can be improved to better effectively deal with the issues, while still maintaining the game's balance. Hopefully that allows more people to have fun, no matter their skill level or experience with the game.

You can't put default flares in, that makes G2A lock-ons useless.

ESFs need to have their capabilities reduced, not increased. It's the only vehicle in the game where 1 load out works against everything. 2 weapons on a 1-person vehicle is an abomination. No other vehicle has that.

1. oh goody my point is invalid because you own the weapon....not because you bring up fact A or B, just because you have bought them...thank you for clearly that up.

2.If you could not tell I deliberately ignored your other points such as:

a) A to A lock-on damage nerfed.... I am not certain as to why I have to explain this is a bad idea, but for fun let us assume this not a troll point as it has been brought up previous times before. The single purpose of the tomcat is a long range weapon, meant to either initiate a fight, finishing off a fleeing weakened opponent or long range bombardment if the other pilot is idiotic enough to stay in the optimal distance. This all pilots know to be true since it is extremely rare a pilot would get a hit with more than 1 tomcat off on the same ESF. As a pilot you will recognize you are being targeted but a tomcat by the large "LOCK A" on your screen and beeping sounds of the impending lock. Your natural reaction would be to turn around and engage your opponent.
So if the Tomcat damage is to be nerfed as you asked the fire suppression would actually heal more than 50% of the damage done by the missile. The players will know realize they are worthless compared to the mobility that you receive from Afterburners tanks, as now you will have a better chance to kill off you opponent via chasing him with a nose gun than you do by shooting a long range weapon . That is my reasoning behind not answering this point as you are clearly asking a long range weapon to not excel in its limited field it was created for.


b)Increase the reload time but alot. As explained in point a) you are rarely hitting the same pilot with more than 1 tomcat. All this would accomplishes is forcing the Tomcat pilot to wait before initiating an other fight. Which the threads basis is helping the "new pilot" I would presume is the initial first pilot the tomcat pilot killed .


c) Have all of the above done to them because something needs to change. definitely a troll not answering this one

3. Why yes, I am certain you will get alot of pilots that would want flares as a passive. Who in their right mind would not want the item that negates lock on damage to their vehicle with the added bonus of fire suppression. So if we are to go forward with this that means that it would now take 5 rockets to kill an ESF.....seriously does not take a genius to figure out this is a bad idea.

4)....Um nothing?....you do realize you are a ESF Pilot not Rambo...please, I beg you Please understand this is a combined arms game. I do not go on the forums and see tanks drivers saying "I just drove into an enemy base, all the HA rockets, LA faries, and turrets killed me.....I need more shields because I should survive that"...

I agree with you on the flares.....that is about it.

So a 2 weapon 1 seat plane is an abomination .......Can you please provide me with other Sci-Fi games where a fighter plane has only 1 weapon please?

That's an off-topic discussion that's not relevant to this thread. Those type of arguments can circle forever. Which Sci-Fi game has a tank shell with explosions that can't even kill infantry and etc.

In the context of this discussion. ESFs are an abomination within PS2 itself. No other single occupancy vehicle has 2 main weapons. No other vehicle is as versatile as an ESF.

No other 350 nanite vehicle is as paper as the ESF. No other vehicle is harder to fly than the ESF.

What i meant by your statement is invalid, was when you were saying i was trying them out in VR training and not on real targets so please stop trying to twist my words to make a point

I see your point and thank you for being reasonable unlike other people. I was trying to give out some other options besides nerfing but i guess i didnt give enough. But thanks for your reply otherwise.

No problem.