Vanguard vs C4

Every time I pull a vanguard I die because of C4
EVERY TIME i am not even exaggerating every time I die in a vanguard, it is because of c4
there is no defense against it, they come from no where and instant kill you, You can use the shield, but you have to know there is C4 on you first and still that only prolongs it. C4 is WAY too strong vs tanks and there is no slot that gives you resistance.

To anyone who is good with the vanguard, How do you survive C4 LA.?

There just seems to be no way. Infantry players should not be able to one shot vanguards like this. 2 C4 should only put you in red.

Everyone has to deal with this mate, if you are literally dying to c4 EVERY TIME then you are sitting in positions that you shouldn't be sitting in. Stop going all tunnel vision and hit "t" every now and then to have a quick look of your surroundings and just try to stay away from overhangs and buildings that make you an easy target.

the only thing I agree to this post with is the fact that C4 does too much damage to MBTs.

no, I do not agree that 2 C4 should only put MBTs in red.


it sucks getting destroyed by a single C4 just because you are not full health, going out to repair only means you get killed before your tank is destroyed.
I have tried being on both sides - I have even tried to C4 a Lightning player who already know I am coming and doing whatever he can to kill me without getting himself C4'd and I was still able to C4 him (Lightnings are fast and dies to C4 just as easily as MBTs).

Each C4 should do exactly 51% damage to an MBT. Getting insta'd is meh, but I can deal with it. But each brick doing almost 80% of the vehicle's health? Really?

1. Be aware of your surroundings. This is done in a number of ways:

• Look around you. A quick tap on "T" to get an outside view and a 360 degree spin every once and a while can really help.
• Make sure you have an observant gunner if possible. Secondary weapons on tanks can look around a lot more quickly than the primary weapon, and the gunners don't have to worry about driving/dodging shells. They're just looking around and shooting.
• Listen to your gunner. Even if he doesn't have a mike and doesn't use the chatbox, he should use the "Q" to spot enemies. When he spots something check your vehicle status on the right to see which way he's facing. You know that's where he just saw something. This has saved me from being ambushed from everything from a light assault, to 3 prowlers coming up behind me. Alternately, there's been a lot of times where I've been gunning for somebody, and press "Q" to spot an enemy that's threatening our tank and the driver doesn't seem to take notice or take warning in any way until we take damage from that target.

2. Pick your stopping points carefully. Everybody knows that when sniping with an infiltrator location is everything, but people often forget it's applicable to all classes and vehicles.

When using a MBT a good location is one where you have "flat" cover. This is like sitting behind a small rise in the terrain. It blocks you from fire from other tanks, but at the same time infantry and light vehicles have a lot of ground around you to cover. The landscape around Snake Ravine Lookout, especially to the north and north east is a good example of this. It's fairly open but tanks can generally find cover from anything but aircraft anyways if they're careful.

3. Keep yourself mobile. Tanks move faster than infantry, if you move away from them they simply can't catch up.

Ah, another one of those "I want to be stationary in a tank and not get killed why should I have to move to protect myself just nerf everything it's not fair that I get c4'd when I'm stationary" threads.

A number of ways to avoid C4:
-Don't park in areas where you can be hit by C4
-If you're in an area where you can be hit by C4, then keep looking around and watch for them
-Use 3rd person until you need to shoot at things so you have an increased FoV and more awareness
-Keep moving when you're in a bad position and don't give infantry time to set up

Alternatively:
-Use proximity radar
-Have a Gunner to look around for you

As for everyone else who thinks that C4 is overpowered against tanks, I have one message for you:

L2P

I wouldn't say that the instagib is overpowered, I am fine with that but 80% damage per brick is a tad harsh.

You should be seeing the back of your tank more than anything in this game if you want to be a Vangaurd driver. Everything but shooting (Unless you are Alarox <3) should be in third person. The only time you should use first person when driving is if you are watching for tank mines.

This means reloading too btw. In between shots I switch to third person and look around since you have the time during a reload cycle.

See blinking red or hear jump jets? Probably a LA going to get you. Don't use the shield until you actually see a brick of C4 or someone putting something on your tank though. Having shadows on helps to spot them too.

I'll quote myself from an old "C4 OP" thread:

If you're having that much of a problem, also consider certing into Proximity Radar - it should help save you from being C4'd, expect by Light Assaults dropping in from above, provided you're paying attention to the minimap. It used to be a an Utility slot item, meaning you had to give up your Vanguard Shield/other empire-specific ability in exchange for it, but SOE has since moved it into the Defense slot which should have made it more viable.

OMG vanguards die once in a while!

so the guy that was able to sneak past your cannon with shells that can insta kill any infantry and potentially a gunner on a weapon that can also readily kill infantry up to your tank that is far faster than he is on foot, DOESN'T deserve a reward for going up and touching an enemy tank? because that is exactly what is required for most classes C4 IS NOT A LONG RANGE WEAPON.

i do however believe that light assaults should be given a nerfed version of C4 since they can deploy it so much more easily than other classes or disallowed from using it while in flight. even light assaults don't get to fly that far though so in most cases you should easily have the upper hand if you are paying attention.

i have a skyguard with rank 2 radar and as long as i watch my radar, all i have to do is turn and fire or in worst case scenario hit 'W' or 'S'. the only time i die is when i have ignored my map too long. if i had a shield too i would probably go days without dieing in my tank.

i C4 as a heavy assault and i work ten times harder for those kills than any other kill in the game.

Fair enough. I wouldn't mind it being dropped to 60 or 70%.

Isn't it like 74% now?

Otherwise 1 brick should drop the shield, but it doesn't.

It use to do enough damage to take down the shield and some light damage to the hull (80%), but now the shield stays up with paper-thin amount of HP after a brick. I think it was after they tweaked all the damages and resists in December-ish

exactly my point and what I think should be done - nerf C4 damage to MBT, but not so much that 2 C4 won't kill an MBT.

you die from C4 every time because there are few other ways to kill a vanguard

you mean none?

Honestly, I've never lost a Vanguard to C4. I don't pull them as often as Lightnings since I tend to always want a gunner and usually only people I know are reliable there, but then my Lightnings tend to get insta-gibbed by tank mines instead, usually my own fault for chasing down enemy engineers when they flee their destoyed vehicles. Especially on open terrain, it's pretty much impossible for a light assault to get behind you to place the C4 without you spotting them. You pretty much have to be by some sort of barrier they can use for cover on the approach while also staying still enough for them to put the bricks down, and if you're being that static a target odds are you were asking for it. Vehicles in Planetside are very strong assets, hence not being able to spawn them for free, but you still have to use them on the right terrain to get the best value out of it.

I suppose I could get behind making it such that individual C4 do somewhat less damage per brick while two bricks are still a kill, since it wouldn't really change the equilibrium of things in the lone light assault vs. tank scenario while providing some incentive for single uses of C4 to team up with someone to create a damaging diversion long enough to place it. Even if slight, it'd skew the way C4 is used that little bit more to encourage teaming up, which is rather the point of a game like Planetside.

I always thought it was 80% before but they may have changed it. Haven't noticed a change in the amount of damage they do just by observing the green tank icon (not the most accurate measurement ), I get hit by single c4's a lot whilst screwing around and magmowering though so I think I would have seen a change.

One does not simply drop a Vanguard shield.

that is not at all true 2 to 3 magriders can do it. a large group of heavy assaults. i am sure some die to mines although i wouldn't be surprised if they used the shield to clear mines they have already detected. a group of ESF with rocket pods or a group of libs. the vanguard does have a distinct weakness, overwhelming numbers and force. all you have to do is out number them heavily and rain down enough fire power to end a small country.