With the stabilization buff, the Prowler and Vanguard will be able to strafe 3x faster than the Mag

But assuming a 1/2 vs 2/2 scenario (and even in such a case the Prowler has faster ttk on Magrider's front armor then the Mag has on the rear armor of the Prowler) with the Magrider shooting first. Turn it around and the Prowler will kill the Magrider with out any problem as well as 1/2 vs. a 2/2 Magrider and if you add a second gunner on the Prowler...

What "strafing" means, in terms of tank combat (the whole issue at hand), is the ability to make your opponent's shots more difficult by using continuous movement in a small area.

Whether I'm driving back and forth with my Vanguard (side to side relative to my enemy), or whether I'm moving side to side in a Magrider, I am doing this.

You can call it whatever the hell you want. You can call it "strafing" or you can calling "shoombidiblypopdoo". It is what it is.

I have my own personal opinion as to what is considered "strafing" but I'm not going to take a side because it is pointless for the purpose of this discussion.

As I mentioned earlier, yes I know that you can charge and stay under a stupid mag pilot (seriously, strafing just a little fixes this). I also pointed out that this carries the risk of getting crushed, and is ill advised on rough terrain... just as I've seen countless new players exposing their rear tank armor because they think it's the strongest armor... Why, I will never know.

I dont mean to be rude but your comment shows that English is not your native language.
Strafing in the context of a firing platform in planetside 2 can be defined as;
"Any Movement in a perpendicular direction to the firing line of the weapon platform"

When you use your A and D keys when playing infantry you are strafing, because those keys will always move you perpendicular to your crosshairs.
What you are failing to understand is how a tank can change its firing line in relation to its body, an ability that infantry do not share in this game. When you turn your tank turret 90 degrees your W and S keys now provide a strafing function.

I hope this has been enlightening to you and the many more who will follow in the footsteps of your mistake.

No there's 0 risk of getting crushed. That's not how it works.

The saron's pretty much in vulcan territory now. Only drivers that like actively gimping themselves pick it. Also, the reverse is true for prowlers--if they jump targets in CQC, they do a lot of damage very quickly. I.e., the aggressor always wins unless he messes up, at least when it's between mags and prowlers. The flanking skillcap thing is true tho

Last time we had hard numbers, the Saron was used far more often than the Halberd on Magriders. The only change since then has been the AI nerf.

True, but did people use it because it was better or because it was cooler?
I fell into the 2nd category.

Exactly what I was going to write. It's the thickest Armor in the game. It's actually a buff for the Vanguard. The Prowler will be forced to play closer with slower Shell Velocity and really don't know what will happen to the mag. The Prowler is still the worst CQ Tank in the game. It needs the old Vulcan back to be effective. I would actually drop Anchor for Fire Supression if I had the Pre-Nerf Vulcan.

For the sake of the argument, it's not. A reinforced lighting front is the same % reduction, but the tank has only 3000 hp, as opposed to the 4000 the MBTs have.
And the reinforced side for the lighting is the same as a reinforced VG front.

The actual definition of strafing has nothing to do with sidestepping while engaging a target. It's a term used to describe an arcraft attacking ground units with machine gun fire.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/strafe
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strafe

However, it's also the accepted word for moving left and right in relation to the direction you're currently facing.
People have been calling it strafing LOOONG before planetside 2 came out. I remember playing tanarus, which is planetside 2's grand father, the main tactic in tank combat was circle strafing around a target until you manage to hook around behind them and take shots at their rear armor.

He's talking about mbts isn't he? The lightning's higher armor is for balancing purposes against it's lower hp. Also the fact that the lightning is built for speed, and maneuverability.

That's entirely besides the point.
Also he didn't specify MBTs.

The saron's going to remain at the top of usage, i think. Too many people have it and don't want to switch. Anyone certing a new secondary out should always go for the halberd though. Anyway, i compared two random samples from my DA data, one from before the nerf patch and one from after, and the Saron/Halberd usage ratio went from ~4.5 to 2.

Not really. I just dot my screen with a dry-erase marker

I was thinking about MBTs. But I didn't specifiied that I was talking about MBTs. Then again, I didn't know that the reinforced armor of the Lightning was as strong as the reinforced armor of the Vanguard.

So...

It's often overlooked, but it's significant.

This; I've bought and certed out my Halberd completly (maxed all but ammo which is at 9) but I simply don't want to pull a Magrider with that configuraiton if I can avoid it (it's so ugly >(; I'd pay for a vehicle camo mod making it look like a Saron but with Halberd sound with out blinking ).

How is the prowler the worst in close? It is faster, has more DPS, and the Vulcan is viable when in close, whereas the magrider has what to compete in close?

You said Vulcan.

Yes the Vulcan is very good when you are in close believe it or not. So how is the Magrider better in CQB.