Levelled up gunships - nerf time!

[Atamasama]

This...It doesn't matter if you think you're going to try to be fast or whatever nonsense. If they see you, that's it, you can hide behind something, but you are NOT going to zip around so much that you dodge that BS shoop the whoop garbage every time, dude talks about it as though it's a sure-fire formula.

That's totally false. As someone who plays a gunship part of the time (though I'm coming to like my striker more) I can assure you that even at extreme range (reticle barely turns from grey to red) if someone boosts in a direction other than straight toward me there's a good chance I'll miss.

 

This is for two reasons. When I'm moving my mouse around to track a moving target, it moves very slow, to the point where someone moving perpendicular to my line of sight is hard to follow. Secondly, I can't move my targeting reticule outside of a relatively small circle, and if your ship moves outside of that circle I can't target you. The key is to keep moving in one direction though, you can't juke around or move erratically because I'll be able to follow you then.

 

Generally, it's easy to snipe people who are unaware of you (because they're not trying to evade you) or other gunships (because they're slow) but trying to snipe a scout or striker who is boosting is pretty hard, generally I have to stop sniping, readjust my position, and hope that they stop their boosting at a point where I'm still in range and they're not behind something.

 

EDIT: I forgot to add, the closer I am to whatever I'm trying to snipe, the harder it is because they're moving even faster relative to me and it's harder to track them.

Edited December 8, 2013 by Atamasama

[Andryah]

The key is to keep moving in one direction though, you can't juke around or move erratically because I'll be able to follow you then.

 

Pretty much. A scout applying trapezium maneuvers + boost cannot be accurately targeted by a Gunship. Even better if they have a wingman, IMO. The objective is to close the distance at angle, and then maneuver until you can kill the Gunship, or the Gunship decides to bug out and is actually able to. This is only hard if the Gunship has actual team support.

 

Any dip-dunk that thinks they can close head on, or any other linear manner, to a Gunship deserves to get their keester handed to them.

Edited December 8, 2013 by Andryah

[zechio]

I fail to see how a gunship could ever 1 shot a strike fighter. Heck, they can only 1 shot my scout ( that uses evasion armor, not damage reduction. Though he does have the companion 9% damage reduction. ), if they use a damage boosting ability. Strike fighters have nearly double the shields, and nearly double the hull of a scout...meaning it will take more around 4 shots. ( Well, ideally you would open with an ion cannon shot then move to plasma for maximum damage. You then have to hope they do not have the shield recharge ability, or hull repair ability. )

 

Also, my scout runs sensor dampening, giving me a measly 20k sensor range, and I still easily find any gunship. There's a few things to remember: Scouts fly FAST. You may not see that gunship from 15km out, but you can get within visual range in 1/3 the time it takes the gunship to charge its shot. Also, you don't see only ships within your range. You see ships within range of your team mates as well. Finally, as mentioned...gunships make a nice big glowie when charging their guns.

 

My scout, the squishiest fighter in the game, has probably 3 gunship kills for every gunship death. The VAST majority of those gunship deaths are from me having a weakened hull before the gunship shoots me. This is also why I run around with the hull repair ability.

 

Another fun tactic, if you spot a gunship trying to shoot you, get behind cover and press X to stop. ( Don't do this if someone else is shooting you as well obviously...in those cases you should run away. ) The gunship will either change targets, in which case you can approach and freely kill them, or the gunship repositions to kill you...in which case you can approach and freely kill them faster than they can see you are out of cover, enter sniper mode, aim, charge, and fire twice. Heck, usually they can't even fire once...especially if you use barrel roll. Scouts can cover the 15km and get behind a gunship in about 3 seconds.

[Yorumi]

All this talk is always of scouts and that's all well and good but I'm not kidding try a strike, railgun shots just bounce off the shield. I wasn't exaggerating earlier when I said I'll put shields on double front and just go head on with a gunship taking railgun blasts so i can lock on missiles.

 

Both scouts and strikes make excellent gun ship hunters for different reasons. Scouts for their speed and strikes for their range. 7km range on guns, 10-11km range on missiles, good luck getting that tub out of range.

[AlrikFassbauer]

I love hunting gunships in my scout. Do I die on the approach sometimes? Yes, if they see me coming I can definitely be killed. That said, I'm usually pretty good at coming at them from behind, and once I get in close, they will be dead, because they can't shake me, can't kill me at close range, and I can outlast them when it comes to turning and maneuvering.

 

I have already begun looking out for Gunship hunters and hunt them, while in my Scout or Strike Fighter.

 

My Flashfire's my favorite ship. When a match starts, I look at the other team to see who has selected a Gunship, because then I know where dinner is. I will always start by going for a quick cap on a point while flying around it and making sure to use it as hard cover from locks and Gunships. After that, it's time to get dinner. There are a few very likely places where Gunships like to set up. I go there first. Usually, they're fireworks at that point. Sometimes I run into one that's either well-supported or a much better player than me. I'll give chase anyway. Even if I don't get my kill, I've taken that gun out of the match until one of us is gone. I'm in a Scout, disruption is what I do.

 

Since the counter to a Scout is a Scout, I'm currently looking at how many Scouts are used by the enemy team, and choose one myself ...

 

All this talk is always of scouts and that's all well and good but I'm not kidding try a strike, railgun shots just bounce off the shield. I wasn't exaggerating earlier when I said I'll put shields on double front and just go head on with a gunship taking railgun blasts so i can lock on missiles.

 

Both scouts and strikes make excellent gun ship hunters for different reasons. Scouts for their speed and strikes for their range. 7km range on guns, 10-11km range on missiles, good luck getting that tub out of range.

 

That's the only weakness Gunships have.

 

Now, the question is, what Weakness do Scouts have ? What weakness do Strike Fighteers have ?

 

I ask / wonder because there is *never* talk about THAT here in the forums ... It's always only about Gunships - as if predators were discussing how to get their meal the fastest way ...

Edited December 8, 2013 by AlrikFassbauer

[zechio]

Oh, I also forgot to mention: Gunships DO have an audio warning when aiming at you and charging. It's the missile lock warning.

 

That being said, if they are aimed somewhere else and charge up, then you fly into their aim spot...they can pop it off before you hear a sound.

 

The best way to tell if it's a gunship versus a missile is if you dive in and out of cover and it keeps beeping then stopping every single time. This will also tell you what direction the gunship is. ( IE: If you are under a satellite and the beeping stops, and every time over the satellite it starts...the gunship is somewhere above the point. Boost out horizontally leaving the area, and come back around to above the point. You'll find the little gunship sitting there trying to pick off some other target. Dinner time! )

[Rigsta]

I really like flying gunships but haven't gotten the crit/damage upgrades for my slug railgun yet.

 

If they really are one-shotting people from full shields and hull, that needs to change. I was actually quite surprised to see crit on GSF weapons at all.

[Yorumi]

I really like flying gunships but haven't gotten the crit/damage upgrades for my slug railgun yet.

 

If they really are one-shotting people from full shields and hull, that needs to change. I was actually quite surprised to see crit on GSF weapons at all.

 

If it can one shot something it's only a scout. Keep in mind a crit from a proton torpedo is theoretically capable of that as well on a scout. It's the main weakness of the scout, they can outrun and out turn anything in the game, as well as getting extremely high evasion values but they have paper thin defenses.

[renegadeimp]

All this talk is always of scouts and that's all well and good but I'm not kidding try a strike, railgun shots just bounce off the shield. I wasn't exaggerating earlier when I said I'll put shields on double front and just go head on with a gunship taking railgun blasts so i can lock on missiles.

 

Both scouts and strikes make excellent gun ship hunters for different reasons. Scouts for their speed and strikes for their range. 7km range on guns, 10-11km range on missiles, good luck getting that tub out of range.

 

Two words. ION railgun. Can (not always) knock out shields on any ship with 1 hit, and drains engine power and stops it regenerating for 6 secs.

Edited December 8, 2013 by renegadeimp

[Yorumi]

Two words. ION railgun. Can (not always) knock out shields on any ship with 1 hit, and drains engine power and stops it regenerating for 6 secs.

 

Actually even a crit wouldn't take out double front/rear shields. My default shields are like 2100ish forgot the exact number. Double front would be 4200 assuming there's not some weird mechanic and I don't think there is they're incredibly powerful. Ion railgun hits are only 1850. That would take 3 shots to fully drop a double front shield(assuming not damage reduction at all).

 

And if you're wondering yes I have full or nearly full shield a lot. Too many people are stupid enough to do head to head jousting runs against a strike. I imagine it's because they're used to the quick charge shield and not a power boosted double front directional shield.

[renegadeimp]

Actually even a crit wouldn't take out double front/rear shields. My default shields are like 2100ish forgot the exact number. Double front would be 4200 assuming there's not some weird mechanic and I don't think there is they're incredibly powerful. Ion railgun hits are only 1850. That would take 3 shots to fully drop a double front shield(assuming not damage reduction at all).

 

And if you're wondering yes I have full or nearly full shield a lot. Too many people are stupid enough to do head to head jousting runs against a strike. I imagine it's because they're used to the quick charge shield and not a power boosted double front directional shield.

 

Ion's drain shields, stops the regen too. If you are a GS pilot, you should be able to get 2 shots off in quick succession, then easily follow up with a full power slug.

 

As for head to head jousting, i always wondered what they were thinking. Thats the single most stupid tactic you can employ against ANY ship in GSF. ESPECIALLY against a GS.

Edited December 8, 2013 by renegadeimp

[Yorumi]

Ion's drain shields, stops the regen too. If you are a GS pilot, you should be able to get 2 shots off in quick succession, then easily follow up with a full power slug.

 

As for head to head jousting, i always wondered what they were thinking. Thats the single most stupid tactic you can employ against ANY ship in GSF. ESPECIALLY against a GS.

 

Less charge would mean weaker shots, full charge means close to 9 seconds total time(with reload is probably close to 10 or 11 seconds). Proton is 11.5km range, 3.4 second lock on time, ignores 100% shield and armor. Concussion is 2.5 second lock on time, ignores 30% shield 100% armor. At concussion range I'm in range of guns, that gives me a good 5 seconds of gun fire and a proton plus concussion missile before the gunship would have even had a chance to kill me. All of this of course is assuming I'm going to continue to fly straight at the target once my entire shield is gone.

 

Directional shields are crazy powerful.

[Davionix]

If it can one shot something it's only a scout. Keep in mind a crit from a proton torpedo is theoretically capable of that as well on a scout. It's the main weakness of the scout, they can outrun and out turn anything in the game, as well as getting extremely high evasion values but they have paper thin defenses.

 

Shield penetration.

[Yorumi]

Shield penetration.

 

Railguns have very little. The best you can do is the crew skill plus a slug and even then you're not where near one shotting a strike.

[renegadeimp]

Directional shields arent powerful really, They are easily defeated, and shield pen is a whole lot better than you think it is. Remember, as a GS you should be picking your targets carefully, not engaging in close dogfighting. Myself, i usually sit between 13500-14900m from the target. If they start moving, i'll strafe around 2k towards it, so im still just out of their detection range, but i have 3-4k m room to play with.

[Davionix]

a full charge slug railgun crit with 65% percent shield penetration does 1 shot strikes and also gunships. Edited December 8, 2013 by Davionix

[Yorumi]

Directional shields arent powerful really, They are easily defeated, and shield pen is a whole lot better than you think it is. Remember, as a GS you should be picking your targets carefully, not engaging in close dogfighting. Myself, i usually sit between 13500-14900m from the target. If they start moving, i'll strafe around 2k towards it, so im still just out of their detection range, but i have 3-4k m room to play with.

 

That's the thing though, I'm going head on when I have full shield. I'm pointing out how I can take multiple railgun hits and there's a target enemy who damaged you button. Once I have it targeted they're not going to get a second shot, and even if they do I'm still within the safety margin of my ship.

 

The problem is no one engages gunship, they just leave them out there wondering why they keep dying.

 

a full charge slug railgun crit with 65% percent shield penetration does 1 shot strikes and also gunships.

 

Oh well I'm convinced, a skill with a long cooldown plus rng, that settles it gunships are clearly OP.

[Davionix]

I am not saying gunships are OP but just not to trust your directional shields that much.

[DebtofShadows]

Ok so this thread is stupid. I have a mastered gunship. So here's list of what I can do...

 

1) I can only 1 shout scouts

2) It takes me at least 2-3 hits on a gunship, 4 if they are doing crazy shield shield and repairing with a hydrospanner.

3) Even if I have sensor dampening if the other person has sensor boost crap I still get spoted. Oh and the HUGE GLOWING CLOUD that is surrounding my ship dos not give it away I'm a gunship, maybe the fact I'm not moving will.

4) I can only turn really fast once every 30+ seconds from Rotational thrusters which does not break lock or give me any bonuses so I'm still dead because my turning and speed suck.

 

I love it how alot of you trolls are complaining about gunships when in reality you mostly suck at GSF in general and are just trying to blame things for your shortcoming.

 

Everything for the most part is balance and has severe weak points Scouts = No armor/hull so shield pen and they are dead, Strike Fighters = Move for **** and can't avoid lock so if you probe them they are goners and Gunships = If your inside of 7000 meters and moving at all they die.

[Sportiva]

Ok so this thread is stupid. I have a mastered gunship. So here's list of what I can do...

 

 

All of these "nerf" threads are stupid. IMO, the biggest problem is that people are equating ground PvP (WZ not so much Arenas) to GSF Matches. Ground WZ's are much more focused on individuality. Aside from stupid things like leaving a node unguarded, ground WZ by-n-large come down to a better set of individual performances ... such as who has the best healers, who has the best DPS, etc.

 

Ground Arenas and definitely GSF Matches are much more about sound strategy and team work. I have played a substantial amount on all three types of ships. They all have their advantages and they all have their own weaknesses.

[thaganker]

this thread is just a QQ I cant play nerf everyone who can play better.

[Zoom_VI]

I do believe that it is waayyyy to early to be pulling out the nerf hammer. Now I would not be surprised at all if gunships are the first ships determined to be nerfed down the road, but that is again down the road.

[Andryah]

All of these "nerf" threads are stupid. IMO, the biggest problem is that people are equating ground PvP (WZ not so much Arenas) to GSF Matches. Ground WZ's are much more focused on individuality. Aside from stupid things like leaving a node unguarded, ground WZ by-n-large come down to a better set of individual performances ... such as who has the best healers, who has the best DPS, etc.

 

Ground Arenas and definitely GSF Matches are much more about sound strategy and team work. I have played a substantial amount on all three types of ships. They all have their advantages and they all have their own weaknesses.

 

/Signed.

[J_Fred]

Obviously everyone who is defending the GS (which is stupid easy to get kills on compared to the other two) plays it and wants to protect their beloved ship. I would not be surprised if some of these were the same players who defended the OPness of bombers during the closed beta.

 

You can cite the small number of GS in warzones right now all you want. Just like smash bombers, its gonna take a while, but eventually most people will be rolling one. And when that day comes space pvp will have moved from a dog fight type combat to a futuristic "ship of the line" combat. Bioware should have just launched GSF with strike fighters and scouts.

[Sindariel]

...Bioware should have just launched GSF with strike fighters and scouts.

 

And without upgrades.