How to counter gunships

[Jendor]

I agreed they arnt to hard to counter, if you ignore them sure they are a pain but that's the nature of it haha if you have a team communicating we find having one gunship as a pure countersnipe is very helpful and keeps them occupied but other than that my solo tact is:

 

point myself at them and barrel roll to them, by then I'm in closing distance to fire some ordinance which is enough normally for them to scarper and then begins the chase which with upgraded booster regen is no issue for the scout

[Brewski]

I've had success with both rocket pods and cluster missiles. Rocket pods do more damage, essentially doubling your DPS against a stationary target, but only until the move. Clusters do less damage, but can be used against moving targets.

 

Personally I use rocket pods on my scout that is also intended for taking objectives, and clusters on my scout intended for gunship hunting exclusively.

[SawneyRath]

For me, I fly a Blackbolt. Gunships can hit me hard, if I let them. Basically it comes down to what everyone else has mentioned.

 

For Scouts (As I don't fly Strikers):

 

-Don't fly in a straight line.

-Use quick short bursts of speed, and force the Gunship to move (So it isn't able to snipe). This isn't a loss, you are preventing the Gunship from sniping your fellow pilots (Remember, this is a team game, not a lone wolf game), and allowing them to fly unharassed by the long range Railguns.

-While pursuing them, SHOOT at them! Obviously, when they are dead, you can return to the dogfighting! I personally like to use Sab Drones to prevent them from escaping me.

-USE your maneuverability. Upgrade your turning speed, and always make use of spirals, dives, and your engine ability. Don't sit in one place, and DON'T Fly in a straight line (Get the point? That's important)!

-Close Range. Gunships whole thing is to sit back, and snipe at you from 15km away. Zip in there and force him out of sniping mode! Its hard to track you when your 5-1km away. The sniper mode is very slow to turn at such close range.

-Make use of your blasters to wear out the shielding, and always get a lock to fire away your missile/Sab Drone. Rocket Pods are dangerous to use, because you need to be flying straight to hit... And the Gunship needs to be stationary. They are only really good if you catch one off guard trying to snipe someone.

 

I know alot of those tips are repetitive, but the repeated tips are vital to understand if you are going to win against a Gunship. They can hit HARD with those Railguns, but you can win. Of course, if you don't know the Gunship is there, they are already winning, so make sure to look for them! Just be sure the fight is on your terms, close range, and moving! That is the scouts role!

[Andurian]

I like to hunt them in my Sting when the rest of my team hasn't went full retard and keeps points.

 

Burn at them at an angle, they will usually be focusing on the nearby point so stay out of that line and once in range pop offensives and pop em before they can know what happens. The really good ones will react quick enough to run some, often to their base turrets.

 

The inverse if you see baddies making a run for your gunships, go cover them. And they'll save your butt when you get in the fire.

[Galtin]

 

3. Unless you are confident that you can do more DPS in your scout than a gunship sniping then both of you being out of the fight is a victory for your TEAM. And if you could do more DPS than them you would have killed them on your first pass or shortly after, eliminating the chase. So regardless of which category you fall into the harassment described would help your team, without a sniper blasting away at a node it is much easier to cap, and thus WIN THE GAME. Domination games are not decided by who has the most kills or damage.

 

TL;DR - L2P

 

I pointed this out as well earlier. Some people just don't understand how important harassing a gunship to prevent them from sniping is. I may not get a lot of kills, assists and objective points, but I still help my team take/defend satellites in an indirect manner.

[AlrikFassbauer]

I pointed this out as well earlier. Some people just don't understand how important harassing a gunship to prevent them from sniping is.

 

The question that instantly came up inside of me is : "HOw do I harass a Scout or a Strike Fighter ?"

[Delta_V]

I pointed this out as well earlier. Some people just don't understand how important harassing a gunship to prevent them from sniping is. I may not get a lot of kills, assists and objective points, but I still help my team take/defend satellites in an indirect manner.

 

You're still saying the gunship is more valuable to the enemy team than you are to yours. While you are preventing the gunship from sniping, you are also taking yourself out of the fight, meaning your team has one less person to cap or defend nodes. If that is a worthwhile tradeoff, that means that the gunship's ability to rack up kills is more valuable than any contributions you would be making to your team if you weren't chasing a gunship all over the map. You have to look at what you would be doing if you weren't chasing gunships and how that would benefit your team, and weigh the value of that compared to the contributions the gunship would make to the enemy team.

 

The very fact that "losing" a scout (since you're not available to do anything else) in exchange for removing an enemy gunship is considered a "win" means there is something wrong with the balance between the ship types. If there wasn't, the scout's ability to cap and defend nodes would be equal in value to the gunship's ability to snipe from extreme range, so trading a scout for a gunship would be a draw, not a win.

[Rigsta]

Regarding interdiction drive: I used it for a while but it eats a good 40% of your engine power when you activate it, so it's no good for escaping or mobility in general. It is useful when you're the one hugging a satellite though - that's not where I prefer to be but I often have to do it.

 

I've been using rotational thrusters, pretty handy but I'm still figuring out the best time & situation to use them.

 

I see you are using the Sting/Flashfire. I gave that a shot, and I think the Blackbolt/Novadive is better at hunting Gunships. Mostly because I can boost so much longer with the Blackbolt/Novadive. I use a lot of hit and run tactics. Sting/Flashfire is much better at dogfighting though.

The extra sensor range is also really useful to counter their dampening. Blaster overcharge is hard to pass up, though.

[Rigsta]

You're still saying the gunship is more valuable to the enemy team than you are to yours.

Hypothetical (but common) situation:

 

Team A has 4 scouts/fighters and Team B has 3 scouts/fighters and a gunship. They're both trying to capture an objective, and to do that they have to hug it to prevent the other team from capping. The close quarters drastically restricts their ability to shoot each other. One of them can take a risk by peeling off and attacking from a decent range for a better chance at blowing up an enemy, but it can stalemate for some time.

 

Imagine Team B's gunship hangs back to fire from a good position while all of team A stay within 5km of the objective. That's a win for Team B. Team A must respond to the gunship if they want any chance at capping that objective. By peeling away from the objective and engaging the gunship, that player is being far more valuable than hugging the objective.

 

A player's "value" is dynamic.

Edited December 10, 2013 by Rigsta
Clarification

[Kamikazeelotro]

Depending on the map the gunship can camp Satellites sniping to its hearts content. If they get attacked, simply retreat to spawn point knowing the capital ship turrents will destroy any pursuing ships.

 

Rinse and repeat. 20-30 kills and no deaths oh ye!

[Brewski]

You're still saying the gunship is more valuable to the enemy team than you are to yours.

Not at all. A good gunship hunter can keep more than one gunship down, or at the very least, can prevent them from settling in an area, clearing it for assault. One scout keeping one gunship down is a draw. One or more scouts keeping an area clear of gunship snipping while it's capped is a win.

 

Personally I will scan the area for gunships first while the rest of my team is assaulting the objective. While out there, I keep a particular eye on approaching ships, and I try to monitor ships trying to escape the objective as well. If they are heavily damaged, I can often help finish them off freeing up their pursuer to return to the main objective. If a match is not heavily populated with gunships, I sometimes boost in to help with the objective if I don't find anyone after checking the area, but I always keep an ear open for that railgun sound and an eye open for the cloud. Mostly, though, I hang out 10-20k away from the satellite. It's usually not very long before I find a target.

 

Not that its always easy. Really well skilled gunship pilots keep an eye out for guys like me too, and rabbit/cloak/reposition before I get close enough to be effective. But the point is, gunships have an effective counter. They are balanced enough as it is.

 

You want to see unbalanced, you should have seen bombers. 40 kills in a match was easy as pie, and all you had to do was circle a satellite. If we still had them in the game, no one would be complaining about gunships...

[Grayseven]

You're still saying the gunship is more valuable to the enemy team than you are to yours. While you are preventing the gunship from sniping, you are also taking yourself out of the fight, meaning your team has one less person to cap or defend nodes. If that is a worthwhile tradeoff, that means that the gunship's ability to rack up kills is more valuable than any contributions you would be making to your team if you weren't chasing a gunship all over the map. You have to look at what you would be doing if you weren't chasing gunships and how that would benefit your team, and weigh the value of that compared to the contributions the gunship would make to the enemy team.

 

The very fact that "losing" a scout (since you're not available to do anything else) in exchange for removing an enemy gunship is considered a "win" means there is something wrong with the balance between the ship types. If there wasn't, the scout's ability to cap and defend nodes would be equal in value to the gunship's ability to snipe from extreme range, so trading a scout for a gunship would be a draw, not a win.

 

You are forgetting how easy it is for a scout to get anywhere on the map. This means that once you've harassed the GS away you can go back to a node quickly. More often than not, simply getting the GS to move flushes it out to where strikes can join in on the fun. I find it funny to watch a GS boost straight ahead into the very furball they were just sniping at.

 

It does require a good mix of ships in a match, however. Too many GS's and you risk not being able to get to nodes. Too many Scouts and you'll find your firepower weak even if you can go anywhere on the map.

 

The ships are balanced, as are the roles. Matchmaking, however, is not. I wish a Dev would chime in on how, exactly, matchmaking works so that we could see if it is indeed working correctly or if there is a fundamental flaw in the system.

 

Your argument is flawed because you aren't looking at the entire picture. A victory requires all parts working together and it isn't rare for me to see matches where the losing team still has over 900 resource points...

[Jordansc]

You're still saying the gunship is more valuable to the enemy team than you are to yours. While you are preventing the gunship from sniping, you are also taking yourself out of the fight, meaning your team has one less person to cap or defend nodes. If that is a worthwhile tradeoff, that means that the gunship's ability to rack up kills is more valuable than any contributions you would be making to your team if you weren't chasing a gunship all over the map. You have to look at what you would be doing if you weren't chasing gunships and how that would benefit your team, and weigh the value of that compared to the contributions the gunship would make to the enemy team.

 

The very fact that "losing" a scout (since you're not available to do anything else) in exchange for removing an enemy gunship is considered a "win" means there is something wrong with the balance between the ship types. If there wasn't, the scout's ability to cap and defend nodes would be equal in value to the gunship's ability to snipe from extreme range, so trading a scout for a gunship would be a draw, not a win.

 

 

This game is supposed to be set up as Rock Paper Scissors. Strike fighters should be defending objectives. Gunships dealing damage on defenders and scouts either harassing gunships or zipping between objectives as a response unit. Each ship has its role and needs. If gunships were truly more valuable you'd see more than half the ships being gunships instead of a max of 3-4 per battle.

[Brewski]

This game is supposed to be set up as Rock Paper Scissors. Strike fighters should be defending objectives. Gunships dealing damage on defenders and scouts either harassing gunships or zipping between objectives as a response unit. Each ship has its role and needs. If gunships were truly more valuable you'd see more than half the ships being gunships instead of a max of 3-4 per battle.

 

This.

 

12 gunships will not win a match, no matter how upgraded they are. If they were as OP as some people think, that's all we'd see. For that matter, 12 scouts or 12 strikers would be just as fail. You need a mix of ships filling in the roles, and you need to adjust the mix and your tactics to meet the current battlefield situation.

 

Tactics!

[ArchangelLBC]

You're still saying the gunship is more valuable to the enemy team than you are to yours. While you are preventing the gunship from sniping, you are also taking yourself out of the fight, meaning your team has one less person to cap or defend nodes. If that is a worthwhile tradeoff, that means that the gunship's ability to rack up kills is more valuable than any contributions you would be making to your team if you weren't chasing a gunship all over the map. You have to look at what you would be doing if you weren't chasing gunships and how that would benefit your team, and weigh the value of that compared to the contributions the gunship would make to the enemy team.

 

The very fact that "losing" a scout (since you're not available to do anything else) in exchange for removing an enemy gunship is considered a "win" means there is something wrong with the balance between the ship types. If there wasn't, the scout's ability to cap and defend nodes would be equal in value to the gunship's ability to snipe from extreme range, so trading a scout for a gunship would be a draw, not a win.

 

On the contrary. What we're saying is that a scout fulfilling one of their primary roles is better than or equal to a gunship performing their primary role which is sniping from a distance.

 

Rather I'd say a scout dogfighting near an objective when there is a GS out there taking his teammates out is inherently worth less than the gunship in question, specifically because then you aren't performing your role by hunting him down and keeping him from doing that.

 

If you want to look at the big picture, think rather that by harassing him you may be removing yourself from other things you could be doing, but you're keeping all those people who the gunship would have killed in the fight.

 

 

To the experienced scouts who have chimed in this thread, as someone who is still learning, I thank you very much for your tips. I especially liked the bit about not locking on till you'd had a chance to let your blasters do some good work.

 

To the OP: A thread titled "how to" should actually be a guide on how to. I'm glad some people actually took up your unforgivable slack by actually talking about how to do it, but your original post was absolutely worthless.

Edited December 10, 2013 by ArchangelLBC

[TUXs]

Come on folks stop whining about gunships. There is no overpowered ship. I refuse to play gunships because I don't like their mechanic but I realize the threat they present. Guess what? A well played scout can take a gunship's snipe ability completely out of the battle. I play the scout pretty much exclusively on both Republic and Empire and I search out gunships nonstop to harass them. If you force them to maneuver, they can't snipe you. The only time a gunship kills my scout is if I don't realize one is present in the area and I am focusing on another ship.

I like you!!! I do the same thing on my scout. I get killed VERY often by them...but they generally get killed the moment I'm back in battle...at the very least, I prevent them from doing it to anyone else.

[gunslinger]

i had been going with the lockon missiles (protons?) with a scout. i think i'll go back to rocket pods and try the "FIRE EVERYTHING" approach a few times. i'm basically making my scout a GS hunter. playing with loadouts.

[Galtin]

Depending on the map the gunship can camp Satellites sniping to its hearts content. If they get attacked, simply retreat to spawn point knowing the capital ship turrents will destroy any pursuing ships.

 

Rinse and repeat. 20-30 kills and no deaths oh ye!

 

A gunship fleeing the battle isn't doing anything to help his team win. Anyone silly enough to chase them all the way back to their gunship deserves to get destroyed. You can easily stop before then and wait for them to get over their fear of getting harassed by a scout.

[Bleeters]

i had been going with the lockon missiles (protons?) with a scout. i think i'll go back to rocket pods and try the "FIRE EVERYTHING" approach a few times. i'm basically making my scout a GS hunter. playing with loadouts.

I've kind of warmed to the dumb-fire rocket pods as of late. Having no lock-on systems are their greatest weakness, but also their greatest strength. The lock-on warning beep is practically a giant neon sign spelling 'someone is coming to kill you'. With rocket pods, unless they've already seen you coming, the first warning they'll get is when their ship starts exploding.

 

I mean, I'd still rather have cluster missles on the whole, but rocket pods are a decent alternative for a novadive.

Edited December 10, 2013 by Bleeters

[Galtin]

 

To the OP: A thread titled "how to" should actually be a guide on how to. I'm glad some people actually took up your unforgivable slack by actually talking about how to do it, but your original post was absolutely worthless.

 

Since you are still learning, let me explain it to you. The guide to "how to counter gunships" is easily condensed into one simple statement which I provided. You constantly harass them by forcing them to keep maneuvering. Some people here obviously understand that simple point. Some people obviously don't. There is no need for a detailed guide when any competent player should be able to figure it out on their own.

Edited December 10, 2013 by Galtin

[MCaliban]

A good how-to guide gives detailed information.

 

It assumes that the person reading *doesn't* already know these things.

[Metasher]

I recently went against a Republic team with a ship configuration of 7 gunships, 2 scouts and 3 strike fighters. We were on the space map (sorry I could not remember the map name) and the Ops team I was in, even though we focused on A and C, could not get near the staggered gunship formation they use. We held C for a little bit until the Republic team decided to hit it too. Edited December 10, 2013 by Metasher

[JimG]

At the start of each game, i make a mental note of who is flying a gunship and like the OP, am always on the lookout for them in between capping and patrolling satellites.

Same here. The one gunship tactic that I find hardest to counter is the ones who have rotational thrusters and they are able to quickly boost to their max range and then turn to face you with the rotational thrusters. They'll probably be able to get 1-2 shots on you before you can close the gap and get into firing range. You can try dancing around as you approach but, of course, that takes longer to close the gap. Most people flying gunships are cherry pickers though. If you go after them, they run and just keep running. If someone really knows what they are doing in a gunship, then the best way to counter them is to take note at the beginning of who has gunships and keep an eye out for them so you know which objectives they are camping around....you can bring up an enemies within sensor range of your allies through tab targeting so you can spot them even if they are near other objectives. Also, a teammate is the best counter measure. There's been a few times where I've tried to hound a gunship but they were able to take me out first and then one of my teammates quickly killed them. The best counter is for everyone on the team to be on the lookout and harass them if you see them camped out so they can't just sit there and cherry pick people. They want to camp and fire....they don't want to have to maneuver or get into dogfights. So the more your team can keep them on the run, the more you can take them out of the equation.

[ArchangelLBC]

Since you are still learning, let me explain it to you. The guide to "how to counter gunships" is easily condensed into one simple statement which I provided. You constantly harass them by forcing them to keep maneuvering. Some people here obviously understand that simple point. Some people obviously don't. There is no need for a detailed guide when any competent player should be able to figure it out on their own.

 

If any competent player should be able to figure it out on their own then this thread has no purpose. Either way you're an insufferable moron, and I'm glad someone in this thread bothered to actually give some worthwhile applicable tips.

 

You know you could have just called the thread "Gunships are easy to counter" and then I wouldn't have an issue. Calling it a "how to" suggests you're actually going to try to be helpful, which you most definitely haven't been.

 

What you posted amounts to a "How to win at GSF" with the simple post comment "get more points then the other team". True, but absolutely useless.

[Galtin]

If any competent player should be able to figure it out on their own then this thread has no purpose. Either way you're an insufferable moron, and I'm glad someone in this thread bothered to actually give some worthwhile applicable tips.

 

You know you could have just called the thread "Gunships are easy to counter" and then I wouldn't have an issue. Calling it a "how to" suggests you're actually going to try to be helpful, which you most definitely haven't been.

 

What you posted amounts to a "How to win at GSF" with the simple post comment "get more points then the other team". True, but absolutely useless.

 

Do you really need someone to explain to you detailed step by step how to force a gunship to maneuver?