Battlescout Engines

[RickDagles]

Which engines do you equip on your Battlescouts? In this post I'll break down the pros and cons of each engine type.

 

Retro Thrusters

24% evasion boost during jousts

Excellent way to land extra shots on enemies, especially around satellites

Allows you to get behind an enemy that's chasing you

The only engine power capable of boosting engine power pool by 20%

15 second cooldown, requires engine power to use

Does not boost mobility

Can be very dangerous to use in Lost Shipyards C and Kuat Mesas B

 

Power Dive

0 engine power required to use - this also makes it extremely useful against Ion Railgun

Boosts mobility - can be used to fly safely to cover, even when engines are dry

10 second cooldown

Can be very dangerous to use ANYWHERE if you aren't careful

 

Barrel Roll

The best mobility of any of the engine powers

Can be used at the end of a joust to get a few more shots in while benefiting from 24% evasion increase

Using this ability will pull you away from a satellite

20 second cooldown makes it the longest

Uses significantly more engine power than the other choices

 

Koiogran Turn

Safe to use around Lost Shipyards C and Kuat Mesas B, and it will not pull you away from capping the satellite

Can be used to set up jousting runs on an enemy

15 second cooldown

Requires engine power to use

 

 

So which do you use? Ideally I think Retro Thrusters are best for Domination and Power Dive is best for Deathmatch. If I only have one Battlescout on my bar then I choose Powerdive and be sure to use my DF missile break anytime the area is unsafe to dive.

Edited October 29, 2014 by RickDagles

[Drakkolich]

While I do agree retros have a lot going for them, I use barrel roll. The biggest reason is to be able to get damage overcharges before others. The second reason is my strategy most of the time is pop cooldowns run into the enemy team, do as much damage as possible breaking the first missile with disto or using for evasion if its gunship heavy, and then once the second missile lock rolls around or I run out of evasion cooldowns I just barrel out, look for power ups and start the cycle all over again.

 

In domination the important part is the objectives and barrel gets me there faster, it also lets me close on gunships since in domination you have less worries about multiple missile locks on you and cause use barrel for closing instead of a missile break.

 

I know I'm in the minority and that's ok, it's fun to have slight variations from the masses. ^^ I really think engines on most ships are very player preference choices. In fact probably any "mobility" options I would consider player preference as it really depends how you fly.

[Verain]

As a note, ALL of these give 24% evasion, not just the first.

 

I don't touch the turn, and I normally don't take dive on a battle scout. Big fan of barrel roll and retros, however.

[Asbetos]

Retros. They open up a very wide array of offensive options, here's a few I use most often: overshooting the static gunship on purpose to get him to start turning, then retro to get him back into your sights (result: safe-r from a point blank slug or BLC in your face); changing the angle of attack in a joust with a simple, fast twitch; getting those 4 annoying pests on your tail ahead of you so you can run or start blasting them out of the sky and many, many more. Edited October 29, 2014 by Asbetos

[jankiel]

Retros! I do tend to smash my arse into asteroids quite often tough

[Verain]

I really think engines on most ships are very player preference choices. In fact probably any "mobility" options I would consider player preference as it really depends how you fly.

 

 

Wanted to highlight this part: I really feel that the engine components are MUCH more balanced than at launch. I really feel that each of them lends to a very different flight experience, and I feel that all of them have some serious things to speak for them.

 

It's very nice to power dive on a 10 second cooldown, and to have the great distance of barrel roll. They really feel like cool choices.

Edited October 29, 2014 by Verain

[armpatara]

I use K-turn for its simple, short distance manuever. It can be used in almost every area I can fly into. (Doing flip over or left-right variation.) It also available on many scout and strike so I can fly them comfortably.

 

This is off topic but is anyone think they should rename the barrel roll into just a roll since in real dogfight barrel roll does the similar function to Retro, it put you behind the chasing enemy or force him to overshoot. (I know this is just a game but that's what I think.)

Edited October 29, 2014 by armpatara
Correction

[Magira]

Burst/Cluster Battlescout: Retros

Quad/Pods Battelscout: Barell Roll

[LilSaihah]

Retros. Unless I'm going sabo probe for some reason, in which case Koi.

[nyghtrunner]

I think most of it is really personal preference. There's a good case to be made for pretty much any of the engine components available to the T2 Scout, and I think all of the options award a certain style of play.

 

That said, Retros. They offer me huge amounts of versatility, and I usually look at the places you mentioned them being dangerous (C in Shipyards, B in Mesas) as places of opportunity. Most people don't really expect you to hit Retros in those enclosed spaces, and if you can pull it off, you can change a lot of battles.

 

I love the 20% engine, but have finally settled on the 10% turning. There are matches where the turning doesn't matter, but when you need it, you definitely need it. And I can't let go of Regen Thrusters with an engine component that effectively gives me negative mobility.

[StrixHiraeth]

I like Snap Turn on my Blackbolt. Power Dive on my Jurgoran and my Bloodmark and my quads'n'pods Ocula. Barrel Roll or Retro on my Sting; that's my "fun" ship and its loadout varies with my mood.

 

Edit: Um, the Jurgoran is not a scout. Oops. I'm not sure if my other ships count as battlescouts? What's the difference between a battlescout and a regular scout?

Edited October 29, 2014 by Ymris

[nyghtrunner]

Edit: Um, the Jurgoran is not a scout. Oops. I'm not sure if my other ships count as battlescouts? What's the difference between a battlescout and a regular scout?

Typically, the "Battlescout" term is one used to describe the Type 2 Scout in particular, which would mean either the Flashfire or the Sting (Pub/Imp).

[tunewalker]

Typically, the "Battlescout" term is one used to describe the Type 2 Scout in particular, which would mean either the Flashfire or the Sting (Pub/Imp).

 

Cartel Scout counts as well.

[nyghtrunner]

Cartel Scout counts as well.

Truth

[Verain]

I like Snap Turn on my Blackbolt. Power Dive on my Jurgoran and my Bloodmark and my quads'n'pods Ocula. Barrel Roll or Retro on my Sting; that's my "fun" ship and its loadout varies with my mood.

 

Edit: Um, the Jurgoran is not a scout. Oops. I'm not sure if my other ships count as battlescouts? What's the difference between a battlescout and a regular scout?

 

 

The "behind the scenes" names were with us from the start. They are from the devs and pop up in game and on beta sometimes, but aren't normally advertised when you click on the ships (a shame). These names predate the later names.

 

Scouts:

Novadive / Blackbolt= "Type 1 Scout" = "Speed/Sensors scout"

Flashfire / Sting / IL-5= "Type 2 Scout" = "Battle Scout"

Spearpoint / Bloodmark = "Type 3 Scout" = "Support Scout"

 

Strikes:

Starguard / Rycer / TZ-24 = "Type 1 Strike" = "Fighter Variant" (originally "strike fighter", but this became the class name)

Pike / Quell = "Type 2 Strike" = "Attack Variant"

Clarion / Imperium = "Type 3 Strike" = "Command Variant"

 

Gunships:

Quarrel / Mangler / VX-9 = "Type 1 Gunship" = "Rail Sniper"

Comet Breaker / Dustmaker / K-52 = "Type 2 Gunship" = "Missile Skiff" (at times "Artillery Gunship")

Condor / Jungoran = "Type 3 Gunship" = "Attack Skiff"

 

Bombers:

Rampart / Razorwire = "Type 1 Bomber" = "Minelayer"

Warcarrier / Legion / GX-1 = "Type 2 Bomber" = "Dronecarrier" (originally "drone controller")

Sledgehammer / Decimus = "Type 3 Bomber" = "Fighter Bomber"

 

 

 

(Still missing: Ambusher, Disabler, Combat. Do want!)

[StrixHiraeth]

Ah.... I see. So, what does it mean when you say "boy/girl bombers"?

[Altheran]

Condor / Jungoran = "Type 3 Gunship" = "Attack Skiff"

 

Sledgehammer / Decimus = "Type 3 Bomber" = "Fighter Bomber"

 

 

 

(Still missing: Ambusher, Disabler, Combat. Do want!)

 

If I recall correctly, their official names were "Skirmisher" and "Assault Bomber".

 

I think that it describes them rather well.

Ah.... I see. So, what does it mean when you say "boy/girl bombers"?

Boy = Mines

Girl = Drone

 

Don't ask me why, I don't know.

Edited October 29, 2014 by Altheran

[Ryuku-sama]

Boy bombers drop their babies and don't care after them.

 

Girl bombers cuddle their drones and keep them alive.

 

Up to you to understand were we are going

 

 

Hint : It is strongly related to germinal cells.

 

[RickDagles]

As a note, ALL of these give 24% evasion, not just the first.

 

I don't touch the turn, and I normally don't take dive on a battle scout. Big fan of barrel roll and retros, however.

 

I highlighted the 24% evasion on Retro and Barrel due to their usefulness in jousting. I don't think the evasion is nearly as useful for Power Dive and K-turn.

[Altheran]

Boy bombers drop their babies and don't care after them.

 

Girl bombers cuddle their drones and keep them alive.

 

Up to you to understand were we are going

 

 

Hint : It is strongly related to germinal cells.

Wow, cliché... Edited October 30, 2014 by Altheran

[Verain]

The boy bomber / girl bomber / baby bomber names fit and are cute, there's not some strange germ cell thing going on. Why is a bridge male in German, or a bed female in Russian?

[Verain]

If I recall correctly, their official names were "Skirmisher" and "Assault Bomber".

 

Skirmisher (type 1 gunship alt name) and Artillery (type 2 gunship alt names) may have dated back before things were normalized (aka, the cartel ships may have been intended to be different at one very early point), I'm not really sure. I never saw "Assault Bomber", actually, but I'll admit once we had other nomenclature I didn't keep up with the harder to grab stuff.

[Altheran]

Well, actually the only time they called them this way was in 2.8 patch notes and in the PTS before.

 

It was easy to miss.

 

 

Ships + Hangar

A new Gunship variant has been added! The SGS-S1 Condor (Republic) and the GSS-4Y Jurgoran (Empire) are now available via Fleet Requisition. These Skirmisher Gunships are a more up-close-and-personal Gunship with a Railgun and Missile-focused loadout, including an option for the new Interdiction Missile.

A new Bomber variant has been added! The Sledgehammer (Republic) and the B-5 Decimus (Empire) are now available via Fleet Requisition. These Assault Bombers are heavily armored Bombers that are best in the thick of the battle, and are able to deploy Drones or Mines for maximum effectiveness.

 

[ALaggyGrunt]

I highlighted the 24% evasion on Retro and Barrel due to their usefulness in jousting. I don't think the evasion is nearly as useful for Power Dive and K-turn.

 

Not entirely true. Very occasionally I'll slug someone mid-barrel-roll, but that's really, really rare.

It's essential for the very first part of any evasive maneuver, because there will often be a few direct-fire weapons flying at you as well as the missile you may or may not be trying to evade.

 

More often, I find myself staring down a gunship about to slug my Condor, and I'll powerdive in an attempt to get away from it. Too often they'll hit anyway.

Edited October 30, 2014 by ALaggyGrunt
Missed a detail

[MiaowZedong]

Not entirely true. Very occasionally I'll slug someone mid-barrel-roll, but that's really, really rare.

It's essential for the very first part of any evasive maneuver, because there will often be a few direct-fire weapons flying at you as well as the missile you may or may not be trying to evade.

 

More often, I find myself staring down a gunship about to slug my Condor, and I'll powerdive in an attempt to get away from it. Too often they'll hit anyway.

The problem at the beginning of your evasive manoeuvres is lag. In those crucial few fractions of a second, it looks to you like you're in the manoeuvre, but the server hasn't validated it yet, so the RNG doesn't take your 24% evasion into account. You can see a similar effect on opponents too: the opponent is moving then suddenly they rubberband back and explode when you kill them.