DUST Search - [NO NO NO NO] The Death of Dropships

KING CHECKMATE wrote:

The Black Jackal wrote:

As a vehicle Driver, I drive LLAVs, LAVs, HAVs, Enforcers, and Dropships. With the 1.4 Change to Swarm launcher relock intervak, and the skill-based reduction in lock-on time... even a well tanked Dropship (My Logistics Dropship has 2800 HP in Shield, at 34% (roughly)) and it already gets 3 hit by forge guns, and proto swarms.

With Forges, simply moving out of LoS helps, but you have around 7.5 seconds to start moving and get that blocking obstacle (assuming Assault Forge). With Swarms, since they do track and there is nothing you can do but 'try' outrun them, you will get their full 3 shots in less than 4 seconds.

Dropships, even good ones, will have their lifespan reduced to >6 seconds once someone spots them with a Swarm Launcher.

Just some numbers, current 'rate of fire' for Swarm Launchers is 1 Volley every 3.4 Seconds (1.2 Lock-on Timer, 2 second refire timer). The Proposed 1.4 Patch will reduce the refire time to .3 seconds, with a slight increase in lock on time to 1.4 seconds. And they're changing the Swarm Launcher Operation's Skill to 5% reduction in Lock on Time per levek, equalling a total of a volley - EVERY 1.35 Seconds - effectively doubling the DPS of the Swarm Launcher.

So?

At last swarms will be useful.

Plus no ship should be able to whistand 3 Forge guns or Swarm launchers... i mean W*F?


Author	Thread Statistics \| Show CCP posts - 0 post(s)
The Black Jackal The Southern Legion The Umbra Combine 767	Posted - 2013.08.26 23:18:00 - [1] - Quote As a vehicle Driver, I drive LLAVs, LAVs, HAVs, Enforcers, and Dropships. With the 1.4 Change to Swarm launcher relock intervak, and the skill-based reduction in lock-on time... even a well tanked Dropship (My Logistics Dropship has 2800 HP in Shield, at 34% (roughly)) and it already gets 3 hit by forge guns, and proto swarms. With Forges, simply moving out of LoS helps, but you have around 7.5 seconds to start moving and get that blocking obstacle (assuming Assault Forge). With Swarms, since they do track and there is nothing you can do but 'try' outrun them, you will get their full 3 shots in less than 4 seconds. Dropships, even good ones, will have their lifespan reduced to >6 seconds once someone spots them with a Swarm Launcher. Just some numbers, current 'rate of fire' for Swarm Launchers is 1 Volley every 3.4 Seconds (1.2 Lock-on Timer, 2 second refire timer). The Proposed 1.4 Patch will reduce the refire time to .3 seconds, with a slight increase in lock on time to 1.4 seconds. And they're changing the Swarm Launcher Operation's Skill to 5% reduction in Lock on Time per levek, equalling a total of a volley - EVERY 1.35 Seconds - effectively doubling the DPS of the Swarm Launcher.
The Black Jackal The Southern Legion The Umbra Combine 767	Posted - 2013.08.27 00:42:00 - [2] - Quote We need countermeasures.... something that say 'disables all locks on vehicle' so if they fire everything at us at once, we can disable their entire 'barrage' with like a 15 second CD, so we can't do it again before they reload and refire. Countermeasure Burst Disables all locks and locked-on projectile (including friendly) within 1 kilometre. Any locked-on projectiles will immediately detonate. Pulse Interval: 1 second No. of Pulses: 1 Range of Pulse: 1km Cooldown: 15 seconds This would have to be standard on all Aerial Craft.
The Black Jackal The Southern Legion The Umbra Combine 770	Posted - 2013.08.27 05:37:00 - [3] - Quote Vulpes Dolosus wrote: AFTERBURNERS MOTHER THUKKER DO YOU USE THEM!? But in all seriousness, I am a bit worried about the swarm "fix" (like they needed fixing...). Anyway, if they prove to be too powerful, just complain to CCP and hopefully they can be redone in 1.5. Boom - Swarms on field.. you just got hit. Activate AB, angle DS, mash down on button Boom - You got hit again ^^ That's current. Yes you can then outrun the 3rd volley. I'm talking from a stand-still start.. you still have to accelerate etc. 4.5 seconds Is not enough time to get to safely when the swarms are already in the air, and likely you got hit to recognize there are swarms on the field... thus... 3 seconds until the 3rd swarm volley hits... Not to count being knocked around by saids volleys. A count myself as a competent DS pilot, and 3 seconds simply isn't enough time to go from stationary or slow moving to support your ground troops or provide Spawn point to fast enough to outrun 2 swarm volleys.
The Black Jackal The Southern Legion The Umbra Combine 774	Posted - 2013.08.28 14:04:00 - [4] - Quote CELESTA AUNGM wrote: Hmmm. This note in the 1.4 Patchnotes interested me greatly, because I was not sure, and I suggest NONE of us is truly sure, what they MEAN by the phrase "fire interval". I think many of us agree, if 'fire interval' means "Time between volleys" that would result in a ridiculous HOSING of the target. But I've sampled a standard swarm missile launcher, and found that, once the trigger is pulled, it takes ABOUT 2 seconds for all four missiles to clear the launcher (meaning you have to hold you weapon still for about 2 seconds while it's releasing its rounds). THIS may be what they mean by the "fire interval". Reducing this volley release down to under a second WOULD help the user get back under hiding quicker----while having to stand partially in the open during a LONGER lock-on period will make him exposed to fire longer. Maybe THIS is what they are referring to when they use the (slightly-ambiguous?) time "fire interval". We'll have to see. If it was fire interval,. it would take around 8 seconds for all 4 missiles to clear your swarm launcher at current. Since we have an 'intial' Fire Interval of 2 seconds currently (in the patch notes).
The Black Jackal The Southern Legion The Umbra Combine 785	Posted - 2013.08.28 22:55:00 - [5] - Quote Tal-Rakken wrote: As a swarm user I would have to agree that any dropship pilot worth anything uses an afterburner and is nigh on impossible for my proto swarms to take down hey just pop their ab and zoom off. The decrease in the time between shots will give me maybe 2 hits over 1 but that's all I'm expecting. Flares:, 1.5 will be seeing ammo consumption added to vehicle turrets(afaik) so this would mean that flares would probably have 3-5 shots with a short cool down. main use would be to give the pilot time to bug out. Time interval: I saw some confusion on this in the thread the "interval" being talked about is the time after a swarm is launched where you cannot swap weapons cannot run cannot start locking another target. All u can do in this time interval is walk and I believe jump. Any Dropship Pilot worthy anything is hard to kill, yes. But when he's ABing away from your swarms, he's not able to do his job in supporting his team... As stated... the only issue I have with it is the fact that at the moment, we have no way of knowing if Swarms are on the ield unles a) we see them launched or b) we get hit by them. No pilot will get away in a mere 3 seconds after a) dropship gets pushed around by first swarm volley, second swarm volley, and accelerating into the third in 1.5 seconds. And THAT is assuming there is only 1 Swarm Launcher on the field, which is rare at the beginning of ANY coordinated match. Give us an Early Lock System that informs us when a) we are being locked onto, b) informs us when they have a lock, and c) changes tone when a projectile is locked onto us. Then yes, we MAY be able to compensate for the 4.5 second (actually less) damage burst coming to tear down the Dropship. Give us Flares on limited supply, or CD, and we'll be able to stay in the air long enough to actually do something. Dropships at the moment are one shot wonders. At the start of PC battles, we are used as fast transport to a tower, a far point, or something, and then ditched. This buff to swarms will only make us more redundant.
The Black Jackal The Southern Legion The Umbra Combine 787	Posted - 2013.08.29 07:36:00 - [6] - Quote KING CHECKMATE wrote: The Black Jackal wrote: As a vehicle Driver, I drive LLAVs, LAVs, HAVs, Enforcers, and Dropships. With the 1.4 Change to Swarm launcher relock intervak, and the skill-based reduction in lock-on time... even a well tanked Dropship (My Logistics Dropship has 2800 HP in Shield, at 34% (roughly)) and it already gets 3 hit by forge guns, and proto swarms. With Forges, simply moving out of LoS helps, but you have around 7.5 seconds to start moving and get that blocking obstacle (assuming Assault Forge). With Swarms, since they do track and there is nothing you can do but 'try' outrun them, you will get their full 3 shots in less than 4 seconds. Dropships, even good ones, will have their lifespan reduced to >6 seconds once someone spots them with a Swarm Launcher. Just some numbers, current 'rate of fire' for Swarm Launchers is 1 Volley every 3.4 Seconds (1.2 Lock-on Timer, 2 second refire timer). The Proposed 1.4 Patch will reduce the refire time to .3 seconds, with a slight increase in lock on time to 1.4 seconds. And they're changing the Swarm Launcher Operation's Skill to 5% reduction in Lock on Time per levek, equalling a total of a volley - EVERY 1.35 Seconds - effectively doubling the DPS of the Swarm Launcher. So? At last swarms will be useful. Plus no ship should be able to whistand 3 Forge guns or Swarm launchers... i mean W*F? I have no qualms about the 3 hits.. it's the SPEED at which they will come. 3 Hits over roughly 10 seconds Vs. 3 hits in less than 4.5 seconds.
The Black Jackal The Southern Legion The Umbra Combine 787	Posted - 2013.08.29 07:42:00 - [7] - Quote 1.4 WILL be the death of most Vehicle Drivers. Most Tankers, and Dropship pilots I've talked to have said that come 1.4 they wont be often seen in tanks as from then on, any person with a Swarm marginally trained will be able to put a full 3 volleys into the air in 4.35 Seconds, reducing most Armor Tanks to rubble, Dropships to scrapheaps, and will take away 1 of the two things that Shield Tanks ACTUALLY manage to do ok (tanking Swarms). Logistics LAVs, which I can only guess this 'buff' is aimed at... are going to be the least effected. Why? Because a) they're fast, and well tanked and when they roll around the field at full tilt, it's hard enough to get a single volley to hit, let alone 3... even in rapid succession due to the cover they dodge in and out of.