It was a disaster before, and would be again.

My experience causes me to agree with you regarding forges and two AV players, but while I only have prof.2 swarms, they are proto swarms and they can't kill or drive off an ADS alone. They may cause a pilot to leave because they fear a second AVer joining me but I can't recall ever soloing a DS with swarms.

"Python needs buff toward resistance toward AV."
"Swarms are too effective toward a python."
"The python has to run away with max two swarms."

We seem to be limiting our thoughts to too small an area. Vehicle balance has a major problem. One that might not even be surmountable. The variables we have to tweak are limited. Perhaps too limited to actualy reach a suitable balance without client updates that are not coming.

Perhaps there are other ways to adjust swarms outside of speed, range and damage. I am just throwing stuff out here, these are not well thought out or even practical, there purpose is to inspire lateral thinking (trying to work within the no client update restriction):

1) Special swarms that also do damage to the pilot

2) Missiles that do more damage the slower a dropship is going. Say double damage it it is hovering, half damage when it is at full speed. Then you could remove the afterburner completely

3) Low damage but high impact physics swarms

4) Change the after burner to not change speed but make its heat throw swarms off so they miss (increase cool down too)

5) Link damage to altitude and remove the afterburner. Low altitude = high damage.

6) Remove the afterburner but increase dropship HP

7) increase swarm damage if a dropship has its afterburner active.

Theres are just ideas to get you considering other options.

The idea for example with 2 and 5 is to stop dropships just hanging there raining unfair death. If I do that I take a great risk of getting hit with 440 hp damage swarms. But if I am moving, say flying to drop off troops, like dropships should, then I take far less damage, say 100 per missile. So swarmers can time their attacks for when the dropship reaches it's destination. At the point when we are a threat to the team; rather than just blasting away from long range the whole match.

Both players have to be more strategic. We can remove the afterburner, buff swarm damage. Over to you......

That would actually make sense. Have a Lock On time per missal, so that while the Proto Swarm with more missals does a lot more damage, the Standard Swarm would lock faster and not be as far behind on DPS.

As it turns out, I found a bug that means the Forge Gun and Swarm weren't getting their proficiency skill bonuses against vehicle armour on HAVs and Dropships. I think I'll look at fixing that.