Are Anti-Vehicle weapons (read: SLs, FGs, PLCs, & R/PEs) meant to "solo" vehicles?

Your question is a black and white fallacy: either one AV player can or cannot take on a vehicle.

If a single AV player could easily kill a vehicle, then vehicles would be worthless once 2-3 players used AV.

It's a balancing game, and vehicles should have a slight edge.

Currently, it is possible for a single player to solo a single vehicle given proper skills and situations. I should know, I do it sometimes.

Unfortunately, the only current way to do that requires a forge gun. Swarms (pre buff) and PLC are just not capable of doing that.

The thing is, I'm not sure they should. Forge is a heavy weapon, the rest are light. Heavy weapons should be a major threat to all vehicles. Light's should need at least two people, imo.

Your question is a black and white fallacy: either one AV player can or cannot take on a vehicle.

The truth is a single AV player should be enough to threaten and/or disrupt vehicles, but actually killing them should be difficult, but not impossible, depending on the situation, each player's skill, and a multitude of other variables.

If a single AV player could easily kill a vehicle, then vehicles would be worthless once 2-3 players used AV.

It's a balancing game, and vehicles should have a slight edge, but that's not to mean that they should be an "I win" button. Any AVer should be a thorn in the side of a pilot unless dealt with immediately, either by fleeing or engaging.

I hate to play the Isk card, but I'd be concerned with the sustainability of the pilot's role if 1/2M vehicles were too easily destroyed.

There's that word ("easily") again! If vehicle users would stop slipping that word into the equation, maybe we could have a reasonable discussion about this!

Can someone please point me to a single post from any AV user that ever said it should be "easy"?

PS: Prof(5) Swarmer. Not a pilot.

I solo tanks allll duh time

Your question is a black and white fallacy: either one AV player can or cannot take on a vehicle.

The truth is a single AV player should be enough to threaten and/or disrupt vehicles, but actually killing them should be difficult, but not impossible, depending on the situation, each player's skill, and a multitude of other variables.

If a single AV player could easily kill a vehicle, then vehicles would be worthless once 2-3 players used AV.

It's a balancing game, and vehicles should have a slight edge, but that's not to mean that they should be an "I win" button. Any AVer should be a thorn in the side of a pilot unless dealt with immediately, either by fleeing or engaging.

Commandos remove/reduce the primary weakness of the Swarm Launcher fit (being able to fit a second light weapon) means that Swarm fits should really, if serious about the idea of AV, be in a Commando. I think I've wandered off topic...

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I'd love CCP's comment as well.

Truthfully, I feel that a single devoted AV'er, when properly fitted, should be able to solo a vehicle. He has assumed the role of AV'er. If he can't destroy vehicles on his own then why bother having the role?

A vehicle user has dedicated a ton of skill points and ISK to killing everything around him.

If someone can thwart his efforts with a single cost-efficient pea shooter, why should anyone run vehicles?

I agree with everything you've said, up to this point.

Firstly, this represents an unreasonable SP tax on infantry. Each and every infantry unit is vulnerable to being farmed by HAV or ADS. To require that each and every infantry unit cross-train as a commando to not be steamrolled is unreasonable. Do we tell all newbros to first skill into commando to have a fighting chance against squads with pilots?

Secondly, this standard isn't applied elsewhere. I needn't run my Scout mk.0 to use Nova Knives effectively; in fact, I prefer to use them on a Scout gk.0. I haven't invested a single point of SP into Amarr Assaut, yet I've killed several thousand mercs with a Scrambler Rifle. NKs and ScRs may be most effective on particular suits, but they certainly aren't ineffective when wielded by another.

The AVer is similarly vulnerable to hostile infantry with peashooters that are helpless against your vehicle.

Infantry < tank < av < Infantry < tank < av < Infantry < tank < av

Notice a pattern? Vehicles are rock. Av is paper. Infantry is scissors.

And I have dedicated a lot of ISK and SP to killing your vehicles. Why should that be relegated to a sideshow?

Vehicle users seem to have this belief that more money should be rewarded with invulnerability.

This is not good design space.

Maybe it's the Commando, but I myself have soloed many vehicles with a Swarm Launcher, though most of them are Madrugars and Un-Hardened Gunnlogies. But to do so, you need to invest Heavily into it, as well as know how/when to delay a volley's flight.

Then why would anyone choose anything other than a Forge Gun?

A tank or ADS can run away from my forge suit with no problems, not so with a scout and a swarm launcher.

Here's the rub. AV ISN'T in line for significant buffing.

Nor should it be.

The only buffs are making swarms able to outrun a dropship (by 10 meters per second) while nerfing the 90-degree cornering. This is not a bad tradeoff.

The other is accelerating the laughworthy plasma cannon projectile so it can actually apply its power and not simply be a troll weapon/AoE shotgun.

But there are no damage buffs in line for AV. The two buffs are solely to allow our under performing AV (swarms and plasma cannon) to be able to land hits in decent fashion. There should be little to no change in time to kill. ADS will still take 4 pro swarm shots to kill. Plasma cannons wont be utterly dependent upon the "surprise buttsex!" Maneuver.

Thats it. No forge buffs. No increases to heavy damage mods. No increase of av base damage.