Crimson ShieId
Sinq Laison Gendarmes
Gallente Federation
1589
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Posted - 2014.12.13 05:41:00 -
[1] - Quote
Now, I've only been flying these things for a short time and I'm still a rather crap pilot, but one thing I've noticed about the ADS is the inability to perform strafing runs. This isn't because of the speed or tanking ability of dropships, but because of the turrets. As it stands, the ADS requires you to hover over/around a target, firing off missiles or rails or even lolblasters until the target dies. Not only is this terribly ineffective due to the current camera angles, but it's also a tad boring giving how much fun dropships can be to fly.
What I'd like to propose isn't a buff to HP or the turrets, but a new turret entirely, something designed specifically for the ADS. We're currently stuck with one of three turrets, all of which force you to hover over a target and none of which allow for any variation in gameplay style. I'd like to point towards a similar gunship, the attack helicopters from Battlefield 3 for a demonstration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HWqzYB2QhI
For you ADS pilots out there, the way attack choppers handle in Battlefield may look familiar. These use similar controls, though a bit more intuitive. The major difference is the method of actual attack. As I've mentioned, Dust gives you three options in turrets, all of which are short range, slow rate of fire launchers suitable only for hovering. The attack helicopters in Battlefield, however, have rocket pods, similar to the missile launcher in Dust in terms of splash radius and damage, but with a much higher rate of fire. These mounted pods allow the helicopters to perform proper strafing runs on a target, though the option is still available to hover over a target if desired, allowing the gunner to get a better line of sight in the process.
For a further example in combat...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6orm0-RicwE
Moving on to the actual idea, these turrets could be high ROF, low damage, high capacity launchers capable of dealing out a fair sum of damage given the dropship be lined up properly. Perhaps around the 200-300 damage range, with relatively low splash damage or radius. In terms of balancing, these shouldn't be desirable on other vehicles such as tanks, likely becoming overpowered on such a platform, so I propose that like scouts, heavies, assaults and logi suits, the ADS skill be changed from the current fire rate bonus to a bonus allowing the easier fitting of these turrets, eventually making them easier to fit on a maxed out ADS than a regular turret of equal meta level.
These turrets could, of course, use existing models, a few stat tweaks would be all that would be needed to implement them I believe. Increasing range, ROF, and capacity while lowering damage and splash radius perhaps would allow them to remain balanced, as well as making the fitting cost much higher to prevent abuse by tanks and even LAV's or other dropships without a fair amount of sacrifice.
Thoughts? Ideas?
I want to punch.
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Crimson ShieId
Sinq Laison Gendarmes
Gallente Federation
1591
|
Posted - 2014.12.13 17:04:00 -
[3] - Quote
@Sir Dukey
Can't say I agree on the responsiveness, at least when it comes to the ADS. The things handle like you'd expect a rocket propelled piece of steel with no aerodynamics whatsoever to handle. They do rather feel like the helicopters in Battlefield there, the main difference being that they have the afterburner that allows for a quick burst.
Collision mechanics though... ugh... I hear you there, but that one isn't likely to be fixed until they completely rework the engine, sadly...
Swarms still don't bother me all that much, the difficulty comes when trying to get kills while a swarmer is present. The ADS just doesn't have the HP to tank generally, but I don't really believe it should. It's a fast attack craft and ought to be named the Scout Dropship given the way it performs and the stats, but with the way the turrets work, it forces it into a roll it really can't do well with. A turret that allowed strafing runs would fix this as it would keep the craft from having to hover over a target and allow for greater damage with a skilled pilot.
I want to punch.
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