The swarmer also needs proper positioning, and he also has to worry about getting ganked by infantry, all while trying not to get killed by the pilot.

What does the pilot have to do?

Turn a corner.

Not that I'm complaining, but swarms aren't the skill-less god-mode AV weapon that some people make them out to be.

Ya, because it takes so much skill to fly a dropship around all match and missile snipe infantry. It's a video game....play something else if you don't like it. Or just QQ on a forum.....if that is more fun for you.

I will say that I find it amusing how people complain about SLs not having to aim yet only 3 weapons in which actually require you to aim. I won't even bother writing essays at this point, but I will ask you one thing:

If you were to find a 3 year old child and gave him even an Officer SL, do you honestly believe s/he could destroy my tank? If so, how much ISK are you willing to bet?

100mil? 250mil? 350mil? 500mil? 1bil?

No, I have never heard of a hyberbole before.

If I don't pull out AV, 90% of the time nobody else will. My options are to either pull out AV and run the risk of getting killed by infantry, or stay in my current suit and get killed by the vehicle(s).
Lol. Don't give me any of that "tanks can only kill idiots" bull. Have you ever gone up against a decent Madrugar, or even worse, a Gunnlogi? How about multiple types of vehicles? Swarms aren't nearly as effective as other types of AV when you're between a fustercluck of vehicles and infantry.

If the complaint is that Swarms are only too effective when you compare them to Plasma Cannons, I think the right course of action would be to buff Plasma Cannons, rather than nerf Swarms.
Why can't a Plasma Cannon deal upwards of 2000 Damage per shot? If an HAV is oblivious enough to let themselves get hit three times by a Plasma Cannon, they should die, IMO.

It's kind of hard to find a hill or an elevated position in a city, which is where most vehicles will be found. Camping one area with swarms is a terrible tactic. All it takes is for the vehicle to get out of my 175m of range, which is relatively easy btw, and I become useless while Mr. L33t pilot can proceed with his slaughter.
Movement is key in a V vs AV battle. As I've stated before, If you aren't out in an open field, swarms are easy to avoid. Turn a corner and watch as the missles smash into a building.

Also, I rarely get killed by tanks. 1.7 made me an expert tank dodger

I have never said I'm a great pilot, I'm an infantry man, but:

1 I'm sure I am more skilled in pyloting than 90% of the swarmers that take me down are at AVing
2 Swarms are way too effective for the relative skill required to use them.

Mr. 1337's level of slaughter is relative to his skill as a pilot.
So it's fine to use FGs and PLCs and other AV in the city, because they take "skill", but swarms shouldn't be used? How fair. The FG also outclasses it out in the open. Have you dedicated yourself to using swarms? It's not a cakewalk, on the contrary to popular belief.

Swarms have been nerfed repeatedly, and yet pilots still complain. I give you a valid weakness of the SL, and your answer is "pull out a PLC". How does that empower the SL? It doesn't. My only option is to completely stop using it even though it's never been stated anywhere that SLs aren't supposed to be used in contested areas. God forbid I try to use an AV weapon for AV

Swarms are only truly deadly when damage modded on a PRO Min Commando. Until the day comes that the Min Commando becomes FoTM, any complaints about Swarms are complete ****.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EitZRLt2G3w

The popular belief is that SLs take much less skill because they lack one of the requirements of the other AV weapons, which is decent aim. The SL may not require aim per se, but it has tons of other skillfull requirements in order to properly destroy other vehicles. I rarely see Swarms that aren't PRO tier, yet I see FGs of all types. Starter fit SLs are a non factor. Swarms are most commonly used due to
1. New players are introduced to them first with the Anti-Armor fit. As useless as it is for higher tiered vehicles, it's still somewhat useful against LAVs and such.
2. Swarms can be fit on a wider variety of suits. Think: why properly spec into a heavy suit and have to lug around a Forge gun when you can fit your Wyrkomi swarms on a med or light frame and go to work? It's less effective, but it's fine for chasing away that pesky ADS or HAV.

Swarms don't even have the killing power of other types of AV. Who would you like to have on your side? Two PRO forge gunners, or two PRO SL users?
Ehh knowing you, you would rather have two PLCers.

The skill in swarming revolves around surviving long enough to kill the vehicles, as well as time your swarms and make sure they don't hit buildings.

What I found to be ridiculous was Uprising 1.7. Pray tell, if tanks are sooo bad and swarms are sooo good, how is it that Milkman and Addict Punk continue to stomp Ambush after Ambush with them?

You also run the risk of the vehicle escaping you're 175m of range, whereas the Forge gunners are good up to 300m. You also run the risk of your missiles running into terrain, which is equivalent to missing. The missiles are also much slower than a FG shot, increasing the odds of your pray escaping.

Swarms on a Min Commando are a completely different story. Actually, it's the only way to use SLs to their full potential. How is this in any way lacking of skill?

And have you forgotten that PLCs get a damage buff on Gal Commandos? They aren't overshadowed by SLs. They are much more effective towards shield vehicles, along with the fact that they have a more balanced damage profile.
I guess people aren't as open to them because they were a laughing stock for a year. Did you use them before the buff?

Edit: Nevermind. PLCs don't get that damage buff. I was under the impression that it did.

Even so, if an opponent knows the tanks are coming -- and they always do -- you'd think they could spawn in start-of-match with their "ridiculously overpowered" swarms and hold their ground against two tanks. And yet.

In discussing balance, we must take into account present performance of the competent and tactically minded pilot. Above are examples of pilots "who do it right" and in doing it right, manage to shrug off AV and streamroll match after match at little-to-no-risk.

What happens to the pilots who "do it right" if we balance V/AV around those who "do it wrong"?

Edit: You never answered my question. Did you use PLCs before the buff?

I'm getting a really bad impression that some people in this thread think Swarms take as much skill to use as Plasma Cannons or even Forge Guns.
They don't.
I'm not saying swarms don't take some skill, they do, but to imply that they takes as much as a Plasma Cannon is preposterous.

That and it's more expensive than a SL, especially at PRO tier.