Reinhard Manderfelt
Technically Legal
8
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Posted - 2015.03.12 00:31:00 -
[1] - Quote
I've done lots of Swarming vs. DS, and I've also flown a DS and been faced with Swarms. So with my limited experience I can honestly say this:
Currently, Swarm missiles aren't good enough to take out experienced Pilots with decent fits. 99% hits afterburners and outruns the Swarms in a straight line (even though this goes against the basic physics involved with SAM missiles). I've done it myself, and it's easy as hell, as every DS can tank 1-2 Swarms (even Proto) and still hit AB and dodge the last one that could have destroyed it.
And even besides that, the lock range is not far enough. I've seen to many ADS' blast Swarm guys from outside the lock range. A minor buff could help even that out.
On the other hand, I've completely moved away from Swarms for killing HAV's as they're ridiculously stupid. They'll hit any object in between, leaving the HAV unharmed. The Plasma Cannon is clearly the superior choice, and requires some skill. You want a dumb fired missile? We have one, and it's called a Plasma Cannon.
Anyway, I would suggest one or more of these:
1: Swarmers have slower turn speed, but will ALWAYS be faster than a DS in a straight line. Because we complain about the lack of skill involved in using Swarms, but forget to mention the lack of skill involved in popping AB and flying in a straight frickin' line.
2: a Flare/Chaff Module. Speaks for itself. Give the Pilots some defense outside of running away, perhaps giving them (and/or their gunners) the chance to fight back or drop their human cargo into the fray like they're supposed to do. Make it work like this:
-Every Missile within X metres of the DS explode without hitting the target upon activation. This gives skilled Pilots the chance to negate a couple of Swarms in one go, but still leaves it vulnerable vs. multiple launchers.
3: Maintaining Lock is probably the worst idea I've heard. Pulling AV duty means being vulnerable to Infantry as is. Let alone if you need to keep your sights on the vehicle you're trying to kill. That means you're a sitting duck, so unless maintaining that lock means downing that DS in one shot it's not going to be balanced at all.
4: Give us variations of SL. Honestly, the Assault variant is useless. Locking 2 things at the same time sounds cool, but is effectively useless. It just means you'll do a bit of damage against 2 targets, and destroy none. So: useless.
Some ideas:
-Breach: High Damage, Short range. (less lock range, less max. range, more punch.)
- Basic variant: Med. Damage, Mid range. (Think of this as the current launcher)
-Assault: Lower damage, Long range. ( Less damage than the basic, but more lock range and max. range.)
This could allow the inclusion of some degree of skill, as well as allow a squad to devise tactics for using multiple SL.
From my own experience, I can say with some degree of certainty that the Swarm is designed as a counter to Dropships. Why? Because dumb fired missiles vs. Aerial vehicles are ********. There's a reason they used Flak cannons and Quad-guns before SAMs were a thing.
(NOTE: I've used the PLC enough to know that hitting a DS with it is extremely difficult, and requires an equal amount of luck and skill. So, no. It's not a viable option.)
If the Swarms do get changed, they need to be balanced in accordance with Dropships, leaving HAV's out of the equation, or at least making that count less to the final result, because there are other weapons out there that are much better suited for killing those. Dumbfired missiles (like how the PLC works) have always proven to be effective against Ground-based vehicles.
In short:
AV-ing DS: Swarm Launcher
Av-ing HAV: Prox. Mines, Plasma Cannon, Forge Gun, AV-nades.
Slightly unrelated, but I'm hoping for a sort of Quad-turret/ Installation for AA duty/ Mobile AA. |