Foundation Seldon
Algintal Core
Gallente Federation
36
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Posted - 2012.10.12 02:30:00 -
[1] - Quote
I've pretty much dumped all of my available points into buffing my Saga / LAV as much as I can and I think I've pretty much maxed out how far I can push the thing in terms of Damage / Shield Extenders / Shield Boosters. I very rarely end up losing my vehicles in matches and I think it comes down to a combination of knowing the specific limitations of your LAV and knowing when and where to simply cut your losses and get you and your gunner out of a potentially bad situation.
General Tips :
Avoid being surrounded by enemy infantry first and foremost. If you get into a situation where your gunner can be shot down in a spot where you're surrounded then he'll more often than not clip into your vehicle, slowing you down to ridiculous levels. Plan around this glitch whenever you can and always be wary of its prevalence.
Be VERY wary of enemy supply depots. Enemies can see you coming and will switch to AV loadouts in order to get a quick and easy kill.
Your Driver Loadout :
Have a separate loadout dedicated to a driver sort of mentality. A driver loadout, first and foremost, is going to need the Repair Tool equipment, if you find yourself in a tight spot with your LAV low on health then you have the advantage in most instances to be able to drive away at quick speeds to find some cover and proceed to repair it with your repair tool. This is applicable to both Shield and Armor LAVs. Also worth considering is a passive armor repair module for the dropsuit itself.
Have your repair tool as your active weapon before entering your vehicle. If you've gotten into a situation in which your armor itself is burning then you can't afford to take the additional time required having to switch your weapons the moment you get out of your vehicle. The game in its current state is still pretty unstable and susceptible to lag spikes. Do yourself a favor.
Why Saga?
The answer is an obvious one I think, Shields > Armor on a fundamental level for pretty much every vehicle type in the game. In terms of increased overall survivability the passive regen on shields being much higher than on armor means that a person can come across enemy fire taking minimal damage and can choose to play it safe for a few moments in order to gain the shields back rather than having being forced to use a booster at that particular moment.
An LAVs strength is in its ability to get in to a situation and get out quickly if needed. Your speed is paramount to your ability to do this and armor LAVs need to sacrifice a portion of that speed in order to get more armor. More so than that though the fitting options for current armor LAVs are just completely inferior to what you can achieve with a Shield LAV. With a Shield LAV a person can fit two shield extenders with very little trouble while the best fittings with an Armor LAV usually require you to sacrifice a low slot for a PG extender and are thus unable to fit Two Extenders and an Armor Repair tool. So overall a shield LAV has more damage it can take, is faster, and regens its main pool of health at a much quicker rate. Shield LAVs are superior to Armor LAVs in almost every aspect.
Still want to go Methana (Armor LAV)?
There is one situation in which a person would want to go Methana over a Saga and that's if you REALLY want to Equip blasters to your LAV. In this situation the Methana is well suited for the task because its extra PG can compensate for the extra PG needed for Blaster Turrets compared to Missle turrets. Blaster turrets are generally better for taking out enemy LAVs and, if skilled to Prototype levels, can rival the effectiveness of a Duvolle Assault Rifle on the back of an LAV.
Skills that help Armor LAVs :
Mechanics
Definitely consider skilling into Mechanics if you're determined to go down this road. Doing so increases one's armor HP for both dropsuits and vehicles and is thus a valuable tool for increasing Armor while not taking a hit to speed.
Vehicle Fitting Mentality :
Avoid both passive and active modules whenever possible and focus on being able to equip Shield Extenders instead. Use Passive only when maxed out.
Required Skills for Saga fits :
Engineering Level 5 in order to max out PG
Energy Grid Upgrades Level 4 : Opens up ability to use PG Extenders that grant 15% bonuses
Shield Operation Level 3
Shield Upgrades Level 3
*Optional Small Missle Turret Operation Level 4
Saga Attack : Focus on being able to equip an advanced turret.
Local Powergrid Expansion Unit x2 (15% PG Bonus x2)
AT-1 Fragmented Missle Launcher (Obviously this is a choice and you can switch out with any other missle turret you prefer)
Azeotropic Ward Shield Extender
F-S3 Regolith Shield Extender
Converse Shield Booster
Shield - 2413
Armor - 659
Cost - 298k ISK
Saga Resist Experimental* : The testing of Clarity Shield Booster
Local Powergrid Expansion Unit x2 (15% PG Bonus x2)
ST-1 Fragmented Missle Launcher
CL-3 Shield Booster
Azeotropic Ward Shield Extender
F-S3 Regolith Shield Extender
Shield - 2413
Armor - 659
Cost - 320k
*A fitting I'm very much still on the fence about. It costs more than the attack Saga while sacrificing the power that came with the advanced missle launcher. What you gain instead is the use of the Clarity Shield Booster which does more to boost Shields than any other booster and its cooldown is reduced by five seconds.
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Militia Onikuma Fitting - If you want to test if this road is one you want to go down or if you just want general practice before sinking the 300,000+ ISK in one of my mentioned Saga fits then this economic Oniukuma fitting should be worth considering I think.
Onikuma Fitting :
Shield Resistance Amplifier I
Supplemental Shield Extender
Militia Shield Booster ( Can be replaced with Shield Booster I if you really want )
Militia Powergrid Expansion
ST-1 Missle Launcher
Shield - 1315
Armor - 340
ISK - 93k
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