Are VS MAXes woth it?

[LetumAbsIgnis]

Just like the subject says:

Is the Decreased armor woth it for Pulsars, Comets, and the other one?

Indoors, is the jump really a good trade off

And, relatively, how powerful are other MAXes in comparison?

[VrBojangleS]

i think they are. that infantry killing max, cant remember the name, but it shoots very accurate at long range and can mow down infantry. ad if the jump isnt working well indoors... stay outside! kill them before they can get indoors.

[LetumAbsIgnis]

But from a defensive point of view (lets say you are defending the building internally)

TR have anchors, on Conglomies have sheild, but YOU can jump and hit your head on the ceiling

OR, just always use a comet on infantry and vehicles. Hmmmm. . .

[BUGGER]

If ya can dance, move, just jump around, aka "matrix", your the best out there. :nod:

[VrBojangleS]

while they NC and TR maxes may own inside, the VS have... oh wait everything else sucks. 0_o

[Katanaboy]

as a VS max player, i can say that it is difficult. The jumpjet system in this game is very weird, if not downright buggy. While holding the button down may let you fly 40-50 feet into the air, tapping it to cushion a fall will drain half of your capacitor. Also, it takes 10-20 seconds to fully recharge from a drained capacitor, meaning you only get about 1-2 good jumps during a firefight. The weapons on the max are pretty good, although the comet and starfire have VERY small clip sizes (10 and 8, respectively) so you have to reload often. The burning damage ( like a plasma grenade) is nice, but only if you can hit the enemy dead-on, which is hard, because their projectiles move very slowly (i've had enemy maxes dodge the projectiles). Also, although the manual says they have less armor, they dont.

[SumYungGui]

are they worth it? sure, they're only 2 or 3 certs. are they even remotely competitive compared to the other empire MAXes? hell no.

[Vowels]

Actually, I like the maneuverability VS maxes have.

I've played with and against them, all 3 empires, and while I can see people being unimpressed with jumpjets indoors, outside you have lots of advantages to having them. Cushioning rough landings, jumping on top of buildings or towers, DODGING TANKS, etc. Using the hearing enhancement implant, you can tell when an enemy is moving along a wall over your head and you can jump up on the wall behind him, flatten him, and jump back down again, waiting for the next victim. The AA max doesn't get lockon acceleration for its projectiles, but otherwise I think the Vanu maxes are not bad at all. And besides, they usually travel around next to the Magriders with the 20 foot field of contact-death around them, hehe.

I'm generally disappointed with the NC maxes, and that is the empire I've spent the most time in, mainly because I don't like their lack of maneuverability outside (no jets) and the AI max can't do squat at long range, despite the scope they put on it. The AV max doesn't have tracking missiles, unlike every terran grunt with a striker, and can't really get out of the way effectively when tanks charge, so it's not really effective against armor (shields can't protect you from a charging vehicle). I will admit that an NC AI max shines in corridors where it can protect itself with a shield and use its shotgun effectively. Outside it is just so much striker-bait, hehe.

Terran maxes are mostly very nice. They can throw out a considerable number of projectiles in a very short time, especially anchored. The strikers are all on their side, so that wipes out that problem, and while a skilled phoenix user can take them out quick, it DOES require SKILL, if the max keeps moving while under that threat. So as long as you pick where you anchor carefully, and be ready to uproot and get a better location at any time, you can deal with the lancers and vehicles out there fairly well.

To go back to your original question, yes, the vanu maxes are worth it, but be aware that maneuverability is your strength, not power or rate of fire, and make your enemies fight on your terms. Be ready to move at any time and practice guerrilla tactics as often as the situation allows.

[sakuc]

The NC AI MAX drops infantry like flies up to 70-80 meters.

The zoom shotty is really powerful if you know how to use it, actually you HAVE to use it on anything past 10 meters beacuse the 'normal' firing mode just fires all over, i mean totally all over.

'But the rate of fire' argument wont apply, 2-3 shots on zoom mode drops em, depending on your aim and the enemy armor, reinforced or agile.

Only that sucks for NC is the Anti Armor MAX IMO, Sparrow is really versatile too (go figure, 35 armor dmg per shot on infantry, 50 on MAX).

[HeadshotSY]

In my opinion the Starfire max is the only VS Max not worth the cert points. Its projectiles cannot even catch up to a liberator. Furthermore, the damage at distance drops drastically like other VS weapons, which is a pain in the @$$ and makes absolutely no sense. It's ammo count is also a little low but I can live with that.

The Comet max is decent. The only problem is that I've used the Comet more for indoor fighting than against vehicles. The splash damage and burn damage is awesome indoors :). You cannot use it at range; the projectiles are simply too slow. Jumpjets or not, there is no way you are going to dodge a vehicle. The jets do not shoot the max off the ground quick enough. If you've ever tried to use the jets to avoid a vehicle you know this. But this is a problem with every sides' AV Maxes. Maxes shouldn't be able to become roadkill :mad:. Ammo count is perfect where it is.

The Quasar max on the other hand is in my opinion one of the best all around maxes in the game. Good rate of fire, good damage versus both infantry and vehicles, and high speed of the rounds make the Quasar effective at short ranges, long ranges, against infantry, vehicles, and even aircraft to a lesser extent. Since the patch, the clip size is more than adequate.

All the VS maxes except for the Starfire are worth it. Why bother with a starfire when you can use a lancer, which is good against vehicles, infantry, and aircraft? Also if you have the lancer cert then you can use Strikers (virtually all my deaths in a max are because of strikers) and phoenixes.

[FliggenMan]

Originally posted by VrBojangleS
i think they are. that infantry killing max, cant remember the name, but it shoots very accurate at long range and can mow down infantry. ad if the jump isnt working well indoors... stay outside! kill them before they can get indoors.
You obviously misunderstand what MAX's are used for. Max units are only supposed to be used inside for the most part, unless its an AA MAX that has support fire around it.MAX units are very cumbersome and when they step outside they are like little babies, prone to fire from all directions without the agility of a normal soldier to even notice whats hitting them. They are also vulnerable to all types of fire, even small arms, and they are especially prone to vehicles mowing them down. Comet MAX's are what i like to think of as the anti-MAX MAX since outside AV weaponry is much nmore efficient than a comet.
The jump jets on the Vanu MAX's are supposed to make them outmaneuver the other empire's MAX's, but what i dont see how we can outmanuever them inside. There's practically no room to do it. Maybe I'm just not good enough at MAX manuevering yet, i dont know. Ill try some more i guess.

[RoboNerd]

maxes in general if used properly can quite effective in multiple situations...if u just run around with it you are almost garunteed to die...if u use your wits to get from A to B you will be happily suprising multiple units

[Arakiel]

VS has the worst MAXes. Period. The end. No strings attached.

Quasar MAX is decent.
Comet and Starfire MAXes are absolutely horrible.

It's fairly easy to play a decent Quasar MAX, but they're difficult to play well. You put out less damage per second than a Jackhammer and you're the only AI MAX that can only engage single targets. Add to that the very quick-blooming CoF and a small (yes, it's still small) clip size and you have a lot of disadvantages to deal with.

That aside, I make it work pretty well.

[MilitantB0B]

I liked them. Anybody who says that they have no defensive use for their special ability must have never walked into a room with maxes stuck in the weirdest places. I even saw some perched on the door jam of a CC once. I walked in, flipped on darklight, saw an infiltrator and killed him, next thing I know I am dead. As my camera is spinning around my corpse I see a MAX right above the door I just came in. Spooky.:eek:

[Cease]

No offense guys, but those of you who say VS Maxes are worthless obviously haven't spent much time against them. As a TR, I can honestly say the VS Maxes are much more effective than NC Maxes. Its incredibly difficult to have any sort of "chokepoint" defense against the VS because of their MAX capability to jet on the walls and towers. If you can't see a very nice advantage to this then I dunno what to say. Now I don't know which VS Max is the most effective, but they are far from worthless.

Hmm, hey wait a minute. What am I saying? <goes into propaganda mode>. Yes the VS maxes are worthless. Don't waste those 3 points in them. You'd be better of investing that into a Lightning. :D

[ZionsFire]

i have seen some dumb ones though i spawn i see a VS max camping i charge at him with a suppressor and be backs up against the wall and continues to fire as i strafe around i keep it blazing then plop dead VS max it was funny i took em on by myself:D

[HeadshotSY]

Sorry to burst your bubble reaper but that VS max either had no armor left or had an abnormally cruddy player at the controls ;). Also the VS maxes slaughter jackhammer users. I routinely take on 4-5 jackhammers at one time and come out on top losing only about 100-200 armor in the process. It's the NC phoenixes that are annoying because NC can fire them without worry of retaliation :(. You need at least 10 guys who know what they are doing with cyclers or gauss's to take on one Max and even then you can expect 50% losses.

[MilitantB0B]

Deffinetly, no way a spawn fresh supressor packing dude could take out a MAX of any pursuasion, unless the MAX was AFK or hanging on by a thread.


8

[ZionsFire]

alright he was damaged and the only reason i didnt switch to AP
is because no time and the dont do squat anyone else agree?

[gonnagetyou]

I think they're worth it. Like anything else they shine at somethings and suck at others.

I love the mobility. Being able to jump to the top of a tower and be standing in the doorway when the enemy comes out on the balcony never gets old.

Jumping into a large tree or on top of the radar dish at a base with a Starfire let's you get just that extra ounce of range for bringing down aircraft. The secret to getting kills in the Starfire is surprise. Place yourself where they least expect you, fire all your shots into the air before locking onto the target and you'll see what I mean. For 2 cert points it's worth it.

The Quasar is my favorite. Fast firing rate with a good punch. I tend to fire it in bursts in order to keep the COF down. I like taking it into a stairway that the enemy is using to get up onto the walls and placing myself snug above the door. The enemy walks or runs right beneath you and you then open up on them from behind. They usually die before they see you hiding up there. The only draw back is you need to reload a lot and tend to run out of ammo in only a few minutes.

I'm still struggling with the Comet. It's best used inside where the splash damage helps out and the enemy has a hard time avoiding the balls of plasma. Outdoors it's worthless against vehicles unless they take pity on you and stop moving for a minute.

[Spider]

Do not get them... sure we have the mobility... but where our ability is good (outside) we get killed in 2 seconds by locking on tr's or rogue pheonixes.

Sure jumping on a roof is fun... can make good kills too... but most of the time you'll be dead unlike the two other faction maxe's

[HeadshotSY]

Spider any max is vulnerable outside. They are big and draw a lot of attention. They soak up damage and allow teammates to eliminate the threat. Furthermore, TR and NC maxes have to deal with the VS lancer which for its rate of fire is awesome against maxes, probably the best max killer in the game for a normal infantryman. The key to using a max is travelling in groups of 2 or more of them therefore keeping AV users from concentrating on you and planning your assault with a sniper or two to take out the Striker and Phoneix users. Phoneix users are lunchmeat for Bolt Drivers and Striker users are also at a disadvantage because they still have to guide the round. Last night on Emerald myself and another max user had a sniper support us and there was HUGE decrease in the number of Phoneixes pincushioning me as compared to not having a sniper. It all depends on how you use Maxes.

Jumping on the roof isn't usually a good idea. You become a magnet for strikers and phoneixes, reavers, and what not. A few meter difference in height isn't going to change anything so stay down. SOE might want to check out giving Maxes a few flares to ward off strikers and phoneixes. :D

[Arakiel]

Originally posted by HeadshotSY
Also the VS maxes slaughter jackhammer users. I routinely take on 4-5 jackhammers at one time and come out on top losing only about 100-200 armor in the process.

I'd like to see this.

[Spider]

Yea... I always get raped by jackhammer hordes and so does Arakiel I guess :O_O:

(I dont like to admit it but ara does get owned lol)

[HeadshotSY]

Are you sure you aren't being also pummeled with rocklets and phoenix's at the same time you are battling the JH users? Also this is outdoors where JH's aren't as effective I'm talking about. Indoors I know i'd get raped by 5 JH's no questions asked.

[Spider]

Ever fought 5 jackhammer whores with surge and ap bullets that strafe around you? heck 1 or 2 of em do a shitload of dmg or kill me :O_O:

[Arakiel]

Originally posted by HeadshotSY
Are you sure you aren't being also pummeled with rocklets and phoenix's at the same time you are battling the JH users? Also this is outdoors where JH's aren't as effective I'm talking about. Indoors I know i'd get raped by 5 JH's no questions asked.

Assuming that you're in a field against 5 JH users that know what they're doing, they're going to swarm you. You will die.

[SumYungGui]

Originally posted by gonnagetyou
The secret to getting kills in the Starfire is surprise.

ya know, you're exactly right. the secret to getting kills in the starfire is surprise. suprising the shit out of yourself by finding a pilot that sits perfectly still at near point blank range while you unload more than a clip into him.

[MJBuddy]

today at a tower i unloaded 3 clips into a VS max at close range...he still killed me

however, it was 1 on 1 and he was running up stairs, i may have missed a few shots due to the lag+running+jumping, etc

[Eliaas_Demens]

We VS may have our problems with game balance, but I have to say.. it's worth it watching four MAXs clear a wall and surround an enemy AMS. :D

[gonnagetyou]

Originally posted by SumYungGui
ya know, you're exactly right. the secret to getting kills in the starfire is surprise. suprising the shit out of yourself by finding a pilot that sits perfectly still at near point blank range while you unload more than a clip into him.

I must be doing something right with the Starfire, because I get plenty of Reaver and Mosquito kills with it.