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View Full Version : A Guide to Reavers Version 1.3


RogueGenesis
2003-11-25, 11:43 PM
Hello everyone.

Some of you may know that I post a Guide to Reavers on The planetside forums every now and then. When major changes in game play occur, a new reaver guide goes up..

I have decided to post the newest version here..

now.. please remember, if you disagree with something I say in the guide, please point it out, and why it is wrong.

In earlier versions of the Guide, people have said that one or two parts of the Guide were wrong, but they themselves did not point out what part, or why that part was incorrect. here it is.....


PART 1 Status of the reaver.
Speed : 105
Acceleration : 3
Total Armor : 900
Threshold : 5
Weapons: 2 Rocket Pods, 2 20mm Chain guns.


i dont know if any of this status has been changed... but this is what the reaver status was like before the balance patch.....

for comparision, the deleiver had 2000 armor before the balance patch....


now, before the BP patch went live,.. i was slightly worried about the reavers role in PS, it fuctions as an Anti tank gun ship, and all the tanks were getting a buff, and the reaver was getting a nerf of a sort with the reduction in clip size and range of the rockets...( witch i didnt really have a problem with.)

also, now reavers can reload in a split second, all they need is a near by air pad, this means that you may never have to worry about running out of amo again. and a reaver with a vehical sheild is a happy reaver, with these things in place, and the improvments to the reaver in the BP( thats right, IMPROVMENTS, the reaver is better now then before.)


PART 2 Reavers weapons.....

Rockets -
Damage Type: Explosive ( duh)
Vs. Troops: 35
Vs. Vehicles: 75
Vs. Aircraft: 75

the buff to the rockets speed helps us reaver pilots a LOT, more then i thought it would, before, hitting a vehical on the run with your rockets was very hard, it has since been made MUCH easier to do so.

The rocket pods are what the reaver is the most famuos for, the sound that they make is unmistakable. They are also the main reason why people become reaver pilots, and may be the most OVER USED weapon in the game, newbie pilots try to kill everything with the rockets, not realizing that the chain gun is a great weapon as well.

some people complain that Reavers and their rockets are too much of a threat to troopers, they take you out too quick... and I say, GET SOME AA COVER!

of COURSE its gonna take you out quick, its an air gunship, but.. when a reaver DOES kill you with rockets, be proud that you just made him waste a good amount of rocket amo on a single trooper.

may i also say that with the improved rocket speed it is now possible to hit GALs and LIBs with the rockets, you could hit GALs, before, but there was still a chance you would miss, but not know, consider GALs history if you got a good shot at them.


20mm Chain guns.
Damage Type: Direct

i used to know the 20mm Chain gun Status... but now.. after the BP, i dont.. i know that they all 20mm guns got a slight buff, and the ones on the reaver seem to be made slightly more accurate as well.


Against aircraft the guns win hands down. they are great against any of the tanks on the ground too, if they are on the move, that way you dont waste Rocket amo.. the chain gun is what most people simply dont pay much attetion too. in fact, some people take away Chain gun amo in favor of more rockets, which is just stupid, if another aircraft comes around your dead.


PART 3 - Enemys of the Reaver ( and there are a lot.)

the Reaver is an Anti Tank aircraft, period, but one of the most dangerous things you can do is take on a tank.

Magriders

this are by far the hardest. for two reasons.

1.) they have the smallest frame of the Empire Tanks.
2.) they can side step.

you can waste a lot of your rockets on a Mag, be carful, and watch out for the gunners, since there are two ( the driver and the gunner) they can deal you more damage if you come from that thing from the front, try it from the side.


Vanguard.

Gun can kill you in two shots, and now, since it can aim up better, it is more of a danger then before. but it still take either a great gunner to kill a reaver, or a REALLY dumb reaver. in gunning in Vanguards, iv only been able to hit a reaver once or twice with the main gun.

dont try to side step vanguard shots, make sweeps, you may get away with that with a mag but a vanguard is a whole other deal.


Prowler
easiest to hit, but has 2 gunners, mean that you can get hit twice as hard, dont side step, come right from above, hover for a sec, unload your rockets, MOVE.

SkyGuard, and TR AA Max.

if you have a limited Area in which to move, you dont want to run into these things. if you come across a TR AA max that is spiked into the ground, you may have a chance if you come up behind it, but make it fast.

Skyguard are a whole other deal, dont even try, they will rip you apart.

if either of these AA weapons get you off guard, you go bye bye now.

Striker

DING DONG, the Witch is dead!

the striker is not as much as a threat as before, but still a danger, watch it.


AA Maxs...

VS and AA MAXs are not what you want to run into, get low, get fast.. once the NC MAX lock onto you, you get killed quick, you may get it off guard if you kill it fast. VS AA MAXs have a habit of jumping onto tress and makeing it harder to break the lock.

get low, get fast. when dealing with VS and NC AA Maxs, that is.

with a TR AA MAX, don't get low, what ever you do, just move your sorry butt.

Base Turrets...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! IT HURTS LIKE A BITCH!

dont even think about taking these things on now, and you cant get them out side their range any more, stay clear.. but.. if you must get near a base.. have another pal in a reaver get the turrets attention, and then nail it, because the turrets will not switch targets if they are still auto firing.


Mosquito

don't screw with these guys, even if the person in the cockpit is not that great of a pilot, a mosq can give u big troulbe. The mosq was made with one idea, to counter the reaver, and it does, o man, it does. the mosq is faster then you are, it can outmaneuver you easly, and at slow speeds it disappears from radar, meaning that they can surprise you, and makes them harder to track in dogfights.
here are some tips for fighting mosqs.

1.) test them out, if you find yourself fighing a mosq one on one, make a couple of passes at it, if you find that this guys stinks, take him out. if not, get him to follow you to where u know there are some pals of yours with AA.

2.) surprise them, if you hit them with a round of your chain gun first thing, you will hurt it real bad, they dont have as much armor as you.

3.) bring a buddy who flys a reaver too, 2 reavers can take on one mosq with no troulbe at all.

4.) if you are the only reaver or mosq pilot in the area, and you come across 2 enemy mosqs, unless you surprise them and destroy or really damage one bad, dont even try, get the hell out of there before they double team you.


Part 4 Reaver Targets.

Lighting tank-

this thing is a sitting duck for reavers now, with the improved rocket speed, and the fact the lighting goes a little slower now, you can take out quite a lot in a short amount of time, i took out 3 lightings in a row this weekend, all right next to each other, maned.

Liberators - if you are lucky, and a good shot, you can hit these with your rockets now, with the improved speed. if the lib dosent have a tail gunner, take your time, pick it apart.

by the way, lib pilots, it is my opinion that an escort is more effective in keeping Enemy aircraft off your butt then the tail gun.

the lib tail gun cant aim up, so come from above.

be warned.. tailgunners can hurt.

this goes for GALs and LIBs.

if you cannot hit the target from above, make left to right right to left sweeps on its back side, do not fly in a straight line.


Galaxys
these look like sitting ducks, and they can be, even if they have all guns manned. i think people dont realize just how easy these things can be shot down. Galaxys should really have an escort more then the gunners. i have found that escorts are much better at keeping the enemy away from the GAL. and like i said before, you can land more rockets on a GAL now, thanks to better speed.


Sunderer
this is the last one for now.have never been shot down by a sund, they are big, slow, moving walls, but only try rockets if they are going slow or parked.


(ahem) what do you think? I plan on adding more parts, stuff about the new vehicals and mods in Core Combat, but, i need some imput. please post your opions on how the reaver does against the new vehicals.

NoSurrender
2003-11-26, 01:25 AM
wow i have to agree that those mags are a royal pain in the arse to kill with a reaver but overall very good. Also you need to add that RUN FROM DELIVERERS!!!!! my outfit mates and i have gotten nearly 30 reavers in the past week from deliv. Its a great anti air weapon.

HELLFISH_88
2003-11-26, 11:55 AM
yes delivers are pure evil. another reason mags are dangouruse is becouse there main gun has no arc. the gunner can aim and shoot rather then trying to calculate the projectory of the shell. vanu aa is almost imposible to escape. if u wannna get out alive run into a body of water, your reaver may be screwd but your alive. dont t ry bailing becouse it dosent work with vanu aa.

Imago
2003-11-26, 02:16 PM
I don't really agree with the "Mossy = Dead" typa thing. I've killed plenty of mossy's in my reaver, even without a jump on them.

Usually what happens is, I get behind some form of cover and turn around, and then get some shots on them. Once they fly past you, they either keep going which allows you to kill them from behind easily, or they turn around and it degrades into a circling match until one person can get a bead on the other.

Since I've recerted in the reaver, I've only been killed by 2-3 mossy's.

Also, I don't have that much trouble dodging VS AA..no more than any other AA. Get low, afterburn through trees, behind a mountain if possible and watch the missles on the radar. You can usually get away before they hit you or get behind cover before they do.

Atleast, that's how it's been happening for me =p Maybe I'm just lucky or in the wrong fights o.O

1024
2003-11-26, 02:47 PM
I'll take a skeeter anyday.

Imago
2003-11-26, 03:01 PM
I'll take a skeeter anyday.

I just like the more options I have in a reaver. I have the option of taking out ground vehicles and groups of troops and not just staying in the air - Which is one reason I dropped the Mossy cert.

Everay
2003-11-26, 03:11 PM
i gotaa say, the deliver is a powerful beast, me and my outfit buddies took out a Lightning, and a mag in that thing, and damn near got a prowler too. but so far, about these things you say, i already know. but i learned a lil

TheN00b
2003-11-26, 06:54 PM
My little brother plays an NC Reaver pilot, and he is not at all afraid of Vanu Anti-Aircraft MAXes. They really travel far too slowly to be a threat to fast-moving air vehicles such as Reavers or Mosquitoes. The Sparrow is the only MAX that he would consider a threat, and since he's NC, well... :D

aiwest420
2003-11-26, 09:06 PM
cool guide :thumbsup:

Biohazzard56
2003-11-28, 12:18 AM
mind if i use this guide?

RogueGenesis
2003-11-30, 08:18 PM
go for it, can i just see a link to where you will use it?

just for an ego booster

Queensidecastle
2003-11-30, 10:16 PM
Liberators WTFpwn Reavers in an air duel. It is trivial to keep a Reaver in the crosshairs of your 35mm and 35mm cuts through a reaver like wet tissue paper. About 5-6 seconds of sustained fire is all it takes. A reaver cant even kill a liberator with a rocket attack in 5 seconds, much less with 20mm. My only advice is that you get 85 degrees above the liberator when you attack them, otherwise a pilot that knows what they are doing sends you to the spawn room

Shin1gami
2003-12-01, 05:51 AM
Another pretty obvious tip: Always go into danger zones with fully charged afterburners... I might be tempting to use the charge to get to the combat zone faster, but if you save the afterburners till you get a missile lock warning or a mossie is on your tail you will live A LOT longer.

Do you guys get the "f***ing n00b!" tells sometimes when you take out infantry with the rocket spam of death? I just find it much easier to kill infantry with rockets that the chaingun. I only use the guns for aircraft and fast moving ground vehicles.

Air towers are also very important, especially if you don't own a Dropship centre on the continent. Try to keep them secure, and go in and retake them by yourself (they are usually isolated and don't have many defenders)

WolfA4
2003-12-01, 12:12 PM
I wanted to say that i've always landed my vanguard rounds on any reaver who has attempted a hover/rocket shoot on me, the only time i've really only missed was on a sweep and when a pilot does that they dont have time to shoot enough rockets to do more then trivial damage.if i were a reaver pilot i'd say your best bet againsta van is go try to get into an angel where the main gun cant aim at you, otherwise you will be either A) running away for repairs after a 150mm round takes out 3/4 of your reaver armor or B) respawning. :)

RogueGenesis
2003-12-02, 05:37 PM
Hello again

I will be updating this guide again very soon.

but i need help

you see, as of right now, I can only play PS on the weekends.

I plan on adding tatics about the Core Combat caves and vehicals.

but i dont encounter them that much, so if you people could please post your experiances and opinions on attacking them with your reaver, please do.

I may expand this guide to include all Air Vehicals. so keep looking for more guides.

also, I would like some people to post the changes the recent cert combos will have on combat in a reaver. and the LodeStar, let us not forget the LodeStar.

HELLFISH_88
2003-12-02, 06:18 PM
the skeeter is good aginst aa, its quick and the actuall aaa ammo cant catch it at all.

Biohazzard56
2003-12-02, 09:14 PM
Rouge , ill be using this guide in a few weeks ill post it to PSU main site