Terran Prowler being buffed

[GreyFlcn]

SmokeJumperPS: (http://boards.station.sony.com/ubb/planetside/Forum16/HTML/001231-4.html)
The 12mm is about to get a LOT more ammo capacity in the Prowler very soon. (Not this patch...but probably the next.) That affects its usefulness quite a bit because you can hose down areas with lead in a way you didn't before because you worried about running out of ammo. That should make that position a LOT more fun to play.

:D :eek: :D Cool

Hey TheRedx!

[Biohazzard56]

Nice, prowlers are weak to air

[LunarWarrior]

so we get more ammo in it...and it shoots faster...yet it still does nothing cause its a 12mm :P so technically we do more of out no damagness faster? :P

[Happy lil Elf]

Actually 12mm can do quite a bit of damage to light aircraft (Reaver/Mosquito) and imo is preferably to the bigger guns because the higher RoF makes it easier to track in your range and leading on the target. The problem has always been that it takes quite a bit of ammo to actually take an aircraft down with one unless you're hitting with almost every shot. I've always agreed the ammo limitations (or more specifically the trunk limitations) on the 12mm is very restricting so I think it sounds like a great change.

[Vis Armata]

It's probably all the Prowler really needs. I could be wrong, though.

[Jagd]

Yeah, 12mm rules the skies. Ask any Mosquito pilot.

Now if they could just fix the jitter/lag you get while gunning vehicles, it might even end being as accurate as a mosquito.

[Madcow]

In close up fights with other tanks, this will also help a lot. The two main guns and an endless supply from the 12mm should turn the tide in your favor fairly quick.

[Biohazzard56]

Bullet Versus Air (rated by mm)
1) 25mm, the best anti-air bullet
2) 12mm, (only better than the 35 mm cause the 35mm has recoil)
3) 35mm

[Jagd]

Umm, what about the 20mm?

I don't think you can categorically say that one caliber is better than another, because like everything in this game there is a CON for every PRO. The guns with smaller caliber tend to offer a higher rate-of-fire, increased ammo capacity (per clip, mind you), and better accuracy. The larger caliber fire more slowly, carry fewer bullets, and have serious CoF problems. So it really depends on the user as to which caliber would be "better". If you are a twitchy motherfucker who likes to hold down the left mouse button and hope for the best, then smaller caliber will suit you better because of the rate of fire. Conversely, someone who likes making their shots count would probably prefer the 35mm, but then again the 12mm will land more shots so hmm that example doesn't really work out. Anyways... ;)

[Rbstr]

My Reavers 20mm recoiless cannon rules the sky. But the 12 mm on the Prowler packs punch they still need to do the Van/Prowler armor switch (not that it ammounts to much, it takes the same number of decis last i tried in the test server)

[GreyFlcn]

If it still sucks the big one after this patch
they can just double the RoF by making both turrets shoot at the same time

First, lets see what this patch plays like.

[Zatrais]

Its a welcome adition but i still think the slowest, highest crew req and biggest tank should have the most armor.

[Veteran]

To bring this tank in line with the Vanguard, the 12mm rotary would have to be upgraded to a 25mm cannon or a 20mm with an armor bonus.

To bring the MagRider in line with it, it would need an armor bonus and a slightly more accurate Heavy Rail Beam.

Few realize just how significant 6,000 armor is when shields are proportionate to the vehicle's total armor. Few also realize how significant the sacrifice is when a player is installed in the Prowler's 12mm rotary slot. If you can't find anything better to do than gun a 12mm rotary and it's not on a Mosquito, you gotta be more ambitious. That is 100% my opinion.

To put this in perspective, I was a long time Prowler gunner as I levelled my Terran. I thought the Prowler was badass, because I had two outfit guys who were engineers and generally knew their shit about keeping a tank going. Then I played a Vanguard gunner. My former life seemed to vanish as I blasted the NC credo into the dead ears of the Terrans and Vanu: Independence Through Force. The slaughter was easily four times as profound and required only one other outfit member to make it happen, leaving the other to drive another tank, or whatever. I'm not just picking on the Vanguard or trying to make Prowler look like garbage, but I do say that the fun level I've had on Vanguard expeditions should be the standard, and that will require buffs to the Prowler and MagRider to accomplish.

Just my opinion.

[Queensidecastle]

35mm does not have recoil. I will agree that the 25mm is the best air bullet. They should have buffed the prowler to 20mm though so that it can actually bring down an aircraft. Afterall the Vanguard has 20mm

[Happy lil Elf]

Not that Queen can see this but the 35mm does indeed have recoil, or rather an expanding CoF (which is pretty much what recoil means in PS). It's recoils that's easily controlled if you pay attention, but it is recoil.

[Krinsath]

The problem with the prowler is more fundamental then just those guns being weak, it has to do with the economy of force.

This was originally posted on the OF, so I take no credit for the information, but it is pretty correct.

The problem with the prowler is that to be effective requires 3 people. The VS and the NC only require two. Now, the devs are constantly telling us that the populations are about equal, so it's as easy to gather 30 NC (i.e. - a full platoon) as it is to gather 30 TR. Now, pretend they all get battle tanks and crew them. The NC will be able to field 15 fully crewed tanks, the TR only 10. So it becomes an issue of numbers...yes in a one on one fight, a prowler stands a good chance against a vanguard. Against 2 to 1 odds though, the Vanguards will win easily (2 120mm > 2 100mm). Going with a straight numbers fight and assuming the Prowlers win all the 1 on 1s, your second round would be 10 Vanguards on 5 Prowlers, which would be a win for the Vanguards for certain (assuming roughly equal crew skills).

For what benefit? The only advantage is that you can engage air and armor simultaneously as the 12mm really doesn't inflict heavy damage on armor (it can, but not against most of the armor that a tank would find threatening). While it is useful to have the gun separate from the driver (as any lightning driver will tell you...trees are not so much fun when your turret is facing backwards), the fact that it requires higher crew costs means in a stand-up fight, the prowler comes up short because it's either A) outnumbered or B) under crewed and vulnerable to air and protected infantry.

That's the crux of the problem, and I don't see a real easy solution outside of giving the driver the ability to use the 12mm if he so desires (similar to the cannon on the Mag) and the increased ammo for that chaingun. Keep the ability to have the 3rd crewman, but don't make it mandatory. Otherwise, the numbers game comes into play too much. The also need to fix the problem with dual weapons not being targeted on the same point, but that's true of *every* dual weapon, not just the Prowler...fixing that would help tremendously though.

[BunBun]

I have a feeling that the reason the prowler has 12m instead of 20mm is becuase the it is designed to take out air targets and infantry targets with it. If they were to change it to 20mm then it would be very effective against enemy armor vastly decreasing the ttk rates.
The 20mm is a great armor killer, I am not positive that the vanguard has it (haven't look inside a van trunk in quite a while) but if it does, this is becuase the van cannot use both guns at once, unlike the prowler could if it was changed.
The 12mm gun is very effective against enemy aircraft, if you disagree, try taking a reaver or skeeter against a lightning head on and see how long you last. With proper aiming, the 12mm chews through air armor faster than they can get through yours.

Increasing the ammo for the 12mm seems like a great idea and should make this much more effective in an AA or AI role.