The Annihilator has officially become useless

[Rolfski]

After doing some testing I have no idea what role there is for this weapon and to a lesser extend for the other lock-on launchers for the TR, now that they have the Striker.

Can someone explain to me please? Does the single fire-and-forget makes up for the less damage these rockets do compared to a clip of a Striker? Don't think so. You can spray a Striker clip pretty fast and the damage output compared to the Annihilator makes the latter one pathetic.
Is it the range? Nope, they all lock-on within 400m.

So they nerfed the Annihilator into borderline useless and introduced the Striker, giving it and the other lock-ons a death blow, making me wonder what the heck the devs were thinking.

People have spend money on these weapons you know. You can't just introduce new flavor of the month weapons and make older ones instantly obsolete. I feel ripped having spend any money on these other lock-ons.

[zulu]

It does pretty much look like the Striker is a straight upgrade. I don't own the Annihilator, but some of my friends do, and they're not too happy about it.

Of course, this is basically what happened with the SMGs -- the second generation of SMGs are all basically upgraded versions of the earlier ones.

[Corvo]

For starters, non-TR players will still find old lock-on launchers useful, and that's roughly 2/3 of the people playing this game. And no, it's not what happened with the SMGs.

[Rolfski]

For starters, non-TR players will still find old lock-on launchers useful, and that's roughly 2/3 of the people playing this game. Does that allow them to rip off the other 1/3 of their player base?

[Assist]

After doing some testing I have no idea what role there is for this weapon and to a lesser extend for the other lock-on launchers for the TR, now that they have the Striker.

Can someone explain to me please? Does the single fire-and-forget makes up for the less damage these rockets do compared to a clip of a Striker? Don't think so. You can spray a Striker clip pretty fast and the damage output compared to the Annihilator makes the latter one pathetic.
Is it the range? Nope, they all lock-on within 400m.

So they nerfed the Annihilator into borderline useless and introduced the Striker, giving it and the other lock-ons a death blow, making me wonder what the heck the devs were thinking.

People have spend money on these weapons you know. You can't just introduce new flavor of the month weapons and make older ones instantly useless. I feel ripped having spend any money on these other lock-ons.

They were thinking it's an NS weapon, which doesn't mean it has the same value for all three factions.

This is going to happen over and over in this game as new weapons come along. I see what you're saying though, the Annihilator -> Striker is not a side-grade at all, it's a straight upgrade.
Personally I'd say give the Annihilator the ability to lock-on to MAX's and it'd solve the issue!

[Rahabib]

They were thinking it's an NS weapon, which doesn't mean it has the same value for all three factions.

This is going to happen over and over in this game as new weapons come along. I see what you're saying though, the Annihilator -> Striker is not a side-grade at all, it's a straight upgrade.
Personally I'd say give the Annihilator the ability to lock-on to MAX's and it'd solve the issue!
amen.

[fierce deity]

They were thinking it's an NS weapon, which doesn't mean it has the same value for all three factions.

This is going to happen over and over in this game as new weapons come along. I see what you're saying though, the Annihilator -> Striker is not a side-grade at all, it's a straight upgrade.
Personally I'd say give the Annihilator the ability to lock-on to MAX's and it'd solve the issue!

Either that or letting you dumb-fire the annihilator would work to improve its role for the TR. It is still the lock-on of choice for the VS and NC, so it's not like it has been rendered utterly worthless.

[Rolfski]

Of course this topic relates to TR only, I assume people understand this. Giving the Annihilator some edge over the Striker, like dumbfire, is absolutely necessary. The problem is that this doesn't solve the issues the Skep and the Grounder have against the Striker. These have become obsolete as well for TR.

[Shamrock]

As an NS common pool weapon I was happy id bought an Annihilator as I can now use it across all 3 factions.

[Neutral Calypso]

In a manner similar to how there are still some perks to using the default rocket launcher over the decimator, there are some perks to using the annihilator over the striker.

Let's see, there is the fact you don't need to keep your targetting reticle over your target for all the rockets to fire for instance. :P

[DeltaGun]

Personally I'd say give the Annihilator the ability to lock-on to MAX's and it'd solve the issue!

That's a REALLY good idea.

[Rolfski]

In a manner similar to how there are still some perks to using the default rocket launcher over the decimator, there are some perks to using the annihilator over the striker.

Let's see, there is the fact you don't need to keep your targetting reticle over your target for all the rockets to fire for instance. :P You DON'T need to keep the Striker on target. As long as you keep your scope up you can pretty much walk/look away in the other direction while firing and your rockets will make magical sharp angle turns to land on target.
Besides that, as said this is not really a perk over the Striker as you can fire that whole clip very fast and even worse, you can use the first rocket to make the enemy use their flares before shooting the rest. It's just another reason why the Annihilator has become obsolete for TR.

[Baneblade]

I haven't used the Anni in a long time.

[Hamma]

It was hard core at first, now it doesn't really have a role.

[NUKABAZOOKA]

It was hard core at first, now it doesn't really have a role.

After the disappointment that is the Lancer, I'll be using it again.

[Timealude]

You DON'T need to keep the Striker on target. As long as you keep your scope up you can pretty much walk/look away in the other direction while firing and your rockets will make magical sharp angle turns to land on target.
Besides that, as said this is not really a perk over the Striker as you can fire that whole clip very fast and even worse, you can use the first rocket to make the enemy use their flares before shooting the rest. It's just another reason why the Annihilator has become obsolete for TR.

as far as I can tell, that is a bug since we all know that would be way to OP to let a striker have a continuous lock on with all the rockets. Also, If I recall higby said in that preview you had to keep it locked on..I could be wrong though...Either way Im sure this will be fixed as to give the Annihilator some strength back.

[Richarddunn]

Lets start with SMGs. There are a number of people upset about the release of the second SMG, but what do you expect. You should realize new weapons are going to constantly be released. The argument that the second SMG is better than the first one is void. There are benefits and trade offs to both. I use them both and have found each one useful in different situations. The first SMG definitely drops targets faster, while the second one allows you to kill more guys before reloading as long as your targets don't drop you first.

Now onto the Annihilator. You know what, I'm tired of this stupid argument, I'm just going to repost what I said on the SoE forums.

"What I'm trying to say is the Striker is no more effective than the other types of AA. It's just another form of it. You bring up the point of being injured before someone locks onto you with the Striker and after you popped your flares because of A2A, what happens if the person on the ground is using the Annihilator or the original G2A launcher? It's going to kill you, probably more effectively since only 1 missile has to make contact. The only advantage the Striker has over the Annihilator at G2A is that it deals slightly more damage. The disadvantage is that it requires all 5 rounds to hit the target. Also there's delay in the missiles so some of them can be dodged if you're fast enough to take cover and fly out of locking range. I don't understand why people are complaining about the Striker. Sure you're going to get killed by the Striker a lot, but that's because everyone is using them since they just came out, same as the when the SMGs came out. I was tearing people up with it during its release day, but people have learned to counter it already."

[martingee]

Lets start with SMGs. There are a number of people upset about the release of the second SMG, but what do you expect. You should realize new weapons are going to constantly be released.

I understand that but the 2nd SMG came out within a week of the first at least with the Annihilator and the new missile launchers we had some time between them.

[Canaris]

The Annie is now a second fiddle to the Striker, there's no reason at all to use it any more if you have the new bad boy.

Unless it's changed then it will be sitting gathering dust in my arsenal for the rest of time.

[Whiteagle]

The Annie is now a second fiddle to the Striker, there's no reason at all to use it any more if you have the new bad boy.

Unless it's changed then it will be sitting gathering dust in my arsenal for the rest of time.
This is what I'm truly worried about...

I spent Station Cash on the Anni and, while it is a good investment overall, I don't want to pay to upgrade to the Striker just for it to immediately get nerfed...

[Thunderhawk]

As an ESF Pilot ....I hope everyone on the TR switches and goes Striker and ditches the Annihalator, It's so much easier to avoid being hit and staying up in the air if the guys targetting you are Striker users than it is if they use the Fire and forget launchers....

Most ESF pilots will probably agree with me, if they have actually come up against striker squads.

So no, the Anni is not useless, in fact, I don't want the majority to do back to it and much prefer the recent skies

(Hint: Hug the ground)

[Riekopo]

I won't be buying any more weapons or cosmetics. SOE doesn't seem to respect peoples wallets very much. There's a ton of weapons already in the game they really don't need to release more unless they just are trying to make a quick and cheap buck. And they changed the way my cosmetics looked and refused to give me as refund so...ya...

[shd]

As an ESF Pilot ....I hope everyone on the TR switches and goes Striker and ditches the Annihalator, It's so much easier to avoid being hit and staying up in the air if the guys targetting you are Striker users than it is if they use the Fire and forget launchers....

Most ESF pilots will probably agree with me, if they have actually come up against striker squads.

So no, the Anni is not useless, in fact, I don't want the majority to do back to it and much prefer the recent skies

(Hint: Hug the ground)

I might be mistaken since i didn't play much lately but doesn't the Annihilator lead the target the same way as the Striker ?

[redshirt]

As an ESF Pilot ....I hope everyone on the TR switches and goes Striker and ditches the Annihalator, It's so much easier to avoid being hit and staying up in the air if the guys targetting you are Striker users than it is if they use the Fire and forget launchers....

Most ESF pilots will probably agree with me, if they have actually come up against striker squads.

So no, the Anni is not useless, in fact, I don't want the majority to do back to it and much prefer the recent skies

(Hint: Hug the ground)


^^ that htis the nail on the head fairly well.

The Striker is good vs a slow moving target or a hover spamming ESF but its completly pants vs a low fast moving target. The G2A lock on Grounder is still vastly superiror to the Striker for engaging air targets.

[CraazyCanuck]

I rarely use my Annie anymore. It sucks there are so many ways to avoid or delay locks, yet no way for Infantry to cert into improving their weapon's lock on.

[Sifer2]

The Striker shouldn't have been a lock on weapon. That's all there is to it really IMO. It has made the existing lock on's obsolete for TR while also depriving them of an interesting guided AV weapon like the other Empires got. Seriously people asked for skill based launchers for months. They finally add them but only to 2 out of 3 Empires. :doh:

[o Solei o]

I don't see how the Striker being better than a common-pool weapon is that big of a problem. That has always been stated as a core design philosophy - each empire will have emp specific gear that achieves better results in specific niches than the other emp variants. I own both launchers, and don't see much of an issue with this.

I also play characters in multiple factions, so the NS-A is flat out more bang for my buck because ALL my characters unlocked it from a single purchase. The NS-A also has a time advantage. It's far more useful as a "shoot-n-scoot" weapon, whereas all the ESRLs require to to stand around with your pants around your ankles and your ass hanging out, ready to be shot. I can run off into the hills and have my NS-A completely reloaded in about the time it takes me to finish firing a volley from my Striker, and that's if the target I'm firing on is not dodging like a madman and making me patiently wait to deploy all my rockets.

The ESRLs have some additional features, but they all come with a cost.

SMGs I'm inclined to go with though. Despite what the numbers in the store say, my experiences with both has shown me that the newer SMGs have about the same actual TTK (running'n'gunning) as the original ones, but without the ammo shortage/rail attachment choice issues. I'd trade my 1st gen NC smg in for a 2nd gen one for my TR in a heartbeat.

[Lonehunter]

TR are really the only ones who got shafted, so yes that's a good gaming decision imo. Adding weapons to this game will be their bread and butter so get used to it. Most people are just expecting it to be "every new weapon = the best weapon" and think they have to buy and excel with it, hopefully this isn't the case.