Reaver pictures (for those who haven't seen yet)

[Nubi]

http://www.afex2win.com/wtf/CGW_jan2003-page1.jpg

[SandTrout]

Sweet!

Looks like the nose gun can opperate indepenently of the rest of the body(I'm thinking belly-gunner).

[Lexington_Steele]

I do believe the Reaver has a pilot and a gunner, however here is the big question:

Would you rather have two people in 1 reaver, or 2 people in 2 mosquitos?

I would bet that 2 mosquitos will be better than 1 reaver.

[Camping Carl]

I wouldn't.

[�io]

Well they both do a different job.

2 mosquitos would be better for scouting, infatry killing,reparing and perhaps air-to-air attacks(since they can come in from 2 seperate angles)

Reaver is more of a basher, it would be better for ground attacks but still good air-to-air if used properly and would obviously last longer against enemy attacks.

[Nubi]

Bet two mosquitos could easily take down a Reaver

[Qanamil_Rafiki]

I think I would take that bet myself.

[�io]

Well like i said since they can cover 2 angles at once maybe, but don't forget the Reaver has more armor and firepower.

If the pilots are all equal talent yeah my money would be on the 2 mosquitos.

[Incompetent]

I think you guys are missing the point of the Reaver; to kill tanks. It doesn't matter if it can't take a skeeter because thats not what it was built for, thats what it's escorts were built for.

[Ravon Dark]

:p

So where's our air superiority craft? Can't be the skeeter because that, like you people have said, is for infantry.

[Jinxmasta]

It seems to me a skilled pilot could easily use a Mosquito against other aircraft. It's quicker and as long as you stay out of the line of fire of the other aircraft you should be ok. However, a Galaxy would be much harder to take down because of turrets.

[Ravon Dark]

I'm wondering if they're hiding a craft up their sleeve or something. :p Either that, or maybe the Reaver has better manuverability then we last thought.

[Incompetent]

I doubt it, PS is supposed to be about brutal, crush the enemy beneath your treads, ground combat. The aircraft are in the game to provide support for the ground forces; not the other way around.

[�io]

Originally posted by Incompetent
PS is supposed to be about brutal, crush the enemy beneath your treads, ground combat.

When was that said ?

I always assumed the official site wasn't lying PlanetSide's first-person player-to-player combat and vehicular warfare across ten continents.

[Tobias]

Time for Toby to analyze air craft.

A few facts first:

Aircraft can not fly across the oceans, not even the Galaxy, you need to take the Warpgates to do that.








------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Galaxy, King of the Air:





Galaxy
Source: Common Pool
Type: Drop ship
Role: Troop Transport
Primary 3x 20mm Chainguns
Handling: Very Poor

The Galaxy drop ship is the heaviest troop insertion and extraction aircraft. Designed to carry a full squad of players (one pilot, two gunners, four passengers, two heavy armors, and a light tank or buggy with driver, passengers and gunner), drop ships can easily deploy a fairly substantial force within a short amount of time. The Galaxy utilizes two 75mm cannons in its gunner positions for point defense against ground vehicles.



Now the description in the quotes is a little old, its 3 turreted 20mm chainguns, not two 75mm cannons, and it can carry 6 inf, two MAX suits, one buggy or lighting (light tank) and 3 gunners and a pilot, up to a max of 15 people if its one of those three man buggies. People inside the Galaxy have a 3rd persons view of the area around it. They can act as additional danger spotters. Other then the three gunners no one can fire from the galaxy, and these gunners only have use of the chainguns (duh)




Advantages: The Galaxy packs more armor then any other plane, and more then most tanks. It can take a beating or three and still get the crew and passengers safely to the drop zone. Three turreted 20mm cannons give it the firepower to chew up infantry and attacking skeeters, though they lack effectivness against the armor of other Galaxy's and Reavers. They are also useful to an extent against a Lightning or the buggies, but the fire power of those craft would likely do it considerable damage before it destroyed them. It can carry more people then any other craft, and transport them over bodies of water such as lakes or large rivers.

Disadvantages: Slow. The Galaxy is very slow. And though its weapons are excellent against un armored or lightly armored targets they lack the punch to damage heavy targets. But it is after all a transport, not an attack platform. It also is not near as agile as the other aircraft.

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Reaver

http://www.afex2win.com/wtf/CGW_jan2003-page1.jpg

Reaver
Source: Common Pool
Type: Medium Aircraft
Role: Medium Support/Attack
Primary Weapon: Rotary Chaingun
Secondary Weapon: Rockets
Handling: Average

The reaver is a medium gunship, it's most useful in support roles, providing covering fire, and perhaps attacking ground targets. Not much more is known about it at this time.





Advantages: With its rockets, the Reaver is able to easily tackle large ground based targets, or Galaxy's, while using its great agility to keep from being shot. Its Chaingun will also help against infantry and in defense against attacks from the quicker Mosquito. It is a strong attack craft with both good firepower and armor.

Disadvantages: The Reaver takes two people to use effectively, while its main enemy in the air, the Mosquito takes only one.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Da Skeeter... err... Mosquito


http://www.planetside-universe.com/image.php?picid=20087&filetype=jpg

http://www.planetside-universe.com/image.php?picid=20088&filetype=jpg

Mosquito
Source: Common Pool
Type: Light Aircraft
Role: Light Attack & Recon; Repair
Primary Weapon: Light Rotary Chaingun
Handling: Good

The Mosquito is primarily an airborne light recon aircraft. Much smaller and less armored than a light Gunship, Mosquitoes are however faster and more agile. Due to the fixed nature of its chaingun, Mosquitoes are better suited for strafing runs or lining up directly behind its target. Although its primary function is reconnaissance, all Mosquitoes are able to repair various objects including but not limited to other vehicles.



As you can see it�s not an attack craft, and one point,

Much smaller and less armored than a light Gunship, Mosquitoes are however faster and more agile.
alludes to possibly another craft we have not seen, though that might be the Reaver its talking about. The mosquito has many advantages, but some disadvantages as well.

Advantages: The Mosquito has the highest speed of possibly any vehicle, and certainly of any aircraft currently known. It has the best maneuverability as well. But some of the more important things are often overlooked. The Mosquito can fly over enemies such as infantry and "paint" them so they show up on the radar of those friendly to the skeeter. And possibly its greatest advantage is its ability to heal, or repair vehicles and turrets and the such. A pack of Mosquito could easily attack a target that an individual would be creamed against, and withdraw when injured, having another Mosquito or two waiting to heal the damaged ones, and once healed, fly back into combat. Such tactics would allow three or more skeeters to take on Reavers and Galaxies in combat and suffer no loss's.

Disadvantages: Its gun and armor. Its armor is next to non existent and its gun is one of the weakest vehicle mounted weapons around. Packs of skeeters will be able to make up for the guns weakness and skilled pilots can use the Mosquito's speed and agility to avoid some combat damage.

[Nubi]

Ya know if you could hit the sweet spot on a Galaxy you could easily hover above the thing and gun it down from above and it not be able to do jack shit to you

Let's say that the wing span of a Galaxy is 30m

Let's say that the wing span of a Mosquito is 20m

That's 10 m leeway that the mosquito can fly around in above the Galaxy that the two side turrets can't hit nor the under belly one

I think I just found it's weakness

[Doobz]

yes, but do u know how hard that would be? 2 moving objects, flying at different speeds and directions, trying to keep ur littl skeeter in a 10m window?

[NapalmEnima]

My own impression is that a reaver will be able to smear a skeeter without too much trouble.

I'm expecting the rotary chaingun on the Reaver to do SIGNIFICANTLY more damage than the mosquito's 20mm cannon.

It wouldn't suprise me to find that a skeeter won't survive a single pass against an accurate gunner... while a Mosquito will have to really pound on a reaver to take it out.

It may well be that the best strategy for a Reaver will be to hold still, letting the gunner get the best possible shot on the mosquito.

That rotary chaingun isn't going to have a 360 firing arc, so JUST holding still will be a death sentance.

I also believe that a couple of those rockets will bring a swift end to the skeeter, in the unlikely event that they actually hit. This brings to mind another significant advantage for the Reaver. It doesn't have to fly right at its target. While a mosquito is lined up on an attack run, the reaver's gunner has a good chance at hitting it with a rocket (depending on their speed), and will have an excellent oportunity to hose it down with the chaingun. The Reaver should always come out on top of those exchanges.

But the larger and slower moving reaver will be a relatively easy target for ground-based AA... Phoenix, Devestator, Lancer, you name it.

I don't think air superiority will be easily acquired or maintained. I see a definite rock-paper-scisors thing going here.

[Jinxmasta]

I could easily take out a Galaxy in a Mosquito! The Galaxy's wingspan is at least 3 times as big or more than the Mosquito's. This allows for a lot of room to move around on top and since the Galaxy isn't very agile, the movements could easily be predicted and the Mosquito would easily be able to respond. Oh and I doubt the guns on the Galaxy will be able to point straight up, they usually don't for some reason in a lot of games.

[Lexington_Steele]

Don't sleep on the mosquito. You have to hit it with that gun to damage it. The rockets are most likely dumb fire and for ground targets and galaxies.

One on one, a reaver will smoke a mosquito every time but remember this will be 2 people versus 1 person situation..

2 Mosquitos on 1 reaver might not be so easy for the reaver to win. Two mosquitos should attack from different sides and turn away when they take even the slightest fire. On each pass one of the Mosquitos will be doing damage while the other is dodging.

The smart reaver pilot/gunner team will try to have the gunner on one mosquito while the pilot tries to divebomb the other one with the rockets. (if the gunner does not have atleast 180 degree rotation the reaver is screwed. If the pilot does not have controll of the rockets, the reaver is screwed).

The way I see it, the Reaver's pilot/gunner combo will have to be much more skilled and coordinated than the Mosquito pilots to win in a 2:1.

Don't get me wrong, The Reaver will be much more effective in taking out ground forces like tanks and such, but I think Mosquito teams will dominate air to air combat. Ovbviously an airforce is going to be a mixture of the two so combat tactics will not be quite as simple as planning for a 2:1 or 1:1 scenario.

Be wary of the Vanu Airforce as you would dark angels descending from the heavens.

[Hamma]

The reaver is a one man crew :]

[Nubi]

oh it is one man?

I was gonna fly a Mosquito because it was one man, I thought a Reaver was two man so I didn't bother with it

great now I have to decide....depends on how much faster a Mosquito is compared to the Reaver

[afex]

Originally posted by Hamma
The reaver is a one man crew :]

uh.....:no:

[�io]

*Gasp*
Our great leader thought it was 1 man ??

Shame on you! ;)

[Marsman]

Considering Hamma has piloted it, I suspect he would know. :rolleyes:

[afex]

Originally posted by Marsman
Considering Hamma has piloted it, I suspect he would know. :rolleyes:

cough cough *ahem*

BULLSHITIO!


:p

[�io]

Well he has...or at least his persona has. :p

[Zarparchior]

Hamma has piloted a Reaver and I have driven a Marauder. That was the big secret for this monday.

Sorry to blow it Hamma, but I didn't want them getting out of hand. :D

[Da King]

The Reaver looks pretty cool. But if I had to choose between Galaxy Reaver and Mosquito I would take Mosquito. Not for combat but just to fly it around.

I mean that would be fun flying it aroud the trees or mountains. I mean its got to be fast and Fast=Fun

[Incompetent]

Hamma has piloted a Reaver and I have driven a Marauder. That was the big secret for this monday.
I. Hate. You.

[Doobz]

reaver looks sexy

[Zarparchior]

Like your mom?

Oooooo! Burned!

:rolleyes:

[Doobz]

i bust yo' grill biatch!

:rolleyes:

[Sputty]

I really want to play PS just to try out the reaver. It looks so great to fly and take out tanks in.