VS is not underpowered. Just powered by skill.

[Agent White]

Beamer: sucks, can't get around that, but pistols are only really used by infs, and the AMP is the best one anyways. Uses same ammo as other Vanu weapons, which can come in handy if you can switch weaps in time.

Pulsar: 4x zoom, fairly accurate when fired in bursts. Uses same ammo as Lasher, allowing heavy exos to use lasher close range and pulsar long range. Few do. But it works well. Skill required to switch weapons.

Lancer: Blessed be he that carries the lancer. I carry two at a time. It snipes snipers. It slays maxes. It drops reavers. It destroys vehicles. It one shots infiltrators. Sucks close range outdoors, but not bad indoors if you have the skills. Some say jackhammer is the best weapon in the game but it lacks the versatility of the Lancer. A jackhammer will not own a Max, or an AMS, or a lightning, or a reaver, or a sniper. Lancer is the best weapon in the game. There's just something nice about killing a sniper from base to tower range, then taking out his buddy the max who can't even see you yet on 2x zoom. With two lancers on my back I don't even need to reload to do that. I also use a lancer/pulsar combo inside bases, but I've become so accurate with the lancer I hardly need the pulsar.


Lasher: Close quarters CC defense against zerg rushes it does well. Since it shares ammo with the pulsar it gives you a more versatile combination of heavy exo.


AI Max: Don't use "armor piercing mode". It doesn't do more damage in the long run. Takes 3 clips to take out enemy max. Clip one face to face. Clip two from above with jumpjets. Clip 3 from behind. Many maxes lose track of you once you jump. If you get behind them, you can stay behind them easily. Takes skill though. Not just anchoring and holding down trigger.


AA Max: Arguably best AA max in the game. You can jump on the roof of many bases where you cannot be reached by any ground units at all. The only thing that can take you out is what you're designed to destroy. If a reaver does unload a bunch of rockets at you, continue firing at him and hit the jumpjets. All the rockets will miss + one easy kill. Also: you can chill on the roof and drop reavers as they leave vehicle pad on an enemy controlled base and there is NOTHING THEY CAN DO.

AV Max: Good for base defense, stops enemy maxes indoors FAST. Outdoors, I prefer to run up to a vehicle, shoot at close range. NEVER attack from long range. Most tank drivers will try to run you over as their cannon either cant hit you or will blow them up in the process. Keep firing, hit jumpjets. Today I jumpjetted on top of a Vanguard's turret and just started unloading. Hilarity.


Playing the Vanu isn't about holding down the trigger and running at the CC over and over again. It's about knowing your target's weakness and knowing your strength. It's about picking the right weapon for the right occasion, and not firing as soon as you see the red crosshair. It's about skill.

I didn't get to BR15 by getting owned. See you on Markov.

[NightWalker XI]

I salute you, I wish you were on Werner and I wish you would join the outfit I am making in 30 minutes.

Its is hard to find players like you...BTW I agre with you on everything, let me add my littl section to Beamer part though...

Beamer: sucks, can't get around that, but pistols are only really used by infs, and the AMP is the best one anyways. Uses same ammo as other Vanu weapons, which can come in handy if you can switch weaps in time.

Handy to clear mines, switch to AP mode and get those minds out of the way, thw slow RoF makes it accurate so you cna clear a mine in 4 shots

[Madcat170]

I agree with all of that Vanu are a great faction people seem to think cos one weapon sucks...they all suck...im glad that a nice shiny Vanu player has stood up and said

"We dont suck"

Btw

I hate that lancer

Have fun

[Sentrosi]

You have to remember that ppl coming into the game have a backround in traditional FPS's. They tend to get the best weapon and have it available right away. This game is a hybrid. It takes more than the traditional "Run -n- Gun" offense some ppl believe in. Choose your empire, get with a good squad/outfit, discuss tactics in an open forum with the rest of your empire and make it happen. Humans have a large capacity in ability, they just need to be pushed in the right direction several times.

[Peacemaker]

NC solution to you sitting on my roof. Flying a phnx up ur ass . Have a nice day everyone

Zeeee flaming buttplug! Ahhhhhhhh!

[beavis88]

I hate that goddamn lancer. I made a VS char on another server to see what it was all about...I may have to migrate, that thing is seriously fun

[Agent White]

Originally posted by Peacemaker
NC solution to you sitting on my roof. Flying a phnx up ur ass . Have a nice day everyone

Zeeee flaming buttplug! Ahhhhhhhh!

I was on an NC roof for 40 minutes yesterday and shot down no less than 15 or so reavers and mosqs before I decided to rush their CC for fun. Took out a Galaxy they were trying to load as well. Snicker.


Phoenixes can't get you if you keep moving around on the roof, their lateral control is lacklustre and by the time they see you, they are too close to change direction.

Trust me, many tried.

[Prowler]

Originally posted by beavis88
I hate that goddamn lancer. I made a VS char on another server to see what it was all about...I may have to migrate, that thing is seriously fun

I need some of those.

[Grym]

I'm a vanu player, and I've heard this type of argument posted on the other message board and I don't buy it. The issue is whether the factions are balanced or not.

Right now, they are not. Want proof? Take a look at the daily winner stats or even more painfully obvious, the Empire Need stats. In both cases, you will see that Vanu comes painfully in last place. As if that weren't enough, it's the same story on EVERY server. If the game were balanced, this wouldn't be the case.

Your argument is that the Vanu simply aren't using their weapons skillfully. If that's the case, why should the vanu have to use their weapons skillfully to compete with the UNSKILLFUL use of TR or NC weapons? How balanced is that? Besides, how can the Vanu hope to compete with skillful use of, for instance, the insta-MAX-killing striker? The answer is they can't and aren't.

Honestly, guys, whether you are Vanu or not, be honest and reasonable in supporting some changes to the vanu weapons so they can match the other empires without resorting to zerging the opposition with a 3:1 ratio of men (which is becoming harder and harder due to people switching empires) into submission.

-Grym

[TheRegurgitator]

i still don't get the name of the thread...

[Kikinchikin]

i agree with u grym, Vanu do have it crappy. i will be creating a vanu character on markov, so i can test the third empire out. I was vanu for a lil time in beta, and i unfortunately did not get to test the lancer... but i think u guys have decent weapons ie the pulsar and lancer, not sure about the lasher or the AI and AV maxes, but the AA max is the bomb. i curse when i get shot down by that thing...

[NeoTassadar]

*Salutes Agent White*
You have just said what I have been for a long time. The difference is that you can back it up. You have also confirmed many of my speculations on the weapons. The huge reason people think Vanu suck is because most Vanu are not using their weapons properly (not exactly skillfully, just the right weapons in the right situations). Once the Vanu learn to use strategies that fit the equipment, we'll do better. Right now, but I suspect not for long, (this is judging from talk heard here and by a few of my friends who are able to play) the Lancer is what's carrying what little we got. It will grow.
Hats off to you, Agent White.

[Seer]

While I agree that a skillfull use of Vanu weaponry easily will rival or beat any other empire, you all know that this means the Vanu are at a disadvantage, according to the law of averages.

Let's look at skill as a bell curve. Most of the people posting here are pretty into FPS games and generally very good at them. There are better people, but they are on the high end of this curve. Then you have the vast majority of casual, average skill people and a handful of truly terrible people. Now, the curve is going to be the same for every empire, because every empire is just a sample of the gaming population. A side may have superior organization, but that does not make their individual soldiers more intelligent or give them truer aim.

This means that a weapon you can use with marginal skill--Striker, Phoenix, TR Maxs--will be better, on average, than a weapon that can be utilized highly effectively by skilled individuals, and almost completely ineffectively by the lowest end of the curve. What this means is that a highly skilled VS infantryman, with his lasher and lancer, is an extremely deadly force, more than a match for other HA/AV combinations from other empires. However, due to the fact that his weapons require more finesse, the rest of the curve will have a tougher time using them. This leaves the skilled individual, who can use these weapons effectively, with the (mostly correct) idea that VS weapons are balanced.

The net effect of this is that the VS consists of a small number of overpowered individuals capable of performing extraordinary things and a vast majority of average guys who haven't quite got the lead time down for the lancer, lasher, or even pulsar. This can create an impression of misleading vividness both for enemy soldiers and the author of this post.

Personally I would leave the VS alone for a month or two before deciding what, if anything, to do.

[PeregineDive]

Great post Agent White. I agree whole heartedly with you on the lancer Boy is that thing fun to sniper snipers with! It is truely the most versatile weapon available to all empires. As Seer point out - our weps take a tad bit more skill to use compared to others. And the people that have become skillful in the use of these weapons seem to be the minority. I hope this trend will even out in time. I find it a challenge to fight numbers down - but with a good & skillful squad working together, show me something we can't do


-PD

[ZionsFire]

The vanu is a good faction the reason because there in last place
in pop is because one guy says the vanu SUCK etc.