Drop Pod Bombing

ratfusion · 2012-07-17, 01:56 PM

Hamma's new video showed us the mechanics of drop pods, they're slightly steerable, and do damage if they land on something (he stated that they've taken out vehicles).

It seems very likely we'll see infil squad leaders calling lots of squad mates at once, once in range of an enemy formation as a new first strike tactic. It looks fun, but highly abusable to me, what does everyone else think?

It does seem somewhat odd that they can land with enough force to do serious damage but not harm the contents.

Logon · 2012-07-17, 01:57 PM

Originally Posted by ratfusion

Hamma's new video showed us the mechanics of drop pods, they're slightly steerable, and do damage if they land on something (he stated that they've taken out vehicles).

It seems very likely we'll see infil squad leaders calling lots of squad mates at once, once in range of an enemy formation as a new first strike tactic. It looks fun, but highly abusable to me, what does everyone else think?

It isn't a highly abusable tactic when the SL has to have a cert for squadspawn and it has a 5 minute - 30 minute cooldown

DayOne · 2012-07-17, 02:25 PM

It's just not an abusable tactic! No one seems to get this, the cool down is really long, you can't just rain down drop pods on the enemy.

Sure it'll be annoying if you get hit but just as annoying as being sniped, grenaded or rushed by an enemy squad.

HeatLegend · 2012-07-18, 06:59 AM

Originally Posted by DayOne

It's just not an abusable tactic! No one seems to get this, the cool down is really long, you can't just rain down drop pods on the enemy.

Sure it'll be annoying if you get hit but just as annoying as being sniped, grenaded or rushed by an enemy squad.

Exactly, and it's barely steerable so hitting an airship/tank is mostly luck as you need to find your target in the last few seconds and attempt to steer their way. Not to mention the cooldown, but yes it's definitely doable as has been shown in the E3 footage (although that just looked like a lucky hit, he didnt seem to steer at all).

derito · 2012-07-18, 07:03 AM

How about we wait a little to see how people actually play ? For all we know AA MAXes could be so common that drop pods won't be a problem even when there's no SOI active.

ratfusion · 2012-07-17, 03:19 PM

Won't this spell the end of every deployed gal spawnpoint once found? Don't even need to bring your own AV.

I like the idea of spawn-on-squad, and would rather see it more frequent, without this mechanic, although it is very cool.

fvdham · 2012-07-17, 04:03 PM

5 minutes is short, I live longer.

Klockan · 2012-07-18, 05:30 AM

Originally Posted by fvdham

5 minutes is short, I live longer.

Not if you die from droppodding on a tank. All they need to do is have every vehicle make a big enough explosion to kill the drop podder and they would think twice about it.

NewSith · 2012-07-18, 05:58 AM

I think if 2000 gather at one chokepoint it's gonna be very nasty. Hence I'm actually against droppods that instagib things. I mean - how is it any better than a cr4 OS? But hell, I'd rather say /wfb on this one. For Open Beta to be precise.

Snipefrag · 2012-07-17, 04:34 PM

The solution is simple, make it do x amount of damage and not insta kill everything. Balance the damage to be 60-70% of a gal/sunderer's health.

Rat · 2012-07-17, 05:23 PM

I think while fun to do it will be exploited a year or so down the road, it will be just like the OS spam in PS1...deployed galaxies will be a favorite target of drop pods. the cool down will not matter when 80% of the population has it specced....you just used you squad spawn? Make lennymogrot squad leader.

RoninOni · 2012-07-18, 12:25 PM

Originally Posted by Rat

I think while fun to do it will be exploited a year or so down the road, it will be just like the OS spam in PS1...deployed galaxies will be a favorite target of drop pods. the cool down will not matter when 80% of the population has it specced....you just used you squad spawn? Make lennymogrot squad leader.

Cooldown is on the player, not the squad leader.

If YOU have drop pod spawned in the last 5-X minutes... then you can't do it again.

It's not like the game is set in stone anyways. Control of the drop pod, damage dealt by the pod, and potential damage TO the pod are all variables subject to change... as well as the cooldown duration.

If you think it might be a problem, get an outfit together and try and prove it.

VSENSES · 2012-07-17, 05:27 PM

I think this is a valid thing and due to the cooldown it's fair game.

Gonefshn · 2012-07-17, 05:37 PM

I like this for sure, it's not going to be as bad as people think.

If your in an MBT and an enemy gets close enough to you that a squad mate can drop on you then you have already failed.

All this footage we have seen will be nothing like the final game, we are missing the huge numbers that will ultimately keep the fights at longer ranges with more distinct battle lines. This will make issues like drop pod bombing less of an issue.

typhaon · 2012-07-18, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by Gonefshn

I like this for sure, it's not going to be as bad as people think.

If your in an MBT and an enemy gets close enough to you that a squad mate can drop on you then you have already failed.

All this footage we have seen will be nothing like the final game, we are missing the huge numbers that will ultimately keep the fights at longer ranges with more distinct battle lines. This will make issues like drop pod bombing less of an issue.

I think that's a really important point everyone needs to remember when we're talking about tactics/effectiveness, at this point.