The Vanu Starfire MAX (pilots beware)

gonnagetyou · 2003-06-02, 02:50 PM

I've been trying out the Vanu MAXs and I've spent a lot of that time in the Starfire. For anyone who doesn't know, that's the anti-aircraft configuration. I've heard people complain about how weak it is, but I've found it to be etremely good for what it was designed to do.

This MAX does one thing well and only one thing. Kill aircraft. Yea, occasionally you can blast some infantry with it, but it will take more than one magazine to do it and the rounds are slow enough to be avoided unless they have lock on which appears to increase their speed. But against Reavers and Mosquitos you only need one magazine of 8 rounds.

For anyone who hasn't seen this MAX in action, all the MAX needs to do is put their crosshair on the target and your rounds will lock onto the aircraft and will stay locked on as long as the MAX can keep his crosshair over the target. The rounds are fast and can change direction very quickly.

The trick is to fire off all 8 rounds near the aircraft before locking on. If you lock on too soon an experienced pilot will immediately hit his afterburner and get the hell out off there.

The best place to place the rounds are in front of the vehicle. This way even if he kicks in his afterburner he will pass through the general area of your rounds. Also, any Reaver pilot dumb enough to try shooting you while you have lock is in for an ass whopping. It only takes one magazine to bring him down and you can get all 8 rounds to the target long before he can launch enough missiles to take you out as long as you were at full armor health to begin with.

Placing your rounds below or above the target are the next best areas. A pilot will have a harder time seeing them unless he is facing you. If the pilot is fast enough he may hit his afterburners in time to save himself from having all 8 rounds fry him up extra crispy, but usually he won't get out of there unharmed.

Firing to the rear of the target before lock on guarantees the element of surprise, but makes it easier for an aware pilot to get out of dodge in time.

Of course the distance between target and rounds at the moment of lock on should be as close as you can get them. This can be tricky though as you don't want to be aiming too close to the target and accidentely get lock too soon.

Identifying the target as friendly or enemy without giving away your presence can be tricky sometimes. It's hard to actually make out the colors on the aircraft and if they aren't shooting at you sometimes placing your firing reticule over the target is the only way. If you have to do this then do it quickly. Place it over the target just long enough to determine friend or foe and then immediately remove it. I often fire into the air before identifying the target anyway. If it's a friendly they'll be OK as long as they don't move into the rounds themselves. Of course the guys who don't know what you're doing may wonder why your shooting.

A couple of Starfire MAXs working together can practically nullify any enemy airsupport over a base or tower. It has a huge ammo load and the reload rate is fairly quick. You only need one magazine of 8 rounds for most targets as long as you get the jump on them. The jump jets of course allow you to get to some really sweet firing positions and I had some of my best success with it by moving away from the main action and working alone from positions that I was least expected to be.

As long as you think of yourself as a mobile antiaircraft support unit and not as a one man tank you'll do really well.

Jarlo · 2003-06-02, 03:44 PM

Have you tried the NC AA MAX? It puts the VS one to SHAME. Once you get missle lock you just keep firing.. dont have to keep the reticle on the reaver at all they automatically track.

Also 12 shot clip, and fires fast. It is much better vs infantry/vehicles as well.

I haven't tried the TR, I don't play anything TR. But the NC AA MAX is leaps and bounds better than the VS AA MAX.

MilitantB0B · 2003-06-02, 03:47 PM

I like the TR one best because there is no missle lock. Most pilots only afterburner away when being hit by rockets of one sort or another, when they take rapid fire damage, they normally just assume its some dude with a cycler. Hehehe, a locked down TR AA MAX makes the skies an unfriendly place extremely fast.

Valcron · 2003-06-02, 04:59 PM

The NC max AA is by far the best max for shooting down planes. To date since last tuesday when i certed in it I have shot down 132 reavers and 35 skeets.

gonnagetyou · 2003-06-02, 05:22 PM

Well, I have never played anything other than Vanu so I can only comment with any realiable accuracy on their MAXs. Yep, I'm hardcore Barney all the way.

However, I do know the NC AA MAX is a pain in the ass when I'm trying to fly anything. You can't get near an NC base for two seconds before you have to run with 3 or four missiles breathing down your neck.

I haven't run up against the TR AA MAX that often yet, but it hasn't given me as much grief as the NC one.

Nitsch · 2003-06-02, 05:29 PM

Originally posted by gonnagetyou
Yep, I'm hardcore Barney all the way.

Did you know if you said that in public in most states, you could be arrested?

wrecklass · 2003-06-02, 05:35 PM

Thanks for the tips, I just certed with the Starfire, so I am gonna try it out soon.

When I fly a reaver I have learned to watch out for those TR AA Maxes. If I start getting hit I watch my ships health. If my tail is getting a little red, I figure it's small arms. But when I hear those big "Whumps" and see I'm half health in a couple of hits I'm turning and burning fast. They hit plenty hard.

NC just drive me crazy. I get over a base, and get about a half dozen lockons at the same time. About that time I am wanting to relocate to the moon. Does everyone in NC drive an AA Max?

gonnagetyou · 2003-06-02, 05:46 PM

Originally posted by Nitsch
Did you know if you said that in public in most states, you could be arrested?

Ah, the faceless pleasure of the internet. In RL I'm strictly don't ask, don't tell.

Thrik · 2003-06-02, 07:37 PM

Heh.

I never really see the TR AA MAX in use because of it's complete inability to hurt anything ground based. However, I do believe that it is the best AA MAX out of the three empires, despite being heavily underused since it is exclusively an AA weapon.

Streamline · 2003-06-02, 07:45 PM

TR AA owns IMO. First the reaver starts kinda bouncin around. then it starts to shake a little. By now you should have hit your afterburners. The craft is really shaking now as the afterburner kicks in. Then you're vaporized. Try to bail...??? Vapor. Try to bail earlier next time? Still vapor. Try to bail even earlier next time... MA pounder nade to the head, done.

The missle lock warning gives much better chance of escaping the rocket bot.

Never flown against VS.

michaelsuave · 2003-06-02, 09:00 PM

from a reaver pilots point of view, and i've been playing since beta, yeah, the vs comet is good, but if your a really good pilot, you can swear around trees and hills and get out of firing range fast enough. the max that i hate the most is the NC sparrow, those little missles scare me shitless some time when i'm flying along and just hear them going, they are fast, they can outrun your afterburner and keep trailing after you until youve exhausted your thrusters. and they fire fast, once they lock and fire, you don't have to keep lock on, they just keep following you. i think the NC aa max is the best for shooting down aircraft, of course though, i don't like any other NC weapon besides their vanguard.

gospadin · 2003-06-02, 09:34 PM

I play an AV grunt a lot of the time (and a reaver pilot, go figure)...

My goal as AV is to prevent us from being attacked by reavers. In that sense, missile lock is just as effective as killing them at times... if that mosquito or reaver is going in for an attack, i'm just as happy to have him leave when he gets the lock as stay and be destroyed.

Either way I have done my job.

The other neat trick is if I am losing a dogfight I'll just bail out, and shoot the guy down with a homing missile as he comes around to finish off my pilot.

Chryse · 2003-06-02, 10:55 PM

I'm a Reaver pilot by trade and have been since beta, exclusively playing in the TR. By and large the NC Sparrow MAX'es give me the biggest problems. Those missles come at you hard and fast and the lay out a serious smackdown. The only defense I have with those is to get between the trees and AB out, and even that isn't enough most of the time. The Vanu AA MAX is next, but I tend to get away from those move often than not with some nap-of-the-earth flying and using terrain obstruction.

Recently, I tested out the TR Burster AA MAX when I found myself with 2 spare cert points and I had a field day with it. Turning enemy reavers and skeeters into so much cole slaw has never been quite fun and the flak effect is a beautiful thing to behold. I'm glad I don't have to face them.

It's funny how this thread compares with the Reaver thread... here, you all talk how effective your AA MAX'es are and, over there, they're talking about how Reavers should be nerfed into flying cottonballs because they are so "overpowered." Having experienced both sides to the Reaver/AA argument personally, I really think more people should have AA with them in their squads.

gonnagetyou · 2003-06-02, 11:41 PM

Yea, Chryse I noticed that too.

Too often people start crying foul or nerf instead of first trying to come up with a solution that already exists in the game.

I hate being taken out by Reavers just as much as the next guy, but when I think about it, it usually happens all because I wasn't around my team or we weren't packing enough AA weapons.

Every weapon or vehicle in the game has a weakness and a strength. It's up to us to figure those things out and try to adapt to the situation. if you don't have an AA cert then hang with people who do. Just another reason why teamwork is so important.