News: Game Update 13 Released Features Esamir Update and More

[Chewy]

After a few hours with the new map I still don't have much to say. Most of it was just around Eisa and the Octagon.

SO MANY HIDING SPOTS! So much cover everywhere but still filled with no mans land. I need to see more than just 4 bases to give a real opinion but the Octagon kinda sucks for the defenders and/or if your connection is to the south.

The entire north side of the Octagon has high ground that vehicles can fire from that enters the base and lets them shell maybe 3 points. Also Harassers can easily jump the north walls (TR was abusing this a LOT with Marauders). If it wasn't for the Phoenix then us NC wouldn't have lasted as long defending it. Any other faction can't do a damned thing about the shelling. I think it needs a touch up to lower the north hills or raise the walls maybe another 5-10 feet.

Other than that it's a whole new map. It is going to take time to learn the new ways to attack the bases.

[ZephyrBurst]

Originally Posted by Ruffdog

Damn you have to stay on the Flash for the Scout Radar to work?
The buff to it - I can see this completely pissing off every dedicated infiltrator, seeing as the new Flash Radar renders the two current cloaks obsolete.

Clearly getting ready for Implants, i.e. Sensor Shield, and like health on target getting removed, they are creating an environment where you will want them, to get back what you once had.

The scout radar change seems fine and makes sense. Will miss leaving it in the middle of Amp Stations, but that was a cheeseball way of using it.

Really hoping that Sensor Shield implant never makes it in. It's very much overkill. Implants need to be a more like small augmentations like Silent Running, Audio Amp, Decreased damage from falling, Advanced Targetting, etc. Even regeneration would be fine if it's like the current Bio Lab benefit.

[Sirisian]

I saw the new Esamir changes on the PTS but having played on it with large armies now I love the direction. I've said this before, but the terrain shouldn't allow people to trivially shooting into objectives or spawns. I found that the designers when trying to make varied terrain features and placing obstacles might have given attackers too much of an advantage when fighting into the base. It's almost like the paths leading into the base were designed for attackers. Having walkways up rocks for instance from the outside. These designs should be reversed so defenders can go onto them easily. I noticed this in a few places with the large spikes also. Spikes pointing toward the objective that allow a player like me to walk up them with a battle rifle and farm infantry over a wall. Those need to be reversed so defenders are using them.

It happens so much in the map design that it was kind of easy to exploit. I was attacking bases the whole time I played and ended with a 3:1 KDR. My normal is closer to 1:1. Maybe others can shed light, but it seems like the flow of the battles around and into objectives are heavily skewed toward the attackers.

[typhaon]

Originally Posted by Dragonskin

Well, you could always just play with yourself since you suggested that as an activity in your other exact same post.

Solution. Get a weapon on your flash and actively look for targets while your allies benefit from the same radar you are using. If you can't be bothered to use your vehicle for kills then SOE can't be bothered to give you a cert refund.

Radar still works. You just have to actually be in the vehicle for it to work. Makes sense. You enter a vehicle and the engine revs up. You exit a vehicle and it turns off... radar turns off too.

Actually...

It doesn't make sense.

If your vehicle has a radar that is capable of broadcasting to your allies - what does it matter if you are physically present in your vehicle, or not?

You're not doing some kind of 'radar skill.' You're getting in your vehicle and pressing ON.

BTW - welcome to InfiltratorSide... ugh... tonight was ridiculous.

[Falcon_br]

Originally Posted by CraazyCanuck

Try shooting an ESF with a Saron in comparison. The vulcan even on the Harraser was a terror against ESF pre-patch. In fact it was a terror against everthing. I ran one for an extensive time last night and I could not believe its effectiveness. Took down any ESF that I could get an angle on. Perhaps not so easily now but it is a very forgiving weapons platform to use and will deter any smart pilot you lay into and still kill the one's silly enough to hang around too long. It is the perfect weapon for the run and gun style of the speedy harrasser. I really enjoyed using it and will still probably get it on my TR toon despite its weakened state against air.

Dude, it was already discussed here.
Vanguard and Magrider can 1 shot ESF, the Prowler can´t.
So while we attack a magrider and a vanguard we must fly high or be instant gibed by them.
The same was with the Prowlers using Vulcan.
All ESF I shot down using the Vulcan were Shythes Hovering while firing at my tank they deserved to die.
Maybe it was too good against Liberators, but they also should be flying higher, if we can hit them with the Vulcan, a Vanguard can hit more easily!

With GU 13 I can finally give good bye to my Marauder, it is pointless now, all my gunners get more infantry kills now with the Vulcan then with the marauder! I don´t know if the marauder was nerfed or if the Vulcan is too damn good!
I am losing more tanks battle now, maybe with the nerf I will need to develop more anti tank tactics, because my vulcan with lower damage gave my enemies an edge on close combat.
It also took forever to kill an enemy sunderer with blocked armor while in a Vulcan Harasser. (I was not shooting in the back).
Esamir is now impossible to capture. Wall, Wall everywhere!
Esamir finally got trees, the octagon is easy to capture.
The problem is the base on the NE of Saerro Listening post.
Just 2 entrances, lots of anti air, very high towers, close to the enemy warpgate!
A much smaller VS force was able to hold it against 3 times TR enemies on there! They just keep throwing explosives on the 2 entrances and nobody could get in, even light assault had problems because the walls are too high.
My only consolation is that for the next 2 hours we hold the VS on saerro listening post, with half the VS population.
The truth is, while nobody figure out how to capture those new bases, Esamir is out of possibility to be captured. Unless you do it 5 AM.
Walls, Wall everywhere!

[Falcon_br]

I also forgot to say:
My laser sights are now Orange, no longer RED!

The Vulcan is as good as the other 2 Empires specific tank weapons against Infantry, while they kill infantry faster with only too shots we must spray and pray.

Now we are on the team we got a very good secondary MBT weapon and a Useless one, like everybody else.

Infiltrators killing you from long range with the new SMG all the time from behind!

Also, 1.000 SC on the Black camo... GO TO HELL SOE!

[Ruffdog]

So did The Pit get scrapped? I got bored of waiting to patch last night and had to go work early this am

[ringring]

Originally Posted by Ruffdog

So did The Pit get scrapped? I got bored of waiting to patch last night and had to go work early this am

Aye.

I spent a little while on Esamir this morning. I don't have much to say as yet, I'm still digesting the changes.

[Canaris]

Originally Posted by Falcon_br

Also, 1.000 SC on the Black camo... GO TO HELL SOE!

I bought both the armour and weapon camo..... yes I'm a monster "rawr!"

[PredatorFour]

They've done a great job on esamir, terrain looks great and is really fun to fight in. However i really dislike what they have done to my turbo laser.

It's like they take 2 steps forward and 2 back regarding balancing the weapons of this game.

[Palerion]

I undeniably like the Esamir base changes, the facilities needed more cover and this is a good start. Needless to say, there are some problems with some of the bases, such as the octagon, as Chewy mentioned.

I finally got the patch installed at 12:00 AM and when I got to the octagon the vehicle spam was ridiculous. And I think the spawns need reworking too, we had endless tunnel fights worse than Battlefield 3's Operation Metro.

[Carbon Copied]

The dark scales camo actually looks pretty good when I tried it on the PTS. The fact that SOE charge you 1000SC for early access (considering you're already subbed to have access to those listed depot items) is laughable.

[CraazyCanuck]

Originally Posted by Falcon_br

Dude, it was already discussed here.
Vanguard and Magrider can 1 shot ESF, the Prowler can´t.

I didn't bring it up, you did complaining about the changes to the weapon.

I have been 1 shotted by a Vanguard so I'd agree with you there. With its improved muzzle velocity and dmg plus turret mobility it has the best chance to pull it off.

The Magrider, not so much. perhaps with the AP main gun you can 1 shot ESF. I'm not sure as I haven't run with one in a bit but the fixed main gun and lack of vertical angle makes pulling off a shot very difficult when combined with the slow turnning of the magrider itself. Usually I have to find a hill to give the angle required for the main to even have a chance. And even when I'm fortunate enough to land a shot with the main gun, it takes a follow up shot from either the main/secondary unless the ESF is already damaged.

So while we attack a magrider and a vanguard we must fly high or be instant gibed by them.

That is true regardless of what faction MBT your running.

The same was with the Prowlers using Vulcan.
All ESF I shot down using the Vulcan were Shythes Hovering while firing at my tank they deserved to die.

Again regardless of what faction it is, a hovering esf is begging for it regardless of which mbt its facing. The Vulcan's Rof, cone, just makes it easier to take advantage of low flying aircraft.

Maybe it was too good against Liberators, but they also should be flying higher, if we can hit them with the Vulcan, a Vanguard can hit more easily!

The Vulcan is still a viable threat against aircraft. Any liberator flying low is going to take an ass whooping if they are caught. VR testing had the Vulcan I believe 39-41 bullets on the ESF, and I think it was 80ish to take out the liberator. Don't have the paper I wrote the results down on.

With GU 13 I can finally give good bye to my Marauder, it is pointless now, all my gunners get more infantry kills now with the Vulcan then with the marauder! I don´t know if the marauder was nerfed or if the Vulcan is too damn good!

With the stated buff against infantry and its improved utility over the Marauder I would say it's a good call to run with the Vulcan full time.

I am losing more tanks battle now, maybe with the nerf I will need to develop more anti tank tactics, because my vulcan with lower damage gave my enemies an edge on close combat.
It also took forever to kill an enemy sunderer with blocked armor while in a Vulcan Harasser. (I was not shooting in the back).

With the 5% buff against armor piercing bullets it will take longer to kill a sundy. Might be the sundies you went up against had more ranks in blockade as well? Loosing more against tanks? The composite on the Harraser was nerfed so your staying power has been decreased so that may be a part of it when running the Harraser. No answer for yah if it was strictly mbt vs mbt. Depends if the new resistance change affects mbt and lightnings.

More testing required to see how big of a difference the 5% makes overall on the sundy. Anyone know what the Vulcan's bullet was classified as before? Does this new classification even affect its performance against MBT and lightning now or does it strictly modify the damage versus the aircraft and sundy only? I tested it out in the VR last night against both and it 'feels' the same against both the lightning and MBT as my previous experience. Unfortunately, I didn't do a test count on bullets against both before this patch to know for sure. Perhaps someone else on the forums already has the pre patch numbers and can find out.

G30 Vulcan
•Changed to Armor Piercing Bullet Resist Type
•Max Direct Damage increased from 120 to 250 - buff
•Minimum Direct Damage increased from 90 to 175 - buff
•This should make the Vulcan less powerful against Aircraft - Nerf - still can take an unmodded esf out in less then 1 default mag if the gunner is on target.
•This should make the Vulcan more powerful against infantry

G30 Vulcan – H
•Changed to Armor Piercing Bullet Resist Type
•Max Direct Damage increased from 110 to 220 - buff
•Minimum Direct Damage increased from 85 to 165 - buff
•This should make the Vulcan less powerful against Aircraft - didn't have time to test the H, but perhaps a full magazine on an unmodded esf would be fair?
•This should make the Vulcan more powerful against infantry

Sunderer Changes

Sunderer resistance to armor piercing bullets increased from 70% to 75%

EDIT: And yes give us back our red dot!!!

[Dodgy Commando]

Only had under an hour to play around Esamir today, but the new changes to bases and terrain are really fun so far. There are even trees now!

Looking good so far!

[ringring]

I've played a bit more now.

Esamir Munitions with it's 2 linked towers is good.

I fought a little at Jaegers Fist and my impression was one of chaos. I prefer more structure.

I have fought at a Bio but as it turned out the new capture timers didn't com into play.

Today a lot of people were fighting on Esamir, the changes have undoubtedly caused a great amount of interest and rightly so, however because of the numbers it's hard to tell how it would play out with fewer or smaller fights so I'll continue to give it time to settle in before making my mind up. (apart from reduced cap times)