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.

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.

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.

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.

Nemises · 2012-07-18, 05:12 AM

if its a problem, it'll show up within 1 day of beta and get nerfed..

...TB looked / sounded pretty frustrated when their Lib got podded, especially since it took them about 10 mins to actually get one spawned and manned...

..for my part, just from the media I've seen, podding is a bit lame, I don't think pods should destroy stuff they land on

cellinaire · 2012-07-18, 05:14 AM

Originally Posted by Nemises

if its a problem, it'll show up within 1 day of beta and get nerfed..

...TB looked / sounded pretty frustrated when their Lib got podded, especially since it took them about 10 mins to actually get one spawned and manned...

..for my part, just from the media I've seen, podding is a bit lame, I don't think pods should destroy stuff they land on

No harm at all, or toning down the damage?

JoeDragon · 2012-07-18, 05:17 AM

Originally Posted by Nemises

if its a problem, it'll show up within 1 day of beta and get nerfed..

...TB looked / sounded pretty frustrated when their Lib got podded, especially since it took them about 10 mins to actually get one spawned and manned...

..for my part, just from the media I've seen, podding is a bit lame, I don't think pods should destroy stuff they land on

They should at least kill the occupant making it a strategic decision. Waste your drop pod cooldown and have to potentially travel back to the location on foot and take out a Target of Opportunity or get to where you're want to be faster.

Shadowrath · 2012-07-18, 05:17 AM

This sounds like blasphemy...

fvdham · 2012-07-18, 05:24 AM

> I don't think pods should destroy stuff they land on

I saw a pod land on a Vanguard and kill it in PlanetSide 1.

And I guess its logical that a pod would to a lot of dmg.

Pod dropping was not a problem for vehicles in PlanetSide 1 because:
- pods dropped less frequently, you had to go the shuttle building to get on a drop pod
- pods dropped outside the base area, so the chance of hitting some1 was small

The best part of pod dropping in PlanetSide 1 was when an entire Empire
dropped at the same time at the same base. A massive rain of pods.

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.