Anti-Vehicular weapons, some reasoning about the Lancer

[Knuckles]

I have some questions on AV weapons, and since I�m planning on joining Vanu, it�ll be from seen from a �Lancers� point of view.

All three factions have their type of AV weapons, and there�s also the common pool ones, once You opt to cert for the special Assault Weapons.

Special Assault: What I�ve read about this cert is that You seem to get two very interesting weapons (Rocklet Gun, and Thumper), apart from the AV one � the Decimator. What I�ve read about the Decimator so far, is that packs one helluva punch, and that You have three shots in every Decimator (and then You just dispose of the weapon). It seems to be something of a MAX killer. Cons is that the projectile moves kind of slow, which makes it harder to hit moving targets.

NC: Guess we all know about the Phoenix now. The king of the beta. Wire guided missile and it packs a good punch. User can also opt to let the missile switch to �dumb� mode. Con is that the users view is switched to the missile when fired, which could leave the user vulnerable to attacks.

TR: The Striker also has 2 modes. �In standard firing mode, it launches a dumb fire missile straight towards its target. In secondary firing mode, the Striker will attempt to lock-on to an armored target (heavy assault suit, vehicle, or turret) as long as the reticule is kept on target for a short duration.� Sounds good to me. Haven�t found that much info about it though but it looks good on paper.

VS: The lancer supposedly has the second fastest projectile in the game (after the Gauss). Cons is that it has no guiding or lock on functionality. It also has a �warm up� time of about half a second, which makes it harder to handle. The third thing is that it doesn�t use the same ammo as the other VS weapons does (energy cells). It uses something called �Lancer cells�. Now I can live with that� What really irks me is that I, time and time again, read that the Lancer is underpowered. It doesn�t pack a punch!

- Why should a Vanu put opt to go for a Lancer (with all its current drawbacks) when the special assault cert seem to give so much more �bang for the buck�? There should be a reason for the Vanu to go for the lancer � it should have an edge as an AV weapon� and I just don�t see it?

I doubt that there will be an option to guide the missile on the Lancer. To me the Lancer sounds more like a cannon than a rocket launcher. (One could toy with the idea of the �bullet� homing in on the target by itself, once it gets close enough, it having �electromagnetic� properties or such� but never mind.) My reasoning is that the Lancers edge should be its punch. It should be the second strongest AV weapon when it comes to hitting hard (after the decimator), since the Phoenix and the Striker has the opportunity to guide the missile (thereby upping the hit probability).

What I would like to see is some tests being done (if You beta testers aren�t too busy offing each other ). Use a max or a vehicle as target. Test how many shots, from each AV weapon, it takes to kill it (or to bring it just to the brink of death, then repair it) � the Decimator, the Phoenix, the Striker and finally the Lancer.

Input please.