Possible problem with Magrider main gun

[Erendil]

Originally Posted by ringring

sometimes I think vs are their own worst enemies.... the lasher debale comes to mind......

It's fine!

The "Lasher debaucle" was mainly the result of the difficulties in balancing a weapon with a basic balance flaw inherent to its design: that it was an HA weapon with SA properties (the lash). That and the later Devs' insistence on overbuffing/nerfing its capabilities in line with what they thought it needed and not what the vast majority of VS themselves actually asked for, and with no thought made towards simply fixing the AP bug it had picked up.

Any added turmoil thrown in by the playerbase was equally the result of cries from all three empires throughout its life, not just the VS. To think otherwise is simply ignorant.



On topic, it's hard to say whether or not the fixed cannon is going to be a problem until we actually see more of the Mag in action. The few fleeting glimpses we saw in the GDC footage tells us very little of its capabilities.

If they give it the maneuverability it needs to effectively use the main cannon it'll probably be hella fun to drive!

[Xyntech]

Originally Posted by Erendil

If they give it the maneuverability it needs to effectively use the main cannon it'll probably be hella fun to drive!

Could be fun enough that I'd consider driving it solo, or with a regular gunner turret (not a dedicated gunner cert) sometimes. Something I would probably rarely consider with the driver controlled gun versions of the Prowler or Vanguard.

Who am I kidding though. I drive Magriders to run people over, not shoot at things. Oh and so my gunner can shoot at things, yeah...

[Virulence]

I'm most curious to see how the Magrider is going to play considering all of the MBTs are going to have directional armor. The fixed-mount design, coupled with the way the Magrider itself works, will make it very easy to take advantage of presumably heavier front armor (and front armor customization) than it will be in other tanks.

[Sabot]

If I understand this correctly... in PS2 the main turret controlled by a gunner in PS1 is now controlled by the driver, in same fashion the AI gun on the mag was controlled in PS1?

If that be the case, and it is indeed the way the devs want the mag to roll, I'd say they have to be more maneuverable than in PS1, but with less defensive capabilities. And perhaps, seeing as the prowler and vanny fire projectiles, and the mag fires something I assume is raw energy, perhaps they more or less "ignore" the fact that front armor is thicker (and that rear armor is thiner) than the other tanks. Making it a tank that is more suited at flanking enemy tanks than taking them on head on. It wont make them overly OP in cases where you roll up on something from behind, but very good at what they're supposed to do... i.e flanking.

I don't know... but it seems like a way to add diversity and not just mirror each faction with a few small differences.

[Xyntech]

Originally Posted by Virulence

I'm most curious to see how the Magrider is going to play considering all of the MBTs are going to have directional armor. The fixed-mount design, coupled with the way the Magrider itself works, will make it very easy to take advantage of presumably heavier front armor (and front armor customization) than it will be in other tanks.

For one thing, the Magrider will have the weakest armor, and for another, it will no longer be the fastest of the 3 tanks. It will have to use its maneuverability to maximum effect.

It will be excellent at always showing its best armor to the target it is shooting, but this will also be offset by the fact that Planetside is a large, open battlefield, where another enemy may be coming up from your side your rear.

Presumably the Prowler will still have the highest DPS, and the Vanguard will have the highest burst damage, so I think it is safe to assume that, up close, shot for shot, the Magrider will not only have the weakest armor, but also the lowest damage per second.

So maneuverability and having a more accurate main gun will presumably be essential tools for helping the Magrider compete, especially now that the Prowler can potentially run it down.

I don't think that completely removing directional armor is the right solution, but I wouldn't mind seeing most of the Magriders weaker armor being attributable to weaker forward and side armor, meaning that while it still had a weak spot in back, that spot was no weaker than the backs of the other two MBTs.

Lots of little stats and attributes will be available to tweak though, so whatever ends up being balanced. Hard to work out the exact real world ramifications on a spread sheet for something this complex and dynamic.