Beta: Vehicle Weapons - The good, the bad & the ugly

[Ipimpnoobs]

(SOE PS2 Forum Re-post!) THANKS FOR THE INFO!

Before you use your aurax creds after the wipe read this!

Thanks for the any feedback and if you have any more info to add please post.

By MonkeyTR (SOE PS2 Forum Post &Currently 1st position K/D on West Beta 01 )

Sunderer:
• M60 Mortar - With a range of about 10 meters and the ability to shoot underneath the vehicle this is probably one of the worst upgrades you could buy. The gun itself (should you find a ground target in front of the vehicle that would rather not drive over) will kill them in two fairly close splash damage hits, possibly one in a direct hit, and a near uncountable number in the respectable splash range. It does decently against other light ground vehicles, but you will not be killing a galaxy with it. Enjoy your weapon lock if you use this weapon.
*The sunderer will easily beat any other vehicle with the default weapons including AP tanks.

Prowler/MBT:
• P2-120 HE - Unlike the lightning's L100 HE round this will take two shots instead of one at close distance to kill an enemy (same as the HEAT rounds), and like the other cannons it will kill on a direct hit. Although the splash size is respectable the damage caused by it is not, and due to the currently low ammo supply on the prowler you will be spending a lot of rounds to knock off the shields on enemy soldiers. Comet MAXes will waddle towards you and pew pew you to death.
• G30 Vulcan - I wish I could give more information on this, but the spread is so incredibly stupid I haven't had the chance to hit anything with it. At least it looks cool.
• P525 Marauder - the default gun is better in almost every situation.
• A30 Walker - The A30 walker on all of the MBTs is locked into firing straight forward along the axis the tank is pointing, and also cannot be aimed up or down
Galaxy:

The mortar is extremely situational on this aircraft, and considering during landings on enemy air towers you will want the 20mm to destroy active AA turrets I'm not sure how worthwhile it is. As is the A30 walker on the galaxy melts infantry and is decent against aircraft.

Liberator:
• CAS30 Tank Buster - Wanna know something neat? This will destroy a lightning near instantly -- if you are floating right next to it. If you decide to shoot at it from a "reasonable" distance, your gunner is having a snack, and you want to use almost all your ammunition you might make use of it before by getting hit by every vehicle and rocket in the area. If an enemy aircraft wants to ram you and is heading straight at you he will die instantly if you pull the trigger at the right moment.
• A30 Walker/M12 Kobalt - The A30 walker was a surprise for me as well. Aside from the default tail gun already melting enemy aircraft apparently this one doesn't like to do much of anything. At first it appears to have a much longer range than the A30 Walkers on other vehicles, but the damage output and weird aim on it doesn't fit the price tag. The kobalt is also worse than the default weapon.
• M60 Mortar - The last I checked it's still bugged so that it is upside down. I haven't had the chance to hit anything with it because of that so I'm not sure if it is good.
*Because the AP30 shredder is overpowered if your pilot doesn't make you want to strangle his throat, the M60 Mortar could likely be the only worthwhile replacement for the default gun once it is fixed.

Mosquito:
• M14 Banshee - Apparently "devastating against ground" means a cone of fire so large you're more likely to run over that annoying infiltrator on the ridge than kill him if you try to fly close enough to hit him. It's terrible. Along with the vulcan, m60 mortar, and tank buster if you aren't crying over spending your auraxium you'll get a lot of laughs out of using it.
• M18 Rotary - The default gun is far superior to the m18. The m18 is only useful if you fly underneath an aircraft and fire a burst. You'll end up resupplying for this plenty. It's sad to see that currently their solution to making weapons better in certain situations are to make "easier" to hit with.
• A2AM Pods - Instead of increasing the skill required to use an effective air to air weapon -- such as allowing the missiles to lock-on at a faster rate the more accurate you are on the enemy aircraft, and if you are not accurate lock will be broken or delayed -- they decided to kill the range of the lock on and require you to near fly into another aircraft before firing the missiles. The rocket pods are the best anti-air weapons in the game currently, so be sure to skip A2AM for the time being.

Lightning (I tried all) By Goodkat (SOE PS2 Forums)

100mm AP: For 2500, its a good gun. It is best against armor obviously and I have killed MBTs with it one on one if I get the drop and come from behind. You HAVE to learn how to aim. There is no splash damage. Two hits to kill MAX usually and one hit infantry if you hit them directly. Recommend at least 2x zoom.

100mm HE: 6000 for this one. This gun is not bad either. Pretty useless against armor except to scare the inexperienced tanks with the impressive looking fireball. Against Infantry, it is pretty good. The blast radius means you can hit them fairly hard while they hide behind rocks and whatnot but a direct hit is still recommended. Recommend 2x zoom.

100mm HEAT: My personal favorite. I have over 200 kills with this gun. It is pricey at 12,500, but worth it. My feeling (just a feeling mind you) is that it is probably about 75% as effective as both the above guns against their respective preferred targets. This is a worthwhile trade off for the versatility in my opinion. I mostly go after infantry with it and direct hits are preferable. It also usually 2 shots MAXes and is effective against other Lightnings and even MBTs. I recommend that full 3x zoom if you are going to drop the dough on this one.

Sky-guard: Although much improved since is nausea inducing debut, the sky-guard turret is still mediocre in my opinion. This gun does not have enough punch to kill aircraft except for the unlucky or stupid ones. It is an effective deterrent, but the lack of kills is disheartening. In its current state, it is too expensive. 5,000 instead of 10,000 would be closer to worthwhile.

Flash (I tried all):

Basilisk: Cheap at 2500 and better than no gun at all. This is actually my favorite for the flash. The flash is a cheap and fast transport and not a combat vehicle. I find that infantry on the ground is more dangerous to me than I to them with any flash gun (though I roll the squishy engineer). I find the best targets are unaware MAXes and vehicles and this is the best gun against them due to the decent damage and flat trajectory.

Kobalt: Supposed an anti-infantry gun, but I cannot live long enough to kill someone if I stand still enough to hit them with this thing. Honestly I think this gun sucks no matter what platform its mounted on.

Fury: Some like it. I don't. Maybe I can't figure out the aiming as well, but I have better luck with the easier to use and cheaper basilisk.

Scythe:
Saron is stock but the best LMG by far (ipimp)

The Scythe Light PPA has no inheritance, and you can completely outrun your own bullets. Completely ineffective against ground AND air. Does ridiculously low damage, travels slower than you can fly, and originates somewhere below the scythe, rather than in front of it. (by Subhazard SOE PS2 Forums)

Hailstorm is like a long range shotgun. It is good against one thing currently: Mosquitos. In every other instance you want the saron. (ipimp)

I think the perfect setup is A2G's with 2x scope and the Saron LMG. Check my video why at the bottom.

Magrider: (iPimp)

FPC (armor percing) is currently the best anti vehicle turret. To take out a max, it takes 2 shots all factions.

VPC (anti infantry) is great at killing people but can take over 5 shots to bring down tanks. It has a great AOE, so lobbing a round in a building is sure to get you paid. If a tank comes your way, RUN and RUN fast!

PC (med. stock weapon) This has the best versatility when u don't have a gunner.


I always use the FPC. It is the only weapon I can engage a vanguard effectively and it completely obliterates prowlers . Will be posting a tanking video shortly. The FPC is very hard to hit infantry but, I find it kinda fun. Almost like a sniper rifle.

Any turret you pick however, MUST have at least the 2x scope attachment



Thanks guys for helping and let me know if there is anything we need to update on this list

[Neurotoxin]

Saron HRB for the Magrider makes it into a double AV platform. With top armor, the Magrider + Saron HRB is a menace to armor and fairly resistant to air, though a bit vulnerable to infantry. It has a low angle, so don't expect to hit much air that isn't coming in at a low trajectory.

The PPA for the Magrider is also pretty sweet. Don't expect to hit air at all, or fast-moving vehicles in the distance, as it is still a bit of a show projectile. Against infantry, it is amazing, and it adds some extra damage in tank battles (not nearly as much as the Saron though).


As for the Lightning Skyguard, its a good pair of scissors for the enemy paper. Don't expect to get solo kills, but expect to get a ton of assists, and expect to be a key influencing force in shutting down enemy air so tanks and infantry can roll in. Any armor column that is without a Skyguard is basically just asking to be rocket spammed and bombed.