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RickDagles

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  1. I've tried out a bunch of feedback builds. I don't think any of them are meta, but the T1F HLC/RFL/Cluster/Feedback/Retro/Wingman build is viable in domination mode. As you suggested, it's a good counter to T2 scouts. You tap them with HLC a few times and then when they come chase after you, finish them with feedback shields and clusters. Kinda similar fighting style to a T3G feedback build except the strike is tankier and faster. I don't like using it in team deathmatch because the QCS engine regeneration is so important in that mode. I think it would be a good idea to give feedback shield a 15% increase in shield power pool.
  2. They can't kill stuff from 15000 m range because they don't have a railgun. They can't quickly kill ships while fighting on a satellite because they don't have burst laser cannons. A gunship should keep its distance from the strike and kill it safely with railguns. A scout should stick very close to the strike and kill it with burst laser cannons. Strikes weapons are mostly ineffective below 3000m. Strikes with LLC or RFL can still be dangerous, but with smart use of cooldowns and LoS, the scout has the advantage. I think Strikes have really good balance and build variety right now. I agree that bombers could use some help though.
  3. IMO the game is better than it's ever been. Pre 5.5, Team Deathmatch was an absolute mess. The optimal team composition was 6 gunships, a heal bomber, and (debatable) one scout to grab damage overcharges and play a distraction role. There were a few good scout pilots that could do well in the mode, but as soon as they went against a coordinated team they were completely shut down. Post 5.5, Gunships are still very strong (especially in Lost Shipyards) but there are ships that can actually keep them in check. All three Strikes have multiple viable TDM builds. A T2 repair bomber still has its place too. Scouts are maybe a bit harder to use in TDM than they were before, but they weren't viable before anyways. Strikes now properly perform the role that we always wished Scouts could do. They prevent the Gunship chess matches that most people hate. They keep the game dynamic. Domination is better now too. Beacon bomber spamming was almost as big of an issue as gunship spamming in TDM. I wish bombers were still viable in the mode, but I much prefer the current meta. IMO T2 scout is the strongest ship, but all three strikes are now viable too. The T1 EMP Scout and T1 Ion Gunship can sometimes serve a role as well. I've heard a few others say this as well. I don't get it...can you explain?
  4. Yea I agree that was an interesting new playstyle. I think the problem is that if you make EMP this strong, you make T3F balanced, but the T2F becomes OP. And bombers and scouts become underpowered. I think you may have mentioned it before, but it would be interesting to have no system/engine/shield lockouts on the missile but it retains the damage AoE. Perhaps ion missile could have that role? But it would make more sense for that to be shield AoE rather than hull AoE.
  5. So far I like Iokath a lot more than Lost Shipyards. It seems like there are a lot of viable builds for that map. Gunship spam and proton spam is still strong there, but nowhere near as OP as it is in a wide open map like Lost Shipyards. Some of the objects are a little too dark and there isn't much contrast between them and the background. But once I turned up my monitor brightness and contrast, I haven't had any suicides. But yea I agree, using power dive on that map is risky. I think after 100+ games on the new map, these suicide problems will diminish.
  6. I've used concussion + proton a lot too. The advantage of concussion is that the slowdown effect can help you land the followup proton before the enemy can get to LoS. However, if his engine maneuver comes off cooldown in those 2.1+ seconds, then he can escape your proton. An enemy that is hit first with EMP will not be able to stop the proton unless he can fly to LoS within 2.1+ seconds. Since he is flying at full speed (i.e. no slowdown) then his chances of getting to LoS are higher. I think it's a very situational thing but they both work really well. Ion missile actually works well here too (stronger slowdown than conc). I don't think it's worth losing the extra bit of hull damage you get from conc or emp though. HLC + Cluster + Conc + Bypass is really strong too. However you take a huge penalty from taking bypass on imp side. And losing hydrospanner hurts a lot. I'm really enjoying how many viable builds this ship has
  7. Yea I think the Quarrel/Mangler has always been one of the best ships (probably the best), even in 5.5. You just need a bit more team support to fly one effectively now. While this is true, the true value of ion railgun doesn't show up on the scoreboard. That slowdown effect really helps your team score kills. I'll often tap a target with ion railgun to apply the slow, and then moments later I see that pilot explode from a protorp. Had I not applied that slowdown effect, the enemy ship may have been able to just escape behind LoS.
  8. That's disappointing, hopefully that can get fixed. What are you guys using on your T2F in TDM? I've tried every combination and EMP + Proton still seems to be the strongest, even with the nerf. Alternatively I think ion missile + concussion missile is a solid option because the slowdown controls really help you land more HLC shots. I think the T3F really needs stronger EMP for it to have a role other than flying around in circles and holding a node.
  9. Yep Despon is right. It's often the feeders that determine who wins the game. I think this is most obvious in 4v4 premade vs premade games. I've played in so many of these games where the aces on each side are relatively similar in skill and yet the game isn't close. One player makes a huge difference.
  10. Yea I think Greetz is right. I was in one of the games he is referring to here. It was a Iotkath TDM game with myself and Choque against Greetz (Closeshave) and Ianir. They were winning by about 35-20ish until myself and Choque swapped to T1 GS. I think some of our pugs switched to gunship as well and we ended up winning the game. Gunships already felt OP in Lost shipyards TDM prior to the ninja slug railgun buff, but now they feel OP in Iokath too. They seem ok in Kuat Mesas. You really do need to stack a few of them to get the full effect though. They can still be really tricky to fly when solo queuing.
  11. Adding to the list of changes, Ianir noticed that barrel roll now has 4 second missile immunity (up from 3) and snap turn has 5 second immunity (up from 3).
  12. Thanks for the updates Bret. I'm really enjoying 5.6
  13. Yeah I agree, I think these two undocumented buffs are huge. Solo queuing with a scout in TDM still doesn't feel as strong at using T1 strike, but I like how T2 scout doesn't feel fragile while fighting on a node. Gunships now sometimes feel strong enough to field in solo Q TDM.
  14. Ah yea that makes sense, that's probably it. I think I just noticed another ninja buff. Slug railgun accuracy appears to have been adjusted. I'm getting 118.5-113.5-108.5 at min-med-max range now. It was never a fraction before... According to 5.5 patch notes: With pinpointing that should become 116.0-111.0-106.0. Did we get a 2.5% accuracy buff to slugs? At first glance it looks like slugs are more accurate than ion now. But I think due to lag it's impossible to perfectly center a shot, so that means the tracking upgrade on plasma and ion is worth another 5% accuracy over slug. Realistically then, slug is 5% lower accuracy than advertised. Still, the realistic accuracy of slug is really close to ion railgun. Slug: Actual: 118.5-113.5-108.5 Realistic: 113.5-108.5-103.5 Ion: 119-109-104 Plasma: 124-114-109
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