My 2 cents(From a guy with a near completed GS minus the primary, including the 3rd railgun):

 

Shields:

*Feedback shield = only useful against a near death target with no shields, opting to use lasers on you when you have enough shields to take it, which = useless.

 

*Fortress = You move at all and it's gone, and while it is up, it still can't take a pounding, needs a pretty good buff from the devs to become viable against any sort of maxed out weapon, so again = useless

 

*Distortion = Evade lasers and a missle lock, = clear winner

 

Sensors:

*Dampening, to prolong your own survival, the rest are really only applicable when used in a specific strategy implemented by a premade, otherwise your team mates are unlikely to gain benefit from your increased range, and if you are the one who is broadcasting enemy IDs to your teammates who can't already see them, believe me, that means your life is about to end.

 

Engines:

*barrel roll = Evades a missile lock, boosts you forward, and is for sure the "good ol' trusty"

 

*Converter = You must be drunk if you think this one is a bonus.

 

*Interdiction = Where is all the love???

People poo-poo this choice but, once maxed out, it boosts your speed, and it decreases the speed of the enemy considerably. So scouts can keep on boosting after you?

Well, pop interdiction when someone/multiple enemies has the sights on you, jet out of sensor range, and yeah, they will have boost left when yours wears off, but by then you will be at a capital ship, or behind friendly lines, and in both cases the enemy will have to locate you again, and get around your new defensive location, giving you ample time to power back up and take your aim.

This thing coupled with high dampening and distortion field = not to be taken lightly when used by a pilot who knows what they are doing.

 

*hydro spanner = not the greatest in numbers, but consider that you boosted away after taking hits, you are smoking, you are now safe doing what gunships do, camping, you might be able to pop this baby more than once before taking fire again, meaning what would have been an easy no hull left-kill for your second assailant just became no different than dealing with a fresh spawn.

 

*Primary = Of course you want burst, don't be silly. Don't pretend you are using the primary at anything that is not right up in your face, and only in an emergency at that.

 

Secondary:

 

*Ion - I love this thing, it can easily turn the tide of battle for your team if you opt to take multiple shots with it on every enemy around a node, rather than the more greedy one shot then follow up with one of the other guns to get yourself the kill point, as in that time your teammates could have squashed several with your help, but either way, you want the shield/power eater.

 

*Bolt - good ol' faithful, nothing to be said(oooh a crit chance? WEEEE).

 

*Plasma - Underrated. Sometimes you want to apply that dot, sometimes your enemies do have great shields, sometimes your team would benefit from a quick love tap dot that lowers evasion, and plasma, like Ion, can turn the tide of a battle for those people willing to spam multiple targets vs go for the straight kill.

Plus the DOT does cause panic and confusion quite often(STOP HACKING THE GAME YOU TOOL! ), and it's damage really is nothing to snicker at.

I've said it before and haven't changed my mind; too many players have tunnel vision on scoring that crit and one shotting a scout.

Well love tap + full charge still = boom my friends, plus those evasion builds just got taken down a peg for the duration of your DOT which again, you can apply from a quick love tap.

Plasma does something the bolt doesn't, it packs team play utility, and it is also more fun if you are into the whole pyro thing.

 

Other than my contradictions stated above, I agree with the OP on everything else, and I do agree the OP has a perfect build, that is a great way to go if you are debating leveling your GS, my build however is a very viable alternative, the scoreboard doesn't lie, so don't be afraid to mix up a few components.

 

Gunships are thankfully not one size fits all.

Edited January 14, 2014 by DEATHICIDE

My 2 cents(From a guy with a near completed GS minus the primary, including the 3rd railgun):

 

[snip]

 

Other than my contradictions stated above, I agree with the OP on everything else, and I do agree the OP has a perfect build, that is a great way to go if you are debating leveling your GS, my build however is a very viable alternative, the scoreboard doesn't lie, so don't be afraid to mix up a few components.

 

Gunships are thankfully not one size fits all.

 

I don't see where you contradicted me aside from interdiction drive.

And about this selection... I said it before and will say it again - if you can't remove missile locks - you will die and that slow will not save you (say hi to cluster missiles with 1.3s lock time OR proton torpedoes with 10k range and 100% shield+armor bypass), furthermore - you will run out of engine power in no time and will die. (that 10% cost reduction will not save you and +10% to engine speed while the ability is active is worse than passive 10% speed boost from tier 3 option of barrel roll) Fully upgraded barrel roll costs little to use and is more efficient travel option than boosters, allowing you to slowdown at the end to regenerate your engine power.

 

I don't assume that the team I will be playing against is made of default scouts piloted people playing GSF for the first time, I assume that my opponents know how to play and have fully upgraded ships. This is a very big difference.

 

I played way too much on my gunship and have every ship component maxed so I don't just do theorycrafting. I actually tested all of those components.

Edited January 20, 2014 by WiseStranger

Yes, if opposing team has a gunship that is any good. I am commenting on your guide from a NovaDive pilot's point of view. Fortress shield is what worries me more than Disto field. Also, I doubt skilled pilot will get shot 3 times in a row fith fully charged railgun blasts. On the other hand, that 3740 shield will hold for at least 3 seconds against me, even way more if I have my Concentrated fire on CD and am out of Rocket pods.

 

i have almost the opposite experience in my blackbolt, possibly because I generally run Bypass as my co-pilot skill.

 

fortress shield users are toast. pure and simple. once I get to ~1,000m, hit bypass and start unloading on their stationary backsides they're goners. most fortress shield users will try and tank me, putting too much faith in those shields.

 

distortion field, which I (ab)use myself in my scout is a much, much better option for gunships.

Does anyone know the range of the interdiction drive that will slow enemy neaby? is it 3000m?

Interdiction is basically useless for a GS, unless you are desperate. Ive seen nothing for it to outweigh the bonus from barrel roll.

 

As for the inherent range, i think it was something like 2k.

Interdiction is basically useless for a GS, unless you are desperate. Ive seen nothing for it to outweigh the bonus from barrel roll.

 

As for the inherent range, i think it was something like 2k.

 

I'm not sure, I've seen people getting the debuff at ~2.5k

Time to dust off this guide to ensure new generation of F2P players and players who're coming back for the official GSF launch have better understanding of gunships.

Guide was updated to reflect changes as of patch 2.6

 

If you like something - feel free to express it.

If you want to see something covered in more details - feel free to ask.

If you disagree with something - make it constructive and post it.

Until the introduction of the bomber class I always flew scouts. Once upgraded, I did well, not ace material but well. After bombers came out it became apparent that our side would suffer without a counter. And during some of the hours I play, there was a lack of GS support. I jumped into my gunship and was shot down within the first minute or less, without doing any damage. Rinse and repeat a couple of times and decided that I would not be driving a ship that handled like a fully loaded dump truck with flat tires. After finding and reading your guide, just over 2 weeks ago, I built your ship, using your crew, and using your game plan for survival. It has made a HUGE difference. I don't focus on direct kills in the GS, as that is why I fly the scout. Rather, I use the GS as a support tool to let scouts and strikes do their job. I have about 100 hours of flight time/credits (pub side), so the build went quicker for me than for a new player. Just wanted to thank you for the guide and the survival advice. It worked well. Bwulf POT5 Armada

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm glad it worked out for you well and it's even more impressive how you were able to dig this thread out. It was probably on 20th page or so, and sadly it will end up in there in not so distant future, buried under "Neft Gunship" threads.