MF'ing ES rocket launcher info (via reddit)

bpostal · 2013-03-18, 05:57 PM

http://www.reddit.com/r/Planetside/c...oming_phoenix/

This may not be the right time/place for such a post but I just can't help myself!
Striker time baby!

Oh, also, high points thus far:

Q: Whats the maximum range of the phoenix? How much damage? How manouverable? How much freedom does it inflict on targets that are hit?
A:One of it's biggest limitations is the range, it's only going to go about 300 meters. This is limited mostly by it's slower travel speed and the duration of the control you have over it.

It does similar damage to the default dumbfire rocket launcher (pretty high) to ground targets and a bit more to air, but it is pretty challenging to hit aircraft with unless they're hoverspamming.

Q: How many shots to kill a sunderer (from the back) with the new TR launcher?
A:Each striker missile does a little bit less than 1/3rd of the damage of a standard empire anti-vehicle rocket.

Q:will the Lancer actually fire a laser bolt instead of the plasma ball that we saw in the video preview?
will it have a new sound as well?
A: yeah, it uses a beam and has unique audio.

The Lancer has 6 rounds and can be charged up to a maximum of 3 rounds, the longer you charge it the more damage it does, once it hits 3 rounds it fires. This makes it have an interesting gambit between maximizing damage and potentially wasting a shot if something ducks around before you let go. If you want to, you can fire it at "level 1" 6 times. Each time you fire it it will have a slight delay, similar to the original Lancer. So, it's very close to the PS1 lancer, but with a charge mechanic in addition you can use

Q: Do the NC rockets have fuel? As in, how long do they last for? Is firing a volley of rockets from the TR launcher as awesome as it sounds, and explain the Vanu launcher?
A: It essentially has fuel, it has a limited duration.

The Striker can fire 1 shot every 0.75 seconds or so and tracks as long as you keep the target in the crosshairs, or can be burst fired which launches all the rockets a bit more rapidly. If this sounds to you like a balance nightmare, you're right. We're still playing with balancing this, so it's subject to change before you see it. However, it is awesome as hell.

Q:Will the 'render distance' limits be centered on the player's "actual location", or on the player's "virtual location" (watching through the TV from the rocket)?...
A: It's currently based on where the rocket is, since that's where your client is at the time - the Phoenix is basically a vehicle who explodes and which you mount when it fires. However, the range is fairly limited, so you shouldn't be able to successfully nuke stuff out of your render range under normal circumstances.

Q:Hmm, so if its got a short range, is it ultra maneuverable, like, round corners and suchlike, and if we have such a short range, do the other Empires have a similar drawback mechanic?
Oh, and when we hit something, does it play a guitar riff?
A:It's not going to be absurdly maneuverable, we don't want people using it from inside spawn rooms in towers shoot dudes down below, etc... but it is maneuverable enough to consistently hit targets in open fields.

Each of the weapons has it's own player skill-based trade offs. The Phoenix does a grip of damage compared to any other guided missile.

Q:Will we get mechanics like the new launchers in other guns?
Charge-up railguns? Camera guided bombs? Properly balanced Annihilator where you have to hold the lock instead of fire-and-forget?
A: Now that we've got the mechanics working, we can put them on all kinds of stuff. I'd personally like to see AV MAX equivalent mechanics to these rocket launchers, although how that would work with a Phoenix is a puzzle we haven't quite worked out.

Q:Need more info on the lancer.
-the comments about having to have a vehicle in your sights to charge true?
-does it have a clip like ps1?
-how effective against infantry/max is it?
-How long does that charge time take?
A:You can charge it up freely, even in hipfire. It will fire in hipfire but it has an accuracy penalty when done, so it will only be effective for very nearby targets. Using it that way works in a pinch, but it's nowhere near as good as a Deci in that role since it needs to be charged for a few seconds to do that amount of dmg.

It's pretty ineffective vs infantry and does a lot less damage to them, you can't 1-shot an infantry with a fully charged lancer. It does more damage to MAXes, but still takes ~2.5 full charge shots to drop a full health MAX. It takes about 4 seconds to fully charge, and you get two full charges per clip, or 6 "level 1" shots. The damage doesn't scale linearly, the longer it's charged for, the more damage each charge does. The breakdown is roughly: Level 1: 20% Level 2, 50%, Level 3: 100%.

Q:Ah thanks, this answered most of my questions as well.
I would just would like to know if it [Lancer] one shots ESFs when it is fully charged.
A:Nope, it wouldn't be very fair - it's fairly easy to snipe aircraft with it because it's speed is so fast and the aircraft would have zero warning with the Lancer since there's no lock-on indicator. Coordinated fired with your squad mates can accomplish that, though, and is a very effective tactic with this weapon.

Baneblade · 2013-03-18, 06:10 PM

Sounds like the Pheonix was prenerfed.

Koadster · 2013-03-18, 06:19 PM

Strikers doing .33% dmg and 0.75 to shoot 1 rocket..3.65 seconds to do 165% dmg of a normal rocket. Reload better be fast other the dps doesn't seem very good.

bpostal · 2013-03-18, 06:22 PM

Originally Posted by Koadster

Strikers doing .33% dmg and 0.75 to shoot 1 rocket..3.65 seconds to do 165% dmg of a normal rocket. Reload better be fast other the dps doesn't seem very good.

Stupid math, always ruining things. Plus I'd imagine there's quite a bit of balancing/tweaking to be done.
I don't care. I'm still buying the fuck outta it!

Tenhi · 2013-03-18, 08:54 PM

Originally Posted by Koadster

Strikers doing .33% dmg and 0.75 to shoot 1 rocket..3.65 seconds to do 165% dmg of a normal rocket. Reload better be fast other the dps doesn't seem very good.

Seems like bpostal missed it but Higby said that the Striker has the highst TTK of all Rocket Launchers. So yeah... the reload has to be very short.

Edit: Also the Lancer sounds underwhelming.

bpostal · 2013-03-18, 09:08 PM

Originally Posted by Tenhi

Seems like bpostal missed it but Higby said that the Striker has the highst TTK of all Rocket Launchers. So yeah... the reload has to be very short.

Edit: Also the Lancer sounds underwhelming.

Damn, how the hell did I miss that gem?! Oh well, I'm sure it'll be changed or equalized by the time we get our grubby mitts on 'em (or shortly thereafter)

IDK, the charge up for the Lancer sounds pretty cool. Besides, if it's as deadly as I recall in Planetside it'll be the cause of much rage. Kinda reminds me of the sniper rifle from Team Fortress Classic.

I'm just glad we can at least try to shoot the phoenix missiles. My blood pressure is high enough as it is.

Hamma · 2013-03-18, 09:31 PM

Cool stuff, thanks for posting!

Empra · 2013-03-18, 10:43 PM

The only thing that worries me is that there will be an over saturation of awesome weapons with low TTK or with extreme advantages and disadvantages, so extreme that the advantages are a little op.

I trust the devs but I just remember the lancer from PS1 -shudders- hated that thing :P av sniper rifle it was! lol. I'm not sure if the Phoenix will translate as well as the old one, the new design sounds better on paper though.

The phoenix in PS1 was more of a camera drone than a launcher imo, lower power, long range, very agile (still loved it). Interesting to see a new design packs more punch. I think I will buy it but I hope SOE slows down with the guns because it's getting a bit too much atm, after launchers I can't think of a gun that I will really need that isn't available. Launchers needed in their though just for the extra flavour I suppose.

I'm not saying make no guns but a bit of a slower rate now.

I'm just worried we will have a jackhammer situation, so many weapons that some become obselete. Jackhammer isn't the worst gun in the world at all but it doesn't seem very special compared to the vast array of shotguns that have been released. The Claw seems more like what the Jackhammer should be atm.

The AA only launcher for instance, I have barely used it, picking the Anni over it, feels like a waste of money imo. The Deci, a slightly more powerful shrike, seems pointless without the old Deci style etc. I have used it and killed with it but find little use for it outside of base fights where the enemy is in the walls already, which is a relatively small portion of the game, considering the launchers high price. Lock on launcher is way more versatile, at the cost of not too much power and gain much more accuracy and reload.

So I'm really happy about the new launchers but starting to worry about some of the weapons that could be forgotten or have become more or less obsolete because weapon B's advantages slightly outweight the disadvantages of weapon A. Kinda like the new SMGs, the ones that came out after the first wave seemed "better". You can argue tradeoffs but some tradeoffs are more valuable than others imo, for everyone not just my playstyle. Claw vs Jackhammer for instance.

BTW THANKYOU DEVS FOR YOUR HARD WORK. My comments are not meant to be derogatory and I'm not trying to be an armchair designer, just highlighting some of my thoughts regarding the new weapons. I love this game and will play it regardless of any little details I am nitpicking.

Electrofreak · 2013-03-18, 10:47 PM

Some pretty cool info in there. I predict much QQ from all sides on launch day for these weapons!

Originally Posted by Empra

I'm just worried we will have a jackhammer situation, so many weapons that some become obselete. Jackhammer isn't the worst gun in the world at all but it doesn't seem very special compared to the vast array of shotguns that have been released. The Claw seems more like what the Jackhammer should be atm...

They just need to put nifty alternate-fire modes on the guns to make them useful again. JH needs a burst-fire mode with a long cooldown and a lot of unpredictable recoil (read: a gamble to use) or perhaps a built-in slug-thrower mode. The MCG could have an over-spin mode that causes it to dump an absolutely ridiculous amount of bullets out over a few seconds once spooled up but will require it to vent heat before it can be used again. The Lasher could maybe throw a spread of orbs or perhaps charge to throw a giant orb that has an increased lash range and damage potential.

Obviously I'm just throwing ideas out here, and the above would be hell to balance, but it would have more of the original PS1 flavor to weapons that I miss.

I still want my Rocklet Rifle back, damnit!

Gatekeeper · 2013-03-19, 05:20 AM

Interesting stuff, if a bit worrying in places.

Sounds like the Lancer will be pretty useless against MAXs close-up (which is the only time that they're a threat to infantry, really). I guess the idea here is to balance it roughly as if it's a lock-on launcher, due to its long-range accuracy (hence it being weak against infantry as well).

I'd very much like to know if the Phoenix is effective versus infantry or not - if it's a one-hit kill that you can launch from behind cover/around corners then that could be pretty horrid.

Koadster · 2013-03-19, 05:43 AM

Originally Posted by Tenhi

Seems like bpostal missed it but Higby said that the Striker has the highst TTK of all Rocket Launchers. So yeah... the reload has to be very short.

Edit: Also the Lancer sounds underwhelming.

After shooting the standard launcher a few times at tanks in VR.. I get the feeling a shot to the back with the striker would put it on fire.. The dumbfire takes 5.2 seconds to reload, so you can output 3100dmg in 5.2 seconds (shoot reload shoot) But the Striker will do 2805 in 1 volley taking 3.65seconds, so seems could be a great tank killer.

My question to the devs... Does it do have splash/ Is it dumbfire? Imagine a 5 shot dumbfire rocketlauncher in the biolab could be the TRs counter to the scatmax!

Assist · 2013-03-19, 06:37 AM

Originally Posted by Tenhi

Edit: Also the Lancer sounds underwhelming.

Agreed, not too excited after reading the damage output! A faction specific rocket launcher that doesn't 1 shot infantry? O.o

HiroshiChugi · 2013-03-19, 07:07 AM

Originally Posted by Assist

Agreed, not too excited after reading the damage output! A faction specific rocket launcher that doesn't 1 shot infantry? O.o

Well, it could one-shot in the head. It's just a balancing issue that they're working out. I'm sure that they'll work out all the kinks before the launch them out in the game. ^_^

o Solei o · 2013-03-19, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by Baneblade

Sounds like the Pheonix was prenerfed.

Yeah, though they all seem kinda of like a balance nightmare.

Not sure what I think about the Phoenix. Maybe the flexibility will make up for the limitations? (Though I still like that idea of shooting lazy spawn-camper "pilots" out of the sky.)

Thunderhawk · 2013-03-19, 07:51 AM

How can a fully charged Lancer not one shot infantry.... yes I know it's like a sniper rifle but the charge time alone should warrant it, but then I'm looking at this from a VS perspective so might be being biased.

I dread to think what will happen when all the TR rockets hit a target, I bet they one shot it (ESFs) and the NC's Pheonix also.....

Talking of AV MAX, bring back the Starfire from PS1 !!!!!, that shiznet was awesome.