I already had this, but gave it another go on Sunday, after the latest patch that buffed it. Completely different beast. I even managed to kill a couple of infantry with it. Besides the damage, it must have gotten some buff in projectile velocity. Still atrocious spread, though. Also, the turret turns more easily now, perhaps even a bit too fast and too sensitive to sudden mouse movements. I had to lower my mouse dpi for it.Originally Posted by mrpier
Yeah, lower damage, for sure. It does make a notable difference, but he extra versatility against air is very nice. I have the feeling it has longer lock-on time too, but I'm not sure. Also, the Hades is a plasma launcher, while the Annihilator is a rocket launcher, not that it makes any difference..
Agreed on both counts. 2nd burster would be my first buy if you enjoy the idea of MAXes. I go with 2xNebula when I want to kill dudes. Higher fire rate but larger spread, I think is the deal there. Chews through infantry at a good rate if you manage to stay alive. Blueshift is intended for longer range fights, with better accuracy and slower fire rate. Ridebird didn't like it, I know.
Yeah, I have. The problem here is the long refire time, combined with it being near impossible to hit infantry outside of shotgun range. It does good damage against tanks, though. Problem with that is if you're fighting tanks in a MAX... you're gonna die before you can say "Eat Comet, you bugger!", because of how terrifyingly effective tanks are at taking MAXes out. That is, unless you're in a large group of people so the gunners can't distinguish you, but then the tanks are probably not a problem anyway.
I've been using the Parallax a bit with the 12x scope. It's nice. 5 shots in the mag, 25 more in the pack, quick bolt action animation between each shot, headshots kill anyone but a fully healthy heavy with their shield up. Tricky to hit moving targets, though.
I have yet to try this after the latest patch. I got entirely disgusted by hoe bloody bad the turret tracking was, a month or two ago. It moved really sluggishly, making hitting things really hard, even scanning the sky was a hassle. The spread was enormous, so that one shot in twoor three would hit on target, and the damn turret has no gyro balancing, so every little bump will throw your aim off if you're moving. That's really the worst, although I strongly suspect it is intentional...
I guess it could be pretty good by now, though. Try before you buy, I'd say...
I chose to spend the certs on the extended mag. Which i've found works great at CQ. Gives you an extra 4 or so rounds. Though i'll be looking at slugs next time. Do you use slugs? If so, how do they compare?
This has definitively changed since you last tried it, it's actually a bit on the too sensitive side now.
I also have bought the Pandora for the LA, but have barely used it, sticking to the carbine.
Last edited by mrpier; 15-01-2013 at 01:22 PM.
Slugs are okay for long distance. I would not recommend them for ccq. They can be effective if you land the shots but if only one misses you are pretty much dead. In ccq you have to have the first shot with them.
They a more of having a very accurate mid-long range rifle. With my Thanatos I usually kill infantry with two to three shots. Of course depending where I hit them and if they were injured. So if you are looking for a "sniper rifle" without playing Infiltrator, Slugs are a very good option.
Regarding Max AI weapons: I use a Cosmos + Nebula. With this combination, due to the different magazine size and firing speed, you can fire all the time. When one weapon reloads, the other arm can still fire. Quiet handy when you have to lay down suppressing fire or draw attention.
See this excellent review, short, insightful and to the point:
Did he even take a breath? Haha
Thanks for the link.
Yeah, one does wonder, right? I found that particular video very helpful, in fact.
That's a pretty good review of lsug ammo.
I think there's a reason he was LA for that video:
I find that if I play LA, slug ammo makes sense. I'm usually getting the drop on people so a) I'm so close when firing starts wide-shots are almost impossible & I get the first shot in and b) They're taken by surprise, so a missed shot is not a massive issue.
I use a shotgun on my medic a lot too though. And there slug ammo would be a definite no-go. I'm in the frontlines as a medic, facing enemies as they come towards me; I don't have the movement capability of a LA. Because of that, firefights are not one-sided as they are if you are LA. So every single shot counts. Making slug ammo a poor choice.
I find that the 2 or 3 slug shots to pick someone off don't draw as much attention from surrounding enemies as a burst of carbine fire. Not sure if the tracer animation is different?
This means with LA if you can get yourself into some obscure nook or cranny behind a girder or in a tree, in a position to flank or rear of a firefight, you can often pick off quite a few enemies before the others notice and home in on you via the minimap.
Any suggestions on NC shotties? I'm leaning toward the 8 shot semi but given that extended mags will likely be certed regardless, if the accuracy of the 6 shot semi whilst using slugs is notably better is it worth a punt? I'm guessing, perhaps incorrectly, that the auto shotty whilst a beast a CQC is less suited for slug use at anything beyond CQC range?
*Love* the sound of the NC shotguns, they're the only ones that sound like proper "get orrfff my land" weapons
Wouldn't a laser-sight sort of help with the hip-accuracy with slugs?
There's a particular moment in that montage where he c4's that guy on the airpad and then jetpacks away. Reminds me of countless C4 streaks on BF3.
I would struggle to not think i was Boba Fett if i got really into playing as LA.
Cue "He's no good to me dead" jokes. (Though ironically, i probably would end up dead. Loads.)
Yeah, several times I've picked off 4 or so people at quite decent ranges with the Vanu 'Nova' shotgun with slugs.
Although there was one time I got more with my starting carbine, when I got a position in an ammo tower that let me shoot people in the back, when they thought they were safely sheltering at the bottom of some steps out of the line of fire, that time was the exception. Usually the carbine is a great big "look at me! I am shooting at you! Yes, me! Over here!" banner.
The Nova with slugs will also, I can confirm, take out the burster max who recently shot down your fighter, once you respawn and sneak up on him (and nearly kill his friend, too, who was unfortunately too cheap to get a second burster so had one of those chaingun thingers).
The Lasher is a bag of Fun too, btw. Pulled it out quite a few times yesterday. At one time I took out 5 or 6 guys in a streak, me hiding behind a tree, them spawning from a Sunderer behind an AMP station tower, and running around the side of the tower towards me. Perfect when there are groups of enemies and/or if enemies are hugging the walls of a building, since the splash damage will get them even if the projectiles donät hit directly.
Also got 10-15 kills in a matter of a couple of minutes during our valiant assault on the northern satellite of whats-its-name on Esamir yesterday.
If you like playing heavy assault, do give the Lasher a trial. And remember to fire from the hip; it's got the smallest hipfire spread of any gun in the game, I've been told.
Do you know if the suppressor does away with the tracers as well, or is it only flashing on the minimap that you avoid? I've got the suppressor for the VX6-7, but donät really know how well it works, since I can't tell any difference in the way the gun sounds or looks when I fire it.
I stuck a flash suppressor on my LA's carbine and I *think* (though this may well be part placebo) it makes a noticeable but not godlike difference. It's the difference between hiding in my little biodome treehouse and getting four kills rather than two before being spotted. I also *think* (though this is perhaps more likely to be nocebo) that the reduction in burst accuracy that seems to come from either increased bloom or COF (but not recoil) is noticeably there when you're pushing to the edge of carbine burst range. In this instance you're putting so many bullets downstream that any that get away likely have a good idea of your direction from hit markers and noise anyway.
I'm fairly certain it does away with, or more likely minimises, the tracers.
A few days ago I saw four people with lashers working in a team, they could easily keep a much larger force at bay. Also quiet an amazing view with all those lasers in the air
*edit*
Trialed it again... mh. I can see it's potential in groups and large engegements with lots of infantry but it's also not very good in most "normal" engagements. 1on1s especially. A very situational weapon. I don't know if I would recommend spending 700 sc on that. Also the friendly fire aoe is a problem as sometimes you simply cannot shoot without damaging friendlies.
Last edited by bonkers; 16-01-2013 at 03:06 PM.
i think that's what the flash suppressor is for. the standard suppressor hides from the map (which is highly useful, imo), and the flash sup hides the tracers. not 100 per cent sure on this though, but we could test it in game, i suppose.
as for the max ai weapons .... cosmos seems to be the options that by far the best. good accuracy. the gun has basically the same stats as the TR mercies (dont be fooled by the accuracy statement on the blueshift ... theyre a steaming pile of crap. they have similar stats to the nc grinder, which is a ... shotgun)
Aha, so I was right. I might get those then next time.
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