53 replies to this topic

[Selfish]

NRP, on 15 November 2013 - 09:00 AM, said:

I think Air and Artillery Strikes should a bit more powerful than they currently are. The explosions look absolutely freakin cool, but the damage is just pathetic more often than not. I'm not sure it's worth 40k C-Bills.

I think they're a little too powerful at the moment. For PUG matches they're pretty fine. You see them every once in awhile. They're effective, but costly. Jump into competitive and you'll see between 20-30 strikes a match. Each side drops one every 10 seconds like clockwork. There's no reason not to. It's 400 damage a strike, they're easy to apply with minimal risk, and there's always that OHKO potential. I swear they don't have planes or even artillery stationed somewhere. It's just 10 AC/40 Jagers hanging out of a dropship continuously bombarding the battlefield. If they increased the GCD it would be a major improvement.

Since I posted here earlier and didn't really touch on air vs. artillery strikes, I'd like to say I like the Air Strike more. I started with Arty, but it's far less controllable than a column strike. I still try and take them both whenever possible.

[Frytrixa]

I've just noticed that you can use Artillery Strike in close combat if you have jump jets and arty accuracy installed.
Neat new tactic

[Roflberry Pwncakes]

Selfish, on 04 November 2013 - 01:18 PM, said:

The placement is wherever your arm (the circle) reticule is targeting. If you place it on a mech, it will usually drop it right at their feet.

That's the most helpful hint I've heard. Cheers! Since it was implemented I've been aiming with the chest.

[wanderer]

Arty can be cruel beyond cruel to snipers. Drop it on their backside while they're busy zooming in and sniping at people.

They'll never see the smoke until the shells are already hitting. It's also useful when in a light and you get behind a group- drop it, slash the entire lot with a burst of laser fire, and just keep moving. They usually back up and turn around...just in time to eat the barrage.

Air strikes are tougher to line up, but can be an effective way to blunt a rush. Drop it in front of them, watch them try to slow down...and get strafed.

[SnagaDance]

Nice information here guys. I've also got a question to add about Air Strikes (maybe I've missed it):

Does the line of dropping bombs start at smoke or does the smoke indicate the mid-point of the line?

[Trevor Belmont]

Curious, does the damage from an airstrike or artillery that you called count towards how much damage you do at the end of the match?

[Evil Ed]

SnagaDance, on 23 January 2014 - 01:28 AM, said:

Nice information here guys. I've also got a question to add about Air Strikes (maybe I've missed it):

Does the line of dropping bombs start at smoke or does the smoke indicate the mid-point of the line?

It starts at the smoke and follows a straight line that goes from your position the moment you drop through the smoke.

Belmonte, on 23 January 2014 - 06:33 AM, said:

Curious, does the damage from an airstrike or artillery that you called count towards how much damage you do at the end of the match?

Yes.

Edited by Evil Ed, 23 January 2014 - 06:43 AM.

[John Mechlane]

If i had to choose only one, i would go with artillery, simply because it's more versatile. You drop it on a tight cluster of enemy mechs, and enjoy the fireworks. It damages in a wide radius.

Airstrike is a little more area/formation specific. You can do tons of damage, if the mechs are in a line. For example moving in a tight canyon, or street. Or they formed a defensive line with mechs next to each other (in this case you have to drop it from the side) The damage is more concentrated, that that of the arti.

You know that feeling when you manage to flank the enemy, get in behind them, and see them all piled up, and don't know who to shoot? Well air/arti was made for these moments.

Now having said that....
Some mechs have too few module slots to make it worth taking these support modules. However, it's a must-have on lights, because it's easy to maneuver behind enemy lines withouth being seen, and you can quickly get to a spot where you can make airstrike work wonders.
Always use one or both on my DDC, simply because 2 or 3 normal modules are all i need, so the rest of the module slots gets filled up with consumables.
I use arti on my splatcat, because it's good to have something for long range. Even if it's a one-shot deal, with a little delay...

Never felt the need to use it on my ballistic/sniper builds. In that case I'm the artillery Plus you need seismic (as with every mech ), advanced zoom, and target info on those builds...not too many mechs with 4 module slots....

Edited by JaniTheWeedman, 28 January 2014 - 09:19 AM.

[Mighty Virtus]

Kyrie, on 04 November 2013 - 09:06 AM, said:

For the most part, I would suggest unlocking these as a last resort. They cost MC or c-bills, might want to invest those in mechs.

15 MC aint much...dont be such a tight-wad!!

[Mighty Virtus]

Evil Ed, on 23 January 2014 - 06:42 AM, said:

It starts at the smoke and follows a straight line that goes from your position the moment you drop through the smoke.



Yes.

Why dont you see a successful "hit" for either in the post-game scoreboard??? There is no specific (ie., component destruction, savior kill, etc.) acknowledgement of a strike denoting any points gained for a strike. Most times after I initiate a strike, I gotta split so I dont know if it was a hit or not...and at the end of the game it dont mention squat about it...is this a feature you think I should suggest? Has anyone else brought it up in the "suggestions box" of the forum? Or is it a feature already being worked in at some point?

[Kyrie]

Mighty Virtus, on 10 February 2014 - 05:18 AM, said:

15 MC aint much...dont be such a tight-wad!!

I suppose so. In my case, I am such a tight-wad I do not even F2P this game anymore, valuing my time more than the current grind and meta.

[Unleashed3k]

airstrikes drop from smoke 100m into the direction u looked at when throwing the strike, so great to shoot behind hills, arty is just a lucky punch option, air is way more precise, but both should be improved. keep the accuracy modules away, to much space and cbills for way too less dmg and area effect...

[wanderer]

If you get a hit from arty/airstrikes, your crosshairs will glow red briefly, and it does add to your damage total.

Any kills/component destruction will be rewarded immediately. Firing a super-duper-long-distance artillery in Conquest and watching the red light up never gets old for me. Especially when a shell lands on a light hiding behind the rig and parts go *foom*.

[RedEagle86]

What never gets old for me is arty'ing grouped snipers on Alpine from 1500m away and then being able to air strike them again, teammates doing same, and snipers thinking there's a mech close by.