Lancer VS22 - First impresions

Discussion in 'PS2 Main' started by Maxwell, Mar 24, 2013.

Lancer VS22 - First impresions

Discussion in 'PS2 Main' started by Maxwell, Mar 24, 2013.

  1. Maxwell

    Maxwell .

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    Heavys have a new toy: the Lancer VS22.

    I tried it both in the VR room and bought it as well. Its nice having a VR room to test, but it doesnt always replicate combat. Targets are not moving nor shooting at you. As of now, i spent a few hours with it around allatum and hvar and these are my initial observations and ideas around that weapon.

    Some details to know about the Lancer
    • Mag size of 6 with reserve of 18 (mag pouch 2 takes it to 30)
    • 1 bullet spent for each lvl of charge so 3 per max charge.
    • You can fire 2 fully charged shots without reloading or scoping out.
    • Shots can only be canceled by switching weapons.
    • Horrible spread if fired from the hip, but accurate at very close range as last resort.
    • Only launcher from the 3 new that can be dumb fired.
    • Cannot scope in if you started charging it from the hip. (fixed through patch)
    • There is a half second delay between releasing the trigger and the shot firing. (removed through patch)
    Observations
    • Terrible against infantry. Dont bother.
    • Great against maxes. 1 fully charged shot = 60% dmg (i was unable to ever get a medium/long range encounters againt a max.)
    • You can take down a max with 1 full mag (6) without reloading.
    • Great against slow moving ESFs. 1 fully charged shot = 50-60% dmg on ESF. They cannot escape nor see it coming.
    • Great for killing escaping vehicules.
    • Great deterrent against armor. They immediately ran away at the first shot from me even if it did low dmg.
    • Great deterrent against AIR (in slow moving air-to-ground assaults). As opposed to locking as deterent, they dont have the confort zone of flares with lancers. A single low charge shot will get them to run away.
    • Movement penality when scoping is reasonable.
    • Great for stealing armor kills. Wait for the sundy to get low hp, charge up and release at the right time to get the kill :P
    • If you are going to have a specialized loadout around the Lancer, munition pouch is necessary imo.
    Over all conclusions over the Lancer
    It is not meant to replace the S1 in close range. 1 Lancer by itself wont do much. 2+ however gets interesting. I can see a squad of lancers being as deadly as a squad of anihilators. The advantage of the Lancer over lock on launchers lies in areas where tanks have cover. Tanks cant run away behind the hill or IR smoke a lancer shot. Otherwise i'd use Hades over Lancer to hit tanks in the middle of a field (quartz rige). It shines against all the ESFs slowing down and lining up rocket shots. They'll never see it coming and cant flare it nor side step it like they could on an S1/Nemesis shot. The damage can be quite underwhelming sometimes, but again its not meant to replace other launchers and shines in group.

    Share your experiences and please avoid empty "It sucks. Period." statements. I'd like to know where it shined and where it failed for you guys.

    (updated post patch)
     
  2. Geneau

    Geneau .

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    In your opinion, is the Lancer more an Offensive, Defensive or All-round launcher?

    If those ever improve, I'll likely get one myself. It'll have to wait till I have more loadouts though, since 3 is too low for this much weapons...
     
  3. Maxwell

    Maxwell .

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    Definately NOT an all around weapon. Very specific usages such as armor/max sniping. Use at medium to long range only. I still need to spend more time with it. I'm revising my statement about munition pouch. I think it would be better to have flak armor instead. Not sure yet.
     
  4. ShadowSun

    ShadowSun .

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    definatly not a long range weapon either, thanks to the MASSIVE damage degredation at range
     
  5. Gavald

    Gavald Recruitment Officer

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    So far, the best uses I've seen for this are Max sniping and medium range armor shots. Though, I have seen a bunch of people hopping over to an enemy Sunderer, firing without charging up, over and over. You get six shots, and while the damage isn't that much, a bunch of people firing at it at the same time, six times in a row gets decent results.

    With the recent patch, they also made it a bit more accurate when ADS. That will equate to more damage overall, in the long run.
     
  6. Phaedo

    Phaedo The Weeaboo Hunter

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    The Lancer is best fired in four shots for maximum dps. 1 Charged Shot and 3 individual. the reason is this:

    Projectile Speed: 500m/sec
    Projectile Range: 500m
    Charge Level 1: 300 damage
    Charge Level 2: 750 damage
    Charge Level 3: 1500 damage

    2 Charge Level 3 shots: 3000 damage
    Total Time: ~ 10 seconds

    1 Charge Level 3 shot + 3 Charge Level 1 shot: 24000 damage (Just higher than one decimator I believe)
    Total Time: ~ 5-6 seconds

    Reload time: ~ 4-6 seconds

    therefore in order to obtain maximum damage the fastest, fire one charged shot followed up by three quick single shots.

    Personally I only use this method against armor, as 2 fully charged shots will, under normal circumstances, take down and enemy ESF without composite armor. And as far as Liberators go, the VERY hard hitting projectiles will force the pilot to re-evaluate flying in the situation that he/she may be in. So I use it as a tank/ESF sniper and a Liberator Deterrent with the occasional liberator kills welcome.


    higby tweet.jpg


    Stop saying the Lancer is bad. Sure it has some hinky bugs at the moment that will be worked out, but lets be real. The weapon is great. It requires patience, and some serious aim to hit something, nevertheless something moving, at max range with a 1x scope. So it's not the weapon that is bad. It's the user not being efficient with the weapon.
     
    Geneau likes this.
  7. Maxwell

    Maxwell .

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    Ohnice! Thx for the info i'll definately try that
     
  8. spaceship

    spaceship spaceshipearthcrew

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    Best anti-air rocket launcher????????
    I will probably either buy the Lancer or the Engineer's turret - I don't have any other rocket launchers other than the default - my three considerations are the Lancer, Annihilator, Engineer's AV turret. The Engineer's turret seems a little more versatile against infantry, but I really want the best anti-air rocket launcher /nails possible as a first purchase.
     
  9. Maxwell

    Maxwell .

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    I would hesitate to call the lancer an anti air rocket launcher. It works great against liberators and galaxies, but if you want ESFs, you can only shoot them when they slow down and line up to hit ground targets. The annihilator would do a better all around job than the Lancer imo.

    Looking at your PS2 stats, HA is definately not your main class so i'm assuming that you want to get the maximum value/usefulness with that purchase instead of trying to specialize (hades/nemesis over annihilator). I'd go for the annihilator to get a lockon launcher for both air and ground. The Lancer is great, but its often disapointing agaist air. And forget any high altitude, fast moving air.
     
  10. Geneau

    Geneau .

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    The damage of the Annihilator is disappointing. He asks for the best anti-air launcher, that's definitely the Nemesis.