Yep. Personally, I have used coil mortars on lots of my frigates for a long time. I use coils on all of my jericho guards as well as my heavy gunboat builds for lrf.
I have tended to stray away from the curved reflector on frigates, even before the nerf. I would always use a flat reflector or focusing lens (which I still use to this day). The only frigate I used to use curved reflector on was my T-Rex Mk2 with heavy blasters, but now I use the focusing lens.
Being the “donating” scum that I am, I have this really nice Mammoth build that for some reason seems to be more accurate than expected even with the high dispersion, so a Curved Reflector, a set of purple Heavy Blasters, and all Horizon modules currently results in 5.5K DPS (which remarkable actually seem to hit things lol) which only get more dangerous as you close-in. The maximum range is something like 4K currently, considering that 2 of the Horizon modules are MKII still. Seems to work decent in PvP, but simply amazing in PvE since it kills everything, including bosses so damn fast. Sure, a Mauler can reach 7.7K DPS with a similar build, but it does not have the drones for added DPS, it does not have the hull/shields, it does not have the resists, and it does not have the insane repair which can also help other players… Mauler seems to be more PvP material in this case, simply on the fact that it kills stuff so fast it does not have a chance to do anything.
Basically anything with 3 computer slots that can fit Horizons seem to work decently with Curved Reflectors, it’s just that it’s hard to justify it in all cases especially with Flat Reflects that sacrifice only a bit of the DPS for the chance to really reach out and touch somebody from half the map away. >:D
There’s nothing wrong with donating money to the cause. I’ve bought plenty of premium ships, and I even bought the Spark during the New Year’s sale. That doesn’t make you scum. That shows you care about the game enough to give money to support it.
On the note of your Mammoth build, that is a great use of HB with curved. Curved reflector still works after the nerf, and that is proof of it. Provided you are willing to sacrifice 2 CPU slots to get your range back. Heavy blasters are great for those high-DPS builds, coils not so much.
Coils have their large AOE, which makes them great guns for affecting several targets at once, especially when used on LRFs in a heavy gunship style.
I really meant that term as a reference to the many whiners that call paying customers “donators” or “pay to winners”… it’s basically using the wrong word on purpose to poke fun at the people who think that paying into a game makes you “bad” or a number of expletive terms I won’t mention here. I’ve already had to report the same one derp who insisted on calling me all sorts of things just because I paid for premium content and did better in a match than him… ironically, he was Russian… as am I… and I’m the one paying for the Russian game to survive, while he’s insulting me for being “dumb” because I paid for a “free” game and was not typing in Cyrillic lol. Oh sweet, sweet irony. XD
I should have added a smiley like :fed002: to make it more clear that I was being facetious.
By the way, is it just me, or are long-range coils still pretty darn effective even with their “high” dispersion on Vanadium charges? I have to admit, having 6K+ range with coil mortars seems to work pretty well for PvE on the build my wife was trying out on her Dragon… or rather a build I was trying out on her Dragon haha. :005j:
What makes the mortar very dangerous is you don’t need direct hit; they explode on proximity (or any object nearby) and splash everything around. That makes it really hard to get close to a Coil Mortar armed Frigate when you don’t have the speed, invisibility or some cover to use. What i mean is it’s one of the few weapons in this game we can’t effectively dodge, we either tank it or we try to not get shot at.
What makes the mortar very dangerous is you don’t need direct hit; they explode on proximity (or any object nearby) and splash everything around. That makes it really hard to get close to a Coil Mortar armed Frigate when you don’t have the speed, invisibility or some cover to use. What i mean is it’s one of the few weapons in this game we can’t effectively dodge, we either tank it or we try to not get shot at.
It’s actually still pretty easy to dodge. The projectile speed is about as fast as a glacier, and even though the explosion radius is huge, it’s still possible to dodge in an inty or a fighter. If someone is in a frigate and still in a position to get hit by coils enough to matter, they need to learn how to do positioning.
What makes the mortar very dangerous is you don’t need direct hit; they explode on proximity (or any object nearby) and splash everything around. That makes it really hard to get close to a Coil Mortar armed Frigate when you don’t have the speed, invisibility or some cover to use. What i mean is it’s one of the few weapons in this game we can’t effectively dodge, we either tank it or we try to not get shot at.
In a fighter/intie i can dodge coils all day long, close in and get in a blind spot, since coils shoot with every turret, and can not shoot with the same turret twice before the other turrets have fired. Blind spot for coils is a lot bigger than blind spot for any other weapon that continuously shoots from the same turret.
Mortars suck at long range, best used at medium range, still suck on short range if the enemy sits on the same side of your frig (not in front ofc) and does not circle you.
L2P guys If something seems overpowered, get it, play with it, see what the weaknesses are. Maybe for some things it’s harder to notice, but it’s really easy to notice that mortars shoot in a circuit between the turrets, and can’t shoot from the same turret twice before the others have fired/tried to fire.
It’s actually still pretty easy to dodge. The projectile speed is about as fast as a glacier, and even though the explosion radius is huge, it’s still possible to dodge in an inty or a fighter. If someone is in a frigate and still in a position to get hit by coils enough to matter, they need to learn how to do positioning.
It’s easy to dodge only if the other dude didn’t bother to improve the projectile speed of it’s mortar or you have a friggin fast build for your fighter/interceptor. At it’s slowest, i can dodge it in a Federation Frigate, but at it’s fastest i struggle to do it in a fighter… But the real issue isn’t just avoiding to get hit, it’s getting close to the darn frigate you are trying to kill without getting splashed in the process. I can avoid them all day long, but that’s not an option if i’m attempting to kill them.
In a fighter/intie i can dodge coils all day long, close in and get in a blind spot, since coils shoot with every turret, and can not shoot with the same turret twice before the other turrets have fired. Blind spot for coils is a lot bigger than blind spot for any other weapon that continuously shoots from the same turret.
Mortars suck at long range, best used at medium range, still suck on short range if the enemy sits on the same side of your frig (not in front ofc) and does not circle you.
L2P guys If something seems overpowered, get it, play with it, see what the weaknesses are. Maybe for some things it’s harder to notice, but it’s really easy to notice that mortars shoot in a circuit between the turrets, and can’t shoot from the same turret twice before the others have fired/tried to fire.
You forget there are a wide array of fits we can set our ships with, not all of them are built around being fast and agile (how easy it is to dodge vary greatly then). When i use mortar i do favor projectile speed and accuracy, and i’m rather good at predicting where i should fire my shells even without a lock. I know really well what the weaknesses of the gun are, problem is exploiting them against someone who is actually competent with the gun.
You forget there are a wide array of fits we can set our ships with, not all of them are built around being fast and agile (how easy it is to dodge vary greatly then). When i use mortar i do favor projectile speed and accuracy, and i’m rather good at predicting where i should fire my shells even without a lock. I know really well what the weaknesses of the gun are, problem is exploiting them against someone who is actually competent with the gun.
Now we’re talking skill again. Everything is relative, bad builds are bad, etc… Even in empire fighters i have >360 speed w/o engine overcharge/overdrive, and after that it’s all about using the things in favorable conditions. You can spiral around, get in cover, hit from long range etc. What i’m trying to say is that the weapon is unique from the fact that it has big splash damage, but it also has the unique shooting method that balances it, and makes the frigate using it vulnerable not only from behind, but from ALL ANGLES except front.
The gun is just fine and in no way overpowered. At least not in T5.
Lol… coil mortar isn’t OP… You should try moving and not being predictable with your movements. And by moving, I don’t mean fly in a straight line really fast (nom nom cruise engines nom nom), roll/strafe/rotate more often when under fire. I’ve tried going back to T3 a little bit and almost everybody, that actually belongs in that teir, is almost always in frigates or slow moving ships. They tend to just sit there, especially in combat recon. You gotta move around and learn the mechanics and when to fight and when to run. Coil Mortars have very slow projectile speed, they are some of the easiest weapons to avoid provided you aren’t a really slow and fat frigate. Their DPS isn’t even that high, the positron can out dps a coil morter…
and the loud explosions they make is annoying as hell also. It is louder than every sound in the game…
This is where you should possibly consider a metagame shift. What class do you fly by the way?
If Coils are causing you grief, consider fitting more Kinetic Resists. Getting right in the face of a Coil isn’t as good a plan now that they can’t hurt themselves with their own shots, so if you’re a Frigate (or maybe even a Fighter) I’d suggest trying to whittle them down at range.
Or, you can counter them by not flying solo. Frigates don’t like being attacked from multiple directions - get a friend, and work together. One of you bait the coil, the other attack it. If he switches targets, then the attacker can fall back and the bait can start laying in. Coils have a decent overheat, but once he stops shooting you can both pile in and score a kill.
In T3, two ships working in tandem beat almost any solo ship.
This is where you should possibly consider a metagame shift. What Class do you fly by the way?
If coils are causing you grief, consider fitting more Kinetic Resists. Getting right in the face of a Coil isn’t a good plan now that they can’t hurt themselves with their own shots, so if you’re a Frigate (or maybe even a Fighter) I’d sugest trying to wittle them down at a range.
Or, you can counter them by not flying solo. Frigates don’t like being attacked from multiple directions - get a friend, and work together. One of you bait the coil, the other attack it. If he switches targets, then the attacker can fall back and the bait can start laying in. Coils have a decent overheat, but once he stops shooting you can both pile in and score a kill.
In T3, two ships working in tandem beat almost any solo ship.
The suggested strategy is good if you’re against a frigate like a LRF or Engineer (more specificly fed ones, as a styx is rarely alone), players who use torps the majority of the time will be able to beat the two pilots unless they can react fast enough. The issue that I saw pop through is with most guard they’ll pulsar when you’re in range and start firing on the first attacker, but within my own experience there will be times where another enemy intervenes when I’m attacking someone which in my case I’ll pause firing a second and fire a torp to either kill or scare off my attacker and then finish continue firing on my target till they get away or they die, just keep that in mind
Now we’re talking skill again. Everything is relative, bad builds are bad, etc… Even in empire fighters i have >360 speed w/o engine overcharge/overdrive, and after that it’s all about using the things in favorable conditions. You can spiral around, get in cover, hit from long range etc. What i’m trying to say is that the weapon is unique from the fact that it has big splash damage, but it also has the unique shooting method that balances it, and makes the frigate using it vulnerable not only from behind, but from ALL ANGLES except front.
The gun is just fine and in no way overpowered. At least not in T5.
To dodge the coil shells, we need to get way out of their way or risk they just detonate as they pass by; very hard to pull while trying to keep the frigate in sight and shooting at it (i’m terrible at it it seem). At least, i haven’t found how to pull it off without changing my fits/implants just to fight frigates with coils.
If something seems overpowered, get it, play with it, see what the weaknesses are. Maybe for some things it’s harder to notice, but it’s really easy to notice that mortars shoot in a circuit between the turrets, and can’t shoot from the same turret twice before the others have fired/tried to fire.