Fighter/Tackler

Ships
1

I’m flying around in T3 mostly and i noticed that there are barely any tacklers (even less than snipers)

1 in a game at best

 

 

So i tried it out a bit myself and i have to admitt i have no real clue how to use it, because it just doesnt feel good in anything. Description tells me to intercept small ships, well let’s describe a few of my fights.

 

Gunship:

Option one, stealth + atack from behind

  • combat reboot and super speed get him safely away

-> Draw

 

Option 2 normal atack:

  • gunship activates overdrive and overcharge and all the other stuff and deal 200% of my dmg

  • me activates stealth to wait until this shid is over

 

Suboption 1:

  • stealth gets deactivated by some xxxx (pulsar, random hit, drone etc)

->Gunship wins

 

SUboption 2:

  • stealth works, gunship flies away with speed

-> Draw

 

Recon/Covert/etc

  • me atacks from stealth, initial dmg takes him to 75% hull at best

  • int circles around, me activates slowstuff

  • he activates, his mini-stealth or plasmaweb or manages to get behind an asteriod and escapes/wins me with superior speed and mobility

  • using stealth to escape HARDLY works because of previously called reason and plasma webs

 

Guard/Engy Frigate

  • what shell i say… guard frigate is unkillable unless you use all your missles, engy is not as bad but more or less the same, difficult to outmanuver because you aren’t as mobil as an int or something and you havent the survivability of a frigate

 

Long Range:

freekill, if you manage to save your steath unitl the kill then you normally have a good chance of escaping

 

 

So in fact the only thing i notice you can really go for are long range frigates (and there arent much long range frigates either) i tried lots of weapons and different setups but always with similar problems:

  • you get killed by frigates

  • you get killed by small ships

 

So one want to tell me if there is any way to use Tackler?

 

2

Tacklers are very underpowered compared to anything else.  It is to easy to escape currently, and anything that doesn’t escape can out shoot you.  Nor do you have the DPS to kill anything that is supported by another ship.  So right now, outside of grappling with interceptors planting the EMP bomb, there is little to recommend a tackler over a gunship.   

3

Tacklers are used to remove Interceptors’ tank: their speed. You take that away from them, they’re easy kills. In theory. However, that’s not true because the Tackler has no speed to keep up with them, making you more useful to support friendly Ceptors killing other ships.

4

and stealth? 50% chance for escaping from a fight or low chance of dealing lethal dmg to a nearly dead target?

5

and stealth? 50% chance for escaping from a fight or low chance of dealing lethal dmg to a nearly dead target?

If you fly smart, they’ll never pick you out. Just don’t fly in the open field and, if you do so, make sure you fly in a straight line towards a nearby Engineer. There’s just nothing you can do about any DoTs around you (Plasma Web, Pulsar, Minefields…).

6

The only tackler I don’t find underpowered is the Bear, and it’s an Elite Pack ship…

7

dude if there is a fight happening around you then it is pure luck if somebody misaims or hits your with an aeo missle

8

The only tackler I don’t find underpowered is the Bear, and it’s an Elite Pack ship…

Let’s not dwell into T3 ships, as they’re just ridiculous, atm…

You get no R9 Gunships, either. And control of certain ship roles aren’t even present on that rank, whereas it is on R6 and R12. It’s pretty pathetic, but it brings cash to Gaijin because people actually HAVE to buy the Nukem, Parallax or the Elite Steam pack to take advantage of actual Gunships and Tacklers. I’m not rambling more on this here. Soon… Very soon…

9

oso you can only play if you pay… guessed so

10

knowing where and why tacklers are bad helps you fly them better. this is a team game, most of your frustrations above are 1 on 1 situations. if you still want to fly them, try doing it behind people who are making kills. it’s not your job to make kills, just assist.

11

T3 and above:

 

Flares + relevant implant = half your class modules virtually useless.

 

The only R9 tacklers in the game are premium.

12

Well, i really have to agree that tacklers need some kind of buff. Most of the time they can’t fulfill their role due to the enemy getting away to easily and the low damage of the tackler. Maybe some new kind of module would help… just an idea here:

 

“Autoturret”: Works basically like the Pulsar, which guards use. Thing is, it only attacks the ship you are targeting. Rather deadly to interceptors due to their low hp and reliance on avoiding damage rather than tanking it, and a much needed damage-buff against anything else.

13

Tackler is strange name in that sense, that ECM Interceptor is actually a tackler as it has so many ways to tackle (stop movement), and the Tackler Fighter is more mix of recon (target painter) and lots of different misc stuff that has just been placed together, without real “tackling” ability (I recall there is only one slowing effect, which in my books doesn’t mean tackling which should imo be (temporary) stopping of movement).

14

Tacklers are the king of Tier 1, able to lock down and slaughter anyone.

 

By Tier 2, however, things go awry. ECM have more options to knock them out of the fight and make a getaway; Covert Ops can go dark or just suicide out of spite; Recons can cloak to shake the Tackler’s modules and Microwarp clear… or if they are like me, turn right around and slaughter the Tackler for being stupid enough to come within range of the Recon’s guns.

 

I can’t comment on T3 Tacklers because they just do not register for me when they are present.

 

Really, it’s a tricky balancing act. My big issue with ECM is how Gods-damned unfair it is to be able to knock someone out of the game, if only for a while. The problem is that there isn’t really any other way to counter Interceptors - as long as they have their speed advantage, they can always run clear of trouble. However, you can’t just make Tacklers as fast as Interceptors because that exacerbates the problem and throws in yet another “moving too fast” target.

 

So the Tackler has to be able to shop target ships dead in the water. However, said target ships also need ways to break that lock and flee, otherwise it isn’t fair on them. Maybe getting White Noise off of Covert Ops (who shouldn’t have any Debuffs - they’re a raw DPS class!) and giving it to Tackler would help some? I honestly don’t know…

15

Well Tacklers are really helpfull in Detonation battles bomb slow down + tackler slow down = instant death.

In the other game modes Tacklers are usefull for hunting single ships who get through the defense, but it’s hard to survive in a close combat in a bigger fight.

16

Well Tacklers are really helpfull in Detonation battles bomb slow down + tackler slow down = instant death.

In the other game modes Tacklers are usefull for hunting single ships who get through the defense, but it’s hard to survive in a close combat in a bigger fight.

 

If I would have to choose between ECM Interceptor and Tackler Fighter for Detonation defense, I would take ECM due to stasis module, rare Tachyon cocoon, and --most importantly-- faster movement, as that game mode is mostly about speed. Additionally, ECM could also switch immediately to offense after managing to kill the enemy bomb carrier, and assist its own survivability in that task by using its active modules (Weapon System Inhibitor, Ion Emitter), while I don’t really see anyone carrying the bomb to enemy beacon in a Tackler except in rare scenarios. Speed and maneuverability are keys. Sure, some Frigate ball scenarios are also possible, where Tackler is escorted well, but same can be said for ECM, and it could do it with smaller escort being smaller, faster target.

 

 

Only thing Tackler has better (for Detonation) in my opinion is higher damage output. But in “tackling”, speed, and ability to carry bomb ECM wins, in my opinion.

 

 

But Tacklers are not by any means useless. I personally see them as “Jack-of-all-trades” -kind of fighter with all kinds of potential, that can take down (as you said) ships that try to cross open fields… and more, depending on modules you fit to it.

17

Gunships are the new bomb carriers.

18

I think that fighters have to be in groups. The Tackler alone isn’t very scary, but it is also hard to catch, and usually, except in realistic, i dont want to spend a web on your shields. I dont see Fighters as 1on1 oriented ships, they are inbetween and allround classes, making them safer from intys and frigs, but not invincible in a complete 1on1 situation. Fighters are typical military standard ships as you might imagine them, and they should complement each other and make the other (bigger and smaller ships) have meaning on their own.

 

In Detonation, I do find them pretty hard to evade, especially if they have team around, as Inty. I am glad, not many people take these ships too seriously. With some ships now in Detonation being nearly uncatchable, I did whish I would see more of them on my teams.

 

The low speed is indeed a bit unhappy, I rather fly an ECM for the same purpose as a tackler, but I have speed fitted one for T3 even if I hardly use it. Giving them a bit more missile variety might be a good change (so they could combine area effect missiles and homings) so more missile slots while of course only limited to a certain amount through all the tiers would fit them well as a buff.

 

The cloak can be used quite effectively, but I too think, tacklers should be redesigned a bit, especially some of them to fill in a bit of a “heavy interceptor” with good speeds, lesser tank than other fighters, better sensors; especially if there are 2 tacklers in the same tier, having two different approaches might be admirable.

Cloak is fine, but not comparable with overcharge or other specials at the moment, the short range cloak, which now only Recons can use, and the camo have way better purpose, especially since usually you dont want to cloak forever; while if you would want to go behind enemy lines completely cloaked, the tackler cloak is again too short, since they are not so fast on bigger maps; if you could toggle it earlier to save a bit of cooldown, making even a short time of “hit and run attacks” possible, until the “overall cloaking time” is reached and the cooldown resets to a full one - it might work better. Also, I find it too centralized on tackling speed.

 

I do fear them as an Inty pilot, however, and would not say, it is a completely useless role. Anyone catched by a Tackler trap once (that lonely ship in the asteroids which turned out to be a nightmare, as the tacklers decloaked) might agree. Happens pretty often in R4ge Captain games. They do that kind of stuff. Have not figured out, if really on purpose.

19

Well Tacklers are really helpfull in Detonation battles bomb slow down + tackler slow down = instant death.

In the other game modes Tacklers are usefull for hunting single ships who get through the defense, but it’s hard to survive in a close combat in a bigger fight.

 

I have tried both these approaches, and it does not work in T3 matches.  Even point blank with RFR you don’t have the DPS to down a LRF quickly, and you cannot hold onto bomb carriers with the Fed implant that lets them get out of jail free, and for others you cannot take the damage from holding them while they spin around you.  

 

Nor can you catch most interceptors if they are ahead, you can only hope to intercept them if you are already in front.   This is one class roll that badly needs a rethink, along with LRFs.  

20

Have you tried building the Tackler tanky with a stabilized rail gun and mowing interceptors down at distance? Triple charged shots with missiles while they’re under the effects of your modules tends to do the trick. I’ve only ever seen the sentry drone ability as it name suggests: a sentry. It stands watch over a specific spot, so place the little bugger right over a beacon and watch it melt away shields so you can punch…TACKLE through its hull from the side or rear.