I have been messing around with support lately and im wondering why since it doesnt have the mobility of other classes have no cc in the form of stuns and knockback at all? Also why are Blackjacks harder to heal than other bots? Finding going on offense to be difficult since support is slow so i get pushed back to my base very quickly.
Yea it can be frustrating sometimes. All the other classes have a good "Get Out Of Jail" card. As a support you have to be very aware of what's going on around you. If you get caught or someone gets the jump on you, it's over. That said, the shotgun is an insanely effective "Get Off Me" card. Offense with the support (by yourself) takes more patience and strategy than the other classes. No running and gunning here.
Eh, Supports do pretty well for themselves. They do require a bit more awareness to keep themselves afloat, but there are lots of cute tricks you can use under pressure. 1) Never leave your firebase's protection unless you're going under the protection of a teammate. 2) Remember that damage is still dealt during a grapple, so if you can, grab the guy fighting you and let the firebase pound on him while you're introducing the knee-groin principle. 3) Air Strike is a great way to make people back off - even though it's not generally hard to get under cover in time, very few people like the feeling of the beacon on their Pro. 4) Especially in dealing with Assassins, if you hear the hum, put your back to your firebase and whip out the shotgun. Take a few blasts with it even if you're not sure where she is - Assassins are well aware of the extreme danger that shotgun represents to them, and some will choose to move on rather than chance an encounter with it. I've killed a LOT of assassins who front-grappled me with a combo of firebase-and-shotgun, or just flat-out "Hi, meet Mr.Remington" aimed well. 5) Lastly, remember that you're the class that can steal a $1000 asset, one-shot-kill absolutely any pro (or two or three at once), and kill players/farm bots from the other side of the map without even being at the keyboard. You've gotta have SOME kind of downside, no? Hope this helps.
Firebases often get taken out very quickly and not sure how much i can press offensively relying on a firebase since they are not that sturdy and redeploying it takes time. It takes time for it to happen. some times it doesnt happen at all and its pretty easy to evade. Assaults bomb is far better for denying areas and it even has cc in the form of knockback when upgraded Bad sins maybe. Still not sure how camping near a firebase helps support to go offesnively. Hope this helps. [/quote] If im lucky with air strikes? They are not that hard to evade. Hacking enemy turrets takes a bit of time and from what i have seen doesnt really work unless someone stuns it.
Heh. Sounds like you need a bit more practice with your Support in terms of how to deploy a Firebase for the best advantage, and how to lay down Air Strikes for maximum discomfort. Also, bear in mind the class title is SUPPORT. You're the bit that helps someone ELSE go offensive, and you're not really supposed to be rolling out and pwning the world by yourself. Most assuredly a gunner with you at his heels is a recipe for severe pain for the enemy, though. A Support with a well-placed firebase and his shotgun can completely lock down a bot route, making it a highway for friendly bots straight to the enemy moneyball, and anyone going after that support has to contend with the firebase/firebase heal aura/Support grapple/support shotgun combo. People trying to play the ranged game risk getting air strikes landed on them - or at least driven back by one, which allows the Support to heal firebase damage, which is as good as a win for Mari..er...Support. Also, don't underestimate the ridiculous range of a 3.3 Firebase. You don't take bases alone as a Support. You soften the hell out of them and then prop up the guy who does.
I can lay down air strikes fine. They are still easily evaded by the mobility of other classes since they take so long to do damage. And sometimes it just fizzles. And i cant really support a team if i get pressed back by having no cc and lacking mobility when players all go after me. Firebase where do you deploy it? Most people in beta seem to have learned how to take the firebase out fast enough for it not to matter too much.
Coming from someone who hates supports... Learn some good spots to place the firebase. Offensively, this usually means in a spot where an enemy would have to put his back toward your end of the field to attack it. Ideally, a spot where there is no long-distance attack possible (when it's hacked for extra range). On Grenade III arena (the big ring with the platform in the middle) a good offensive spot is right at the top of the first boost pad, just past the bot spawner. Take an armor endorsement, probably as Gold. Keep moving and jump around a lot. A bunny-hopping gold-armored support is infuriatingly hard to kill. If your team sucks, there's not a whole lot you can do. Support just isn't capable of carrying like the tank or gunner can.
So yeah anyone got any protips for steel peel for support? i think thats the one with the really high walls and the pit of doom. Also have anyone noticed stuff not taking damage(no lifebar appears) while shooting with the shotgun? the character is hit but nothing happens. Was shooting a sin but he/she didnt seem to take any damage and was happily slashing at me. He also lunged at me and got a backgrapple every time. even when faced towards him. He left the server before i could ask him what his sekkrits was.
The key to power for a Support on Steel Peel is positional dominance. You want to, by any means, hold the "balcony" spots above the opposing base. From there, your firebase can shut down a lane of bots entirely, you can menace anyone leaving the enemy base from that side, and your airstrike bombs can easily hit any base turret on that size - or drop right outside the enemy spawn tunnel, if that's your cup o' tea. With a deployed gunner, an ice trap, your firebase propping the gunner and you doing the same, a Support can hold one half of that map in a vice grip. As for the second half of your post, I'd say you're describing lag-induced behavior. Very strongly so, in fact.
when you're on the back-foot though this is almost impossible to achieve, and the support is next to useless without it, and the cooldown on a destroyed firebase means a lot of getting killed or doing nothing productive. how many upgrades do you need to buy before your firebase will actually target things on the ground though?
Well where do you put it? Because I've put them on the ledge and they never shoot at anything, unless its up on the ledge with them.
Put it right on the edge of the ledge overhanging the arena. Yes, this does expose it to enemy air strikes, but that's a tough angle for them to hit - they have to either toss blind (can't see it from the base side or underneath, which certainly can be done, but is rarer than you'd think) or they have to run out into the field of fire, get a good solid visual, and then toss. With a good gunner covering you, a lot of times you can still hold out long enough to re-plant it on a loss. The key to that location is that assaulting it cannot be done without warning and you know exactly where and how the enemy will arrive, unless it's an assassin, which still is not without risk.
Would really like some cc and speed. Sins can lun ge grapple you to death even with the gold rof shotgun in their face. assualt crit you to death or charge you. Not sure why support has to suffer in mobility and lack of crowd control.
Easily evaded? The whining sound is not something you can always hear easily. And sometimes you jump somewhere and see the transparent bomb of death just in front of you and you simply have no time to get away. No, airstrikes really need no speed up at all. Speaking of airstrikes, how on earth do some support players toss them so far? I mean, sure, jump and toss gets them farther, but I've seen people toss them insanely far that I wonder if there's some trick I'm missing.
You're joking, right? You need CC as support? Firebase, airstrike, shotgun of death and such are not enough? I hardly get assassin stabbed because they tend to get a shotgun in the face and soon stop pestering me. Assassins are really the least of your worries. And if they do, then typically the Firebase will take them out and they will have gained nothing with their action.
Not really considering their juicing rate. even then they are much faster than you and with armor endorsements shotfun doesnt kill them before they kill you. No range, situational tools and you are often a sitting duck. some kind of stun or knockback would be great. also you can throw them longer by aiming upwards and jumping(its an arc.) and yeah its easily evaded unless it sticks or opponent has no awareness.
You have to place it on the edge and it can't be much higher than the center section for it to work with no upgrades or hacks. The mid field jump pad areas are a good place to control a lane, but they're really easy targets up there. I've seen them on the back of those same rings above the back entrance to the base to control the back and jump pads. Search for SXD's support guide, he highlights some placements per map and will get your support in line tactically speaking too. I tend to bump to 2.2 asap if I'm planning on aiming at the bots below (well, any task on steel peel really). The upgrade gives you the range to be effective for long enough to kill bots and to chase away lots of pros and the hack gives you enough ROF to be a realistic threat.
