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Post by Deadalready on Mar 5, 2017 21:43:38 GMT -5
This might sound ridiculous but I'm honestly having trouble understanding the flight pattern of Aphids. I have two which are currently on my Galahad but I'm inable to get them to fly over walls. I've tried getting close and far but it almost seems like my adjustments aren't having any effect on where the missiles fly? What's currently happening is they spend most of the time flying low, whether they're at 350 or even closer. A serious amount of jealously for the Quad Aphid Pattons, who's Aphids seem to fly sky high and clear obstacles with ease.
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Post by cakeordeath on Mar 5, 2017 21:59:32 GMT -5
More seriously though, aphids need a bit of travel distance to start arcing upwards properly and fly at a fairly low arc (unlike hydras or even spirals). Aphids can clear low buildings but not tall ones. They are best mounted on high points on your bot (e.g. the shoulder slots of a griffon) so those two low side slots on the galahad are really not ideal choices.
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Post by Thumpmonkey1 on Mar 5, 2017 22:09:11 GMT -5
Just started having the same issue yesterday. I've run aphids on stukas, geps, pattons and even nats for a long time. All of a sudden they're wonky... Sometimes they arc nicely, and sometimes they barely clear head height on a fury. I haven't found a determining factor either - stuka grif in open terrain, same height as my target, they seem to fly flat one match and then the next they arc nicely. Awful frustrating to be able to see the head of the bot I'm aiming at from 250m and yet only half the salvo makes it over the obstruction.
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johnny5
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Post by johnny5 on Mar 5, 2017 22:59:21 GMT -5
Aphids do require some finesse to use. Most people here will tell you you need to learn to "arc" your shots better. That's fine, and probably true for a lot of the time. However, when Pix started screwing with the Aphids a while back,-(thank you Aphids Geps) something for sure changed that not everyone is affected by. I almost have to have a direct line-of-sight now, to get any hit at all... And forget about firing over any low barriers. The shot literally drops down just after firing. The funny thing is I can hit this same target with my Pin Leo with no problem. I've even been standing next to another bot that fires his Aphids over a barrier we're behind, and thought to myself "「whiskey tango foxtrot」! I just tried the same thing with a taller bot, and they didn't even try to arc over the barrier". Anyway, try to fire from different angles wrather than straight on to see if that doesn't help.
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Post by Golden Sabre on Mar 5, 2017 23:05:12 GMT -5
I've given up on trying to arc over obstacles, they are the same to me as pinatas
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Post by whatttupG on Mar 6, 2017 0:41:48 GMT -5
The arc is now so low you usually only have trouble with getting them under things.. like the center bridge in Canyon. I wouldn't call them pinata's LOL but I get the joke totally. +1
Of course this assumes you have already given up on getting your shot over anything, because as you said, they don't clear much. I'm being a little tough on them but not much, as they don't go 'over' too much anymore, they clear nothing if you're close and very little to nothing if your target is hiding well like behind most things in in Dead City.
If you want to nail someone around the bowl (center beacon in DC) you pretty much need to watch and wait for them to decloak so to speak. When they are in clear sight or about to cross a breach in the walls, you can deliver full loads but when they are hiding well or simply behind anything with sufficient height, you could launch a million aphids and not even scratch their HP.
This and they need a bit of lead now and some babysitting so to speak because thei homing you think is dead on, isn't. Timing is brutal on moving shots now and thus, even hitting light or fast bots is almost a waste of ammo unless you lead them like you're shooting orkans etc...
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Post by ewing411 on Mar 6, 2017 1:01:26 GMT -5
<snip> However, when Pix started screwing with the Aphids a while back,-(thank you Aphids Geps) something for sure changed that not everyone is affected by. I almost have to have a direct line-of-sight now, to get any hit at all... And forget about firing over any low barriers. <snip> I wonders if this was part of a butterfly effect causing Stuka Griffins gaining popularity.
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Post by SoCalGrndR on Mar 6, 2017 21:35:34 GMT -5
Mounted on my Griffin I try to use them LOS and I only target over low structures to annoy the reds. The normal flight path does not have much arc on level ground.
I have put them on my patton and found out elevation is the key.
Yamatau - if you are below target (significantly), the Aphids go with extreme arc! ie... I was on ramp and spider bot was climbing on top of bridge support - I shot and the Aphids launched to the sky at extreme rate, and came down at extreme angle - distance was 300+. 3-4 salvos and destroyed it completely
I think to get any real arc out of the Aphid, there must be the right elevation change matched with the right distance.
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Post by bahogilok on Mar 6, 2017 22:18:43 GMT -5
Things I have noticed playing with aphids: 1. If enemies are on higher ground, the arc is higher. 2. Higher arc if you are further than 250m, AND aim slightly away from the target (like how you make spirals curve) 3. Fire them 1 at a time, they have better chances of hitting
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Post by mijapi300 on Mar 6, 2017 22:35:51 GMT -5
They are interesting to get used to. As others have said, you'll need to get used to using elevation. Enemy at higher elevation helps you get more arc.
Not sure if others have mentioned but make sure you're using target lock on. This allows you to aim further away from your target without losing the lock on. That's how people get them around corners occasionally. I've never been able to shoot them straight up over a building without having to back away from the building a bit though.
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Post by RightOn on Mar 6, 2017 23:12:01 GMT -5
Walk backwards to steepen the angle of trajectory
You can't hit quickly moving targets effectively, but that doesn't mean you can't them if they're pointed directly towards you or if they are large/slow enough. The problem with Aphid is the velocity of the projectile was slowed down.
Griffin is really best off with Aphids. I've always used Tarans but Orkans combined with Aphids possess one of the best alpha strikes in the game, and a lot more utility (than DB).
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Post by Deadalready on Mar 6, 2017 23:49:14 GMT -5
I've been using my Aphids mostly as a LOS weapon, because they are simply outright better than Pinatas in almost every way. The elevation thing seems like it might have some merit, Gepards and Pattons are shorter than many other bots. What I'd like to do is drop Aphids on top of skulls as they're *near* walls, something other people seem to do to me. I guess some experimenting will help in this case...
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Post by Pulse Hadron on Mar 7, 2017 2:13:45 GMT -5
Aphids should arc upwards, even on level ground, but some have reported a bug where they fly straight. That happened to me once on the test server, never on the live server though.
Find a video on Aphid use and compare the flight path, maybe you're stricken by the bug.
I was on the wavy roof in Shenzen trying to target a bot below and close to the building. My concern was getting the Aphids to clear the lip of the roof but when launched they flew directly upwards, apparently away into the sky because I never noticed them come down on the red. Aphids can be a bit wonky like that but 99.8% of the time they should have a nice low arc.
A bug i do have is putting them on a Leo, half will explode on my bot when launched.
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Post by noobcake on Mar 7, 2017 2:28:44 GMT -5
I've had the bug where the aphids fly straight forward many times. I suspect it is a graphics bug because the target usually ends up taking damage even though it looks like the aphid slammed into a wall and were wasted.
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Post by K A Z on Mar 7, 2017 5:18:31 GMT -5
* go at some distance 300-350 * use elevation * use target lock and corner it
* good spots (for Grif especially): - sf - river bed close to ridge (close to central beacon D) - gives protection while aph are high enough to travel to target - sf - urban part, near beacon A - pp - dome buildings - all area near beacon C (small hill) - yama - up the ramp you go, but half way and keep 300m - canyon - all the way to reds camp, behind the structures; works both spawns - keep left though - shenz - well...mixed bag, situational but many buildings may be used; outcome sometimes great, sometimes...so so - dc - just keep your head down lol
* things I need to yet confirm - I've seen a clip where aphids lobbed high after "walking on" friendly blue - lobbing left/right may increase chance of hitting an opponent that moves in perpendicular
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2017 5:26:14 GMT -5
As mentioned, aphids work best from on top (Griffin jumpshot) or below (think bottom ramp of yam). Each case gives them extra height to drop the pain.... Otherwise, yes, it is almost a line of sight weapon.
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Post by frunobulax on Mar 7, 2017 7:20:48 GMT -5
I've given up on trying to arc over obstacles, they are the same to me as pinatas Then you're probably better off with Pinatas. They have similar DPS but more burst, and can hit fast robots.
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Post by frunobulax on Mar 7, 2017 7:48:17 GMT -5
Mounted on my Griffin I try to use them LOS and I only target over low structures to annoy the reds. The normal flight path does not have much arc on level ground. I have put them on my patton and found out elevation is the key. Yamatau - if you are below target (significantly), the Aphids go with extreme arc! ie... I was on ramp and spider bot was climbing on top of bridge support - I shot and the Aphids launched to the sky at extreme rate, and came down at extreme angle - distance was 300+. 3-4 salvos and destroyed it completely I think to get any real arc out of the Aphid, there must be the right elevation change matched with the right distance. It kinda helped me to consider this algorithmically: They seem to start always towards the target, at least if the target is roughly on the same level or above you. It appears that they have limited capability to fly above/around obstacles, but they need a bit distance to the obstacle. Just make sure they "see" the obstacle early enough to change course in time. Like, if you're standing behind cover that is a bit higher than you (DC center), all you need is to take a few steps back.
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typewriter
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Post by typewriter on Mar 7, 2017 18:09:43 GMT -5
I play on an LG G pro 2, which is slightly better than galaxy S4 and slightly worse than LG G2. In the few times when I ran the google game play recorder in game, the game lost a little bit of frame rate every now and then. And when the load seemed high, the aphids would often fly really low. Like if i shoot at a target 300m away, the peak of the arc would be lower than 2x bot height.
These are the only cases where I see my aphids fly so low so my guess is sometimes it has to do with computational loads
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icarus
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Post by icarus on Mar 9, 2017 13:21:06 GMT -5
I like to fire mine off one at a time - it helps me see if I need to adjust my position but more importantly skews my reload time against who I'm attacking.
I've noticed it's harder to aim them at faster robots if you/they are traveling sideways. It's almost better to run at them head on when firing so you don't waste a good hit.
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Post by Tatamat on Mar 15, 2017 3:01:53 GMT -5
Since this is a nice thread on Aphids, one more question for you:
How is it with usefulness of Aphids against shielded bots?
I assumed that it deals damage to both shield both robot, but recently I've seen the set of videos by Lloyd le-Mar and this is obviously not true as he was able to block virtually all damage with his Gareth's shield (the same will probably apply to Galahad). So, Aphids are useless against a well-piloted Gar/Gal, which was my main motivation to buy them :-) What about other bots? I assume Aphids can bypass Rhino shield but I'm not sure about Lancelot and Raijin. Also, if it hits Lancelot/Rhino/Raijin shields, does it deal damage to the bot?
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Post by ou812gr8m8 on Mar 15, 2017 3:28:18 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure Aphids don't have splash damage, so all the damage done will be to the shield.
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Post by Deadalready on Mar 15, 2017 4:43:55 GMT -5
Since this is a nice thread on Aphids, one more question for you: How is it with usefulness of Aphids against shielded bots? I assumed that it deals damage to both shield both robot, but recently I've seen the set of videos by Lloyd le-Mar and this is obviously not true as he was able to block virtually all damage with his Gareth's shield (the same will probably apply to Galahad). So, Aphids are useless against a well-piloted Gar/Gal, which was my main motivation to buy them :-) What about other bots? I assume Aphids can bypass Rhino shield but I'm not sure about Lancelot and Raijin. Also, if it hits Lancelot/Rhino/Raijin shields, does it deal damage to the bot? It seems to depend on what angle and how far away from the shooter you are. You can side pedal and back pedal Aphids to avoid them but I have been hurt by aphids with my shield up on my Rhino/Galahad/Lance. Honestly it's hard to tell why because I often get hit by invisible aphids lag/device? It has something to do with the grouping which is something I don't quite understand
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Post by ⓣⓡⓘⓒⓚⓨ48 on Mar 15, 2017 8:25:06 GMT -5
Walk backwards to steepen the angle of trajectory You can't hit quickly moving targets effectively, but that doesn't mean you can't them if they're pointed directly towards you or if they are large/slow enough. The problem with Aphid is the velocity of the projectile was slowed down. Griffin is really best off with Aphids. I've always used Tarans but Orkans combined with Aphids possess one of the best alpha strikes in the game, and a lot more utility (than DB). Yes, taking a step or two backwards while firing helps. I have been able to clear the majority of the low obstacles using that method.
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Post by ⓣⓡⓘⓒⓚⓨ48 on Mar 15, 2017 8:26:17 GMT -5
Since this is a nice thread on Aphids, one more question for you: How is it with usefulness of Aphids against shielded bots? I assumed that it deals damage to both shield both robot, but recently I've seen the set of videos by Lloyd le-Mar and this is obviously not true as he was able to block virtually all damage with his Gareth's shield (the same will probably apply to Galahad). So, Aphids are useless against a well-piloted Gar/Gal, which was my main motivation to buy them :-) What about other bots? I assume Aphids can bypass Rhino shield but I'm not sure about Lancelot and Raijin. Also, if it hits Lancelot/Rhino/Raijin shields, does it deal damage to the bot? They can be blocked by shields. However there are sometimes a few leakers... or, you can angle the shot so that they come around or on top of the shield. Even the Lance can block them if you know how
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Post by inesb on Mar 15, 2017 10:51:10 GMT -5
... All bots, large and small, have a slight pause upon landing. Learn to time your shots so they hit just after they land... ...Against a Cossack, you can make them go from full health to dust in one shot. On the other hand, Cossacks can outjump the Aphid. I sometimes use a Cossack as a beacon runner. Today there was a Gepard with 3 Aphids at a beacon. I circled around him and kept a distance of ca. 300m. Each time he fired the aphids I made a jump to the side in the same moment. Once in the air the aphids can´t change their direction fast enough to follow me. I took down the Gepard with my Tumbulas.
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Post by whatttupG on Mar 17, 2017 0:11:53 GMT -5
Love aphids but as mentioned, there are currently a bunch of drawbacks.
On a Leo, there are bugs bigtime. I run a set of aphids and they misfire alot. Usually it's "only" a small issue, but sometimes it's more. I've seen a few missing, a whole bank self destruct on launch, even self inflicted damage on rare occurrence. I have email confirming it's a known bug, no time on a fix so it's not clear if aphid based Leo's are even worth it.
On other builds, I have seen threads on issues like this, but it seems much less common. When I have moved them to other bots just to see, I see way less malfunction.
On aphids themselves, the new mechanics (Nerf) that were rolled out recently really jacked up their use. The arc of the flight path used to be huge so you could rainbow them into places. That is gone. Now they fly almost flat and if you have a buggy launch, the fly exactly flat.
Also changed is how they home. Used to be hard to miss with them, now it's hard to hit. Light bots, anything fast, a shield or a few evasive moves can all avoid them totally. I know in a Gareth, it's almost a welcome sight when your mark tries aphids on you.
Also you never really needed to stagger your fire, now you almost have to. It used to be fine to just dump the bucket but that is a crap shoot now, today you need to take care in every way if you want any chance of any damage. If your mark is moving, you need to lead em. If your mark has an energy shield, you gotta break up your volley. If your mark has a physical shield, you're fairly screwed cuz no splash. If a combo of these and they bug on you, things really suck.
If you look around you'll see less and less aphids on the field and sadly (in my opinion) they are on their way out as far as being a cool or fun or useful party of the game.
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Post by Pilot Moby_dic on Mar 17, 2017 0:18:19 GMT -5
Aren't Aphid Orkan Griffs part of the meta at TT.
Aphids are still good on Garth's and Gali's, particularly if the shield is down, rare that you get away totally unscathed without a scratch.
I think the biggest change has been proliferation of Ancile's, means much less effective now
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nero
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Post by nero on Mar 17, 2017 3:26:03 GMT -5
This might sound ridiculous but I'm honestly having trouble understanding the flight pattern of Aphids. I have two which are currently on my Galahad but I'm inable to get them to fly over walls. I've tried getting close and far but it almost seems like my adjustments aren't having any effect on where the missiles fly? What's currently happening is they spend most of the time flying low, whether they're at 350 or even closer. A serious amount of jealously for the Quad Aphid Pattons, who's Aphids seem to fly sky high and clear obstacles with ease. Sing them from the side and lead them just a little a lot of people are not going to want to hear this but I once scored well over 900,000 points in Dead City with a single aphid gep defending the center beacon.
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Post by rustedscrap on Mar 17, 2017 16:37:42 GMT -5
When it comes to the 'new' aphids all I can say is practice. The weapon system itself is buggy as hell and hard to use which lead to pilots giving up on them which suits me just fine. I've put my time in, gotten used to aphids quirks and now they are my most effective weapon system inside 350. I've had some of my most fun/challenging matches when dueling another aphid chucker in and around center beacons. I've had many 800000+ damage matches with my trusty aphid Patton 9/9 against bots that have under estimated patty.
On the flip side I've been lit up many times by db/plasma and more that one thunder carnage. At the end of the day aphids are a support weapon and will only be as effective as your team and you need to be the second line. Don't be on the first line. Use cover and evasive tactics. Same can be said for any griff build.
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