When do folks drop their Nightingale?

I try to drop mine early to mid game to make sure I get heals in case it’s a quicky match, but never first bot as strider owns that role. It’s really, really helpful with the nerf weapon when titans come out and for key beacon pushes. In some situations it can hold a beacon on its own against anything, for a little while to let mates spawn in.

I can use it as a pacer bot if I’m getting meched out to fast as played safely it can still impact a match but live as long as I’ll let it.

It depends n the map.
On a map where there is going to be a fight over a central beacon that will be difficult to change hands (eg Carrier, Canyon) I will drop it first to support the rush to acquire and hold that center beacon. My standard loadout is pulsars/shredder and quantum radar. I’m not that focussed in killing the reds, more in locking down pesky beacon runners and nerfing any early Ao Juns and allowing my team mates to lay down the hurt. If the team can get and hold the center beacon for a solid 4 minutes it all but guarantees the win. With the honor points for the win, first place in healing plus maybe 2nd or 3rd in beacons it’s very rare for me to end up out of top 3 in the team doing this,

Otherwise I usually bring it out when my teammates start to drop their Titans. Keeping friendly Arthurs alive and suppressing enemy Ao Mings is my main focus.

It can also be very effective as a late game beacon stealer so if I’ve had a solid run in my other bots up to that point, or I’ve needed to deploy my own Titan for beacon control, then I will roll it out to do that if the game is obviously headed to a win for either side.

I think the big boys drop it first and flight straight to center beacon.  Eventually, I want to be able to do that, but I don't have sweet Virginia and the bot (1.10) and weapons (2.4) are relatively under leveled so I don't think I can compete yet in that role.  I've been running it mid to later in matches with the titans come out.  If played right, you can steal beacons behind the enemy lines.  I say when the Titans come out because almost no one wants to ditch their Titan to deal with a small bot.  These folks have to make a choice they don't want to make.  If I cause someone to ditch a Titan because of my little Nightingale, it's like it killed a Titan.  WIN!

I'd consider running yours in the same way for now.  A note on pilot skills, I've got RH and Spy, both of which give a permanent speed boost so I can travel further in flight.  I'm totally sold on this and considering adding AdRH as well.

Mine is mid to late game support bot/beacon capper. Add AdRH Deadeye totally worth it

I have 2 unleveled HAKs on as mods, want to stay alive as long as possible 

I’d drop the gunsmith one for AdRH if you aren’t using it as beacon strongman. But that’s just one mans opinion

I like to open with Nightingale. This bot can turn tides just like people whine about mehblah. I get pre occupied healing and suppressing while the fuel runs out. Sometimes Nightingale can survive the entire battle, no re-spawns.

Pixo here was really cool. Nightingale is like reverse engineering. At loss of attack it becomes a cloaked paladin. Give up the gizmos and land to fire. Instead of having a downtime, the bot is always doing something. With deathbutton, I am reloaded after each flight.

Cooldown is not an issue here. I hate cooldowns. That's why I like similarly designed bots such as Fenrir more than cooldown heavy bots such as Leech, Ao Jun, Phantom, etc. The trade-off switch beats having a brief opportunity of power before retreating, because it's always active, it's more exciting. I'm not saying cooldowns aren't ok, some abilities are cool like Hover, Helldive, Overload.

I would rather have more bots like Nightingale because it is doing something all the time, not making the player feel weak and waiting.

Base speed in flight is pretty good for opening domination w/e. I can cap first 2 beacons quickly and harass 4th well before a minute.

Get the suppressor skill. Virginia is great.

Ming hitting your teammates at 25% or 12.5% (62k or 31k damage for maxed gendarme). It’s pretty significant in my book trying to keep my Titans alive

WELCOME to The Corp!  :-)

When to deploy?  Sure, it's map-dependent but there's never a bad time for the Nightingale.

Luvin' my flying Swiss Army Knife for sure.  You can brawl. You can take/hold beacons.  You can heal like a Mo-to-the-Fo!  THREE HUNDRED SIXTY (360) honor points for just doling out a little healing is nothing to sneeze at.  You get 32 honor for dropping your Titan, so 360 is a crap-ton when you're trying to earn your Champions League crate.  There are so many things to do with your Nightingale that you have to have good battlefield awareness and task prioritization skills.  "Which Reds do I want to mess with now?"

It's tempting to kit-up a 2nd Nightingale for my #1 hangar, BUT, "Never over-invest in any Bot or Weapon in War Robots...."  - The nerf hammer is always looming...

I run Suppressor, Spy, Road Hog, and even Adamant Road Hog.  2 x Heavy Armor Kit, Last Stand and Phase Shift, Frigidaire build.  Get in the air before Last Stand triggers and you get all that health back that you lost.  Nightingale is a beyatch!

3rd or 4th drop for titan support. Mainly Arties.

I have to admit that with my tanked-up Nightingale, I drop it 2nd more often than not.  I'll heal when I can but beacons/brawling/suppressing are my #1 priorities.  And, duh, I can heal at a contested beacon anyway.  What limited late-game healing I've done doesn't seem to make a massive difference to an Arthur that's getting pounded on.

I typically drop it 2nd (out of three). By then, their are usually a few titans on the board and you can maximize the suppression.