Let's Discuss Thunder!

[DieselPlatinum 5,121]

50 minutes ago, TheCongoSpider said:

How do you feel about Thunder right now? I see players saying it's the worst turret now, garbage, unplayable and the such. On the receiving end of Thunder for me, almost nothing changed. It even got an increased firing rate and now all of its augments have a faster firing rate than Stock. 

TO be honest, it's not the best turret to be using, but it sure ain't the worst thing out there. I think everyone's biggest complaint with thunder is the fact that at high ranks you face a lot of players with 40-50% protections. I think the protection module values should be rebalance, because I think there are some modules that are just too effective and some that aren't effective enough.

 

But as far as my feelings towards thunder, well to any turret, you'll learn some very interesting tricks. The best trick I've utilized will have to be one where if an enemy was right in my face and we are near a wall, I could just shoot the spot on the wall by the enemy and they'd get the full brunt of the damage while less damage is inflected onto myself.

 

 

[ghost-guns 1,486]

They ruined thunder and made it shoot like a gauss. Might as well use gauss...

[coconuttree 519]

1)Which is better: sledgehammer vs small caliber?

If anyone has experience with either, can you tell the the advantages and disadvantages during battle( I mean the ones not obvious from looking at stats).

I'll be using in very low ranks if it makes a difference.

Edited July 10, 2020 by coconuttree

[TheCongoSpider 8,942]

29 minutes ago, coconuttree said:

1)Which is better: sledgehammer vs small caliber?

If anyone has experience with either, can you tell the the advantages and disadvantages during battle( I mean the ones not obvious from looking at stats).

I'll be using in very low ranks if it makes a difference.

Before the projectile speed implementation, Sledgehammer was superior (in the Test Server and on the receiving end of both on the real servers). 

After the projectile speed update, all I've been facing is Sledgehammers and a few Subcalibre Rounds and Small Calibre Rounds scattered here and there. I've been seeing more Subcalibres than Small Calibres recently. 

In theory, Sledgehammer should now be superior up close but at around 100 metres or just outside of a short-range turret's range, Small Calibre should be dealing more damage over time with the faster projectile speed. That's with higher modifications. For the lower modifications, in theory, Small Calibre should be superior. The damage drops off faster for Sledgehammer in the lower modifications.

 

If you can comfortably stay somewhat close to the target without sustaining much damage, try Sledgehammer. If you can't do that or want to use it more at mid-range, try Small Calibre Charging Machine. Note that with SCCM, you won't be able to 2-shot full HP medium hulls of the same modification. This is my take. Someone who regularly uses Thunder and/or these two augments would have a stronger opinion more worth listening to.

[enri_chill 135]

On 6/17/2020 at 6:23 PM, TheCongoSpider said:

How do you feel about Thunder right now? I see players saying it's the worst turret now, garbage, unplayable and the such. On the receiving end of Thunder for me, almost nothing changed. It even got an increased firing rate and now all of its augments have a faster firing rate than Stock. 

It all depends on protections to me. I use sledgehammer and it is actually a good turret on the viking. When the overdrive kicks in you will absolutely clear a point in siege in 2 seconds...6 kills last night. Staying mobile with the faster fire rate and splash damage seems to be a great weapon...not my favorite, but in no way is it the "worst" turret.

[enri_chill 135]

On 6/17/2020 at 7:21 PM, DieselPlatinum said:

TO be honest, it's not the best turret to be using, but it sure ain't the worst thing out there. I think everyone's biggest complaint with thunder is the fact that at high ranks you face a lot of players with 40-50% protections. I think the protection module values should be rebalance, because I think there are some modules that are just too effective and some that aren't effective enough.

 

But as far as my feelings towards thunder, well to any turret, you'll learn some very interesting tricks. The best trick I've utilized will have to be one where if an enemy was right in my face and we are near a wall, I could just shoot the spot on the wall by the enemy and they'd get the full brunt of the damage while less damage is inflected onto myself.

 

 

You nailed a nice trick of hitting walls...A few more things I love about Thunder (which was my primary turret until everyone got protection) was:

1. Landing substantial damage to multiple enemies
2. Ability to land damage without direct hits...this has saved me in a fast moving battle when my accuracy starts dropping
3. The ability to humble isidas in a train since they get 40-50% of damage with each shot
4. The ability to rock your shot to hit the ground beside a barrier when someone is camping behind
5. The ability to hit above barriers where enemies are camping and landing solid damage
6. The ability to use splash damage to locate shafts, gauss, and other long range turrets in hiding

I will say since other turrets have been buffed or part of the Hornet OD meta, there have been much fewer Thunder protections to contend with...On CP and Siege (where multiple enemies cluster) Thunder is a nice tool.

 

[TheCongoSpider 8,942]

21 minutes ago, enri_chill said:

It all depends on protections to me. I use sledgehammer and it is actually a good turret on the viking. When the overdrive kicks in you will absolutely clear a point in siege in 2 seconds...6 kills last night. Staying mobile with the faster fire rate and splash damage seems to be a great weapon...not my favorite, but in no way is it the "worst" turret.

Have you tried Small Calibre Charging Machine? Do players even know that augment exists? 

[enri_chill 135]

1 minute ago, TheCongoSpider said:

Have you tried Small Calibre Charging Machine? Do players even know that augment exists? 

I want it and would gladly swap any number of augments I never use. Unfortunately I quit playing for 2 years and when I came back the augments are extremely high priced. I am at 150k right now and still saving. Even then I am not sure if I wouldn't be better served getting my protections up to 50%. Right now my most used protections are at 47-46-48. Also trying to get my dictator to m8...almost there. I love the OD because it helps the team do better.

[wolverine848 13,097]

8 minutes ago, enri_chill said:

I want it and would gladly swap any number of augments I never use. Unfortunately I quit playing for 2 years and when I came back the augments are extremely high priced. I am at 150k right now and still saving. Even then I am not sure if I wouldn't be better served getting my protections up to 50%. Right now my most used protections are at 47-46-48. Also trying to get my dictator to m8...almost there. I love the OD because it helps the team do better.

Your protections are fine.  The extra 2-3 % wont make that much of a difference.  Especially fire (which no longer reduces afterburn).  Plus... Hornet OD renders them moot.

[enri_chill 135]

25 minutes ago, wolverine848 said:

Your protections are fine.  The extra 2-3 % wont make that much of a difference.  Especially fire (which no longer reduces afterburn).  Plus... Hornet OD renders them moot.

Yeah, I haven't been using fire since I lucked into heat immunity (containers have been good periodically...just got a cold resistance and stun immunity too)...still get fried by firebird, but no afterburn:) So my 3rd protection is normally rico now. 

 

[coconuttree 519]

11 hours ago, TheCongoSpider said:

Before the projectile speed implementation, Sledgehammer was superior (in the Test Server and on the receiving end of both on the real servers). 

After the projectile speed update, all I've been facing is Sledgehammers and a few Subcalibre Rounds and Small Calibre Rounds scattered here and there. I've been seeing more Subcalibres than Small Calibres recently. 

In theory, Sledgehammer should now be superior up close but at around 100 metres or just outside of a short-range turret's range, Small Calibre should be dealing more damage over time with the faster projectile speed. That's with higher modifications. For the lower modifications, in theory, Small Calibre should be superior. The damage drops off faster for Sledgehammer in the lower modifications.

 

If you can comfortably stay somewhat close to the target without sustaining much damage, try Sledgehammer. If you can't do that or want to use it more at mid-range, try Small Calibre Charging Machine. Note that with SCCM, you won't be able to 2-shot full HP medium hulls of the same modification. This is my take. Someone who regularly uses Thunder and/or these two augments would have a stronger opinion more worth listening to.

At mk0, sledgehammer has better damage per shot than sccm for ranges < 40m and better dps for ranges < 50m. How much is 40m in game? Do you know any landmarks for 40m.

 

[Tidebreaker 1,669]

1 hour ago, enri_chill said:

Yeah, I haven't been using fire since I lucked into heat immunity (containers have been good periodically...just got a cold resistance and stun immunity too)...still get fried by firebird, but no afterburn:) So my 3rd protection is normally rico now. 

For what hulls did you get the augments for?

Also, you're much better off using some other protection than Rico. It's popular, but not to the point where it's overspammed.

[DieselPlatinum 5,121]

3 hours ago, enri_chill said:

A few more things I love about Thunder 

Well, I'm stuck with not playing MM missions on my main account for at least another month and a half because you know exp boost. Especially when the thunder and Viking are both max upgraded, thunder protection is 45%, railgun is 35%, shaft 33%, and Gauss 32%.

[enri_chill 135]

7 hours ago, Tidebreaker said:

For what hulls did you get the augments for?

Also, you're much better off using some other protection than Rico. It's popular, but not to the point where it's overspammed.

I got Stun immunity on Dictator, Heavy Weight on Hunter, Heat Immunity on Viking, Cold Resistance on Titan. 

I use different protections as my 3rd one depending on what the enemy is using. The main thing is I hate getting one shotted:) Who doesn't...I use a lot of Magnum, Gauss, Shaft...but lately the Ricos have been much more active in battles and it became annoying...

Edited July 11, 2020 by enri_chill
Added reason

[enri_chill 135]

7 hours ago, Tidebreaker said:

For what hulls did you get the augments for?

Also, you're much better off using some other protection than Rico. It's popular, but not to the point where it's overspammed.

The heat immunity is super helpful vs. multiple turrets which employ some form of afterburn as a damage amplifier (firebird, vulcan, smoky, hammer). That was why I maxed out firebird protection a long time ago. It seemed to protect me from the widest range of damage. Now that my viking has heat immunity I have been using it a lot of the time and equipping other protections where I used the firebird. 

I have not really enjoyed the heavy weight on the Hunter. It was already slow enough. Now its acceleration is super slow. It has some serious pushing power however. Just not my style of play.

Just got the cold resistance on the Titan, but haven't been using Titan much at all since I came back during the COVID season.

Edited July 11, 2020 by enri_chill

[DieselPlatinum 5,121]

2 hours ago, enri_chill said:

.but lately the Ricos have been much more active in battles and it became annoying...

I find Rico's impact force more annoying than its damage.

[Tidebreaker 1,669]

13 hours ago, enri_chill said:

I got Stun immunity on Dictator, Heavy Weight on Hunter, Heat Immunity on Viking,

Wow, you really lucked out there. Stun Immunity on Dictator is the literal counter to Hunters - use it when you're in a squad and you with your friends get zapped and you'll come out on top every time without a doubt. It's also beyond incredible for DM gold events such as the Kolhoz one we had a while back, because you can wait for all the Hunters to use their EMPs and then spam your own OD, freezing them in place and allowing you to catch that gold very easily. As for Hunter, Heavyweight isn't bad, especially when you want to push people out of your way, like in golds. Heat Immunity on Viking, though... (Heat Immunity in general), that's OP.

[xgamer932 0]

Is thunder's damage random?

[TheCongoSpider 8,942]

20 minutes ago, xgamer932 said:

Is thunder's damage random?

Yes it is.

[enri_chill 135]

On 7/11/2020 at 11:30 PM, Tidebreaker said:

Wow, you really lucked out there. Stun Immunity on Dictator is the literal counter to Hunters - use it when you're in a squad and you with your friends get zapped and you'll come out on top every time without a doubt. It's also beyond incredible for DM gold events such as the Kolhoz one we had a while back, because you can wait for all the Hunters to use their EMPs and then spam your own OD, freezing them in place and allowing you to catch that gold very easily. As for Hunter, Heavyweight isn't bad, especially when you want to push people out of your way, like in golds. Heat Immunity on Viking, though... (Heat Immunity in general), that's OP.

I stink at golds...never even try

I might go for it though. I hated Dictator forever. Just discovered it when I came back this year. Am a few upgrades away from m8. Still loving the fire immunity on the viking and tend to play with it and either rico, shaft, thunder, smoky, or vulcan depending on map and protections.

It has been on the extended missions that I have been lucky on the containers...still hoping for a few augments for turrets.

[enri_chill 135]

On 7/11/2020 at 11:49 AM, DieselPlatinum said:

I find Rico's impact force more annoying than its damage.

If I am using Thunder or vulcan Rico can't mess up my aim. However, with shaft or smoky it is highly difficult to land a shot if I don't hit them first. That's why I love the LC augment on the shaft...it gives you a chance in the open.

[DieselPlatinum 5,121]

2 hours ago, enri_chill said:

If I am using Thunder or vulcan Rico can't mess up my aim. However, with shaft or smoky it is highly difficult to land a shot if I don't hit them first. That's why I love the LC augment on the shaft...it gives you a chance in the open.

Disagree with the part of thunder and smoky. Honestly I think it's reversed. Smoky can just get in close while thunder (unless it has sub caliber rounds) doesn't have that luxury because of splash so it has to keep its distance.

[enri_chill 135]

There are fewer and fewer Thunder protections these days and it is leading to some nice games. While we weren't a good team, the thunder/viking scored well many siege games today.

 

[NooNooHead 121]

11 hours ago, enri_chill said:

There are fewer and fewer Thunder protections these days and it is leading to some nice games. While we weren't a good team, the thunder/viking scored well many siege games today.

 

Protection on the other side is always a key to how well you do. It is important to check protection early in a battle. For me, if I see 3 enemies with 40+ against me, I go down to the next turret on my rotation. Thunder is a top 3 in my rotation because for damage or score point missions, it will likely do something even if you miss. BTW, is the chat due to half the team camping for kills ?

[coconuttree 519]

8 minutes ago, NooNooHead said:

BTW, is the chat due to half the team camping for kills ?

I love how blinky has the audacity to call eubr a mult, despite finishing below him