Opinions on the Sentry

[IceWendigo]

as mention before it would be best to improve it while keeping as different as possible from the others (drone, warrior) in its gameplay. A cannon is a good idea to make it stronger, but would make it more similar.

besides giving it greater AMMO, a bit more health, much much faster REGENERATION and greater sensor range, it could ALSO be made much more effective at MINE laying than any other ship?
with either;

PLAN A) mine cluster: (reducing the delay to 1 sec between mine drops could allow the Sentry to lay several mines in a row)

OR (if delay between drops is a weapon parameter than cant be adjusted on the ship itself)

PLAN B) triple mine hardpoints: with 3 mine hardpoints  have it drop three mines each time you press fire (harry, drop 3 seekers, turn around and harry some more)


I think that with these adjustments the Sentry would be more effective yet still quite different in gameplay from Drone and Warriors.

[PhoeniX-FlamE]

its np either shooting faf or other lil radious weapon to blast mines or just go over them in your way btb when u already going to take a pod... + they dont explode after some tmie?
and who will want to go in a unit that lay mines but well suck at other things

keep in mind
its a PATCH not a mod

although it wasnt used in 1.0 and 1.2 doesnt mean we must use it in 1.3
could've been nice that all units were used but they are not... thats how the game turned out to be... u dont have to change it so much.. and if u feel like you must u can always make a mod with all your wildest ideas

[pharoh]

my take on sentries..... well lets say U have your typical 5 gun tower isdf base. if you were to send some 10 warriors in theyd get blasted, easy. but if you were to send in sentreies before the warrior squad the story would be a little diffrent. i believe the sentries whole purpose is to occupy the base defences or keep larger units such as the attila busy. 4 guass gun sentries can down a attila easy...if you give them blinks there even more dangerous.
sentries are fast and agile...making them hard to hit by sabres.

even though sentries are good for these things i only use them to guard scavangers on scrap runs. its fun though to send 40 sentries at a human base.... they just simply overrun the G-towers

[Slaor]

Could try making it stealthed like deployed turrets? Line of site targeting/radar only? It's an option. Keep it weak but make it sneaky.

[Aegeis]

Hmmm, now that's a thought, but how would it effect early games?  Remember, if you have choice between warrior or sentry late game, most definitely warrior.

[PhoeniX-FlamE]

well guys

as i said earlier post

do we realy need the sentry? didnt we live without it for hmm 4 years? :s
i mean... we can leave them as they are...

[Slaor]

I was just thinking how much 5 or so undetected AI sentries suddenly buzzing around your base with twin gauss could really wreck your day... kinda suits the Scion style too maybe. As for game effect, well test it and see I guess

[Slaor]

But whatever you do I think it be one for a mod. It'd be nice to make it useful (one thing we tried for in FE) but the cascading balance knock on effect is as always a knotty issue.

[Aegeis]

Yeh but see, I don't see the sentry as a base buster.  In my eyes its primary focus would be early game domination over isdf scouts.  But, like it has been brought up before, more than likely by that time you would have warriors and I would much rather put some fear into them with a warrior with arc/gauss than a sentry, unless of course you want to toy with them!  

[IceWendigo]

"keep in mind
its a PATCH not a mod"
 New units are for Mods. Banlancing existing units can be done in a Patch. (Stacraft's patches have made minor and major unit adjustments to improve the units balance, and they are not called mods, they're patches),

Having it lay several mines in a few seconds would be distinctive, and since you point out mines are not very effective it would not make it too powerful, which is why other stats could be increased, like a great increase to ammo/health regeneration, sensor range and why it could be given the stealth.

Slaor, I really like the Stealth idea!

With increased health/ammo regeneration, sensor range, rapid mine layings and stealth it would still be quite different in style and gameplay and would not change its weakness in firepower, BUT it would be much more intersting to have in certain situations and I think the game would only be better.  

[Slaor]

I'm not so much thinking of it as a base buster but more as a guerilla. Stealthed sentries would be good for sneaky diversionary attacks in heart of base that ties up player and defenses while the maulers charge in. Or maybe they can be the unit to sit quiet and undetected in that gully ready for quick softening runs on advancing assault squads.

The key: Decide on a valid strategic use for it, THEN change it, not other way around. And do it in a mod.

[Zero Angel]

(thinking quietly to self)

hmm, what would FE do?

[Aegeis]

In FE the sentry was given Light armor, but I think in rev c they got rid of the armor in favor of more hull strength.  But I'm not 100% sure.

[Slaor]

This same issue cropped up in FE early - what to do with the poor little bugger? Almost seems a spot filler really. I seem to remember that tiny morph time and upped gauss damage were tested to make it better at quick assaults on mixed unit groups, but have been away for a while now so dunno what it ended up as.

1.3 definitely gives a few interesting options in that regard.

[pharoh]

if any thing the sentry should be given a 3rd gun...sentries are more comparible to a edf scout than anything else. giving them would help them and the  whole scion line stand out.