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I know not many people played the Lancaster much before the recent changes, and might not have much to compare it to, but I've flown the Lanc almost exclusively for years now, and I think I might have some insight on it's value, and how the recent changes have made it much less usefull.
First a caveat: I only play pub, and lately only pure-pub. I imagine things work differently in leagues with more experienced players and the action more focused around the flag room.
You've basically taken the slowest, least maneuverable of the dogfighters(WB, Spider, Lanc), and required it to make 2 out of 2 shots in succession to get kills. Getting two hits in rapid succession means the lancaster now has to fight much closer to it's opponents, where it's lack of speed and maneuverability put it at a marked disadvantage. Wheras the spider has to only make 3-4 out of a 5-7 shot burst to get a kill, and has the maneuverability to chase weakened foes, the new lancaster can rarely keep up with an opponent if it's first attack fails.
The 2 or 4 bullets of the lancaster aren't a great help for this type of fighting either. For one thing, they're an awful lot slower than WB and spider bullets. Hitting anything that isn't close, or flying right at you, takes more practice than you'd think. And with the changes, you now have to hit them twice. The lanc also only gets 3 shots within the first few seconds. A spider gets 10.
Pre-change, the lanc was always best when fighting in mid-base, shooting at range. The mid-base restricts opponents flying enough to give them less room to dodge your spread, and for you to more easily predict where to send your multifire bullets for those speculative shots. There's also enough room to duck behind something to recharge, which the Lancaster needs lots of time for. This isn't glamorous fighting, but it is effective. Flying a Lanc required as much strategic and positional thinking as it did raw aiming skill (aka Warbirds). But, all of this strategy hinged on one thing: One shot kills. Aside from the spider, every ship has this ability (The Terrier does have those nasty bursts). Without it, the lanc is a sitting duck.
Post-change, you have a marginally effective flag room fighter. The spider still wins out on it within the flag room in my eyes though, and outside the flag room, the Lanc is easy prey for warbirds.
In short, you took an effective if underused mid-base ship, and turned it into a weak spider.
Like I say, for league and proper basing play, where the action does focus around the flag room, the new lanc might work better. But for Pub and pure-pub, where the action is generally a bit lower on the map, the old lanc was much more effective. I know pub players bragging about stats and records is a bit laughable, and people rarely believe them anyways, but I think this proves a point about the old Lancaster: Flying a lanc almost exclusively, I usually had an average kill of 120-140(i.e: Usually on the flag-holding team), and with Kill/Death ratios between 2:1 and 3:1. I am not boasting; I know there are better players with better records, but from what I've seen, this is usually pretty good. And this is Basing with a Lancaster. It was a very good ship prior to the change.
And for all the Lanc haters: The easiest to learn, most dangerous, and most popular ship with newbies is and always has been the Warbird. Stop calling me a newb when I shoot you. :-P
First a caveat: I only play pub, and lately only pure-pub. I imagine things work differently in leagues with more experienced players and the action more focused around the flag room.
You've basically taken the slowest, least maneuverable of the dogfighters(WB, Spider, Lanc), and required it to make 2 out of 2 shots in succession to get kills. Getting two hits in rapid succession means the lancaster now has to fight much closer to it's opponents, where it's lack of speed and maneuverability put it at a marked disadvantage. Wheras the spider has to only make 3-4 out of a 5-7 shot burst to get a kill, and has the maneuverability to chase weakened foes, the new lancaster can rarely keep up with an opponent if it's first attack fails.
The 2 or 4 bullets of the lancaster aren't a great help for this type of fighting either. For one thing, they're an awful lot slower than WB and spider bullets. Hitting anything that isn't close, or flying right at you, takes more practice than you'd think. And with the changes, you now have to hit them twice. The lanc also only gets 3 shots within the first few seconds. A spider gets 10.
Pre-change, the lanc was always best when fighting in mid-base, shooting at range. The mid-base restricts opponents flying enough to give them less room to dodge your spread, and for you to more easily predict where to send your multifire bullets for those speculative shots. There's also enough room to duck behind something to recharge, which the Lancaster needs lots of time for. This isn't glamorous fighting, but it is effective. Flying a Lanc required as much strategic and positional thinking as it did raw aiming skill (aka Warbirds). But, all of this strategy hinged on one thing: One shot kills. Aside from the spider, every ship has this ability (The Terrier does have those nasty bursts). Without it, the lanc is a sitting duck.
Post-change, you have a marginally effective flag room fighter. The spider still wins out on it within the flag room in my eyes though, and outside the flag room, the Lanc is easy prey for warbirds.
In short, you took an effective if underused mid-base ship, and turned it into a weak spider.
Like I say, for league and proper basing play, where the action does focus around the flag room, the new lanc might work better. But for Pub and pure-pub, where the action is generally a bit lower on the map, the old lanc was much more effective. I know pub players bragging about stats and records is a bit laughable, and people rarely believe them anyways, but I think this proves a point about the old Lancaster: Flying a lanc almost exclusively, I usually had an average kill of 120-140(i.e: Usually on the flag-holding team), and with Kill/Death ratios between 2:1 and 3:1. I am not boasting; I know there are better players with better records, but from what I've seen, this is usually pretty good. And this is Basing with a Lancaster. It was a very good ship prior to the change.
And for all the Lanc haters: The easiest to learn, most dangerous, and most popular ship with newbies is and always has been the Warbird. Stop calling me a newb when I shoot you. :-P
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