Ghetto Gunships

[sasin]

Hey,

I had some questions about ghetto gunships. I got kind of excited after reading the long discussion in the normal forum about t3 transports (by the way, they shouldn't really be nerfed from the sound of it... but please help me out anyways even if you think they should ).

I tried to use a t3 ghetto gunship in a 2v2 game and it felt like it wasn't firing at all. Is this tidbit from the supcom wiki true?

"It is somewhat rare to see a player using this craft as a ghetto gunship since its onboard LABs only attacks enemy units in patrol mode, but having the firepower of 28 mech marines added to a ship plus the two cannons on the transport allows you to inflict heavy damage. Using it as a gunship is not a bad idea in theory."

Also,

"Using the Continental as a gunship has its flaws. A Continental does not automatically engage targets (unless set to patrol) unlike the T2 Star Lifter, and although shield health and hull health combined totals 7500, only the shields health will protect light assault bots from harm. Once a Continentals shield is taken down, LABs (light assault bots) become extremely vulnerable to AA, especially flak. If the LABs are destroyed (which they easily are), the Continentals direct fire DPS drops significantly (a Continental with no LABs does 66 DPS to ground targets). Since the Continental uses a shield bubble to protect its units, an interceptor can fly into the shield and destroy the LABs. Flak has been observed to destroy LABs in groups, even while the shield is still on. A smart commander would build flak if found facing T3 Ghetto Gunships. If you are wanting to use a cost effective gunship (mass to DPS wise), try considering the UEF T2 Star Lifter, which when outfitted to be a gunship has a mass-to-DPS ratio of 2.53, and will automatically engage targets rather than landing and exposing itself to ground fire.
This renders the Continental impractical for all but transport and base defence, where it excells in both areas"

Do labs still not fire out of a t3 transport if you don't patrol? And, which tech level transports are most likely to be ghetto gunships? Does anyone other than UEF do it (I think the answer is no, and I guess I'm wondering why not?)

I watched the tutorials, but I don't think they answered these questions? I can't watch again now because I'm at work but let me know if they already are answered.

[Gorton]

Labs will fire out of any transport regardless of whether it's on patrol or not. I believe it has to be MOVING, so you can't just leave it somewhere since the trans will land.
UEF ghettos are usually best mostly because of the fire rate of the lab; that and their t2 trans has most hp. Putting them on Seraphim t2 air transports is probably best.
(More health, more docking clamps..) etc.

The flak does hit straight through the shield; it's a bug.

You will mostly find t2 trans being used, but earlier game t1 trans as well. After a little while though t1 trans aren't practical as even one stationary t1 aa will kill a t1 trans, and it doesn't take too many interceptors or ground mobile t1 aa.

Best counter is mobile t2 flak or having aerial supremacy and just shooting them down.

[ZaphodX]

Don't try a continental GG because they always have flak by the time you get it out and 1 flak and the bots all die. Sera GG are always good

[Kurbain]

GGs are probably your best bet if you know you are going to lose and want to snipe the enemy commander, but in normal situations it would be silly to use them for anything else apart from a bit of harassment.
Make sure the enemy doesn't find out about them, though, since they are easy to counter from T2 onwards as the others have mentioned already.
It's always easiest to use flak to destroy the LABs rather than destroy the transports, so if you are on your way to winning, just build a bit of T2 AA with your commander to protect him just in case.
Air-superiority shouldn't be neglected against the UEF, however, since the continentals have 60 ground DPS on their own. 5 of them can do 18.000 damage in a minute.

Try to assist the GGs with ground forces for distraction if the enemy commander has a lot of units around him since the LABs in the GGs fire at targets randomly and can't be controlled.

Really early T1 GGs can be very useful if you can micro your ground units and harass enough to ensure you are not going to be overrun by the time your GG has done decent damage. A full UEF T1 GG only costs 130 mass and 640 energy more than a Cybrant Jester and offers 133 DPS.
They cost 330 mass and 5640 energy in total, which is equivalent to about 10 tanks.

[ColonelSheppard]

yes the tutorials answered this questions especially these two:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6c77KHH ... l0&index=7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5fLQ9qu ... 0&index=16

[Nombringer]

Also, search "TLO Finns" in YouTube, and go to TLO vs duris, by praisegugleourmaster it showcase's some really nice ghetto play.

[sasin]

Thanks guys, advice appreciated as always.

Is there a reason that the aeon GGs are inferior to other ones, out of curiosity? Why are aeon GG's less often built, or doe sit just seem that way to me?

[Gorton]

Because aeon ghettos cannot be focus fired. The other factions trans have weaponry on their trans allowing you to target, and the labs onboard will attack what the trans does: Hence, you can focus all the dps.
Aeon trans don't have a weapon, and so the labs just attack everything. Not very productive.

[sasin]

Because aeon ghettos cannot be focus fired. The other factions trans have weaponry on their trans allowing you to target, and the labs onboard will attack what the trans does: Hence, you can focus all the dps.
Aeon trans don't have a weapon, and so the labs just attack everything. Not very productive.

Thanks! I noticed yesterday when I tried to do it... fortunately my teammate had real gunships and it all worked out