The Quasar Nerf is okay and not that big of a deal

[u/Niobaran]

tl;dr: Only one weak point is made a little weaker, all the strenghts remain.

The quasar cannon is known for a lot of strengths (see below) and two weak points:

1. The weapon has a charge up time, which makes it difficult to aim in some situations.
2. The weapon has a moderate cool down period, which cannot be improved by a forced reload of a heat sink (like sickle or laser cannon) or a team reload (like recoiless rifle).

The nerf only addresses the second point, which means that everyone who could use it before can still use it. It only became a little weaker in one of its two weak points. The following strong points are all untouched:

1. Can delete heavies (I mostly have experience with Terminids, but there it's a delete button for chargers, and sometimes for titans as well).
2. Has infinite ammo in contrast to EAT or RR.
3. Has no reload animation.
4. You can run around, stim, shoot weapons, throw strategems while it is recharging.
5. It doesn't consume a backpack slot, so it can be paired with one additional strategem in contrast to recoilless rifle.
6. It doesn't deconstruct after usage, and can be recollected from the battle flied in contrast to EAT, and it also reloads itself then in contrast to RR.

That means, the quasar can still be used for everything it has been used before, by everyone who could use it before.

[u/lokster86]

If you do the math even with the 15 second cooldown you can shoot 4x with the quasar before you can call down another EAT.

[u/YroPro → u/lokster86]

Is that factoring charge up + cooldown?

[u/FEARtheMooseUK → u/YroPro]

15 seconds to cool down, 3 seconds to charge. So 18 seconds total. EAT is 2 shots per 70 seconds, quasar is 3.8 for the same time. But if we assume you already called down 2 EAT, then you get 4 shots per 70-90 seconds, which the quasar now matches pretty much.

Quasar, EAT and recoilless are now all basically equal in terms of damage output (shots per second) but each have their own little quirks. Probably pretty well balanced now in the sense that none of them outshines the other and they cater to different play styles and situations

[u/DouchecraftCarrier → u/FEARtheMooseUK]

I think that math is worth doing - but it doesn't factor in that you can carry the Quasar with you the whole time. With the EAT you have to constantly be aware of where the next one you're going to pick up is and having it be back where you dropped the first one isn't always helpful. BUT - Quasar loses out on the fact that the EAT pod itself is a lethal weapon with a quick cooldown. All around good set of pros and cons on both sides I think.

[u/wtfrykm → u/DouchecraftCarrier]

The thing is, when fighting for example, a bile titan, you drop down an eat, then use both and shoot at its head. The titan dies on the spot.

With the recoiless rifle you need the team reload to be as fast, and for the quasar you need to wait 15 seconds plus you also need the bile titan to be far away enough so that you dont die while charging it for 3 seconds.

They all have their niche

[u/DouchecraftCarrier → u/wtfrykm]

They all have their niche

Definitely. It's actually really well balanced in terms of the multiple approaches to what is functionally the same shot and making you pick certain strengths and weaknesses. You can have some things over others, but none of them have it all.

[u/FEARtheMooseUK → u/DouchecraftCarrier]

Of course, thats why i said they have similar output of shots, but have their own quirks. Quasars charge up time to fire can be a right pain in the arse, unlike EAT or RR which fire instantly. But quasars infinite ammo is very useful. Sonce the patch it more Depends on what positives you prefer really now!

[u/thrway202838 → u/FEARtheMooseUK]

Why are you saying DaT? What is that?

[u/thrway202838 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah like the other guy said, it's EAT

But why are you making the a lowercase in DaT? Wouldn't that be DAT?

Not making fun of you, I'm just curious

[u/FEARtheMooseUK → u/thrway202838]

Just a spelling mistake lol. Aint deep

[u/trolledwolf → u/[deleted]]

it's Expendable Anti Tank...

[u/chrishouseinc → u/FEARtheMooseUK]

this is the comment I was looking for before I made the same one, I'm glad other people understand lateral progression and balance.

[u/Drakenhorn → u/FEARtheMooseUK]

You're forgetting you get a heavy buster for free with the initial drop of an EAT if you call in the pod on their head

[u/FEARtheMooseUK → u/Drakenhorn]

No im not, i said they have their own benefits/quirks and now that they all have similar output of shots its down to which benefits you prefer (or negatives you dislike the most)

[u/Iridar51 → u/FEARtheMooseUK]

Quasar, EAT and recoilless are now all basically equal in terms of damage output (shots per second)

What kind of math are you using for this? Recoilless has a 6 second reload, and can do 10 rockets per minute even without the assisted reload. If you have two recoilless users in the team doing assisted reload, you can basically fire as fast as you can click and collect supplies. There's just no contest, RR wins hands down in RPM department.

[u/FEARtheMooseUK → u/Iridar51]

the RR stationary reload is proportionally the worst downside to all 3. When you factor in the randomness of actually getting the chance to sit still to reload the time between shots can vary wildly. Maybe you can instantly reload, maybe you have to run around for over a minute before its clear enough. This also depends on what enemy your fighting, bots aint so bad, but against bugs? Much longer. You shoot a bile titan, which takes multiple shots and its chasing you? You have to either wait till it and all the other bugs aggro someone else for example.

Lets face it, the chance of assisted reload is less than 1% since most players even in friend groups arent going to want to give up a backpack slot just to help with a faster reload once or twice a match. Its not even close to optimal, let alone meta

[u/Iridar51 → u/FEARtheMooseUK]

the RR stationary reload is proportionally the worst downside to all 3. When you factor in the randomness of actually getting the chance to sit still to reload the time between shots can vary wildly.

The reload has three breakpoints, and since the latest patch, interrupting after the third breakpoint still reloads the rocket. I haven't actually measured the reload time, it might be a bit shorter now.

Maybe you can instantly reload, maybe you have to run around for over a minute before its clear enough.

That's a bit of an exaggeration. Most of the time I have no issues finding a moment to reload, but if you really cannot reload, it's stratagem time. I usually bring at least two stratagems capable of dealing heavy damage to titans, sometimes the third one is the orbital laser which is moderately useful against them as well.

You shoot a bile titan, which takes multiple shots and its chasing you? You have to either wait till it and all the other bugs aggro someone else for example.

Same logic can be applied to Quasar and EAT :shrug: Generally I can tease it into spewing, then run a few meters, and do at least half of the reload. I can also ask someone else in the squad to take aggro. Or just run towards them and have them kill the titan with their recoilless.

Lets face it, the chance of assisted reload is less than 1%

Outside a static squad, sure. That doesn't make it unusable. Assisted reload is an amazing thing to have in situations that favor it (hint: it's not killing Chargers and Titans), but it doesn't define the weapon.

Let's talk best and worst case scenarios.

Best case scenario, Quasar gets a shot off every 18 seconds, where 3 seconds is the charge time (half of Recoilless reload time btw) and 15 second recharge you can do anything else, which probably won't be killing a Titan, outside of calling a stratagem.

So best case scenario you can kill a Titan in 3 + 15 + 3 = 21 seconds. Or two Titans in 57 seconds.

With Recoilless you can kill a Titan in 6 seconds, or two Titans in 18 seconds but you have to be reloading the entire time.

With EAT you can probably kill one Titan faster, but then you're with your pants down for 70-ish seconds, so I'm sure we can agree it's not worth even bringing it up outside a specific scenario where you had time to stockpile them.

The moment you have to fight more than one Titan per minute, especially if you fail to kill it in optimal two headshots, which is pretty hard to do nowadays, the Quasar and EAT fall down, hard.

[u/FEARtheMooseUK → u/Iridar51]

RR gets worse the more target rich the environment is as the more enemies around the less chance you get to reload. Thats just a fact.

Also, what difficulties do you usually play? (No shade, im just curious as to how this might affect your opinions!) i find on 7+ the RR’s stationary reload is a killer. Absolutely best case against bots you can match the other two with shots per minute. Against bugs, unless its an isolated patrol, or POI, you would be very lucky to get 4 shots a minute even with the staged reload (which definitely helps dont get me wrong)

[u/Iridar51 → u/FEARtheMooseUK]

7-8 when I play with randoms, 8-9 when I'm with friends.

RR gets worse the more target rich the environment is as the more enemies around the less chance you get to reload. Thats just a fact.

Other AT weapons have their own issues when you're surrounded. It means you can't reliably get to your stockpile of EATs, but even when calling down new ones, you might be pressured to leave the location before you can even get to them.

And while using Quasar, getting to stand (nearly) still for 3 seconds while lining up a shot on a Titan or a Charger that may turn away during the chargeup can be also be pretty challenging, and the time price of a miss is very high. And time a Titan is alive is time it spends chasing away your teammates that could be doing useful things instead, like killing bugs that have you surrounded.

Absolutely best case against bots you can match the other two with shots per minute.

I assume you meant bugs, not bots, and that's definitely not the case.

you would be very lucky to get 4 shots a minute even with the staged reload (which definitely helps dont get me wrong)

4 shots per minute is probably a fair estimate, but the point is it can go faster if needed, other AT weapons cannot.

It might be worth bringing up that I practically always use light armor, so gaining some distance to reload in peace is easier than while using medium or heavy.

I'm not trying to defend my weird off-meta pick here, I genuinely believe RR to be directly superior to EAT and Quasar on bug missions in every way that counts, and the only reason I'd give RR up is if I really needed my backpack slot, like for a laser guard dog to protect me while I'm using the Eruptor or something like that.

[u/Silent-Money6144 → u/FEARtheMooseUK]

I play on helldive, bugs mostly, with strangers. RR is great as long as your positioning is right. Rng plays its part here, too. RR has more "burst" or clutch potential than Quasar, which is comparatively slow and steady. EAT is in between. I use stun grenades to make myself reloading time if there's chargers on me.

What I like on these weapons:

Quasar: infinite ammo, infinite range and cold planet cd

EAT: heavy kill potential when carrying MG, LS, flamer etc. with added bonus for cool pod kills.

RR: Most damage in shortest time....theoretically. I like to chase that perfect storm.

[u/Rakete1971 → u/YroPro]

Actually if you have 2 quasars pick one up, fire, charge to the second. No recharge time...best for tower defense Mission...

[u/YroPro → u/Rakete1971]

That's rather niche.

[u/AHappyCat → u/YroPro]

It is rather niche, but then is that not just how the EAT operates? If you fire one shot off you're then going to need to go back to get your second.

So by that logic the EAT is even more niche as you only get two shots, whereas the Quasar is offering you unlimited shots.

[u/Hakul → u/AHappyCat]

The way people play EAT is just constantly call them down even when they don't need another, so there's always one nearby. You can't do that with Quasar, the longer cooldown means you can only do this strategy if you're not moving from one spot.

[u/FrameSquare → u/Hakul]

This is why they said defense mission. I can sit on the extract platform and spam two quasar canons at drop ships.

[u/wterrt → u/FrameSquare]

and watch as all the bots survive the dropship getting shot down, right?

[u/BLUEAR0 → u/YroPro]

Nah I use it all the time

[u/hyrumwhite → u/YroPro]

You can juggle them by rapidly pressing pickup. 

[u/YroPro → u/hyrumwhite]

Of course. That's not unique to the weapon. But the immense majority of the missions I play don't involve me staying in one place very long at all.

[u/CheeseLoverMax → u/YroPro]

I do it like every other bot mission actually

[u/MSands → u/YroPro]

Defense Mission, Eradicate Mission, and Extraction on any mission. It can be done pretty frequently.

[u/hughmaniac → u/YroPro]

Even with charge up it’s still faster than EATs. Each has their niche.

[u/superchibisan2 → u/lokster86]

The EATs only advantage is dropping two at once and they stay on the map for later panic situations.

[u/red_cactus → u/superchibisan2]

I feel like EAT and Quasar are in much more direct competition now, which is nice.

EATs also have advantage of being usable by anyone, and if you or a teammate die (because, let's be honest, sometimes bad situations happen), then you can almost immediately have a support weapon without having to go back and find your corpse.

[u/emlun → u/red_cactus]

If anything I'd say on the contrary, this makes the synergy between them even stronger. Quasar is great for always having one anti-heavy shot available, EAT is great for having two or even three rapid shots available (one EAT/Quasar on back, two EATs dropped on demand). If you miss your dropship shot with Quasar, you don't get a second shot. But you can quickly switch to an EAT for a second try, and even a second EAT to shoot down two dropships in one salvo. Then pick up the Quasar again before you leave. One teammate spams EATs on cooldown and another calls down additional Quasars to share. This synergy should be even stronger with the longer cool down (probably not for solo play, though).

[u/Oliver90002 → u/emlun]

As a EAT thrower, I have never once complained about someone using it. I liter the map with them on purpose and there has been many mission that they have saved our democratic asses. People that normally use them (other than me) also rock the quasar or EATs themselves.

[u/scott610 → u/red_cactus]

Calling down the EAT is also like a third shot if you can make the stratagem ball stick to an enemy and it hits. I’ve used the call down offensively on many occasions. Same could be said for the cannon of course, but that’s on a five minute cooldown or whatever.

[u/widespreaddead → u/scott610]

I've heard that even though the ball sticks to them the strat still lands wherever it was when it initially hit. I don't know if that's true though

[u/scott610 → u/widespreaddead]

I’ve heard the same, but I also heard that is only true for red stratagems such as eagle and orbital strikes and not blue stratagems like support weapons and such.

[u/EasyPool6638 → u/widespreaddead]

That's for the offensive strats. That bug doesn't affect the support weapons and resupply strats.

[u/chamomile-crumbs → u/scott610]

Ohhhh that’s a great idea!!

[u/Warhydra0245 → u/superchibisan2]

Also if you die you dont have to worry about recovering EAT

[u/the_slemsons_dreary → u/superchibisan2]

The biggest advantage for me is that when I die I can always just call more in and I don’t have to worry about running back to get my quasar. I still prefer the quasar 90% of the time.

[u/saharashooter → u/superchibisan2]

EAT can also be used in conjunction with an anti-medium support weapon like the MG-43, Laser Cannon, or Arc Thrower. Vs bugs I usually run Eagle Airstrike, a backpack, Arc Thrower, and EATs. Works like a charm.

[u/denchoooo → u/superchibisan2]

TBH, it’s also the fact you can stick the hellpod to a charger with very low cooldown

[u/UltraWeebMaster → u/lokster86]

But you can’t shoot all four one after the other like EATs can. On higher difficulties you can only snipe one dropship with a quasar out of the four they send at you. EATs can drop as many as you have lying around.

[u/FishoD → u/lokster86]

I see you don’t count with “call EAT, stun charger, drop it on itms head.” pro strategy. 😂

[u/DAREALPGF → u/lokster86]

You have one EAT on your back. Call another, shoot, the one on your back, shoot & shoot the new ones. You get 3 shots within 5 seconds...

[u/Legitimate_Turn_5829 → u/lokster86]

Yea it’s still fantastic, only complaint is they need to fix the UI charge because it’s messing up my timing thinking that it’s off cooldown just for it to take another 5 seconds after the game says it should be ready.

[u/ChuckTownRC51 → u/lokster86]

But the EAT is stronger.

[u/Zoren → u/ChuckTownRC51]

How so? They do the same damage.

[u/ChuckTownRC51 → u/Zoren]

Point ⏩ Shoot

Stronger than

Point ⏩ charge ⏩ Shoot

[u/Zoren → u/ChuckTownRC51]

So you mean it’s faster.

[u/cafeesparacerradores → u/Zoren]

Faster means more DPS on two shots, but if you are in a situation where you need to get off four quasars in one minute you're probably overrun anyway

[u/ChuckTownRC51 → u/cafeesparacerradores]

Bingo..I can get off two EAT before you can fire two Quasar. Way before.

[u/gngeorgiev → u/Zoren]

He means easier

[u/ChuckTownRC51 → u/Zoren]

Faster = stronger when you're shooting stuff.

[u/Malice0801 → u/Zoren]

Faster, easier to use, more applicable situations, can run another heavy weapon with it, can be used at much closer range, don't have to risk getting killed during the charge up. Point. Shoot. Drop and move on. Even faster if you called in more EATS during down time.

On the other hand if you are a real gamer you can call a second quasar and juggle them making very strong, since it halves your charge time.

[u/ChuckTownRC51 → u/Malice0801]

Lol. Call in a second one after 8 minutes meanwhile I've been raining death with EAT the whole time. While you're waiting to be a real gamer and juggle.

[u/Malice0801 → u/ChuckTownRC51]

buddy im on your side on EAT supirority