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Why would you ever take a Hunter scout vehicle?


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I've been on three missions with it and the last mission it could only get one space out the skyranger because (wait for it) there was A TREE THERE.

So if maps randomly prevent use of this vehicle why take it?

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Well, that is indeed bad luck and should not have happened.

And yes, you could have shot it down.

I find these vehicles incredibly helpful as they can scout without dieing instantly when being shot at. Well...a unit with a shield might survive 1 turn of being shot at if he has some luck in the beginning of the game.

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Hunter scout vehicles are useful in some situations. In night missions they can see their full distance because of headlights making them incredibly good scouts. On terror missions they give you durability, firepower, and cover straight off the ramp of the dropship, which is useful because you usually come under fire right away.

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cant you shoot down the tree?

Yes. I often use my machine-guns for landscaping duties. Especially helpful if you know there's an alien behind one of those hedges and you want to make yourself a gap!

The reason I'd never take a hunter is:

1. They're expensive (compared with outfitting two soldiers)

2. They're generally less effective than the two soldiers would be

3. They die far too easily

4. A squad of 6 feels far too small

But most importantly:

4. If I take a hunter, that means there's two soldiers back at base not earning experience who could have been

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Got news for you..... IT HAPPENS. Standard game, no mods.

I never said it didn't happen. I was asking only because - *in theory* - it shouldn't be an issue on any of the official maps and wanted to check that it definitely was one.

If you encounter it again, it would be useful to have a screen shot as it'd be really simple to get rid of, even in an unofficial patch.

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I'm pretty sure the official maps leave space for a vehicle to exit the dropship. I've never seen this happen.

I think they are quite useful. They have a lot of TUs, and are great at exploring early on. I also use them as forward cover for my guys as they move around the map as well.

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They're pretty much gimped MG troopers. That 50 round belt that is unreloadable is just not enough of a trade off for the larger TU well, in my opinion. Especially if they're still as fragile as I remember them to be (i.e. can only take 1-2 shots before being knocked out).

If anything, I'd wait only after I can also produce the laser cannon, but by then I'd probably already unlocked the Hyperion.

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They're pretty much gimped MG troopers. That 50 round belt that is unreloadable is just not enough of a trade off for the larger TU well, in my opinion. Especially if they're still as fragile as I remember them to be (i.e. can only take 1-2 shots before being knocked out).

If anything, I'd wait only after I can also produce the laser cannon, but by then I'd probably already unlocked the Hyperion.

Read your infantryman's uplifting primer again soldier. The MG hunter can hold 120 rounds.

Also, in my experience they always survive at least 2 shots. I've have one take two bursts and keep on trucking.

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I've had the same problem with the scimitar. Its laser pulse cannon is amazingly powerful but it just can't take a punch whenever I put it in the fight. The one time I brought one to a terror mission it died before it even left the dropship. If they got repaired like interceptors do after getting killed I'd say its worth it but I just can't afford the expense of replacing it every other mission.

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I also think the vehicles should get retrieved from battle field.

It does not have to be free though.

Depending on the damage state there should be an option to either rebuild or wreck.

With damage state I mean the four states that I have seen so far (I am still in V21):

1 - Damaged only in HP, so still operative. Auto-repaired in base.

2 - Damaged badly so that wheels and top are off and hull is scorched, not operative anymore and treated like a fallen soldier in ground combat. Auto-repaired in base. (Only have seen this with Hunter so far.)

3 - Heavily damaged, hull wrinkled. Total loss.

4 - Total annihilation, vehicle vanished completely so that soldiers can cross the position. Total loss.

As long as my observations were not screwed by bugs (!) I think state 1 and 2 are reaaly reasonable. State 2 and 3 should have the mentioned option to handle costs versus time to be operational again.

Regardless of all above, I also think the vehicles are not sturdy enough, 1-2 shots easily destroy them. Yeah, Hyperion too.

EDIT: Just remembered; Scimitar and Hyperion will show the Hunter wreck in state 2 and 3. At least in V21, I don't know if that has changed.

Edited by thixotrop
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I am so used to have a Hunter or Scimitar in the squad that I can't play without them... Early on they are mobile cover, good scout (TUs, full vision at night), pretty solid DMG if it hits or guaranteed pin down, and once you will get pulse lasers on those babies... there is no stopping to them... some obstacle blocking your path.... well boom, no obstacle and still plenty of shots to spare.

I often run my tank forward with two guys following it as a mobile cover, then I have 4 other men doing flanking/sweeping duty. In case of engagement I open up with the pulse laser shot. If it hits - it kills, even the higher tier androns and medium drones, then I plan my next moves based on the result of the opening move. Sure they cost more than a raw soldier, but less than a soldier kited out with armor and better weapons, and can take some direct hits from the front.

I've lost 2 Hunters, but they did their job. I have yet to lose a single Scimitar tank. With the next gen drop ship you can have tank goodness AND 8 troops.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I love them. One has to remember though, that they are not as tough as their looks might suggest.

They mainly work due to their massive firepower. In one turn they can advance fast and still blow an alien to shreds along with the cover it has been hiding behind. Never expose them more than absolutely necessary.

One thing that seems really odd when playing with them is the low TU cost for turning. Spin that tank!

Edit: Also, the hunter can serve you well for a long time in the phases where Alenium and Alien Alloys are scarce. The weapons are upgraded for free...

Edited by theSovereign
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I agree, Hunters are extremely useful in the early game for minimizing casualties. You're getting less soldier XP, but you're also losing less to casualties with the end result being a net gain in my opinion. They get less useful as the game goes on, I stop bringing them once I get predator armor and generally never bother with Hyperions, but the Hunter is extremely useful when it can fit out the front door, though it is a legitimate problem when it gets blocked.

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I tried to use a hunter a few times to cover the naked troops before you get wolf. You know, since they dont get experience they can die instead of the leveling troops, but truth is, they die so fast, its not worth the moneh, which is more and more scarce as the recent updates go.

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I find them useful: the starting machine gun is good for pinning foes, and the laser cannon it like a rocket, except it can actually move and take hits. I usually send my hunter barreling forward to find that UFO, and it does so in half the time my soldiers alone would. And it's useful when you have a tank to blast down the door of a landing craft, roll inside, and murder the bottom floor guys.

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