Powerups

Thread for powerup discussion.

Stuff to think about:

• Set roles (players or planes) for who gets which powerup at spawn (after goal)
  
• Which powerups should we go for at start (map specific), do we always get the powerups or only when there is a wall or shield?
  
• Hierarchy for who gets and what powerup
  

-J

Grotto and cave are similar pupwise since most of the powerups are in the middle, between the spawnlines. Imo we should always contest for all of the available powerups in maps like these.
The bottom route of Grotto is a good place to flank from, especially if there are some good pups. One light should rush for the bottom middle but what about the one that is closer to our side? Can we afford to send another plane to get that or should it be collected by the dude who goes to get the bottom pup? Worst case scenario is that no one goes to bottom from our team and someone from enemy team flanks us with our own items.



The powerup on our side in planepark is too far away when we're on offense but is at a good place when we're on defense. Even if it was a shield, I don't see it being worth the time it takes to get it.
The safest way to get the top item would be to get it with a randa (TA > Trick). Every other plane end up in a really bad position if they rush for it. Should the randa always go for it and let someone else start with the ball?
The bottom pup is plausible for every light. Just need to be careful since the very middle of the map is a spam hotspot.

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Lab. The pup next to the spawn is mighty far away but if it's a shield, it could be base for a solid push.
The bottom pup is also miles away and nearly always really far away from the action. I don't think we should bother with that.
Who needs the other pup on our side the most? In a way it would make sense for a plane with short range to get it since otherwise they'd have to stick their neck out at start. However, whales could easily spam their missiles from the pup, they wouldn't lose dps as much as other planes.

Pup hierarchy could be really useful on that pup when we're on offense. If it's a shield (or wall to some extent) it should be given to the "head of the spear".

Just something to start with.

-J

i have a very powerup-centric playstyle in ladder where i aggressively fly after powerups from spawn and leave my team hanging out to dry for the most part because i'm fairly sure it won't get punished, but i'm not sure how well that fares against more organized pushes. for example i usually fly all the way out of my way to get the bottom left powerup on snow, which makes me essentially useless for the several seconds it takes me to grab it and get turned back around towards an area i can actually use it.

that being said, i think whether or not i should go back and grab the far-away powerups should be weighed based on what i would be doing otherwise. just going off the maps you listed, i generally don't go for the bottom powerups on grotto and planepark because i always try to contest the top middle powerup by rushing for it myself (if i have a good spawn) or just throwing damage down the choke to prevent optimal enemy usage. if it's not there, i'll usually fly down to grab the powerup but i can see the merits in leaving it and spamming chokes instead (especially if i'm the only emp). i think in those cases it's probably optimal to have the randa go down and grab it since they lack strong counterpush.  i don't think the randa should be grabbing the top middle powerup on offense as having the ball on the randa is too valuable to risk on grabbing a shield that A) might not be attainable due to spawn location and B) is likely not going to be that useful overall even if taken.

on maps like lab/maze/snow/darkwar where there is no middle powerup, however, i very strongly think that the recoilless/dogfighter should go grab the powerup (whatever it is) or an emp if we're not running a melee bip. this is because the start of those maps is often just a huge spamfest in the open middle choke, and the risk of getting 1shot by bomberspam or a random explo missile isn't worth the reward of getting 1 round of bip/dfloopy spam into that choke, where it is unlikely to actually kill anyone. this is different for hc/acid who have better perks for controlling fixed areas, so i think sending mssv or an emp after it is optimal regardless of what it is. an emp can usually toss an emp towards the enemy spawn on the way to the powerup, and exposing yourself to more than that by trying to circlespam is too risky imo.

also i'll just repost what i personally feel like is the optimal powerup hierarchy from the other thread, since it's more relevant to the discussion here:

shields - bip>emp>randa>bomber>acid>whale for taking shields on offense and defense
missiles - randa>all
walls - pretty much just the randa and whale should take for defense, randa>bip>loopy>heavies for offense
health - should have 1 designated light to go clear the hp for a better powerup during starts

I'm not entirely sure how important it is for certain types of planes to get certain types of power ups. But as a randa on a defensive spawn I usually grab one of the mid power ups. This is less risky as a TA than as trick for obvious reasons.

On maps where there's a power up just behind the spawn (i.e. funnel park) PLEASE let the randa get it. If another plane gets it they have to wrap all the way back around before engaging. The randa can just take it and reverse without wasting any time.

Fartso wrote:
On maps where there's a power up just behind the spawn (i.e. funnel park) PLEASE let the randa get it. If another plane gets it they have to wrap all the way back around before engaging. The randa can just take it and reverse without wasting any time.

One of my biggest pet peeves -_-

As for pups.. I feel I don't need to emphasise that everyone should be taking every chance to get them during the game. I can think of no successful team that hasn't been pup heavy. This hierarchy is of course only for when it's clearly a "you or me" scenario with another friendly.

Powerups win games.