Stratagem Concept/Suggestion: Osprey Gunship Support
Talking in a different post led to a bit of a wild brain wave, and I was recommended to make another post about it.
There've been lots of posts asking for some variety of Gunship support, similar to the support we receive from Pelican 1 every time we're about to extract or a Mech Chassis drops in. Pelican-1 is great for the role, don't get me wrong, but it's far, far too much pressure on our good old Pelican Pilot to have to combat extract, combat drop, *and* provide dedicated Gunship support. Eagle-1 Is a fast attack craft, so definitely not meant to stick around providing air support for more than a bombing run, gun run, or rocket strike.
What might be nice as a hybrid between Orbitals and Eagle strikes is some real, honest gunship support. So, the concept follows to do something just like that; Osprey Gunships \[WORKING NAME\]
# Lore
Osprey's are in-atmospheric craft, operating from a local, mobile airfield. Due to their inability to leave atmosphere, they're only capable of local support rather than global. However, this weakness is a strength, as its specialized thruster assembly better allows them to provide close air suppport for troops on the ground. (This is to explain why you don't see them on your ship, as you would with Eagle-1 and Pelican-1)
# Mechanics
* Hovers in place for limited amount of time (30 seconds? 45 seconds?) * Fires in a cone away from the drop point, meaning placement is important. * Different kinds of Osprey Stratagems could have different cone types, depending on the weapon itself. * Example: CAS could have a relatively wide arc (120 degrees?) while more specialized rocket strikes might have a narrower one (45 degrees?) * Puts all other Osprey Stratagems on cooldown after a single Stratagem utilized, but the cooldown for all Osprey Stratagems is much faster than Eagle's rearm time. It effectively makes Osprey's all one use Stratagems for longer effect on target.
# Gameplay Example
* Player calls in Osprey for Close Air Support * After a short delay, Osprey gunship arrives, hovering over the beacon point and begins its support. * After a short period of time, Osprey must fall back to refuel and rearm, identical to Eagle-1 * All Osprey stratagems go on cooldown, but the cooldown is relatively short compared to Eagle-1's, due to more local armament and fueling facilities. * Comparison; Approx half to a third of the time.
# Example stratagems
* Gunship Support; Armed with door gunners equipped with MG's, primary mounting is an Autocannon. Wide cone for maximum overage. * Rocket Gunship Support; Fires a swarm of unguided rockets that prioritize Medium targets. Decent splash and good anti personnel damage. Thinner cone due to poorer angle of rocket pods. * Missile Gunship Support; Hovers in place, decent sized cone, firing guided missiles that prioritize Heavy and Elite targets. Very narrow cone, but continues to launch until time has elapsed. * Energy Gunship Support; Hovers in place, multiple beam weapons firing out of the doors and on an underslung mounting, focusing light and medium enemies. Wide cone, equal to MG's.
So there we go! Brainwave had that would be neat for a Gunship Support alternative to Orbital Strikes and Eagle Airstrikes, fulfilling the role that some have been asking for.