The Close Air Support HELL and the Joint Terminal Attack Controller (J-TAC)

[Mafs]

Please remember, close air support isn't always in the air. Be patient.

And if CAS isn't available, maybe the mortar is. I've been on JTACs where marines shout at the busy pilots for CAS while I sit around at the mortar never getting any coordinates. All you have to do is switch the mode on your binos...

Also some benos don't know difference between green and red dots. I have fun sometimes harassing benos from a distance with range finders and watching them scatter when the dot spawns

[BeardedWall]

I don't really understand how the JTAC system works.. but I have been finding JTAC kits lately, empty of everything but the earpiece tie in..

Makes me wonder if someone is just running around marking stuff randomly.

Don't you NEED that part to like... communicate?

[Grubstank]

And if CAS isn't available, maybe the mortar is. I've been on JTACs where marines shout at the busy pilots for CAS while I sit around at the mortar never getting any coordinates. All you have to do is switch the mode on your binos...

Also some benos don't know difference between green and red dots. I have fun sometimes harassing benos from a distance with range finders and watching them scatter when the dot spawns

The problem with mortar right now is that it costs too much for the marines to run. While it can fill the role of a quick response light CAS, the damage output is more an annoyance than anything. Not to mention the often extensive up front work/lasing required to establish a good, responsive killing field.

And while many of the CAS POs have been great lately, decent mortar engineers have been in low supply. So when you do finally get a decent engineer on the mortar, you still have to deal with all the supply issues, etc.

[Hunk1]

The problem with mortar right now is that it costs too much for the marines to run. While it can fill the role of a quick response light CAS, the damage output is more an annoyance than anything. Not to mention the often extensive up front work/lasing required to establish a good, responsive killing field.

And while many of the CAS POs have been great lately, decent mortar engineers have been in low supply. So when you do finally get a decent engineer on the mortar, you still have to deal with all the supply issues, etc.

Well, the problem is, Mortar is usually requested to do 2 shots or more per firemission, so you run out of shells PRETTY quickly. I used to be a Mortar Operator main, but when you run out of shells, RO never provide a crate with more shells.

Mortar is usually shit because payload is 3 HE 3 Incendiary 3 Frags 2 Smokes and 2 Flares.

Maybe if Mortar teams get Fabricators to produce ammo like a Dropship fabricator, we would see more uses.

[That Happy Cat]

One problem with fire missions is that you have to choose your fire mission BEFORE you can select a target and see what you're about to fire upon. This makes multiple fire missions largely pointless: for example, if you chose a -6 left gimballed fire mission, and then you look at a lase and it turns out the boiler is at +5 right to the midline, you have to deselect the target, change your selection to your +6 right gimballed fire mission, then go back in; by which time the boiler may well have moved.

It really should be the other way around: let you choose your target, see your target, THEN choose the best fire mission for the job. Then we would have reason to make fire missions like -6 gimballed, +6 gimballed, 0-4 distance focused fire, 8-12 maximum range focused fire, etc.

[Hunk1]

One problem with fire missions is that you have to choose your fire mission BEFORE you can select a target and see what you're about to fire upon. This makes multiple fire missions largely pointless: for example, if you chose a -6 left gimballed fire mission, and then you look at a lase and it turns out the boiler is at +5 right to the midline, you have to deselect the target, change your selection to your +6 right gimballed fire mission, then go back in; by which time the boiler may well have moved.

It really should be the other way around: let you choose your target, see your target, THEN choose the best fire mission for the job. Then we would have reason to make fire missions like -6 gimballed, +6 gimballed, 0-4 distance focused fire, 8-12 maximum range focused fire, etc.

That takes WAY too many time.

I do my firemissions like this: HOOVY Mini+Rocket
HOOVY Mini
GAU ONLY
Area Supression
Scouting.

THE ONLY FIREMISSION I USE GIMBALS is Area Supression WHEN i use double gaus. Gimbals on firemissions are extremely pointless unless you plan to clear with a wide cone of a area or remove benos walls. Gimbals are straight up useless for actual attack on benos

[Grubstank]

That takes WAY too many time.

I do my firemissions like this: HOOVY Mini+Rocket
HOOVY Mini
GAU ONLY
Area Supression
Scouting.

THE ONLY FIREMISSION I USE GIMBALS is Area Supression WHEN i use double gaus. Gimbals on firemissions are extremely pointless unless you plan to clear with a wide cone of a area or remove benos walls. Gimbals are straight up useless for actual attack on benos

I tend to use gimbals in my patterns, mostly because it's extremely rare for anything to be directly under your attack path. I either alternate the gimbals in a (0, +2/-2...) pattern (which increases spread without affecting center killing power), or start with that alternating pattern and gradually increase gimbal to 4/5 towards the end of a 12 tile fire mission. Slower moving (delightfully squishy) xenos who are in the path of CAS will often jink to the left or right once they see the landed shots coming their way, and I imagine it causes a lot of butthurt when the CAS suddenly jumps to the left/right at the end of the run.

Your mileage may vary

[That Happy Cat]

That takes WAY too many time.

I do my firemissions like this: HOOVY Mini+Rocket
HOOVY Mini
GAU ONLY
Area Supression
Scouting.

THE ONLY FIREMISSION I USE GIMBALS is Area Supression WHEN i use double gaus. Gimbals on firemissions are extremely pointless unless you plan to clear with a wide cone of a area or remove benos walls. Gimbals are straight up useless for actual attack on benos

As it is they are, as you say, not worth using, because it takes too much time to [select fire mission -> select target -> observe target -> deselect target -> select a better fire mission -> select target -> fire].

However, if the process is instead [select target -> observe target -> select fire mission -> fire] then it would be a lot better.

[nekcy]

I feel like everytime i've tried to call for air support it either wasn't worth shooting, too weak support or 30 people calling for cas at the same time.

[FGRSentinel]

Part of the issue is that a lot of JTAC operators and medics seem to think that CASEVAC is always running with two MTs waiting to reload the weapons and two doctors waiting to transport wounded to Medbay, on top of us being able to take off the exact instant we land if we wanted to.

It's important to remember that none of this is the case: even on rounds where nothing's happening, 50-75% of MT/CE players would rather do anything instead of sit in the hangar to help us reload and the vast majority of doctors can't sit and wait for us to bring wounded to them. These both mean that POs, with the lowest Loader skill in the game that allows them to use a Power Loader, have to both reload their own dropships and move wounded to Medbay before they can launch again. Some POs are on top of things and make sure to have all the ammo out and ready before first drop with multiple roller beds on the dropship for Medevac. Others... Let's just say I had one round where a PO printed weapons, attached them, loaded them all, and then just flew with no ammo ready for a bit before cryoing and I had to spend more than 10-20 minutes begging MTs to help with ammo and doctors to move wounded or I'd have to abandon CAS strikes altogether. In the end, I ended up postponing reloading the weapons for something like half an hour because of constant Medevac requests and a lack of any help with the dropships.

If you go Medic or pick the JTAC kit, remember that there will be delays due to the fact that we have to rely on shipside roles that are either unwilling or unable to lend us a hand to do stuff that takes us out of the dropship.