Originally Posted by PM07SNV

I think the problem is, you see this not so friendly sudnik when you first play and don't like it, and can't hit anything as you don't know why your missing, and can't wait for the Pilum, when you can shot in a true straight(ish) line, and you never go back.

I think in my case that was exactly it, and perhaps for a lot of other people. I didn't like the default engineer weapons, I could of sworn it was doing less damage and every time I ducked those unfriendly shots coming my way, I missed my perfectly aimed shot Well of course since then I realised it's because I can still aim even when I'm not looking at the armor. Once I got the Pilum, I found it oh so much better, joy of joys it would fly "straight(ish)" as you put it XD

If I'm facing some armor, the moment after I fire it's going to look in my direction and start firing. Being able to get out of the way of that is extremely important, I don't want to be in the same spot, I want to get the hell out of there. With the default rockets I'm stuck there aiming it still, even if I do duck and try aiming through solid objects I can't see through. Alright, players can shoot around walls and stuff so perhaps experience makes up for it.

But then you go onto the matter of lock tone and speed. When I'm in armor I love seeing the rockets coming my way instead of some Pilum shot, I get an extra couple of seconds to dodge (which would be hard for them to account for if they can't see me), or to aim and shoot them if they can see me, or even just spin a tank or APC so they hit my front and not my side. If I need to I'll still use the shield as I would against the Pilum. Furthermore, I get the warning tone even if I havn't even seen the enemy.

The speed of the Pilum can become very valuable in managing to hit that side before the enemy turns. As well as doing more damage since it simply kills them faster. The advantage of shooting a larger distance on a map like Suez I wouldn't have thought very useful, at that distance it's easier to dodge, but ok say you still hit it, the enemy doesn't have very far to back out of your range completely and repair safely. Same as a nice/lucky pilum shot at that distance.

I'd like to make some comments so you can see my reasoning on the below:

Originally Posted by Mixa

Pilium:
- "Hard" to get proper hit ~ Jengles: Hits where you aim except for a slight deviation.
- Only useful against slow ground vehicles ~ Jengles: Er, I shoot all types of things with the Pilum, pleanty of people die in moving buggys or even gunships that are a bit too low from Pilum shots.
- Shoot sound will still give your shot up if not close enough ~ Jengles: Shoot sound from either weapon will if the opponent is listening closely enough, sometimes hard to hear over VOIP and everything else though. Secondly, the enemy has longer to react from the defaults since they are slower.

Basic engineer anti armor (aka Mitchell and Sudnik):
+ Much more accurate than Pilium as you can guide it ~ Jengles: Only for large distances on moving objects. And you have to sit still trying to aim either from behind an object you can't see through, or whilst still visible to the enemy.
+ Can be used against air vehicles which movement can be predicted ~ Jengles: Same as Pilum. The rockets might be able to be adjusted a tiny bit before a Gunship flies past, but then the shots are slower so you have to account for even more enemy movement - making it harder to predict and so harder to aim. Taking both into account together they might cancel eachother out, they are both just as good. Are the default rockets sufficient to kill a gunship in 1?
+ Gets another + for accurate shots as you can pick sweet spots ~ Jengles: Adjust for sweet spots you originally didn't aim at? Yeah.

Adding those thoughts and the way I see it:

Pilium:
+ More damage than basic engineer anti armor weapon
+ (-) No locking sound (- because locking sound can scare armor off and force them to use shields)
+ Faster speed = less time for shields, hiding weak spots or dodging entirely
+ Hitting sneaky spots (walker vents for instance) is much easier and effective

- Harder to hit moving targets at a large distance
- Must aim where you want to hit

Basic engineer anti armor (aka Mitchell and Sudnik):
+ More accurate than Pilium as you can guide it for large distances where it helps
+ Gets another + for accurate shots as you can pick sweet spots after firing
+ Can be fired around a corner but it is very tricky to do

- Slightly smaller damage than Pilum
- (+) that damned lock on tune that isn't easy to get rid off even if aiming up
- Slower flying speed than Pilum's = more time for shields, hiding weak spots or dodging entirely
- You can't really move unnoticed to those single hit = kill spots as lock on tone will usually force shields
- For long shots, you either have to continue aiming and remain a target for much longer, or move behind cover while still aiming but unable to see your target
- Also for long shots, it leaves you in the same small area for much longer before you can move to a new position