Countering the pyramidion gatling/mortar setup

[MonsterMutt]

A pyramidion with a gatling/mortar setup can spell instant death if it sneaks up on you.  Let's discuss strategy on how to counter it!

My usual counter is a goldfish hellhound setup.  I try to get into the pyra's blindspot and then pop his balloon (hitting his armour whenever the balloon is down).  Hopefully the pyra will eventually break herself against the ground after a few good bounces.

It's my go-to method and as a bonus new players quickly get a hang of it.

BUT it's a very slow process if the engineers on the pyramidion have their game faces on.  I'd like to hear some faster strategies!

[Echoez]

Simply put: Teamwork.

[Lord Fontelroy]

I just started using that combo, and yeah it's a FAST kill especially combined with my ramming into them. I've also had success with flame up front on the Pyramid too.

[Captain Smollett]

Well any ship that's sneaks up on you will usually get a quick kill so it's important to keep situational awareness, especially when a pyramidion is respawning since they're prone to charging right back into the fray (yesterday Overwatch got a great kill in the Flotsam Dynesty Campaign by disabling the Junker after they killed the pyramidion and then killing the pyramidion again as it predictably charged back in).

I good blenderfish can 1v1 any ship and it's useful to split up engagements, which can be beneficial ally has an inherent advantage over the non disabled ship.  However if you want a lightning fast kill on a pyra it's all about raw firepower.  The best way to counter to a gat mortar pyramidion and achieve a rapid kill right now is with a mercury front gat mortar junker.  Firing off the mercury softens up the armor on the pyra increasing the armor advantage the Junker already has.  Once they come into gattling range simply turn your broadsides and take advantage of the pyras large hitbox as you pound it with gattling and mortar.  If they're silly enough to try to ram you (they often are) slap on a little kerosine and scoot around behind them out of their gun arcs to seal the kill. 

An even faster way to kill a charging pyra is with a galleon, a gattling carronade manticore or a mercury flak hwacha broadside will decimate and incoming pyramidion in seconds with a good gunner however it requires a patient ally to stick by the side of the galleon as it fires off into the distance.

These of course are the faster ways to kill a pyra, there are a great many more ways to do it.  I love to fly around pyras in a squid popping their balloons with carronades and shooting out their engines with artemis fire however this too is a very long kill.  The thing is however, when disabling ships it's not often necessary to kill them.  Often the job for a blenderfish (like all support ships) is to force 2v1 engagements in your favor.  Start fights at mid altitude, pop the balloon of one enemy so they drop out of the fight and then go 2v1 the other enemy.  If you shoot the other enemies armor instead of their balloon, you'll drop their armor for your ally to get the kill while the first enemy can't do anything to help them. 

So even though a blenderfish can get kills on its own; it's much more efficient to team up with your ally and create favorable engagements for your team than it is to try and kill things on your own.

[Captain Smollett]

I just started using that combo, and yeah it's a FAST kill especially combined with my ramming into them. I've also had success with flame up front on the Pyramid too.

Didn't mention it but a mortar on the side of a blenderfish can speed up the enemies demise once they're bouncing on the ground.

[Zenark]

Carronades really are a good counter, it takes one of the gunners off of the front left gun, sometimes both front guns if you're keeping up the pressure. Disabling other components or even taking out the armor won't dissuade the gunners from, well, gunning since the main deck engineer can manage that.

I've found its easy to counter a Pyra if they go in for a ram. Just pop a bit of Hydrogen or Chute Vent and watch them soar by you. While they're trying to turn, hit their engines with something that does shatter damage like a carronade, Artemis or even a mortar (though there's no shatter, there's enough AoE and damage to take out their engines anyway.) with no engines, they can't turn and will most likely pull the entire crew to the bottom deck. Their blind side is from 7 to 2 on a clock, stay there, keep up the pressure, and tell your ally to get his butt over to help you.

[Sammy B. T.]

Fly a Junker. Its super thin hull can be quite difficult to hit with a mortar, especially if you make sure to move around and change elevations in the fight.Also having a carronade side helps get them out of range, calls off one of the front guns, and if using heavy, can actually destroy components very effectively.

[Lord Fontelroy]

Carronades really are a good counter, it takes one of the gunners off of the front left gun, sometimes both front guns if you're keeping up the pressure. Disabling other components or even taking out the armor won't dissuade the gunners from, well, gunning since the main deck engineer can manage that.

I've found its easy to counter a Pyra if they go in for a ram. Just pop a bit of Hydrogen or Chute Vent and watch them soar by you. While they're trying to turn, hit their engines with something that does shatter damage like a carronade, Artemis or even a mortar (though there's no shatter, there's enough AoE and damage to take out their engines anyway.) with no engines, they can't turn and will most likely pull the entire crew to the bottom deck. Their blind side is from 7 to 2 on a clock, stay there, keep up the pressure, and tell your ally to get his butt over to help you.

You're right, the Hydrogen has been my bane lately. I'm stuck at a lower altitude than my enemy as a result, it's made me think about using it as a pilot.

[Echoez]

You're right, the Hydrogen has been my bane lately. I'm stuck at a lower altitude than my enemy as a result, it's made me think about using it as a pilot.

Counter with Chute Vent and fly below them to get out of their gun arcs, if they pop Hydrogen they will be going high, giving you enough space. A better alternative is to have a buffed balloon, that way you don't have to use Chute Vent and damage it in the process.

It all depents on what you want to do though, if you just want to keep gun arcs while still taking fire from them, go for Hydro.

[Letus]

Hwatcha

Can't shoot gatling or mortars when they get blown off
and they can't turn without engines.

Downside is you'll need something else to do the killing.

A good hwatcha fish can keep a double pyramidion team fully disabled while your own wingship can get the kills.

[Mr. Ace Rimmer]

I believe the Merry Men demonstrated last night just how effective a Galleon junker combo can be against two Pyramidions! Carnage ensued from accurate Hwatcha fire (1 burst destroys the hull armor, the next rips the hull apart.) with the Junker providing fire support and tanking like a boss.

[Rainer Zu Fall]

If you want more ideas on how to counter it, take a look here: https://gunsoficarus.com/community/forum/index.php/topic,2028.0.html
It is currently discussed there how to engage a pyramidion effectively!

[snor-laxatives]

I've found LumberFish to be a great counter for the ol' pyra.  Yes they should get close, but pop there balloons during there charge, and then fly straight over them to gain distance again.  But this is assuming your ally is there to mop up the kill, of course.

[QKO]

Outranging your opponent is always an option to be considered. If you have a squid or goldfish, consider taking the fieldgun or artemis as a side gun for this purpose. If you can force close combat fights, you can use carronade + flamethrower combination to destroy weapons, balloon and then everything else. When using ships like the spire you can either go for fieldgun + flak combo or attempt to disable and outdps him with double chaingun + hwacha. Mobula and Galleon can also outdps a Pyramidion at whatever range they decide to pick a fight.

Squid players should keep in mind that the pyramidion players easily get confused on the hull armor's status. Because it goes down so quickly, it is repaired as quickly. If they are emptying their flak/mortar while you bring up the hull again, they lose out on the majority of their damage. Use this to your advantage and either flee the scene or get in pyramidion's dead angle. As a junker, just try to get the 3 guns on him, you will outdps the pyramidion by a decent margin.

There are basic ways to stop basic pyramidion players. Players can adjust to these strategies and then it is up for you to adjust to that. As you get more and more experience you will learn how to deal with the ship better and better. Just think about what the ship's intentions are, what its range is and what the ship is doing. Every choice any player makes on his ship reveals a strength and a weakness. If a player tells his crew to man the front guns, he's weaker at the sides, if he tells the players to man the left side guns, he's weaker at the front but stronger at the side. By making his crew run, you can also avoid getting fired at.

[Byron Cavendish]

Pyra's are really easy to counter with just about any ship. I've taken down double pyra's with a spire lumberjack, and carronade squid, and any ship can do it. It's just about knowing the right load outs and having a good crew. Choosing your engagements are key no matter what you are flying.