As it stands now this skill is a complete waste of time and a perk slot. It is inferior to almost any other kind of weaponry, requires a very specific situation, and will always put you in a stun while drawing attention with a loud bang noise and smoke effect. It is also prone to not functioning at all, sometimes dealing no damage to enemies who were right next to you. The fact that it is also very ping-dependent, and high ping players seem almost invulnerable to its effects doesn't help either. A sprinting character is impossible to target with an Air Stomp, and if you manage to even slightly damage one, it is just sheer luck.

So here are some ideas that would maybe make this into an actually useful combat skill instead of something to mess around with.

Increase damage and blast radius. Like I said, moving characters are hard to hit while sprinting characters are completely impossible. Also, for the time it actually takes to execute, a direct hit from an air stomp should always be a one hit kill, considering that even a power jump followed by an air stomp takes MORE time than running up to somebody and tapping the melee twice.

Increase drop speed, allow for some air control, and change the camera angle. When dropping from a bigger height you are almost always sacrificing accuracy for power since the falling speed is so slow that by the time you actually get to the ground, your target will most likely be out of range. Also you can't really manouver yourself after you initiate the stomp, so some air control would allow for better accuracy. But only if the camera angle is changed. Right now it locks into this weird position where you don't really see what's happening below you.

Remove recovery time ENTIRELY! This makes no sense. Not only is the skill super situational and is always worse than using a gun or an explosive, you also get penalized for using it with a long four second animation during which you are open to attack. Even the bonus you get at level 3 of the perk doesn't mitigate that, it should be removed entirely.

Should it be usable without the perk selected? Sure, but keep the perk. Just make it a Power perk. Air stomp being armor makes no sense at all, it's related to jumping and punching! And I do think that it should be available to everybody to allow for some fun moments, but it should also have its own perk that would bring poweful bonuses and allow the skill to be used offensively with good results.

I'm not saying all of these should be implemented, especially since things like higher damage + faster drop speed would just make this skill into a nuke as the damage increases with more speed. Just some ideas I had while grinding the kills.

I'm currently trying to level up Airstomp - I'm at 35 kills and having fun doing it but like you say, you really have to go out of your way to get a kill with this. Plus it's almost certain you will be killed after using it. I'm all for having this available to everyone as part of the suit with maybe some buffing to level 3 status.

Faster recovery from stance doesn't seem like enough of a reason to spend all that time leveling up. Maybe they should add a level of overcharge for your health that lasts a few seconds afterwards. This could increase dependent upon the power you managed to get into the stomp. So if you powerjump of a cabin or such you get 150% health perhaps but if you jump from the rooftops on Skyline you get 300%.

you may look here: http://www.gamesas.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=16054

and post some suggestions what would be better.

While I disagree with the extra health bonus, as it would take away the whole point of the cooldown, I do agree that an upgrade should create a wider area of effect. No falling damage is nice, but is just as achievable with armouring up before jumping, or even airstomping if you think it's worth it. Imo it should go as follows

Air stomp
Air stomp II: reduced cooldown
Airstomp III: Increased area of effect.

If the diameter of the shockwave were to be increased by 30% or so upon earning AS3, it would be beneficial without being imbalanced, and somewhat make up for the odd occasional bugginess of the move.

EDIT: just to clarify I disagree that Air Stomp should be removed as a Perk and available to everyone, as it undermines our ability to choose where we invest our points, as well as potentially wasting hours of our gameplay time if the replacement were unsatisfactory.

Absolutly agree, the air stomp should be a regular gameplay option like the slide is. specially on account of how limiting it is. and the recharge you have to get it is very obsolete and crytek should put out a thread asking us what we think the perk should be replaced with. but idunno how the going to replace it as perk on the consoles.

+1 to everything OP said.

The only positive of Airstomp is the theoritical idea that it is your only area of effect damage with unlimited ammo. As for in practice... well +1 to OP.

Besides height advantage has always been what it was. Why would you pick a perk that tells you: gamble a frag or maybe more by dropping from your height advantage.

I brung it to lvl2 and despite my hopes of using it for some sort of super mobile ninja module mix - for example stomp lvl2 covert ops lvl3 / stealth enhance lvl3 and mobility enhance lvl3 - I quickly said to hell with free fall damage and back to Nano Recharge or Energy Transfer.

Even if I reached lvl 50 yesterday I still have a few modules to get to lvl3: Detonation Delay being at lvl 2, Blind Spot lvl 2 and Proximity Warning lvl1. I played all the way by ditching the lvl 3 modules as long as I had to lvl up the others from each category. Soon all Power Modules will be maxxed out as Stealth Modules already are.

...Guess which one I thought "too long and tedious to get to lvl3"? That's right. Air Stomp. >_>

I brung it to lvl2 and despite my hopes of using it for some sort of super mobile ninja module mix - for example stomp lvl2 covert ops lvl3 / stealth enhance lvl3 and mobility enhance lvl3 - I quickly said to hell with free fall damage and back to Nano Recharge or Energy Transfer.

You described my exact build. I also used a shotgun because there is a slight moment where you can open fire from the hip during the recovery, and it did save my ass a couple times after a failed stomp. And yeah, the fall damage thing is really pointless when you can just use armor on landing and there are really very few instances where you can fall to your death.

...Guess which one I thought "too long and tedious to get to lvl3"? That's right. Air Stomp. >_>

It can actually level up pretty fast. During the last 50 kills I have gotten so good with properly using it that I managed to get 5+ stomp kills out of every match. My farming grounds were this:

IA only. Crash site seems like a good idea but really isn't. Get mobility and stealth enhance to level 3 so that you can essentially camp on the rooftops. You need something high enough to kill and low enough to be able to aim your stomps. Good examples include glasshouses on skyline, buildings on evac zone, the tents and the big building on statue, the platforms and trucks on parking deck, etc.

You can hope for two things.

Either the match is filled with newbies that don't sprint and have no suit mode on while walking, and their aim svcks enough that firefights take enough time for you to bust in there and get multiple kills.

Or you will have to play on Pro. Now I despise Pro because it really is a campfest, but the 50% max health makes it easier for you to get frags. People are a lot more alert to cloaked enemies so you will get busted a whole lot more, but as I also said there are a lot of campers, allowing you to safely manouver yourself into a position where you can take him out mario style. If you manage to find a pro game with a couple newbies, even more frags for you.

Oh and don't ever play on servers with high pings, you won't get any kills there.

I really don't see how people are having such issues getting kills with airstomp. You don't need to camp on rooftops at all. I purely run n gun, but I've built it into my playstyle that I'm always looking for an airstomp, so if I see a group of enemies and something to jusp off, I do; otherwise I just fight them normally.

Without camping or devoting my life to it I'm able to get average 3-5 kills agame with it - yes, sometimes it **** up and I doe, but who cares? its a game, and air stomp is friggin fun.

Signed !!!

Signed !!!

You sign here: http://www.gamesas.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=16054

You don't need to camp on rooftops at all.
I was describing deliberate grinding, not a regular playstyle.

Pity you dont drop harder when in armour mode...the fact you cant jump and walk like the hulk would imply far dense material while armoured up

I brung it to lvl2 and despite my hopes of using it for some sort of super mobile ninja module mix - for example stomp lvl2 covert ops lvl3 / stealth enhance lvl3 and mobility enhance lvl3 - I quickly said to hell with free fall damage and back to Nano Recharge or Energy Transfer.

You described my exact build. I also used a shotgun because there is a slight moment where you can open fire from the hip during the recovery, and it did save my ass a couple times after a failed stomp. And yeah, the fall damage thing is really pointless when you can just use armor on landing and there are really very few instances where you can fall to your death.

...Guess which one I thought "too long and tedious to get to lvl3"? That's right. Air Stomp. >_>

It can actually level up pretty fast. During the last 50 kills I have gotten so good with properly using it that I managed to get 5+ stomp kills out of every match. My farming grounds were this:

IA only. Crash site seems like a good idea but really isn't. Get mobility and stealth enhance to level 3 so that you can essentially camp on the rooftops. You need something high enough to kill and low enough to be able to aim your stomps. Good examples include glasshouses on skyline, buildings on evac zone, the tents and the big building on statue, the platforms and trucks on parking deck, etc.

You can hope for two things.

Either the match is filled with newbies that don't sprint and have no suit mode on while walking, and their aim svcks enough that firefights take enough time for you to bust in there and get multiple kills.

Or you will have to play on Pro. Now I despise Pro because it really is a campfest, but the 50% max health makes it easier for you to get frags. People are a lot more alert to cloaked enemies so you will get busted a whole lot more, but as I also said there are a lot of campers, allowing you to safely manouver yourself into a position where you can take him out mario style. If you manage to find a pro game with a couple newbies, even more frags for you.

Oh and don't ever play on servers with high pings, you won't get any kills there.

Meh, I dunno. There are many games where despite having a map with more opportunities to stomp it is often that you can't get in any just because of the situation being a tad too intense at times (the noobs wise up and all that ^^) I guess I should try to find servers with the Pro mode to rack up the kills a lot easier.

However in some specific spots having a L-Tag with you and any other boomy spammy stuff (L-Tag+other weapon with LoadoutPro, SidePack with an assault rifle with nade launcher barrel + rocket launcher/c4) to pin your target before diving on them. It's effective. You get 2 basic reactions: the static dude and the zomgimouttahere dude. If your ambush is done properly and you play with sound, he's gonna have trouble figuring out where he's being shelled on.

Another very useful tool preceding a stomp is a well placed flashbang. You know this dude is a dashing daredevil or someone just running all around? Stick that bang right at him. Well thrown flashies are actually very effective whatever you want to use after doing it. This one is my only viable way I found to stomp someone on a server in which I have high ping or if my target is horribly laggy The dude just CAN'T move.

I tend to use it a lot less often though even when I *could* get some frag out of it for one simple reason: thinking steps ahead. If I got stomp and proper positioning I'm often aware of a good part of the situation on the map. When I know that I can stomp this/these guys and that the other guys that are about to come around in whatever angle and range to take me out, I just refrain myself from stomp-kamikazing :< As of placements that isolate a lot of angles to make retaliation a minor risk, it generally means that the spot is more limited in the stomp moves and that my overall understanding of the opponent's positions will be that limited as well.

Honestly Air Stomp cudda been renamed something else and make it an Air mobility thing; like throwing kicks on walls or opponents, bouncing in the opposite way and so on.

There are frustrated trick jumping people out there y'know? *rollseyes*

Ok one last thing. Experiment around the map and try to do some... how could we call this, slope jumping? If you are full sprint speed (most recommended to be having a high mobility weapon in hand), there are some places that makes you sort of slip on the texture and make you go higher in your jump. I discovered this by accident on Lighthouse by sprint jumping and wanted to land behind some pile of rocks. I was still in the raising of the jump and the angle of the rocks slope wasn't abrupt enough to stop me, so my nanosuit guy just slid off of it and raised him in the air even higher.

Just throwing that one out there if any of you Stompers wanna try some sort of trick jump followed up by a Stomp frag. Those would make up for some SICK video. Seriously.

I like Airstomp. I don't have nearly as many kills with it as that but I have an opinion regardless.

I think the Damage is too weak for a full perk slot, but the 'stand up' period is good. Makes it balanced (or, the way it is now: weak) for a damage increase. Yes it's hard to hit people but that's just the risk you take, you could say the same about aiming a gun. For me, in comparison to Health Regen, Energy restoration, or Armour Enhance, this is way too weak.

I am still grinding this thing out to get to lvl2! The other day I was doing alright but recently I just cannot get anyone.

I run around looking for targets in a good position only to be shot in the back. If I wait in a good spot no one comes past or throws a grenade from the other side of the map that lands on my boots - I'm beginning to think my boots are made out of grenade magnets. I did notice one thing I was doing wrong, I thought it mattered at what height you jumped but what actually matters is how high you go into the stomp.

Once I get 50 that's it unless lvl3 gives a much greater reward. 10 to go

If you're not already, try playing Crash Site. Makes it much easier.

How about making it so I am able to also use it without a powerjump, so when I just run/walk off a cliff/building. More damage and lower cooldown is also needed.

Got another 9 today and in one particularly good round got 5 in one match. Looked back later and the game had forgotten'em all. I am going to get lvl2 today whether the game wants me to or not.

**** me sideways!

I agree with OP

Phew, got to lvl2 and all I got was a lousy no fall from height bonus

If I'm ever gonna take this out again it needs some buffing.

I'd like to see a splash damage buff. ever since the patch for some reason I have to land practically on someone to kill them. It's not really a problem for the most part, as I'm pretty good at aiming them now and guessing where cloaked players will be sitting on a crash site, but it kind of retricts the amount of multikills you can get. I was getting double kills reasonably often, but have only had one today.

just got to lvl 3 today, the trick is the height and the amount of health the victim has, I find it easier to get an air stomp kill by shooting the target first with some high powered gun like the majestic or the gauss, then run right up and jump then AS, sure kill, according to some statistic a hop air stomp would deal around 20 damage with 1 or 2 meters radius and maximum is 220 damage with 7 meters radius based on the height, do the math.

I'd like to see a splash damage buff.
I think that's what most people refer to when they request a damage buff. Yes, killing with direct hits is more or less fine, but the damage dropoff over distance is so dramatic that you mostly end up just drawing attention of the guy youre trying to stomp, and subsequently dying.

How about making it so I am able to also use it without a powerjump, so when I just run/walk off a cliff/building.
Already possible. You would ALWAYS want to power jump before a stomp though.

just got to lvl 3 today, the trick is the height and the amount of health the victim has, I find it easier to get an air stomp kill by shooting the target first with some high powered gun like the majestic or the gauss, then run right up and jump then AS, sure kill, according to some statistic a hop air stomp would deal around 20 damage with 1 or 2 meters radius and maximum is 220 damage with 7 meters radius based on the height, do the math.

I understand that if you want to level AS, but if you are "using" AS, you are doing it wrong.