| abstract
| - Platforms are a stationary enemy with four extremely long arcs in the shape of a plus sign (+), and another four in a very close short range configuration that covers 360 degrees and thus 100% of the platform's hittable surface. Platforms appear to have about 4 or 5 shields of health, and appear to have an Armor Class of 0, and a very high Silhouette. The Platform returns with the advent of Legendary Combats, alongside the Proximity Mine and the Classic Bolo. Platforms appear only in the following Legendaries:
* Hidden Fleet: 1
* Light House: 1
* The Two Towers: 2 The Platform has an incredible amount of firepower at its disposal, and should be avoided by inexperienced pilots. They can be extremely dangerous for those not equipped to handle them, and are still a significant threat to those who are, although they are effectively stationary (Platforms appear to move at about 1kph, and most of their movement is rotation) so escape is usually easy. Despite recent increases to the platform spawn distance, it is still possible to spawn within range of one of the main guns, sometimes leading to players losing anywhere from 2 to 4 shields before combat has really begun. Attempting maneuvers to flee the arc will not help; one should always flee by manually turning away from the arc and accelerating to leave the arc ASAP. If you start outside of the arcs but are close and heading directly toward them. using Airbrake may give you enough time to make a sharp G-turn to avoid plowing into the Platform's guns. Each platform has four massive main arcs (each one about four times the length of an unmodified Large Longarm) with high damage, accuracy (+50) and critical rates (80%). They are comparable to Large Howitzers, albeit they fire two shots instead of one, with each shot dealing 70 damage, rather than a single shot dealing 140 damage. These main guns are the most dangerous aspect of Platforms, which, without them, would just be very large and mostly ineffectual Proximity Mines. Instead, they are deadly gun positions, capable of casually swatting down even the mighty Bismarck and smashing overconfident Thunderbolts. Thanks to the abnormally high critical rate and boosted accuracy, not even the elusive Ingersoll can evade the Platform's might. The main body of the platform is covered by four short-range arcs which are almost identical to the arcs on the Classic Bolo - this array of short-range close-in weapons systems or "point defense" guns do not present a huge threat to properly armoured planes, but it is still strongly advised that pilots avoid flying over the main body of the platform, as it may be able to strike your plane with it's main guns if you are unlucky; Taking in mind that a plane fires all of it's guns at once, even if only one arc is lit up, and that this is true for pirate planes as it is for player planes, then it's possible to slip through in the short reloading period between each shot from the main guns when triggered by entering the firing zone of the short-range guns, allowing pilots to avoid taking extra damage if the platform cannot be destroyed in a single pass. The risks are high of course, so be careful and hold onto your hat. Fortunately for those unwilling or unable to tangle with these terrors, their Bribe cost is fairly low. As mentioned before, the stationary nature of the Platform facilitates an easy retreat for pilots who feel they are in over their heads.
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)