[Suggestion] Turtle gameplay needs improvements

[Betaraptor.4075]

So, I'm one of those lucky people who managed to get the turtle, so I can provide feedback on both driver and gunner positions. These are my thoughts on what should be changed:
1. Gunner ammo regeneration needs a boost. It feels incredibly satisfying to send in a full barrage into a pack of mobs...and then you can do literally nothing but sit and hypnotize the number on the skill, waiting for that one shot to use. Not fun, give it at least a 20% recharge time boost. This is tied to another problem:
2. Overall dps is too low. Yes, it slams hard and fires consistently for 9k damage/shot. But this is not enough to tag most mobs, due to the high ammo reacharge time, you have to get in at least 3 shots, resulting in damage per second being surprisingly low.
3. Synergy between driver and gunner. Yes, I know that there are way to boost ammo, like slam mastery and running around. But... why the hell should a driver run around? One, its nearly impossible to control and you can easilly fall from a cliff, and two, more importantly, without damage, you can't tag events, for example. And your only damaging skill roots you in place... the heck?? Easy fix? Make the turtle damage the mobs it tramples underfoot while running over them. Easy, fun and incentivizes to run around!
And finally, probably most important of all:
4. Both driver and gunner need more skills. You've gone for a combat mount. Well, make it one! Lock them behind masteries no problem! But make the experience fun. So far, gameplay for them is: Driver - juuuump -> slam, wait... repeat. Gunner: Fire full barrage -> boost driver(which can be really unexpected and make him overshoot hard!) -> wait for one ammo recharge -> fire -> wait...
This is the reason why everyone keeps either not using turtles as driver, or if mounting as a gunner, dismounting instantly after full volley.

My ideas for new skills are as follows:
Driver:
1. Slam
2. Omnidirectional slam that knocks back
3. Chomp - single target big damage (snapping turtles? Ever heard why they are called that?)
4. Speed skill transferred from gunner to driver to prevent issues described above
5. Jets.
Gunner:
1. Aoe ammo volley (with boosted ammo recharge)
2. Shield (current skill from mastery)
3. omnidirectional shrapnel like blast - both cannons instantly fire around 8 shots around the turtle (similar to what jade constructs do)
4. V shaped attack, both cannons fire directly in front of the turtle in a beam cone attack
5. I'll leave this one up to people below

This will make the mount muuuuuch more fun to use and very viable coop mount, instead of just gunner spamming 1 on cooldown and gunner bouncing up and down in place.
Yes, it is a lot of work, but please, make the mount fun!

[Serperior.6541]

Completely agree! Currently turtles  need a lot of improvement.

It is not fun.

It dosen't justify losing dps of 2 players.

Worse than most mounts speed wise

Only use i see for turtle is in jade sea meta and drizzlewood coast because it can 2shot most structures there (since it is "siege" turtle) maybe once

 

if it gets added to wvw it would be usefull to bring down doors and walls and stuf, other than that, the turtle is pretty useless outside of 2 maps.Most people just try both gunner and driver seat once and never use it again

.

[Betaraptor.4075]

One more idea for driver skill: Claws - stop drifting at high speeds for several seconds - this could help immensely to control the turtle in areas like where you're in danger of falling from a cliff.

[Einsof.1457]

Maybe the turtle mount was included to...idk, just be a fun novelty rather than compete with traditional gameplay?

[Betaraptor.4075]

Well sadly at this point, it's neither...