113 replies to this topic

[wobbles3285]

Pay to win has arrived. Thanks so very much

[Lance425]

wobbles3285, on 18 June 2014 - 09:07 AM, said:

Pay to win has arrived. Thanks so very much

Whining, however, has been here the entire time.

[greytiger]

wobbles3285, on 18 June 2014 - 09:07 AM, said:

Pay to win has arrived. Thanks so very much

Weirdly enough, while clan tech does provide an edge, it's not the be all. Now, I'm not the most skilled player, but similarly skilled folks who I play with (who are even more out of practice then I), would out score me during the PT event. I would often be taken down by IS mechs whilst I piloted my clan tech.

Clan tech is an edge, but it isn't the be all and end all. A skilled IS pilot can take down a clanner easy. A skilled clanner can be taken down by one or two IS folks.

It's interesting to watch how folks view this as PtW. It's more akin to pay for an edge. An edge I suspect won't last forever.

[wobbles3285]

it's enough. Better weapons? Ok, I'll give you that. But heavies that seem to be armored up like assaults too? Kinda getting irritated.

[greytiger]

wobbles3285, on 18 June 2014 - 11:38 AM, said:

it's enough. Better weapons? Ok, I'll give you that. But heavies that seem to be armored up like assaults too? Kinda getting irritated.

... The armor thing is something I have noticed. To be fair, some IS mechs seem to take a serious beating before they drop too.

My advice? Tactically, take a page from how the IS dealt with the clans in the board game/novels: Focus your teams fire. Get everyone taking on those heavier mechs all at once.

And the max armor on the back hasn't changed. Flanking is a valid (and encouraged) tactic. I was part of an assault that was going very well - 4 kills to none - fall apart because of a well timed flanking maneuver by a pair of heavy IS mechs.

We lost that match because of it. I'm not saying that there isn't an imbalance, mind you, I'm saying that even with that imbalance there are ways of making it work.

Also, keep in mind, that Clan Mechs can't change engines, structure or armor types. While the weapon configurations are more flexible, the mechs core statistics are, in some ways, less flexible. IS is the opposite: Weapon configurations are less flexible, but the core characteristics of the mechs are more so.

It makes for an interesting balancing act. I for one, weather I'm piloting my catapult, or tearing it up in my Twolf (or Adder), am looking forward to seeing how the differences affect folks play styles.

[wobbles3285]

well, either the side torsos are ridiculously small (PGI has history for this kind of thing) or they are ridiculously armored.All I know is i plugged a guy 6 straight time in the side torso who was stationary(i'm not above taking repeated cheap shots at apparent DC's, lol) with an ER large laser from inside max effective range and it didn't even get through the armor according to targetting.

Lack of flexibility doesn't comfort much when you are taking on a tank with a pea shooter. They don't really need to change a whole lot of anything to be more viable than even a well thought out IS build.

Edited by wobbles3285, 18 June 2014 - 01:03 PM.

[greytiger]

wobbles3285, on 18 June 2014 - 01:00 PM, said:

well, either the side torsos are ridiculously small (PGI has history for this kind of thing) or they are ridiculously armored.All I know is i plugged a guy 6 straight time in the side torso who was stationary with an ER large laser from inside max effective range and it didn't even get through the armor according to targetting.

Yeah, I've had the same issues. Some of the smaller torso things have to deal with the size of XL engines, I suspect, in IS mechs - they made 'em smaller so folks didn't die as often. or maybe it was a consideration. Am not a game designer, so I don't know.

I do know that I have put in enough firepower into a mech that it should have been toast - several times over - and not had it drop when it should have, only to go boom when I'm hit once, in a mech similarly armored (in some cases, more armored).

In my case I'm simply not that good of a pilot (these days, anyway - when you get to nearly 40 and don't have time to get your practice in regularly your skills can and likely will degrade), and I've been chalking it down to the fact that my aim isn't what it used to be.

But again, the best results I've seen are those flanking actions. They're not perfect, but your chances are better.

And hey, Wobbles? I'm not defending PGI, nor am I saying that there are no issues with the balance system - I get that there are still hurdles, and there likely will be for some time yet. Many of the games I play that are PVP have balancing patches on a weekly basis even -now- that they've been done for several years.

Given the way Battletech is, the balancing act is likely to go on for a while. LRMs are still very handy, and not nearly the 'I win' as they used to be, for example. Especially against ECM mechs. Had to redesign my Cat due to an encounter with a pair of lights, actually.

IMHO, the goal was/is to make Clan tech 'Slightly better' and 'Different' then IS, while not making it OP.
Everytime I drop in my Twolf or another clan mech, and then go to tweak it, I feel the pain of not being able to make any structural changes to the mech.

IN that additional flexibility, IS mechs really are better, and will likely have more variety in ways of movement and variants then the Clan mechs will.

Doesn't solve the problem you have, but it -is- the same problem I've had with IS mechs as well as clan ones, so I don't think it's unique to just clan mechs.

[Desintegrator]

Good implementation !

Well done PGI. There is a shining light at the horizon.

[Harlock Fredrick]

Anyone know when the Clan collection end?

[Alaskan Nobody]

Brazzez, on 02 July 2014 - 04:48 PM, said:

Anyone know when the Clan collection end?

Nope!

Presumably they will announce it before hand - giving some time for some last orders before they shut it down,
(they did with the Phoenix pack anyways)

[a gaijin]

Nikolai Lubkiewicz, on 16 June 2014 - 03:07 PM, said:

Join the Clans

Mr. Lubkiewicz, after a month and a half of playing the Clan mechs I have to say overall a great job on them. They feel like the right balance of advanced tech without feeling "over-powered"


I really hope the next batch of Clan mechs released includes the Mad Dog, Executioner, and Kodiak!
All Ghost Bears will sincerely appreciate it.

And all Clans use the Mad Dog

[Grayson Sortek]

HeroForHire, on 03 August 2014 - 10:58 PM, said:

Mr. Lubkiewicz, after a month and a half of playing the Clan mechs I have to say overall a great job on them. They feel like the right balance of advanced tech without feeling "over-powered"


I really hope the next batch of Clan mechs released includes the Mad Dog, Executioner, and Kodiak!
All Ghost Bears will sincerely appreciate it.

And all Clans use the Mad Dog

I'd love to see the Mad Dog (Vulture) and the Hellbringer (Loki) and maybe eventually a Nova Cat and Shadow Cat (go Clan Nova Cat)... And maybe even the Blood Asp in the future... So many wonderful choices out there

[a gaijin]

Grayson Sortek, on 01 September 2014 - 01:01 PM, said:

I'd love to see the Mad Dog (Vulture) and the Hellbringer (Loki) and maybe eventually a Nova Cat and Shadow Cat (go Clan Nova Cat)... And maybe even the Blood Asp in the future... So many wonderful choices out there

I really wish the Shadowcat, Mad Dog, and Hellbringer had been released instead of the fake torso-twist having Nova, Kitfox, & Adder.
That being said, the Shadowcat wasn't seen in the Inner Sphere until the Battle of Luthien -- that's over two years away so it probably won't be released for a while.

Just so everyone knows, I'll be playing MWO when the Blood Asp is released in 10 years