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Instead of all mechs having 2 weapon module slots, 2 consumable module slots, and 2 mech module slots, give every mech 6 customizable module slots. Players will be able to put whatever modules they want in those slots BUT... the modules themselves will take up a varying number of slots.
The key to this is choosing the right "slot cost" for each type of module, and to get that right, I think we need to rank the module types by their utility to the player. The most useful modules should cost more slots, so you can carry fewer of those, while the least useful modules should cost fewer slots, so you could carry more.
I think the least useful type of module is the weapon module, so I propose those should only cost a single slot. If a player wants to equip 6 marginally useful (arguably detrimental) weapon modules, I don't think anyone will say that is OP.
The next most useful type, I think, would be consumables. They can give quite decent advantages, but they are single use, compared to the constant bonuses you get from mech modules. So I think that 1.5 slots is a good cost for consumable modules.
That leaves mech modules, the most generally useful and popular of the module types. I propose those should cost 2 slots.
So, with those values, what possible module combinations can you carry? Well, if you are like me and don't use consumables or weapon modules much, you can carry 3 mech modules at a cost of 2 slots each to fill your 6 customizable slots. For most mechs, you are right back to where you were before the patch, though a few mechs lose a module, and some gain one.
If you like to carry consumables, you can take up to four of those, at a cost of 1.5 slots each, to fill your six slots. If that many consumables is overkill, you can mix and match, and take 2 consumables, 1 mech module, and 1 weapon module, or some other combination that fits into the 6 slots. You would still only be allowed to take one of each module though, so nobody could carry 4 arty/air strikes, and if they do choose to take 2 strikes, they will be limited to at most 1 mech module, as a tradeoff.
The only obvious problem I see with this system is that the consumable modules costing 1.5 slots can lead to having "half a slot" wasted in some combinations. I don't think that is a huge issue, but if it is, we could probably figure out a slightly different cost structure that would get around that. Or, the devs could make some even less useful modules and we could assign them a 0.5 slot cost, to use as filler.
What say you?
Edited by LastPaladin, 31 July 2014 - 04:20 PM.
