3 replies to this topic

[Sable]

Initially i didn't like PTS 5 at all with it's heat scale adjustments. It was better than PTS 4 but still 2 steps back in my opinion. Then after reading some of the other threads where people were actually liking PTS 5 and how the lower heat threshhold limits alphas i decided to give it another round of testing with their perspectives in mind.

Interestingly enough i took a nova with 12 ER smalls out and put them all in one group on chain fire. I was actually surprised at how long you could continuously chainfire before you had to give yourself a few seconds to cool off. Next i tried another nova with 12 Small Pulse with almost the same effect, chainfiring kept a constant stream of damage coming out for as long as it took to take off all components of a mech and then kill it.

I tried a good number of my normal builds and PTS 5 still feels like the dissipation is to slow compared to the new lower cap. Yes it's true its better than in PTS 4 but it still feels inferior to the live environment which also has a higher cap. I think the community was looking for a lower heat cap but with higher dissipation than live, with the intention of high alphas not being possible in practical use and only as a last ditch effort to kill or be killed.

Higher heat per damage over your energy draw limit i like very much. With the lower energy draw limit for large lasers i was afraid people would just bite the bullet of extra heat and just fire 4 LL all the time but this helps make sure people will be wanting to not go over energy draw limits.

Final thoughts - I just don't know what to make of PTS 4 and 5. I thought PTS 2 was close to what they wanted and then PTS 3 was a bit too far and needed to be toned back to somewhere in between, but with PTS 4 and 5 I am just not getting the overall end result PGI is shooting for. These later tests make the game feel completely different than how it's been played the last 3 years.

Edited by Sable, 17 September 2016 - 06:38 PM.

[Johnny Z]

This is exactly what I found. Very high alphas really punishing but staying under the energy threshold was fine. Its a bit restricting for my mechs but then it is supposed to be and its something I can adjust to easily.

I think all of the PTS updates have been fine and I am having trouble differentiating them with the limited time I have tried each out. The first PTS seemed very easy, meanwhile this one seems better then 4 are my only observations and those could be entirely wrong since I cant really tell them apart hardly.

If ED replaces ghost heat in game and blocks exploiting it and also adds the guage then this is a 100% improvement. If it does any improvements at all above that then great.

Being Battletech and supposed to be like knights in armor on the battlefield combat should be a touch bit(like really tiny bit and maybe movement and atmosphere would be a part of this to kind of thing, for the giant war machine sim mostly but also ttk ) slower than live and if this partly helps that, also great.

I guess this is where the balance guys earn their pay cheque? Because it would take hours and hours getting it right and its looking great so far. If it were me it would have been live the first PTS.

Edited by Johnny Z, 17 September 2016 - 07:46 PM.

[Sable]

I can recap for you

PTS 1 - Energy draw is introduced but with low penalties, gauss charge removed, all weapon cooldowns become longer

PTS 2 - Energy draw values adjusted, PPC and Gauss cooldowns become longer, Gauss energy draw goes up

PTS 3 - Energy draw values adjusted. cERPPC gets 15 damage, autocannon jam chances gets toyed with, gauss energy draw goes down slightly, insignificant laser adjustments.

PTS 4 - Heat sink changes, (low cap, low dissipation - everybody whines), cERPPC damage returned to previous level, UAC jam chances and durations tuned, LRM spread changes, scourge gauss charge up returned,

PTS 5 - Heat sink changes, (low cap, better dissipation - but still worse than live oddly enough), quirks removed for testing purposes.


So somehwere between 3 and 4 things go weird. By that i mean it seemed like we had a decent base line and adjustments were being made according to that baseline. But now that baseline has been significantly changed in PTS 4 and then again in PTS 5 which is throwing off all the other tuning they did in PTS 1, 2, and 3. I'm all for testing different ideas out but i'm just concerned at which ideas so far PGI seems to be favoring and which ideas are just to see how it would perform.

Edited by Sable, 17 September 2016 - 10:31 PM.

[JC Daxion]

I dunno.. I've been really enjoying this.. Lots of changes, lots of different feels.. I do think it is going in the right direction.

a few more stages and we might really have something..


I am just waiting for the machine gun buff patch


I also think LRM's could use a little more tweaking, perhaps Up the damage a tiny bit, or add a small splash. Bring in some LOS mechanics as well.



as for the Pulse lasers in this patch, I kinda like making them more of a DPS weapon.. Lower damage a bit more, lower recharge and heat a bit as well.

Pulse lasers like getting needled, and Normal lasers like you are melting from the BURN! Make um feel different and play different, not just the shorter duration for a bit heavier like they are now.

Just for the record, i have been an avid pulse user since i started playing.. Long before everyone started using them when they made the heat the same as normal lasers. I am not the best long range player, and they just suit me for the short ranged brawler types i normally played. My builds just ran hot is all, and i tired to negate that with a little Dakka


SRM's I still think in larger banks, aka 4, they hit to hard with really Zero down side needs to change. I really think i would up the energy so that 3 gave you a slight heat increase, and 4 would really pack on the heat.. IMO SRM's should be fired in groups of 12 for best usage for heat. That would mean three 4's or 2 6's.

Yes i get they are not pin-point, But who cares when a couple volleys destroys your mech anyway? If those that are boating quad 4's can get off two vollies, they should be sizzling by that point to just about over heating. I swear By the time the first volley comes, you start to twist, and you are basically toast on the second.. I feel like i have a better chance verse something like an HBK 4G carying an AC20, at least then i only have one section that is cherry, and i can protect it.

Quad 4's my whole mech is wreaked unless i'm something with tons of armor. And the lights that can do it, have the speed to drop heavies and assaults from the rear in no time. Again, something is messed when you fear an AC20, less than SRM's. Like i said, even with 2 mechs carrying ac20, at least they have to aim at the same spot.. But a pair of mechs with Quad 4's, they just shoot at your general direction and you get the full on splat.. Splat toast..


IS streaks i think need something done, But i am not sure what. The only thing i think they could really do is perhaps up the damage per missile and reduce the cooldown ever more? But seeing as a Clanner you can fire 18 missiles and just wreck things.. even getting hit with triple Streak 2's just is very lack luster.

Edited by JC Daxion, 18 September 2016 - 01:02 AM.