8 replies to this topic

[Redshift2k5]

Will flesh this out further tomorrow.

AC/10 needs some lovin'. Make me WANT to take two AC/10s!

[Meister Brau]

um, dual ac10s are pretty deadly already? it's like having a ac20 with longer range and faster cooldown. you can lay waste pretty easily as it is.

[Kageru Ikazuchi]

What would you recommend?

Right now, the performance and costs are all theoretically balanced between the AC/20 and AC/5 ... it would be difficult to buff it much without nerfing something else.

When you start comparing pairs of weapons, the differences become more dramaitc ... would you rather field dual AC/2, or one AC/10? Dual AC/2s theoretically deal more DPS for the same tonnage.

One idea ... turn cockpit shake (impulse) into "adjusting" a target's torso twist, arm alignment, or even (in extreme circumstances) knocking them down ... the heavier ballistic weapons might get a bit more attention.

I thoroughly enjoy the AC/10 in my HBK-4G (STD 260, Endo, DHS, 10.5 tons Std Armor, 3x ML, CASE, 2 tons ammo). Try to do the same build with an AC/20, and I have to scale down to a STD 240 engine, losing ~10 kph. Once I get around to playing with a CPLT-K2 or CTF-3D/4X/Ilya, I may feel differently.

The Ultra AC/10 may fill the void you're looking for, but per sarna.net, that won't be available in the Inner Sphere for a while.

[Sybreed]

my AC/10 on my Cent does wonders, but yeah a small firerate and ammo buff would be nice

[Corvus Antaka]

0.5 reduction in reload time?

I agree, but only if the LBX 10 gets some loving too, like 50% less spread.

[Tolkien]

Colonel Pada Vinson, on 06 March 2013 - 12:45 AM, said:

0.5 reduction in reload time?

I agree, but only if the LBX 10 gets some loving too, like 50% less spread.

The spread on the LBX 10 is "awesome" when it comes to hitting something at range, especially if it is moving fast. Unfortunately the damage falls off very quickly making it feel useful only under 200m (to me anyway).

Rumor has it that if you stick the LBX10 in a smaller weapon port on the mech it has an impact on the spread angle. I have not confirmed this but I read somewhere that if you put an LBX10 into an AC20 slot on the hunchback you get a huge spread, while if you put it into the machinegun slots on the K2 you get a much more focused volley. Sounds like something to be tested in the testing grounds.

[Corvus Antaka]

Tolkien, on 06 March 2013 - 01:05 AM, said:

The spread on the LBX 10 is "awesome" when it comes to hitting something at range, especially if it is moving fast. Unfortunately the damage falls off very quickly making it feel useful only under 200m (to me anyway).

Rumor has it that if you stick the LBX10 in a smaller weapon port on the mech it has an impact on the spread angle. I have not confirmed this but I read somewhere that if you put an LBX10 into an AC20 slot on the hunchback you get a huge spread, while if you put it into the machinegun slots on the K2 you get a much more focused volley. Sounds like something to be tested in the testing grounds.

right but the LBX 10 should be more like focused tight at 200, half spread at 450, and the spread we have now at 400 should be what we see at 600.

the current LBX 10 should be more like what the LBX 20 should be like range wise and spread wise imho.

good find on the weapon port ejection. Ill be sure to try that out.

[hashinshin]

Speed up the AC10's projectile speed to match the PPC for starters.

Give the AC10 20 shots per ton of ammo instead of 15.

Start with those two simple changes.

Edited by hashinshin, 06 March 2013 - 02:12 AM.

[Monky]

There are a few issues that can and can't be fixed with the AC10.

First, the size. It's as big as a gauss rifle, and only 2 tons lighter than an AC20. This can't be changed really due to build rules.

However, there are a few good methods that can be used to balance the AC10 that work around this and those include;

A: Buff the health of the item (I would say to around 15). AC10 are about as vulnerable as AC20 used to be, not that AC20 are invincible now by any means.

B: Decrease heat per shot. This is the main crippling factor to the AC10, what loadout do you fit it in? Your light weight lasers generate heat that takes a considerable amount of cooling power to keep cool, same goes for SRM and LRM. So where do you fit AC10 into the rotation? 2 heat per shot is probably the most you can ask of this weapon system in order to have it be practical.

C: Increase shots per ton to mitigate the minimal difference in weight between it and the AC20. Essentially; More shots = less tonnage required for ammo, = better efficiency and higher practicality. Every ton of ammo you can save a player is a crit and ton that can be used for something else. Currently it's 15 per ton, it may be worthwhile to go up to 20 shots per ton.

EDIT - D: Increase projectile speed. We saw it work wonders for PPC and AC2/UAC5/AC5, and I believe it can help AC10 as well. The reason is simple - less flight time of the bullet between firing and impacting the target, less margin of error, fewer wasted shots, better performance.

Will these fixes make AC10 viable in 8v8's? Probably not by themselves, but they're a start. At least it makes it a solid option for PUG play, which is better than it is now as sort of a joke weapon.

Edited by Monky, 06 March 2013 - 02:59 AM.