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[Dr Killinger]

With the advent of consumables, we're being offered advantages for little input besides our time. I view this as both a poor balance decision, and a lost opportunity for some interesting mech construction choices.

I know artillery and airstrikes are not much right now, but when they are improved to a point where they actually do something, you'll need to equip them to be competitive- and someone who has them is not sacrificing anything when compared to someone who hasn't. No other weapon weighs nothing and takes up no space, why should these?

My suggestion is to tie certain consumables to certain pieces of equipment. For example, a Command Console would enable the use of artillery and airstrikes, a Beagle Active Probe would facilitate communication with a UAV, a dispersion pod of some kind could allow landmine consumables to be used, etc.

I'm not sure on the next point, but it might be worth considering making these equipment pieces specific to certain variants, to try and spread the specializations around a bit- and I don't just mean every mech that can take ECM can take BAP and CC. I'd say a D-DC should be able to take CC and ECM, and a Raven should be able to take BAP and ECM, while perhaps an underpowered Trebuchet variant could be gifted the use of a command console, etc.

I feel it will give the devs more power to balance certain variants against their superior counterparts, and will raise the skill ceiling on the game while lowering the bar of competitiveness for newer players, or players who are struggling to maintain the income to support consumables.