14 replies to this topic

[FrostCollar]

I'm quite curious - has anyone seen a significant increase in combat effectiveness in MGs or more people using them? Sure, damage is doubled, but I've been trying them out and I've found them still not worth taking. The only way I can survive in a light today is by agressively dodging and torso twisting to avoid PPCs and Gauss slugs. In order to keep those MGs on target, I have to abandon that due to the 100% uptime requirement. When I abandon that, I die. Not worth it at all.

Has anyone given them some use in larger mechs? I'd like to hear what others impressions are of them since the patch.

[Pycckuu]

They are basically small lasers now. Typically, you don't want to fit small lasers on big robutts, but things like the 4xMG spider and cicada might be viable now.

[Soy]

Gotta be honest, had a Spider on Canyon last night actually core me out and kill me with MG spam.

Of course, the entire process took about 3 minutes during which I killed 3 other guys and ignored the Spider completely.

[Sable Dove]

Pycckuu, on 23 May 2013 - 04:11 PM, said:

They are basically small lasers now. Typically, you don't want to fit small lasers on big robutts, but things like the 4xMG spider and cicada might be viable now.

Yeah, no. They are nowhere even remotely close to small lasers. Small lasers are useful for something. Underpowered, but still usable.

MGs are still more of a risk to the user due to the chance of ammo explosions.

Edited by Sable Dove, 23 May 2013 - 04:42 PM.

[jeffsw6]

MGs still only fire < 7 rounds/sec, not 10 like they are supposed to; and their damage is still too low. I can understand why PGI did not want to buff them more than 100% in a single patch, but we need to keep raging in 48 point letters so they don't forget to continue adjusting it in the next few patches, until the MG is where it needs to be. I'm good with small, incremental changes as long as they keep making them until it's right.

[Monky]

They seem better able to crit, which makes them viable in large numbers as a secondary weapon, and I actually am finding them useful in combination with a mech that is already good at stripping armor.

That said, they are secondary weapons. I would like to see them bumped to a full 1 DPS, but other than that, they are close to where they need to be.

Edited by Monky, 23 May 2013 - 05:18 PM.

[General Taskeen]

I think I could stand to be cored by 2 OP MG's in 10-14 seconds give or take. I've dealt enough with LOL-Streaks, PPC, and LRM's as it is.

Where is teh MG "meta" ? I want to exploit and test it

Edited by General Taskeen, 23 May 2013 - 06:24 PM.

[Pale Jackal]

I think they still need to be buffed a bit more - by 0.2 or 0.4 DPS, I'd say.

However, they are much better than they used to be. Maybe if PGI had increased PPC heat by 2 and left the cooldown alone, my Cicada 3C would reap greater benefits from the 0 heat of MGs.

[stjobe]

Pycckuu, on 23 May 2013 - 04:11 PM, said:

They are basically small lasers now.

No, they really are not.

The Small Laser delivers 3 damage over 0.75 seconds (which equates to 4 DPS), then it cools off for 2.25 seconds - a time you can spend maneuvering to avoid incoming damage.

The MG needs 3.75 seconds of continuous time-on-target do deliver 3 damage - at least, since spread will reduce that damage considerably - 3.75 seconds where you cannot maneuver, cannot torso-twist, cannot do anything to reduce incoming damage.

No, they really aren't anything like Small Lasers, neither in damage or in use.

That you think so only shows that you look at DPS numbers, see "0.8 is almost 1.0", and go "herp derp, must be fine then", without even taking the time to think about how that damage is delivered.

Wait a minute... Are you sure you're not working for PGI's balance team?

Pycckuu, on 23 May 2013 - 04:11 PM, said:

things like the 4xMG spider and cicada might be viable now.

Can't speak for the Cicada, but the 4xMGs on my SDR-5K still don't do anything worthwhile.

[Halconnen]

Just ignore all armored enemies and wait for one to be cored. You can then easily pick up the kill.

[stjobe]

Halconnen, on 24 May 2013 - 12:26 AM, said:

Just ignore all armored enemies and wait for one to be cored. You can then easily pick up the kill.

No, you can then easily strip its weapons and equipment, but doing that won't give you a kill. To kill, you need to do damage to internal structure, and the MG is as bad at that as it is against armour.

[Billygoat]

jeffsw6, on 23 May 2013 - 04:47 PM, said:

MGs still only fire < 7 rounds/sec, not 10 like they are supposed to; and their damage is still too low. I can understand why PGI did not want to buff them more than 100% in a single patch, but we need to keep raging in 48 point letters so they don't forget to continue adjusting it in the next few patches, until the MG is where it needs to be. I'm good with small, incremental changes as long as they keep making them until it's right.

Yeah, I just don't understand why they're so timid when it comes to adjusting MGs but are quite happy to make numerous sweeping changes to LRMs all at once and have them lurching back and forth between utter uselessness and game-defining brokenness. It's odd.

I really to buy and elite the Cicada-3C to go with my others because it looks boss, but it's still so gimp with those ballistic hardpoints I just can't be bothered grinding it out.

Plz PGI, save the bugs (I mean Cicadas and Spiders, not LRM descent angles or performance regressions, you silly manz)

[aniviron]

MGs are still bad. The worst part is that as jeffsw says, they do not fire as often as they are supposed to, which means their dps is even lower than the already pathetic numbers would indicate.

[Halconnen]

stjobe, on 24 May 2013 - 01:09 AM, said:

No, you can then easily strip its weapons and equipment, but doing that won't give you a kill. To kill, you need to do damage to internal structure, and the MG is as bad at that as it is against armour.

So...the engine isn´t listed as equipment? You can also blow up some ammo.

[stjobe]

Halconnen, on 24 May 2013 - 05:42 AM, said:

So...the engine isn´t listed as equipment? You can also blow up some ammo.

I think it's time for another instalment of "Ask stjobe" - brought to you by Reactor Lite; the beer for the thirsty MechWarrior:

Q: What happens when you destroy the engine?
A: Absolutely nothing.

Q: Will ammo explode when it is destroyed?
A: Yes, but there's only a 10% chance of it - if there's any ammo left, and it will do damage proportionate to the amount of ammo remaining.

This has been another instalment of "Ask stjobe" - brought to you by our friends over at Reactor Brewery, Inc. Reactor Lite; the beer for the thirsty MechWarrior.