GODzillaGSPB, on 21 July 2013 - 02:00 AM, said:
No. Assaults were omnipresent for the last two weeks before this weekend. Yes, I know, people lveling up their Victors. But I saw lances of 4 Atlas. And it can't be that balance is screwed everytime they release a new mech. They have to balance it out. If they wont, there will never be balance as long as new content is added. How stupid is that?
Assaults (and heavies) have been favoured for way longer than two weeks - in fact, they've always been favoured just because they're bigger, more armoured, and mount more weapons. Then when R&R went the way of the Dodo together with weight-class balancing prior to open beta release, they just became the overwhelming majority.
Add HSR to that mix, and a slow but steady erosion of the light and medium roles (c.f. Seismic Sensor, not to mention the match reward system), and we end up where we've been for at least three months now, where I'm often the only 'mech on both teams under 60 tons when I drop in my lights or mediums.
PGI is aware of the problem as evidenced by
Ask the Devs 41 - Answered, but it also seems they're simply counting on Community Warfare to save their bacon:
Quote
Stjobe: What are your plans for getting more lights and mediums onto the field?
The current game is absolutely dominated by heavies and assaults, to the point where I'm often the lightest thing on the field - both teams included - when I drop in a Blackjack. I'd love to hear your take on this, and your plans on rectifying the situation (if you have any).
If I may make a suggestion as well as pose a question: I suggest you take a look at your reward structure; it's almost completely focussed on what heavies and assaults are good at, and almost completely neglects to reward what lights and mediums are good at - and the rewards we do have for things like spotting and capping are a pittance compared to what you get for dealing damage and killing.
A: You pretty much nailed it on the head. Rewards, along with expanded roles for lights and mediums, along with some limitations on drop weights, will all contribute to a more diversified battlefield.
A lot of people like to play as heavy a 'mech as they can, and I don't think we should stop them from doing so, but we should also incentivize playing lights and mediums, if nothing else to get more entertaining matches. One way of doing this is to give lights and mediums bonuses to match rewards to balance the fact that they can't really mount as much weapons and armour as the fatties.
Edited by stjobe, 21 July 2013 - 02:32 AM.