40 replies to this topic

[Psyctooth]

Hey guys not sure if this has been suggested before or not, but an idea just struck me, a possible way to balance clan verse IS and a very simple solution to it, in multiplayer either do one of the following, limit the number of clan mechs which can be used in a match, a clan mech is equal to two of the IS mechs. OR Have Clan verse IS matches where IS players have more mechs than clan players. And make it so that Clan players get more points if they engage multiple IS players on their own instead of as a team in an attempt to partake to their rules of Zellbrigen.

This is just a suggestion, not sure if it has been suggested before or not. If so, apologies for using up forum server space.

[Evedro Solais]

Umm, Clan tech is supposed to be balanced by Cost and Availability. Meaning your repair bill will be astronomical if Clan tech is added. Personally I'm looking forward to Clan Double Heatsinks, Gauss Rifles and SRMs.... eventually

[Sleeping Bear]

Easy way to balance Clan vs IS. Make the matches binary versus company. Maximum of 10 Clan 'mechs versus 12 Inner Sphere 'mechs. Make repairs and resupply for Clan tech commeasurately more expensive in lieu of how much more expensive the Clan equipment is.

[Adrienne Vorton]

we already had this...tons of it but again..even 12vs10 would mean clans have overhand since there will not be any clans for at least the next 9 month (maybe never, who knows) i don´t think too much about balancing them... i´m more curious how balanced the game is NOW

IF clanmechs ever come to our garages, i think the balancing will be tested in development, so we can see about that later...

[phelancracken]

Right now, clans isn't an issue due to; 1. game isn't even live. and 2. Clans haven't been released yet.

[BlazeKaiser]

Clans are simple to balance=numbers. IS had more numbers than the clans.

The Big thing between the balance will be IS mechs equipped with clan tech. They will be rare and expensive but worth it.

IS mechs will be 99% standard mechs and 1% omnimechs.

[CCC Dober]

BlazeKaiser, on 19 June 2012 - 12:18 AM, said:

Clans are simple to balance=numbers. IS had more numbers than the clans.

The Big thing between the balance will be IS mechs equipped with clan tech. They will be rare and expensive but worth it.

IS mechs will be 99% standard mechs and 1% omnimechs.

You can try to balance the numbers, but the players will stay the same. Put IS Mechs vs IS Mechs with an IS mindset and it's all good.
Put a pilot with an IS mindset into a Clan Mech and it's gonna ruin the whole game. Even if the repair bills for Clan Tech are astronomical and punish below average performance, there will always be players that make it work and even more so when real cash can 'fix' temporary c-bill shortages. Then it's gonna be P2W and we're back to the drawing board. The key element that is missing is a strong incentive for players to stick to the Clan's rules of engagement. Most people don't understand or accept their code of honor and the implications, so there has to be a better way. Also the Clans do not use currency such as the Inner Sphere. You could probably call them acquisition points or whatever, but even so, not every warrior gets to pilot whatever he wants. There are garrisoned Mechwarriors that have minimal access to Omni Tech and advanced weapons, whereas the frontliners are usually stacked with them. It may be another way to keep things in check, but being classified as 2nd line or solahma is not really flattering. Maybe that could be seen as incentive to improve and keep ahead of the pack, but I don't know if this idea holds much water. It could cause severe burnout if it's too strictly handled. Time will tell.

[BlazeKaiser]

Thats something that bugs me. People think that the clans have no form of trade, currency, or merchants. They have an entire caste of businessmen and traders for their products.

While salvage is of course one way to get clan mechs, they do trade. Not every clan has the same mechs or supplies of weapons, they have to trade for them.

Eventually clan-tech will be up for sell. Ive heard that there wont be a salvage system, but their should be. In early clan vs IS fights thats the ONLY way for IS to get clan tech. later purchasing will be an option, such as from Clan Diamond Shark.

[Karl Streiger]

BlazeKaiser, on 19 June 2012 - 01:32 AM, said:

Eventually clan-tech will be up for sell. Ive heard that there wont be a salvage system, but their should be. In early clan vs IS fights thats the ONLY way for IS to get clan tech. later purchasing will be an option, such as from Clan Diamond Shark.

Hm the first source i read something about trading between Clans and IS was in the TRO3060... so trading overall yes but please not in the first decade after the first contact.
However it is not the ownership of a mech alone you have to maintain it to. Thats the reason while i never like the idea that IS units like the Eridani Light Horse - or Gray Death are able to use Clan Mechs effective in the field - not without a Tech Contract with the Wolf Dragoons

Edited by Karl Streiger, 19 June 2012 - 03:06 AM.

[Dugra Dugrasson]

I know people have a high emotional stake in Clan/IS balance. It may very well be what makes or breaks this game. However, spending your time theorizing on how to best do it when the game has yet to go into Open Beta appears a little fruitless to me. However, because it is oh so tempting to do...

. . . Just run on a BV system. Where a Clan Heavy has twice the BV as an IS Assault. The balancing was already done for us, it's called BattleTech, the Tabletop Game.

Edited by nodebate, 19 June 2012 - 04:00 AM.

[Unendingmenace]

I think the "Clan vs IS matches" is an excellent idea, however may be hard to implement correctly while still remaining "balanced". Maybee limit the number of Clan Mechs a single player can have in their "armoury" at any one time. When you think about it IS Mechwarriors would also have access to a limited number of clan Mechs too because they probably salvage some after previous battles then repair them later to use.

I for one hope they do end up putting clan mechs in the game because personally, there my favourite battlemechs

Edited by Ich3go, 19 June 2012 - 04:38 AM.

[Xune]

Simply rediuce all Exp and money earned to 0 if a clan pilot dosent respect the Zellbrigen rule. Problem solved, all the Clan-kidys who go there for the SKILLLZZZZZZ while run out of money and stop being a pain in the ***.

[latdheretic]

there seems to be one of these threads every few days. . .
I don't think that players will have access to clan tech on their IS mechs as it would cause a serious imbalance in IS mechs, and matches. There are a lot of things that can be done to balance clan tech when an entire side uses one tech or the other, but the moment you start mixing it up then you may as well throw away all of you inner sphere tech as you get access to clan tech. It would ruin immersion, balance, and foster pay to win, which is exactly what the devs are trying to avoid.

Making clan tech very expensive doesn't keep people from using it, it make the game pay to win. IE pay to use the Clan tech so you can be competitive in matches. No thank you. I will stop playing if that becomes a reality. Though I doubt they are going let me down on this. If you want clan tech then play clans, then it can be your bread and butter.

My point in relation to the OP: the best thing they can do to keep it balance is to keep it separated. It won't do it by itself, but once separated, then all other aspects of balance are going to be much easier to manage.

[Karl Streiger]

Hm maybe the devs should think about the whole plot setting of MWO. When the planets are located at the Chaos March - far far away from the invasion corridor - and also from Tukayyid
By the way - we knew that ComStar isn't available - so the only faction that stoped the invasion before reaching terra - isn't playable - so no opposition for clans --> no clans?

[Takashi Fuchida]

You never know... it could be that comstar will just be an NPC faction.. or only controlled by the DEV's ... or anything... it's all hard to tell when the game isn't released yet.

~Taka

[CCC Dober]

Maybe Comstar isn't available, but they sure do sit on a mountain of Lostech that is either forgotten. This is what the IS fans should be gunning for because they have toys on Terra that even make Clanners envious. I'm not kidding here. CLPS is exactly what you want in any Mech to gain a decisive advantage in combat. Things like that and a couple others can easily help to level the playing field against the Clans. And what do you know: it worked for Comstar on Tukayyid. And what's more astonishing is the fact that the Comguards faced no real combat for centuries until that point and they still beat the Clans. Imiagine what an elite/veteran IS unit could have done with such an advantage. So if you ask me, open the Comstar armories on Terra and unleash the full power of the Star League.

Edited by CCC Dober, 19 June 2012 - 05:22 AM.

[BlazeKaiser]

Not really, the successes by is the IS during the Clan Invasion were heavily based around the guerilla style tactics. the Clans often use direct tactics, sometimes nothing more than charging for glory, having limited ammo, and often ignoring their massive range advantage using their ER laser tech.

The Comguard actually had in between tech between usual IS tech and the Clan tech, as they didnt lose the technology during the Succession wars, and actually made new tech.
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OK clan tech would be rare, sorta like limited items a IS merchant might carry, sales from clan traders, or salvage like an RPG mob drops.

Alot of things people suggest about clan tech are incredibly stupid, such as making them a kind of "premium" equipment.

OK lets put it this way.
IS medium laser, extremely common
IS ER medium lasers, uncommon
Clan ER medium laser rare.

[JackCrow]

Except....Every Clan has it's own interpretation of Zellbrigen.. Clan Wolf is opportunistic and always has been, The Jade Falcons are strict. The Ice Hellions throw their little tantrums and attack all at once with their little toy mechs.

Zellbrigen works great in theory, but even in the books when it happened, mor often than not, one side would violate it.


The irony is that smart IS commanders could beat the clans at their own game before the battle even started by issuing a smart batchall.

[BlazeKaiser]

OK zellbringen is 1v1 dueling, not outright combat. people go on and on about that, except there wont probably wont be any 1v1 combat.

[Dasomen]

if you guys want to joust there is full metal jousting on the history channel for that. for here this is a team based game.