490 replies to this topic

[Bront]

I still keep hoping they chime in again on fixing the Gauss. It's such a pain to use as it is, and it really is the weakest balistic outside of the MG (which is fine for it's tonnage).

[Cest7]

I'm still waiting for a DPS fix.

If they're not going to change it then this topic should be locked.

[Lightfoot]

Tried using the Gauss again with my Joystick after some practicing and set it up to show a green ring of dots around the reticle (although the sound cue is enough for me). It just doesn't work with a Joystick. The mechanic is set-up for a drag-click controller like a Mouse and a Joystick can't do it. I don't think I hit anything with it.

The mechanic needs to be adapted at least to be usable with a Joystick, this is only fair and would create a level field of play for everyone which is not present currently if you use a Joystick. You could increase the time to discharge to 4-5 seconds or remove the charge-up all together and just make the recharge 5-7 seconds.

Increasing the time to discharge to 4-5 seconds allows players to slew the Joystick to the target in the same way a Mouse user drags and clicks the Gauss now, but preserves the charge-up to de-sync the Gauss.

Removing the charge-up and increasing the recharge to 5-7 seconds is how previous MechWarrior games have balanced the Gauss Rifle's range and damage and I am sure would be sufficient in MWO which has much shorter range battles overall.

Please do one or the other (or some other fix) for the 15-20% of players who use Joysticks.

Thank you.

[DrSlamastika]

Gauss gun is perfect right now, you must be a noob. And if you are using joystick its your problem . . .

Edited by DrSlamastika, 21 October 2013 - 05:49 AM.

[Lightfoot]

DrSlamastika, on 21 October 2013 - 05:49 AM, said:

Gauss gun is perfect right now, you must be a noob. And if you are using joystick its your problem . . .

Once you learn to pilot a 'Mech with a Joystick you will never go back to a mouse. MWO has good Joystick support now too, but you can't slew the reticle to the aiming point in just one second, and that's the problem.

[Stunner]

I'm see Guass a lot more on the battlefield than when the patch first came out. It appears folks are adjusting to it and finding ways to make it work. I still miss the instant fire of the old guass and wish they came up with a different way to separate the PPC and guass firing but I can live with it. I only put it on a few of my mechs with specific builds.

[Masterzinja]

The delay firing mechanic for Gauss defeats the whole purpose of a sniper weapon which is to aim at the exact point you want and crack that shot off. Sniping is all about timing, and unless your tagret is sitting perfectly still, or filling your sights then you can't time your shots effectively with this weapon.

The irony of this "fix" is that using the Gauss with the delay is actually much easier to do in a circle brawl where you can keep your reticle fixed on a target that fills a large part of your screen, than as a sniping weapon where your tiny distant target might only be visable for half a second while they ERLL you from behind a rock before dipping back into cover. The only players who fear the Guass as a sniping weapon are the ones who stand perfectly still and allow themselves to get shot.

I would suggest decreasing the RoF while removing the delay mechanic entirely. What we need is a role specific weapon that can dish out damaging long range shots slowly, but that can't keep up with other weapons in a close range DPS race.

[bobzadar]

The gauss can be a great weapon, but still needs refinement will await the final version

[HeeroWolf Nash]

The current gauss rifle is terrible, if PGI would remove the whole ghost charge mechanic then it would be just fine.

[Lightfoot]

Also, if you actually want to make a Sniper rifle mechanic you would give players 5 seconds to shoot after the charge-up. Shooting with just a .75-1 second window is called "Shooting from the Hip" and is actually better used at short range where you are less likely to miss.

And I am only playing MWO occasionally at present because of the Gauss Rifle being unusable (and it is unusable with a joystick.) and all the heat nerfing of Energy based mechs. It just makes no sense to me why this would be considered a solution to anything and it is very unbalanced in how it affects one mech chassis and not another.


.

Edited by Lightfoot, 25 October 2013 - 08:12 PM.

[Sandtiger]

The problem isn't with the weaponry, it is with the pilot.

Lets be honest here. You have mediocre pilots that get creamed easily because of stupid mistakes. (running around the corner into a lance of mechs, when your by yourself in a light for example) And so, it is easy to blame the weaponry. When the fact of the matter is. If they would learn to play smarter, and actually use their mechs in a more tactical sense.
They would be able to do better in combat. However, making it harder for your more advanced players, or better pilots, isn't a reasonable course of action. All your doing is punishing players for being good at what they do. In other words, my equipment is getting Nerfed because I can actually aim, and move at the same time? I read a lot of complaining on the forums about players who are disgruntled because the game isn't fair. I also read a lot of bluster about being true to the Mechwarrior Cannon. Lets explore this for a moment. This game was designed through all intents and purposes so that you could by a rudimentary "mech" and make it better by putting a lot of money into it, and actually improving it's design. Once that mech was all that it could be, you could by a better, or different mech that suits your game style. To be honest. All this talk about balance is sickening. However, to be fair, lets look at what some of the complaints have been in the past.

1. Pop-tarting: When a pilot uses his jump jets to maneuver over buildings or terrain and fire off a shot, then drops back down behind cover. So my question is, how did this genius piloting technique ever constitute a Nerf? I cant pop-tart to save my life. However, I love it when pilots do it, because I get a chance to hit them before they drop back down behind cover.

2. Ghost Heat: Excessive heat generated from the rapid firing of weapons, or chain firing of multiples of the same weapon. in my opinion was a miserable Idea. We mechwarriors already have a hard time balancing our heat, while trying to destroy an enemy. Why in the name of all that is holy, would you want to further impede a players ability to use what he has? So what if someone takes the time to spend and customize their mech to make it a vicious Killing Machine. Ammo constraints, and High Heat already punish a mechwarrior for min maxing, now we want to double down on this?

3. ECM: A device that makes it so that Long Range Missiles will not lock onto an opponent unless countered by another ECM, or TAG. So we made it so that not every mech has the ability to equip one, by making it a hard point.... WOW! Seriously? Once again those who are willing to spend the money, and tonnage & slots are now punished into utilizing mechs they don't necessarily want to pilot, just so they won't become the victims of missile boats?

4. Adv Seismic Sensors: Sensors which show the movement of nearby mechs on your radar when they move. Now you want to Nerf them as well by making it so you have to stand still, just because players are angry that they now have a more difficult time setting up ambushes? Can I get the six million credits back that I paid for them if your going to make them another useless item?

5. Gauss Rifles: A powerful weapon that throws slugs of some sort of steel or alloy at an approaching enemy. They already cost 15 tons, and 7 crit slots!!!!! Why in the nine hells would you now add a charging Nerf to them? Not to mention they already explode easily, and require more tonnage just for the ammo to use them. Because the devs were accused of them being their weapon of choice? .... Again, can I get my money back?!?!??

6. Boats: Missile boats, ppc boats, srm boats, etc... A mech that has multiple of the same type of weaponry. GOOD JOB GUYS, THIS IS MECHWARRIOR AFTER ALL, IS IT NOT? The idea is to be able to customize your mech FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE????!!!!!????!!!! Good lord, I can't stomach some of you people.

Lets be honest. I can go on, and on. And would love to. However, real life calls, and I must get back to work. Seriously though. Please stop PUNISHING us for being good players, and utilizing a system that does not need to be BALANCED.

Thank you for your time in reading this. I know that it will not make a difference, and you will still cater to mediocre players that cannot pilot worth a {Scrap}. But at least I feel better in getting that off my chest. =]

[Amsro]

Lightfoot, on 21 October 2013 - 06:48 PM, said:

Once you learn to pilot a 'Mech with a Joystick you will never go back to a mouse. MWO has good Joystick support now too, but you can't slew the reticle to the aiming point in just one second, and that's the problem.

I use a mouse and a joystick, the mouse is used for the torso/arms and the joystick for the legs/throttle.

This is the best of both worlds and is far above any other setup in pinpoint accuracy and dynamic mech control.

With that said Gauss is a beast to use when you have accurate control.

[Volkodav]

Now GAUSS nearly not in the game. ^ )

[Tekadept]

Volkodav, on 16 November 2013 - 12:06 AM, said:

Now GAUSS nearly not in the game. ^ )

I think that's the plan

[miliardo]

Why not returning Gauss to its roots in BattleTech universe...remove charge mechanic and add minimum firing range, like in the book

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Gauss_Rifle

[Aleksanteri Bekker]

miliardo, on 29 November 2013 - 01:47 PM, said:

Why not returning Gauss to its roots in BattleTech universe...remove charge mechanic and add minimum firing range, like in the book

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Gauss_Rifle

Sure, as soon as we get a more accurate minimum range for LRMs

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/LRM-20

Sandtiger, on 05 November 2013 - 12:00 PM, said:

Lets be honest. I can go on, and on. And would love to. However, real life calls, and I must get back to work. Seriously though. Please stop PUNISHING us for being good players, and utilizing a system that does not need to be BALANCED.

Thank you for your time in reading this. I know that it will not make a difference, and you will still cater to mediocre players that cannot pilot worth a {Scrap}. But at least I feel better in getting that off my chest. =]

Abusing imbalances doesn't make you a good player. Dream all you want but the game you're looking for is MW3 and, protip, MW3 was ***. Enjoy your delusions though.

[Allen Ward]

Sorry, but this explanation (dev post) sounds a bit like self defense. I am pretty sure that statistics will clearly show that Gauss weapons almost dropped into non-existence and damage rate has dropped significantly, too. Statistics won't tell much about ranges and sniping role (besides maps it is used in) but it seems they nerfed the Gauss into an ultra-pro long range weapon that almost no one can handle effectively. I might be wrong on that, but playing about 20 PUG games a day it is maybe once or twice that I encounter a Gauss rifle by seeing/noticing it (means, the gunner is able to hit anything with it).

Yes, it can be used at short range, but only by walking straight at your target. Shooting and hitting side-moving targets demands an ultra-high end computer with a high frame rate, a very steady hand and elite hand-eye coordination. Everyone that now says, hey, I can hit like that with Gauss at least 50% of the time - congrats, you are among the rare elite snipers of this planet. Gauss is frustrating to beginners and only appeals to advanced players. Still the drawbacks don't make this weapon a common one (breaks easily AND explodes, heavy and huge, expensive, slow).

It's nice that a game offers weapons that are only for specific roles as well as for the well trained players that dare to master it. But what was the outcome? Everyone now runs Jagermechs with single-click and hit ACs. They don't have the range of the Gauss, but are so common that this must tell something about the effect of the Gauss "change". Jagers with 20/10 oer 20/20 are now dominating, who needs Gauss? Cataphracts almost have no use anymore as lighter, faster (or heavier and sturdier) mechs can load the same or more firepower in ballistics. I don't see much usage for the Gauss in typical MWO encounters. A single Gauss sniper player makes no difference, he will get killed by Lights or by Missiles faster than he can use his Advanced Zoom. A prebuilt team can make effective use of Gauss as long range support/sniper, but then, you could use (ER)PPC, too. So in PUG games you have fewer and fewer weapons that you can/should use. It boils down to LRM boats+Laser/Streak Lights+as much AC20s and AC10s as u can get...

Don't know if I like that...

[Allen Ward]

miliardo, on 29 November 2013 - 01:47 PM, said:

Why not returning Gauss to its roots in BattleTech universe...remove charge mechanic and add minimum firing range, like in the book

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Gauss_Rifle

Don't know...minimum range sounds silly to me, although it was in BT rules. A solid slug propelled through a long barrel will cause max damage when leaving the barrel, there is no 60m flight for arming or something weird going on before it can inflict damage. Maybe it had something to do with the unwieldiness of the gun itself, but 2 hexes is more than enough to make up for any sluggish targeting. And weapons target by moving the mech or limbs, they are not turreted, so meh.

Explosion damage is the same {Scrap}, actually. A magnetic rail gun uses electromagnetic energy. Even if this weapon is smashed, there will never be an explosion like 20 points worth of high explosives ammo. An electric discharge will do damage, but it is not like high explosives. It can burn and melt interiors, electronics, myomers and stuff, but not rip off your mechs arm or something like that. We are not talking about an eletric arc furnace or the powers of lightning here. So I always hated that penalty. But, sigh, BT is not about science or sience fiction at all.

Gauss is borked from head to toe.
I liked it much better the way it was before that silly charge mechanism was entered. Even more, when we had rearm and repair. Rearming twin Gauss was everything but cheap, that was the best nerf IMO.

[Mogney]

could you make the gauss sounds louder? I can deal with the mechanic when I am at long range, but when they get in a big brawl I cant hear the sound of it being ready to fire over all the battle noises.

[Bront]

Allen Ward, on 02 December 2013 - 03:42 PM, said:

Don't know...minimum range sounds silly to me, although it was in BT rules.

It was an aiming issue in TT, which you can find all kinds of (made up) reasons it would have them . Min range in MWO is implemented very differently, and if they use the PPC and LRM model, I'd be annoyed, because it makes NO sense for the gauss.