215 replies to this topic

[John MatriX82]

I'm fine with the charge up mechanic, I'm not fine since DPSs for this gun should take into account all those times when you miss the discharge window and therefore I think a little reduction time in the recycle time could help. Especially compared to all the other ballistics; maybe lower it @3.75s instead of the actual 4".

What bothers me mostly is the tiny 1.25" discharge time. I think it should be increased, maybe not that much but even @ 1.5s it could make the gun less steep/hard to use.

With the above changes like slight recycle time reduction and longer charged time before it discharges (when you can't fire it), I say bullet speed should be reduced @ 1800 m/s.

If it has to stay like it is now in recycle times/charge up times/discharge window time, meh leave it as it is, at least that bullet is fast.

[HammerSwarm]

The sound needs to be more pronounced and or their should be a visual indicator.

[CaveMan]

I don't see anything wrong with it, personally.

Amusingly, the first Mechwarrior game I ever played (Mechwarrior 3050 for the Super NES, circa 1994) had a charge-up mechanic for the Gauss rifle. We've (weirdly) come full circle after close to 20 years.

[Alistair Winter]

This thread inspired me to do yet another Excel project to calculate my average damage and KDR with double gauss rifles, because I'm procrastinating when I should be doing other things.

After 20 matches:

• Win/Lose ratio of 1.1
  
• Kill/Death ratio of 4,89
  
• Average damage was 471 per match.
  
• Average kills 2,2 per match
  
• On average, I did 104% more damage than my average teammate.

Of course, my win/lose ratio clearly shows that I wasn't necessarily a huge asset to my team. So in this regard, I suppose you could say that the gauss rifle isn't OP. On the other hand, I did score a lot more kills and do a lot more damage than I would in many other heavy mech builds.
Meh, I don't know what my point is. I guess my point is this:

If you really like playing with a gauss rifle, it doesn't suck.

[MisterFiveSeven]

Alistair Winter, on 25 September 2013 - 09:05 AM, said:

Meh, I don't know what my point is. I guess my point is this:

If you really like playing with a gauss rifle, it doesn't suck.

I'm actually becoming a fan of the mechanic, only because I never really liked the GR anyway. Its 'splodiness was too much of a liability.

However, this means that my AC20 is now much more competitive because more engagements happen at ranges that I excel in with AC20 vs GR

Also, I'm sure the demise of the ERPPC had something to do with that.

[Corpsecandle]

In the end I guess the charge doesn't really bother me anymore, I don't get to attempt opportunity shots through girders and rocks anymore at non targeted mechs, but I guess I missed those most of the time anyhow. What does bother me is the short window before charge is lost. Can't tell you how many times I get my shot lined up, raise my finger and hear the "bshhp" of my charge being lost. As others have said, if the window was just a smidgen longer, I'd start rolling with gauss more often again (not regularly, but that was their goal right?).

[blood4blood]

I voted "not worth using" for the problems others have already stated and the simple fact that personally, I'm getting higher accuracy and more damage using AC20's, AC10's and LBX10's instead. I have friends who are getting great results with dual gauss, but for personal preference, there's plenty of other weapons I can use more effectively in those ballistic slots.

[C E Dwyer]

Depending on what mech its on I find performance varies, much better on arm mounts than torsi

[Shadey99]

Ashnod, on 25 September 2013 - 06:59 AM, said:

Thanks.. apparently none of my buddies wanted to mention that to me, should help a bit.

They probably have no idea those even exist. They indicate status of your firing groups (green = ready, red = cool down), but their is no real in game information to suggest that is there function. It doesn't even suggest which dot is which weapon group.

I saw them when I started playing, but their purpose was a mystery until someone on the forum mentioned it.

[Col Jaime Wolf]

short and sweet. the charge timer is w/e meh, but it does need a shorter cycle to make up the lost DPS from the charge, it still packs a wallop but its lost DPS really hurts it.

this pretty much says it all, dual guass is still worthwhile because of its punch otherwise....

blood4blood, on 25 September 2013 - 09:52 AM, said:

I voted "not worth using" for the problems others have already stated and the simple fact that personally, I'm getting higher accuracy and more damage using AC20's, AC10's and LBX10's instead. I have friends who are getting great results with dual gauss, but for personal preference, there's plenty of other weapons I can use more effectively in those ballistic slots.

(underlined for emphasis)

Edited by Mellifluer, 25 September 2013 - 11:45 AM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Alistair Winter, on 25 September 2013 - 04:26 AM, said:

Gauss users are people too.


Not sure if elitist or elitist parody.

Mwaha. Mwahaha. Then my mission is accomplished.

[Bishop Steiner]

Murphy7, on 25 September 2013 - 06:56 AM, said:

I put "Other", but for me it is working just fine... what had to change mostly was *me* how I went about using the weapon. I had to learn a different rhythm to combat, and I have been able to use it effectively at short and long range, though I like it better at long range.

I chose "Other" because I think there is potential for a pilot module in how the Gauss is used.

Improved Capacitor - holds charge for +(0.5 or whatever sec), Gauss rifle explosion is double damage

-or-

Supercharger - charge up time reduced by (-25%, -50%), with that amount of time added to the Gauss cooldown

So there is no net change in the fire rate, it is just more responsive to the snap shot.

If you notice, I would like to see modules added that aren't just a straight bonus, but could have unique disadvantages to their use that require some decisions about how you will pilot the mech.

Those are actually REALLY cool ideas. Hence they probably will never happen.

[Bishop Steiner]

John MatriX82, on 25 September 2013 - 07:31 AM, said:

I'm fine with the charge up mechanic, I'm not fine since DPSs for this gun should take into account all those times when you miss the discharge window and therefore I think a little reduction time in the recycle time could help. Especially compared to all the other ballistics; maybe lower it @3.75s instead of the actual 4".

What bothers me mostly is the tiny 1.25" discharge time. I think it should be increased, maybe not that much but even @ 1.5s it could make the gun less steep/hard to use.

With the above changes like slight recycle time reduction and longer charged time before it discharges (when you can't fire it), I say bullet speed should be reduced @ 1800 m/s.

If it has to stay like it is now in recycle times/charge up times/discharge window time, meh leave it as it is, at least that bullet is fast.

That cycle time though also helps balance the insane range, projectile speed and lack of heat, compared to the DPS. Other guns hit a little higher, but none have the type of range or endurance. Yes ac2 probably has higher DPS, but I will take 1 concentrated pinpoint shot of 15 over having to stay exposed spraying 2 pt nibbles all over the place.

I do think the capacitor hold should be longer though.

Actually, I would largely stick with the current mechanic, and modify it thusly.:
Once charged, the Charge can be held for up to 5 seconds, before the capacitors risk damage, and discharge themselves. Once charged, it is fired with a second tap, not a "hold then let off" like now. AND, the Gauss Rifle can only explode if it is hit WHILE the capacitor is charged.

But RoF compared to pinpoint damage, range and heat I am totally kosher with. Just my 2ct.

[JigglyMoobs]

Alistair Winter, on 25 September 2013 - 09:05 AM, said:

This thread inspired me to do yet another Excel project to calculate my average damage and KDR with double gauss rifles, because I'm procrastinating when I should be doing other things.

After 20 matches:

• Win/Lose ratio of 1.1
  
• Kill/Death ratio of 4,89
  
• Average damage was 471 per match.
  
• Average kills 2,2 per match
  
• On average, I did 104% more damage than my average teammate.

Of course, my win/lose ratio clearly shows that I wasn't necessarily a huge asset to my team. So in this regard, I suppose you could say that the gauss rifle isn't OP. On the other hand, I did score a lot more kills and do a lot more damage than I would in many other heavy mech builds.

Meh, I don't know what my point is. I guess my point is this:

If you really like playing with a gauss rifle, it doesn't suck.

74 games, 1.64 w/l, 4.2 k/d. This however includes about 20 games from my miserable failure as a dual ac/20 jager when I just started playing.

[Steel Claws]

Sturmbringer, on 24 September 2013 - 07:49 AM, said:

My opinion: The overall DPS of the Gauss has been nerfed to the ground. I cant hit jump snipers anymore, therefore its useless for countersniping or snapshots against enemies who are ridge humping or leaving cover just for a second.

A weapon this large, this heavy, with limited ammo which freaking explodes when hit is not a reliable weapon in a combat scenario. No real soldier would never use such an unreliable weapon in actual combat.

This is exactly correct. The people who say they like the new gauss arent saying they like the charge mechanic - just the speed. This is what the speed used to be before it was nerfed for the first of about 15 times it's been dorked with. The speed alone is not enough to redeem the charge mechanic in my opinion. All this did was push people into dual gauss rides. My scores with dual gauss rides dropped basically by about a quarter to a half because of lost shots of opportunity and the longer recycle. Jump snipers are just about untouchable to a gauss ride.

You also almost never see anyone using a single gauss anymore because people realized they could not be counted on. Autocannons have taken their place on most mechs.

I could almost accept the charge mechanic if it didnt already have a recycle time in front of it and if you didnt loose it again in a second and a half. If the hold time was increased to 4 or 5 seconds I might be able to live with it but as it sets right now it is just hopelessly flawed.

[John MatriX82]

Bishop Steiner, on 25 September 2013 - 12:24 PM, said:

I do think the capacitor hold should be longer though.

Actually, I would largely stick with the current mechanic, and modify it thusly.:
Once charged, the Charge can be held for up to 5 seconds, before the capacitors risk damage, and discharge themselves. Once charged, it is fired with a second tap, not a "hold then let off" like now. AND, the Gauss Rifle can only explode if it is hit WHILE the capacitor is charged.

I don't know I'm getting used at the "release" the group mechanic in order to shoot, although I agree that it's basically the only weapon that's currently using it (and I guess many newcomers can't even figure it out unless told or by trial and error and this is bad).

Let's put it this way, if the capacitor discharge is so long as you say, then once charged you have a big time window to actually press the trigger another time, to release the shot. So it would be more natural.

Also the charge indicator of the group (the green bar) should drain to let you know when you're out of time (btw: it should tell you this also right now!)


Otherwise if it has to stay similar to what we have now (like a small bump from 1.25" to 1.5 or 1.75s) maybe I think we should stick with the current "release the group to shoot".

+100 to the idea that the GR blows up when hit while on charge, otherwise it just get disabled like anything else, so you could bring it in side torsoes better than now (whenever I use the GR in my builds, it has to stay inside an arm! Usually along with 2 PPCs somewhere else ).

Edited by John MatriX82, 25 September 2013 - 02:23 PM.

[JigglyMoobs]

Steel Claws, on 25 September 2013 - 01:08 PM, said:

This is exactly correct. The people who say they like the new gauss arent saying they like the charge mechanic - just the speed. This is what the speed used to be before it was nerfed for the first of about 15 times it's been dorked with. The speed alone is not enough to redeem the charge mechanic in my opinion. All this did was push people into dual gauss rides. My scores with dual gauss rides dropped basically by about a quarter to a half because of lost shots of opportunity and the longer recycle. Jump snipers are just about untouchable to a gauss ride.

You also almost never see anyone using a single gauss anymore because people realized they could not be counted on. Autocannons have taken their place on most mechs.

I could almost accept the charge mechanic if it didnt already have a recycle time in front of it and if you didnt loose it again in a second and a half. If the hold time was increased to 4 or 5 seconds I might be able to live with it but as it sets right now it is just hopelessly flawed.

IMO it would be way OP on the dual gauss rigs now if the charge wasn't there. Against a poptart if you start charging as soon as the guy starts moving up you'll hit him right at the apex. If you miss the shot opportunity you can hide again. Once you get used to the timing, it's not that bad

If you don't have this mechanic the dual gauss set ups would be nightmares for everybody else with the new speed.

As it is it's already instant kill on any light standing still in the open within 600m. Without the charge mechanic they can't rest their strafe keys for even a second.

Edited by JigglyMoobs, 25 September 2013 - 02:44 PM.

[Shakespeare]

PEEFsmash, on 24 September 2013 - 12:00 PM, said:

I think they actually got this one right. I'm proud.

Oh...wait..I'm about to agree with Peef... need to vomit first.
.....

....

Ok. Yeah, I agree. I don't think they took the reduction in DPS from required charge time, so I'd like to see a slight buff to recycle, but other than that, I like where the GR is at.

Well, that wasn't so bad!

*bleurggg*

[PEEFsmash]

Shakespeare, on 25 September 2013 - 05:04 PM, said:

Oh...wait..I'm about to agree with Peef... need to vomit first.
.....

....

Ok. Yeah, I agree. I don't think they took the reduction in DPS from required charge time, so I'd like to see a slight buff to recycle, but other than that, I like where the GR is at.

Well, that wasn't so bad!

*bleurggg*

Get ready for this.

I actually agree that there should be a .25 or .5 second buff to the recycle time and they will be perfect.

Edited by PEEFsmash, 25 September 2013 - 05:22 PM.

[Steel Claws]

JigglyMoobs, on 25 September 2013 - 02:43 PM, said:

IMO it would be way OP on the dual gauss rigs now if the charge wasn't there. Against a poptart if you start charging as soon as the guy starts moving up you'll hit him right at the apex. If you miss the shot opportunity you can hide again. Once you get used to the timing, it's not that bad

If you don't have this mechanic the dual gauss set ups would be nightmares for everybody else with the new speed.

As it is it's already instant kill on any light standing still in the open within 600m. Without the charge mechanic they can't rest their strafe keys for even a second.

The problem is that Gauss was perfectly balanced BEFORE they messed with it. The speed was slower but it was fine. I would much preer they return it to the way it was and I wouldnt even care if they bumped the recycle to 5 seconds. The charge mechanic while I CAN use it just fine hinders the weapon for all the reasons listed before.

All they accomplished by this was making people stop running 2 PPC and a gauss and pushed them into other things like 2 PPC and a AC 20 or 2 PPC and 2 AC/UAC 5. There is little difference between what these rides can do and the 2 PPC Gauss rides of old. In fact the 2 PPC UAC 5 ride was taking over the 2 PPC/Gauss ride roll BEFORE this ever happened because it was more effective. The drop to the speed of PPCs made this ride even more effective because now there isn't much difference between the speed of the UAC 5/AC5 and PPCs. In effect - most of us were moving away from the PPC/Gauss combination they nerfed into the ground anyway. All they have really done is insure that gauss are not used much in singles - and the whole reason they started nerfing them in the first place was that people said dual gauss were OP. Now we are right back were we started 12 months ago.

Edited by Steel Claws, 25 September 2013 - 05:43 PM.