98 replies to this topic

[JigglyMoobs]

Morderian, on 20 October 2013 - 02:33 PM, said:

actually i dont really play casually oriented i have some goals especially when CW comes around (also dont like the wording casuals of today are CoD kids not the hobby gamers from old times) and i find it hard to find the right sensitivity options for mwo mostly also because the fps in the game are atm not that high (this hopefully changes with DX11 when the game is running more effecient i know people who had to stop playing because of 12vs12 ruining their fps), but back to topic

well the Gauss atm also i think has an huge advantage when you use them as Jumpsniper weapon because all drawbacks are countered and only the ER-PPC heat is staying (easily countered by using standard PPC) while the Jumpsniper gets all advantages of the Gauss and has no drawbacks (still dont understand why i see less and less jumpsniper but maybe ac boats are now easier to use then adapting a bit, well ok they do also a lot more damage because they shoot the whole mechs to shred instead of destroying single parts of it)

I'm thinking about building a jump sniper highlander with PPC and Gauss:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...6c83c0484a8eeb0

My plan is to put the PPCs on the space bar (weapon group 3 for me) and gauss on mouse 1. This way I can release mouse1 and press space at the same time when jumpsniping. Then on mouse 2 I will have AC/2 grouped together with Gauss. I will use them for both long and short range DPS situations, especially as a last ditch defense when people are too close to use the PPCs.

Of course if they blow off my Gauss arm I'd be screwed.

Not sure I'm going to pull the trigger on this though, as I'm averse to spending more actual $$ to get the Heavy Metal, the only mech with which this would be viable.

[Bront]

Thomas Dziegielewski, on 18 October 2013 - 01:40 PM, said:

It's great. And it doesn't feel like an AC anymore. If you don't like the charge switch to an AC.

Sadly, this post means it's not likely to get changed ever. I've only been playing for a few months, but the Gauss change was the single biggest change that I've hated the most (Yes, more than ghost heat/heat scale, though that's a close second).

What it feels like happened is that in the name of "balance" a weapon was thrown into a specific roll with a mechanic. So now it's the slowest DPS of any balistic (other than maybe the MG), and has a firing mechanic that is not only like nothing else, but is very counterintuitive (particularly the charge limit before it decharges), and it's usefulness is debatable.

The gauss is already heavy, large, and explodes. in return the ammo doesn't explode and you generate a lot of damage with little heat at a fairly long range. With a slower travel time, it was an ok sniper weapon and an OK brawler weapon (still had a low DPS) but still could be outshone in several ways (DPS by many ACs, range by the AC2, damage by the AC20 over most of the weapon's standard range, size by smaller ACs).

It's biggest issue was an issue with PPCs generating too little heat and pinpoint damage issues of convergence allowing for 2 PPCs + Gauss to do all it's damage to a single hit location. With the speed difference, that was already mostly negated. The sad part of it is that it can be scripted around, so you can still synch fire your PPCs and Gauss, and the extra heat doesn't really effect poptart snipers or snipers who fire a single shot and then take cover. So, the reality is that the fix mostly alienated players who were using the Gauss for things other than sniping and weren't participating in the meta that was trying to be nerfed.

[Morderian]

well for a jumpsniper i would recommend caphract 3d gauss in torso PPcs in the arms they are on the same levle and its easy aiming the gauss with the fat crosshair also you are not such an big target but on the other side i dont kno about HM dont have him also the PPC in the arm gauss in torso helps landing ppc and Guass on one location with a bit training which is hard with both in the arms i think

and dont put the gauss on space you could end up wasting ammo if you change sniper postion (cancel that overead thats your weapongroup 3 ), first jump slightly up search your pray remeber where it is the jump up gauss loading ppcs first then gauss 35point alpha on enemy mech without trouble for you, if you want more easymode use an macro (nothing for me personaly cause for me macros feel like cheating)

also dont put the AC2 in, better are more heatsinks and you wont warn your enemy from where the 35points salvo comes and put the Guss ammo then to the Gauss as critshield with 4-5 tons ammo a lot of heatsinks and maybe max JJs it should be very good at Jumpsniping

Edited by Morderian, 20 October 2013 - 03:08 PM.

[Spheroid]

What happens when the heavy gauss rifle rolls around? People are defending the charge mechanic because of the engagement ranges. Heavy gauss is a brawling weapon.

[mekabuser]

Deathlike, on 18 October 2013 - 01:41 PM, said:

It needs a longer firing window. 1.25 seconds goes by too quickly.

wouldnt b bad, but what i want is a solid recharge audio cue.
SOMETHING LOUDS.

[Coralld]

The charge up mechanic is a nice feature and I my self like it. It de-syncs it from PPCs, and other weapons which is the whole point it was put in, which is a good thing sense PPC/Gaussaggedon was horrifically stupid and needed to die and be put 6 feet under. The mechanic is not that hard to get use to when you actually put in some time and effort. I got use to it after the first 5 min in Testing Grounds and became proficient after the first 4 games.

For those that are saying they can't get use to it and that its to difficult, I find really hard to believe. However I am not you guys and for all I know you are just really that bad at timing for what ever reason, which I then would say for you guys to use an AC10 or 20 as your boom stick.

Sure I think it could be tweaked, for example, reduce the cycle time from 4 sec to 3 or 3.25 sec to compensate for the .75 sec charge up time as well as increase the held charge duration from 1.25 to 1.5.

Also, if the Gauss is such a useless POS weapon, what does that make the people who I constantly kill with it while I run around in my Hunchback 4H? I am also somewhere in or close to the uper mid ELO bracket from what I can tell by some of the people I see from time to time like Soy, so you can't really say I am in a low ELO level.

Spheroid, on 20 October 2013 - 04:23 PM, said:

What happens when the heavy gauss rifle rolls around? People are defending the charge mechanic because of the engagement ranges. Heavy gauss is a brawling weapon.

HG has the same if not slightly better range then a PPC. So I am not sure where you are getting the idea that its a short range weapon.
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Heavy_Gauss
http://www.sarna.net...rojector_Cannon

Edited by Coralld, 20 October 2013 - 05:29 PM.

[Spheroid]

Coralld, on 20 October 2013 - 05:23 PM, said:

HG has the same if not slightly better range then a PPC. So I am not sure where you are getting the idea that its a short range weapon.

Did you also forget that the HGR's damage decays over distance unlike that of a normal gauss rifle? At long range the weapon is only doing 40% of its max damage. This would seem to indicate that close range is its best use, otherwise you might as well take a standard gauss while playing the boardgame.

Edited by Spheroid, 20 October 2013 - 05:35 PM.

[Coralld]

Spheroid, on 20 October 2013 - 05:35 PM, said:

Did you also forget that the HGR's damage decays over distance unlike that of a normal gauss rifle? At long range the weapon is only doing 40% of its max damage. This would seem to indicate that close range is its best use, otherwise you might as well take a standard gauss while playing the boardgame.

True, however, the HG short range damage is at 25, mid range 20, and at its longest range 10. So its more along the lines of a short to mid range weapon while still being able to inflict damage at longer ranges then a PPC.

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if PGI gave it better HP then the regular Gauss.

Edited by Coralld, 20 October 2013 - 05:48 PM.

[Arguss10]

What i would like to know , is how many players are using macro's in this game for Gauss now and other weapons. Your making it hard for new players just starting this game with game mechanics like this . Your new players will go to games like Hawken instead of staying with this game. While your at it , get rid of 3rd person as well, as we don't need that either , and keep it to us hard core gamers only.

[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.

So again, 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. You could increase the time to discharge to 4-5 seconds or remove the charge-up all together and just make the recharge 6-7 seconds.

Edited by Lightfoot, 21 October 2013 - 03:51 AM.

[Curccu]

Lightfoot, on 21 October 2013 - 03:51 AM, said:

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.

So again, 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. You could increase the time to discharge to 4-5 seconds or remove the charge-up all together and just make the recharge 6-7 seconds.

Mechanics is push the button, hold it and release? Why it doesn't work with joystick?

[Morderian]

because a joystick cant reaim at a target as good as a mouse, if you have a joystick you cant reaim the movement of your enemy while your gauss is loading for that a joystick is too inaccurate and also too restricted in its movement

Edited by Morderian, 21 October 2013 - 04:32 AM.

[Ey3cD34Dppl]

Hello everyone,

I'd like to throw in another idea.

Basics:
- The Gauss rifle does damage as it explodes because of..... the capacitors are charged and discharge uncontrollable as they are damaged. This is the reason why the Gauss rifle does damage if it is being destroyed. Therefore the Gauss rifle should only do damage to your Mech as it is charging a shot.
- The charging of the capacitors and the reloading does not make sense if it is beeing in two separate phases. Every weapon engineer will try to integrate this at once and I don't see any logical reason to do otherwise.


These facts lead to

- In order to keep the disadvantage of the Gauss rifle explosion the rifle needs to be charged
- As there is no reason to keep reloading and charging in two separate phases

Therefore my suggestion would be

- Manually triggered charging and reloading of the Gauss rifle, e.g. via mouse click
- Firing at once via a 2nd mouse click
- Explosion of the Gauss rifle only if it is charged


This would lead to:
- As the Gauss rifle doesn't reload and charge automatically and as there are more clicks necessary to use it - it is still a sniper weapon. In a brawl this mechanic is a handicap noone can deny. So the character of the Gauss rifle is still alive.
- The weapon is now in line with the Battletech canon
- NEGATIV: "Jump sniping" would be possible easier. But as I never got killed or had any problem with these type of players this is not really a "thread" in my opinion. Maybe you think the other way and I will accept that.

Quote from s~~na.net

Quote

Since the Gauss Rifle fires solid metal slugs, with neither propellant nor explosive, Gauss Rifle magazines are not susceptible to ammunition explosions. However, if the weapon itself is struck by enemy fire, the capacitors that power the electromagnets will release their stored energy, with an effect similar to an ammo explosion. (In game terms, a critical hit on a Gauss Rifle is equivalent to a 20-point ammo explosion.)

The baseline of this posting is, that the Gauss rifle needs to be adjusted. Due to the last patch it is still usable, but there are so many better alternatives (ACs). I think we waste a lot of potential in the Gauss rifle and a good weapon to have some kind of diversification in the weapon loadouts.

Just my 2 cents....

I am eager to read your feedback!

Cheers
Ey3

[TychoTheItinerant]

Syllogy, on 18 October 2013 - 07:45 AM, said:

I like the new Gauss. It helps me conserve ammo instead of wasting it on snapshots.

>Wasting
>Snapshots

what.

Snapshots are potentially fantastic things, as what frequently gets revealed in the brief window of time you get when an enemy peeks from cover is their head or their high-mounted weaponry. You're either killing them outright or neutering them at range. Snapshots are sometimes all you GET in a hidey-peeky-heavy match, and learning how and when to take them is the bread and butter of a good sniper. The whole point of a Gauss is to give a MechWarrior a genuine sniper's tool, a highly accurate, long range, high damage spike designed to kill or cripple mechs in the brief windows of opportunity presented in a cover-heavy match.

Higher ROF weapons like the AC2 and AC5 are suppression tools, not sniper weapons, as their damage per shot is comparatively low but they do a fantastic job of rattling an enemy caught in the open at range when fired continuously. The lighter ACs are good at punishing people who stay in the open away from cover and causing panic, whereas the Gauss is designed for "golden opportunity" shots with its low ROF, low ammo per ton, high projectile speed/accuracy and high damage.

The AC10 and 20 are brawling weapons, one is better for sustained DPS on an exposed or weakened target at medium range (the AC10, which is also more efficient for crit-hitting and offers higher ROF and ammo-per-ton) and the other is superior for massive close range damage frontload and surprise-shots (the AC20).

If you really want to discourage poptarting, implement penalties for getting caught in midair. Catching a PPC blast, a Gauss slug, an AC round or a missile of any sort in the middle of a jump should cause an imbalance and drastically skew your aim - possibly even result in your mech being "knocked down" when it lands if the shooter catches you as you're falling. This lets a mech with an AC2 or AC5 effectively suppress jumpsnipers/poptarts by promising to punish them if they are caught midjump.

Edited by TychoTheItinerant, 22 October 2013 - 03:31 AM.

[Curccu]

Morderian, on 21 October 2013 - 04:32 AM, said:

because a joystick cant reaim at a target as good as a mouse, if you have a joystick you cant reaim the movement of your enemy while your gauss is loading for that a joystick is too inaccurate and also too restricted in its movement

So isn't it too restricted to play mechwarrior (decently) at all?

[DrSlamastika]

Again I must say it: Gauss gun is perfect right now ! ! ! Its sniping gun, so I think the charge time is ok for this type of gun.

Finally different from other ballistic weapons. Its good that they changed it.
After change of advanced zoom is very dangerous if you know how to use it.

I personaly use it on four mech and enjoy every single shot from this beauty

[TychoTheItinerant]

DrSlamastika, on 22 October 2013 - 03:39 AM, said:

Again I must say it: Gauss gun is perfect right now ! ! ! Its sniping gun, so I think the charge time is ok for this type of gun.

Finally different from other ballistic weapons. Its good that they changed it.
After change of advanced zoom is very dangerous if you know how to use it.

I personaly use it on four mech and enjoy every single shot from this beauty

What makes you think a charge/delay time upon trigger pull is acceptable for ANY SNIPER WEAPON? When a sniper sees a shot open up, he has to be able to take that window of opportunity RIGHT DAMN THERE. Delay is unacceptable. If you spend your entire match locked into Adv Zoom mode because you need to watch for windows of opportunity long enough to accommodate the ridiculous charge-up, you put yourself at MASSIVE RISK. You give yourself tunnel vision and risk getting countered or flanked. A sniper needs to be able to be where an opportunity is available, take the opportunity as soon as it presents itself, and get the hell to a different position before the enemy figures out where that shot came from and directs flankers or suppressing fire to the sniper's location. In this sense I feel that the "spiral contrails" from MW4 would actually be quite appropriate, as it discourages camping/sedentary snipers. (Also, the Machina from TF2 is good at teaching snipers to shoot and scoot properly for the same reason). Take your shot, fade back, look for your next opportunity.

[DrSlamastika]

LOL I realy dont know what about you talking man . . .

All what I want say is: I am more acurate with this new gauss gun and if you learn how to use it you will be too.
The speed of projectil is pretty good, no ammo explosion, so a little bit charge-up sequencion as just a little nerf. But not bad nerf. Its just need some skill form you . . .

[TychoTheItinerant]

DrSlamastika, on 22 October 2013 - 04:18 AM, said:

LOL I realy dont know what about you talking man . . .

Of course you don't, you're a marginally-literate yes-man.

DrSlamastika, on 22 October 2013 - 04:18 AM, said:

All what I want say is: I am more acurate with this new gauss gun and if you learn how to use it you will be too.
The speed of projectil is pretty good, no ammo explosion, so a little bit charge-up sequencion as just a little nerf. But not bad nerf. Its just need some skill form you . . .

Why would you be more accurate with the charge mechanic? Think about that. What about the charge mechanic makes you more accurate? Don't lump in the projectile speed increase with the charge mechanic, your increased accuracy with the Gauss (if that is actually the case) can probably be attributed to the lower flight time on the slug. Also, the ammo doesn't explode, but the weapon can, and the weapon is a lot more visible to an opponent as a target than the ammo anyway. All they have to do is aim at the big fat gun barrel and they're probably going to hit the Gauss' location, possibly resulting in the weapon exploding and you having a bad time. The nerf of the Gauss in the form of the charge mechanic was intended to quash the PPC+Gauss sniping meta by forcibly de-syncing the PPC and Gauss shots to get rid of the massive combined pinpoint-damage spike they do together, which as other people have mentioned it has failed to do in the face of skilled macro-makers, so the charge mechanic serves literally ZERO MEANINGFUL PURPOSE.

Also, nice little backhanded "U JUST NEED SKILLZ LOL" jab there, bucko.

Edited by TychoTheItinerant, 22 October 2013 - 04:34 AM.

[xR1pp3Rx]

bomblast guass is LAME... that is all. no one uses it now.

Edited by xR1pp3Rx, 22 October 2013 - 04:57 AM.