98 replies to this topic

[Diablobo]

Now that the gauss rifle has been nerfed into oblivion, the AC20 reigns supreme. Heck, even AC10s and AC5s are more common because there is no viable sniper weapon. The Gauss served as a perfect counter to 20 Jagers and all the other brawlers who close and blast away.

The idea behind the nerf was to make Gauss/PPC combos less effective, but since the PPC heat has been raised, they are even less common than the Gauss. There is no reason to nerf the Gauss anymore. We need another weapon to counter AC20 and other autocannon snipers. Bring back the old Gauss.

[Syllogy]

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

[Amsro]

Heh I still use Gauss, the speed BUFF it received makes the new charge mechanic moot. Small learning curve for the best ballistic in game.

[MonkeyDCecil]

I hate the Gauss rifle now and have replaced it with the AC/10. I understand that for some people it is still a viable weapon. I just happen to not be one of those people. Wish they would change it back, but I know they won't.

[Steelgrave]

MonkeyDCecil, on 18 October 2013 - 11:34 AM, said:

I hate the Gauss rifle now and have replaced it with the AC/10. I understand that for some people it is still a viable weapon. I just happen to not be one of those people. Wish they would change it back, but I know they won't.

Yeah, that's me. I've tried, but just can't develop a feel for it. I'm too twitchy. I'm used to making accurate snapshots with my ballistics. Just can't seem to do so with the new gauss.

Ahh well. My AC/20 still loves me.

[AC]

MonkeyDCecil, on 18 October 2013 - 11:34 AM, said:

I hate the Gauss rifle now and have replaced it with the AC/10. I understand that for some people it is still a viable weapon. I just happen to not be one of those people. Wish they would change it back, but I know they won't.

Steelgrave, on 18 October 2013 - 12:35 PM, said:

Yeah, that's me. I've tried, but just can't develop a feel for it. I'm too twitchy. I'm used to making accurate snapshots with my ballistics. Just can't seem to do so with the new gauss.

Ahh well. My AC/20 still loves me.

I am in this boat as well. I have seen a lot of "The gauss still brawls fine" in other threads. But the gauss was never suppose to be a brawl weapon. It is suppose to be a sniper weapon. The charge mechanic makes it too hard to fire at small specs across the map accurately.

[CygnusX7]

Feels like a sling shot.

[Monky]

Diablobo, on 18 October 2013 - 07:40 AM, said:

The Gauss served as a perfect counter to 20 Jagers and all the other brawlers who close and blast away.

Yeah, that's pretty much why it was changed. There should be no perfect counter to close range brawlers in a brawl THAT IS ALSO A GREAT SNIPER WEAPON.

[Steelgrave]

CygnusX7, on 18 October 2013 - 12:52 PM, said:

Feels like a sling shot.

Now that you mention it. Yeah. Good simile.

Edited by Steelgrave, 18 October 2013 - 12:57 PM.

[Bhael Fire]

CygnusX7, on 18 October 2013 - 12:52 PM, said:

Feels like a sling shot.

It's the "Bow and Arrow" mechanic used in many other games. A favorite of mine that comes to mind is Thief 1, 2 and 3.

[AC]

Monky, on 18 October 2013 - 12:54 PM, said:

Yeah, that's pretty much why it was changed. There should be no perfect counter to close range brawlers in a brawl THAT IS ALSO A GREAT SNIPER WEAPON.

I don't think you understood.... I believe they meant it as a range deterrent to AC20 jaggers. Take a Gauss Jagger and AC20 Jagger and start them off even at point blank range, the AC20 Jagger will generally always win. Even with the old gauss. Gauss was a deterrent to keep the brawlers away or destroy them before they get to you.

[Clit Beastwood]

Diablobo, on 18 October 2013 - 07:40 AM, said:

Now that the gauss rifle has been nerfed into oblivion, the AC20 reigns supreme. Heck, even AC10s and AC5s are more common because there is no viable sniper weapon. The Gauss served as a perfect counter to 20 Jagers and all the other brawlers who close and blast away.

The idea behind the nerf was to make Gauss/PPC combos less effective, but since the PPC heat has been raised, they are even less common than the Gauss. There is no reason to nerf the Gauss anymore. We need another weapon to counter AC20 and other autocannon snipers. Bring back the old Gauss.

Spend an hour or so in testing grounds and you should be fine. Learn to adapt to changing conditions, it'll help you more in the long term than trying to change things to suit you.

[GODzillaGSPB]

I understand the reasoning behind the change. And let's face it and be honest: If the old gauss returned, ppc-snipers will adopt it again. Why? Because for the same reason PPCs aren't as prominent anymore: They're hot as hell. Having a viable secondary sniper weapon that does not produce heat would be great. It will happen.

They know it, we know it. They wont change it back. But they can TWEAK IT! A bit more time to fire the shot would be very reasonable. Currently you often only have a chance if you already know where the target is, charge bevor leaving cover and than fire in that instance. No margin for error, with a weapon that is very bad in close combat (even worse than a PPC), very fragile, deals damage on explosion and is the single heaviest weapon in the game...

PGI explains some features with the need to make the game more accessable, yet they add overcomplicated mechanisms like this. PGI explains the change of the gauss with the need to make it a sniper weapon, yet it is the worst sniper weapon of all time. For once, PGI, do something reasonable and be honest about it.

Edited by GODzillaGSPB, 18 October 2013 - 01:22 PM.

[Monky]

AC, on 18 October 2013 - 01:09 PM, said:

I don't think you understood.... I believe they meant it as a range deterrent to AC20 jaggers. Take a Gauss Jagger and AC20 Jagger and start them off even at point blank range, the AC20 Jagger will generally always win. Even with the old gauss. Gauss was a deterrent to keep the brawlers away or destroy them before they get to you.

Except you can never count on that situation in a fight. A single fresh AC20 jaeger vs a single fresh Gauss jaeger is unlikely in any real match. Gauss Jaegers had and still have realistic chances in that kind of fight because the fight is fluid. The only practical change to the weapon is that it is now more accurate at range due to higher projectile speed, while being less capable of snapshots in melee. This is the source of every complaint however as people think they are gimping themselves if they choose a sniper specialized weapon and can't brawl as well because of it. Well - tough. That's what the weapon is for.

[Prezimonto]

If you stop trying to brawl with the Gauss, it's a fine weapon. If you're reallllly good with it, you can even still brawl, just not as well as before.

[AC]

Monky, on 18 October 2013 - 01:22 PM, said:

Except you can never count on that situation in a fight. A single fresh AC20 jaeger vs a single fresh Gauss jaeger is unlikely in any real match. Gauss Jaegers had and still have realistic chances in that kind of fight because the fight is fluid. The only practical change to the weapon is that it is now more accurate at range due to higher projectile speed, while being less capable of snapshots in melee. This is the source of every complaint however as people think they are gimping themselves if they choose a sniper specialized weapon and can't brawl as well because of it. Well - tough. That's what the weapon is for.

I find the opposite to be true. You need snap shots at range. You are often times trying to figure out how much to lead the target, if you have to lob your shot, and how long you have to aim before they duck back into cover. You need the snap shot at range. After all you tend to be firing at a target that is about the size of a mechs toe at range.

Up close you don't need the snap shot at all. You can keep the mech in your crosshairs much longer and rather than just trying to hit the mech at all (like at range) you can actually pick where to shoot the mech. Brawling was the one place where the gauss charge did not hurt the gauss.

Edited by AC, 18 October 2013 - 01:31 PM.

[smokefield]

i think its a good change...i find it a lot better for long range, where its role is supposed to be.

[Thomas Dziegielewski]

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

[Deathlike]

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

Edited by Deathlike, 18 October 2013 - 01:42 PM.

[JigglyMoobs]

You can still use the Gauss to brawl. You just need to get into a rythm.

The thing I like least about it is that it is hard to use in combination with other brawling weapons. A longer charge-hold time would go a long way to fix that.

On the other hand, if you specialize as a sniper using 2 Gauss rifles, 7.5 sustained dps pin point damage with no heat penalty means it brawls just fine. I would support a slight reduction in the cycle time to reflect the charge up time, but that's all.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d78be0baa8f9018

Finally, due to the higher projectile velocity, it's now an amazing sniper weapon, but you have to use it as a sniper. Sniping is not strictly about range. It's about trying to stay concealed or behind cover, and shoot accurate shots at critical components from long range. With sniping, you're aiming to achieve that one hit which kills the enemy or crits him. And you are trying to get people who don't know you are there. That's what the gauss rife is supposed to do.

What a lot of people think of as AC snipers, are actually long range machine gunners who lay down suppression fire. In that scenario, you lay down lots of relatively inaccurate fire which lands all over the enemy mech from long range, forcing him to retreat from a situation. The current crop of AC 2/5s are best for that.

The dual AC/10 is closer to an AC sniper. However, its projectile is still not nearly as fast, and it's missing 10 points of damage.

The most problematic thing about the current Gauss rifle is hit registration, but that's a separate issue. When hit registration is good, you can do this:

http://imgur.com/3gow6bk,a5UnxvM#1

At least 2 of those 7 kills are one shot kills light mechs running unpredictably at full speed from more than 400 m away. Try doing that with any AC.

Edited by JigglyMoobs, 18 October 2013 - 01:45 PM.