Dimento Graven, on 19 March 2014 - 01:30 PM, said:
Even if that value is a good value to use, you're typically not dealing with ONE LRM rack being fired at you. It's usually 2 or more, and the damage is typically spread to upper torso, so using your numbers that's at least 14 on a typical load out.
Doing 14 points of damage, salvo after salvo, after salvo is respectable, especially considering you typically won't be the ONLY person firing at that 'mech.
IF, you're doing it wrong: using only one rack, and firing at a 'mech no one else is firing at, at 800+ meters, without artemis, TAG, NARC, adv. targeting decay... Well... You can't reasonably expect lethality.
Even multiple racks, without all the add-ons, you can't expect lethality, and don't deserve to ask for buffs.
Loading up the add-ons AND using them intelligently by firing on targets already actively engaged by your teammates, crimany yeah, you WILL get completely different results.
So adding a flat 45% flight speed increase without considering how the weapon, when used properly, is ALREADY fairly lethal, pushes the over all rating of the weapon into OP territory.
I'd beg to differ about a single launcher (or a few smaller ones) not being fired at a single target. Many games still, I'm one of a few LRM users on my team (even after the patch, which is kinda surprising). I've found them to be effective for me, but there were many many times that it was frustrating to see most of my missiles land on the ground next to my target because "they walked very slowly perpendicular" to me. Don't get me started on the 'Pop over the hill, they shoot me, I shoot back, they duck behind cover again and my LRMs do nothing", or even the "lock a fast mech. Watch him run behind a teammate. What and cringe as my LRMs slam into my teammate because they move so slowly"...
For the record, a couple smaller launchers, or a single big launcher, seems to be fairly effective for me:
Stalker 3F:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1b0fed418ebb28e
Thunderbolt 5S:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1e01d025e505557
Griffin 3M:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...c4acc2e2546a287
Shadowhawk 2H:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...f9634c0c93c9903
Hunchback 4SP:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bb0bc827b009caf
Locust 3M:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...0aed9ef87384ab3
Raven 4X:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...98482fb6aa1c943
(All these builds seem to preform very well on the battlefield, in real live fire. I could post the stats for you, but some of them would need to be adjusted as I ran them for a while with builds that didn't work very well (Locust, Stalker to name a couple).)
Just saying that, sometimes, a little can go a long ways.
Also, as far as someone dedicating the weight to a ton of LRMs, do consider the disadvantages of it, such as ECM, getting within the 180m minimum range, dependance upon locks, spread damage, weight to damage (not overly all that good), etc.
My current new accuracy for the ALRM20 was at 34%. My old one was at 29%. Each ton of ammo is 180 missiles. It weighs 8 tons, and I have dedicated 4 tons to ammo.
An AC5 I had an accuracy of about 60%. Each ton of ammo is 30 shots. It weights 8 tons and can work well at 3 tons of ammo, but for equal weight we shall give it 4 tons of ammo. (Also shoots faster and cooler from my recollection.)
Lets do some math here.
Formulas used:
Accuracy% x shots per ton of ammo x damage per shot = damage per ton of ammo.
Damage per ton of ammo x 4 tons of ammo = Damage for 4 tons of ammo.
Damage for 4 tons of ammo/12 tons (weight of weapon and ammo combined) = Damage per ton of total weapon system.
LRMs with new changes: 67.32 damage per ton of ammo. 269.28 damage for 4 tons of ammo. 22.44 damage per ton.
Old: 57.42 per ton of ammo. 229.68 damage for 4 tons of ammo. 19.14 damage per ton.
AC5: about 90 damage per ton of ammo. 360 damage for 4 tons of ammo. 30 damage per ton.
So far, the math says that the AC5, for the same weight is out preforming my LRM damages ton for ton. Include factors such as spread or pin point damage and... well... I'm sorry. This buff for LRMs is not all that detrimental.
(Warning: The accuracy percentage of my LRMs for the new patch is still kinda coming in. Only played 5 matches total so far. Numbers subject to change.) (All tested with the above mentioned Griffin build.)
Also, LRMs from the last two "LRMagadons" problems:
-(1st) Artemis made LRMs hit mostly/only the head hitbox of many mechs. LRM headshot, wasn't intentional.
-(2nd) LRM splash damage (combined with a large head box of release of the Jagermech) was causing LRMs to head shot or massive damage the CT of mechs by a multiple of the missiles that hit. AKA: A single LRM was doing close to 5 damage total, which was not the intent. Thus, and LRM5 system was dealing close to 20 damage on it's own. Add in an LRM boat of 70 LRMs (a commonish build back then) and... 70 x 5 = 350 damage, mostly applied to CT or head. One volley death.
This "3rd" LRMagadon is "LRMs doing closer to the damage they are suppose to, but still less than many other weapon systems in the game" issue. Sorry. Not LRMagadon. I'm calling it "LRMs are balanced again" instead of being "underpowered". Seen as I've heard, and agreed, that before this patch, LRMs were like throwing wet noodles at your opponents most times... (They still really spread the damage around and are not focused.)
(If you want, post up your LRM and ballistic stats, and I'll do the math like I did for my own numbers.)