Turrets. Tower turrets with shields, smaller ones with AMS. No definitive explaination of implementation. So that means TOTAL SPECULATION TIME.
I speculate the tower, shielded versions will be present on maps. Maybe only for assault. maybe sprinkled in here and there on conquest to make things interesting.
I think the smaller ones will be new consumables. The AMS version will be a pilot skill upgrade thing. More potent ones will be for MC.
not sure how I feel about my own speculation. The idea of using a consumable for a defense turret adds a dynamic to play that isnt there right now. We have active offensive modules, but not defensive ones.
on the other hand, people have been clamoring for defense turrets for a long time because of the "cap griefing" or perception there of. Now we would have a turret, but it would require purchase and module slot to bring it. IMO, that solution is annoying, as I feel the turrets should have been there all along regardless of the cap grief complaints or not because it adds so much to game play and tactics to have them there. I am not sure I like the perception of "forcing" teams or solo players pugging to spend c-bills on turrets as balancing the "powerful enough to detur capping" against "wimpy enough to not be required" is going to be a crapshoot. IMO, the turrets should be powerful enough to detur capping. And then they should be there, to detur capping, without requiring someone to spend c-bills to put them there(or MC even).
TOTAL SPECULATION. of course, but having the different "tiers" of these things listed makes it really feel like a defensive counterpart to airstrikes or even cool shot. Somehow I think this is supposed to play into "light mech team roles" or lack there of and how to address it, but unless there is more to this......
Edit: Oh yeah, as far as some generic feedback. I really hope they make tower ones that are obvious, and make little ones that are just flat, easily camo'd base platforms with "pop up" laser turrets that dont activate until a foe is in range. This keeps things like SL turrets off radar and undetected, but also basically untargetable until they are in range to actually do something. otherwise it will mean capping lights mount an ERPPC and take a minute to shoot the defenses from 1200M before going to cap, making "defense fire" moot.
Edited by Eldagore, 21 November 2013 - 04:45 PM.