RamsoPanzer, on 14 February 2014 - 12:02 PM, said:
U guys keep living your own lie.
Every weapon has its own problems. Range-heat-damage etc. If you are going to tell me all the problems of the Lrms, then should always tell me all the problems of the rest of weapons.
Lasers - you have to keep it aimed on target to deal full damage
Pulse lasers - very short range and huge heat
PPCs/ErPPCs - minimum range & huge heat. Pinpoint damage, requires good aim.
SRMs - Spread, short Range and hit Reg.
Ballistics - Pinpoint damage, requires good aim to put enough DPS to be effective.
Do u really consider that using a tag and waiting for a lock requires better skills than those weapons? blup
Have you played LRMs? How bout an LRM boat? Make it a slow one...
I'll take your comparisons and line them up for LRMs then:
LRMs: Must keep a lock on for the whole flight. If the LRM mech is spotting for themselves, that is even worse than a laser, as you have to face nose into your target FOR THE ENTIRE LRM FLIGHT. When you have wave after wave of LRMs going into the target, that is a zero glance away for cover, and making it more difficult for spreading damage by twisting.
LRMs: Is very vulnerable to close range, and fast mechs who can close into that close range. Oh, and they can run hot depending upon how many you have, what sized tubes, etc.
LRMs: Have an even larger minimum range than PPCs. LRMs also have no direction on where their damage will hit. They hit when and where and if they hit.
LRMs: Share the same spread and hit reg problems as SRMs (and SSRMs) to some extent. (SRMs are in a bad spot right now.)
LRMs: Spreads damage, compared to one "high pin point alpha" of Ballistics. Has higher heat generation over ballistics. Needs more tons of ammo over ballistics.
LRMs also have the need for locks, doesn't work very well without locks, are slow to damage targets (target/terrain/situation dependent) , deal their damage wherever they hit (can't aim and try to hit an already damaged component), spreads their damage most times across a lot of the mech, is blocked from cover (and more than just what is in front, but what is above, behind, and around the target).
I can recall many times that I had a target in my sights, under the docks in Crimson, locked on and in range, and I couldn't deal a single point of damage with my LRMs as my missiles would flight up and into the ceiling before connecting to the target, where as they could shoot me the whole time with their direct fire weapons.
The thing is, LRMs require DIFFERENT skills over direct fired weapons. They are not skill-less to use, but need different skills to use. A good LRM user will conserve their fire till they know their shot has a good chance to hit. This can often mean having to get their own locks, looking above as well as what's in front of them, and even paying attention to where a target is before shooting any indirect shots. After all, it's a real shame to waste you LRMs on the ceiling of a tunnel when you shoot at someone else's lock and the target is INSIDE that said tunnel... (Or has a slanted rock crystal formation above their heads, or is jumping up and down (bobbling) to have your missiles hit a rock face in front of them instead of them. OR even have a really cleaver foe who runs behind one of your own allies, and your LRMs end up hitting them instead even with a solid lock.)