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I’ve looked and looked through my technical loadouts and Sarna for some weapons that would be appropriate for the time-period and game play of MWO. I’ve found quite a few potential weapons to which I’ve narrowed it down to only a handful for the sake of simplification. Here they are.
Most of these weapons have both been talked about and slated aside for various technical difficulties, but I think they would be possible to implement. I have chosen 3 main weapons and a few runner ups.
Arrow IV (Missile HP)
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Arrow_IV
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Arrow_IV_Homing_Missile
Recovered: 3044
The Arrow IV system works quite differently from the standard long range missile types. It acts much like a mobile cruise missile. Fires one missile that flies to a designated target, either with TAG or NARC. The missile is not very accurate, but causes major splash damage. A direct hit is even more devastating. This weapon is kept in check by its high tonnage, low ammo per tonne ratio and HIGH crit-slots.
I think the devs were originally going to implement this weapon system, but didn’t for a few reasons. The weapons ridiculous range is quite frankly, ridiculous. This would obviously have to be toned down a lot for MWOs gameplay. The big roadblock to implementing the Arrow IV is its crit-slots. it takes up 15 crit spaces. This means no matter where you put it, the weapon would have to bleed over into at least one other section. The devs have sworn that there will be no crit cross-sharing beyond necessary and easy to implement items such as XL engines. This is also why we do not have the uber sexy King Crab; Its AC/20s bleed into the side torsos.
I say that crit sharing is a necessary thing for an item such as Arrow IV. Nerf it so it can only be put in Lower arm actuator-less mechs or something like that. Regardless, it can be done. XLs prove that it can.
(FYI, Arrow IV was not my first choice. If anything, I would want MRMs or Thunderbolt, but its 8 years for the former and more than two decades for the latter to be invented. ELRMs are on the table, but its still 3 ½ more years before they show up.)
Binary Laser Cannon (Laser HP)
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Binary_Laser_Cannon
Prototyped in 2812 by House Marik (woohoo, we did something for once!). Small on-demand batches were produced into the 3060s.
This snazzy weapon is basically two Large lasers duct-taped together. No, really. The binary laser was two LL cores combined into one. The hope was that two cores would provide more output for less tonnage. The concept was good, but the result was not. with 50% more damage than a regular Large Laser, 100% more heat, The binary laser fell flat. And the original goal of the Binary laser failed somewhat as well. combining the two weapons only managed to shave off one tonne.
Regardless, people in TT grew to like the weapon. If you could cope with the heat, the “Blazer” was actually a decent weapon. Its high damage concentration for laser weapons without being dragged down by ammunition made this weapon attractive to some Assault mechs with limitless supplies of DHS.
Theres not much reason to prevent the Blazer from being implemented in MWO. It will take some balancing and that is all.
If implemented in MWO, the Blazer would probably be given a Nice Violet color. and the damage would be bumped up just a bit to keep in line with the modified LL. A deep and throaty firing sound would be awesome, too!
Mech Mortars (Ballistics HP)
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Mech_Mortar
Developed: pre-2500. kept in low stock for centuries until the rediscovery of AMS caused a growth in popularity.
Mech Mortars are just that; Mortars put on mechs. These babies have very little tech on them. There are certain ammunition types that offer semi guided packages, but its mostly just a chemical propelled grenade being lobbed at enemies.
The mech mortar has the same range as LRMs, double the damage. 50% less ammo per tonne, is incompatible with Artemis, is really inaccurate, and is immune to AMS and GECM. Depending on the angle of attack, they would probably have a higher arc, allowing better indirect fire behind cover.
Their tube numbers are 1, 2, 4, and 8.
As a bonus perk, Mortars would bridge the major weight gap between the half tonne MG and the 6 tonne AC/2.
Implementing Mortars would definitely be the most difficult of all the listed items, but its possible. I think it would require a bit of a work around for unguided shells. The way I imagine it is a range gauge next to fire groups. You can increase or decrease the range on it with a pair of up and down keys. point your mech in the direction you want to fire and let ‘em fly. There would also be th option to fire them on your center of convergeance much like LRMs. There was another suggestion made by someone else on the forums that recommended that only non-JJ capable mechs could weild Mech Mortars. This would be a nice edge, although I don’t think its that good of an idea as it would greatly limit the mechs that apply. Another person suggested that mortars cannot be mounted in arms with Lower arm actuators. And another suggestion was to not allow them on arms whatsoever.
Mortars have a potential future already though; it is rumoured that the devs have been concepting some ideas on how to add them already. Regardless, we should.
Ballistics Runner up: Silver Bullet Gauss (Ballistics HP)
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Silver_Bullet_Gauss_Rifle
R&D: 3050
Developed: 3051
The silver bullet Gauss rifle is essentially a hybridization of the Standard Gauss rifle and the LB 10-X AC. It fires 15 pellets that do one damage each. The SB gauss doesn’t have the penetrating power of the standard Gauss, but makes up for it by higher Crit ratings and significantly increased range. These are the only things that change however. The crit consumption, tonnage, weapon detonation (still 20 dmg), inert ammunition are all carried over. The SBG was relatively unpopular when it was first introduced. The extra range was praised, especially for anti-infantry roles. But, after only about a year of production, the weapon was almost completely canceled. Only replacement models were sporadically produced. It wasn’t until the late 3060s did demand for the SBG increase. Between 3075 and 3081, there was a boom in popularity. By 3078, it was being heavily manufactured by the Draconis Combine.
If the Silver Bullet Gauss were to be added to MWO, It wouldn’t be very useful because of the current Meta; High, concentrated damage. It would be a fun weapon to have, but its usefulness would be set around the LB 10-X. The LB has less pellets per shot and shorter range, but the SBGs sheer size and weight prohibit it from being used frequently. This is why I think mech mortars are a much larger priority.
I know that Implementing these weapons would subtract from the man-hours as the devs powerhouse UI 2.0 and other upcoming features. But, I think if they have the time to develope a new mech every month to sate our apetites, they would have the time to add these weapons. Mech mortars and to a lesser extent, Arrow IV are fairly crucial for mechs. Hit detection is atrocious because of the massive volume of missiles being fired. The massive difference between autocannons and MGs limits the options for light ballistics mechs.
Thanks for reading guys. English isn’t my native language, so I might not be as clear as I could be. I've put several days of thought into this, so I hope you like it.
Edited by PenitentTangent, 10 December 2013 - 07:40 PM.
