1 reply to this topic

[SaJeel]

I've been thinking alot about the balance of this game and I think I've come to a conclusion that I would like to share. Balancing this game is rather difficult, mainly because there isn't a whole lot to balance. A fun game needs distinct elements that make the options the given to the player distinct and meaningful.
MWO has 26 different weapons excluding tag and narc. Even being conservative and counting Similar weapons as one, you still have 11 weapons. For contrast a game like Halo 2 only had 9-10 weapons on each of their maps. The only way a weapon is different from another weapon, is by its elements, and at its core, the Weapons of MWO have 5 distinct elements Damage, Range, Projectile, RoF, and Ability to Carry/Fire[tonnage/slots] and ability to fire[Heat/Ammo]. Halo 2 has Damage, Range, Projectile, Recoil, Mag Size, Scope type.
Given the few number of elements[things they can change] it makes all the weapons indistinct. If more elements were added to MWO weapons it would allow the various weapons to fill distinct roles and further differentiate one from another in a more meaningful way.

[Asmudius Heng]

There is also firing mechanic such as burn time, charge up time. Also range drop off differences, also the behavior of projectiles such as missile arc etc.

More elements mean more variables. This means it can actually be harder to balance sometimes - but it does give more levels to balance certainly and more distinction between weapons.

The real culprit is convergence though which is what all these wacky fixes like ghost heat are trying to solve. The fact that we can aim and strap weapons together is the problem - damage does not spread enough.

This can be solved mind you - ACs that fire multiple shots, PPCs that spread damage etc.

It is not perfect by any means but it would bring skill to firing each type of weapon rather then the higher pinpoint damage the better