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These changes have an emphasis on a longer TTK (Time To Kill), and generally reflect the notion that Mechwarrior Online's gameplay is more enoyable with a greater variety of combat specialisations.
Most of us should by now be able to agree that Pinpoint damage Alpha Setups, with a propensity towards high damage locational damage, is the de facto setup for most competitive 'Mechs.
This is because 'Mechs have a limited range of motion, meaning that torso twisting, apart from adaptive use of cover and jumpjetting, are among the only ways of mitigating damage. Unfortunately, this current setup has the disadvantage of creating a gameplay environment where burst damage is favoured over sustained dps (brawling).
This currently favours builds such as(but not exclusively):
1. 2xPPC +AC 20
2. 2X PPC + (wait half a second, considering 'Ghost Heat') 2xPPC
3. 3X AC10
4. QUAD AC5
5. TRIPLE UAC5
6. TRIPLE AC5 +MEDIUM LASERS
7. Dual Gauss
To make the situation worse, SRMs also suffer from a lack of hit detection and poor spread, invalidating from the competitive pool.
In addition to this, Pulse Lasers are too heavy, and generate too much heat to justfy their minimal damage bonus, and in particular, are less useful on lighter mechs, who might otherwise benefit from a shorter beam duration at close range, where sustained aim can be more diffucult whilst moving fast.
The following balance changes are proposed not out of favouritism toward a particular gameplay style, brawling, mid-range or sniping/poptart, but out of recognition of what I feel are the ideals of mech combat as a gameplay style.
My proposals are based upon the idea that 'Mechs should be tough, adaptable, and able to recover from a compromising situation. While it may be pointless to romanticise over cutscenes and fan-fiction, I still believe it is reasonable to yearn for a gameplay dynamic whereby instantaneous Line of Sight does NOT equal death or massively compromising damage.
If you have read this far, then I unpatronisingly appreciate your attentiveness to this IP, and hope that you will recognise my reasoning for the following changes.
So here they are:
1. PPC now does 5 pinpoint damage to direct hit location, dealing an additional 2.5 damage to the closest TWO areas of impact point-dealing 10 damage in total.
PPC heat reduced from 10 to 8. ERPPC heat reduced from 15 to 12.
2. AC10 is still a direct, pinpoint damage weapon in the game, maintaining its current attributes.
3. AC 20 is now an actual Auto Cannon, firing a burst of 10 projectiles, each dealing 2 damage within 1 second. This will have the effect of mitigating localised damage on a moving target, whilst still dealing heavy punishment to slow moving 'Mechs.
4. AC 5 refire rate reduced from 1.5 to 1.75. Retains current range (620)
5. UAC has a jam rate of 25%, with only 25 ammo per ton. Heat increased from 1 to 3. Retains current range (660).
6. Gauss rifle projectiles can be charged and held for up to 2.5 seconds, up from 1.25, now has 8 health instead of 5.
7. Large Pulser Laser weight reduced from 7 tonnes to 6.
8. Medium pulse laser weight reduced from 2 tonnes to 1.5.
9. Small laser range increased to 120.
10. Flamer range increased to 120.
11. NARC beacon now eliminates the affect of ECM upon the individual 'Mech that is hit within the ECM 'bubble'. If the target hit by NARC is the ECM carrier, all mechs shall lose ECM cover within the 180 range.
These following weapon balanced changes are but a small adjustment towards a greater Mechwarrior Online. I hope you will agree with the principles under which these changes have been devised, and recognise the importance of spread damage and a higher Time To Kill within the context of a game like Mechwarrior.
Please, feel free to give your feedback, and provide any reasons as to why you may agree or disagree with any of those proosed balance changes.
Many thanks and regards,
C12AZYED
Edited by C12AZyED, 18 January 2014 - 05:47 PM.
sense tingling
