Roadkill, on 31 January 2014 - 12:49 PM, said:
How did you read "same" yet hear "better" in your head?
No... my point that I was trying to imply was more like "is this truly the same?" I guess the overall result is the same... but how you got there is different. My personal difference is that they aren't quite the same (almost like trying to argue the "ends justify the means" kind of discussion). One allows you to dictate whether or not you survive due to personal build, and one doesn't give you that much of a choice, outside of being fortunate or unfortunate. In both cases, you can be unfortunate, but at least in the case of the instant headshot with direct fire (not airstrike/arty), you probably can still survive it outright.
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And I'll also repeat that I've never been killed by artillery or an airstrike at all, let along headshot by one. If you're getting killed like that regularly, you're doing something wrong.
It's not regular, so I guess that's the only nice benefit.
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Jump snipers aren't truly mobile. They're standing (or milling about) in mostly fixed or easily predictable positions getting ready for their next jump snipe. THAT is why everyone carries artillery in the 12-man queue - BECAUSE it's a perfect counter to the 12-man meta.
That's half correct. Poor meta jumpers tend to stay in the same area. I'm probably guilty of that in PUG matches. In 12-mans, I'm compelled to find a different locations to jump from within the same area. Although I'm probably firing from the same direction, it's not as easier to get a beat on me because you're expecting a strict up and down motion, instead of a "jump from left to right" (not that it isn't counterable, but it makes for tougher retaliation shots).
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Something else that makes snipers excellent targets for artillery and airstrikes is that they're usually using zoom which reduces their situational awareness. Brawlers are constantly moving and looking around, so they're likely to see the smoke long before it's dangerous. Yet again, artillery/airstrikes are working to discourage the long range sniping meta.
TBH, most effective arty/airstrike engagements are used within brawling to semi-long range (PPC/LL distances). It is actually more difficult to plant the arty at a longer distance (ERPPC/Gauss Rifle range)... and the damage done is usually not high enough to justify that usage. It's better to get rid of clumps of slow mechs than the sniper/lrm boat at long range.
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And I don't even use them. Too expensive for me, I need the c-bills. But I like that they're in the game and that they have a chance of taking out jump snipers, hill humpers, and campers because all three of those things make the game stale.
The risk/reward deal has changed their usage quite a bit, so I'm kinda willing to pay for the 40k for every match if I had/wanted to use them every match. 2 is too much for me, but the C-Hundred Millionaires (and Billionaire) is probably not affected.
Also.. with respect to JJs. Although an arty/airstrike does "shoo" them away... jumpjets to a degree have a better opportunity to "reduce" the damage dealt. Unlike the ground bound mechs, you can at least jumpjet above the intended destination to reduce the overall hits to the body (unless, the projectiles hit the body). Chances are, the damage is actually more focused on the legs, and assuming you aren't skimping on the leg armor, the damage mitigation through Jump Jets is another plus (or negative, depending how you view JJs).
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If you want to reduce the chance of artillery or airstrikes hitting the head, that'd be fine. But in that case I'd want the time-to-target reduced or something to offset the nerf. And no, doubling the number of shells while halving their damage doesn't have the same effect. I don't want to do 20 damage to every Mech in the circle. I want to do 40 damage to some of them. That turns the ones that do get hit into targets. Doing 20 damage to everyone doesn't help with target selection.
Shouldn't that be an idea for revising their arty/airstrike module boosters?
Edited by Deathlike, 31 January 2014 - 01:11 PM.