54 replies to this topic

[Stardancer01]

Where have all the medium lasers gone?

Medium lasers & pluse lasers should be the main counter for the alpha builds
But their dyeing out and alphas are prospering
Is seems to me that even lights such as the PPC spider are replacing traditional medium laser builds
People want to stay on target for as little time as possible,
Leaving the medium laser which should be dominating the game, as a secondary backup weapon
Every mech that did mount a medium laser are now using the large laser instead even going to the extremes of underutilising hard points.
The medium lasers fate and fortune is seemly linked with their main user the uncommon medium mech.
I am told that the medium laser on the table top game had one less heat.
At the moment I’m witnessing alpha snipers compete 1 for 1 in heat against and medium laser brawlers at close range.

[Joseph Mallan]

2 are on my (F)Atlas, and 6 are on my Battlemaster... After that, I cannot say!

[Sandpit]

I have a lot on my Tbolts (think the swayback is deadly? )

[Nicholas Carlyle]

Unless someone is going full Meta (PPC's/AC/Gauss), I almost always see 2-4 medium lasers per mech.

There are some rare occasions where they don't. But it's definitely a super common backup weapon.

[Sandpit]

For the weight and heat it's about the best back up weapon in the game. it's very flexible in how you can use it and does decent damage. Boated they can really ruin an opponent's day. Even players that hate lasers I see using them.

[LastPaladin]

They should be the "go to" weapon against which we measure all other weapons' performance. Unfortunate, right now, they are just not a very good weapon. They don't have the range to do you any good in the sniping phase of a battle, and once you are in a brawl, they are outclassed, due to the long duration and hit registration issues. So what are they good for, besides filling up hardpoints when you have a few extra tons left over?

[Deathlike]

Medium lasers have not ever gone out of style. Nerfed? Sure. Completely useless? Hahahaha, no.

[FactorlanP]

I run a mech that mounts 2 LLAS and 5 MLAS... It runs a little hot, but I can do some serious face melting if I am careful while closing the range.

[Nicholas Carlyle]

LastPaladin, on 31 January 2014 - 10:13 AM, said:

They should be the "go to" weapon against which we measure all other weapons' performance. Unfortunate, right now, they are just not a very good weapon. They don't have the range to do you any good in the sniping phase of a battle, and once you are in a brawl, they are outclassed, due to the long duration and hit registration issues. So what are they good for, besides filling up hardpoints when you have a few extra tons left over?

I'm going to pull a Sandpit and say this is a bit overstated.

Hit registration issues from Medium Lasers? I think they are the one weapon I use that doesn't have it. And it's a duration, long is once again overstating.

They are a great weapon for 1 ton, and a staple for most mechs.

I've ruined people's days in my Shadow Hawk and my Centurions with just 2 Medium Lasers left after running out of ammo or losing my big gun arm.

[wanderer]

Still a standby, just not the "must have" for bigger 'Mechs.

Lights pack plenty, my Battlemaster has 4...but in a game where ballistic/PPC/reach weapons do better, you're not seeing many all-medium layouts in the bigger 'Mechs, cause nothing feels worse than being gnawed to death on Alpine without doing a point of damage back...cause you were too clunky to get in there.

[Lightfoot]

@OP

Excuse me? I think players always fire all their Medium lasers in an "Alpha-strike", normally called Group-Fire.

I have MLAS on all my mechs unless it has no available space. Basically, ton for ton the MLAS is the best DPS weapon in MWO and it is fairly cool for an energy weapon. I am attacked by at least one MLAS boat in every match also. Usually a Medium, but most Lights use MLAS.

Seriously, the MLAS is the best weapon in MWO. Once in range it owns the battle, but is so light weight mechs can carry very different additional weapons to compliment their total loadout.

[Trauglodyte]

Not to sound snarky but have we really fallen so hard on the forums that we're not making up random {Scrap} to whine about? Seriously? Where have the Md Lasers go? Ugh!

[Barkem Squirrel]

Replaced them with Small Pulse Lasers.

No, but you are right in noticing all the PPC ravens, jenners and Locust out there now. Then there is the old favorite the ERPPC Spider.

It is just a shift for now. Since 6 PPC's on a battle master can be fatal to it and the target.

[Helsbane]

Because Pinpoint > DoT

[Nicholas Carlyle]

Barkem Squirrel, on 31 January 2014 - 10:33 AM, said:

Replaced them with Small Pulse Lasers. No, but you are right in noticing all the PPC ravens, jenners and Locust out there now. Then there is the old favorite the ERPPC Spider. It is just a shift for now. Since 6 PPC's on a battle master can be fatal to it and the target.

To be fair, the reason is ECM's effectiveness.

I've seen it numerous times, one team has 4-5 heavy/assault mechs in various states of disrepair left against one 2x ER Large Laser light mech with ECM.

And the light spends 5-10minutes picking them off, not always winning, but definitely doing a lot of damage.

It's more ECM than anything else that makes it really work. But that's why.

I still think Medium Lasers are not something to complain about right now.

[TygerLily]

Pulses are the only one I don't see a lot of...ML are like, MWO bread and butter! A huge buff for pulses and SRMs would wonders to curb the meta....and tonnage limits.

[Joseph Mallan]

I was never a big fan of Inner Sphere Pulse Tech. To short of range, not enough bang for the buck. The Clan versions... Sweet!

Helsbane, on 31 January 2014 - 10:35 AM, said:

Because Pinpoint > DoT

Then DoT could be made a bit shorter to adjust the difference.

[Almond Brown]

If you have a choice of 2 Mechs, both the same Chassis, given the current Meta.

One has 6 ML' for 30 pts @270m optimal or +/-15 pts. @400m .

The other 3 erLL's for 27 pts @675m optimal or +/-14 pts. @900m.

Their Cooling Eff. are almost identical, (erLL's are +4%) same speed, same armor, the only major difference is one has a XL engine (JJ's are 1 ton each btw).

Which would you take?

[Joseph Mallan]

Almond Brown, on 31 January 2014 - 11:09 AM, said:

If you have a choice of 2 Mechs, both the same Chassis, given the current Meta.

One has 6 ML' for 30 pts @270m optimal or +/-15 pts. @400m .

The other 3 erLL's for 27 pts @675m optimal or +/-14 pts. @900m.

Their Cooling Eff. are almost identical, (erLL's are +4%) same speed, same armor, the only major difference is one has a XL engine (JJ's are 1 ton each btw).

Which would you take?

ER Large gives you good damage at longer range, with no fall off at close. 6 mediums can be staggered to have longer sustained fire... I still would go 2 large cause I'd be able start shredding armor further away from me. YMMV.

[Nicholas Carlyle]

Almond Brown, on 31 January 2014 - 11:09 AM, said:

If you have a choice of 2 Mechs, both the same Chassis, given the current Meta.

One has 6 ML' for 30 pts @270m optimal or +/-15 pts. @400m .

The other 3 erLL's for 27 pts @675m optimal or +/-14 pts. @900m.

Their Cooling Eff. are almost identical, (erLL's are +4%) same speed, same armor, the only major difference is one has a XL engine (JJ's are 1 ton each btw).

Which would you take?

XL Engine is a major difference depending on chassis though. I'm assuming these are medium mechs, since I don't see many light's trying to pack in 3 ER Large?