3 replies to this topic

[Mookan]

Why do so many mechs have most of their weapons on their right side?

So many have an empty left arm with all weapons bundled in the right torso and arm. All too often I've noticed that my mechs will lose the majority of their firepower once the right torso is gone (assuming no XL).

Playing around with a HBK-4SP I noticed that if you only have one torso used and the other as a swayback the used torso (left or right) will always be blown off first and take the arm with it (maybe people tend to aim for the weapons, but I doubt that as it's hard to be that exact with a target moving 98km/h).

Because of the high alpha nature of this game once your down to one or two weapons unless the enemy is also heavily damaged it's usually good night. Also having all weapons fire from the right limits your usage of cover (assuming no jumpjets).

I'm hoping that omni mechs will let us spread the weapons around so our mighty war machines can fight more effectively to the end of the conflict.

TD;LR So many mechs have the majority of their weapons on their right side and hopefully omni mechs will let us evenly distribute liability.

[Levi Porphyrogenitus]

I suspect that the old battletech artists were basing a lot of their work, for humanoid models at least, on battle suits. Since right-handed bias is predominant, it follows that most humanoid mech designs would likewise be right-handed. The non-humanoid mechs tend more toward symmetrical builds.

[Lukoi Banacek]

Mookan, on 06 March 2014 - 07:09 PM, said:

TD;LR So many mechs have the majority of their weapons on their right side and hopefully omni mechs will let us evenly distribute liability.

You might want to consider shielding your right side deliberately and often if this is your experience. If you're playing Mechs with the preponderance of firepower to one side, MANY players would say you are playing with an advantage. There is a reason the majority of "top-tier" poptart mechs are also weighted to one side.

I will march right at an enemy in my DDC (for example) with the left arm facing front the entire time until I'm ready to twist in and let loose with my main armament. If they manage to shear off my left arm I'm only down one PPC or ERLL or LPL (depending on my mood when I tweak the build), leaving a whoooole lotta firepower left to burn them down with.

In a Mech with a STD engine, lopsided mechs can be kings.

[Amsro]

Mookan, on 06 March 2014 - 07:09 PM, said:

Why do so many mechs have most of their weapons on their right side?

So many have an empty left arm with all weapons bundled in the right torso and arm. All too often I've noticed that my mechs will lose the majority of their firepower once the right torso is gone (assuming no XL).

Playing around with a HBK-4SP I noticed that if you only have one torso used and the other as a swayback the used torso (left or right) will always be blown off first and take the arm with it (maybe people tend to aim for the weapons, but I doubt that as it's hard to be that exact with a target moving 98km/h).

Because of the high alpha nature of this game once your down to one or two weapons unless the enemy is also heavily damaged it's usually good night. Also having all weapons fire from the right limits your usage of cover (assuming no jumpjets).

I'm hoping that omni mechs will let us spread the weapons around so our mighty war machines can fight more effectively to the end of the conflict.

TD;LR So many mechs have the majority of their weapons on their right side and hopefully omni mechs will let us evenly distribute liability.

Picking out locations and weapons especially on hunchbacks isn't hard to an experienced player, always take out the damaging weapons before you take damage. Best defence is offence.

As someone else pointed out protect your weapon side if your mech is lopsided. It can be a boon with the right tactics.