Something that might be enhancing the "perception" of extreme marksmanship is actually the high alpha meta. In some builds, so much damage is being done in one hit that it doesn't much matter where you hit, long as you do hit, twice. Case in point, the other day. My friend was piloting his insane... insane as in not viable normally, triple gauss ilya muromets. When we run in a 4 man group, he'll take it out. 45 damage anywhere he wants, with arm lock on, plus buddies to make sure no one gets close and enough armor where it counts to not crumple if someone tickles him with a laser.
In cases where a rush or a brawler does push past his screen, he can be in trouble, but again... he still has enough armor to survive a few moments, probably getting two alpha's in on the intruder. If both those alpha's hit somewhere like a side torso, or even center torso... likely the enemy is already injured from his rushing in past the "screen". Boom. Dead. This keeps happening. So my buddy often walks away with 3-5 kills a match. We don't really call this kill stealing, despite the fact that often we, his lance mates, did a lot of work killing those mechs he claimed, softening them up... but that sheer finishing power of 45 damage in one spot, ZoWNT! It's a killer, and it seems that some incredible marksman is really homing in and destroying you, but it's really a whole lance of mediocre but coordinated fools.
So often too we see our buddy inexpertly wing a badly damaged arm, next to a badly damaged torso... his 45 alpha does the last 1-2 points of internal damage to that arm and then what... half of the 44...22 damage transfers inwards due to damage transferrence, but that passes in mostly to a side torso that is nearly gone as well and kills that poor XL carrying fellow. QQ ensues about marksmen, when really it was the toll of all those little swipes and swishes of other's medium lasers and such in the few minutes before they exposed themselves to our tri-gauss buddy.
This happens all the time with LRMs too. People insist they have been vaporized in two salvo's of missiles, all homing on their center torso and destroying well over 100 front loaded armor plus internal structure in that area. Our group though, we know what really happened, cause we planned it. Our direct fire lead guy typed a letter of someone we saw, often a guy who IS out in the open... very often our lead is that buddy I was talking about, with the tri-gauss muromets. He shoots and scores 45 damage gone from a center torso or side torso. Missile rain begins to arc up in chain fire mode, 4xLRM10's, from merely one mech of our group. Some one's ppc shots and an ER large laser or two lance out quickly to do 40 or so more damage, while that LRM volley is still arcing inwards on target. Then the missiles hit... and they do damage all over the place...but they almost definitely will be doing thier fair share of damage to the Center Torso, Left Torso, and Right torso which already have had 45+ points vaporized before the missiles even arrive. Especially in an XL who got hit in the side by the trigun muromets... presto magico... OMFG!!! the missiles cored me! LRMS so OP!!!!
I'm not doubting that when two, three missile boats dump on ONE TARGET, it is bad with the rocking and the rolling. It is almost certain death as each LRM mech's volleys overlap so that side torsos and center torso are all taking hefty damage. However, if two or three direct fire mechs open up on that same target is it somehow more fair that they died to ballistics and energy rather than missiles??? It is the SAME certain death, no matter how many times you try to bring up the old and tired "but Long Range Missles are supposed to be support weapons, they're not supposed to kill" arguement. What weapon in history has ever been made NOT to kill? Less than lethal weapons? Well, guess what, there are mech tasers in the background of this game. But they sure aren't LRMs that were designed to do that sort of work and they are not really considered support weapons, rather devices or gimmicks, rather like ECM, BAP or Narc.
LRMs are very often guilty too in the mistaken perception of "Marksmanship" - in a sort of reverse of what I said above. A steady hit and miss stream of LRM fire can seem innocuous as it lightly then more severely weakens armor enough that finally, almost without realizing it, you're being finished off by someone's wild ppc shots, or a poorly aimed AC20 round from your buddy. Steady misses and glancing blows of LRMs as you duck into cover, weave and run can take you to a yellow on your damage grid, making you think ok, I'm still pretty good, when in actuality dozens of points of damage have been done, the color of the damage paper doll only updating in time for you to see it flash orange, red and then boom, you're dead. The missile damage is covering much other direct fire and then finally you are left dead and wondering how that super marksman got you, when you were doing so great avoiding what must have been absolutely boatloads of missiles.
Here's the worst of it too. Rarely do I see someone acknowledge thier own TKs and let the guy who is cursing a blue streak know that it really was not some super marksman that killed him, but instead was a TK that happened because they were so greedy to get a kill that they kept firing as the enemy moved in a path that took their aim point over their badly damaged buddy but they still fired. Often that missile softening up did a real number on some of the more important back panels of your armor, meaning your own team's friendly fire arcing in on the same mech you are duelling with, is a much greater threat to you.
Indignant claims that some super marksman managed to shoot from the front, yet core rear armor that was open are often really these team kills, team kills that were no doubt aided by that impish Jenner - F testing all 6 of his medium lasers on his allies backsides as soon as the game launched.
But, I digress...
Edited by Mad Porthos, 05 April 2014 - 01:10 PM.
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BaronBastardKiller, on 03 April 2014 - 09:40 PM, said:
