18 replies to this topic

[Xalev]

So, Could someone please give me a TL;DR [ or an extended writing if you are feeling verbose] on the state of the game? i encountered some issues, but getting back in the cockpit for the third time now.

[Koniving]

Meta is ACs + PPCs.
Secondary meta is LRMs.
Tertiary meta is streaks.
Underdog meta (meta-worthy but generally unknown) are the Large Pulse Lasers which got buffed some time ago but generally overlooked as LRMs went crazy overpowered for a bit.

ACs (specifically 20 and 10) have minor hit detection issues if your ping is above 150.

SRMs have hit detection issues if you and your target have pings over 100, or if only one of you has a ping over 170. Solution: know how you lead a target and fire at the air in front of them to have them run into the shot? Well, instead lead and aim to hit the air ahead of them instead of hitting them; watch them explode. Either do this or chain fire and aim to hit them. (Reasoning: CryEngine or at least PGI's version has a 'limited' number of explosions that can be called at the same time, any sequential explosions are queued in the next 'frame', in which case your target has moved. So lots of explosions at one place = lots of misses. The more you have the worse you 'miss' even with hits.)

Edited by Koniving, 20 April 2014 - 06:18 PM.

[luxebo]

BTW, just a little meta topic thread I had a while ago: http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/154650-to-address-the-commonly-seen-people-complaining-of-the-meta-i-propose-a-small-guide-on-how-to-deal-with-the-so-called-meta/

Edited by luxebo, 20 April 2014 - 07:20 PM.

[Redshift2k5]

Heavies/Assaults with lots of direct fire (primarily PPCs and AC5s, but also including large lasers, clutered AC2s, and occasionally ac 10&20)
LRMs
Lights never go out of style (present in both dual ERLL or clustered short range weapons archetypes)
Mediums with boatloads of SSRMs (and the occasional directfire PPC/AC5/etc medium)

[IraqiWalker]

Also, mediums with LRMs, as they are a great platform for LRMs due to mobility, which allows them to dictate when and where to engage.

[Xalev]

Thank you Pilots! I took my old CPLT-C1(F) out for some drops last night and fared moderately well, despite being a near-stock build. it seems that medium lasers still work as back-up weapons.

Additionally, if AC/PPC is a thing, does that mean my old hunchback is viable again, or should i put a gauss rifle in the torso anyways?

[Flaming oblivion]

To me the meta is a odd thing I don't see it as weapons more as weight classes, When I look at a battle field who tends to be performing the best? The assaults and lights , Lights due to being able to out maneuverer everything else on the battle field.

Assaults due to be able to out gun and out armour just about everything on the battle field.

Speed and fire power probably the most important things in the game add in armour to.... What's my point ? Perhaps we'd solve the problems with the meta if you couldn't equip a mech so it had the most armour and fire power on the field.

Perhaps we'd fix the meta if lights couldn't do double the speed of everything else in the game and still be decently armoured, What I'm saying is you shouldn't be able to be the uncontested king in more then area.

[Arnold J Rimmer]

Hunchie works great superstock, always has. The Gauss Rifle has had some tweaks, not sure if you were around for those. There's now a brief charge-up time before you can fire your shot, regardless of whether or not there's a slug in the breech. Still works the same otherwise, but takes a little getting used to.

[Xalev]

Arnold J Rimmer, on 21 April 2014 - 04:19 AM, said:

Hunchie works great superstock, always has. The Gauss Rifle has had some tweaks, not sure if you were around for those. There's now a brief charge-up time before you can fire your shot, regardless of whether or not there's a slug in the breech. Still works the same otherwise, but takes a little getting used to.

I would like to remind you of the period where the stock HBK just got ripped in half due to torso size there for a bit. [that may have been my lag, but i didnt get flamed, so maybe it was expected] but hearing that it is effective is a good point in my list.

As for Light/assault superiority, can mediums attain light-esque speeds and thus exist in the role as light destroyers? The assault mechs would be dealt with as per normal IMHO, flanking and torso elimination. If this has been rendered impossible, please let me know.

are we running a the whole "max tonnage/drop" thing presently? or are drops just a compilation of player skill?

[Redshift2k5]

There are no tonnage limits yet.

The launch module that is coming is not, itself, a tonnage limit, but strict weight class limits + an attempt to match ton for ton within weight class. Coming soon.

Mediums can reach upwards of 139kph, but it's hard to bring relevant weapons at that speed. Mediums work best to use Streaks to defend the group, not to chase anything they can't catch.

[Arnold J Rimmer]

Well, yeah, but the Hunchback was generally meant to be a knife-in-the-kidneys sort of job That torso is still a problem, but the weapons load and manoeuvrability are still good.

As for light-hunting mediums... I play Meds almost exclusively. Not in that role, mind... but there are several viable chassis for it. The Kintaro-18 can mount 5 SSRM2 launchers and move at 116kph, the Griffins can mount up to 4 Streaks and move around the same speed, with jump jets. And a pornographically good torso-twist. The Centurion-D can mount a whopping 390 engine, but little else if you go that high. You can still get ~120kph and a decent weaponload out of it. I think the Trebuchet is the fastest effective 50-tonner...

[Xalev]

Redshift2k5, on 21 April 2014 - 04:49 AM, said:

There are no tonnage limits yet.

The launch module that is coming is not, itself, a tonnage limit, but strict weight class limits + an attempt to match ton for ton within weight class. Coming soon.

Mediums can reach upwards of 139kph, but it's hard to bring relevant weapons at that speed. Mediums work best to use Streaks to defend the group, not to chase anything they can't catch.

hm, okay, any word on the slow evolution of IS tech, or will we be stuck with 3050 tech for the foreseeable future? i ask because i don't particularly enjoy having to dedicate 3 hardpoints to streak2's. I am slightly off topic now i think, but google/forum search is being unkind. maybe i am unlucky today.

Arnold J Rimmer, on 21 April 2014 - 05:22 AM, said:

Well, yeah, but the Hunchback was generally meant to be a knife-in-the-kidneys sort of job That torso is still a problem, but the weapons load and manoeuvrability are still good.

As for light-hunting mediums... I play Meds almost exclusively. Not in that role, mind... but there are several viable chassis for it. The Kintaro-18 can mount 5 SSRM2 launchers and move at 116kph, the Griffins can mount up to 4 Streaks and move around the same speed, with jump jets. And a pornographically good torso-twist. The Centurion-D can mount a whopping 390 engine, but little else if you go that high. You can still get ~120kph and a decent weaponload out of it. I think the Trebuchet is the fastest effective 50-tonner...

hm, so we still see the trend of mediums acting as circle jerks for assaults? i see no issue with this, and thank you for the confirmation to the prior post. Streaks, streaks for everyone!

sneeking, on 21 April 2014 - 06:04 AM, said:

xl350 centD is the go, plenty of room for ssrms ml's and an ac2, the missiles and ml's will scare off most light pilots (but not the aggressive ones ) and the xl350 will surprise all but the fastest of them allowing you to throw at least three volleys of ssrm before disengaging ( don't get sucked in ) and don't waste ya ac2 on em though save that for fire support against the big boys.

I am still fearful of IS XL engines. I'm all for lower weight, but with 3 crit slots in the side it becomes mighty dangerous, especially at short range. This presumes, of course that i still know what im talking about, please feel free to correct me.

[TheCaptainJZ]

3050 tech though clan tech comes out this summer with clan tech, but they are not going to allow mixed builds. IS mechs can only have IS tech. There are still a lot of unanswered questions about how exactly clans will work.
XL engines work the same as before. you lose a torso, you die. Some mechs's hitboxes are just more favorable to XLs than others. The catapult for example.

[Enigmos]

Some chasses are XL safe. Centurions and Cataphracts for example do fine with an XL. You want a standard in your Atlas.

[Bobzilla]

I find the majority of mechs are heavy's with ballistics. Some have PPC/ballistic combos, assaults are common and so are lights, but I find there are more heavy's than any other class, and more ballistics than any other weapon system.

[Mechteric]

Its been PPCs with AC5/10/20's for about 9 months (maybe 12, can't remember now when Ghost Heat and HSR were introduced )

Edited by CapperDeluxe, 21 April 2014 - 11:31 AM.

[Flaming oblivion]

I tend to see more assaults then anything else usually atlases or stalkers with a few highlanders and victors scattered around.

Lights are probably as popular as assaults with spiders jenners I seem to see a lot (pretty much all the ecm light variants your likely to see , tells you something about ecm + lotsa speed huh? )

Heavys the only ones I usually see on mass are jaggers and cataphracts, jaggers seem more popular due to them being easier to pop tart with I guess, you see the odd one or two orions but not many.

Mediums I cant really comment on I've seen the odd one or two cicada's and a few trial hunchies that's about it.

[Koniving]

Xalev, on 21 April 2014 - 04:12 AM, said:

Additionally, if AC/PPC is a thing, does that mean my old hunchback is viable again, or should i put a gauss rifle in the torso anyways?

You judge.
4G(F).
4P with stock engine, stock armor points uploaded last night.

CapperDeluxe, on 21 April 2014 - 11:30 AM, said:

Its been PPCs with AC5/10/20's for about 9 months (maybe 12, can't remember now when Ghost Heat and HSR were introduced )

Shortly after spiders.
Spiders were easy to hit before HSR, then impossible after, and now easy-ish to hit again. HSR has a lot of problems.

Though not nearly as many when it first came out.

[Shatterpoint]

It's all about the LRM boats and Jags with multiple hole punchers, no such thing as a match without those in varying numbers now.