Willard Phule, on 18 June 2014 - 02:45 AM, said:
What I really want to know is how it interacts with Advanced Target Decay.
I spent a LOT of GXP and Cbills on that module. If it is no longer viable, I'd like a refund so I can spend it all on the new ones.
Did some private testing on the PTS regarding this, and I believe it does carry over to the live version.
When you are literally out of LOS with the Radar Deprivation module, you are IMMEDIATELY gone from radar (assuming, noone else is spotting you). The module is exactly what it says it does.
When you have Advanced Target Decay AND the target has the Radar Deprivation module, the target stays on the screen for 2.5 seconds (instead of the 3.5 seconds listed in the module description). This implies that there's a natural 1 second delay (give or take .25 seconds due to lag).
Overall, the module does three different things - depending on how much you're affected by LRMs..
1) Advance Target Decay is MANDATORY (if it wasn't already) when running an LRM boat. It's nice if you have a teammate spotter with it, but whatever. You can't expect that unless you're in a premade.
The biggest problem however is that as a newer player... LRMs are undesirable because of that (at least you can somewhat counter ECM with TAG... this module FORCES players to carry a corresponding module in Target Decay).
2) TAG is MANDATORY when running an LRM boat. You need to get the locks ASAP and while Artemis seems "appealing" the tonnage used is not entirely favorable in certain builds (especially if you're stacking LRM5s to avoid ghost heat).
However, this does make the Catapult-A1 less desirable unless you have a teammate that will help out.
3) LRMs are still effective, but you have to be EXTRA selective. Instead of having mechs appear on the radar for 1-2 seconds, things popping in and out of radar occur a lot more, lessening the effect of indirect fire. Therefore, it makes sense to target stuff your teammates have a very good LOS on. What I've seen a lot if people trying to get locks ASAP AND ignoring the location of the target... wasting missiles very often to targets that they would immediately lose locks to. This in part is a L2P issue, but it exacerbates it a bit.
Then again, this is a MANDATORY module as I had predicted a while ago, and while I see the hilarious amount of whining.... people that use LRMs don't seem to take Advanced Target Decay as THAT has significant utility (it helps if you want to track poptarts to a limited degree, but usually that's not very useful for that purpose).
Seriously... LRMs probably need some sort of buff now, but the reality is that LRMs are still effective WHEN USED PROPERLY.... not the willy nilly fire at will mentality that many players have in this game.
In sum, this module shows who are the newbies and who aren't. It clearly defines them by their reaction to said module. What sucks is that it makes LRMs a very newbie unfriendly weapon UNLESS they acquire Target Decay.
Edited by Deathlike, 18 June 2014 - 11:48 AM.