467 replies to this topic

[Ursh]

Mediums, thanks to the Stormcrow and Nova, are very viable. The shawks and griffins are pretty viable as well. The hback and cent have been sent to the garbage heap, but they were largely there before the clans arrived.

I'm pretty sure, given the sheer number of T-wolfs in each match, that the heavy % is definitely reflected in that. Still seeing Jagers quite often as well, usually dualgauss or boom varieties. But mostly, twolfs.

[Sagedabluemage]

i saw it drop to 3% the other day but idk about the lights being garbage.
Im loving my adder its probably the most fun ive had in a light in a long time.
i either go with er larges for prime or pulses cuz y not. and a srm6 with ams

or ultra5 with er large and srm6
they are alot of fun to pilot and no one really targets u cuz of madcats flowing around.

sat back one game just pelting people with the lazer and uac5 XD

Granted there are mechs that do it better but i like how peeps are lookin away cuz they think it does nothing XD

[Adiuvo]

Cbill rewards do nothing to actually help lights. They can't keep up with heavies and assaults, primarily due to agility.

Balance isn't bad from a weapon perspective. All of the viable weapons on lights require burn time and close range. Allow a light to actually outmaneuver a heavy/assault in close range and things will be better, either by nerfing the agility (turn rate, accel/decel) of heavies/assaults, or buffing that of lights.

[maniacos]

R Razor, on 04 July 2014 - 06:51 AM, said:

No but pre-clan it was the Assault class that was typically the highest percentage fielded and now it seems like it's leaning more towards heavy. Giving players a heavy that runs 90kph and packs a good meta punch tends to make me think that's probably where the press is right now. Call me jaded but the vast majority of this player base is all about 1 shot kill instant gratification ala COD.

Still the light and also mediums been always the lowest number.

[Rampancy]

Lights are just as effective as ever, switched over to a pulse jenner just for kicks and have been wrecking about as much face as I always have in Jenners

Though it would be nice if meds were the least-played more often so I can finish mastering my 4G while still helping balance out the numbers

[R Razor]

Jherek C, on 04 July 2014 - 08:00 AM, said:

Still the light and also mediums been always the lowest number.

True, never disputed that........it's all about the COD kill immediately crowd and keeping them pleased........I just said that I suspect it switched from mostly assault to mostly heavy because of the advantages the current meta coupled with the TBR chassis gives.

[MischiefSC]

Lore balance is essentially r&r. Since they won't do that, cbill/xp/match scoremultiplier? Lights x 3, meds x2, heavies x.75, assaults x0.50. Equtes to cost/skill differences, relative profit vs risks. No r&r but shouldn't cheaper mechs earn more?

[Rampancy]

MischiefSC, on 04 July 2014 - 09:07 AM, said:

Lore balance is essentially r&r. Since they won't do that, cbill/xp/match scoremultiplier? Lights x 3, meds x2, heavies x.75, assaults x0.50. Equtes to cost/skill differences, relative profit vs risks. No r&r but shouldn't cheaper mechs earn more?

XL lights are typically more expensive than STD mediums, so there would have to be a modifier for equipment value on the chassis.

[YueFei]

DaZur, on 04 July 2014 - 07:09 AM, said:

You guys crack me up...

There is no magic elixir that will elevate the viability of lights and mediums save mission design that handicaps the team that does not bring them to the battlefield.

Mind you... I'm not talking about forcing the usage of these classes, I'm talking about real, true, honest mission design that has goals, secondary goals, tertiary goals, if / go-to logic tree triggers and time constraint parameters....

You know, what MW:O is supposed to be?

I can't repeat it enough... We have "death-match" and "death-match with distractions" as our linear / myopic mission goal...

There is no logical reason to bring mediums and lights to the battlefield so long as this is the singular goal of our game.

Yep. Logistics. Infrastructure. You know, the things that realistically, sprawl over an area much much larger than a military force can defend 100% of just by sitting in a static position.

Faster enemy forces who hit and run and wheel back to base to re-arm and repair themselves, while cutting off the enemy's own resupply and repair convoys. Blast the enemy's Comm Tower, cutting off their C3I link between mechs. Watch your airfield get cratered, denying you access to air strikes. Burn the enemy's artillery batteries in retaliation, so they can't call on artillery. Etc., etc.

Bigger maps, actual objectives, actual on-map assets that help influence the match's outcome.

[Windsaw]

I didn't think about complaining because of the fall damage, which does nerf lights more than other mechs, but is understandable.

However, I always used to wonder if PGI even intends lights to scout. Basically, doing what lights are supposed to do. It is not the fall damage update that makes me wonder, but one very old and one very recent one.

The old one was the weight increase and range extension of the TAG. After the change, it didn't make much sense anymore for lights to carry it since the LRM boats can use them themselves, since they suffer less from the weight increase and they can survive being identified as tagger easier than lights.

The recent one happened last update.

I decided to try a thorougly scout specialized mech. While building my mech I realized something that makes me scatch my head: Besides the Beagle, the most powerful scouting tool is the Command Console. It may not be worth its weight, but I thought it is still very useful for relaying targets while staying at a safe distance.
And guess what: It can't be used by light mechs. Only by heavies and assaults.

Really: They introduced a scouting tool and have forbidden lights to use it.

Can anyone explain possible motives for such a move?
I wonder if PGI simply hates lights that scout.

Edited by Windsaw, 04 July 2014 - 09:21 AM.

[Sephlock]

Also, we can expect all that to change once the awesomeness that is the Kit Fox becomes available for c-bills.

[Gorgo7]

I am unsure of any "Command Vehicles" that scout, real or imagined. A command console would, by definition be in a command vehicle. In this case a heavy or assault.
Further, in the battletech wiki only heavies and assaults ever had the option of a command console.

[maniacos]

R Razor, on 04 July 2014 - 08:48 AM, said:

True, never disputed that........it's all about the COD kill immediately crowd and keeping them pleased........I just said that I suspect it switched from mostly assault to mostly heavy because of the advantages the current meta coupled with the TBR chassis gives.

Yes that's probably true

[Bryan Ekman]

Offer one more perspective (apologize if some said this already).

The numbers posted are the queue. Not people playing lights. The light queue size is small because they are getting into the game quickly (almost instantly).

Heavy and Assault players have to wait much longer to get in, and by virtue of this wait time are making those queue percentages much higher.

Ideally there is an even queue, then wait times would be equal across the board.

[Alistair Winter]

Bryan Ekman, on 04 July 2014 - 09:34 AM, said:

Offer one more perspective (apologize if some said this already).
The numbers posted are the queue. Not people playing lights. The light queue size is small because they are getting into the game quickly (almost instantly).
Heavy and Assault players have to wait much longer to get in, and by virtue of this wait time are making those queue percentages much higher.
Ideally there is an even queue, then wait times would be equal across the board.

Thanks! That occurred to me after starting this thread

Any thoughts on why heavy and assault mechs are so much more popular than light and medium mechs?

EDIT: Assuming, of course, that the number of light and medium mechs in game at any given moment tends to be significantly lower than medium and heavy mechs.

Edited by Alistair Winter, 04 July 2014 - 09:39 AM.

[Devlin Pierce]

Bryan Ekman, on 04 July 2014 - 09:34 AM, said:

Offer one more perspective (apologize if some said this already).

The numbers posted are the queue. Not people playing lights. The light queue size is small because they are getting into the game quickly (almost instantly).

Heavy and Assault players have to wait much longer to get in, and by virtue of this wait time are making those queue percentages much higher.

Ideally there is an even queue, then wait times would be equal across the board.

Makes sense.

Alistair Winter, on 04 July 2014 - 09:37 AM, said:

Thanks! That occurred to me after starting this thread

Any thoughts on why heavy and assault mechs are so much more popular than light and medium mechs?

Perhaps because the current meta favors those chassis over others?

Edited by Devlin Pierce, 04 July 2014 - 09:39 AM.

[Bryan Ekman]

Alistair Winter, on 04 July 2014 - 09:37 AM, said:

Thanks! That occurred to me after starting this thread

Any thoughts on why heavy and assault mechs are so much more popular than light and medium mechs?

Lights take more skill, carry less "stuff", and die more quickly. Along with there not being a ton of specific roles to be played.

We live in a bigger is better world.

And yes we are looking at improving the need and value for lights.

[Alistair Winter]

Bryan Ekman, on 04 July 2014 - 09:39 AM, said:

Lights take more skill, carry less "stuff", and die more quickly. Along with there not being a ton of specific roles to be played.

We live in a bigger is better world.

And yes we are looking at improving the need and value for lights.

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

[Devlin Pierce]

Bryan Ekman, on 04 July 2014 - 09:39 AM, said:

Lights take more skill, carry less "stuff", and die more quickly. Along with there not being a ton of specific roles to be played.

We live in a bigger is better world.

And yes we are looking at improving the need and value for lights.

Perhaps rewards for AMS/ECM and scouting activities. Or a more granular scoreboard that showcases these activities so other players can see more then just damage and kills?

[CyclonerM]

Bryan Ekman, on 04 July 2014 - 09:39 AM, said:

Lights take more skill, carry less "stuff", and die more quickly. Along with there not being a ton of specific roles to be played.

We live in a bigger is better world.

And yes we are looking at improving the need and value for lights.

Different roles indeed! All the lights currently are played either as fast snipers or harassers. I understand that the Firestarter cannot perform its intended role.. Of starting fires (yet?), but there is little place for scouts when you know more or less where the enemy team is and how many of them there are..

However, i am not sure they die quickly. Often a support heavy will have a hard time taking down a Spider or a Jenner.

Besides, i cannot wait to buy a Kit Fox!