Games like this are becoming far too common. Not only was one team without ECM. The other team had a NARC, and LRM boats.
It was GG within the first minute, as soon as I saw the NARC and some LRM I knew it didn't matter. By landing on caustic we were pretty much dead before it even started.
Sure, I got NARC'ed. I even knew I got NARC'ed, I retreated into D2. It is the largest drop off on the map within range. The wall next to me is literally 3-4 times my height.
I was still getting LRM coming in, right over the ridge from C3 and killed me. Even going into cover, with a NARC is certain death. You have to be underneath something, or have a SIGNIFICANT height advantage over the LRM boat and cover that extends to 4-5 times your own mechs height. Anything less than a tunnel or bridge etc just flat out doesn't cut it.
God forbid you are in a slower mech. I wouldn't have even made it to cover to extend my life for that few seconds I got. I would have just died outright. Once a NARC hits you and you see the LRM come in, you may as well just quit out of the match and move on rather than waste your time.
Nearly every match for the last few weeks has been exactly the same. One team gets NARC and LRM boats, instant win. I don't believe I've ever been on a team that has won when the other team has even just 2 LRM boats plus NARC. It is seriously creating a toxic environment in the game right now. As evidenced by the number of threads about it on the forum. Surely PGI sees it and surely they must be going to make some changes. I hope so anyway.
On Wednesday night, I broke down and ran an LRM boat and won the only match I launched in it, myself alone got 4 kills and hundreds of damage because I was on a team that had NARC. I haven't been able to make myself run LRM's again before or since as it is such a clearly broken system it feels too much like abuse right now.
I just can't believe nothing has been hot fixed for this yet. They knew this, it's not a new issue. NARC used to have checks and balances built in to stop this, after damage it would fall off and it wouldn't go through ECM. Yes at the time it needed a buff to try and get people to run it. However just like everything else in the game it doesn't exist in isolation. The game has changed so NARC or LRM need to change again to adjust.
Right now, it does everything in one. Improves target speed, improves clustering, probably even unintentionally improves trajectory thanks to poor coding, goes through ECM and doesn't fall off.
It's yet another example of PGI making multiple changes to a system instead of trying just one at a time. Perhaps increase the damage before it falls off. Perhaps make it only go through ECM for a few seconds before it burns out thanks to needing to boost the signal. Perhaps reduce the clustering and target bonuses if it lasts so long.
Whatever happens, it needs to happen soon as nearly every game is ending with the team that has the luck to land with NARC and LRM is almost guaranteed to win. It's that simple. I challenge PGI to post the stats to prove otherwise. The team with more LRM and more NARC than the other I'm betting will statistically win more often than the team with less LRM and NARC's. No matter the skill or Elo ranges on either side.
I can't believe I'm statistically that unlucky to be seeing this in every second match. On my stream, I have had people comment to me the same thing. I know it's not just me. I see far too many matches that have outcomes determined by these broken systems for it to be otherwise.
Well over 10k matches played since closed beta. I know I'm not the best player in the game, but I'm decent. It doesn't take the best player in the game to know a broken system when they see one.
Edited by Arcturious, 05 July 2014 - 01:56 AM.