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I think we can all agree that the consumables system as it currently stands in MWO is an abomination. It adds nothing to the game whatsoever except a constant, extremely heavy C-Bill sink (and/or MC sink, if Piranha’s undeservedly lucky!), with an implementation that keeps it out of the hands of just about everybody who isn’t a long-standing premium-time-holding vet. Ordinary rookie loses more than he makes in most average matches if he wants to try and use the game’s consumables, and yet the game is also packed to the brim with far too many damaging consumables with the new module
Now. Minirant aside, there is certainly room in the game for the functions that the consumable system provides. Artillery and air strikes were implemented to help dislodge campers, which is a thing that needs doing. UAVs are great for forcing confrontation in a match – nothing helps a light ‘Mech goad his allies into pushing forward than laying out a rock-solid UAV and yelling “UP AND AT ‘EM, FOLKS.” Laying out a well-timed UAV, or hitting that perfect arty or air strike, feels great (at least I’m assuming it does, having never used the damn things myself)…but only premium time guys, and furthermore premium time guys who’re actually not terrible, can afford to regularly make use of consumables. Even those guys are losing half their match earnings every time they pop both strikes in a game to restocking those consumables, and that’s if they win the match!
The cost of these things also actively discourages people from using them to try and bail their team out of a bad situation. Deploying an artillery blast in a match your team is starting to lose, in an attempt to turn the tides, is a hefty gamble that, should it not pay off, makes a loos feel even more bitter. Not only did you lose the match, but you lost your consumable module with it and now need to play without your call-in for a couple of rounds in order to afford to replace it.
To put all of this simply…there’s a better way. And the truly bitter thing of it is that Piranha almost got it right with this module system reboot of theirs…except not. Follow me for a moment on a journey through the imagination.
In a world where MechWarrior Online’s development team has not committed mistake after mistake…a world where players are treated as cherished friends and companions instead of interchangeable wallets…there is a system which permits all players equal access to call-ins, while simultaneously limiting the overuse of artillery and air strikes, and providing room for specialization and customization of a player’s call-ins.
Instead of consumables…there are Call-Ins.
The Call-In system rips out consumables entirely and hurls them into the pits of the Inferno where they belong. Instead, each ‘Mech is provided with a single Call-In slot (or, as per the new system, possibly two, though no more than that), into which can be dropped a Call-In module. Earlier, far more awesome editions of this idea in me brain relied on pilot unlocks and ‘MechLab set-up somewhat akin to pre-game weapons grouping, but we’ll give up on that particular Utopia for now. Right now, let’s simply use Call-In modules.
Each Call-In module enables the player to use a specific call-in – arty, air, UAV, coolant, whatever – and comes with a certain number of uses per match, typically one. Of utmost importance is that the call-in module is not consumed on use. Yes, that’s right! Buy Artillery once, and you have that arty module from now until the servers go down! But – since you only have a single call-in slot most of the time, you have to choose carefully what to bring, and you only get to deploy it once. Each ‘Mech can bring the call-in its pilot most favors for that ‘Mech’s role, which in the current system would involve twelve artillery strikes per side…but let’s get into another reason why the call-in system would be superior to consumables, and that is Skill tree customization.
First of all, who’s to say that all call-ins are created equal? Maybe a basic UAV call-in would give you two UAVs a match, since the UAV isn’t as devastating as a well-laid arty blast. Coolant Flush already works this way, why not expand the idea? And then why not expand it further? Currently the system offers GXP-purchased skills that basically allow you to upgrade your C-bill consumables to their MC equivalents. Whoopee. Why not take that idea further? Offer an entire skill tab devoted to maximizing call-in use (preferably after fixing the skill system to also not suck).
Part of being a good Recon pilot could be investing in UAV-related skills. Perhaps you could unlock Evasive Maneuvers for your UAV, to make it a more difficult target to hit, or enhance your UAV with Laser Designator – so that anything you’re actively targeting which is also under the influence of the UAV is considered to be TAG’d for purposes of LRM flight times? Maybe your Coolant Flush can be updated with Purge & Binge, giving your heat sinks a brief shot of doubled effectiveness after a coolant flush? Flushing your coolant to cool yourself off already makes no sense, why not just run with it? Fun stuff! Useful stuff! Make that call-in yours, and make it something you’re always careful to deploy well – but also something you’re never afraid to use in an attempt to turn a bad game around, because even if it doesn’t work, you haven’t lost anything for the attempt.
Combined with a rework of the skill system, permanent and customizable call-ins could make the game significantly more dynamic and entertaining, offering the players options this bastardization of a consumable system we’ve currently got could never do. It could be used to bring in special, role or game mode-specific modules that make no damn sense as a consumable. How about a remote capture module, eh? Drop it at your ‘Mech’s feet and it acts as a unit of your team insofar as base caps and resource points in Conquest are concerned. Pop it on an unoccupied point and get back to the fight, or double up your capture times – but once you pop it, it’s there, and you can’t pick it back up. If the enemy destroys it, sucks to be you! Or do the same thing, save with ECM. Pop a Deployable ECM Pylon in the middle of a heavy furball and give your team an instant leg up – provided the enemy doesn’t spot it and blow it up.
If you’re going to do it, do it whole hog – but don’t take it away from players who can’t make 300k a match every match! I’d love to see an expansion of the call-in system, offering all kinds of interesting capabilities to give everyone their own niche to fulfill…but I have never, and will never, purchase a single consumable in either currency type. The consumable system is unfairly discriminatory towards the people who need the help the most, while the folks who need it the least – those 1k damage every match Supermen who can clean out an entire enemy lance by themselves – are the only ones who’re freely able to make use of the system.
The rich get richer, the poor get bombed. Doesn’t that sound like total crap to you guys, too?
Anyways. Let me know what you think of the basic idea, and I'll try and work up a better framework of how this stuff would actually fit into the game when I'm not posting from work. BLARGHLE.
