Well.. my experience out of about 15 matches i was able to play Trended towards this simple truth.
In all of my Matches, The Clan mech's ALWAYS stayed together, at most i was in 2 matches were me and another Timber would split off and go hunting, but aside from that.. every clan mech was in a group.
Now the IS guys?.... 99% of the time, they were either:
A. Scattered out across the map.
B. Strung out in a line
C. Clusted together in a really really narrow space. (ie: the tunnel on river city i think it is? whatever that map is.)
Now did this lead to me winning the majority of my matches? Of course it did. Did it mean the Clan mech's were 'better' or 'stronger' or 'over-powered'? Not in the least. In general it just seems as if the Clan Pilots simply ACT as a TEAM better than the IS pugs do (and yes all of my matches were me going solo into the matchmaker).
The one, and sole exception to this, was one match (again on River city.. if thats the name of the map im thinking of... the one with the tunnel) In which both Clan and IS mech's faced off inside the 'city' peninsula thats to the North/East side of the map. No one stayed in one spot all that long.. no one really 'clustered' into a ball that couldnt manuver.. it was a general brawl were Everyone used cover as best they could and tried flanking as good as they could.
Was it a landslide win for the Clans? Nope. see below:
http://i3.photobucke...22.jpg~original
Yes we won. But it wasnt a 'landslide'.
Pure, up-close brawl, and the Clanners nearly lost.
Clan Mech's aint outright more 'powerfull' than IS mech's.
What people dont seem to grasp is that they are 2 different playstyles.
Clan BEAM weapons do slighly more damage yes.. but thats at a LOWER dps than what the IS mech's do.
For example:
IS ER LL:
9 damage
1sec duration
3.25sec cooldown
8.5 heat
9 DPS
Clan ER LL:
11.3 damage
1.5sec duration
3.25sec cooldown
8.5 heat
7.53~ DPS
So..what does this mean? Simple.
A. IS are 'burst' damage dealers.. you dont have to 'look' at your target as long as the Clan Mech does.
B. Your cooldown will also start earlier than the Clan Mech's weapon will. Meaning you can fire again before he will be able to.
C. The Torso-Twisting that all of the 'leet players' praise as the 'answer' to everyone always targeting only the CT is more effective on IS because it takes LONGER for the Clan beam to do its damage to each individual part it hits.
All of the above also applies to Clan AC's.. as they fire in 'bursts'. (Damage over time vs 'single-shot' of IS AC's) And LRM's (which fire in streams vs 'clumps' )
When it comes to AC's and Clans vs IS, Simple answer for IS is to KEEP MOVING. If your standing still, your gonna get hit by all of the burst-fired pellets. If your moving, its a extremely good chance some of those shells will miss as the Clanner adjusts his aim WHILE those pellets are still being fired.
When it comes to Clan LRM's. 2 things to remember:
1.) They fire in streams, meaning you can duck behind cover AFTER you start getting hit, and still get hit for less than if you had been hit by a IS LRM strike as with IS LRM's.. if you get hit.. ALL of the fired missiles likely hit you. They fire as one, they hit as one.
2) Because they fire in streams.. they are EASIER to counter with AMS systems than IS missiles. Since they come in 1 at a time, the AMS has a better chance of shooting down more of them as they fly past / come in. So dust off those AMS's you felt were worthless while fighting against other IS mech's (Because a 'clump' of missles = more will get past AMS systems) and start using them again.
So.... Personally? Do i think Clan Mech's are more powerful than IS mechs?
Nope. I actually like were they are at the moment.
At Long-Range, Clan's have a slight advantage with their longer ranged weapons, but again.. this is only true if the IS pilots are crazy enough to stand still out in the open long enough for the full duration of the Clan mech's weapons to finish their duration's.
Mid-Range, Both Clan and IS are decently equalized. Clan's still have to keep their weapons on target longer, but the range is at a level were that is slightly easier to do. And IS mech's are at a range that the 'extra' range of Clan mech's is nullified.
Close-Range,its all down to skill and teamwork (With IS having a slight advantage over Clans with their 'burst' damage instead of 'duration' damage). Knowing how to make use of cover, flanking, usage of short-duration weapons over long-duration ones, knowing how to keep someone at a specific distance (say 200m) so you can still use LRM's while using SL's and MG's effectively.
All of this, and 'teamwork' isnt even involved yet.
As i mentioned earlier. Most of the Clan Vs IS matches i was in, the Clanners almost ALWAYS stayed together in a group, or went out in pairs. The IS groups nearly always were scattered out. You can be a 12-man group of Ares Superheavy Mech's... and you'd still lose if you all go your separate ways while fighting against a 12-man group of Stormcrows that work together.
Edited by Rhapsody Repine, 06 August 2014 - 04:53 PM.