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Suggestion For Ew And Related Weapon Changes


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#1 Zyllos

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Posted 13 August 2014 - 09:38 AM

I am going to suggest some major changes that I think this game needs to balance out how targets are shared, LRMs directly work, and other equipment related to Electronic Warfare.

I doubt this will ever get seen or implemented but this is what I think really needs to happen -

LRM -
  • LRMs aim at bones (just like SSRMs) in swarms (5 LRMs).
  • LRMs maintain lock themselves once fired but still need to be spotted (triangle/spotted target needs to be visible but lock does not need to be maintained by the firer).
  • LRMs need higher cooldown (LRM/5 to 7.0s, LRM/10 to 8.0s, LRM/15 to 9.0s, and LRM/20 to 10.0s).
  • LRMs need a 90m/s speed increase (to 250m/s).
  • If LRMs are fired with no target lock on, LRMs take a low trajectory to the location.
AMS -
  • Increased damage to match same performance for the new LRM speeds.
GECM -
  • Does NOT block lock on.
  • Reduces range that a target is spotted by sensors by 50% (to 400m, from 800m) for the GECM carrier only.
  • Increases time to gain target info (loadout/damage/ect.) and lock on delay by 100% for all under GECM.
  • NARC is blocked, even if the NARC hits the GECM carrier.
  • Artemis IV bonuses are completely blocked if under GECM (even if the target is tagged).
  • TAG is completely unaffected by GECM.
  • Nullifies BAP sensor range and other bonuses.
Artillery/Air Strike -
  • Increase radius of Artillery strikes by 100% (higher damage but spread out vs. air strikes, which are focused on a line but less damage).
  • Can only be called with a mech equipped with a Command Module or to a location where a target is tagged/narced.
  • Cooldown increased to 60s for team cooldown.
TAG -
  • TAG range reduced to 450m.
  • A target that is hit by TAG will be spotted and shared.
  • If a target is tagged, anyone can target the mech and fire off an artillery/air strike to that target's location by selecting that target and hitting the artillery/air strike button.
  • TAG needs to hit a target for 1.0s before it will be spotted.
  • If TAG is not reestablished within 1.0s, the target will no longer be tagged.
Artemis IV -
  • Only increases lock speed and tighter swarms for LRMs if you have direct LOS of target.
  • Does NOT affect SSRM lock on speed or aiming.
NARC -
  • Will always be countered by ECM, even if attached to an ECM equipped mech.
BAP -
  • Will spot targets within 180m, regardless of LOS (ECM cancels this effect. This is also different from Seismic Sensor as Seismic will bypass ECM).
  • Will display "ECM Detected" if within sensor range but will not overcome ECM's effects.
  • Will display the ECM icon if targeted.
Command Module -
  • Mech with a Command Module equipped can call an artillery/air strike to any visual location directly or on the map but with a longer strike delay (100% increase).
SSRM -
  • Lock on delay is 0.5s.
  • A tick is added for each lock on (meaning 5 launchers need 2.5s worth of lock on to gain 5 ticks).
  • For each tick, a launcher is able to fire and goes on cooldown if fired.
  • If a SSRM launcher is fired, a single tick is lost.
  • Lose all ticks if lock is lost (same as LRM lock on).
  • Lock only starts at the range of the SSRMs (270m for IS and 360m for Clan).
General Sensor Rules -
  • Spotted mechs means YOUR sensors can see this target (triangle over it).
  • Targeted mech means YOU have selected that mech.
  • A target is only shared if you target a mech for 5.0s. (BAP speeds this up)
  • TAG/NARC SHALL share targets to all.
  • Separate LRM lock and SSRM lock so Artemis IV will not effect SSRMs. (use an X and a new lock noise for SSRMs).
  • Add C3 Master and C3 Slave equipment.
  • Add AECM.
  • ECM icon is not displayed without BAP for enemy mechs.
C3 Master and Slave -
  • At least 1 C3 Master must be present on the battlefield for a C3 Network to exist.
  • All C3 equipped (Master and Slave) mechs automatically shares spotted and targeted mechs across the network.
  • If no C3 Master exists, the C3 Network goes down.
  • The network range is 800m from a C3 Master.
  • Targets under ECM are not shared by C3.
  • C3 Master weighs 6t and takes 6 slots.
  • C3 Slave weighs 1t and takes 1 slot.
AECM -
  • BLOCKS all lock on (SSRM and LRM).
  • Does not reduce spotting range (unlike GECM for the carrier).
  • Increases time to gain target info (loadout/damage/ect.) and lock on delay by 100% for all under AECM.
  • NARC is blocked, even if the NARC hits the AECM carrier.
  • Artemis IV bonuses are completely blocked if under AECM (even if target is tagged).
  • TAG is completely unaffected by AECM.
  • Nullifies BAP sensor range and other bonuses.
What this would accomplish is that LRMs either need to be locked on by the user with direct LOS, spotter with TAG/NARC, or be part of a C3 Network.



A target can be shared between players directly, without anything special, but a player has to keep an enemy mech targeted for 5.0s. This means that as players moves between cover, your mech is not immediately shared to everybody on their team unless someone was scouting/spotting for the enemy team.

LRMs will not be so spammy with the longer cooldowns, thus will most likely now be salvos from a team with repositioning in between launches (for both sides). But the LRMs will be more accurate reaching the target by not needing to maintain a lock (but still needs to be spotted) and faster speeds.

LRM damage will also be more distributed in damage due to aiming at bones like SSRMs. This will also make the damage distribution balanced between smaller/larger launchers.

ECM will be used to block NARC, Artemis IV, BAP, and C3. GECM will used to directly hide the equipped mech for scouting at range or protect it from targeting at range. But under 400m, GECM will no longer protect it from being spotted or targeted. AECM does not reduce sensor range at all, so can always be spotted and targeted but LRMs/SSRMs will never lock on.

TAG will be used by scouters to provide a way to cut through all ECM for spotting/targeting, share spotted targets to other mechs, and be used to call in artillery/air strikes on targets.

NARC will also be used to share spotted targets to other mechs and call in artillery/air strikes.

BAP has some more added effects to make it more useful. Mainly for non-LOS spots at short range and help in finding ECM mechs.

Edited by Zyllos, 16 September 2014 - 06:36 AM.


#2 Peiper

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Posted 13 August 2014 - 09:50 AM

http://mwomercs.com/...les-considered/

As you can see, I've supported these ideas since the Romulan Cloaking Device was added to the game.

#3 Ryvucz

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Posted 13 August 2014 - 09:55 AM

10 second cooldown on any weapon is pretty hefty.

#4 Grendel408

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Posted 13 August 2014 - 12:11 PM

Zyllos... You know what I got from this? You want ECM to be your protective bubble to hide in, nothing more... you hate artillery/airstrikes because only certain Mechs can use a Command Module... making the recent module change the Devs did useless... C3 Master/Slave systems are not regularly used in the current BT Timeline... they don't really get utilized until the early 3060's by all Houses and Merc units... basically... you want to throw away a lot of the tuning and balancing the Devs have done over the last two years.

#5 Zyllos

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Posted 13 August 2014 - 01:33 PM

ECM will be weaker with these changes so not sure where your statement of "...want ECM to be your protective bubble to hide in..." comes from.

I am trying to find ways to limit the artillery/air strike spam and give more meaning to the Command Module. But I don't "hate" artillery/air strikes. Plus, the Command Module could be opened to a number of mechs.

C3 Master/Slave is open to all mechs to equip, so I am not sure I see the problem there. Unless it's an era thing that C3 was not developed in 3049 (which I think it is).

Honestly, you are correct, a lot that the developers have balanced on, I think, is in the wrong direction. But that is not the point of this thread.

#6 Elyam

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Posted 14 August 2014 - 11:24 AM

OP, agree with 95% of post. Brings things much closer to original BT intent. There might be a few items to argue about.

#7 Hoffenstein

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Posted 14 August 2014 - 02:39 PM

An added effect of GECM could simply be that anything within it's range doesn't show a paper-doll or readout. They can still be targeted and locked-on to, but they just show a red square with no additional info.

#8 TibsVT

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Posted 14 August 2014 - 04:25 PM

View PostGrendel408, on 13 August 2014 - 12:11 PM, said:

Zyllos... You know what I got from this? You want ECM to be your protective bubble to hide in, nothing more... you hate artillery/airstrikes because only certain Mechs can use a Command Module... making the recent module change the Devs did useless... C3 Master/Slave systems are not regularly used in the current BT Timeline... they don't really get utilized until the early 3060's by all Houses and Merc units... basically... you want to throw away a lot of the tuning and balancing the Devs have done over the last two years.

Grendel408... You know what I got from this? You didn't read the OP at all and if you did you skimmed horribly.

I agree with the OP though, mostly. A lot of these changes would be welcome.

#9 Zyllos

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Posted 14 August 2014 - 05:24 PM

View PostHoffenstein, on 14 August 2014 - 02:39 PM, said:

An added effect of GECM could simply be that anything within it's range doesn't show a paper-doll or readout. They can still be targeted and locked-on to, but they just show a red square with no additional info.


Ya, but I felt the GECM was used to scout (I know it's on the Atlas) so that is why I kept the sensor range decrease by 50% for the wielder.

#10 Zyllos

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Posted 18 August 2014 - 09:35 AM

Not many comments on this but I still keep seeing the "LRMs are unbalanced and need nerfs/LRMs are crap and need buffs" threads.

#11 Peiper

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Posted 18 August 2014 - 08:59 PM

Thinking people with good ideas don't believe PGI will listen anymore, so they stopped typing. It doesn't matter that our island has thousands of people and PGI are those six guys starving in the boat offshore. It is simply that we disagree with them that we are disregarded. Might be the cheap vodka talking, but I doubt it.

#12 Ph30nix

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Posted 27 August 2014 - 11:49 AM

id be happy if they even implemented these one at a time.... to start remove linked target without special equipment.

#13 terrycloth

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Posted 27 August 2014 - 12:00 PM

This sounds like a really complicated set of changes that would be absolutely awful. Target-sharing is how PuGs do anything at all ever, and mounting a freaking 5 ton master component to maybe enable that if people put on the 1 ton component that is probably useless and therefore probably never used? And then still wouldn't let newbies in trial mechs see anything? Are you crazy?

It would completely ruin the game.

LRMs are already really hard to use and this would just make it completely impractical. Not to mention also halving their damage just for the hell of it by doubling the cooldown.

This is a really bad suggestion all around.

#14 Ph30nix

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Posted 27 August 2014 - 12:38 PM

View Postterrycloth, on 27 August 2014 - 12:00 PM, said:

This sounds like a really complicated set of changes that would be absolutely awful. Target-sharing is how PuGs do anything at all ever, and mounting a freaking 5 ton master component to maybe enable that if people put on the 1 ton component that is probably useless and therefore probably never used? And then still wouldn't let newbies in trial mechs see anything? Are you crazy?

It would completely ruin the game.

LRMs are already really hard to use and this would just make it completely impractical. Not to mention also halving their damage just for the hell of it by doubling the cooldown.

This is a really bad suggestion all around.

LRM's are cake to use in the right situation, like when your team helps you and since this is a team game theys hould be balanced around those situations.

i say require bap/tag/narc at minimum for linked targeting

#15 Zyllos

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Posted 27 August 2014 - 12:50 PM

View Postterrycloth, on 27 August 2014 - 12:00 PM, said:

This sounds like a really complicated set of changes that would be absolutely awful. Target-sharing is how PuGs do anything at all ever, and mounting a freaking 5 ton master component to maybe enable that if people put on the 1 ton component that is probably useless and therefore probably never used? And then still wouldn't let newbies in trial mechs see anything? Are you crazy?

It would completely ruin the game.

LRMs are already really hard to use and this would just make it completely impractical. Not to mention also halving their damage just for the hell of it by doubling the cooldown.

This is a really bad suggestion all around.


You do know you can still share targets, right? You have to have the target selected for 5.0s before it's shared to the team. This is to let players move between cover and attempt flanks without being immediately spotted then shared to the entire time, unless your being spotted by a forward scout (who would have knew, scouts!).

C3 Network will share all targets immediately to everyone in the network, even without targeting.

And the changes to LRMs are to keep their spammyness down but still being powerful area deniers by being accurate with higher speeds with less time to get to cover once fired. Also allows the LRM users to not have to maintain locks for the LRMs to reach the target, just someone needs to keep the target spotted for it to reach the destination. This would also make direct fired LRMs more viable due to lower trajectory and speed.

Edited by Zyllos, 27 August 2014 - 12:53 PM.






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