10 replies to this topic

[Riverboat Sam]

I just finished mastering my Nova's. I had a few fun matches, but it was really about 90% hard, painful grind. I moved on to my Stormcrows and the very first match in one I took it out stock just to get a feel for it and it was like being released from jail. It was SO MUCH better than piloting the Nova.

It's not just that the Nova has had the only weapons it "naturally", fits (CERML), nerfed into the ground - but it is painfully slow, cumbersome, and fragile. My hat is off to any pilot that can make one perform. It takes real skill. I get the feeling PGI made it such a glass pig because they knew it had a really powerful punch with those 6x CERML arms. Then they took those arms away. Now it's just a pig. Just a big lumbering pig that is under-gunned and can be quickly killed by most mechs in the game - even lights.

Really, they need to do something to breathe life back into the Nova. If they won't give it back it's weapon punch, then they need to tune up the agility at least to the level of other mediums. Anywho, just felt like saying that.

[DONTOR]

I find its hard points incredibly boring given the tonnage for the weaponry. Not to mention it is incredibly slow. Storm Crow is where its at!

[Angel of Annihilation]

Well prior to the Clan laser universal heat nerf (or near enough) I actually kind of liked my Nova's. I found that they offered a lot of firepower at the expense of durability which was a combo that was actually fun to play.

After the nerf they are definitely subpar. I went from matching my overall average damage (average of all mechs IS and Clan) of around 400 per match down to averaging only 250 damage per match which is tied with my absolute worst performing mechs. In the end I kept the Prime running the stock build just because it still was kind of fun to play despite the heat but sold the other two that I had originally planned on keeping. Honestly I think I only kept the prime because it is kind of a novelty having a 50 ton mech with a 84 damage alpha (no matter that using the full alpha is pretty much just for jokes).

I posted just a while back that the Nova needed a buff, probably a quick that reduced the heat generated by energy weapons by about 15% across the board or basically bringing them back to how they were prior to the nerf. Doubt PGI agrees with me though.

[Cyborne Elemental]

Yep, pre-nerf they were glass cannons, but they could at least put up a fight.

Russ said that Clan mechs would get a good looking at for Quirks, and I trust that he will follow through with it.

Russ Bullock, on 16 September 2014 - 10:07 PM, said:

Yes after IS I am sure we will quirk pass clans - they will get less because many are already Tier 1 mechs but some need some quirks

Edited by Mister D, 17 September 2014 - 09:11 PM.

[Riverboat Sam]

Quirk may be an under statement. I believe the design intent of the Nova as glass cannon was completely violated when they forced you to reduce it's firepower by 50%, and it's alpha capability by even more. That's a huge change. It no longer qualifies as a "cannon", of any sort. I prefer to call it a glass pig. I believe they need to revisit the whole design intent of the thing. If they won't let it be what they originally intended, then they need to come up with a new role for it that makes it fun to play. I don't really care what role. There are many to choose from. The Kitfox is obviously the ECM and support light/medium. The Adder makes for a nasty light/medium missile boat. They need to revise the design of the Nova completely so that it can play a role on the battlefield. I would very much disagree with Russ that the Nova remains a Tier 1 mech in it's current incarnation.

Personally, I won't sell any of my Clan mechs. They all cost hard cash. I don't need the C-Bills. Since they all came with their own mech bay they're not costing me anything just sitting in the hangar. The way PGI changes things I don't think there is any way to tell when a pig like the Nova could suddenly become a hot mech again.

[Quxudica]

Enlil09, on 17 September 2014 - 10:17 PM, said:

Quirk may be an under statement. I believe the design intent of the Nova as glass cannon was completely violated when they forced you to reduce it's firepower by 50%, and it's alpha capability by even more. That's a huge change. It no longer qualifies as a "cannon", of any sort. I prefer to call it a glass pig. I believe they need to revisit the whole design intent of the thing. If they won't let it be what they originally intended, then they need to come up with a new role for it that makes it fun to play. I don't really care what role. There are many to choose from. The Kitfox is obviously the ECM and support light/medium. The Adder makes for a nasty light/medium missile boat. They need to revise the design of the Nova completely so that it can play a role on the battlefield. I would very much disagree with Russ that the Nova remains a Tier 1 mech in it's current incarnation.

Personally, I won't sell any of my Clan mechs. They all cost hard cash. I don't need the C-Bills. Since they all came with their own mech bay they're not costing me anything just sitting in the hangar. The way PGI changes things I don't think there is any way to tell when a pig like the Nova could suddenly become a hot mech again.

I'd say it's already a....

...hot mech.

[zortesh]

^ well played.

Its a shame, the nova was a beast before the laser nerfs, after it was irrelevant, i wish they'd revert the heat nerfs on small lasers, i dunno why the nerf hammer landed on them so hard, the 12 smalls on a nova was powerful sure, but it was short range in the extreme, which is a massive downside in a game dominated by snipers.

[pulupulu]

Imo, nova turn from a really good mech, to an average one. It is still at least better than hunchy/cent/etc.

However, after next clan side torso xl reduction mechanic, nova is probably going to be in some trouble.

[AlexEss]

Well you wanted to be the yolo-swayback and you got the same deal as the swayback. After all i would point to the Nova alone as the one main reason they had to adjust the clan med lasers.

After the adjustment it really only suffer from having most of it´s weapons in the arms. Beyond that it seems to melt face at an good pace still. It just does not deserve to be called the arc of the covenant any more.

[Russ Bullock]

AlexEss, on 17 September 2014 - 11:18 PM, said:

Well you wanted to be the yolo-swayback and you got the same deal as the swayback. After all i would point to the Nova alone as the one main reason they had to adjust the clan med lasers.

After the adjustment it really only suffer from having most of it´s weapons in the arms. Beyond that it seems to melt face at an good pace still. It just does not deserve to be called the arc of the covenant any more.

^^^
Reasonable man.

How would you fair against a Hunchback or Centurion - I like your chances. You say Clans are meant to be more powerful? Well I think you are!

Anyhow as I have stated a few times, I am looking at IS Quirks and then exploring the Clan Side Torso destruction situation, but I am hoping to stay off the clan weapons.

[aniviron]

Russ Bullock, on 17 September 2014 - 11:30 PM, said:

^^^
Reasonable man.

How would you fair against a Hunchback or Centurion - I like your chances. You say Clans are meant to be more powerful? Well I think you are!

Anyhow as I have stated a few times, I am looking at IS Quirks and then exploring the Clan Side Torso destruction situation, but I am hoping to stay off the clan weapons.

Care to take me up on a duel? I own all the hunchies except the J, and the Nova is easy prey for all of them. ;]