Bishop Steiner, on 24 October 2014 - 07:31 PM, said:
Thereabouts. Sick of seeing a laserpointer touch me and then as soon as i've registered that theres a TAG on me, MISSILES INCOMING.
And thats a fraction of a second after popping my head out of cover.
On maps like Alpine, if the enemy team is LRM heavy and takes the hill, they can just trundle up that huge spire that overlooks 2/3rds of the map and you cannot escape. Can't venture out to take a potshot because the instant you step clear of cover, theres hundreds of missiles flying at you.
Today i even watched an LRM salvo pull a right angle in front of me to hit a Raven that jumped off the cliff (Alpine) to avoid a salvo.
LRMs themselves are not overpowered, they do have a few hardcounters, more than is perhaps fair for a weapon system.
The problem however, is that 1~ second lock times with Artemis means you can lock and fire ridiculously fast, combined with Radar Decay module, you will often find yourself getting relentlessly pounded even after getting to what appears to be cover.
This may just be me going crazy, but i could swear Artemis, which is supposed to only give its bonuses to targets in LoS of the launcher (IIRC anyways) will treat even indirect targets as in LoS for better grouping and improved Lock speeds.
In my honest opinion (as someone who has several 'mechs built as dedicated LRM boats and enjoys the playstyle) LRMs need have their Lock time increased to 4 - 5 seconds, With TAG improving that lock time.
Get rid of Radar Decay and Radar Deprivation.
Have ECM increase lock time by 1 - 2 seconds, along with removing the stealth aspect.
Finally, have Indirect Fire enabled *only* if the target is affected by either TAG or NARC.
I feel like those simple changes would turn the LRM into a strong support weapon without having its effectiveness dictated entirely by 2 modules that may or may not be in play and a 1/1.5 ton piece of equipment only a select few 'Mechs can carry.