Odanan, on 22 January 2017 - 01:14 PM, said:
I'd say there's a lot more to it than just the DPS figures; and even those don't tell the whole story. This is coming from someone who's a primary light pilot. A Piranha would not be OP. Strong for its weight class? Yes. Overpowered? No. Let me explain:
Consider the DPS of 2xAC/20s vs. 10xMGs (close to being the same at ~10 DPS), which are two extremes of the equation . . . the pinnacle of assault ballistics vs. the pinnacle of light ballistics. Those AC 20's are click and shoot, with 4 seconds of cooling down, afterwards. That's time to reposition, spread damage, or any number of other things as you prepare for your next shot. On the other hand, the MG's require constant face-time and are not PPFLD, while they also have a cone of fire (smaller, but still there) and an exceptionally short optimal range.
The MG damage can be easily spread, outranged, and countered. The AC/20s will look at you, squeeze the trigger, and -if you're a light- something is going boom (God forbid it's a leg) . . . all at over twice the optimal range of an MG. Think about how people will call out AC/20 mechs and whatnot now. The team will make a concerted effort to single it out and remove it in the safest ways possible. The same will be true of a Piranha with high DPS (8-12 MGs). If it gets close you'll take pot-shots and spread damage, while at the same time other hard counters will come in and deal with the problem. Lasers and Streaks can ruin a light mech's day if the user can aim and time shots (and don't forget Clan Streaks vs. MG range . . . ouch).
Sure, those 12xMG's for a Piranha look beastly on paper when bringing it into MWO, but that's also 1 ton of ammo. In TT that's enough . . . in MWO that's nothing . . . 200 damage in ~17 seconds
IF you have flawless accuracy. Oh, and we all know that 200 damage/ton is NOT going to be located in the same spot with a cone of fire and any remotely competent pilot attempting to move or spread damage.
You have to start making sacrifices; and whether it's guns, armor, or engine, either way you're sacrificing something else crucial to try to maintain those 12MG's. That's just not going to work out, in the end, to be some sort of OP monster in MWO. 8x MG's (in the build I listed earlier, which would have some sustainability) would still be out-DPS'd by an Arctic Cheetah with 6xC-ERSL (1.54 x 6 = 9.24 DPS), with better burst, flexibility, no ammo concerns, while still having more armor, and just as much maneuverability (probably more so with jump jets).
The end result for a Piranha in MWO? A nice and reasonably strong light mech that's still far from being OP.
Edited by Sereglach, 22 January 2017 - 08:16 PM.