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There are plenty of ways to make turrets less impacting on the non-capping game without rendering them inert for their primary purpose of dissuading lights from blitzing the enemy base.
1. Lower HP and increase size. This one I'd say is pretty much a mandatory change. It takes even the heaviest mechs multiple salvoes to destroy a single turret, and that's after it's already uncovered and firing. Light mechs are more likely to get destroyed by a pristine turret than destroy one. They're also tough to spot and tough to hit, especially when retracted. I'd say lower HP by at least 20%, lower retracted armor bonus by 50%, and increase size by 25%.
AND one of the following options
2. Eliminate retracting ability altogether. If a heavy enemy force wants to snipe out the turrets early in the game on River City (providing the opposing team isn't doing a good job of protecting them), they should be able to. If a light wants to try and infiltrate the base by sniping out the turrets in its way from long range, it should be able to do so without receiving receiving return fire. Getting the "base under attack" message should actually make you fear losing the base defenses. Right now when I get the message, my first thought is "lol noob is wasting firepower on turrets instead of on us"
3. Make turret activation capture-dependent. They only activate when someone enters the capture box (like a security system). Once activated, they'd stay activated, but until they were tripped by an intruder, they would stay retracted.
4. Replace the LRM launcher with a SRM launcher. At least make it so that when you engage an enemy turret, you don't have to get pelted by all of them. They don't even hit enemy lights most of the time, meaning their only purpose is to annoy the crap out of mechs that are nowhere close to the capture point. They'll be even more effective against would-be cappers and will force attackers to keep moving laterally to avoid getting hit by SRM barrages.
5. Reduce the number of turrets, at least on smaller and hotter maps. Honestly, to get full coverage of the capture box, all you need is two turrets on opposite sides of it. They provide plenty enough firepower to deter or destroy would-be light cappers unless they attack en-masse. The biggest, coldest maps like HPG and Alpine can retain their current number, but small hot maps like Canyon Network and Viridian Bog shouldn't have more than two. Maps that fall in the middle of that realm can compromise with 3-4.
Edited by NeoAres, 20 February 2015 - 09:16 AM.
