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Edit5: Okay it should be General Discussion but since im a noob in this forum I have no idea how to move the thread(if you can even do that as a non-moderator) except for reposting it there.
Edit6: Formatting, implemented the link thingy.
TL;DR: Overpass over all the trial mechs, with small improvements to ease the way in for new players.
I recently(with the Pot of Gold event) started a second account to play clan on from time to time.
And as everybody knows you have to play Trials for a long time before you actually get to play your own mech(that is actually good). I now have all the cadet games aswell as about 70 after that played, so roughly 100 matches in those trials, and because of the event, I didnt just play the Victor-9S.
And because im super invested in new players not stopping to play after 8 hours of gametime I thought about the way PGI handles trial mechs.
There is a couple things people need to keep in mind:
1. Those are champions, you get to buy them with real money but dont get anything unique, so its kind of a Money to CBills conversion. Obviously PGI doesnt want to cram the champions full of equipment because that would interfere with their economic model(what a CBill is worth etc...).
2. There is a huge interest to get people to customize their mechs, learn how to build and fiddle around. That is one half of MWO's gameplay and is the driving force for revenue because you want to keep building new mechs and try out different chassis(chassises, whats the plural?).
So they obviously dont want to put meta builds on the champions, because they cant be improved.
That aside, there are a couple things I think are important and simple to achieve mostly without a huge load of extra equipment, what I did is I tried improving on the design from a new players point of view.
Here is what I came up with:
RVN-3L:
You can discuss about the weapons all you want, the setup isnt TOO hot and the weapons are easy to use for beginners, the alpha is good too. I still like that loadout.
Original Trial:
There are two problems here, notice the lack of CT armor aswell as half armor in the legs, not what a new player should get as a mech. Second is the AMS when you have ECM, with so little ammo too.
Changed Trial:
I ripped out AMS and downgraded the engine a tad, to put adequate armor everywhere, very straightforward.
Spider-5K:
Pretty much "perfect", so my change is discussable here.
Original Trial:
There is no real issue here, but I dont personally like the pairing of ERLL and MGs, because new players will want to use the MGs and dont really use the 5K as a long range flanker, but besides that its quite good.
Changed Trial:
Put out the MGs, upgraded the engine and maxed the jumpjets, personal preference yes, but with the Spiders hitreg, running 150 is a huge boon for new players.
Griffin-1S:
This shows to me that PGI is not afraid to give new players SRMs(why would they? well they put SSRM2s on every other mech) The next change is cutting into the CBill budget but I think its still a good change.
Original Trial:
I like the build, its simple and effective like the 3L, and from a new player point of view alone its very enjoyable. But I am disturbed by PGIs lack of Artemis on Trial mechs. Having a XL in a Trial medium isnt that bad for new players because if they dont know how to survive with a STD anyway they might aswell have more speed and weapons.
Changed Trial:
This isnt as much of a required change as with the Raven for example, but I still think that putting Artemis on there would really help, and you put Artemis on SRMs anyway whenever you can so its not teaching players wrong things. And because you tend to lose the 4ML arm, even if you try your damnest not to. So having better SRMs allways helps. You can still roll damage if you know what that is, because of the GRF hitboxes. substitute the XL for a STD for various reasons(survivability or CBill concerns).
Trebuchet-7M:
I left that one alone because if you want to keep the weapons as they are, there isnt any improvement feasible.(Sidenote on the SSRMs, as a fairly fast medium, this trebuchet is excellent in rear protection aswell as flanking, both of which encounter alot of lights).
Quickdraw-4G:
The build is allmost sound, Im just weirded out by the lack of full armor in the torso section, atleast they didnt put 36 armor in the rear as the Banshee has.
Original Trial:
You can leave it at that but, because the MLs are backup I changed it a bit to give it a deadside and full armor everywhere else.
Changed Trial:
It has a tad better DPS, so it runs cooler if you fire only the PPCs(allways good for new players), besides that they can lose an entire side and still live, if they bother to look up how the mech is build and understand what a STD engine is, they WILL come to the conclusion that this side is worthless, teaching them what shielding is(hopefully). I have a different version here but it has XL XL with LL .
Thunderbolt-9SE:
The setup allways bothered me, because you feel compelled to use the streaks,therefore running the risk of making your PPC useless, plus just like on other TDRs, you lose your arms alot.
Original Trial:
5 and a half tonnes for streaks, simply because PGI assumes that people cant aim and need streaks in order to hit. But the IS streaks are just not good anymore, especially if not boated. Plus loads of jumpjets on heavies or assaults arent that effective anymore.
Changed Trial:
If PPCs are the focus, this is essentially an upgraded Quickdraw trial. Its closer to the original than the second one.I loaded the PPCs in the torso because the mount is slightly higher and they dont get shot of that easy.
I like the second one more because it presents the true face of the TBR, the brawl- capabilities. Full Brawl .
Victor-9S:
I feel compelled to leave the build as it is, but then again it is so good that I want to own a Victor, thus I rebuild it a bit.
Original Trial:
Dont know what is not to like on that. No LRMs, one purpose, loads of DPS and no real heat problems, PGI please more of this. But there still is something I would change, namely the missing Artemis. Putting Artemis on there helps solidify your pinpoint damage with the UAC5s and MPLs, but I find you stop using the MPLs as you run hotter.
Changed Trial:
You have higher DPS but a lower Alpha, considering that your SRMs are tighter though, I guess the alpha is about the same to the component you want to hit. The MLs are now truly backup, but you gain a bit of range on them. Plus they sync up with the SRM cooldown. The weird obsession with firing 10 SRMs is beyond me, and I rather have one cooldown for all SRM launchers instead of two different ones.
Banshee-3M:
Oh boy, this one is weird as hell, you can fire twelve chained LPLs before overheating but I still think the 14 tonnes are wasted on LPL number 5 and 6.
Original Trial:
80 front armor for a 95 ton mech is a joke, having weapons that grill your mech if you fire them all together is a joke too. This is not for newer players, this is a pure cheese build for players that know what they do(just like the 9 ERPPC direwolf only in bad).
Changed Trial:
Keeping four of of the LPLs and adding 4 MPls gives you a higher alpha and higher DPS, aswell as less ghost heat penalty from the LPLs, you can substitute the XL380 for a STD310 but I think thats not necessary per se.
The second build gets rid of ghost heat completly for the cost of a lower alpha
No Ghost Heat
You could even put a XL400 in there:
Xl400 No Ghost Heat
This is ofcourse only for the current Trial mechs, but as said by people thousands of times before something needs to be done. I really want to see this game succeed and alot of its current issues stem from a low playerbase(dont deny it, I know some of the players in the public queue by name I see them so often). Steam can be a new lifeline for the game and I know PGI is working on the new player experience, they know aswell that it needs improvement before they can go live on Steam. Those are just easy (probably) XML edits that can be done in 2 hours by one guy. Heck maybe even community members for all of the trials.
I didnt do clan mechs because the post is allready long and I still need to understand wha works and doesnt with them.
Edited by Mandrakerootes, 15 March 2015 - 02:44 PM.
