Posted 16 March 2015 - 03:08 PM
I wish I saw this earlier before I went grinding...
I honestly need some of this info marinate in my head, so that I can give a better analysis of the situation... let me point out 3 things.
1) The Missile velocity quirks are actually really important. If anyone remembered the ridiculous rain of LRMs back when that was being adjusted (to like 170 or 175?). Currently, they are set to 160. I kinda remember my own nerf recommendation, but that's neither here nor there. When LRMs are faster, they honestly hit their targets more effectively. This is what I best remember about them. So, when the missile velocity of a Trebuchet is now 176 (+10% missile velocity) instead of the base 160, those LRMs are going to hit more often. Mind you, this is not quite like the LRM10 spam of the Hunchback-4J, but it's "more accurate" because of the speed and therefore more deadly.
Some of these quirks are applied to Clan Mechs, but not to the same degree. So, it's not gonna be as special there.
However, any increase of missile velocity for Streaks will keep them closer to the IS version... but these quirks seems minimal at best.
2) The smidgen of omnipod quirks look pretty bad on paper. I think that there will be some mechs that would benefit, but it reinforces the notion of boating and anyone that plays this game will well know that these changes do add up. Of course, it depends a lot on the context. There will always be omnipod min-maxing, but I think there will be some changes that make sense, and a whole lot of others that have little to no effect based on the mechs.
3) What's also hard to really understand is the LRM/SRM/missile and LBX spread that is mentioned here. I'd kinda wish smurfy put out that number, but I'd like to see the effects of the numbers in a more scientific approach (yes, for SCIENCE) as it's hard to qualify how effective said buffs would be. Just on paper... they really seem microscopic.
While I kinda believe Russ's statement on the matter... a fair number of changes don't make sense. It is as if one needed to fire the man who shall not be named.
If you REALLY want to balance something properly (like the Adder), you really need a member in the stuff that plays the game AT LEAST 5-6 games (1 hour of time) IN GAME... spending time with all factions (competitive groups, solo players) and not just be isolated to some desk playing with numbers and not seeing how it plays in game realtime. You need someone to spend time with "the people" (like not Sean Lang) and not just people who kiss your arse and not give you the whole picture. To truly understand the game, you'd have to PLAY A WHOLE LOT. I don't expect any PGI member to be a top tier competitive player... I just expect that person to understand BALANCE on the whole understanding nuances, mechanics, and how they are applied at a higher level. Otherwise, it's just not going to be productive.
I just see this as a mixed bad... with some interest, some disappoint, and some "what the eff" moments. I don't see the Adder buffed well enough... the Trebuchet will be interesting... and these omnipod quirks honestly seem "odd" w/o context.
Go figure. I need to think about this more.