50 replies to this topic

[dimachaerus]

So, just as a question, why does my Gauss rifle, which requires "charging" to fire, explode catastrophically when critically hit, while un-charged?

Why is my charged/un-charged Gauss rifle so much easier to destroy than any other weapon in the game?

Yes, I know why these things were done, they were added along with the PPC velocity nerfs, JJ effectiveness destructions, Aim shake, Gauss firing mechanic, JJ heat, and falling damage: to nerf Jump sniping, which is no longer a valid tactic due to the utter nuking of any and all things that allowed it to occur.

So, I propose, we either remove the "charging" fire system altogether, or make it so that the gauss is "state aware" and won't explode if it isn't charged. I'd also propose removing it's extreme fragility, spending 12/15 tons plus ammo for a weapon system that gets knocked out (AND ASPLODES!!!) the first second a single machinegun round patters against your structure is kind of annoying.

I, and many others would like to use gauss on our mechs more often, but while it's still at least workable when used singly, or as the mechs main weapon system, it tends to not work so well when used as part of a more balanced loadout.

[Burktross]

dimachaerus, on 18 March 2015 - 05:14 PM, said:

So, just as a question, why does my Gauss rifle, which requires "charging" to fire, explode catastrophically when critically hit, while un-charged?

Paul...gameplay...omy....™?

Edited by Burktross, 18 March 2015 - 05:15 PM.

[FupDup]

The Gauss is a tier 1 weapon used very commonly from the lowest levels of the underhive to the peaks of mount tryhard. You're exaggerating its weaknesses.

I could understand the IS Gauss getting a bit more durable to balance it against the Clan Gauss, but that's really about it. One of the best weapons in the game doesn't exactly need gigantic buffs.

[Burktross]

FupDup, on 18 March 2015 - 05:17 PM, said:

The Gauss is a tier 1 weapon used very commonly from the lowest levels of the underhive to the peaks of mount tryhard. You're exaggerating its weaknesses.

I could understand the IS Gauss getting a bit more durable to balance it against the Clan Gauss, but that's really about it. One of the best weapons in the game doesn't exactly need gigantic buffs.

It's the best weapon in the game until you mount it in an ST with XL-- amirite?

[Armorine]

I've been wondering this myself!!!

[Mcgral18]

FupDup, on 18 March 2015 - 05:17 PM, said:

The Gauss is a tier 1 weapon used very commonly from the lowest levels of the underhive to the peaks of mount tryhard. You're exaggerating its weaknesses.

I could understand the IS Gauss getting a bit more durable to balance it against the Clan Gauss, but that's really about it. One of the best weapons in the game doesn't exactly need gigantic buffs.

I wouldn't mind if left ungrouped for, say, 5 seconds it would turn off.


For when you run out of ammo. Maybe 10 seconds, to avoid macro abuse.

[dimachaerus]

FupDup, on 18 March 2015 - 05:17 PM, said:

The Gauss is a tier 1 weapon used very commonly from the lowest levels of the underhive to the peaks of mount tryhard. You're exaggerating its weaknesses.

I could understand the IS Gauss getting a bit more durable to balance it against the Clan Gauss, but that's really about it. One of the best weapons in the game doesn't exactly need gigantic buffs.

Well, I'm not really asking for any buffs, I just want it to explode less, or not play like I'm using a bow in Warframe.

This is coming mostly from the point of view of a guy playing IS mechs, though I wouldn't expect any such changes to be limited to ONLY IS mechs/gauss, it's a dumb mechanic added in to fix a problem that no longer exists.

[Tasker]

Best weapon in game.

[Armorine]

I'm all for removing the charge mechanic. It really is ********. I don't know of any charge mechanic from lore. And if we're stuck with the charge mechanic remove the explosion it's stupid

[FupDup]

dimachaerus, on 18 March 2015 - 05:23 PM, said:

Well, I'm not really asking for any buffs, I just want it to explode less, or not play like I'm using a bow in Warframe.

This is coming mostly from the point of view of a guy playing IS mechs, though I wouldn't expect any such changes to be limited to ONLY IS mechs/gauss, it's a dumb mechanic added in to fix a problem that no longer exists.

Exploding less is a buff. A buff is anything that increases an item's effectiveness.

Keep in mind that the Clan Gauss is 3 tons lighter and 1 slot smaller. It should have some kind of disadvantage compared to the heavier and bulkier IS Gauss...such as not receiving a small durability buff like proposed for the IS Gauss.

As for a "problem that no longer exists," the problem would be the Gauss being the go-to ballistic on nearly every mech. The charge-up adds a more clear tradeoff and increases the risks of using the gun. With the charge removed, there would far less reason to use other ballistics unless your mech doesn't have a choice (i.e. not enough tonnage) or you have the weight to handle massive dakka like a Dire Whale or Crab. Most mechs however would probably gravitate towards Goose.

Edited by FupDup, 18 March 2015 - 05:34 PM.

[stjobe]

Speaking from a fluff point-of-view, the GR has huge capacitors that are the ones that do the exploding.

The GR should (have a chance to) explode if hit while these capacitors are charged, but it is also easy to argue that a previous hit damaged the capacitors to the point that they explode when next charged.

Either way, it was probably deemed too complicated for PGI to implement, so they just took the easy way out and let the gun explode when crit.

It's a good trade-off for being able to store ammo wherever you want (crit-padding) and for being the best weapon in the game.

[aniviron]

Really, the only buff that Gauss needs is a fix for CASE. Last patch, CASE broke, and currently does absolutely nothing. Despite a few threads on the matter, we haven't seen a fix for this problem (I guess no one tweeted Russ about it ).

Broken CASE is a direct nerf to gauss. Nobody brings CASE for ammo because of its 10% explosion chance and the ability to stuff it into heads/legs. Gauss, however, explodes 90% of the time, and with CASE broken, that means any mech running Gauss is going to be blowing up a lot more.

[Sigilum Sanctum]

Gauss rifles have power capacitors that are unstable. If damaged they are liable to explode. That's my explanation anyway.

They also have a tendency to ignite the myomer bundles in the 'mechs causing a catastrophic domino effect. In the case of the Gauss rifle in my Enforcers arm, which said I died from "Ammo Explosion"

[Johnny Z]

I got an idea. Since the Clan gauss rifle is so much better than the IS gauss rifle, remove the charge mechanic from the IS guass rifle. Clan can have their OP gauss and use their superior piloting skills/macros/scripts at the same time!

Edited by Johnny Z, 18 March 2015 - 05:45 PM.

[Burktross]

Johnny Z, on 18 March 2015 - 05:45 PM, said:

I got an idea. Since the Clan gauss rifle is so much better than the IS gauss rifle, remove the charge mechanic from the IS guass rifle. Clan can have their OP gauss and use their superior piloting skills/macros/scripts at the same time!

Er... let's not get ahead of ourselves with exaggeration here.

[dimachaerus]

FupDup, on 18 March 2015 - 05:30 PM, said:

Exploding less is a buff. A buff is anything that increases an item's effectiveness.

Keep in mind that the Clan Gauss is 3 tons lighter and 1 slot smaller. It should have some kind of disadvantage compared to the heavier and bulkier IS Gauss...such as not receiving a small durability buff like proposed for the IS Gauss.

As for a "problem that no longer exists," the problem would be the Gauss being the go-to ballistic on nearly every mech. The charge-up adds a more clear tradeoff and increases the risks of using the gun. With the charge removed, there would far less reason to use other ballistics unless your mech doesn't have a choice (i.e. not enough tonnage) or you have the weight to handle massive dakka like a Dire Whale or Crab. Most mechs however would probably gravitate towards Goose.

It's less a "buff" and more a "return to previous functionality".

Personally, I'd apply the same changes to the clan mechs as well because, put simply, it's their ONLY ballistic weapon that's worth a damn, except for ultra-5's on the Whale. I'd prefer more gauss over the same-old-same-old laser spam.

Clan ultras are pure suck at the moment, and the LBX's for both factions are a very niche weapon useful quite literally at point blank range out to about 150 meters.

[mogs01gt]

Gauss is the best and one of the easiest weapons to use in this game. It has to be heavy and have a charge mechanic or every other weapon would be irrelevant.

[dimachaerus]

Johnny Z, on 18 March 2015 - 05:45 PM, said:

I got an idea. Since the Clan gauss rifle is so much better than the IS gauss rifle, remove the charge mechanic from the IS guass rifle. Clan can have their OP gauss and use their superior piloting skills/macros/scripts at the same time!

Yeah... because clan stuff is sooooo much better, riiight. You do realize that the most macro'ed up mechs I've ever seen in this game are the quad ultra five King-Crabs, right, and boy-oh-boy those filthy OP clanners absolutely wreck face with their ultra-quirked ER-PPC's and AC5's...

Oh wait...

What do you mean they get insultingly small quirks that do nothing to actually add any sort of function to their mechs...?

I may be an IS pilot, but I DO play clan mechs in pug matches and it's not all roses and rainbows on their side of things bucko.

[FupDup]

dimachaerus, on 18 March 2015 - 05:51 PM, said:

It's less a "buff" and more a "return to previous functionality".

Semantics. If it becomes more effective, it's a buff by definition.

The gun doesn't really need this. It's already good. It has some risks, and it also has some rewards. Removing the charge would push it over most other ballistics in the game unless you have the hardpoints and/or sheer tonnage to boat ACs like a King Crab or Dire Whale. You'd have to either find some kind of counter-nerf to the Gauss at the same time, or buff all of the other ballistics in the game (includingIS ACs).

I can understand making the IS Goose a lil bit more durable for faction balance, but that's as far as I would go.

dimachaerus, on 18 March 2015 - 05:51 PM, said:

Personally, I'd apply the same changes to the clan mechs as well because, put simply, it's their ONLY ballistic weapon that's worth a damn, except for ultra-5's on the Whale. I'd prefer more gauss over the same-old-same-old laser spam.

Clan ultras are pure suck at the moment, and the LBX's for both factions are a very niche weapon useful quite literally at point blank range out to about 150 meters.

That's not a problem with the Goose, that's a problem with those other ballistics. That, and that many Clan mechs just have low pod space to begin with, so any ballistics (excluding MGs) seriously tax their payload.

[Nightmare1]

I don't mind the charging mechanic, but I wish that the charge held for an extra two seconds. Failing in that, the Gauss should never explode or cause damage upon critting when uncharged. That's as dumb as snake mittens. Something in a state of zero useful energy cannot drive any energy changes. The bottom line is that without a charge, the Gauss is incapable of damaging anything when critted. That, if nothing else, needs fixing.

The best scenario would be ramping damage that increases with the amount of charge held in the gun. That may be too difficult to code though, so a damage/no damage approach would probably be better with regard to charge/no charge.