RavensScar, on 11 April 2015 - 03:17 AM, said:
The Summoner and Nova are underperformers.
My breakdown of clan mechs;
Top Performers
Timber; Probably OP, but I'm not really sure what can be done about it at this point without completely screwing it (which I don't want) or completely screwing the entire game balance (which no one should want).
Stormcrow; Probably OP, but again, not sure what to do about it. This thing is tanky as hell and loaded with firepower and it's freakishly fast for the tank and firepower it's toting.
Dire Wolf; I honestly think this mech is overrated. Yes. It brings a gak ton of dakka. But it is so freaking slow. It might dominate in PUG matches, but PUG matches are a cluster feth so who cares? Game balance shouldn't revolve around cluster feths. In actual comp games, it's just too slow. It doesn't twist well. It's huge and can't hug cover at all with its low hard points. It just imposes to many limitations on a team and a player. If a good plan is made it can work, but it's more work than just bringing a Stalker or a Banshee to the fight.
Hellbringer; I honestly believe the Hellbringer to be one of the most well balanced mechs in the game. Well balanced hard points, hit boxes, pod space, weight, etc. I play it and I just think "well PGI, you finally made something just right." It performs well in its role as a cover hugger with high hard points, or as a front line fire support mech. It brings ECM which is always good. Bit of a twisted lore irony; Screw the Summoner. Two Hellbringers perform really well together. Have one set ECM to disrupt and hang back sniping and the other set ECM to counter and run at the front with some Crows or Timbers and you've got a lethal assault lance. There's a significant amount of innate synergy between the three mechs (Crows, Timbers, and Bringers) that is a real boon to Clan imo.
So-So Mechs
Nova; I don't think the Nova under performs per se. it does what it does really well. It's just that what it does is not generally as good as a more versatile mech like the Stormcrow. Just bringing a Nova cause lul why not, is likely to result in lots of hit and miss performances based on the dynamics of whatever map/team you end up in. That's not a problem with the Nova, but with the structure of PUG que. Nova's perform infinitely better in comp teams where a plan is actually made that suits their use. That said. I do think the Nova could afford being a little faster and it would be an all round good mech imo. It has a wide profile with easy to hit hit boxes and could have afforded being slightly smaller.
Ice Ferret; The Ice Ferret is the only real 'Light Mech' the Clans have right now and it honestly does pretty well. It can twist like a beast, it packs a good punch for its weight, and it's fast as hell. Unfortunately the Ice Ferret has nice bulky legs for shooting at. That said, I think the Ferret doesn't really need any help. If it were to get anything, I'd downgrade its engine so that it can have a little more weight for heat sinks/more flexibility in non-laser load outs.
Kit Fox; Kind of by default the only workable Clan Light (the other two are straight up bad). It performs a lot like a Raven really, only it's significantly slower and doesn't have nice high weapon hard points.
The Maddog (because I forgot it lol); The Maddog has the same issue as the Catapult imo. It isn't that the Maddog is bad, it's that the Maddog is designed to boat a weapon system that isn't very good in current game balance (LRMs). Just too hit and miss to use imo, plus heaven forbid you're using Clan LRM's and anyone on the enemy team has AMS. Be prepared to be worse than mediocre.
The Bad
Warhawk; The Hawk's biggest problem imo is that its hard points are too focused on its arms. This forces a significant limitation on its ability to effectively carry firepower. I know it has people who love it, that's fine, but it doesn't change the fact that it's bad. It can't effectively carry the firepower an assault needs. Throw in it's low slung arms and big barn sized profile, and the Warhawk is honestly just bad. Not just in comparison to a Timber (it's closest in game relative Clan side) but in general. It needs some hard points on it's torsos other than missiles and a single CT energy point to really be good (a little more workable weight wouldn't hut either, switch the Ferro for Endo).
Gargoyle; It's ugly as sin. Less subjectively it has the same problems as the Warhawk (hard points focused on its arms) only its tall as hell with even lower slung hard points. It's honestly a bigger, less armed, and jetless Nova. I see no reason to ever use it with the Nova around. It needs torso hard points.
Summoner; To answer your question "so what's stopping it from performing" the straight answer is horrible hit boxes. Much like the Ferret, the Summoner can really twist its torso, which would be a boon if it's hit boxes weren't so blowupable. It has very limited hard point options and is undergunned for a 70tonner. Taken from MetaMechs, compare
This (or
This) to
This,
This, or
This. It's outclassed not just by the Hellbringer and Timber, but by a host of IS heavies that can match or exceed its firepower and tankiness. It's just straight up bad. It needs better hitboxes. It needs more hard points to play with.
Mist Lynx; Its arm hit boxes are huge, and all its gear is in its arms. It isn't funny how easily the Mist Lynx is reduced to a weaponless stick.
Adder; Hard locked Flamer (Really PGI?
Really?). Its slow. This game has zero need for 'support fire light mechs'. If you want support fire, bring a medium or a heavy. It's just too slow for its armor, especially when it has limited hard points. The Kitfox can at least bring ECM and play the role of poor man's Raven.
The Bad mechs imo, are not just bead because other Clan mechs are better. They're also just straight up bad. The Warhawk is most screwed by Meta. Something that big that can't hill hug is never gonna be that great. Many of the worst Clan mechs also are (for some reason) given very few hard points to work with or hard points in less than stellar locations and have bad hitboxes. These are problems shared by many IS mechs, and are not unique to Clans.
I don't really expect this to be fixed.
Edited by Lord0fHats, 11 April 2015 - 05:29 AM.
2
)
