Kjudoon, on 21 August 2015 - 12:02 PM, said:
True, but you are conflating the fact that you don't have a severe reduction of functionality with DF weaponry under similar circumstances requiring equipment and modules to put them back to where they were when those countermeasures were not present.
That is what is meant by 'needing it to function'. If ECM caused even a 10% reduction in the function of DF weaponry, the screams of rage would force PGI to change it in 6 hours on a weekend.
I would argue that other weapon types have a similar arms race mechanic that are more subtle, less clearly defined, and come at it from different angles. However at the end of the day it more or less balances out.
The way I see it, doing well with LRMs comes down to getting locks and getting your missiles to connect with the target. With a laserboat doing well means getting LOS and being able to cooldown frequently and safely. When any of these things are disrupted you can invest tonnage/mod slots into mitigating the disruptors. The more invested your opponent is at disrupting your build-type, the more gear is needed to brute-strength through it.
The more popular response is to hedge with a completely different weapon type. Everyone can see the value in bringing a few lasers for a LRM build. However the Gauss rifle, on top of it's primary role, serves a secondary fallback role on laser/Gauss meta mechs. They come at it from different angles (low ton vs low heat), but the end result is shoring up weaknesses in the other weapon.
While LRM enhancers and counters are more flashy and direct, there are ways to play and build mechs that make things hard for other weapon types too.
Is it perfectly balanced? Probably not, but I don't think it's as bad as a lot of people make it out to be.
Edited by Jman5, 21 August 2015 - 01:44 PM.
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