94 replies to this topic

[CDLord HHGD]

Aren't dreadnoughts out of date anyways?

Edited by cdlord, 08 September 2015 - 08:34 AM.

[Revis Volek]

cdlord, on 08 September 2015 - 03:20 AM, said:

I don't, not that naive. However, there will be changes, and these forums will be filled with hate and vitriol against PGI for ruining their mechs, their playstyle, their meta.

Again, any change, any balancing, any nerfs will not affect any of my mechs or my playstyle. And yes, I view myself as taking the high road here, not succumbing to my baser instinct to PWN my fellow gamer, to ruin his game just so I could have a better one, with the meta.

Well to be fair, PGI does claim you get to play your way, your style, make your mech how you want it...then they take it away.

When they nerf a style of play instead of the weapons or mechs people get upset.
Not everyone is ok with dad coming down and taking your favorite toys out of the sand box because you were winning against the neighbors kids.

[1453 R]

Kilo 40, on 08 September 2015 - 03:16 AM, said:

early 20th century naval combat and mech combat aren't exactly comparable.

You'd be surprised how comparable they are, actually. But that's a discussion for another day.

Anyways. reading a chunk of this thread, it's...about what I expected. People defending their horrible slop-bucket loadouts to the death, accusing anyone who drives decent fits of being a one-buttom metatart tryhard Ruining The Spirit Of BattleTech, and completely missing the point.

You can run different weapons on different firing groups and do well on many 'Mechs. AC/20s and medium lasers complement each other well on both sides of the tech divide and have since forever. The (cU)AC/10 is a pretty fair battle rifle-style all-function gun by this point that can add some reach to a brawler loadout or center a medium-range fit. Other weapons tend to prefer being ganged together and don't play well with much else - SRMs come to mind - but even then, you can usually find at least a couple other things that will work with what you're trying to do well enough to give you a cohesive plan of action What you don't do?

You don't run an LRM-10, an SRM-4, a Streak SRM-2, an AC/5, two medium lasers, a small laser, a flamer, and a machine gun on your 'Mech and expect to be relevant. That's not a 'varied, BattleTech-y, ready for anything' loadout, that is a slop-bucket mess that has no idea what it wants to be doing or where/how it should be fighting, and it will lose every fight it gets into against a competently designed machine every time.

Every. Time.

[Rakshasa]

TheSilken, on 08 September 2015 - 04:11 AM, said:

Battleship > Mech. 1 shell K.O

This mech disagrees!

Vellron2005, on 08 September 2015 - 05:49 AM, said:

Now there's a man who understands how to set up an assault!

I use a similar building strategy on my Executioner EXE-D.. I use 2 x LRM10 for long range, 2 x ERLL for sniping and direct fire at long ranges, and then still have a 4 x ERSLAS for that close-in gut punch..

Same, my King Crab is a heavy brawler with 2x AC20 and 2x Mplas, but I still carry an LRM-15 for long range combat. I have to do something to help the team and annoy the enemy while I'm scuttling into cannon range

Edited by Rakshasa, 08 September 2015 - 09:01 AM.

[totgeboren]

TheCharlatan, on 08 September 2015 - 06:09 AM, said:

Whoever painted that, should have checked better the meaning of "defaeco", instead of just searching latin words for "purify"...
(Spoiler: where do you think the word defecate comes from?)

Kinda off-topic, but...
http://www.latinword...eco-6922886.htm

What do you do when you take a dump? You purge yourself.

Anyway, yes, boating in general gives better mechs, espcially in combination with quirks.

However, speaking of quirks, I have been running my SCR lately, and the negative quirks tied to hardpoints was a super nice way of encouraging other kinds of builds. If you want loads of lasers, you will have a massive burn time, not to mention all the heat problems you get too.
Have been running 6 ERSL, 1 AC10 and 5 LRM5s, and it has been really fun to play (and efficient, a few 800+ dmg games so far) even though no weapon really complements the others (well except perhaps that the AC10 doesn't cause much heat which is always nice).

The clan quirks don't really work on IS mechs (And there I boat on quite a few of them), but as said, I like the way they did the negative quirks on the SCR.

Non-boats are more fun.

Edited by totgeboren, 08 September 2015 - 10:01 AM.

[CDLord HHGD]

DarthRevis, on 08 September 2015 - 08:43 AM, said:

Well to be fair, PGI does claim you get to play your way, your style, make your mech how you want it...then they take it away.

When they nerf a style of play instead of the weapons or mechs people get upset.
Not everyone is ok with dad coming down and taking your favorite toys out of the sand box because you were winning against the neighbors kids.

I like to equate it to NASCAR. Build it anyway you want so long as it confirms to the regulations (admittedly NASCAR regs are pretty damn strict). How many nastygrams did Ford get because they discontinued the FX4 line?

I may not have thanked dad for making me play fair, but I sure as hell did what he told me to and today I understand and appreciate what he did.

IMHO the meta is against the spirit of the game. In lore, not everyone had a HBK-4SP or other meta-boater. Hell, people didn't even get a choice of what to use. I will say the meta is just nature of the (human) beast. Most people will gravitate to the easy win button. The fault lies in giving us that button in the first place. Be it inflated hardpoints, improper heat scale, weapon groupings, or even the whole damn mechlab....

In a few short weeks we'll be getting a whole new balance pass. While I am not hopeful in the least that the meta will be fixed, I am curious as to how it will pan out.

I know my opinion is at odds with many people, but there are also many people who will agree with me. I am willing to meet you in the middle, are you?

This is all academic too btw, there ain't a damn thing we can do and PGI will do whatever they want to as per their master plan.

[Isthian]

Yokaiko, on 08 September 2015 - 03:23 AM, said:

Yeah as soon as they figure out how to isolate the elements so the barrel doesn't self destruct on activation. Rail guns are a long way from maturity.

The Navy is supposed to be testing an actual ship-mounted rail gun next year. They've got most of the kinks worked out for the rail gun itself I think, including how to keep the projectile itself from evaporating before reaching the target (they use tungsten rounds IIRC).

[Saint Scarlett Johan]

I love all the "spirit of the game," "high-road," and "fun" arguments tossed about.

[1453 R]

In my eyes, doing well is fun. If I want to roleplay a bunch of ragged mercs at the wrong end of a long supply chain with a bunch of bone-stock rustbuckets older than religion kept running through sheer dumb luck and the intervention of the machine gods...I'll wait for Harebrained Schemes to get done with their BattleTech game. Don't get me wrong, that sounds like a great game - but it's not this game.

This game? MWO is about 'Mech to 'Mech combat and being in the cockpit. In that scenario, I'd like to be an effective combatant. You don't need to sacrifice everything to be an effective combatant, and you can, in fact, be an effective combatant at multiple skill levels - that's what matchmaking is for. What you can't do is be an effective combatant while demanding that everything and everyone in this game conform to the strict letter of the rules set for a fundamentally different game.

[Spleenslitta]

I got 8 surprising things in this post. I'll number them so they are easy to find. I'm most proud of number 8)

1) I did this with the stuff pictured within the spoilerbutton with my nutty KFX builds over the course of 4 days.
The builds are in 2). 4x +700 damage matches mixed among them.
i didn't play that much either because i got a fulltime job and i was working on saturday and not in the mood to play on sunday.
I didn't include names of all my teammates and such since i would not bother sensoring their names.
I got the screenshots though if you want me to put them up all you gotta do is ask. But no sensoring...it's not worth the bother.

2) My builds don't just use 2 different weapons. I pride myself on using a wide array of weapons.
Other example KFX builds. ER PPC, ER ML, ER SL and 4xMG's, ECM, 6JJ.
Next build: One ER laser of every size and 4MG's, ECM, 6JJ.
My newest experimental build: ER LL, ER ML, 2x MG 1/2 tonn ammo, Streak SRM6 1.5 tonn ammo, ECM, 6JJ.

That's pretty decent if you ask me. Oh yeah....in some matches where i did average Joe damage i often contributed in other ways that you can read in the link in 6)
Basicly i distract, confuse and delay enemies so they don't contribute to the mainfight as much as they could. Moving onwards.

Spoiler

http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0245.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0248.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0250.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0252.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0255.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0256.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0258.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0261.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0262.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0265.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0267.jpg

Before you give this kinda reply---

XX Sulla XX, on 08 September 2015 - 02:42 AM, said:

No your showing how bad the people you were playing are

----think about this and here is the 3rd surprise pretty soon. Remember that no matter how good you are there are times when you do average Joe damage.
If you say you never do under 1K damage no matter the circumstances i'd say....you lie XX Sulla XX

3) I've never used a KFX where i boated anything except MG's alongside a wild mix of other weapons. All my other mechs have weirdo builds too.
Even my FS 9S only recently received a single MPL into it's weapon mix.
I got a KDR of 2 and win/loss ratio of 1.27 in my KFX-C which ain't incredible but not too bad either. I definitivly pull my weight.
My total KDR with all mechs is currently 1.49 and it's climbing sharply these days.
My total win/loss is 1,627 wins against 1,446 losses.

4) But here is what really counts as far as damage goes. Across 724 matches my KFX-C variant has an average damage of 325.96 damage per match.
That's not my top or bottom damage. That's my damage total in my KFX-C split across 724 matches.
Not incredible either but respectable despite my weirdo builds. I do my distraction and confusion stuff on top of that.

I used the KFX as my example because it's my best performing mech and it's supposed to be an underdog mech.
Hey at least i'm being honest here.
I pull my weight and if i started boating just one weapon i would die as soon as a specialist caught me at a range unfavorable to me.

5) All these builds are capable of getting +700 damage and believe it or not.....i snipe with a single long range weapon and that ER ML to assist whenever it can do decent damage.
When i see an opportunity i go in at close range and mostly don't use the long range weapon at all because of the heat.
Instead i use only the ER ML and other backup weapons. In other words i can do decent damage with a mix of different backup weapons.

6) +700 damage ain't my top ceiling. I seem to hit my limit just under 1K damage. The best i remember doing this year is 971 damage.
Not too shabby.

7) I don't stay with my team either. I prefer to go lone ranger using tactics which i've named M.R.M.A.
It stands for Mechanical Rodent Martial Arts.
I started developing M.R.M.A. back when MWO only had 8 mechs available.
I pop out of nowhere and before enemy responds i get into cover and relocate. It's all about shooting without getting shot in return.
Of course this sometimes goes wrong...i never claimed to be flawless. Heck....i never claimed to be sane either.
Non Meta Light Mech Tactics Guide.

I'm very shy and squirrely just like a rodent when i play MWO. My bite is not venomous....it gives you the plague. XD

8) I'm not the only one using these tactics that i made and weirdo builds. I got 2 guys that are learning about M.R.M.A. and here is the surprise and what i'm most proud of-

- One of them had a hard time pulling his weight just one week ago. Not long before the server shut down he told me of his first slaughterhouse match.
He was a rabid rodent on a killing spree.

His entire team died and he was facing 6 enemies alone.
His team made a mockery of him and told him he was a camper despite the fact that he kept moving around like a hyperactive rodent just like he had been taught.

The guys that mocked him shut got quiet after he killed the Crab, Ebon Jaguar and one more mech.
Both teams instead started praising him. He killed 2 more.
Last one was an Executioner with cored rear CT with cherry red internals. He nearly had him when time ran out.

One week to turn an average Joe player into a butcher who's probably hooked on adrenaline rushes by now.
Tell me....Could you do the same with a build that's useless whenever a boat mech gets you within his favored range while your own weapons are very limited at that range?
Maybe you could....but point is this- Boats ain't allpowerfull. Long ranged boats become limited once you get close to them and shortrange boats become toothless.
But a Jack of all Ranges build with lot's of different weapons can bite back no matter what the range is.

This will teach you not to underestimate weirdo builds or tiny cute rodents. They will bite you.

Edited by Spleenslitta, 08 September 2015 - 11:32 AM.

[Spleenslitta]

Apparently putting about 10 screenshoots into on post overloads everything....It was 4 screenshots of me doing +700 damage and a bunch of +500 to +600 damage screenshots.
Oh well. I'll try loadin

[Jman5]

The way I see it, there are two main reasons why it's not good to make your mech too hodge-podgey.

1. When you try to cover all your bases, you wind up being bad at everything.

2. It gets progressively more difficult to manage more than a few weapon groups efficiently. Once you start trying to juggle more than 3 weapon groups on top of everything else, your overall performance degrades. Personally, I try to stick to just 2 main weapon groups with others for situational things like chain firing.

[Chuck Jager]

Kilo 40, on 08 September 2015 - 03:16 AM, said:

early 20th century naval combat and mech combat aren't exactly comparable.

Well it does not lead itself to exact simple math comparisons with the first person finding an exception saying they win.

Learning to see general patterns in other places and then being able to see how they may or may not relate in a general sense is a sign of applied logic. This is not checkers or chess it is an analogy that has more than bit of truth.

To effectively use META a player must first understand how and why certain aspects of the game can be put together to achieve a highly desired and repeatable result. So yes a good player can use the game "meta" to build and use a lrm atlas and they will also be aware that in a group Q with t1-t2 players they will probably be gimping their team.

A single high powered build that works in a number of situations is only part of META. Knowing how and why it works, plus its weaknesses is the real META.

This is the difference of texting more than reading books

[Spleenslitta]

Finally managed to put those screenshots inside the spoiler button. Since it's a wall of them i just put the direct links there.

Jman5, on 08 September 2015 - 11:29 AM, said:

The way I see it, there are two main reasons why it's not good to make your mech too hodge-podgey.

1. When you try to cover all your bases, you wind up being bad at everything.

2. It gets progressively more difficult to manage more than a few weapon groups efficiently. Once you start trying to juggle more than 3 weapon groups on top of everything else, your overall performance degrades. Personally, I try to stick to just 2 main weapon groups with others for situational things like chain firing.

There is one thing you must remember....all those times when you had an opportunity to shoot someone at long range but you had only short range weapons.
Those opportunities were totally wasted because you had no weapons for the job. Wasted opportunities is lost damage i say.

[XX Sulla XX]

Yokaiko, on 08 September 2015 - 04:36 AM, said:

Has nothing to do with **** weapon balance.

It does not have anything to do with weapons balance. Weapons balance only changes what weapons you min max with. It does not make uncomplimentary work well.

Duke Nedo, on 08 September 2015 - 04:40 AM, said:

Main difference is that when you build a Dreadnought you don't need to install a flamer to push up those 3x LPLs in the shoulder slots.... you apparently do when building a battlemech...

Was not really talking about people some times having to use something like a small laser to move up a LPL etc.

clownwarlord, on 08 September 2015 - 04:44 AM, said:

No, the mech isn't for competitive because well competitive is completely different from the other game modes.

For solo que though the mech does great because I do not have to rely on friendly mechs to provide lrm support when I can. While again I will state ... my lrms pin the enemy mechs down into cover while I move a 100 ton mech close saving its armor for a brawling. It works.

Probably it does well because of matchmaking.

[XX Sulla XX]

Kilo 40, on 08 September 2015 - 05:08 AM, said:

tanks went to one main gun because they needed a really big gun that could punch through a lot of armor very quickly. and since really big guns weigh alot they only have one. but the main reason they don't things like mixed load outs, is because they don't have to or need to since they have things like infantry support, arty, aircraft, etc... tanks with one big gun fill a role and are only able to do that with support.

same with battleships with large uniform main guns. They filled a role and were able to do that with large fleets with load outs that weren't a uniform battery of very large guns.

the only way your comparison holds would be if WWI/II battles were 12v12 battles with no kind of support ever. you also completely ignore modern ships that have anything but uniform armaments consisting of "big batteries of big guns".

so if you only look at one short period of time in history, and ignore facts that are inconvenient, even then your point is still just flat out wrong.

Yes so in other words just like mechwarrior they have one role to do well. But people insist on trying to run mixed load outs that do not do the one role well.

[Agent 0 Fortune]

Nobody puts [pretty] Baby in the corner.

Specialized, one-button, meta-builds have their place in organized play. But in the solo queue it is easy to enjoy success, and have fun with a multi-role loadout. Yes, you can run single-button laser-vomit and perform better in the short-term, but eventually your PSR will catch up to you, and you will once again painted into a meta-corner.

I generally don’t compare MWO to actual warfare since the goals of each are dramatically different. MWO is about having fun, and for me that is recreating Battletech TT in a video game. I still play every game to the best of my ability, but victory is no longer determined by strict adherence to the current meta trends. Personally I get so much more enjoyment out of MWO by being able to play any chassis, any build, while the outcome of the match is wholly dependant on my abilities, not my mechs.

[XX Sulla XX]

Spleenslitta, on 08 September 2015 - 11:16 AM, said:

I got 8 surprising things in this post. I'll number them so they are easy to find. I'm most proud of number 8)

1) I did this with the stuff pictured within the spoilerbutton with my nutty KFX builds over the course of 4 days.
The builds are in 2). 4x +700 damage matches mixed among them.
i didn't play that much either because i got a fulltime job and i was working on saturday and not in the mood to play on sunday.
I didn't include names of all my teammates and such since i would not bother sensoring their names.
I got the screenshots though if you want me to put them up all you gotta do is ask. But no sensoring...it's not worth the bother.

2) My builds don't just use 2 different weapons. I pride myself on using a wide array of weapons.
Other example KFX builds. ER PPC, ER ML, ER SL and 4xMG's, ECM, 6JJ.
Next build: One ER laser of every size and 4MG's, ECM, 6JJ.
My newest experimental build: ER LL, ER ML, 2x MG 1/2 tonn ammo, Streak SRM6 1.5 tonn ammo, ECM, 6JJ.

That's pretty decent if you ask me. Oh yeah....in some matches where i did average Joe damage i often contributed in other ways that you can read in the link in 6)
Basicly i distract, confuse and delay enemies so they don't contribute to the mainfight as much as they could. Moving onwards.

Spoiler

http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0245.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0248.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0250.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0252.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0255.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0256.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0258.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0261.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0262.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0265.jpg
http://i1190.photobu...eenShot0267.jpg

Before you give this kinda reply---

----think about this and here is the 3rd surprise pretty soon. Remember that no matter how good you are there are times when you do average Joe damage.
If you say you never do under 1K damage no matter the circumstances i'd say....you lie XX Sulla XX

3) I've never used a KFX where i boated anything except MG's alongside a wild mix of other weapons. All my other mechs have weirdo builds too.
Even my FS 9S only recently received a single MPL into it's weapon mix.
I got a KDR of 2 and win/loss ratio of 1.27 in my KFX-C which ain't incredible but not too bad either. I definitivly pull my weight.
My total KDR with all mechs is currently 1.49 and it's climbing sharply these days.
My total win/loss is 1,627 wins against 1,446 losses.

4) But here is what really counts as far as damage goes. Across 724 matches my KFX-C variant has an average damage of 325.96 damage per match.
That's not my top or bottom damage. That's my damage total in my KFX-C split across 724 matches.
Not incredible either but respectable despite my weirdo builds. I do my distraction and confusion stuff on top of that.

I used the KFX as my example because it's my best performing mech and it's supposed to be an underdog mech.
Hey at least i'm being honest here.
I pull my weight and if i started boating just one weapon i would die as soon as a specialist caught me at a range unfavorable to me.

5) All these builds are capable of getting +700 damage and believe it or not.....i snipe with a single long range weapon and that ER ML to assist whenever it can do decent damage.
When i see an opportunity i go in at close range and mostly don't use the long range weapon at all because of the heat.
Instead i use only the ER ML and other backup weapons. In other words i can do decent damage with a mix of different backup weapons.

6) +700 damage ain't my top ceiling. I seem to hit my limit just under 1K damage. The best i remember doing this year is 971 damage.
Not too shabby.

7) I don't stay with my team either. I prefer to go lone ranger using tactics which i've named M.R.M.A.
It stands for Mechanical Rodent Martial Arts.
I started developing M.R.M.A. back when MWO only had 8 mechs available.
I pop out of nowhere and before enemy responds i get into cover and relocate. It's all about shooting without getting shot in return.
Of course this sometimes goes wrong...i never claimed to be flawless. Heck....i never claimed to be sane either.
Non Meta Light Mech Tactics Guide.

I'm very shy and squirrely just like a rodent when i play MWO. My bite is not venomous....it gives you the plague. XD

8) I'm not the only one using these tactics that i made and weirdo builds. I got 2 guys that are learning about M.R.M.A. and here is the surprise and what i'm most proud of-

- One of them had a hard time pulling his weight just one week ago. Not long before the server shut down he told me of his first slaughterhouse match.
He was a rabid rodent on a killing spree.

His entire team died and he was facing 6 enemies alone.
His team made a mockery of him and told him he was a camper despite the fact that he kept moving around like a hyperactive rodent just like he had been taught.

The guys that mocked him shut got quiet after he killed the Crab, Ebon Jaguar and one more mech.
Both teams instead started praising him. He killed 2 more.
Last one was an Executioner with cored rear CT with cherry red internals. He nearly had him when time ran out.

One week to turn an average Joe player into a butcher who's probably hooked on adrenaline rushes by now.
Tell me....Could you do the same with a build that's useless whenever a boat mech gets you within his favored range while your own weapons are very limited at that range?
Maybe you could....but point is this- Boats ain't allpowerfull. Long ranged boats become limited once you get close to them and shortrange boats become toothless.
But a Jack of all Ranges build with lot's of different weapons can bite back no matter what the range is.

This will teach you not to underestimate weirdo builds or tiny cute rodents. They will bite you.

You know these kinds or arguments do not prove mixed builds are good. They prove mixed builds can work some times against some players in some tiers. The reason meta type builds work is basic math and logic are behind them. What is most effective per ton at ranges normally played and when droping on random maps with against good players.

Just as an example grabbing a TW off of metamechs because I am to lazy to put one together in the mechlab. http://mwo.smurfy-ne...6a3603ccd72bce3 It has 50 alpha, Good firepower from 0 out to 550ish. It has 5.10 DPS. Plus low travel time even for the ballistic. And if your a good shot it can be pinpoint. And its on a mech going 89.1 kph with jump jets and good hit boxes.

Now you can make it have one LRM 10 and an AC10 and some streaks and some small lasers. And some times you can have a good game with that. But over all the build will be holding back your game play. Not it might be it is period. And as long as people understand that and do it for fun fine. But do not argue that its better

Jman5, on 08 September 2015 - 11:29 AM, said:

The way I see it, there are two main reasons why it's not good to make your mech too hodge-podgey.

1. When you try to cover all your bases, you wind up being bad at everything.

2. It gets progressively more difficult to manage more than a few weapon groups efficiently. Once you start trying to juggle more than 3 weapon groups on top of everything else, your overall performance degrades. Personally, I try to stick to just 2 main weapon groups with others for situational things like chain firing.

Pretty much.

[XX Sulla XX]

Spleenslitta, on 08 September 2015 - 11:40 AM, said:

Finally managed to put those screenshots inside the spoiler button. Since it's a wall of them i just put the direct links there.

There is one thing you must remember....all those times when you had an opportunity to shoot someone at long range but you had only short range weapons.
Those opportunities were totally wasted because you had no weapons for the job. Wasted opportunities is lost damage i say.

What are you talking about? There is a reason why meta builds are not short range. To make it simple click through the top builds at metamechs. http://metamechs.com...mega-tier-list/ You will notice the top ones all have good range to them but also work well at closer ranges. They have full firepower from 0 out to mid range or more.

Agent 0 Fortune, on 08 September 2015 - 12:26 PM, said:

Nobody puts [pretty] Baby in the corner.

Specialized, one-button, meta-builds have their place in organized play. But in the solo queue it is easy to enjoy success, and have fun with a multi-role loadout. Yes, you can run single-button laser-vomit and perform better in the short-term, but eventually your PSR will catch up to you, and you will once again painted into a meta-corner.

I generally don’t compare MWO to actual warfare since the goals of each are dramatically different. MWO is about having fun, and for me that is recreating Battletech TT in a video game. I still play every game to the best of my ability, but victory is no longer determined by strict adherence to the current meta trends. Personally I get so much more enjoyment out of MWO by being able to play any chassis, any build, while the outcome of the match is wholly dependant on my abilities, not my mechs.

Look if you are having fun and you know your loadouts are not perfect thats fine. If you are telling new players the best builds are mixed loadout builds that something else.

Oh and it always gets back to ability.

[Jman5]

Spleenslitta, on 08 September 2015 - 11:40 AM, said:

There is one thing you must remember....all those times when you had an opportunity to shoot someone at long range but you had only short range weapons.
Those opportunities were totally wasted because you had no weapons for the job. Wasted opportunities is lost damage i say.

Actually, I completely agree with you there. However you need to take it a step further and consider whether your short range tonnage would be better served put into more long range guns, or vice versa.

Let's say you typically spend 90% of the match in ER Large laser territory. It would make sense to specialize toward long range. If you spend 90% of your match in small laser territory, it makes sense to specialize in short range. Otherwise you spend most of the match with a good chunk of your weaponry doing nothing for you.

If you really want to get to the bottom of things, go to the weapon stat page on the forum and write down the total damage of the weapons you're using. Then play a dozen matches and refresh the page. Then you can figure out how much damage/ton you're getting out of each weapon.