28 replies to this topic

[2MyBalls]

Im afraid, that after some time, there will be no more real light mechs in the game, only mini-assaults like the Firestarter or ACH.

I don't know if I'm alone with this opinion, but a light should NEVER survive a full alpha from an assault... Its against all common sense, not even mentioning the lore... A real light-mech melts away if an assault even farts on him.

Im just learning how to play the lights (spiders), so I understand how TERRIBLE the XP and C-Bill gain is on this little machines. I really beginning to like the playstyle of the light mechs = little annoying bugger , that makes an assault pilot scream.

BUT:
- I scout for my teammates (get lock for LRMs)+ get a dozen enemy distracted + live the whole match trough and cripple a bunch of mechs.... And go home with 90-200 match-score... ... In my assault I alpha-strike ONCE = same result

So naturally if the "light-pilot" get his hands on a Firestarter or ACH, he is happy as hell, not to be punished for playing a light mech and finally getting some XP and C-Bill.

FACT IS:

• rewards for light-pilot are way bellow average.
  
• light-mechs feels not right -> same scoring system as for an assault -> you need to do the SAME DMG as an assault, to get the same XP / C-Bill

I want to be able to play a light-mech like a light, and being rewarded for supporting my team.

I do NOT want to play a light like a mini-assault, which apparently is the ONLY way to play it and being rewarded rigth now.


Any Idea how we can save the lights from becoming mini-assaults?

[Lugh]

I sense a light pilot not using UAVs... these alone can score you enough points to be in the money range for all the contests.

And pay for themselves when deployed smartly.

[Tyler Valentine]

Lugh, on 09 September 2015 - 09:36 AM, said:

I sense a light pilot not using UAVs... these alone can score you enough points to be in the money range for all the contests.

And pay for themselves when deployed smartly.

True. Place a UAV well and watch the 2000 c-bill bonuses start to fill your screen, but the OP still makes a good point. The scoring system for lights (all 4 classes really) should be modified to reflect their intended role. All part of "Role Warfare" which is coming...soon.

[Mcgral18]

If an Assault doesn't know how to shoot something properly, why shouldn't I survive?

[SolarCleric]

Man, I love lights. The Spider for IS, the Cheetah (of course) for Clan. But I rarely pilot them anymore.

When people do use them in pug matches they really are light mini-assault mechs with so much laser or missile vomit.

I've never been lucky enough to play in an actually team 12 man game. I like to think that if that one day happened then light mechs would serve their true role as scouts for the rest of the team, and cap specialists. I rarely see scout builds anymore, and medium mechs (when they feel like it) really escort assault mechs better. Everyone loads UAVs now...so the light mech scout role sort of got diminished in that way too.

In this day and age of MWO it's really all about the heavy mech.

Lights get ruined by the meta-alpha shots out there, one wrong turn or bad decision and you're either incapacitated or dead.

Light Mechs don't pay really great even when you do awesome, they pay even worse if you really do try to scout for the team and not do damage. Not to mention if you scout and cap instead of doing damage your team will tell you how bad you suck based on your score at the end of the match. Nothing like public scorn right?

In a nutshell the life of a light is short, thankless, and usually not worth the risk. Even if you become a pro light mech pilot and become truly amazing....you're working twice as hard as an average heavy mech pilot for less pay.

[2MyBalls]

Lugh, on 09 September 2015 - 09:36 AM, said:

I sense a light pilot not using UAVs... these alone can score you enough points to be in the money range for all the contests.

And pay for themselves when deployed smartly.

true i dont use UAV because its a consumable.... and it can be used by every mech... its not specific to lights.

Btw what i have seen so far, UAVs have a lifespawn of 10 sec.. max before spotted and destroyed

What I meant is, that I´m not feeling rewarded for playing like a light.

+ Seeing the big drama about the ACH + Firestarter... I´m not sure what direction PGI is taking with the lights. For me it seems like more mini-assaults

Edited by 2MyBalls, 09 September 2015 - 10:25 AM.

[Cyborne Elemental]

Tyler Valentine, on 09 September 2015 - 09:40 AM, said:

. All part of "Role Warfare" which is coming...soon.

Best joke I've heard all day.

[Lexx]

2MyBalls, on 09 September 2015 - 09:59 AM, said:

true i dont use UAV because its a consumable.... and it can be used by every mech... its not specific to lights.

Btw what i have seen so far, UAVs have a lifespawn of 10 sec.. max before spotted and destroyed

What I meant is, that I´m not feeling rewarded for playing like a light.

+ Seeing the big drama about the ACH + Firestarter... I´m not sure what direction PGI is taking with the lights. For me it seems like more mini-assaults

If you put the UAV above your teammates, in plain sight of the enemy, it will get shot down immediately. You have to be sneaky with UAVs. Sneak into the middle of the enemy grouping and put it directly above them. They won't see it, and even if they do know it's there they will have a hard time shooting it down. Another good place to put a UAV is next to a cliff or tall building where the enemy will have a hard time shooting it.

Light mechs should always carry a UAV because they can sneak in behind enemy groups undetected. If you place it right, it won't get shot down right away and you'll really be helping your team.

[Mystere]

Lugh, on 09 September 2015 - 09:36 AM, said:

I sense a light pilot not using UAVs... these alone can score you enough points to be in the money range for all the contests.

And pay for themselves when deployed smartly.

It seems to pay only if the enemy is a blob and your team takes advantage of that knowledge provided by the UAV. Otherwise, it's wasted 40K.

[Fang01]

Old school lights are still in a great place.



That said: PGI, I'd love you forever if you bolt a pair of Anansi arms on my 5V.

Edited by Khajja nar Jatargk, 09 September 2015 - 10:57 AM.

[1453 R]

SolarCleric, on 09 September 2015 - 09:49 AM, said:

...
I've never been lucky enough to play in an actually team 12 man game. I like to think that if that one day happened then light mechs would serve their true role as scouts for the rest of the team, and cap specialists.
...

Question: what is the light supposed to do in Skirmish?

Scouting is needed once, at the start of a match, and even then is not usually essential. 'Cap specialists' is a lame job nobody wants to do, and which is also generally needed only once a match.

What's the light supposed to spend the rest of the game doing?

This is MWO. You support your team by killing the enemy. if you're unable to kill the enemy, then I would prefer you to stay on the bench and let someone who can kill the enemy play. If lights can't kill the enemy - if they're supposed to pop like firecrackers the moment they take an AC/5 shot, and if they're supposed to be less well armed than the Spider - what are they supposed to do?

I'll take my 'mini-assaults' - my raiders, my dogfighters, my knife-fighters, my back-alley muggers and my Seekers of Juicy Backsides - over your passive, low-output, low-impact 'cap specialist' any day you want to give me that choice. And if you don't want to give me that choice? I'll play fast mediums instead, or go grab some of my 90-klick heavies and do the same thing.

Lights need to be able to fight. if they can't fight, then they have no place in MWO.

[Lugh]

Mystere, on 09 September 2015 - 10:40 AM, said:

It seems to pay only if the enemy is a blob and your team takes advantage of that knowledge provided by the UAV. Otherwise, it's wasted 40K.

Anything that herds the cats towards the big bunch of UNTIL NOW not there red doritoes, is money well spent in my book, as you will repeatedly see ZERO movement when you say, Full Lance c4, make that Full Lance plus more C4 c5. And *crickets*

Pop that UAV and all the blue doritoes turn and start moving that way. It's amazing how surly some folks are about voice chat*paranoia hat* or they all don't speaka my language.

[Mystere]

Lugh, on 09 September 2015 - 11:36 AM, said:

Anything that herds the cats towards the big bunch of UNTIL NOW not there red doritoes, is money well spent in my book, as you will repeatedly see ZERO movement when you say, Full Lance c4, make that Full Lance plus more C4 c5. And *crickets*

Pop that UAV and all the blue doritoes turn and start moving that way. It's amazing how surly some folks are about voice chat*paranoia hat* or they all don't speaka my language.

My only issue with lighting up an enemy formed as a murder ball is that my team mates sometimes act like bugs attracted to a flame. That never ends well.

[stjobe]

2MyBalls, on 09 September 2015 - 09:28 AM, said:

I don't know if I'm alone with this opinion, but a light should NEVER survive a full alpha from an assault... Its against all common sense, not even mentioning the lore... A real light-mech melts away if an assault even farts on him.

You can kill assaults with lights in TT as well; you just have to know how to use initiative and your speed: If you win initiative, your target will move first, so you can use your speed to move in directly behind it. If you lose initiative you have to move first, so use your speed to move as far as you can/into cover.

Unless you're really unlucky, you'll wear the assault down before the one arm per turn it can fire kills you.

In MWO, it's harder because we have instant convergence and huge lolphas, but they DO have to hit you - and most pilots in the PUG queue are horrible at aiming.

As for rewards, yeah they could stand being raised, but that goes for all classes.

[SolarCleric]

1453 R, on 09 September 2015 - 11:01 AM, said:

Question: what is the light supposed to do in Skirmish?

Scouting is needed once, at the start of a match, and even then is not usually essential. 'Cap specialists' is a lame job nobody wants to do, and which is also generally needed only once a match.

What's the light supposed to spend the rest of the game doing?

This is MWO. You support your team by killing the enemy. if you're unable to kill the enemy, then I would prefer you to stay on the bench and let someone who can kill the enemy play. If lights can't kill the enemy - if they're supposed to pop like firecrackers the moment they take an AC/5 shot, and if they're supposed to be less well armed than the Spider - what are they supposed to do?

I'll take my 'mini-assaults' - my raiders, my dogfighters, my knife-fighters, my back-alley muggers and my Seekers of Juicy Backsides - over your passive, low-output, low-impact 'cap specialist' any day you want to give me that choice. And if you don't want to give me that choice? I'll play fast mediums instead, or go grab some of my 90-klick heavies and do the same thing.

Lights need to be able to fight. if they can't fight, then they have no place in MWO.

You pretty much summed up how lights have to play in the current MWO. I mean MWO pretty much told you that you SHOULD play a light this way just by releasing the cheetah in its original form. Even with the minor nerf it is still the best mini-assault mech.

I just think fluff wise and tactically speaking the lights should be used for recon (including LRM locks), caps, and if needed assualt escort duty. But you're certainly not rewarded for playing this way. You're rewarded by doing as much damage as possible before you take that one alpha to the face and die.

[TheNef]

I play a spider about 95% of the time, have been for quite a while and used to always bring a UAV and Airstrike consumable. I didn't mind this for a long time but a few things have stopped me doing this. Primarily I've been looking to build up some more c-bills for a few more mechs(that i don't need as I'll keep going back to my beloved spidey) but spending 80,000 every match makes it slow to do. Secondly I noticed that not only was I not earning much by using these but the UAV is not always as useful as you'd think. Playing against anyone with a modicum of sense, like me they're always looking for and shooting down enemy UAV.

So now I earn on average about 150,000 cbills and the XP I never take notice of as its of no use to me now really (most mechs already mastered).

I suppose what I'm getting at is that the payback for me seems ok when not using consumables, I'm more than rewarded by the game-play of which I'm self confessed lone wolf. Targeting mechs and hiding, watching LRMS pour down on them whilst they try to figure who has them targeted and sneaking in for the quick deathblow makes playing a light enough for me to keep going back.

I have mastered the Firestater but just don't get the same enjoyment out of playing it, sure I get loads more kills, great c-bills and xp but not the same thrill. That's why I'll probably not get the ACH. I would say to finish there are enough of us light pilots out there that play purely because we love lights and we'll always be around to annoy every other mech.

[DarkMetalBlade]

1453 R, on 09 September 2015 - 11:01 AM, said:

Lights need to be able to fight. if they can't fight, then they have no place in MWO.

If I'm not mistaken, at least half of the light class mechs can't fight *coughSpider5Vcough* & are thus as rare as a unicorn.

& while we're at it, we might as well do away with the 3/3/3/3 system, as it's clearly not working.

[Xyroc]

My SDR-5D seems to fair pretty well. Sneek around UAV + arty over the enemy and never get shot. Then there is the MPLs that do work.

Edited by Xyroc, 09 September 2015 - 12:32 PM.

[Alistair Winter]

2MyBalls, on 09 September 2015 - 09:28 AM, said:

Im afraid, that after some time, there will be no more real light mechs in the game, only mini-assaults like the Firestarter or ACH.
Any Idea how we can save the lights from becoming mini-assaults?

2MyBalls, on 09 September 2015 - 09:28 AM, said:

mini-assaults

... what?

[BigJim]

SolarCleric, on 09 September 2015 - 11:56 AM, said:

I just think fluff wise and tactically speaking the lights should be used for recon (including LRM locks), caps, and if needed assualt escort duty. But you're certainly not rewarded for playing this way. You're rewarded by doing as much damage as possible before you take that one alpha to the face and die.

I'm a light pilot & I'd hate to have to play recon & escort duty though - I want to be the fast, manoeuvrable bugger like in Zero-Wing, that'll be killed by a single enemy bullet hitting it, but can (with enough balls) out-manoeuvre an entire wave of enemies to keep my guns on them, and wear them down.

Being nothing but eyes on a stick, or someone else's chaperone is something that would make me drop lights completely, and most likely the game, as lights are where it's at for me..

Edited by BigJim, 09 September 2015 - 12:38 PM.