I never had an issue with quirks, insofar as the idea of them, at least. From a lore standpoint, it's perfectly reasonable that a 'mech that was especially designed to utilize certain weapons and perform a certain role would be more adept at employing them, either through higher-quality components or specialized ammo-feeds. After all, there were many different industrial companies in the Inner Sphere, and some built far better weapons than others, just like today's car manufacturers. Having a 'better' AC/20 on an Atlas makes sense, in that regard; the 'mech was built around the gun, and it would be reasonable to assume on a high-end Assault 'mech that the best components would be used. Likewise, the common example of the Dragon having a specialized feed for its AC/5 (i.e. reduced cooldown) also makes sense, as the 'mech was designed to be a fast-attack raider, supporting main battle-line 'mechs from afar.
The problems that affected quirks was two-fold, in my view. Firstly, the reality that some 'mechs needed such excessive ones in the first place to drag them out of the depths of obscurity was unfortunate, but highlighted the inequity that existed prior to their implementation. As others have said, though, I'd rather see quirks make a 'mech useful in at least one capacity than to have to never be able to pilot it in good conscience. As a member as one of the most competitive squads out there, I often feel shoe-horned into playing the same 'mech and the same loadout over and over and over and over... and... over and over. Quirks ameliorate that, to some degree, permitting a good pilot to climb into different chassis and not feel like they're doing their team a disservice. The negative angle was that quirks were not evenly distributed; some chassis suddenly had one highly effective variant, while the others remained useless. Some chassis that desperately needed improvements barely saw any. In my view, the quirk passes were not aggressive enough insofar as addressing the 'mechs that really needed the help. As a result, there are still many 'mechs that no pilot with a modicum of interest in competitive play will utilize.
The second issue was the giving of positive quirks to Clan 'mechs. This, in my view, was a mistake. In every regard, their equipment is superior, and a logical argument could be made that with their 'mechs designed to be adaptable/inter-changeable in terms of hardware that they would not likely have exceptionally specialized enhancements (like a rapid-fire Dragon-like AC/5), since a 'mech that was on an assault mission one day could need to be retrofitted for scouting the next day.
I appreciate the effort that the developers have put into trying to create a new way to enhance the game's complexity, but neutering the previous system, and injecting changes that do not address the incredible Alpha's of Clan 'mechs, while simultaneously doing very little to help 'mechs that are struggling means that this initial PTS build is far (far) from enough. In my view, infotech is a poorly executed concept, as anyone who can shoot straight is going to have little-to-no problem dealing with the fact that they cannot target someone, meanwhile those who aren't as strong will struggle greatly. This system will annoy many, and outright make the game extremely unfair for others.
Edited by Arrachtas, 12 September 2015 - 02:24 PM.