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The rebalancing effort has a lot of facets, but today I want to address one specific cornerstone that should be solid so that other things can fall into place: information warfare. Scouts have begged for a true reconnaissance role since this game’s inception, MechWarrior is a natural fit for interesting sensor mechanics, and since infotech is one of the four, new ‘mech-balancing pillars, I figure it should be appropriately useful.
The Problem
Let's face it: scouting is largely unimportant in MechWarrior: Online. I see blame placed on a myriad of imperfect but ultimately innocent factors - the map size, the long-range trading, the lackluster earnings, and the fact that there's no way to call a target in PUG games while you don't even need a lock to do so effectively on TeamSpeak. And though they all contribute, they aren't the main issue.
The core problem is that information frankly has very little value in this game. As long as you know where the biggest enemy blob is, you're set. The primary advantage of having a lock is being able to quickly identify weak components, but that's hardly comparable to the other three pillars: firepower, survivability, and mobility. And sure, locks for LRMs are great, but should indirect fire really be integral to the value of information warfare?
Moreover, ECM has been brokenly overpowered for so long that good players are used to fighting without a readout. Nowhere is the absence of information warfare more apparent than the competitive scene - the styles of trading and pushing makes exact hit location largely irrelevant, and even without a paper doll, top players can often identify weaknesses based on what they've been hitting.
While I didn't get a chance to play the public test, I did see the dorito delay change and extended lock times. I won't comment except to say they're just turning ***** that barely matter in the grand scheme of things. What we need is not a change to how information is acquired, but a mechanic that gives scouting a purpose beyond finding the blob - something that makes reconnaissance a valuable asset throughout the entire battle, even at competitive levels of play.
TL:DR: Information doesn’t really matter that much currently, and tweaking values affecting how it’s acquired ignores that fundamental lack of utility.
The Solution
With that goal in mind, I present to you the concept of Progressive Scanning. The idea is that a 'mech could be scanned throughout the course of a battle by being targeted. The accumulated target lock duration would unlock progressively more useful advantages against that particular 'mech for the rest of the round, making scouting invaluable at all stages of an engagement.
Each mech would have a Scanned status from 0-100% (as an initial guess for balance, 1% would take between 1 and 2 seconds; therefore, it would take between 100 and 200 seconds of being targeted by a single 'mech to be fully scanned, depending on the ‘mech being scanned and the one doing the scanning). The first few tiers of would reveal what it does now - the chassis information, paper doll, and equipment readout. But instead of that being the end of the process, those would be the first of many bonuses.]
The longer a 'mech is targeted by your team members, the more advantages are unlocked. C-Bills would be awarded for every second of scanning and every advantage unlocked. Multiple 'mechs could scan a single target simultaneously to speed up the process, but only active locks would count - locks gained through sharing target information would have no effect. The scan rate and the scan threshold could then be adjusted per ‘mech to create diversity including superior scouts or variants that specialize in being sneaky by taking longer to scan.
Below is my initial list of advantages would be gained through scanning, although obviously the values would likely need adjustments and the bonuses are entirely interchangeable, removable, and replaceable. Some may think the later tiers go too far, but I’m all for serious infotech.
Scan Levels:
- 3% - Chassis Info / Target Designation - Like now, chassis / variant information and target designation would be shown first; unlike now, that information would also be displayed on the scoreboard for easy access.
- 5% - Paper Doll and Health Percentage - Same as now and self-explanatory.
- 8% - Weapons and Equipment Readout - Same as now and self-explanatory.
- 10% - Targeting Info Sharing - I make a case for this below, but targeting information sharing - even target marker doritos - should be tied into this system to encourage scouting and revitalize stealthy play,
- 15% - Decreased Targeting Time - Halves the delay for Paper Doll and Equipment Readout displays.
- 20% - Increased Target Decay - Adds an additional second or two before targeting locks are broken.
- 30% - Increased Sensor Visibility Range - Adds an additional 200m to the distance at which the ‘mech can be targeted.
- 40% - Health Percentage on Scoreboard - A constant health percentage display on the scoreboard, particularly combined with chassis information, would be invaluable in knowing what’s weak and what’s fresh.
- 50% - Not Hidden by ECM - It would be awesome if a concerted scouting effort nullified ECM’s cloaking effect on a particular ‘mech. To clarify, if it was an ECM-equipped ‘mech, the ECM would still cloak its teammates but not itself.
- 60% - Decreased Missile Lock Time - I went light on LRM buffs, but rapid locks for missiles is a no-brainer for heavily scouted targets.
- 70% - Instant Targeting Time - Paper Doll and Equipment Readout would be instant.
- 80% - Permanently on Radar - Like the wallhack Seismic Sensor of old days but better, this would effectively put an end to any sneaky maneuver a ‘mech tried to make. Being scanned for an extended period should confer an appropriately hefty advantage.
- 100% - Permanent Targeting Marker - Taking it one step further, having the dorito always visible means you always know where that ‘mech is in 3D space.
- Decreased Missile Spread - Another LRM buff that could make sense, but I prefer lock time.
- Increased Missile Speed - Same.
- Target Outline / Highlight - Adding a highlight, outline, or some other visibility queue would make trading on foggy maps a lot easier.
- Increased Damage Taken - This is something I knew would be controversial and isn’t my cup of tea, but you could quite literally just buff damage taken at a certain point so that scouts very much mirror support classes from other online games.
- Permanently Targetable - I thought this would be way too overpowered, but it remains on the honorable mentions list to make the point that you could easily make infotech as serious as firepower, survivability, and mobility.
This is a simple, scalable solution that basically amounts to a single number being incremented for each 'mech. There's no need to implement all the tiers at once, either; starting with four or five advantages and gradually adding more is still far preferable to the status quo in which nothing matters.
Though you may have noticed in the list above, it deserves its own, special mention: I strongly believe target information sharing should tie directly into this system, meaning even targeting doritos wouldn't be shared until 'mechs are scanned for a certain period of time. The move to 12v12 killed flanking and sneaky tactics; too many eyes and instant sharing make it nearly impossible to get around behind without most of the enemy team knowing. Requiring some level of scanning in order to share targeting information not only makes scouting critically important, but it also allows for interesting maneuvers early on in the game (or even later if you've wisely kept a couple of your pilots hidden).
TL;DR: Link the total amount of time a ‘mech has been locked (“scanned”) throughout the match to progressively more powerful bonuses such as lock time reduction, increased target decay, ECM cancellation, missile buffs, always-visible health percentages, and even permanent map markers.
The Caveats
ECM Counters
Even at a reduced 90m radius, the emphasis on information denial resulting from this plan may cause ECM to be doubly important. If that becomes the case, the simple solution is to extend the range of BAP and ECM’s jamming effects to 300-500m and/or make a single BAP counter all ECM in its radius instead of just one. Scouts shouldn’t have to get dangerously close to do their job and terrible quirks are not a good way to balance out ECM’s utility.
Radar Deprivation
It’s broken, and PGI should fix it. It’s hopelessly overpowered, I don’t know why it’s still the way it is, but it can’t do what it does now if information warfare is going to be a serious endeavor. It should decrease target decay by a fixed amount - not totally nullify everything. I could write a couple paragraphs on this, but do I really need to prattle on about something so painfully obvious?
PTS Dorito Delay
There’s a case to be made one way or the other on its own, but the dorito delay would not synergize well with what I’m proposing. Delaying scanning for several seconds would defeat the entire purpose, and enemies should be instantly targetable with line-of-sight like it is now.
TL;DR: Fix Radar Deprivation, get rid of the dorito delay from the PTS, and prepare to buff counters to ECM if necessary.
The Benefits
Scouting as a Serious Role
This system would make continual reconnaissance valuable. Firepower is always an asset, tanking is often an invaluable service to the team, mobility is life for many 'mechs, but information has always been a tertiary concern. By applying progressively better buffs, scouts can finally feel like they're functioning in a non-combat role with immense utility.
Rewards Equalization
Reconnaissance and other non-combat activities have gotten the shaft in terms of earnings, and perhaps rightfully so considering it’s unwise to encourage unhelpful behavior. But with scanning providing serious buffs, it would finally be sensible and easy to implement paycheck parity.
Competitive Play
I still expect less emphasis on information at higher levels of organized play, but if target sharing, seeing health percentages, ECM exclusion, permanent radar markers, and even permanent doritos were tied to scouting, you'd see a hell of a lot more of it than you do now.
PvE Applicability
Some people have wanted to run recon for as long as this game has been around, and that passion will undoubtedly carry over to campaign scenarios. This system would translate well into that environment, and it would be simple to swap out any advantages that don't have the same potency against AI opponents.
Strategic Scouting
In addition to giving purpose to reconnaissance, it would also add depth to the strategic considerations. With limited time and 12 ‘mechs to scout, maybe it’s best to get enough information to share targeting data on all enemies, or maybe some will prefer to aggressively scan three or four high-priority threats to minimize their effectiveness and finish them off quickly.
Simple but Powerful Balance
Having an adjustable scanning rate and threshold for each ‘mech would give PGI two simple, easily-explainable variables to balance information warfare. ‘Mechs meant to be scouts would be quicker at scanning than others, and stealth-oriented ‘mechs would take longer to scan than their less subtle, more deadly, and more heavily armored counterparts. It would even be an interesting way to help balance Clan vs IS technology. Clanners were notorious for straight-up engagements and a lack of subtlety while the Inner Sphere only ever won with superior tactics; giving IS ‘mechs an edge in infotech would help balance the scales in a lore-friendly manner that preserves diversity.
Simplification or Synergy
This proposal gives PGI a lot of choices about what to do with the rest of information warfare. They could get rid of variable target information gathering rates at different ranges, or they could integrate range into the scanning mechanic. They could forgo different sensor ranges for different ‘mechs for ease-of-understanding, or they could layer that on top to create even more depth. This system provides enough of a solid foundation that it could stand alone or be complemented by any number of modifiers. While I personally lean towards the keep-it-simple camp, it certainly doesn’t box them in.
TL;DR: Just read the bold headings above and pass on the paragraphs.
The Alternatives
Below, I will briefly address the vast majority of other suggestions I’ve seen flying around.
”Maps Suck and They Should Be Bigger”
Some of you need to wake the hell up out of your nostalgia-induced BattleTech coma and realize this is an arena shooter. "Wouldn't it be great if we had crazy huge maps where scouting mattered?" No. ****. It takes three minutes to walk to the fight on some maps now. I'm not interested in a damn walking simulator, and neither are potential new players. Furthermore, it would only delay the inevitable - teams facing massive maps would be doubly eager to get to the middle to ensure a fight rather than an endless runaround. On top of that, it still means scouting only has very basic, early-game utility. And what's the solution to this "problem"? Fix every map? Give me a break. This is a dumb talking point and needs to die.
”Increase / Decrease Sensor Range / Lock Time / Decay or Implement Real Radar”
All of these solutions ignore the fundamental problem that information, no matter how hard or easy it is to acquire, simply isn't worth anything at the moment. Whether you're getting 10 or 10000 Zimbabwean dollars doesn't matter when you realize both are equivalent to less than a penny.
”Convergence Only when Locked”
It’s not a bad idea, but while it would certainly make locks important, it’s a very boolean approach. Much like Ghost Heat’s implementation, it’s all or nothing based on how competent your scouts are. There’s far less strategic depth or choice than a gradual scale would provide.
TL;DR: The alternatives either ignore the real problem by playing with meaningless values or address scouting’s underlying lack of utility in an all-or-nothing way that misses out on strategic depth.
The TL;DR
All of the fiddling with ranges and lock times and decay rates ignores the fundamental problem of information warfare as it stands today: information just isn’t that valuable. Rather than focusing on how information is acquired, I propose increasing the benefit of reconnaissance by causing the accumulated time a ‘mech has been targeted to unlock progressively more powerful buffs against that ‘mech.
By tethering target information sharing, scoreboard chassis and health percentage displays, target acquisition time and decay, lock-on-weapon buffs, permanent map markers, and/or other bonuses to scanning enemy ‘mechs, reconnaissance would finally have undeniable value in all stages of an engagement.
This solution would turn scouting into a useful non-combat role - even at competitive levels of play, add strategic depth (whether to scout all ‘mechs enough to share basic info or race to some of the late-tier buffs on high-priority threats), equalize XP rewards and C-Bill earnings, and give PGI a simple tool to balance the infotech aspect of battlemechs.
Edited by Homeless Bill, 15 September 2015 - 03:10 AM.
