Also, if these weapons got different sounds/geometry we could spiff up our mechs a bit. Perhaps they could sound different as well. Another possibility would be that the weapons could have different colors to further distinguish them. Cosmetic differences are optional, If you like the overall idea but don't want cosmetic differences, see question 3.
The following is the main idea,
While I would not remove Mech Packs, there are other things they can do that might require less effort from the art department. They can have branded weapons that increase XP/Loyalty earned. For example:
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Magna Hellstar PPC - +5% Mech XP earned.
Donal PPC - +5% Loyalty Points earned.
Kinslaughter PPC - +3% C-bills earned.
Martell Medium Laser - +1% C-bills earned (max 6%).
Diverse Optics Type 2 Medium Laser - +1.5% Mech XP earned (max 9%).
Omicron 4000 Medium Laser - +1.5% Loyalty earned (max 9%).
Imperial Code Red LB 10-X AC - ...you get the idea.
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Other things to note.
When the enemy checks out your mech, they see the full name of the weapon instead of just generic LB 10X AC (they should see Imperial Code Red LB 10-X AC or something.
These weapons should be of a different color in mech lab and when seen by the enemy (just follow the MMO color code of green blue purple orange).
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Higher 'quality' weapons can just combine bonuses.
Green - XP, Loyalty or C-bills
Blue - Two of the above
Purple - All three
Orange - All three and slightly higher. Can only equip one of this.
This doesn't require much work from the art team, but will require coding to include the new system and update the end of match rewards.
Also as a bonus:
PGI can make limited use branded weapons. Meaning these weapons have a certain number of matches before they break (paid ones should not break). But to give them out for free without flooding the market, each type can be given as prizes, end of match rewards or loot boxes and have 5-30 uses each before they break and disappear.
If you want to be sneaky, include the kill count on the temp weapons and before they break, give the player an option to buy it for MC to make it permanent and it retains the kill count stat.
Edit:
Other bonuses could include a chance of refunding a decent percentage of c-bill consumable costs at the end of the match should you happen to use one or send messages in the battle such as:
"Elizander has been killed by EliteMechWarrior's Magna Hellstar PPC!"
For the permanent weapons, add a kill counter ala Dota 2 items or a damage counter. Make friendly kills reduce this number too.
Edited by Elizander, Today, 03:11 AM.
I was thinking about this idea recently and the question I have is this, should all these boosting weapons cost the same price? Should a gauss rifle cost the same as a medium laser?
An added idea to these weapons (only if the art team has time):
1) New geometry or skin for weapons when equipped on mech (different lens color for lasers, different PPC glow, etc)
2) Different color when shooting (pink PPCs, purple lasers)
3) Different sound effect.
These weapons would give different bonuses depending on their slots or tonnage to prevent certain weapons having way more earning power.
Also, there could be a hard cap on how many boosting weapons you can bring or a max percentage. For example you could only get a 15% boost at most. Ppl couldn't just load up a Nova with SpLs & print cbills, etc.
Pgi could implement a filter to make it easier to find these weapons. Just add "special/boosted" to the available filters & done.
This idea would be fairly easy to implement because unless it's decided to add cosmetic differences, it'd just be a little coding & done.
BTW, please vote. Your opinion is worth sharing.
Edited by TheArisen, 26 January 2016 - 04:03 AM.