5 replies to this topic

[VXJaeger]

Recently I've been playing a lot with gauss-rifles and charge mechanic has really started to tick me off.

Originally charge mechanic came to gauss-rifles for two reasons. First and most important was to break "Holy Combination" of synchrozed gauss-PPC usage by jumpsnipers, which was a real plague for an year or so.
Second reason was to prevent gauss'es usage as brawling weapon, in which role it was even then a terrible choice.

Moar I have played with gauss'es, more I've come to conclusion that charge-mechanic should be taken away as it is now and implemented in some other way including (ER)PPC's.

Jump sniping has been dead for ages, praise the Lord for small mercy, and there is a real risk for it coming back. Thing to do is to make circumstances that gauss-rifle itself ain't punished by weapon combos, but combo itself will be punished.
Right now charge-mechanic prevents making quick snap-shots to fast hill humpers and PPC-jumpers.

What changes should be made IMHO:
1. Remove charge-mec totally from single gauss-rifle, or reduce it to 0.1s with immetiate lauch after charge without button releasing.
- Many mechs have them in their STD-loadout, so it's justifiable not to punish them. One gauss is not a real problem.

2. Preserve charge-mec and button-release launch in two gauss-rifles, but cut chargetime in half.
- Actually this doesn't too any good, but dual-gauss is so devastating combo that it needs to be punished somehow and raise level of skill to use them. I brawl with dual-gauss'es all of time, and charging is a factor that only spares ammo.
Cutting chargetime in half enables shooting at PPC-jumpers/hillhumpers, which now disappear too fast for charging weapon.

3. Energy weapons and gauss can't be shot at same time because of powerdrainage.

BTW, have anyone else noticed that uncharged gauss-rifles doesn't explode anymore? When did that change come online?

[Alstren]

I wasn't there to see the dark days of the pop tart, but you don't think gauss is powerful enough? Its already one of the best weapons in the game and widely dominating the current meta. It hits hard, its very hard to dodge, its precise, has good range and barely generates any heat at all.

Iv been in a match where one of my team members in a gauss Grid Iron was hacking so he didn't have to charge his gauss rifle and he completely devastated half the enemy team. (leading to a extremely disappointing hollow victory for the rest of us)

Edited by FirestormClone218, 20 October 2015 - 12:04 PM.

[Lightfoot]

Well yeah, a Gauss Rifle that recharges as fast as an AC20 is OP. That's why all previous MechWarrior titles gave the Gauss a 25-33% longer recharge. All know this. We told PGI in closed beta this short recharge would cause problems once the game played better. One thing that is going on is PGI is nerfing all the other ballistics in speed, but the Gauss got a 500 mps buff from 1500 to 2000 mps. All in all the whole thing is just a headache and places the Gauss Rifle in it's most powerful form of 2xGauss, 2x LPLs at the sole use of a couple of 100 ton assaults. So it didn't fix anything and it ruined it for use as a single Gauss, which was not a problem at 1500 meters per second.

I suggest return it to 1500 mps and give it a 5.5-6 second recharge, but make it so 2 can't be fired at once or 2 cause the charge-up delay. This would discourage boating Gauss and would result in a more balanced weapon and game. Many players feel this way and want the Gauss restored to a more normal Battle Tech weapon.

[Lightfoot]

An additional critique here is that in MechWarrior the player's focus should be on managing the mech's operation, not the operation of one of it's weapons, basically the robot would handle all that for the pilot. It ends up that the Gauss Rifle charge-up is so distracting from the game's main focus of mech piloting that it overrides and diminishes the player's perception of the mech and being in the pilot's seat of a giant robot tank. MWO should be the ultimate mech-sim first and foremost and the rest is a distant second.

[sycocys]

Remove charge-up. only 1 guass can be fired and a 3-5 second delay before a second can be fired (basically whatever the cd is on one).

Or firing 2 guass is a non-overheat shutdown due to the power load it takes.

[VXJaeger]

Well, in books 2 gauss-rifles can be shot together with charge time. That's why mechs like Devastator exist.
Although if any energy weapons are fired simultaniously with gauss-rifles, ending result will be chainfire 'cause reactor will autocycle powerdistribution to prevent overheating/-loading.

Because it sees that PGI has coded that gauss doesn't explode if its not charged, I'd go with this.

One rifle fired alone = chargetime so short that it can't be noticed and launches automatically, but you can't fire any energyweapons same time or result is chainfire.

2 rifles fired together = chargetime 0.7s -> 0.4s and launch as it is now by button releasing to keep skill requirement higher. Also with these you can't fire energy weapons simultaniously without resulting chainfire.

These changes should be enough to make jumpsniping under control and make it viable again.
And even more of it, it makes all mechs with gauss-rifles in their stockload userfriendly.
Maybe we see more Victors and Highlanders in BF if these changes are made, who knows.