1 reply to this topic

[NeoAres]

I posted an intro to this idea as a reply in another thread, but now I'm ready to flesh it out and present it. PGI is on the right track by enforcing tonnage limits instead of class limits, but tonnage limits alone cannot fix everything, especially in a situation like we have now where 12-mans are just ganging with whatever Tier-1 mechs fit the tonnage profile. I guess in a way it's a credit to game balance that bigger doesn't necessarily mean better, but it means that squeezing the tonnage limits for 12-mans further and further is only going to enrage the elite playerbase and still won't prevent them from rolling everyone.

So, I will begin by relaxing the tonnage restrictions. First of all, I will eliminate the minimum restriction altogether because nobody's really complaining about light swarms yet (read on before you scream Arctic Cheaterfest). Here's my tonnage maximums (and average per-mech)
2 Players = 160 (80)
3 Players = 225 (75)
4 Players = 300 (75)
5 Players = 350 (70)
6 Players = 420 (70)
7 Players = 490 (70)
8 Players = 520 (65)
9 Players = 585 (65)
10 Players = 650 (65)
12 Players = 720 (60)

There, far more agreeable, wouldn't you say? Now, if only there was a way to restrict Tier-1 usage by 12-man teams without completely restricting them to lights...oh yeah, there is!

The second part of my solution would be the implementation of duplicate-bans within a single group. And, to sate the clan haters out there, it would be more restrictive on clan mechs than IS mechs.
*For IS Mechs: No Duplicate Variants within a group. So while you couldn't have two HBK-4Gs i the same group, you could have a HBK-4G and a HBK-4H
*For Clan Mechs: No Duplicate Chassis within a group. That's right, only one Timberwolf per group, regardless of the group size.

The desired result: larger groups and pre-mades, more restricted in both tonnage and Tier-1 options compared to smaller groups, will have to resort to more combined-arms warfare with more different mechs, while a team made of six two-man teams could potentially have as many as 6 Timberwolves, a neat little "metadvantage" to counter the disadvantage of being uncoordinated. I'd say that provides a heck of a lot more balance than simple tonnage limitations on their own. What say you?

[Narcissistic Martyr]

Eh, give it a shot and see what happens.

Might wanna relax the duplicate restrictions when a new mech comes out though,