29 replies to this topic

[TLBFestus]

I have a Cicada with an AC10, 3 medium lasers, and ECM.

Nice thing is you can pop shots at unsuspecting enemy mechs and they often have no idea where it's coming from, especially if you hit them while they are being shot at from an obvious enemy.

It's a bit slow (124 kph) but can be a lot of fun. On a good day I've gotten 700+ damage with it.

[SethAbercromby]

I think that whenever one of these discussion crops up, it's a sign of not only of the changing meta, but that there have been large sections in weapon balancing that have just been band-aided with the use of quirks.

Personally, I've been a proponent of changing all ACs to Burst fire types, but that also doesn't mean that I'm just fine with the way lasers are breaking the game thanks to the inconsequential heat-system, which currently promotes high-heat laservomit alphas.

This would be my personal roadmap to a more balanced game:
- Fix heat
- Increase TTK by changing ACs to Burst fire types
- rebalance weapons as necessary

[Alftraum]

I have/use the AC10 in several builds.
It is the AC that suffered the most from the AC range nerf. It was a good weapon up to 700m.

I was using it mostly in mechs with MLs and SRMs to give the mechs some more firing range
At that time it felt like competing to 2 ppcs and it did it almost good even better with ppcs.
Now it is competing against Lazors of all kind and there it depends more on the situation.

It is a pity you can´t fit 2 of them into the side torso of an Atlas. 2 of them still rock.

If it could get back ist old damage drop profile it would be a good thing

[B L O O D W I T C H]

TimePeriod, on 24 October 2015 - 12:30 PM, said:

I propose this:

AC2
Increase its RoF by 100%(double) and half the heat it generates.
Its supposed to fire fast and do it over long durations.

Double RoF would give the AC2 a dps value roughly 110% of an AC20, with same velocity and higher range then a Gaussrifle.
2 AC2 would have the dps equal to 3 Gaussrifle. or a bit more then 2 AC20.

Imagine a hexa AC2 Kingcrab with the DPS or 6 AC20 or 9 Gausrifle @ 770 meter with 2000 meter/s velocity.

[Roughneck45]

If they had 1 less heat and a little more range I'd probably use them frequently.

As it stands now I'd take a UAC5 over the AC10 pretty much every time.

[Tim East]

Skarlock, on 24 October 2015 - 09:30 AM, said:

AC/10 is bad because it's just not particularly good at anything, and doesn't have any really good synergy with any other weapons, other than another AC/10. It's really not a *bad* weapon, but it pales in comparison to so many other good weapons it falls behind.

They synergize reasonably well with PPCs except for ER. At the AC's first range increment of 450m, the difference in time between an AC projectile and one or two PPC projectiles is only a little over a twentieth of a second, with a shorter gap in strikes as you get closer. For reference, the difference between an ERPPC and an AC10 at that range nears a full tenth of a second.

They aren't great, but they are punchy and relatively low heat. They just are in a goofy place in terms of cooldown where it isn't obvious if you should be twisting or staring.

stealthraccoon, on 24 October 2015 - 01:36 PM, said:

I really wish the LB10-X would get some attention - I really REALLY like shotguns on my mechs (that extra ton makes for a huge difference on smaller mechs).

Truth there. I really wish we could get our ammo switching that was mentioned back when the clans came out. That'd make the LB pretty neat as a variable weapon.

[cSand]

Love me the ac10 these days. have 2 on my ctf 3d, brawls like mother. That's my TBR killer right there

[kosmos1214]

cSand, on 04 November 2015 - 10:17 PM, said:

Love me the ac10 these days. have 2 on my ctf 3d, brawls like mother. That's my TBR killer right there

nice my tbr killer is my x4 brother of the cataphract

[Fox With A Shotgun]

As it stands, the AC10 is in an uncomfortable spot of mediocrity (in literally every way possible). It's heavy (only 2 tons lighter than an AC20). The range is longer than an AC20, but the slug travels too slow to reliably hit things near long range like the AC5. The damage isn't quite punchy enough to reliably take out a limb with a shot, unlike an AC20, but it is more likely to do so than an AC5.

Its only (dubious) saving grace is the high damage per ton of ammo (20 shots x 10 damage = 200 damage) compared to other ballistics, which usually have 150 damage per ton (or 140 in case of IS AC20). Its sustained DPS is certainly higher than an AC5, requires less facetime too - but as other people have pointed out, you'd be looking like a spinning top trying to torso twist away every time you reload, because its recycle time is actually quite short.

It's just a weapon with no real place at the moment. Not quite a limb amputator, nor an armor-melting buzzsaw. It's too heavy for what you get as well.

[I 0____o I]

I think LB-10X has bigger issues. But the main issue with the AC10 is velocity. If I really want to hit stuff at optimal range or slightly further it takes half a second to reach there, which kills accuracy if I want to hit specific components or smaller mechs.