5 replies to this topic

[William Pryde]

I just have two simple questions: what differentiates clan and IS tech in the current iteration of this game and do the differences justify the high C-Bill price tag?

I've searched the forum but for the life of me can't find a thread giving the answers I've been looking for. I was kind of bummed when I read that the intention is to make Clan and IS tech equal but different, but I can see how it makes sense from a business standpoint and creating a balanced way to play would be very hard (but not impossible, I think) if Clan tech was as superior as it was in the tabletop game.

Now I'm debating whether to purchase a Dire Wolf or wait for the new Marauder pack (my two favorite 'Mechs), and the 17.8 million price tag on the Dire Wolf is giving me hesitation. Is it worth the high price?

[S 0 L E N Y A]

If you know TT then you know why Clan equipment is superior. The same is generally true here.

IS quirks arguably offset the difference, but in most cases it isn't enough of a difference to put them both on equal grounds.

Is the price difference justified? No doubt. You don't ever have to spend C-bills to upgrade to endo, dbl heat sinks, xl engines etc etc.
The chasis itself is already tip top. And pounds for pound still far superior to IS gear.

One of the biggest ironies is that in this game IS mechs are actually much more modular than clan OMNI mechs.

In TT omni space is a total blank canvas. The limit being purely tonnage and critical slot space.
Here, you can swap omni pods, but the pods themselves are still limited by hard points. And certain omni pods may have equipment (such as jump jets or heatsinks) permanently attached.
No engine swaps either.

Direwolf is a great mech. Despite my IS allegiance, I do own a few clan mechs and the DW is one of them.

They can be a bit challenging to play.
Mobility is absolutely horrid. You have very little torso twist range and ano lateral arm movement. If you are on your own and a decent pilot in a light mech finds you then there is a good chance you won't walk away from that encounter.
To top it off, you have basically made yourself priority target #1 for the enemy.

Can't speak to the Marauder as it isn't out yet.

Edited by Boogie138, 19 November 2015 - 07:11 AM.

[Rogue Jedi]

The main reason for the Clan/IS price difference is that all Clan Mechs come with Double Heat Sinks and XL engines preinstalled, for an IS Mech you usualy have to spend 1.5 million cbills for DHS and purchasing an XL engine will be 3-6 million, with most Medium or Larger clan Mechs using an engine worth at least 4.5 million

As for tech differences, Clan Mechs are usualy faster than equivalent IS Mechs (with the exception of all Lights and the Dire Wolf), and the Clan XL engine will let you survive loosing 1 side torso where as with the IS XL you die to loosing 1 side torso.
Omnimechs (all current Clan Mechs) can change Omnipods and weapon hardpoints by swapping the omnipod from another varient, but have the upgrades locked out and the engine and some other equipment locked to the chassis,
Battlemechs (all current IS Mechs, and some Clan Mechs due ingame next month) can change structure type, armor type, heatsink type and engine, also they do not have any fixed equipment
Clan Tech tends to be lighter, longer range and do more damage per shot,
This is balanced by IS weapons having a shorter discharge time (making it easier to put all the damage on target) and running significantly cooler.

At current there are Mech quirks which often give IS Mechs a faster rate of fire, longer range or cooler weapons than usual.

At current Clan Mechs are not significantly better than IS Mechs with a few exceptions (Stormcrow and Timber Wolf) and even those few are maybe 20% better at most than the closest IS equivalents

If you buy a cheep IS Mech then upgrade it to simular specs to a Clan Mech you will spend about the same on the IS Mech, where IS Mechs work out cheaper is that you can swap the engine, potentialy saving you 10+ million to master the chassis

Edited by Rogue Jedi, 19 November 2015 - 09:15 AM.

[John1352]

The above posters explained most things, I'll just write a bit about Dire Wolves:

They're generally not a good starter mech, they're usually priority #1 targets and knowing the maps well helps a lot. As they're so slow, getting into a bad position is often the end of the match for you, unless you can shoot your way out.

Before you decide whether to get them, make sure you play a lot in the trial direwolf and king crab (for the UACs), so you know what you are in for.

PS: With all that said, my highest damage match has been in a Dire Whale, it is very powerful, just frustrating sometimes.

Edited by John1352, 19 November 2015 - 07:48 AM.

[William Pryde]

Thanks for the help, everyone!

[S 0 L E N Y A]

John1352, on 19 November 2015 - 07:41 AM, said:

I'll just write a bit about Dire Wolves:

They're generally not a good starter mech,

Can't emphasize that enough. I see a lot of people fall into the common trap of 1) bigger is better or 2) that thing just stomped my butt so it must be the best.

Even if you are an experienced player the DWF is still a mofo to get used to. Most other assault mechs have far superior mobility to a DW (save for maybe out of the box Stalkers, which actually feel fairly comparable).

The temptation to face tank is SO hard to resist. You have all the guns and all the armor, what could possibly go wrong?

If you play solo que a lot then they can be VERY VERY tough to play. As odd as it sounds, the DW relies on its squad mates more than the squad mates rely on the DW.

All challenges considered, when it does work out well it is immensely fun and rewarding.