Gyrok, on 31 January 2016 - 06:31 PM, said:
To be fair, there were a lot more viable build options when clans first dropped too. Meaning that the laser meta that has taken over has squelched the ERPPC builds (RIP beloved SRM16 + 2xERPPC TW), The gauss builds will probably come back to a lesser degree. Clan ballistics are still in the toilet, they just float around the edge now instead of getting flushed completely, SRMs require brawling, and are great up close (though still outdone by IS SRMs), but, terrible from where clans need to play effectively, Streaks are sand blasters that only really hurt lights at all...and LRMs are...well...LRMs...not much else to say really.
The saddest thing is that clan brawling weapons took a very hard nerf, and I can honestly say the CSPL/CERSL/CMPL were really not deserving of that. Sure the CERML was a bit strong, but, how bad was it really when mechs run around with 3-4 IS LL and a Gauss rifle, or 5-6 LL doing more damage over less time at greater range for the same heat?
After the second round of heat nerfs clans already paid a huge price in heat for their weapons loadouts. Such to the point that clan laser vomit dropped an ERML and typically ran 2 LPL + 3 ERML to compensate for how bloody hot the damn things got.
Now with ST speed loss, and CDHS nerfs, and range nerfs to many undeserving weapons...plus no love for ballistics outside the last (very) minor adjustment. There needs to be some un-nerfing done to bring clans back to an enjoyable state.
As much as I hate to say it...playing clans right now is masochistic unless you simply are unaware how badly outdone you are against the IS mechs.
When I play in the group queue, I can instantly tell whether we will win or not with about 80-90% accuracy by looking at the numbers of clan mechs on our side. The fewer there are, the better chance we have of winning. It is sad, but in T2 and up, you really cannot even bring clan mechs and enjoy yourself because the meta IS mechs ROFLstomp you so badly.
I don't want to get in a massive barney over this. I just think clan players need to adapt their tactics rather than trying to run old builds and strategies that used to do well.
I don't want to sound like i am trying to teach you to suck eggs, you are a very proficient MechWarrior. However, looking at how things are now from my own perspective, clearly clan lasers run much hotter these days than they used to. So they probably aren't much cop for brawls. If i wanted to brawl in clan mechs now i would turn to ballistics which seem to be doing very well currently, and SRM's.
When i used to run clans with you Gyrok, i always had my TBR prime with 4 MPL, 3 SRM6, and 3 MGS and JJ's. Never have i felt so powerful in this game as when i used that mech. It was insane. I never understood the people that used to kit their Timbers out with LRM and a stack of lasers and poke. I think that is a symptom of the larger problem now. People try and make clans work a way that they aren't best suited for. Yes they are better at ranged engagements, but not the style people expect of just standing up and swapping shots. Mobile, unexpected, unforgiving burst damage at range is their strength. No popping in and out from the same rock over and over wondering why their ST has disappeared....
Clans have inherent benefits, like their speed, and their firepower. That needs to be maximised. Poking out and exchanging fire with lasers is not ideal unless the opponent doesn't know where you are going to appear from. Poking is pretty lame anyway to be honest, i hate it, but its so prevalent right now that it must be included as a tactic.
Burst damage combined with mobility should be the focus for clan mechs rather than straight up exchanging punches and torso twisting ie, back in the day. Mobility being used to cool down if possible, before another high burst attack, preferably from a fresh position. The mobility is so good on clan mechs, and it constantly seems to get forgotten. For me to get a Marauder to the speed of a Timber Wolf, the tradeoff is ridiculous. Not to mention having to have a ST that will kill me when destroyed. Yet clans have this speed as standard, and only take a penalty from ST loss. A penalty, on top of the speed??? I don't understand the complaints about this, unless the complaint is purely in the context that clans could lose a ST previously for no penalty other than weapon loss.
My point here is, clans have a lot of extra speed over IS mechs, yet people don't use it enough. They still use brainless loadouts, heavy with lasers, that now have more heat and more burn time than ever before. Thats the masochistic part, relying on a weapon system that was previously overpowered even though it has been balanced. Who then seem confused as to why they are getting hammered, because they aren't using their major speed advantage. Instead, they think its a good idea to remain stationary behind a rock getting lit up.
As for smaller lasers, the arctic cheater, decked out with clan smalls and clan small pulses is nasty enough as it is. Thankfully, gone are the days when people could abuse clan smalls because of their equal range to IS ML's for half the weight and use them to buff whatever ridiculous firepower they already had packed into their mechs, for little to no cost. They simply shouldn't have good range, that is the point. They have better range than IS smalls and that is fine.
Like i say i don't want to get in a balls deep faction battle here, i'm trying to discuss it. I know you probably think i swapped to IS recently but i didnt. I stopped using clans when i stopped running with CWDG which was a long time ago now. I can tell you that after that, playing as IS was soul destroying. It actually made me stop playing again for a while.
The problem is, and i keep saying it, clans were too superior for too long. People got used to it and now so many are constantly thinking they have been nerfed, when in fact they have been slowly balanced. I know the lore states that clans were superior, but i honestly couldn't care any less. The lore just doesn't work in a pvp video game. Tell me any other competitive game where there are two factions and one faction is better than the other? Why would anyone play the lesser side? Its beyond sense.
For me, MWO is now more balanced than i have ever seen it. The main issue with IS i see is some over quirked weapons on certain chassis types, especially ERLL/LL. I had some locust shooting me from across the map yesterday and still doing heinous damage. It was annoying. Lets see how this energy reduction to IS works out, and go from there.
As Throet said earlier, they should have just made everything balanced from the start and let the players rewrite the lore from the context of this game alone.
#mytenpence