9 replies to this topic

[Greenjulius]

So, I've been on an extended MWO leave due to a number of factors... burnout, busy weekend schedule and general end of year work madness. Education tends to be that way.

I'm thinking of coming back to MWO. I've glanced through some of the recent notes, but there are simply too many for me to sift through.

If anyone could answer some of these questions, I would great appreciate it. These questions are all slated from someone who hasn't kept up for about 6 months.

1.) What new features have been added? Did the "re-rebalancing" (The de-quirkening) ever happen?" Does it suck? Role warfare?

2.) Have there been any major changes to weapons? Are MGs and Flamers essentially still useless? (to serious players, of course) Any new weapons?

3.) Have the new mechs changed the meta at all? Are any old mechs "coming back" due to a rework or rebalance? Did the Origins pack end the world?

4.) Are most IS mechs still slightly inferior versions of clan mechs?

5.) Has there been any progress in making IS XL not a deathtrap on all but the XL friendlies? Are Clan XL side torso loss still a laughable penalty?

6.) Any heat model reworking? Is ghost heat still a big joke? Is there a reason to use SHS?

7.) Are jumpjets still hoverjets?

8.) New maps? Last I saw, Forest Colony Redux was the last new map.

9.) Any reason to play CW?

10.) Any big new changes on the horizon?

11.) I suppose I should ask; should I even come back?

If there are any other things I should know, please do tell.

Edited by Greenjulius, 01 February 2016 - 10:14 AM.

[Mcgral18]

Quirks happened. Many IS mechs outclass their Clam counterpart, and dominate long range play. Clams have the more powerful, but much more fragile, brawlers.

No weapons, very few Attribute edits (because PGI wants to balance with quirks instead of logic).

Russ specifically said he's not looking at the MG after the Nerfinator brought his trifecta of suck upon it, but the Flamer is getting the long awaited visual update, but will remain Terribad if isSLs and MGs are any indicator.
Paraphrase the town hall, Russ said "You'll be able to bring a mech to near his heat cap" which we can already do.


TL:DR?
PGI dun went and PGI'ed

Clam XLs did get a penalty, but isXLs remain the deathtrap

[Nightmare1]

This game has changed significantly in 6 months; log in and try it out.

[Davegt27]

what has changed well they just about sucked all the fun out of the game

[JC Daxion]

game is more balanced than ever.. outside of many people going mass energy. Fire it up, and check it out!

that said,, april/may sounds like when the biggest changes are hitting.

[Darwins Dog]

1.) What new features have been added? Did the "re-rebalancing" (The de-quirkening) ever happen?" Does it suck? Role warfare?
Re-balancing is happening all the time, and getting closer to the mark. February patch sounds promising to bring up underperforming clan mechs, and reign in the few remaining mega quirks.

2.) Have there been any major changes to weapons? Are MGs and Flamers essentially still useless? (to serious players, of course) Any new weapons?
No major changes. SRMs are tighter and faster now. I think you might have missed the ECM nerf (90m radius now down from 180), so LRMs are slightly better.

3.) Have the new mechs changed the meta at all? Are any old mechs "coming back" due to a rework or rebalance? Did the Origins pack end the world?
Yes, some, and no. Marauders are very popular right now, and seem to be staying that way. Warhammers less so. Overall meta hasn't changed a lot, but there are some new chassis carrying it. Origins mechs were rather underwhelming from what I've heard (don't have them myself). A few of the older mechs are making comebacks. Several are getting rescaled soon (Awesome, Nova, Quickdraw, and Kitfox off the top of my head), so they may be more popular.

4.) Are most IS mechs still slightly inferior versions of clan mechs?
Clan vs. IS balance is pretty good right now. There is still a huge gap between the best clan mechs and the worst, but comparing best clan to best IS is pretty balanced. Clan DHS got tweaked to cool faster, but have lower capacity, so that helped.

5.) Has there been any progress in making IS XL not a deathtrap on all but the XL friendlies? Are Clan XL side torso loss still a laughable penalty?
IS still the same, Clan XL gives a pretty substantial penalty to heat and speed.

6.) Any heat model reworking? Is ghost heat still a big joke? Is there a reason to use SHS?
SHS got a slight buff to cooling rate, but other than a few assault builds, no. No reason to use them. Ghost heat is still there, and not expected to leave anytime soon.

7.) Are jumpjets still hoverjets?
Yes, but some changes are promised soon. Mechs that are known for jumping will be getting JJ quirks. Lights and Mediums are pretty good right now.

8.) New maps? Last I saw, Forest Colony Redux was the last new map.
Caustic and River city also got revamped. Polar highlands was originally a redux of Alpine, but they decided to keep both since it was really different. New map in March I think, with some new small maps (for 4v4 or 8v8) will be available in private lobbies for testing.

9.) Any reason to play CW?
Fun! It will be getting some love in March with MC rewards for holding planets, 4v4 scouting missions, careers (mercs and loyalists), and split queues between solo players with no unit (no groups even), and players with unit tags.

10.) Any big new changes on the horizon?
CW changes, some rescaling, ranked solaris, PvE of some kind.

11.) I suppose I should ask; should I even come back?
I say yes, but I get called a White Knight a lot. It has changed a fair bit, but only you can say if it's better in your eyes.

[Mechteric]

Darwins Dog, on 01 February 2016 - 11:55 AM, said:

7.) Are jumpjets still hoverjets?
Yes, but some changes are promised soon. Mechs that are known for jumping will be getting JJ quirks. Lights and Mediums are pretty good mediocre right now.

Fixed that for you.

Lights and mediums still hover, they are extremely slow to rise and only really rise decently at all if you pack more than 5 or 6 of them.

Edited by CapperDeluxe, 01 February 2016 - 12:50 PM.

[C E Dwyer]

Basic quick answer is

Few new maps

JJ's still suck on anything that is over 55 tons

Comeback if you like laser vomit..

[Greenjulius]

Cathy, on 01 February 2016 - 12:59 PM, said:

Basic quick answer is

Few new maps

JJ's still suck on anything that is over 55 tons

Comeback if you like laser vomit..

I was a little afraid to hear that. Especially the laser vomit part. Part of why I left is because all mech basically became one trick ponies, with laser vomiting being the default in nearly all cases. Being in tier 2, it's all I see, with the occasional joke or fun build being used and underperforming.

I'm dissapointing by MGs getting shafted. It causes all mechs 50 tons and down to suffer from ballistic hardpoints. At least SRMs actually did damage, if they registered of course. MGs earned the "ticklegun" nickname for a reason.

It sounds like MASC is getting a refurb in the next patch, so perhaps the SCat will be slightly less useless.

I also forgot to ask if Steam was a good or bad thing....

I'll probably jump on this weekend to check the state of things.

Thanks everyone! Good to see a few familiar faces.

[Lightfoot]

IS Mechs get good structure quirks. Everything else the same. MASC getting buffed. Merc Units enter CW soon. New CW 4v4 mode with no cannon to defend coming. Long Tom artillery strike coming.