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Clan Vs Is Balance Complaining


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#101 Roland09

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Posted 15 February 2016 - 09:03 PM

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

trolling me there again IraquiWalker?
[...]
Maybe the AC 20 Raven isnt against the lore but against physics. A Robot with more than half its overall weight mountet in one cannon on one side can not walk it will tilt to the weighted side because there is gravity


Lol, you bring up physics in a discussion about BattleTech? Grasping at straws much? If physics are your thing, why aren't you sitting back on Strana Mechty (or whatever that animal shelter is called where you "Fancy Animal" people come from), since all of a sudden, your KF drives ceased to exist?

Moreover, "gravity" is your argument to do what, to refute a build brought up as an example by IraqiWalker (which he didn't even claim to be a viable build, but a fringe / fun build), yet you claim you want to have variety in the game? But when - God forbid! - people come with builds that you didn't expect, that's "against the laws of physics"? So, variety is good, but only when you personally approve?

Lo and behold, another priceless gem of Clanner logic! Your discussion skills never cease to underwhelm me.

#102 IraqiWalker

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Posted 15 February 2016 - 11:48 PM

View PostRad Hanzo, on 15 February 2016 - 05:48 AM, said:

I, for instance, have absolutely no qualms with carefully cherrypicked mechs, that get quirked with a tender hand to make them viable in MW:O WHILE retaining their lore-flavour -> Awesome + PPC´s, Jaeger/Cataphract + AC´s, Warhawk Prime + ERPPC, Summoner Prime+Gauss/ERPPC/LRM/JJ and so on, you get the drift hopeflly .
What I really don´t like are those over-the-top blanket quirks, looks really sloppy and tells me the DEV doesn´t care .

An to add : I´ve played approximate 15k games in public and CW combined, on both sides of the fence, and what I really like now is the diversity on the battlefield . Yes, performance/range outliers need to get reined in (eh, BJ, BLR,BNC^^) but besides those little things balance ain´t too bad .
I´m saying "not too bad" with the full knowledge that we aren´t even close to a good "imperfect" balance, but we definitely turned towards it and maybe even took one step towards it, let´s see and wait what le futuré brings .

The only thing that stilly massively pisses me off in this game is it´s wonky, finnicky and plain randomly working hit-registration .

Iraqi, as usual, thanks for the lecture, it was a treat to read Posted Image


Amen

View PostBud Crue, on 15 February 2016 - 07:15 AM, said:


Spot on.
Mods = Viability and Character.
This is, I think, the core of how modifiers should work.

(My personal preference is that lore ought to be the source for that character, and thus the appropriate buffs and nerfs, but I will take ANYTHING that helps make low performers playable and gives all mechs a bit of distinction).


QFT

View PostVanguard319, on 15 February 2016 - 08:53 AM, said:


so what you are saying is that CW would be balanced if the ratio of clan and IS players were about equal on both sides. The reality that the clans are unable to hold worlds implies that the player ratio is heavily geared towards IS, because of the belief that IS mechs are better. You don't have a mass exodus of top-tier players switching sides when factions are balanced.


No. Because the WHM was introduced, most Clan mercs (i.e. a lot of clan players that actually get planets) switched back to IS to level the WHM, and a few other IS mechs they had on the backburner. If IS mechs were better, they wouldn't need the quirks.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:


thats a very strange statement you say there are 132 bilds that are competeive?
i really doubt this, the deadquirking does not support that


I'm thinking there's a miscommunication thing here. More than half of the builds would be viable for CW. All 235 are viable for every other game mode. I'd put all of them in CW, but brawler builds for example do suffer a bit on CW, so I wouldn't recommend them.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

I asked you about variety in the game not a imaginate number possible funbuilds there are not 235 different builds played in the game esp not in CW and you know that very good yourself

In CW over 130 builds are present. In competitive matches, over 36 builds are present. In MWO over 235 viable builds are present. That's variety. Otherwise, look up the definition of the word.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

you seriously say of all players in MWO just 200 want to win rhe rest plays for the purpose of losing ??
as i did ask you as well if you play to lose i doubted that and still dount that now

No, I'm saying only 200 or so play purely competitively. While the overwhelming majority don't play competitively. This is also supported by the fact that quickplay queues (the majority of matches in MWO are played there), are dominated by non-competitive builds.

You seem to misinterpret "non-competitive" with "not-wanting to win". The two are not the same.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

more and more i get the impression youre not interested in a serious debate

I'm still here, aren't I?

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

OFC i do point out one example to illustrate the destructive effect of the quirk desaster and of course a significant one
using a not significant example would be rather stupid and meaningless no?

You seem to misunderstand how examples work.

An example is supposed to be representative of the sample group. So when you pick a fringe case, you're misrepresenting the entire data sample. You're making it seem like the common occurrence is BJ-1 level quirks. Which is very far from the truth.

So let me put it this way: When someone says clan mech are crap, because the Ice Ferret is crap. Are they representing clan mechs correctly, or appropriately? No, they're not. The Ice Ferret sucks, but virtually every other clan mech is somewhere between good to excellent. This is what you're doing.

Here's a system that benefited every mech in the game (nearly 300), and you point at literally ONE mech that got too much from it, and say "the system is broken, it's all wrong".

Either you're being over-dramatic, or you're intentionally misrepresenting the data for your own agenda, beyond reason.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

trolling me there again IraquiWalker?

No, not trolling you, just highlighting a fallacy people fall into, on purpose or by accident. You took an edge case, and made it seem like that's the norm. There is no form of logical discourse where that's acceptable.


View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

exactly it was viable and usable through its good designed high Hardpoints the relatively small sprite and as the result of that good hitboxes its good maneuverability and broad hardpoints variety


and quirks.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

So tell me WHY did that Robot need THAT quirks???

Can you answer THAT question?

I'm personally not sure. We all said they were on the overdone side. Maybe because even though it was a viable medium for the IS, it was still very much inferior to the competition, and couldn't handle being hit at all?


View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

It got boostet to almost god mode and took over matter of factly the usage nieches of many assault mechs
it destroyed more than 5 assaults ( Atkas, Banshee, Awesome, Highlander, Victor for example )
i just took that number to visualize that the quirks didnt bring variety but destroy variety in making one chassis here the BJ to the"flying egg laying Woolmilksow" providing all abilitys of a number of mechs in one
making those mechs obsolete in doing so

Victors? Has anyone seen victors sine after their JJ and mobility nerf? Highlanders? Awesomes? Atlas? Those 4 didn't exist in competitive play for almost a year, BEFORE the quirks on the BJ were implemented. The Banshee didn't get overturned, because it was still holding the DPS of a competitive assault mech, which is why it's still there even now.

Those mechs were obsoleted a long time ago, the BJ quirks didn't change that.

I can bring up the numbers of what we had before, and after the quirks, and we can look at how we got more variety, again. We've done that already. No one is saying the quirks system is perfect, but it's by far significantly better than no quirks.


View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

You say they will balance the quirks on the BJ

well i will believe that when i do see it - they may reduce the quiks minimalisticly but in the end the BJ will remain out of balance. I havent seen one single time a considerated dealing with quirks on IS side yet, maybe iam wrong but the past told me that - we will see.

You've been here since December, you haven't seen the quirks the IS had before. Anyone here remembers the PPC machine gun Thunderbolts?

Oh, and here're the Patch Notes. When discussing balance, it helps to look up patch notes, and announcements. Especially when they are mentioned repeatedly.


View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

I count that as a very heavy point against the quirk madness

I am with you in saying chassis specific balancing quirks would have its benefits

But that has not been happening one singe time in all the time iam playing this game - welcome to reality!

I don't think you're in reality, at all. I can be lame and list only ONE time when it has happened, but the reality is that they've made promises and delivered those promises consistently, and repeatedly over the past 1.5 years. Even before then, but I'm only counting after they separated from IGP.

So it's happened multiple times, consistently.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

I DO bother what other peole are writing even when it is blind white knighting, or what PGI is announcing
BUT what PGI is announcing and what we did get then in the end are two different stories true or not?

So you may forgive me some reasonable doubts there - it isnt so that we havnt been fooled at all in the past havnt we?

While you can have your doubts, PGI has had a near spotless record since mid 2014. Yes, you can be skeptical, but at least be reasonable.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

Mechs like the Atlas were loosing more and more of theyr purpose by quirking and the resulting increased damage output over ridiculous distances caused by quirkmonsters, so they needed quirks to stand a chance against former quirks thats the spiral i was talking about just in case you didnt read it

Not true. Before quirks showed up, the Atlas was losing presence compared to other assaults because they all could deliver damage better than the Atlas, and were more survivable. The DWF was the kiss of death for the Atlas. It introduced a level of firepower the Atlas had almost no chance of matching, unless the Atlas was within 200 meters of the DWF.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

You asked why one would take a Commando over a Firestarter

Answer. SPEED!


LOL, what? They both move at very similar speeds, and the firestart has JJs, and packs 5 times the firepower (this is coming from a Commando specialist, btw). The difference in speed between 150, and 170 is almost negligible when the Firestarter can out-maneuver the Commando, by circumventing terrain obstacles, and out-gunning it by carrying at least 5 times the firepower.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

A Hunchback over a IIC? or the Jenny over a IIC
Answer: ARMOR and Survivability as *** IIC s have paper armor

That's another BS statement. Both carry the same tonnage, and can pack the same amount of armor. The IICs also have XL engines that don't die to ST loss, lighter weapons, euqal or superior hardpoint count, and pack more firepower, and in the case of the HBK-IIC: JJs.


View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

you do see youre leading your own words about just 200 players want to be ompetetive in whole MWO ad absurdum yes?

Since we already addressed the definition of "competitive" and "not wanting to win" as being two different things, we don't need to repeat it here.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

how do you come to that conclusion from what i d write?


Because even if that's not what you intend for, that's what will happen. We go back to mechs relying only on their harpdpoints, and geometry, clan mechs will go back to dominating, since they have omni pods, better engines, superior weapons, and customizability. Which was the case before quirks showed up.

The other prong your argument could go for was sized hardpoints, because you said "their ability to fit certain weapons". Sized hardpoints are bad, and don't solve the boating problem, as has been proven, and discussed over at least 8 sized hardpoint threads I've witnessed. Sized hardpoints don't even achieve the "certain weapons" aspect, because if they let you mount a big gun, then any weapon can fit.

Not to mention that there was no such thing in BT. You could fit any weapon, on any mech, as long as you had the tonnage and slots.

So even if you didn't intend it, or didn't think it through. I (and many others), have. We've seen it back when clans first came out, and we've seen it even before then. We've even seen it in the competitive scene in both Battletech TT, and other Mechwarrior games (most notoriously MW4).

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

I dont want op on neither side i want a considered specific nieche creating usable concept in the game where mechs like the hollander have its purpose,.. <you say it would fit in - maybe but will it be used ? NO because it isnt needed.

The Urbie isn't needed either, and look at how popular it is. It's barely a viable mech, and it's still a loved mech that people not only wanted, but campaigned for since the days when MWO was still an announcement.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

do you realize you are delivering the answer yourself? without additional quirks no Chassis will be used
Thats how far thequirks have brought MWO, applause applause

The quirks would allow it to be competitive. Without quirks it's still viable, because the Gauss Rifle is a good weapon. It's just a bad way to play a light mech. The quirks would make the Hollander above average, because believe me, without quirks in MWO at all, the Hollander would be a Tier 5 light mech, that no one would use. With quirks, it can jump up to above average, and be usable.

Go ahead, and build one using a Firestarter, and let me know how that turns out. It's fun, but it's not a good mech at all.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

Its purpose, its nieche is destroyed; or more taken by quirk mechs that provide ALL abilitys in ONE or very FEW chassis

And that is the absolute opposite of diversity

Once again, you are wrong. It's purpose is destroyed simply by the fact that it's not a good mech. It was only good back when most light mechs moved at very slow speeds, and even then, if your enemy had a single locust on the board, you can bet it's gonna run behind it, and kill it in one turn, without being hit by the Hollander.

That mech was simply a cheap way to get a Gauss Rifle on the board, because GRs are really good. The weapon is good, the mech is terrible.

Quirks would at least give it flavor, and help it get a niche that isn't useless.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

Maybe the AC 20 Raven isnt against the lore but against physics. A Robot with more than half its overall weight mountet in one cannon on one side can not walk it will tilt to the weighted side because there is gravity

Ignoring how physics shouldn't be in this discussion, according to BT lore, and physics, it doesn't violate anything.

The mech's skeleton is built to handle 35 tons of equipment. You mounted 35 tons of equipment on it. Now maybe it would be off balance, but it has the ability to fix that, thanks to it's myomers, and the fact that the neurohelmet allows the pilots to balance the mech properly.

So no, it doesn't even violate BT physics. If the AC 20 raven violates physics, btw, then so does your beloved Hollander. Especially since it's carrying an even heavier weapon.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

Quirks do not create good hardpoint diversity they do create BOATING

Now that's the first valid point you've had since we've started this discussion.

Yes, quirks can lead to boating. However, they are not the cause for boating, nor did they create boating. Not only did boating exist in tabletop (there's an entire category of mechs, dedicated specifically to boats), but it existed in MWO since closed Alpha.

Now here's a little exercise: take a scroll through the list of mechs in MWO. Then look at how many of them have an equal spread of hardpoints, and then try and make viable builds with them, while ignoring quirks.

This has nothing to do with quirks, we've always boated one or two systems, because it's simpler, and more efficient. Builds with a diverse weapon spread are NOT good. Jack of all trade, generalist builds are mediocre at every range, and always inferior to their opponent's build at that mech's preferred range.

This is an argument that comes from the stock mech mindset. Stock mechs were bad. They were awful. They were canonically, the refuse, and what's left from half-good technology. Look at the mechs built before 3065, and after 3065. Do they still build them like they did tech 1 mechs? Of course not.


While TT mechs are all general purpose, because they're meant to have a semblance to reality, that's not the case in MWO, where every mech is custom built to fit the pilot's intended purpose.

If you look at competitive TT matches where they don't use stock tech 1 mechs. They all tend to boat one, maybe two weapon types.



View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

Quirks do not support variety in builds they do artificially boost ONE certain (quirked) build that one build you will see played in the dozen no matter how far of reality your white knighting may be

This is not white knighting. I have my gripes with PGI, lord knows I do. I'm disagreeing with you on this one, because your arguments are flimsy, and your suggestion would ruin the game, especially considering we know exactly what would happen, since we were there, when what you suggested, was the norm. Also, don't try to dismiss an argument by calling it "white knighting" when I'm presenting viable, testable, and confirmed points.

While quirks can maximize one particular build, they actually come in two varieties on every mech, general weapon quirks, and then specific weapon quirks. So any build you run can benefit from the bonuses. One particular build can end up being more efficient than it's non-quirked version, but quirks help ALL builds. The HBK-4SP has SRM quirks, and missile quirks. I can run any missile weapon I want on it, and it will perform better than standard. I can run SRMs on it, and they will perform better than standard.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

I d choose the atlas because i do play it mayself and can say something about its abilities
because i tend to speak of facts i did test myself bevore typing instead of white knighting
The Atlas was bevore Quirks and even bevore clans a very useful mech, as were the Highlanders
Clans as Wave I came did bring to many advantages andwere nerfed

but another player did give a very good statemet to that so i ll answer you with the words of Lily from animove

There are actually a lot of holes in Lily's comment, but she certainly presented a more realistic, and factual argument than you have.

Especially considering that whenever you run into an argument you can't deal with, you just call it "white knighting". Even though you're absolutely wrong.

Let's look at how often the Atlas was used competitively before quirks: Almost zero, until you go back as far as mid 2013, when ECM spam was all the rage. Then, and earlier, yes, it was viable. Of course, only the DDC was viable, and the other reason it was used so often, was because we only had 3 assault mechs by then (stalker, Atlas, and Awesome), and stalkers were still more common.

The minute the Victors came out, the Atlas was on the endangered species list. Highlanders practically ended the Atlas, and the age of poptarting made sure it was good and dead. When Wave 1 showed up, it just confirmed that the Atlas is done for.

So no, before quirks only the DDC was usable (1 variant), more because we didn't have other assault mechs, than because it was good. We simply didn't have other choices. Which is why the more assault mechs were added, the fewer Atlases were on the field.

Look, you clearly don't know what you're talking about. The highlanders dominated as the number one assault mech for a long time, and it wasn't until the JJ nerf that their dominance was curbed. Before the JJ nerf you either brought a Highlander or you didn't get to drop in comp play, because the poptart highlander was that good. They got nerfed, and Vitcors took over, until they were nerfed too.

Then there's the simple fact that I've played this game for far longer than you have. I have tested more mechs than you have, on both sides. Clan, and IS.

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

the player numbers tell us the sad truth Quirk and Nerf idiotism drove many away some left the game completely others just left sides


and we also got more players after the quirks. Balancing IS mechs with clan mechs also turned a lot of players away, because they wanted their OP clan mechs, and 'I WIN" buttons. So should we accommodate such manchildren? That tells us we had a lot of immature people who couldn't handle the game being played anyway other than theirs

View PostRusshuster, on 15 February 2016 - 11:44 AM, said:

you may white knight all you want and i am the opinion you should get a reward by PGI for doing so

maybe some reality glasses

Look, I've been courteous during this whole discussion, despite the fact that you're both uninformed on the subject matter, and refuse to look into any real information.

You can keep dismiss my legitimate arguments as "white knighting", but the truth is that you have no leg to stand on, with your arguments, and no counter arguments to mine. So the best you can do is call white knighting, and hide.

That's fine, but let me assure you that you are very much wrong. We have the data from all the years prior to quirks and it proves that you're wrong.

You can also call me a white knight all you want, but people who've been around for far longer than you have, know that I'm not one. Nor am I a PGI fanboy. I have my gripes with them. I'm just rational about what's good for the game, not what appeases your own ego of how the game should be.

#103 Bud Crue

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Posted 16 February 2016 - 03:49 AM

Balance.

To me it comes down to 1 simple truth. You don't have to like it but it is the way it is:

Quirks and other modifiers are the way PGI has decided to try and balance their game. There you have it. For good or ill. Its the system we have.

We can ***** and moan about the quirks (and we ALL do to one extent or another) but that is the way it is, and the way it shall be in the future. Sure we can point to INSTANCES where the devs got some mods wrong (too much Black Jack structure) and mock them for it and/or suggest corrections changes to them (as nearly everyone both clan and IS did in re the Black Jack); but to use one instance...or even a dozen instances...to argue that "the system is broken!" is just, well irrelevant. Its the system we have and there is no indication that the devs are going to suddenly ditch it.

Today we all get to find out how the Devs latest tweeks to the mods will affect game play. I expect no real changes for the VAST, VAST majority of players. Will a couple of "comp" builds perhaps change? Maybe. Will the "meta" shift back to more brawling builds on the IS side? Maybe.

But most of us frankly won't notice ANY appreciable difference with today's changes (e.g: oh no you have to get 100m closer to snipe with an IS erll! Oh wait, at T4 no one has the patience to snipe at extreme range for more than a couple of shots anyway and besides your mouse settings are so bad you're only scratching my paint anyway).

Even if I am wrong about the affect of the changes, I have no fear...people will find something to complain about.

#104 SockSlayer

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Posted 16 February 2016 - 06:32 AM

I play both clan and is mechs quite often and here's what I can see. Inner Sphere is just abit under clans in power of the the mechs in actual strength, but IS has the major units right now, making clan seem weaker than it really is, so player skill does come into play.

But after these changes in the Feb 16th patch that are about to happen, may seem to give clans an unfair advantage especially with beam range extension, but remember that the clans already had their range nerfed recently on small and medium lasers, so all this is doing is undoing that. The MASC changes will only benefit very few mechs, and does not really determine much. The Energy Range quirk reduction won't hurt bigger mechs much, but lights or any mech using flamers or small lasers will really feel the pain.

Since getting rid of quirks looks like the goal of the developers, the one good way I can think of to offset the issues caused by the lack of quirks are:

-change the range of weapons themselves that are in badly need of it. LRMs, no matter the mech, has acceptable range, while flamers historically in other battletech games have had more range, thus using them in MWO is very hard, and most players I've heard in game think you are brave or stupid to use them, so extending range to 150m (max range only) should help, it couldn't hurt to give machine guns a little more range either.

-since the removal of all quirks in game will really hurt IS lights(as they have the most quirks typically), it might help to remove the 10 minimum heat sink requirement (for lights only, most bigger mechs have 10 anyway from engine size) so that one can fit more armor/weapons, especially if all they have is machine guns.

-also, quirks may be gone soon, but what about modules unlocked with gxp like weapon range/cooldown buffs? If they are staying, then I recommend pgi buff the shorter range weapon modules (perhaps 20% more range/cooldown vs 10%).

If all quirks were removed today, these are what I would do to offset it(especially the removal of the minimum heat sink limit for lights). What do you think about these changes?

#105 RincewindWizzard

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Posted 16 February 2016 - 01:02 PM

The problem is not clan vs IS balance. The problem is that certian IS chassis and certian Clan chassis are really bad and others good.

#106 CaptainIvan

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Posted 16 February 2016 - 05:28 PM

i just can't wait for a full mechwarrior game to be developed ( like the older MW games)

#107 Unknown Pwn

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Posted 16 February 2016 - 06:33 PM

Whoever is crying about Clans being underpowered has never fired a quad rack of C- LRM 20's from a medium mech at 0 range or a single time used a macro'd C-UAC20 much less a /10/5 or 2, and for that matter SSRM 6's.

Go home. Get some tissue papper and start driving IS mechs exclusively. And cry to your hearts content.

#108 iLLcapitan

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Posted 17 February 2016 - 04:01 AM

View PostUnknown Pwn, on 16 February 2016 - 06:33 PM, said:

Whoever is crying about Clans being underpowered has never fired a quad rack of C- LRM 20's from a medium mech at 0 range


LOL

#109 IraqiWalker

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Posted 17 February 2016 - 11:19 PM

View PostBud Crue, on 16 February 2016 - 03:49 AM, said:

Balance.

To me it comes down to 1 simple truth. You don't have to like it but it is the way it is:

Quirks and other modifiers are the way PGI has decided to try and balance their game. There you have it. For good or ill. Its the system we have.

We can ***** and moan about the quirks (and we ALL do to one extent or another) but that is the way it is, and the way it shall be in the future. Sure we can point to INSTANCES where the devs got some mods wrong (too much Black Jack structure) and mock them for it and/or suggest corrections changes to them (as nearly everyone both clan and IS did in re the Black Jack); but to use one instance...or even a dozen instances...to argue that "the system is broken!" is just, well irrelevant. Its the system we have and there is no indication that the devs are going to suddenly ditch it.

Today we all get to find out how the Devs latest tweeks to the mods will affect game play. I expect no real changes for the VAST, VAST majority of players. Will a couple of "comp" builds perhaps change? Maybe. Will the "meta" shift back to more brawling builds on the IS side? Maybe.

But most of us frankly won't notice ANY appreciable difference with today's changes (e.g: oh no you have to get 100m closer to snipe with an IS erll! Oh wait, at T4 no one has the patience to snipe at extreme range for more than a couple of shots anyway and besides your mouse settings are so bad you're only scratching my paint anyway).

Even if I am wrong about the affect of the changes, I have no fear...people will find something to complain about.

View PostIndependence MK2, on 16 February 2016 - 06:32 AM, said:

I play both clan and is mechs quite often and here's what I can see. Inner Sphere is just abit under clans in power of the the mechs in actual strength, but IS has the major units right now, making clan seem weaker than it really is, so player skill does come into play.

But after these changes in the Feb 16th patch that are about to happen, may seem to give clans an unfair advantage especially with beam range extension, but remember that the clans already had their range nerfed recently on small and medium lasers, so all this is doing is undoing that. The MASC changes will only benefit very few mechs, and does not really determine much. The Energy Range quirk reduction won't hurt bigger mechs much, but lights or any mech using flamers or small lasers will really feel the pain.

Since getting rid of quirks looks like the goal of the developers, the one good way I can think of to offset the issues caused by the lack of quirks are:

-change the range of weapons themselves that are in badly need of it. LRMs, no matter the mech, has acceptable range, while flamers historically in other battletech games have had more range, thus using them in MWO is very hard, and most players I've heard in game think you are brave or stupid to use them, so extending range to 150m (max range only) should help, it couldn't hurt to give machine guns a little more range either.

-since the removal of all quirks in game will really hurt IS lights(as they have the most quirks typically), it might help to remove the 10 minimum heat sink requirement (for lights only, most bigger mechs have 10 anyway from engine size) so that one can fit more armor/weapons, especially if all they have is machine guns.

-also, quirks may be gone soon, but what about modules unlocked with gxp like weapon range/cooldown buffs? If they are staying, then I recommend pgi buff the shorter range weapon modules (perhaps 20% more range/cooldown vs 10%).

If all quirks were removed today, these are what I would do to offset it(especially the removal of the minimum heat sink limit for lights). What do you think about these changes?


Now if only we could have more discussion handled like you two did this one.

#110 DivineEvil

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Posted 18 February 2016 - 03:30 AM

I don't really see quirks being removed. At this point even suggesting such a possibility is absurd. There's no other way of directly adjusting the relative capability ratings for different mechs, but quirks. The idea of PGI having a goal of quirk removal is severely outdated and nothing in the present state of the game or recent changes really suggest it.

It's only comes down to approtriately using them to adjust inferior mechs and variants, and developing a proper quirk distribution methodology, much preferably based on technical readout's definitions. An Awesome, as much as some people would argue for or prefer, is not a PPC mech. An Awesome has different variants with different weapon loadouts. What really distincts the Awesome is it's armor. It's a frontline siege engine with low speed and high duraility. This is what techincal readouts says, and what stock parameters suggest. Even as an LRM support, stock Awesome is more durable, than a Battlemaster, and it's the reason behind its name.

Thus, quirks should place an emphasis on that, rather than misfiguring it into a glass-cannon boating sniper. Giving an Awesome an armor strength bonus over all variants, together with other minor bonuses to other fields to differentiate them, will make an Awesome a tanky assault it always meant to be, and will remove the "barndoor" stigma, the same way additional structure did for an Atlas.

Same is true for over the half of mechs we have at the moment. Almost no mechs in current roster are quirked to at least marginally represent their deviced roles. There's too many misplaced quirks, and there's too many different quirks per mech. I left to hope PGI will eventually grasp that idea to facilitate the long-demand role warfare.

#111 Bud Crue

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Posted 18 February 2016 - 04:19 AM

View PostDivineEvil, on 18 February 2016 - 03:30 AM, said:

Same is true for over the half of mechs we have at the moment. Almost no mechs in current roster are quirked to at least marginally represent their deviced roles. There's too many misplaced quirks, and there's too many different quirks per mech. I left to hope PGI will eventually grasp that idea to facilitate the long-demand role warfare.


Totally agree with the premise. The problem however is that many of the e-sports folks including, apparently PGI, could not care less about "roles" atm. Or at least that is the perception they give.

A crude generalization: The role of a mech is to keep up with the murder ball and to maximize its ability to alpha for as long as possible. Doing anything else with your build, regardless of the mech, its lore, etc. is a failure to play the game right. As long as they view point is predominate, quirks will be more about that, than making mechs feel unique (why have unique when you can have more LPLs!).

#112 DivineEvil

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Posted 18 February 2016 - 05:18 AM

View PostBud Crue, on 18 February 2016 - 04:19 AM, said:


Totally agree with the premise. The problem however is that many of the e-sports folks including, apparently PGI, could not care less about "roles" atm. Or at least that is the perception they give.

A crude generalization: The role of a mech is to keep up with the murder ball and to maximize its ability to alpha for as long as possible. Doing anything else with your build, regardless of the mech, its lore, etc. is a failure to play the game right. As long as they view point is predominate, quirks will be more about that, than making mechs feel unique (why have unique when you can have more LPLs!).

I would certainly not call PGI related to e-sports in any way. Simple appeal for performing a tournament for their game is not an indication of PGI's stand on what goal they have in mind, if any. PGI had no prior experience of balancing anything at all, which by itself a respectable excuse for seemingly chaotic balancing process in MWO. Ever since the MWO release, the value adjustments seems not to follow the "certain idea of playing the game right", but rather the "environment, where playing is at least sustainable", where only the critical, game-breaking errors in balance are adjusted ASAP.

Problems with alpha-strike mentality and laser-vomit domination across the competetive scene are both unrelated to application or extents of quirks, but are originating from an invalid heat management values, although these are affecting the quirks also, making them inequally important and sought-for.

Edited by DivineEvil, 18 February 2016 - 05:20 AM.


#113 Bud Crue

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Posted 18 February 2016 - 07:17 AM

View PostDivineEvil, on 18 February 2016 - 05:18 AM, said:

I would certainly not call PGI related to e-sports in any way. Simple appeal for performing a tournament for their game is not an indication of PGI's stand on what goal they have in mind, if any. PGI had no prior experience of balancing anything at all, which by itself a respectable excuse for seemingly chaotic balancing process in MWO. Ever since the MWO release, the value adjustments seems not to follow the "certain idea of playing the game right", but rather the "environment, where playing is at least sustainable", where only the critical, game-breaking errors in balance are adjusted ASAP.

Problems with alpha-strike mentality and laser-vomit domination across the competetive scene are both unrelated to application or extents of quirks, but are originating from an invalid heat management values, although these are affecting the quirks also, making them inequally important and sought-for.


Maybe you are right, but Russ has mentioned a desire for players to take a more of a e-sports view of the game and his hope to push the game in that direction repeatedly. Seems to me that if the pres. is pushing that agenda, then it seems reasonable to assume that the devs would be pushing the game in that direction, with quirks, game play changes, etc.

As to the quirks and comp play, it seems to me that those quirks which cause the greatest consternation, at least of late, with the comp crowd are not those related to heat management, but rather range. To wit, the recent kerfuffle regarding IS ERLL on certain chassis. I for one did not see a 100m difference in range -for certain mechs, with a specific weapon- to be "game breaking" yet, the forums were full of folks from the upper tiers claiming otherwise. The "problem" was nearly exclusive to high level play, and had nothing to do with heat management, yet was apparently perceived by some as a critical issue that needed fixing ASAP. The resulting nerf to IS range -via a change in quirks- will not significantly affect those playing at the lower tiers or in pug matches. IMO this issue and this result was ALL about comp play.

I still agree with you however that quirks really need a complete rework to give each mech and each variant some sort of character or role. This would be in keeping with Paul's stated goals behind the whole balance concept, and I think would make the game more diverse and fun, revitalize underused chassis, and make the purchase of mech packs more lucrative for PGI and more desirable. If we get there by trying to keep the base happy or by quirking to keep comp players happy, I couldn't care less. :)

#114 Jack Spade Ward

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Posted 19 February 2016 - 06:40 PM

View PostAce Selin, on 06 February 2016 - 05:55 PM, said:

This is so funny.

The New Clan meta is brawlers, be it Dakka, SRM or small lasers. Every map bar Borreal supports this play style & i can tell you it works extremely well for our unit. You need to evolve. Save the LRMs on Borreal with a dedicated narcer.

Yep, you are right. Since i left the clans to be IS, the meta has indeed changed... been fighting clans on CW...
Still, they cant brawl like IS mechs ;)

#115 Richter Kerensky

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Posted 20 February 2016 - 12:05 AM

View PostSpadejack, on 04 February 2016 - 04:01 PM, said:

Clans use LRMS now because there isnt any other weapon system that works well! If you had played at least a year, you would see that the meta on the clans were the laser vomit build


LRMs are not a good weapon on Clan or IS. Everyone moving away from lasers was an overreaction to the Clan heatsink and range nerfs, where previously Clan lasers were significantly better than IS lasers in all categories.

#116 DivineEvil

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Posted 20 February 2016 - 02:28 AM

View PostBud Crue, on 18 February 2016 - 07:17 AM, said:

Maybe you are right, but Russ has mentioned a desire for players to take a more of a e-sports view of the game and his hope to push the game in that direction repeatedly. Seems to me that if the pres. is pushing that agenda, then it seems reasonable to assume that the devs would be pushing the game in that direction, with quirks, game play changes, etc.
Indeed, I remember that, but all things considered, PGI do not yet actually made any changes specifically from an e-sports standpoint. What I'm trying to imply, is that recent changes are easier to be attributed to CW behavior and not to an actual Quick-Play style gameplay, so it might not be wise to assume, that everything PGI tweak at this moment has a direct relation to the tournament, or at least there is a distinction based on potential impact of these changes.

For example, you can easily conclude, that Energy Range changes is mostly a response to monotonous behavior in CW matches, while Flamer change is more impactful for Quick-Play matches and future tournament, where competetive teams might use it as the tool to counteract laser-vomit tactics, but has little to no effect on CW nonetheless.

Quote

As to the quirks and comp play, it seems to me that those quirks which cause the greatest consternation, at least of late, with the comp crowd are not those related to heat management, but rather range. To wit, the recent kerfuffle regarding IS ERLL on certain chassis. I for one did not see a 100m difference in range -for certain mechs, with a specific weapon- to be "game breaking" yet, the forums were full of folks from the upper tiers claiming otherwise. The "problem" was nearly exclusive to high level play, and had nothing to do with heat management, yet was apparently perceived by some as a critical issue that needed fixing ASAP. The resulting nerf to IS range -via a change in quirks- will not significantly affect those playing at the lower tiers or in pug matches. IMO this issue and this result was ALL about comp play.
Well, it wasn't a solid two-sided conflict. From one standpoint, it was the issue in CW environment, where ERLLs were abused to incomprehensible extent. I had my fair share of arguments with these people, who saw that 100m advantage as absurd in IS/Clan balance framework. For me it was nothing but an opinion of mediocre Clan groups dropping in CW and having problems countering a single weapon on few selected variants of mechs on few specific maps, which has less than nothing to do with an actual competetive scene of the game.

On the other hand, the mere idea of having up to 35% range bonuses for instant-hit, 100% accurate weapons is obscene from the general balance standpoint. This metric were effectively bringing quirked 2xERLL stack to a range profile of a Gauss Rifle, without dealing with projectile nature, explosive crits, limited ammo, chargeup mechanics and large size/volume requirements, merely on the basis of specific variants. Where people argued against these range quirks on behalf of the game balance as it is, it was indeed valid argument for better variation in competetive part of the game.

The problem that arisen from these range nerfs, as I feared it would be, they were not compensated nearly enough, if at all, which made those particular variants, that quite many players bought just for abusing range quirk, likely became inferior to their analogues. Even if not, it still could've caused a sweep of frustration from those players.

Quote

I still agree with you however that quirks really need a complete rework to give each mech and each variant some sort of character or role. This would be in keeping with Paul's stated goals behind the whole balance concept, and I think would make the game more diverse and fun, revitalize underused chassis, and make the purchase of mech packs more lucrative for PGI and more desirable. If we get there by trying to keep the base happy or by quirking to keep comp players happy, I couldn't care less. Posted Image
This is my number two problem with PGI current development methodology, after the invalid heat management and before the use of quirks for balancing ISvsClans. This comprehensible, role-dictating quirk rework was something I've expected to happen when Russ has announced it on the Town Hall preceding the Public Test Server sessions, but unfortunately it just went out just as random and purposeless as it was prior.

The idea of Roles, a.k.a. Class system is nothing new to online gamers these days - almost everyone already got used to that Fighter/Tank, Slayer/Assassin, Rogue/Ranger and Wizard/Cleric classical party pattern, and funny enough the present Battletech 'mech pool withing the present time-line fits into that layout almost perfectly. it's unclear whether PGI are repulsive or oddly unaware of how much improvement it would bring to MWO if it were introduced trough applying quirks in a justified, comprehensible form, and how it would likely make everyone happy...
Posted Image

Edited by DivineEvil, 20 February 2016 - 02:30 AM.


#117 Bud Crue

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Posted 20 February 2016 - 07:53 AM

Divine,

Well said.

I like the "balance" that we seem to be approaching (perhaps are already there?), and if it has been achieved due to PGI's desire to provide better "comp" play or a better CW experience is frankly irrelevant to me. Overall I think they are doing a fairly good job in the end result. My biggest criticisms are really more about the perception they create when they appear to fall all over themselves to placate the very vocal complaints of what is by their own admission a very small part of the game playing population.

As to roles. YES! While certainly we should have role specific mechs, it also boggles me that this game has no aspect of personal development or "leveling" that nearly all other successful games seem to have. Alas, I had hoped they would have redone the skills tree to give us this sort of thing. Some sort of mechanism to build an identity along the lines you express (e.g. I have focused my "character's" skills on the recon path, thus gaining a 15% enemy detection range bonus and a 10% speed of acquisition bonus, etc.). If they can give this sort of feel with quirks, great, but I think something more focused on the individual player would do at least as much to encourage long term investment and diversity of play.

But however they do it, they need to provide some aspect of individuality and distinction, otherwise folks are just going to get bored.

#118 dj_

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Posted 20 February 2016 - 09:39 AM

Reactive armor 1 for each weapon type. Used as a consumable. Problem solved in my opinion. Use it like a cool shot or arty strike with a duration time. Where is reactive armor?

#119 DivineEvil

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Posted 20 February 2016 - 12:37 PM

View PostSixpackSeven, on 20 February 2016 - 09:39 AM, said:

Reactive armor 1 for each weapon type. Used as a consumable. Problem solved in my opinion. Use it like a cool shot or arty strike with a duration time. Where is reactive armor?

http://www.sarna.net.../Reactive_Armor

#120 dj_

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Posted 20 February 2016 - 05:09 PM

View PostDivineEvil, on 20 February 2016 - 12:37 PM, said:



http://www.sarna.net...eflective_Armor


I know it is not time line. Is PGI going to stick to the time line? I was under the impression all that is going out the window.





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