ScarecrowES, on 27 February 2016 - 11:23 AM, said:
I don't disagree that the mechs you mention are potentially interesting. On the other hand, as Russ has said repeatedly, there are other interesting mechs, like the Linebacker, that are simply further ahead in line.
And at least the Linebacker offers us something that we don't really have. The over-engined nature of the mech is what makes it shine. It's basically a Stormcrow with a lot more armor and better hardpoint locations. This makes it sit in a very interesting position for CW. The MkII will just end up being yet another clan assault that has no point in that game mode (where the tonnage matters), and less used in pubs in favor of better assaults (where only class matters). The choice of using the MkII in pubs will only, then, come down to aesthetics. Just my opinion.
Nova Cat though... not sure. I never really cared for the mech. There were always better options in the class. I don't see how the Nova Cat unseats the Timberwolf here.
MK II has good hardpoints and a high engine cap so it can keep up without sacrificing too much to the fixed engine gods. That alone makes it worth taking, regardless of your opinion. To say it doesn't offer anything, but another over engined undergunned heavy mech does offer something new to the game, doesn't make any sense at all.
The linebacker is not a heavier stormcrow because the linebacker has 17 tons of podspace, the stormcrow 23. The linebacker is 10 tons heavier and has
Lucian Nostra, on 27 February 2016 - 11:21 AM, said:
...4 extra DHS and the 4 extra tons of armor...
which do a grand total of: nothing useful, especially if you use a mech like the summoner as an example of an over engined, very fast for its weight but comparatively undergunned mech. The maneuverability of the summoner does not save it from its utterly lackluster firepower, nor will the linebacker's maneuverability save it from its lack of firepower.
We've gone through this before. The Ice Ferret, Shadow Cat, Summoner, Gargoyle, Warhawk, and Executioner all suffer from these same problems. The Linebacker will not be different.
It also makes no sense that you dont care for the nova cat. That doesn't matter. Its a 70 tonner (equal to the summoner) with 38 tons of podspace fully armored and several variants have jumpjets. No mech in the game, save the direwolf perhaps, is that well armed. It has that firepower because its max speed is 65 kph, which is really all you need. There's no reason the nova cat shouldn't be the next clan heavy, except that they might prefer to add the night gyr, which is identical, but has locked hover jets and weighs in at 75 tons instead of 70 (which is why i'd rather have the nova cat).
Lucian Nostra, on 27 February 2016 - 11:21 AM, said:
hmm Pod space isn't everything.
It pretty much is. When it comes to the underperforming omnimechs, they all underperform because for their weight, they do not have enough workable weight to carry competitive firepower. And I don't mean competitive as in meta, I mean competitive as able to compete with other mechs of their weight. Compare a blackjack (even post nerf) to an ice ferret and a shadow cat and you will see my point. They can't go toe to toe, they are incapable of it, all because their firepower is limited to a certain tonnage that cannot be exceeded.
TLDR scarecrow, you're pulling a Khobai and writing off the Nova Cat, MK II, blood asp, and others, as DOA or useless because they don't appeal to you personally.
Edited by pbiggz, 27 February 2016 - 12:09 PM.