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Most every mech that matters competitively right now is laser vomit because laser vomit allows for 50+ point alphas without ghost heat or other penalties.
When I say options, I don't mean meta options. Hang the meta, Im self aware enough to know when a build is **** but I still build and run mechs I find fun, not mechs I know will get the other team spamming general discussion threads about this or that weapon OP pls nerf.
Quicksilver Kalasa, on 04 April 2016 - 12:58 PM, said:
It has builds, but only two really matter, and both are on the STK-4N. Let's not even bring LRMs into consideration, so that leaves mostly lasers and srms, doesn't sound that diverse to me. Sure it could do PPCs, but there are better options.
Stalkers have a ton of hardpoints across a ton of variants. Iv run ER laser stalkers, pulse laser stalkers, and back in the day I used to love running the medium laser srm brawlstalker.
OPTIONS.
Quicksilver Kalasa, on 04 April 2016 - 12:58 PM, said:
Or because that's really their only advantage over the Jager, because low mount ballistics aren't good, just ask the Battlemasters how often they reliably use ballistics.
But its there if people want to use it. If you wanted to strap an ultra autocannon on to your thunderbolt you could. I wouldn't the build kind of sucks, but what that means is in the future, when we have more weapons to play with, you could potentially see thunderbolts running hybrid builds with perhaps light gauss rifles or other weapons of that nature. Very likely alot of it will be non-meta perhaps bordering on crap, but again..
OPTIONS
Quicksilver Kalasa, on 04 April 2016 - 12:58 PM, said:
2D2 runs pretty much one build (AC10 and SRMs). The 2K runs 3 lasers, end of list.
You apparently havent seen many shadow hawks. Iv run everything from PPCs and SRMs on the 2k to jump sniper shadowhawks way back in the day, to 2d2s with ac20s, to triple AC2 shadowhawks. I almost never run the triple ER large shadowhawk because its boring ****.
Not all these builds are meta, but again
OPTIONS
Quicksilver Kalasa, on 04 April 2016 - 12:58 PM, said:
6R is the one to run PPCs on, doing lasers on it is worthless because the 6D does it better. The Warhammers are somewhat flexible as a chassis, but not individually, the Black Widow relies on ballistics, 6R on PPCs, 6D on lasers, and the 7S doesn't matter.
So you just agreed with me, the warhammer presents you with OPTIONS.
Quicksilver Kalasa, on 04 April 2016 - 12:58 PM, said:
I question what you think is reasonable.
I dont care what you think is reasonable. I dont care what SJR runs in their comp drop decks. I literally could not give less of a ****. If clicking on robots is the only way people validate themselves then they need to go outside for a bit, maybe get a job.
Quicksilver Kalasa, on 04 April 2016 - 12:58 PM, said:
Actually not, having this many mechs without having them be eclipsed by others IS to pigeon hole mechs. Sorry but customization can in fact be the bane of diversity with regards to the meta, so pigeon holing (or more appropriately termed specialized mechs) is necessary.
Let me drop a bit of game designer talk on you since im sitting in front of unity right now pounding out last minute assets for the game me and my group mates are presenting at the levelup competition in toronto on wednesday (I of course mention this to show you that technically im qualified to talk about these things with some kind of authority):
If you make a game, and your game is 50% customizing, and 50% combat, and then you release content that either interacts with exclusively the customizing (i.e. only half the game) or exclusively with the combat (i.e. only half the game), then that content should be reworked until it interacts with 100% of the game, or not released at all.
Consider the viper: It will probably see use on the battlefield filling a single role, and little else. The fact that it will minimally interface with the mechlab means that the mech is really only valuable for half the gameplay it should be good for. In other words, gameplay wise, its literally worth half the money. Im not talking about actual battlefield viability, or anything like that, this is purely a top down analysis of the flaws of such content from an outside perspective.
Consider on the flip side, the summoner: It rarely sees use on the field. It does really one thing OK, double PPC, and plenty of mechs do it better, so we can say with some certainty that the content minimally interfaces with about half the game. All the summoner does is sit in peoples' mech labs, taking up space, or occasionally being poked at when the meta changes and people want to see if the mech will perform. Thats it. Its just as bad as the viper, but in an opposite way.
Honestly I can tell you i might pick the mech up for cbills. 40 tons is a nice slot to fill and I expect the job it will do, it will do well. I wont buy it for real money because aside from being a relatively poor student, I understand how capitalism works, and I'm voting with my wallet. If PGI wants to continue releasing mechs the money they will get out of me will be for clan assaults, which I feel are more needed in the game right now. Now that the 40 ton gap is filled, I see there as being little reason NOT to put in an assault some time in the next few months.
Quicksilver Kalasa, on 04 April 2016 - 12:58 PM, said:
Now that said, the omnimech construction rules do harm customization too much, but it wouldn't really change much in what the Viper could do, only make it better at it and probably compete directly with the Jenner IIC without quirks.
Omnimech rules have failed in my opinion. PGI gets credit for trying, they really do, but future mechwarrior titles should take note. If you want Omni build rules, then stock loadouts must be adjusted to reflect the meta or the mechs will not see use. The only good omnis are the ones with enough podspace or engines of a reasonable size to make sure that whatever the meta, they have some battlefield viability. The omnis that do not see use are the ones with too little podspace, to large or too small engines, whos fixed components and constraints mean that the player cannot customize the mech in any way that matters.
You're right to say the viper would probably do the same thing, but that extra workable tonnage you might get from strapping on endo steel, shrinking the engine just a few ratings, stripping armour of components here and there, could be the difference between you running a double ER PPC (hot i know but its just an example) or light ballistic build rather than only lasers, just lasers, all the time, maybe with a few machine guns.
The Viper doesnt suck because its a viper, it sucks because you can't make it into what you want. Whether its meta or not, the fact that it will always go the same speed, and have more or less the same loadout, with the same strengths and weaknesses, is quite frankly insulting to the game.
I think i've argued my point enough. refer to this post if you have questions about my position on this mech.
TLDR, if you can't customize it, it should be changed so you can, or just not included. It doesnt matter whether those customizations are meta or not, players MUST be allowed that freedom in a game where having that freedom is a central pillar of gameplay.
