Ex Atlas Overlord, on 20 July 2016 - 12:47 PM, said:
Step 1) Balance a mechs combat ability based on a ratio. For example, pretend PGI comes to it's senses and realizes it should take 4 light mechs working together to bring down an assault in direct combat.
Step 2) Implement drop ships for solo / group Q.
Step 3) Implement drop deck for solo /group Q.
Step 4) Assign each player a tonnage, based on the previously decided ratios
Aka, no one could drop in a locust and expect to lolpwn a direwolf in a firefight by themselves...but they could bring 3 or 4 mechs to the fight rather than a single dire...
The players that preferred light mechs would all bring multiple lights and participate in multiple light swarms and / or multiple chances to scout and relay information.
The players that preferred mediums / heavies / assaults would each bring a smaller number of mechs respectively, but their mechs are balanced combat wise against the number of mechs of a lower weight class.
For example a player could bring a timber wolf (and assuming said player had a brawling build) and realistically expect to out brawl multiple enemy lights before being seriously damaged or killed (rather than a single lights alpha or two we have currently)....but if 3 or so grouped and worked together would go down in a short time (aka the time it takes now for a single light to alpha, poke alpha over 3 seconds for 70 damage).
This may even open the door for PGI to allow numerically uneven clan vs IS fights...
Here is what is wrong with your assumptions.
That there isn't already a ratio in place. There is. There are several tonnage based limitations in place. A light mech can not exceed it's chassis's armor capacity or it's tonnage's total weight payload.
A 20 ton mech has 138 armor cap while a 100 ton assault mech has 614 armor cap.
A 20 ton mech has around 13 tons of payload for engine and weapons after maxing it's armor.
A 100 ton mech has around 73 tons of payload post capping armor.
Do you not see that a ratio that limits power is already in place. It's not like the Light mech can ever have the ability to single alpha kill a well designed assault mech. The opposite is not true.
You seem to think that tonnage is the deciding factor in mech capability. It's not.Pilot ability plays a large role.
A team is composed of 12 players. Any player should be as relevant as any other player. By artificially reducing the capabilities of mechs based on tonnage Or even increasing the power level you create an obvious choice that is superior to any other choice.
I constantly see posts from players who make a lot of assumptions about what an assault mech should be doing and what a light mech should not be doing.You do not want mechs balanced you want targets that fold like paper and do not present any challenges to over come.
The primary characteristics that make up a mechs capabilities are
ONE size: smaller is harder to hit
TWO speed faster is harder to hit
THREE Absorption: Armor and structure dictate how much a mech can take before being destroyed
FOUR Weapon payload: Dictated mainly by tonnage. High payload frequently translates directly to offensive power.
A locust rates the highest in small size and speed while also rating the lowest for absorption and payload. A Direwolf is opposite with high payload and absorption. This seems pretty fair. The Direwolf can with one successful alpha strike kill a Locust. The Locust can not do the same so must remain exposed to counter fire longer to meet the same damage output from a single alpha of a Direwolf. I nessence the direwolf needs to hit ONCE the locust will need to land several alpha strikes to kill a Direwolf.
And let's flip the coin over.
Would a light mech be worth the same "points" if it were 1/4 the power of an assault mech?
Should a point of damage inflicted on a light be worth the same? Should a light mech kill be 25% an assault mech kill? Should a light mech that does solo a Direwolf get 4x the XP and C-Bills for it since it was four times the difficulty?
And here is why you plan is utter trash...
A team is 12 players.
If team blue took all light mechs and team red took all assault mechs the power ratio would be a factor of four in favor of the team that chose assault mechs.
Since only 12 players on a team are active at once the assault mechs should win every engagment mathamaticly speaking.
The 12 light mechs "wolfpack" but run across an assault mech "herd" the lights are not going to win this fight when each and every herd member is equal to four wolves. To make this a fair fight the light mechs would need 48 mechs active at once.
But you said there is a dropship...let us assume that taking a light mech allows for 4 mechs while taking the assault mech allows for 1 mech on the drop ship.
The assault mechs will still win due to a higher ratio of attrition on the light mechs. To grasp this you need to think in partial effects instead of whole kills. And you need to take into account a "typical" light mech design compared to a "typical" assault mech.
How difficult is it for 12 direwolves to kill 12 locusts if the direwolves were 4x the power of a Locust? Keep in mind that the to kill a locust you need to take out it's XL engine it's CT or leg all of those require ONE alpha strike that deals around 30 damage (very typical) The Direwolves need not deplete an entire mech's worth of armor and structure they need to deal 30 damage to any one location that isn't an arm.
Basically your plan is so poorly thought out it would result in mech choices being reduced to heavy and assault and only the top performers of those classes because due to the artificial ratio you want impose minmaxing is MANDATORY on a singular mech scale.
Edited by Lykaon, 20 July 2016 - 03:08 PM.
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