Drop Heat Capacity to 30 for all mechs, and remove the capacity stat from heatsinks.
Modify DHS dissipation to somewhere between 0.2 and 0.3 (I personally vote for 0.25).
That's it guys. That's the solution.
Big alphas? Can't possibly be any higher than current alphas, and you can't KEEP on doing them. You get one big alpha and that's it, you're sitting there cooling off from 98%. When most weapons have between 2 and 4 second cooldowns, you'll be waiting around sometimes as long as twice that time to clear the heat you just generated (if you alpha'd).
The thing is, you can still alpha. The system doesn't place weird contrived penalties on you for firing an alpha. You simply put yourself at a higher heat by the very nature of firing everything at once (as it should be), but you have the option of doing it! OMG OPTIONS!?!?!
Firing in chain or group fire will allow for more DPS, because heat will be going down over a longer period of time. Meanwhile, alphas will need to cool off after every shot, lowering their DPS. You have a choice of firing your big alpha, or firing for more DPS! OMG, OPTIONS!!!
If you're worried about large mechs having problems, then don't worry! More DHS means more dissipation than before! Heavy laser builds might seem nerfed, but don't forget that your DHS are clearing heat even as you fire those lasers! This means that with more DHS, you can actually regain those big alphas, if you're willing to spend the tonnage on DHS to do it. Even more options?!?!
The best part is, it's SO SIMPLE, and IT MAKES SENSE! Change a few values and BOOM, DONE! Afterwards, you can balance weapons simply by raising or lowering their heat little by little. A half point here, a full point there. Or, raise / lower the dissipation by a tiny ammount. Not liking how mechs feel at 0.25? Try 0.26! It's so easy!!!
Here, I'll even put together a little loadout and "boat" tester for you in a google spreadsheet. Change the values and play around a little with it. You might be surprised at what you find!
https://docs.google....dit?usp=sharing
Never forget, the best solutions are often the simplest ones!
Edited by GreenHell, 29 August 2016 - 07:49 PM.