1. Increase time to kill (TTK). This was, in my opinion, the primary motivation behind adding ghost heat / Energy draw in the first place.
2. Reduce the effectiveness of boating weapons. My proposed changes will make mixed loadouts more viable. Boats will still retain their efficiency (same type weapons, cooldown, range, modules, etc) at the cost of a bit less damage, and I believe this tradeoff allows for a more balanced game.
3. Make brawling more viable. The effectiveness of laser/ballistic boats and sniper builds have severely limited most mechs' ability to brawl. My changes will make brawling more viable, which will inevitably add more build diversity.
4. Add more variety to the game. Along with more build variety, I hope to see an emergence of new tactics. With brawling made more viable, I hope to see more maneuvering around the map, rather than trading sniper fire around a central point. Flanking and similar tactics should be much more relevant.
Proposal 1: Damage Reduction based on weapon type (PLEASE READ ALL PROPOSALS)
For each firing group1 with two same-type weapons2, reduce the damage of the same-type weapons by a base 12%3. If a firing group exceeds two same-type weapons, an extra 2% damage penalty will be incurred for each additional same-type weapon3. Single-fired weapons are unaffected.4
1Firing group' refers to any group of weapons fired simultaneously, or one trigger pull. Any weapons fired within less than .5 seconds of one another, outside of the initial firing group, will incur the damage penalty (same "check" as ghost heat)
2Weapons will be split into four types; Energy, Ballistic, Missile, and Kinetic (see Proposal 3). If you fire two or more of the same type of weapon in a single firing group, you will incur a damage penalty. If such a penalty is incurred by a particular weapon type, it will not affect damage dealt by other weapon types (i.e Energy penalties will not affect Ballistic damage.)
3Most close-ranged weapons are exempt from all damage penalties (see Proposal 4)
4Chainfired weapons, or weapons which are fired at least .5 seconds after another firing group are not penalized. Additionally, if a firing group only contains 1 instance of a particular weapon type, that weapon will not be penalized. This is essentially a 12% damage boost to chainfired weapons and singular weapons in mixed builds. (See the mixed builds example for more on this.)
Proposal 2: Remove Ghost Heat
Ghost heat was designed to reduce the effectiveness of certain builds and to increase TTK. My system effectively covers both aspects and therefore, ghost heat is no longer needed.
Proposal 3: Gauss and PPCs are moved into their own weapon type: "Kinetic" (No longer Ballistic / Energy)
In order to bring this playstyle in line with the other "typical" loadouts, these weapons had to be moved into their own category to reduce their effectiveness when paired together (See PPFLD Example below to see the effects of the new scaling).
Proposal 4: Most close range weapons are exempt from damage penalty
These weapon systems are only effective up close, and in the current meta its often hard to get close enough without dying. SRMs, LBX, Machine Guns, and Flamers will not receive a damage penalty, in order to make brawling more viable and hopefully lead to a more diverse build pool.
Small Lasers (regular and pulse) are not included as they already have very efficient heat/damage ratios and I believe to exclude them from the damage penalty would result in too much small laser boating.
EXAMPLE 1: PPFLD
EXAMPLE 2: Energy Boats
EXAMPLE 3: Ballistic Boats
EXAMPLE 4: Missile Boats
EXAMPLE 5: Mixed Damage Builds
Please leave any thoughts or feedback in the comment section. I am more than happy to answer questions or provide clarity on anything in this article. Additionally, if you spot a typo, bad math, or a potential exploit under my proposed system, please let me know.
-Huron
Changelog:
11/2: Updated damage formulae for more clarity
11/3: Added machineguns and flamers to "excluded" weapons.
Edited by Huron Fal, 03 November 2016 - 03:13 PM.