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(picture from the wiki)
Currently the Mist Lynx is usually considered an all-round bad mech and is outclassed in essentially anything it tries to do. In spite of this, the 1xERPPC+ECM build is insanely fun, and it is a shame you can't really expect much out of it. Here are some of the most obvious problems I've noticed (although there probably are others):
-Too slow
At 121.9 kph after Speed Tweak due to its puny XL175 engine, the poor Mist Lynx is quite slow for a light and downright sluggish when compared with its 25-ton IS partner, the Commando, who can carry up to an XL240 and go as fast at 167.2 kph with Speed Tweak. For such a fragile light, speed is crucial for survival and I would love to see it be able to carry a larger engine (at least XL200) in order to be remotely viable. Also, the small engine means it suffers from having only 7 internal DHSs, making it run hotter than would be desirable.
-Locked equipment it neither wants nor needs
Obviously I'm mainly referring to the Clan Active Probe which is superglued into the the head, wasting 1 of your precious tons. 6 jump jets is also excessive for most purposes, and if we were able to change these out (or just not have them at all) we would unlock a lot more potential in this mech. Even if you object to Omnimechs being able to move such equipment around, we could just have another variant with no Clan Active Probe and fewer jump jets, so we can actually customise this thing.
-Everything's in the arms
Well, not everything. But all hardpoints, be they missile, energy or even AMS and ECM, are in one of the arms, leaving the side torsos fairly useless. The left torso is filled with locked equipment, but the right torso has two slots free and could easily use some sort of hardpoint. Also, with all the weapons and the ECM in the arms, they become particularly juicy targets so experienced pilots will try to remove them, essentially making the mech into a stick (or a tree stump perhaps). Finally, the MLX-C left arm which has the ECM hardpoint has no weapon hardpoints, so you must accept that taking an ECM will halve the number of hardpoints you have in most cases. To make matters worse, the highest mounted energy hardpoint is on the MLX-B's left arm, so is not available if you want ECM.
-Very low mounts
The Mist Lynx usually fires from the hip, and the very highest hardpoints are still below cockpit level, and far below the top of the mech. Having to expose so much of your wafer-thin CT and side torso armour is not a nice prospect, and it also all too easy to fire crucial shots into a rock to your right rather than into the enemy mech. That said, you have 6 jump jets, and a tiny hitbox, so poptarting is a fairly rewarding experience (but then again you have a tiny alpha strike, so can't actually do much).
How can we fix it?
One idea I had which would lessen the speed issue is:
-Remove the Clan Active Probe from the head (seriously, we really don't need it)
-Remove one locked DHS from the Left Torso (since the new engine will have 8 internally)
-Upgrade the engine to an XL200
This brings it up to exactly the same top speed as an Arctic Cheetah (139.3 kph), without sacrificing any free tonnage or any jump jets, although in my opinion it could still do with being faster. If we, on top of the above changes:
-Remove another locked DHS
-Remove 2 jump jets
-Sacrifice half a ton of free tonnage
-Upgrade to an XL225
it maxes out at a very respectable 156.7 kph, as (I think) the fastest clanner in-game, although for my favourite build I'd probably have to strip half a ton of armour (which is a big deal for such a small mech). At this speed it is perfectly good, and while it is still slower than some IS lights, IMO this is as fast as it needs to be. While these changes would not be in line with the lore, PGI has made enough non-lore additions to MWO that at least in my humble opinion, this wouldn't be particularly blasphemous, as after all that bigger engine is going to a good cause.
The hardpoint location problem
MLX weapon hardpoints are all either above, below or to the side of its fists, with only a select few being above. I would like to see either:
-An energy hardpoint above the right hand
OR
-An ECM hardpoint somewhere that isn't the left arm (perhaps in the head after removing the Active Probe?)
OR BOTH
This would help with the low mounts a little, and the second option would allow for 'boating' of much more lasers (well OK 2 ER-Mediums and 2 Medium Pulse or similar isn't the scariest thing on the battlefield). I'm not too keen on changing its look entirely by Blackjack-esque arms to give it higher mounts, but we could definitely add the odd energy/missile hardpoint to one or both of the side torsos.
If you don't want to change the variants currently in-game, PGI could release a new variant (preferably not locked behind a paywall, but meh), and still achieve any of these possible buffs.
Quirks?
The Mist Lynx has respectable quirks in its current state, including nice acceleration and turning buffs, plenty of additional inner structure and some crazy +24 armour on some arms (including that lovely ECM one). But it is no SDR-5K or LCT-1V with absurd energy cooldown quirks (which would be a quick and dirty way to get this mech more viable, with the potential to even make it OP)
The Mist Lynx remains one of my favourite chassis, both aesthetically and for its enjoyment factor, and I will continue to play it even if it were nerfed a little (although I may have a bone to pick with PGI if so). It would make both my and many other mechwarriors days if this unloved little mech were to be made not top-tier 'new meta confirmed' but at least... OK, or maybe even mediocre. I strongly believe that the Holy Grail in balancing for this game should be to get all mechs up to a usable standard, rather than constantly adding new OP ones without worrying about some getting left behind.
TL;DR:
Faster, higher... less CAP
