18 replies to this topic

[Aeolus Drift]

So it has finally happened, the long awaited (if not so forwardly looked to) time jump to 3060, and with it all the tomfoolery and shenanigans that was the tech jump in operation bulldog. For those of us who have played MW4, MW3, and even MWLL we are almost certainly going to be seeing the return of some favorites. Inner sphere omnis like the avatar and the Sunderer, new clan mechs like the cougar and the Novacat, ER's LBX and UACS and Streaks of all sizes for IS (thank god), ATM missles, MRMs, Binary Lasers, Light Autos, etc. However today I want us to focus on that dastardly invention of smoke jaguar that makes even the hardiest atlas pilots sweat at night, and not because an arctic cheetah managed to find it's rear unguarded by medium lasers. The heavy laser cannons. Originally designed by the Smoke Jaguars, the heavy lasers served two primary purposes. to give the clans a hard hitting weapon that better fit with the ethos and modus operandi of the clan approach to combat than stacking ER lasers on every one of there mechs, and two pissing the pants of every filthy freeborn scum who had the misfortune of running into a shadow cat armed with even 3 pairs of heavy mediums at close range. Those of you who have played MWLL will more than likely be able to tell a few horror stories about how a black lanner armed with 5 of these introduced your brand new Thanatos to shreds while you were only able to shred half of their armor off before being melted to atoms. Today I want to hear from my fellow clanners (and freebirth bondsman alike), what kind of builds for your clan mechs would you like to try out these weapons on. What mechs do you think will benefit from their addition the most, and what might their impact on the meta might be. With luck we can make a series like this for a once/twice a week discussion.

[Sniper09121986]

Well, basically any mech low on energy hardpoints would benefit handsomely, since heavy lasers essentially trade heat (and some range) for damage that you simply cannot get with conventional lasers, sort of like improved jumpjets. Think Adders, Kit Foxes, Summoners, Ice Ferrets and stuff. Also they would allow already energy-heavy mechs supplement their arsenal with more long range weaponry by taking care of things up close. As for meta - who cares, they will be nerfed anyway due to being Clan On a more positive note they just might take up the spot of all these SPL bunches that are used for close combat these days since their range is limited, so ERLL would remain in usage.

[Requiemking]

Oh, I just want the Solitaire. My go to Light mech in MWLL, fastest thing in the game, and hits like a tank while rocking the werewolf legs. Did I miss anything? Oh wait, potential hero material in the form of one of the variants, "Joust" I believe it's nickname was.

[Sjoerd]

I am allready looking forward mounting them on my nova. Just take of the spl's and mount the heavy mediums.

[Nightshade24]

I am currently ready to slap a pair of heavy large lasers on my adder, 1 in each arm, give it a few heatsinks extra, and a targeting computer, should be nice and cool and should do 18 damage per laser approximately (alpha strike of 36 damage?), even if I get a heat penalty for firing both at the same time those extra heatsinks will help beat down that heat (and if it's somehow still too much then I can easily live with firing them one by one)...

[Silas7]

Hvy lasers on my black knight is something i'm looking forward to.

[SilentScreamer]

Silas7, on 06 February 2017 - 09:46 AM, said:

Hvy lasers on my black knight is something i'm looking forward to.

Heavy Laser is a Clanner weapon. Although many Mechwarrior games allowed Clantech on any mech, Mechwarrior Online has kept Clan and I.S. tech seperate.
http://www.sarna.net...er#Heavy_Lasers

The Binary Laser may be a suitable alternative for your Black Knight if PGI implements it. http://www.sarna.net...ry_Laser_Cannon

[Requiemking]

Nightshade24, on 30 January 2017 - 10:09 PM, said:

I am currently ready to slap a pair of heavy large lasers on my adder, 1 in each arm, give it a few heatsinks extra, and a targeting computer, should be nice and cool and should do 18 damage per laser approximately (alpha strike of 36 damage?), even if I get a heat penalty for firing both at the same time those extra heatsinks will help beat down that heat (and if it's somehow still too much then I can easily live with firing them one by one)...

You know, there is actually a Lore variant that does this. The ADR-H config, two HLLs, a TC, and extra Heatsinks.

[Nightshade24]

Requiemking, on 11 February 2017 - 07:25 PM, said:

You know, there is actually a Lore variant that does this. The ADR-H config, two HLLs, a TC, and extra Heatsinks.

Didn't even notice!

if that's the case I might as well wait for PGI to add that bad boy then. I am already rolling around being a mech collector who wants every variant of mechs I love.

[Nightshade24]

SilentScreamer, on 11 February 2017 - 06:11 PM, said:

Heavy Laser is a Clanner weapon. Although many Mechwarrior games allowed Clantech on any mech, Mechwarrior Online has kept Clan and I.S. tech seperate.
http://www.sarna.net...er#Heavy_Lasers

The Binary Laser may be a suitable alternative for your Black Knight if PGI implements it. http://www.sarna.net...ry_Laser_Cannon

However due to how rare and special the 'blazer' is and it's unique model of having 2 barrels and stuff. It might only go on mechs that have it stock much like ECM with possibly some other variants allowing it added.

[ice trey]

Heavy lasers? I don't dislike them, but I will say that I'd prefer to see them get some sort of gameplay effect to better reflect the +1 to-hit modifier. Maybe have a charge-up mechanic similar to the gauss rifle, though I'd prefer if it was less a "Hold the button down" and more of a "Start the countdown" effect. A one-second delay would be more than enough to boost the difficulty just enough.

[Silas7]

SilentScreamer, on 11 February 2017 - 06:11 PM, said:

Heavy Laser is a Clanner weapon. Although many Mechwarrior games allowed Clantech on any mech, Mechwarrior Online has kept Clan and I.S. tech seperate.
http://www.sarna.net...er#Heavy_Lasers

The Binary Laser may be a suitable alternative for your Black Knight if PGI implements it. http://www.sarna.net...ry_Laser_Cannon

Has PGI commented on if they are going to keep heavy lasers exclusively clans? To me it seems silly, i'd like to think salvage is possible and that people don't get too bent out of shape if it contradicts lore.

[Black Lanner]

Mmmmmm, Heavy Lasers... or as I call them the "Crusader Special"

Aeolus Drift, on 24 January 2017 - 02:01 PM, said:

Those of you who have played MWLL will more than likely be able to tell a few horror stories about how a black lanner armed with 5 of these introduced your brand new Thanatos to shreds while you were only able to shred half of their armor off before being melted to atoms.

Can you guess which 'Mech I am waiting for?

Nightshade24, on 12 February 2017 - 03:08 AM, said:

However due to how rare and special the 'blazer' is and it's unique model of having 2 barrels and stuff. It might only go on mechs that have it stock much like ECM with possibly some other variants allowing it added.

I have an idea... PGI, make all the "Advanced" Weapons and Equipment available on Champion 'Mechs, and the "Advanced" and "Experimental" weapons and equipment available on Heros... I know, jerk move for FTP players, but while these weapons give an edge, I don't think they will completely break the game...

ice trey, on 12 February 2017 - 05:00 AM, said:

Heavy lasers? I don't dislike them, but I will say that I'd prefer to see them get some sort of gameplay effect to better reflect the +1 to-hit modifier. Maybe have a charge-up mechanic similar to the gauss rifle, though I'd prefer if it was less a "Hold the button down" and more of a "Start the countdown" effect. A one-second delay would be more than enough to boost the difficulty just enough.

Add just a .5 second delay with the Jump Jet "rattle" effect just before the Heavy Lasers fire... I think that this would be true to the lore.

[MechTech Dragoon]

Silas7, on 12 February 2017 - 09:05 AM, said:

Has PGI commented on if they are going to keep heavy lasers exclusively clans? To me it seems silly, i'd like to think salvage is possible and that people don't get too bent out of shape if it contradicts lore.

Clan and IS weaponry/equipment are very incompatible. HOWEVER! clan and inner sphere omnimechs are based around the same tech, so omnimech components would be interchangeable between clan/inner sphere designs.

Meaning, on a lore stand point, you could slap a heavy laser on a inner sphere omni, just not a standard battlemech

(info is from omnimech page on sarna)

[MechTech Dragoon]

Black Lanner, on 16 February 2017 - 12:30 AM, said:

Mmmmmm, Heavy Lasers... or as I call them the "Crusader Special"



Can you guess which 'Mech I am waiting for?




I have an idea... PGI, make all the "Advanced" Weapons and Equipment available on Champion 'Mechs, and the "Advanced" and "Experimental" weapons and equipment available on Heros... I know, jerk move for FTP players, but while these weapons give an edge, I don't think they will completely break the game...



Add just a .5 second delay with the Jump Jet "rattle" effect just before the Heavy Lasers fire... I think that this would be true to the lore.

Heavy lasers have such a high heat load that they mess with electronic equipment, the same way it should when hit by multiple PPC shots. SO! a small delay on fire with that effect would work well.

[Luminis]

I don't think there's much of a reason to add another drawback to the HLL. Even if it does get the full 16 damage, it's going to be hotter than a PPC, have less range than an ERLL and longer burn time than a LPL. Granted, it's light, but also larger in terms of critslots. Dunno, I might be overestimating the heat management issues it'll bring with it, though.

The heavy mediums, on the other hand, seem a little more manageable in terms of heat, but requiring twice the crit slots might make them rather annoying to field in sufficient numbers. Great for a weight limited chassis, though. You can fit six on a Linebacker, fill the remaining slots up with a TC1 and DHS and you've filled every last crit slot even on a chassis limited that much by free weight.

[MustrumRidcully]

Despite their name, the heavy lasers are not actually heavier. But apparently they are larger? So they are basically more XL Lasers?

Anyway, it seems they will be particularly useful for lighter mechs that have ample crit slots but not tonnage available. And of course hardpoint starved mechs.

[Karl Streiger]

MustrumRidcully, on 20 June 2017 - 05:04 AM, said:

Despite their name, the heavy lasers are not actually heavier. But apparently they are larger? So they are basically more XL Lasers?

Anyway, it seems they will be particularly useful for lighter mechs that have ample crit slots but not tonnage available. And of course hardpoint starved mechs.

I think the Heavy Lasers will be useless for lights.
To 90% the Heavy Laser will buy there more theoretical damage with more burn duration - maybe they have 20-50% more damage per tic (so the firepower per tic increases) but you also will waste a lot of damage that you pay with heat for.

Of course they also could have a different game mechanic - maybe a charge timer (but nothing you can control) you press the button you wait 0.5sec then the beam happens