- As for me - Engine balance. Even not engine by itself as penalty for IS XL.
Because the big problem is weak point that makes all buffs to armor useless in unskilled pilot hands and overpowered in hand of pro. I can explain what I mean.
1. All armor\structure buffs to IS mech just to make them live longer under superior firepower of Clan mech. Not a surprise that many light\medium mech of Clan have 2x or 3x more fire power than IS mech. From heavy and assault mech situation a bit better, but anyway. In hand of new player or players who play for fun, buy mech for real money and spend not many time in game but always under premium time, and with preordered mech - mech with possibility to be killed by one shot... well... not good. Anyone remember that glorious time when snipers with single gauss have ability to "oneshot" any mech in head? Not good right? That's why we don't have it now and many cockpit of mech not so easy to shot... So, some weak "lore based" weak point's can be removed as well as fixed hitboxes on each mech.
So, in hand of good gamer armor buffs make mech overpowered because of torso-twisting, damage spreading and using fast engines as well. But they still have weak point as any mech - center and side torsos back (with 2-16 points armor). If you skilled enough and your team play smart - not a problem to kill enemy in back or outmaneuver it. As well as make precise shot from bigger distance or use spotter help to kill tough target. That the main core of game.
That's why quirks balance will be endless because that not Clan vs IS balance... it's try to balance overarmored IS vs IS as they should be.
2. Now to new pilots and to those who play but have no great team or play in random... They have extreme 4 weak points on IS mech with XL engine. Possibility to die after side torso destruction and 100% chance to die from damage placed to back. yeah... even 16 armor in back for side torso nothing. Sometimes I got friendly fire to back and die. Not good. So all those who spend c-bills to by XL engine discover that their mech become... worse. Because they make mech = glass and have no skill to operate it. And in same time they see Clan mech which not suffer that much and using them much easier and enjoyable. As result we see overpopulated Clan side. Cool... After which we got tonnage rebalancing and even -40% to heatmanagement for Clan mech.
When mech have exposed weak point - everyone who know where it is, will use it against. Simply as is. Fast moving IS mech - side torso check from bigger distance or LRM shover easy kill it. Well played team focus such mech and take off from the game easy. Before they get in position or range.
In same time XL IS mech have less weapon (by firepower) even less than when they have STD. That also make Clan better choice for player... and... what will force them to take IS mech and suffer? Not so many players really love play hardcore, and taking IS side - is taking pure hardcore. And no Clan mech skill helps to play on IS mech at all.
So we see...
- Old time players who good on IS mech and use them great. Any buffs to mech in their case can possibly become overpower. They can be good on any mech, because they pro and know mech more than enough.
- Medium skilled players, which with new players have much bigger mass in game and suffer from weak mech points more often. They easy target, they dies fast, they choose mech which live longer and do everything to make mech armored enough to play longer. The key point there - longer! Have more fun from piloting mech and fighting. Not die in game start and have no ability to start another FP because mech in game or jump from QP to QP make team suffer from 9 vs 12 or 8 vs 12 at first two min of game.
3. On forum I hear ides about some "protection" for ST XL engine for IS mech. Nice idea, but impossible when whole ST fell apart. Even Clan gamers agree that there no fun to easy kill target without sharpening pilot skill. IS XL now cause of short games and bad impression for new players or those who will try some "old" mech or different builds. That "death penalty" force to take only good mech (what in same time force to nerf them or change quirks). I take a slant at engine\mech quirks and most of them placed only to make higher chance to mech survive. And that works when we have IS vs IS battles. Now - not.
Because IS vs IS have nearly same firepower and battle was based on Fast and Glass vs Slow and Armored. With same range, firepower...
IS vs Clan - different thing. Even before we have empty queue IS vs Clan when clan got new toy or IS have new quirks. That why we have shorter gauss range now. Shorter Clan LPL... bigger coodown of PPC and heat for any AC, to make KDK-3 hotter. But still we have biggest issue - fragile as tincan IS mech with XL.
Even if IS survive under fire before gets in position, they have not enough firepower to take down Clan mech. I can easy name many IS mech which have less than 30 firepower on heavy mech and even assault. When Clan can freely use even insane 80 without problem. Yeaahhhh changing heatmanagement to -40% after side torso kill for Clan force pilot to make a bit less hot builds with a lower firepower... But that still not helping new players and those who stuck in tier 4-2.
Balancing mech only by tier 1 experience not good! Better make restriction rules for pro gamers based on lore or some king of championship forbidden builds, if you want make game hardcored for pro gamers, veterans and any true lore based rules!
4. So... main goal change death penalty of IS XL engine to -80% of speed (as if they loose one leg), review heatsinks mechanic for light mech (because they become hotter with XL engine which take 6 slots from side torso and still need another 3-4 DHS to make mech available to play! Maybe better make DHS slots inside engine only for light mech and allow them have better weapon to fight with Clan?). Even that can make balance between Clan and IS better and force players to try another mech, builds... and game style aside of 1-3 good models and "death ball" strategy. Make them use real teamwork, not endless fear to be killed to ST.
5. What keeps engines balanced:
- STD engine great choice for any mech with must have constant speed even after side torso loose. Longrange builds can be placed in that category.
- STD best for any zombie mech, with CT weapons. So they not save speed but also can fight back.
- STD great choice for those IIC Clan mech which don't want loose speed and heatmanagement also.
- Clan XL with old heat and speed loss after side torso loss good as they as. Speed, long range, great firepower make them tough enemy and that cool.
- IS XL without death penalty and with -50-80% speed penalty - better choice for players who want more speed and sometimes less firepower. New players can fight back a bit longer. Skilled pilots make games longer and interesting for Clan pilots. Many mech with XL builds become useful again. Low firepower mech can outmaneuver Clan or at least compete with them.
Light become slow after ST hit but can still distract enemy Clan. Medium mech take its role as assault guards. Heavy and Assault mech have less weapon (if put XL ) or become slower (as urbanmech with STD 60... or even slower), what makes team play smart and use them as support (protect from death) or as decoy (as they can still fire). That change situation in game...
Longer live IS same as make 10 clan vs 12 IS.
- Better teamwork where mech with different builds don't count as ballast at the start. Like - you to slow or too fragile to play. And we'll see less teamkill as well.
- Better strategy - have constant speed or become reeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallyyyyy slow and take help from teammates.
- Better choice of playstile - eliminate such thing as "focused ST shooting from great distances"
- Make longer battles without any additional weapon balancing or adding quirks\armors.
- Let players choose mech not by ability survive and play - but by their model and other preferences. Also - bring to live such great things as Mastering Pack with such great looking mech as Dragon, Kintaro, Commando, Victor, Orion!
- Make more pilot friendly trial and champion mech. Because if nearly all IS mech looks bad - player wont play in game and we have less population for FP matches and private lobby and even quick games.
Right now using IS XL gives only speed, because any Clan mech faster up to 18-30kph. Only speed. No bigger firepower (sometimes even less firepower than mech can hold), no better heatmanagement (sometimes heatmanagament even worse - like 1.18 instead of 1.29). Maybe a bit better turning moves - but that also no use if you got hits from both sides in same time.
For all that you got fragile mech with death penalty.
One again - that was really good when STD and XL mech have nearly same firepower as it was IS vs IS conflict. Now, when nearly all enemy mech not faster, but have bigger firepower because of plenty hardpoints and flexible builds - IS XL weakest point. It's not important in QP because there mixed mech, but in FP make really strange fluctuation in balance. Not well skilled pilots die fast and what left - can't battle with Clan, what make game shorter and less fun.
Edited by Tiantara, 29 January 2017 - 10:00 PM.