262 replies to this topic

[Gas Guzzler]

Bombast, on 31 January 2017 - 08:11 AM, said:

And the Falconer is in knuckle dragger territory.

Though I suppose being able to block shot to your arms with your legs in a novel strategy that may be useful.

I have a strong suspicion that when the Falconer is MWO-ized it will more resemble a Marauder in general shape, just because the torso will have to be placed on top pf the legs not in between in order for torso twisting to not be funky.

[Bombast]

Gas Guzzler, on 31 January 2017 - 08:19 AM, said:

I have a strong suspicion that when the Falconer is MWO-ized it will more resemble a Marauder in general shape, just because the torso will have to be placed on top pf the legs not in between in order for torso twisting to not be funky.

I'd argue that alone should knock it out of the running, since an arm mounted ballistic point doesn't seem novel enough to make it stand out from the better loved, and still pretty good, Marauder. But I suppose it's something.

[Gas Guzzler]

Bombast, on 31 January 2017 - 08:27 AM, said:

I'd argue that alone should knock it out of the running, since an arm mounted ballistic point doesn't seem novel enough to make it stand out from the better loved, and still pretty good, Marauder. But I suppose it's something.

Higher engine cap (admittedly higher than one would want to use), + JJs on all variants, and ironically the arm mounted ballistic is huge for someone like me, because it means I can run a Gauss, 2 PPCs/ER PPCs, and JJs without being instagibbed by a Gauss explosion.... but that's just me. Its not the only heavy on the list, and frankly I would be happy with all of them. Though, less happy with the ones that are pure energy just because we have a bunch of that on the IS side already, but that's just me. They would all be pretty solid in game.

[Bombast]

Gas Guzzler, on 31 January 2017 - 08:36 AM, said:

Higher engine cap (admittedly higher than one would want to use), + JJs on all variants, and ironically the arm mounted ballistic is huge for someone like me, because it means I can run a Gauss, 2 PPCs/ER PPCs, and JJs without being instagibbed by a Gauss explosion.... but that's just me. Its not the only heavy on the list, and frankly I would be happy with all of them. Though, less happy with the ones that are pure energy just because we have a bunch of that on the IS side already, but that's just me. They would all be pretty solid in game.

Got me, JJs slipped my mind.

Still think the hit box speculation is a bit strong, but if it does turn into a jumping Marauder, I can see it being good.

[Tristan Winter]

Quicksilver Kalasa, on 31 January 2017 - 07:44 AM, said:

The only part you should really care about is JJs, ECM on a 25 ton IS mech is just asking to be gimped in some fashion. The only IS mech that can carry an appreciable weapons load and have decent DPS while also running ECM and JJs is pretty much 35 tonners (aka super sized lights). Not to mention ECM generally means less quirks, and quirks are > ECM.

It gets difficult when one is working under the assumptions that the status quo is going to last, especially in regards to quirks. This means that a future Firestarter-clone (35 ton humanoid with 8+ hardpoints and jump jets) is likely to be as unquirked as the unfortunate Firestarter, for example. Or that ECM mechs have relatively few quirks.

This is why I've gone public several times and said that I'm basically just waiting for two mechs at the moment. The Axman and the Rifleman IIC. I like the Cougar, I want to have it, but I have zero faith that PGI will ever fix the weight class balance and I don't want to support their stupid business model predicated on the superiority of heavy and assault mechs.

And more than ever, I am unable to imagine any Inner Sphere light mech I'd be willing to pay for right now. I'll keep playing light mechs, but I won't pay real money for them. I'll try the Javelin for C-bills.

[Quicksilver Aberration]

Tristan Winter, on 31 January 2017 - 10:56 AM, said:

It gets difficult when one is working under the assumptions that the status quo is going to last, especially in regards to quirks. This means that a future Firestarter-clone (35 ton humanoid with 8+ hardpoints and jump jets) is likely to be as unquirked as the unfortunate Firestarter, for example. Or that ECM mechs have relatively few quirks.

Really the only thing that matters at this point is what the smallest version of the Firestarter that is acceptable. If we ever got a mech that is essentially a Spider that has Firestarter hardpoints (aka what people are hoping the Javelin is) then we have the closest thing we will ever get.

[Tristan Winter]

Quicksilver Kalasa, on 31 January 2017 - 10:59 AM, said:

Really the only thing that matters at this point is what the smallest version of the Firestarter that is acceptable. If we ever got a mech that is essentially a Spider that has Firestarter hardpoints (aka what people are hoping the Javelin is) then we have the closest thing we will ever get.

Perhaps, but that doesn't really matter much to me personally. <shrug>

[Jay Leon Hart]

Out of those, I'd take...

Osiris - Mostly for the sake of MW4 nostalgia, though it seems solid enough

Men Shen - IS Omni, decent hardpoints, MASC. I would have said Starslayer (for MC nostalgia) but it's older than my other picks and I can't deal with that

Onslaught - X-Pulse Lasers and Light ACs? Yes please! Also, 6 MGs? Sure, why not.

Fafnir - Heavy Gauss. Heavy... Gauss...

[Juodas Varnas]

Scorpion is SUPER-meta, guys.

It has like... a huge engine cap.... And... a top-mounted cockpit with cockpit-level Energy hardpoints.
It's... Uhh... Perfect for hill-poking!

[TheArisen]

Juodas Varnas, on 31 January 2017 - 12:21 PM, said:

Scorpion is SUPER-meta, guys.

It has like... a huge engine cap.... And... a top-mounted cockpit with cockpit-level Energy hardpoints.
It's... Uhh... Perfect for hill-poking!

Well sadly we had to consider only viable options. Maybe when/if Russ announces quads and I'm sure that's right around the corner >.>

[Jay Leon Hart]

TheArisen, on 31 January 2017 - 12:50 PM, said:

Well sadly we had to consider only viable options. Maybe when/if Russ announces quads and I'm sure that's right around the corner >.>

You know what has corners? Squares!
How many sides does a square have? Four!
What has 4 legs? Quads!
QUADS CONFIRMED!

[Juodas Varnas]

Jay Leon Hart, on 31 January 2017 - 01:03 PM, said:

You know what has corners? Squares!
How many sides does a square have? Four!
What has 4 legs? Quads!
QUADS CONFIRMED!

[Jay Leon Hart]

Juodas Varnas, on 31 January 2017 - 01:07 PM, said:

YOU KNOW FOUR MUCH!!!!

[Kargush]

Maybe I'm going mad here, but hear me out.

With supposedly no more need to buy 3 mechs to get them mastered, perhaps we could see Lance Packs instead? Say, 4 different mechs of the same class in one bundle, costing as much as the previous 3+S. With more variants of the mechs in the pack adding to the price.

As a random example, a Fafnir, an Akuma, a Rampage, and an Emperor, costing $40, with additional variants costing, say, $5 a pop. So if you want 3 Fafnirs, you pay $50 (40 + the cost of 2 additionals) and get 3 Fafnirs, an Akuma, a Rampage, and an Emperor.

Gives us a pack, and allows for some a la carte purchasing.

Madness? Probably.

[Y E O N N E]

Tristan Winter, on 31 January 2017 - 11:02 AM, said:

Perhaps, but that doesn't really matter much to me personally. &lt;shrug&gt;

Well, this thread isn't intended to showcase what we necessarily desire, it is to showcase the most potent options available to the IS. Quicksilver, Gas, Arisen, and I put our heads together to comb for 'Mechs like that possess the geometry, hardpoints, and proximity to the timeline that give them the best shot at being more competitive. We tried not to lean on future-tech expectations or hardpoint inflation where possible.

[Bombast]

Kargush, on 31 January 2017 - 01:27 PM, said:

Maybe I'm going mad here, but hear me out.

With supposedly no more need to buy 3 mechs to get them mastered, perhaps we could see Lance Packs instead? Say, 4 different mechs of the same class in one bundle, costing as much as the previous 3+S. With more variants of the mechs in the pack adding to the price.

As a random example, a Fafnir, an Akuma, a Rampage, and an Emperor, costing $40, with additional variants costing, say, $5 a pop. So if you want 3 Fafnirs, you pay $50 (40 + the cost of 2 additionals) and get 3 Fafnirs, an Akuma, a Rampage, and an Emperor.

Gives us a pack, and allows for some a la carte purchasing.

Madness? Probably.

Actually, this is probably how they're going to do it, sort off. I imagine they'll go back to the old style of offering 4 mechs, and letting people go a la carte, or get a 'discount' bundle.

The question is, are they going to stick to the 'It still needs variants' rule, or are we going to start getting one or two variant mechs? The second one opens up a lot of mechs that never had that many variants, without PGI going nuts.

[Gas Guzzler]

Bombast, on 31 January 2017 - 01:53 PM, said:

Actually, this is probably how they're going to do it, sort off. I imagine they'll go back to the old style of offering 4 mechs, and letting people go a la carte, or get a 'discount' bundle.

The question is, are they going to stick to the 'It still needs variants' rule, or are we going to start getting one or two variant mechs? The second one opens up a lot of mechs that never had that many variants, without PGI going nuts.

I'm not even sure this is a good thing. I LIKE that there are mech chassis that have a variety of different variants... it makes the chassis good because you can run different builds on it. It would kind of suck to just have ONE variant of something..

For instance, on the Marauder-IIC there are at least 3 variants that I really enjoy playing for the different build options.

Edited by Gas Guzzler, 31 January 2017 - 02:02 PM.

[Quicksilver Aberration]

Gas Guzzler, on 31 January 2017 - 02:01 PM, said:

I'm not even sure this is a good thing. I LIKE that there are mech chassis that have a variety of different variants... it makes the chassis good because you can run different builds on it. It would kind of suck to just have ONE variant of something..

For instance, on the Marauder-IIC there are at least 3 variants that I really enjoy playing for the different build options.

The problem is when it does those different build options better than something that was intended for that. I don't mind different variants (though I think you could merge some of them into one super variant), but when you have 6+ different variants that either are minor variations on each other that could probably stand to be rolled into one or infringe on the role of another chassis, that's when I start to think that variant probably shouldn't exist.

[Bombast]

Gas Guzzler, on 31 January 2017 - 02:01 PM, said:

I'm not even sure this is a good thing. I LIKE that there are mech chassis that have a variety of different variants... it makes the chassis good because you can run different builds on it. It would kind of suck to just have ONE variant of something..

For instance, on the Marauder-IIC there are at least 3 variants that I really enjoy playing for the different build options.

Well, consider the Javelin. It has several variants, and just looking...

JVN-10N - 285 Engine, 4 Missiles
JVN-10P - 255 Engine, 6 Missiles
JVN-11B - 255 Engine, 4 Missiles, ECM
JVN-10F - 285 Engine, 4 Energy
JVN-11A - 255 Engine, 7 Energy

Now, yes, they're all different... but do they need to be? Would it really have killed anyone or broke the games balance if the JVN-10N got canned and it's engine cap transferred to the JVN-10P? And the same with the JVN-10F/11A? Doesn't it stink abit of variant bloat?

What about mechs like the Sagittaire? Do we really need 4 made up variants with randomly jumbled energy hard points, or a made up missile variant? Why not just include the energy and ballistic variant and be done with it?

[BrunoSSace]

I really enjoy posts like this. Thank you.