3 replies to this topic

[Knighthawk26]

I was a little disappointed after logging on to the public test server and seeing the way the new skill trees were set up. Yes, I no longer have to buy three mechs and grind for a while to get a mech I like up to elite level. Instead, I have to buy tons of skills I don't want (which costs me additional xp and cbills) to get to the same overall level my mech was at before the new system. And I will be grinding for eternity, just to get the new skill levels to equal what I already had with an elite mech and some modules I could swap between mechs.

I cannot truly "specialize" my mech! I also have to generalize it by buying most of the other skills in a category to get the few specific skills I want.

Why can't PGI just let us buy the 5 levels of cool down for a weapon, for example, without having to first buy a dozen other things we don't want. Many of us will eventually come back and buy the other skills for our mechs, so PGI is gonna get our c-bills and xp. But now I have to buy eleven other skills just to get full radar deprivation on my mech.

The new system is not totally unfair though. For about the same cost in c'bills of an old Radar Deprivation module, I can now put Radar Deprivation permanently on 4 mechs. And these mechs each get 11 other skills (which I have to buy in the process). And all of these skills have some value.

If PGI would just arrange the skill trees into straight columns with each column holding a specific type of skill (weapon cool down or weapon range for example) their customers would be far more satisfied with the product being offered! And players / customers could truly specialize their mechs without having to generalize them (at additional cost) in the process.

[SuperFunkTron]

Knighthawk26, on 10 February 2017 - 02:09 AM, said:

I was a little disappointed after logging on to the public test server and seeing the way the new skill trees were set up. Yes, I no longer have to buy three mechs and grind for a while to get a mech I like up to elite level. Instead, I have to buy tons of skills I don't want (which costs me additional xp and cbills) to get to the same overall level my mech was at before the new system. And I will be grinding for eternity, just to get the new skill levels to equal what I already had with an elite mech and some modules I could swap between mechs.

I cannot truly "specialize" my mech! I also have to generalize it by buying most of the other skills in a category to get the few specific skills I want.

Why can't PGI just let us buy the 5 levels of cool down for a weapon, for example, without having to first buy a dozen other things we don't want. Many of us will eventually come back and buy the other skills for our mechs, so PGI is gonna get our c-bills and xp. But now I have to buy eleven other skills just to get full radar deprivation on my mech.

The new system is not totally unfair though. For about the same cost in c'bills of an old Radar Deprivation module, I can now put Radar Deprivation permanently on 4 mechs. And these mechs each get 11 other skills (which I have to buy in the process). And all of these skills have some value.

If PGI would just arrange the skill trees into straight columns with each column holding a specific type of skill (weapon cool down or weapon range for example) their customers would be far more satisfied with the product being offered! And players / customers could truly specialize their mechs without having to generalize them (at additional cost) in the process.

I also disliked the "useless" nodes blocking the abilities I wanted at first, but came to realize that it prevents certain upgrades from becoming across the board requirements. If you approach the PTS with a fresh out look of what is and is not actually necessary, you will start to see a lot more potential variety as well as the creation and emphasis of new roles. The majority of the comments about the system focus on trying to rebuild what we currently have on the live server, but that really makes little sense since so many things things are different from the live server (crit chance is way up, all mechs are running much hotter, target info gathering is way up for each range, time to kill is increased as a result of many changes working together, etc...). I've been evaluating what is considered standard in the Live game and have been finding that the same thing does not apply to the PTS. One example that will be initially controversial is speed tweak for assault mechs. The cost benefit is far lower than that of mechs who run faster. Even with the speed tweak, they will be left in the back of the pack. Instead of spending 5 points on speed tweak, those points could be used on other mobility nodes such as acceleration, deceleration, and turning or on more durability for the assault. Some will argue that the extra 5-7 kph is critical, but the current system shows that it makes no difference in practice.

It is counter intuitive, but I think their tree system accounts for certain abilities becoming over powered, it just requires a fresh look at the nodes and more consideration of what will benefit a specific mech most to really take advantage of it and find what possibilities it really offers.

[I_AM_ZUUL]

SuperFunkTron, on 10 February 2017 - 01:13 PM, said:

I also disliked the "useless" nodes blocking the abilities I wanted at first, but came to realize that it prevents certain upgrades from becoming across the board requirements. If you approach the PTS with a fresh out look of what is and is not actually necessary, you will start to see a lot more potential variety as well as the creation and emphasis of new roles. The majority of the comments about the system focus on trying to rebuild what we currently have on the live server, but that really makes little sense since so many things things are different from the live server (crit chance is way up, all mechs are running much hotter, target info gathering is way up for each range, time to kill is increased as a result of many changes working together, etc...). I've been evaluating what is considered standard in the Live game and have been finding that the same thing does not apply to the PTS. One example that will be initially controversial is speed tweak for assault mechs. The cost benefit is far lower than that of mechs who run faster. Even with the speed tweak, they will be left in the back of the pack. Instead of spending 5 points on speed tweak, those points could be used on other mobility nodes such as acceleration, deceleration, and turning or on more durability for the assault. Some will argue that the extra 5-7 kph is critical, but the current system shows that it makes no difference in practice.

It is counter intuitive, but I think their tree system accounts for certain abilities becoming over powered, it just requires a fresh look at the nodes and more consideration of what will benefit a specific mech most to really take advantage of it and find what possibilities it really offers.

"variety" is a term you must use affectionately while being completely delusional... there are going to be VERY RARE builds that have any change over the mandatory +60 or so skill nodes that every mech is going to take not counting Weapon Skills that eat up another 20-30 Skill Points.

[SuperFunkTron]

I_AM_ZUUL, on 10 February 2017 - 02:03 PM, said:

"variety" is a term you must use affectionately while being completely delusional... there are going to be VERY RARE builds that have any change over the mandatory +60 or so skill nodes that every mech is going to take not counting Weapon Skills that eat up another 20-30 Skill Points.

This system is still very fresh and is a ground up reworking rather than a redistribution of what we currently have. The instinctual nodes to pick will almost surely start with durability quirks, but I think that we will see an increase in less popular trees to make them worthwhile considerations eventually. The PTS is already showing that the game will handle very differently than the current system, especially with the info regarding showing that clan mechs will be more fragile than before and the increased heat we will have to cope with will force us to be much more considerate of our firing habits. This PTS is still too new and the match sizes being 4vs4 doesn't allow for large scale testing, but I'm convinced it is going to feel a lot like a different Mechwarrior game. The current game has created a very generic system encouraging damage above all else, and thus mechs have been specifically balanced toward that end. The whole explanation of how the new system is structure is showing us that we really have to approach builds with more open mind rather than just assume we can easily translate our current builds and expectations over.

Only time will show, but I'm convinced people are underestimating the amount of change of game dynamics we will be seeing.