12 replies to this topic

[Gaussfather]

Dear PGI:

I'm glad you finally decided to make some new Hero mechs out of the Resistance Packages since some of those are still my favorite mechs to play in... but I hope you make some changes to them before you launch them so that people (including myself) want to get them compared to the normal mechs.

One of my first and still favorite Hero mechs was the Heavy Metal, cool camo, and the first and still the best "warhorn"... plus bigger engine size than normal Highlanders. Before Clan mechs it was a blast to play. Today not so much. Anyway, my point is that Hero mechs should offer something different compared to the normal chassis besides cool paint job and c-bill boost. In my opinion they should offer heavily modified/custom loadouts compared to the standard version in order to make me want to plunk down more $$ for them.

So here is my quick take on Mechs on offer.... since most of the lore is barely followed I'm not trying to stick to what the lore says the builds should be (if these actually come from lore... don't feel like searching for that):

King Crab Hero: Looks Good... is basically the new IS Supernova, or an Atlas Boar's Head with more hardpoints. But would have been great to see MASC or JJ's as options on it. At least I hope you let it run a 400xl since King Krab's currently have 360xl limit.

Mauler Hero: Similar comment to the King Crab, its not bad but would be cool to see something besides a switch of the weapon hardpoints between arms and torso. How about JJ's or MASC? Maulers are typically slow with poor torso twist... how about bigger engine limit and better twist (similar to Malinche)? And why have lower arm actuators on this mech, no hands or wrists here.

Zeus Hero: Has MASC! Great! Should be a good brawling mech with those hardpoints. Would be great if we could finally put an AC20 on the Zeus! Why not? Victor has that option and looks about the same to me...

So I give you a solid B on the Assaults for now... will probably get 1 or 2 of them.

Heavies

Black Knight: Could be much better/more interesting. Remember that early Black Knight artwork with the UAC5 that resembled a sword on the right arm?? That's what we want to see! So no ecm, no JJ's, no Masc... just 2 missile hardpoints... add something or its just a "meh" addition.

Grasshopper: I don't own the Grasshopper but I think adding a ballistic hardpoint could be it fun for those who like to play it. Why not? But you can't put an AC20 on it or 2 AC5s so I doubt it will be much better a normal Grasshopper. Would have been cool to have ECM so that it can be a better sniper with that Gaussrifle... and really PGI, anything named "Mjolnir" should be capable of mounting an AC20!

I have to rate these as a "C", nothing to buy here....

Mediums

Crab: I don't have this either but taking an energy mech and putting 2 ballistic hardpoints on either arm on it is what a hero mech should be about! Consider getting rid of the Lower Arm Actuator, please! Hmmm.... Its like a mini King Crab now. What's not to like here?

Enforcer: One of my favorite IS mediums to play but I don't see anthing out of the ordinary here, same hardpoints more or less as the other Enforcers... no ecm, masc, or even missile hardpoints. Why should it play much differently from the standards?

Crab is a keeper but Enforcer disappoints: B-

Lights

Urbanmech: Might buy it if the Police Strobe Lights will flash and a siren goes off when you get a kill, or you have a switch that lets you turn them on and off for psych warfare and to give a Spider a speeding ticket. Otherwise I don't see anything new here, but its cute.

Wolfhound: OK another ECM light... would be even better with some missile hardpoints or JJ's.

Panther: What's new/different here?

So lights another C in my opinion.... but give me the Urbie Siren and Strobes and I'll gladly buy it!

Lastly, about the PRICING -- I was pretty happy with the $15 add-on's Hero with the other packs. Maybe consider reducing the prices if you bought a Resistance pack or some kind of bundling options. When I can get a Marauder Scorch for $15 and its Clan Tech, I find it hard to justify paying the same for an IS medium. I'm not sure what other's think about this but feel free to comment....

[BlueFlames]

Gaussfather, on 27 February 2017 - 03:15 PM, said:

Panther: What's new/different here?

Its energy hardpoints on both arms, instead of all concentrated on the right arm. Maybe that doesn't seem super-compelling, but maybe you haven't lost your right arm while piloting a Panther before.

Gaussfather, on 27 February 2017 - 03:15 PM, said:

Wolfhound: OK another ECM light... would be even better with some missile hardpoints or JJ's.

Yeaaahhh..... Jesus box on the variant behind the paywall, but it needs more goodies. Sure.

My distaste for hiding ECM variants behind the hero mech paywall was only mitigated by the fact that the Wolfhound is the only one of the Resistance I and II mechs getting that particular treatment.

Assuming their quirks aren't wildly out-of-control, the rest of the Resistance heros are pretty benign as a monetized product in a F2P game. The hardpoints frequently set them a bit apart from their base chassis, without the hero becoming totally unrelated, and the C-bill bonus will be there to make them worthwhile to fans of each of these chassis.

[Bud Crue]

Gaussfather, on 27 February 2017 - 03:15 PM, said:

Crab is a keeper but Enforcer disappoints: B-

Crab is an Enforcer...5P...with even lower ballistics hardpoints. Not a keeper. Just redundant, or maybe a bit worse than redundant if has typical Crab minimalist quirks.

[Requiemking]

BlueFlames, on 27 February 2017 - 04:12 PM, said:

Its energy hardpoints on both arms, instead of all concentrated on the right arm. Maybe that doesn't seem super-compelling, but maybe you haven't lost your right arm while piloting a Panther before.



Yeaaahhh..... Jesus box on the variant behind the paywall, but it needs more goodies. Sure.

My distaste for hiding ECM variants behind the hero mech paywall was only mitigated by the fact that the Wolfhound is the only one of the Resistance I and II mechs getting that particular treatment.

Assuming their quirks aren't wildly out-of-control, the rest of the Resistance heros are pretty benign as a monetized product in a F2P game. The hardpoints frequently set them a bit apart from their base chassis, without the hero becoming totally unrelated, and the C-bill bonus will be there to make them worthwhile to fans of each of these chassis.

Unfortunately, the Wolfhound is also one of the worst Resistance mechs. It's huge, lacks JJs and ECM, is incredibly easy to disarm, and is all in all a disappointment compared to things like the Raven and Spider.

[BlueFlames]

Requiemking, on 27 February 2017 - 04:20 PM, said:

Unfortunately, the Wolfhound is also one of the worst Resistance mechs. It's huge, lacks JJs and ECM, is incredibly easy to disarm, and is all in all a disappointment compared to things like the Raven and Spider.

I was understanding your perspective right up until "incredibly easy to disarm." All the variants have four to five of their hardpoints in the torso. Depending on your exact loadout, you're likely to have two-thirds of your firepower available right up until the moment you die. I'm not sure how that qualifies as easy to disarm.

I've been leveling my Wolfhounds over the last couple of weeks, so I've got some pretty current experience with its current power level. Its height can be an issue when trying to sneak about, but with a 280-rated engine, the current Wolfhounds are generally able to get themselves out of trouble, no jets or ECM required. Its hitboxes and armor quirks (on all but the 1A at least), coupled with the fast twisting allowed by a large engine, make it super-tanky for its weight too.

Setting aside what specific balance issues the Wolfhound may currently have, though, making one superior variant and locking it behind the paywall doesn't magically balance the rest of the variants of that chassis. Maybe ECM is exactly what the Wolfhound needs. Okay, that makes the chassis a false-option for anyone who doesn't play with an open wallet, since the one ECM variant is never coming out for C-bills.

[Y E O N N E]

Bud Crue, on 27 February 2017 - 04:18 PM, said:

Crab is an Enforcer...5P...with even lower ballistics hardpoints. Not a keeper. Just redundant, or maybe a bit worse than redundant if has typical Crab minimalist quirks.

Redundancy is a poor argument, we passed that point years ago.

[Gaussfather]

Bud Crue, on 27 February 2017 - 04:18 PM, said:

Crab is an Enforcer...5P...with even lower ballistics hardpoints. Not a keeper. Just redundant, or maybe a bit worse than redundant if has typical Crab minimalist quirks.

Well I bought the Enforcers because you had some variety w/ Energy + Ballistic hardpoints and I have had some fun games with the 5P... so if the new Crab Hero is as good as the 5P then it will be a good addition for Crab owners/players...

[Monkey Lover]

They need a lot of help before i buy any of them. Other than the oxide every IS hero i own i would sell for 50% MC if i could.

[RAM]

The Black Knight BLK-P-KNT 'PARTISAN' is a major missed opportunity for the Inner Sphere Targeting computer

Would certainly be nice if Resistance pack owners received a discount (-$5?) per hero for mechs that they ordered.


RAM
ELH

[El Bandito]

I'm gonna see how the new skill tree works out, before even entertaining an idea of buying any IS mechs with real cash.

[Bud Crue]

Yeonne Greene, on 27 February 2017 - 05:49 PM, said:

Redundancy is a poor argument, we passed that point years ago.

Not making an argument, just an observation. You want it, by all means throw some cash at it. I dumped my 5p because it was too limited in the first place...and then PGI nerfed it for being OP.

Gaussfather, on 27 February 2017 - 05:58 PM, said:

Well I bought the Enforcers because you had some variety w/ Energy + Ballistic hardpoints and I have had some fun games with the 5P... so if the new Crab Hero is as good as the 5P then it will be a good addition for Crab owners/players...

Can't imagine it will be. Looking at the minimalist quirks of all the Crabs, I can't see them giving the hero particularly superior quirks lest they face the criticisms of PtW, and we know how sensitive PGI can be to such criticisms

Edited by Bud Crue, 27 February 2017 - 07:25 PM.

[InsaneRotta]

Gaussfather, on 27 February 2017 - 03:15 PM, said:

King Crab Hero: Looks Good... is basically the new IS Supernova, or an Atlas Boar's Head with more hardpoints. But would have been great to see MASC or JJ's as options on it. At least I hope you let it run a 400xl since King Krab's currently have 360xl limit.

Mauler Hero: Similar comment to the King Crab, its not bad but would be cool to see something besides a switch of the weapon hardpoints between arms and torso. How about JJ's or MASC? Maulers are typically slow with poor torso twist... how about bigger engine limit and better twist (similar to Malinche)? And why have lower arm actuators on this mech, no hands or wrists here.

Lastly, about the PRICING -- I was pretty happy with the $15 add-on's Hero with the other packs. Maybe consider reducing the prices if you bought a Resistance pack or some kind of bundling options. When I can get a Marauder Scorch for $15 and its Clan Tech, I find it hard to justify paying the same for an IS medium. I'm not sure what other's think about this but feel free to comment....

A MASC could have been fun addition to the Kaiju, but Jumpjets on 100 tonners are kinda meh. I know some people use them, but in my opinion you'd need only one of them for a bit of extra mobility. Engine cap is fine, since YOU DON'T PUT AN XL ENGINE IN A KING CRAB! What I WOULD like to see is the lower arm actuators so you could track pesky lights with arm laser a bit more easily. Just make the shoulder joint a ball joint. problem solved.

On the Mauler Hero I again agree on MASC, but yet again on jump jets, not so much. With the disassociation of ac/deceleration from the engine you really don't need to raise the engine cap. Maulers are mostly area denial mechs like the King Crab. The lower arm actuators are the elbow joints not arm/wrist joints as you say.

I completely agree with you on the pricing. With the assaults the $25 is just silly. I'd like to get the King Crab, but not if I can get a mech pack with $5 less.

[Sumdumbum]

HBK-IIC Hero plz. Ill buy dat.