Lightfoot, on 12 April 2017 - 09:35 AM, said:
That's the correct fix for LRMs that adheres to the science/tech.
As far as Artemis is concerned I think
I remain unconvinced that LRMs should be a major target for the latest cycle of buffs / nerfs; a few tweaks to make them slightly more consistent maybe, but LRMs especially have a nasty habit of swinging to the extremes of over-powered and under-powered after anything more than a slight change. Of all other weapons systems, LRMs have the most variance in effectiveness and consistency. They also carry the capacity to do the most damage in any given match (forgetting for a second that lasers and PPC exist.) Fun fact, 9.5 tons of LRM ammo can out-damage the meta Kodiak Dakka build; of course the trick is that the Kodiak can place all it's damage where it needs to go, whereas it's nigh impossible to consistently achieve north of 75% accuracy with IS-LRMs... C-LRMs can do better for accuracy, since their spread isn't so much space as it is time.
Which leads me into another gripe: the distinction between Inner Sphere and Clan LRMs isn't payed enough respect in the discussion when it comes to their balance. While both ostensibly fulfill the same role their performance varies greatly in different situations: IS-LRMs do better in environments where target locks are inconsistent because their damage is a single burst (salvo) versus over time as it is with C-LRMs; it's harder to sidestep an IS-LRM salvo versus a C-LRM volley. C-LRMs can kill very quickly with a hard lock, whereas IS-LRMs shave the hell out of
all the target's armour. Can't brawl with IS-LRMs, with C-LRMs it's at least an option. Balance changes for one won't necessarily translate well to another; I think makes some sense to cut C-LRM range as they don't operate well at extreme distances without dedicated support, but cutting range on IS-LRMs has a greater impact on damage output. This is why I voted 'maybe'.
I hesitate to give away my 'not-really-a-secret-secrets', but with adv. target decay and
no radar deprivation, IS-LRM salvos can have an impact at distances far beyond where most people expect. I'm not sure about most of the other changes to LRMs proposed in this thread, but I can at least say that I disagree with the range cut as proposed