94 replies to this topic

[Knighthawk26]

How many of you have noticed that since the New Skills Tree went active LRM boats have proliferated. I tried to warn PGI that the new skill system would favor LRM's and make spamming them more profitable.

Why is this so? The answer is simple. Every LRM boat will get the skills to improve their main/only weapon system. LRM play is focused on offense, and LRM boats often skip investment in agility or other defensive skills/items. That means they all get a good target decay value to keep their locks long enough to pound an enemy even after they break LOS.

On the other hand, many mech pilots do not want to spend the large number of skill points needed to drill down and get the Radar Deprivation skills needed to counter the advantage that every LRM boat is going to have. Also the previous base range of ECM has been reduced if the ECM mech does not spend lots of skill points to enhance it. So LRM spamming mercs will have more juicy targets without ecm or Radar Deprevation to protect them. The result: Easy C-bills for the LRM boats, and frustration for everyone else.

Oh, and the poor non LRM mech on the receiving end of the yellow rain (I think that is the color I see when LRM's are raining on me) can't accelerate fast enough to charge the LRM boat before he is blasted by the now fully enhanced capabilities given to the LRM boats in the game. He didn't have enough skill points to get all the kinetic burst and speed tweaks. And the LRM boat doesn't need speed, armor, jump jets, etc. His singular role fits perfectly into the new meta focused on narrow specialization. All other mechs have to face real trade offs.

The solution is simple. Just remove both the target decay and radar deprivation skills from the game. Make LRM's lose lock-on if LOS is broken. This would greatly help the current imbalance in PUG play which is where new players start and where many of us long time players like to make a few drops when we have limited time to play.

Groups and Teams can easily include some fast, ecm equipped, "anti-LRM boat mechs" and counter the LRM menace. However, the more common PUG's in quick play are going to either switch to LRM boats to make easy c-bills, or quit due to frustration.

[Monkey Lover]

Still not really an issue in group Q. If the other team has to many lrm boats they get pushed and they die.

When laser ams hits with new tech I bet a lot of people will start using this.

Edited by Monkey Lover, 20 May 2017 - 07:22 AM.

[oldradagast]

LRM's are just the flavor of the week, nothing more, IMHO.

The only time post patch I've died to LRM's was on Polar Highlands where the enemy team had lots more LRM's and was better coordinated. Our team, for some dumb reason, decided that standing around in the center Domination cap zone trying to poke the LRM mechs to death was a great idea... of course, the LRM's kept falling even while the poking mechs couldn't see the target. Duh. A simple push would have won that match, but it didn't happen.

Yes, LRM's are useful now, sometimes. So? PPFLD is useful always on every map. Give it a week or two when people finally figure out that taking Radar Derp skills might be a good idea and LRM's will go back to be mostly useless.

[Mcgral18]

It's funny, people are asking bad weapons to be nerfed

[Kdogg788]

It's not even an issue in single play in my limited experience since the patch. I've only really played ballistics the past few days and never really had much trouble with LRMs anyway. I do find it hilarious how the players who needed radar dep and seismic just to get by are getting hammered.

-k

[Coolant]

I haven't noticed any change in the amount of missiles

[Foxwalker]

I am wondering if the issue is more an issue with the coding on this that choices in the skill tree. Even with Radar Deprivation, and ECM maxed it seems like LRMs are holding onto locks for longer than previously.

I pulled my old Awesome R out of mothballs and see that LRMs have been given a lot of love here. Most in higher tiers are not as aware yet as they generally distain LRM usage. I am guessing it may change after they test out that systems current new effectiveness. What is interesting, with the increase in ammo due to the skill tree, you can actually devote more room to secondary weapons as you can remove a few tons of that ammo.

Edited by Foxwalker, 20 May 2017 - 07:42 AM.

[El Bandito]

El Bandito, on 19 May 2017 - 08:43 AM, said:

Just give it a couple of weeks. Once people bother to skill up their mechs, LRMs will pipe down once more.

LRMs are weaksauce enough as is.

Foxwalker, on 20 May 2017 - 07:41 AM, said:

What is interesting, with the increase in ammo due to the skill tree, you can actually devote more room to secondary weapons as you can remove a few tons of that ammo.

At most two tons per ten tons of ammo. Not terribly impressive.

Edited by El Bandito, 20 May 2017 - 08:04 AM.

[Guffrus]

Knighthawk is exactly right.

[Too Much Love]

Knighthawk26, on 20 May 2017 - 07:18 AM, said:

How many of you have noticed that since the New Skills Tree went active LRM boats have proliferated.

Played many matches. No, they didn't.

[MaximusPayne]

El Bandito, on 20 May 2017 - 07:58 AM, said:

LRMs are weaksauce enough as is.
At most two tons per ten tons of ammo. Not terribly impressive.

Agreed. I ran 45 LRMs on my warhawk last night just to see if there was any significant improvements from the patch.
Nope. In fact, the weapon is even more inefficient in racking up kills due to less range and beefed up armor on the targets. So, back to SRMs I went. LRMs remain a non-issue in terms of balance.

[Foxfire kadrpg]

Mechs are also moving slower, and more sluggishly than before. In the PUG world, LRM Boats are experiencing an increase in available targets.

[Dogstar]

Mcgral18, on 20 May 2017 - 07:24 AM, said:

It's funny, baddies are asking bad weapons to be nerfed

FTFY

[roekenny]

lrms not the issue, it's the fact it breeds players who refuse to play their weight class as all special little snowflake and want to play "support" assaults and heavies. You can carry 1 or 2 but when all your 70+ tonnes all in the back and then they expect the team to get them locks and take hits. Sadly it's always been an issue but you can't reason with them as usually bring up "i get 1000+ damage per game so i can't be doing bad besides you only got 500 damage so F you." (Disregarding how all their dps slash while your precision and all them lovely locks you gave them and intel and doing their role as a off tank.) Until damage is only counts on areas what actually kill the mech and that 1000+ damage goes to 200 and their c-bill income slows down to a crawl with they take notice. Until them radar dep, ecm and ams your mechs and constantly break locks to put a middle finger up at your lrm pilots and do not encourage them.

Edited by roekenny, 20 May 2017 - 08:47 AM.

[Jackal Noble]

It wasn't the skill tree that's responsible for the lrmage, buildup was actually hitting critical mass in the weeks before.

Edited by JackalBeast, 20 May 2017 - 08:40 AM.

[PharmEcis]

For LOLs I setup a Mauler w/ 4 LRM15s... This was the first match out. It helped I had a 4x multiplier and picked polar...

Spoiler

Edited by PharmEcis, 20 May 2017 - 08:44 AM.

[Lightfoot]

Mostly I hear,"you're kidding me, no one brought LRMS?"

[Lightfoot]

PharmEcis, on 20 May 2017 - 08:43 AM, said:

For LOLs I setup a Mauler w/ 4 LRM15s... This was the first match out. It helped I had a 4x multiplier and picked polar...

Mauler LRM? You should have died. Their Lights were sleeping at the switch. Why can't I get games with sleeping Lights when I bring LRMs?

Edited by Lightfoot, 20 May 2017 - 08:50 AM.

[sycocys]

When did all the other more useful weapons stop working against LRMs?

[Felicitatem Parco]

sycocys, on 20 May 2017 - 08:52 AM, said:

When did all the other more useful weapons stop working against LRMs?

Some people who have a difficult time adjusting to change are not able to find the Radar deprivation nodes or the AMS overload nodes anymore.