27 replies to this topic

[FunkyT]

So I recently gave in to the call of the meta and got myself the Mad Cat MkII basic pack. Everybody and their mother seem to go on about how good they are, how they are Pay2Win and all of that. When I first saw the concept art I just thought "Holy crap, high weapon mounts and huge shield arms? Dis gon' be good!".
Now that I played these things for a couple days I just gotta say:

"Holy crap, those hitboxes are horrible!"

This mech feels like it's 90% Torso, 10% legs and the arms are somehow immaterial and not catch as much fire as I'd expect. Twisting feels almost pointless, since you can't even properly shield when twisting 90°. The nose just sticks out at the front by quite a bit and part of the torso reaches over the arms, even without Mickey-Mouse ears.

Now I'm not blind (most of the time), I can see the merrit to this mech. Very high weapon mounts, all in line with the cockpit or even higher, and the general crazyness that is "Clan Assault Battlemechs". These things can pack a punch and have a decent peeking profile.
But that said, with these enormous hitboxes the Mad Cat feel very much like glass cannons to me.

I personally feel like the Torso section of the mech is somewhat oversized and that PGI's mech designers could scale the whole section down a bit. Might even help with it's overall kinda bloated look compared to the concept art (my opinion, of course).
You could make the argument that improving the defense on this offensive powerhouse might make it overpowered and may call for the tried and true Agility-Nerf (Copyright, Trademark).
But seeing how the bulk of the firepower is set in the arms, and these would likely blow off first when twisting and shielding successfully, I feel like this may still be alright. With some of these fielding torso mounted energy hardpoints, I personally would rather sacrifice some of my punch to extend my battlefield presence instead of just dying outright.


Now what do you guys feel like? Am I shoveling crap, or do those who actually play the Mad Cats agree on the giant hitbox part?
Would like to know if I'm the only one being somewhat disappointed with their battlefield performance.


May also be my own tendency to stick to the frontline, which this mech might just not be made for.


Edit:
I'm talking about the new Mad Cat MkII, didn't make that clear. Totally forgot the Timber Wolf used to be called Mad Cat

Edited by FunkyT, 20 August 2017 - 10:38 AM.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

Its pretty accepted at this point that the Timber Wolf has terrible Hitboxes. The only thing holding it up above the pre buff dragon was that it had an XL weight engine that didn't die on side torso loss and so it could hold a respectable amount of firepower.

In this day of huge structure and armor quirks, LFE engines, and higher firepower options on both sides the Timber Wolf doesn't compete in the top tier anymore, it hasn't for awhile now.

Other mechs just dominate in roles that the Timber Wolf used to hold. Its mostly just a mech known as being a jack of all trades but master of none.

[RestosIII]

Dakota1000, on 20 August 2017 - 10:32 AM, said:

Its pretty accepted at this point that the Timber Wolf has terrible Hitboxes. The only thing holding it up above the pre buff dragon was that it had an XL weight engine that didn't die on side torso loss and so it could hold a respectable amount of firepower.

In this day of huge structure and armor quirks, LFE engines, and higher firepower options on both sides the Timber Wolf doesn't compete in the top tier anymore, it hasn't for awhile now.

Other mechs just dominate in roles that the Timber Wolf used to hold. Its mostly just a mech known as being a jack of all trades but master of none.

He's talking about the MCII. Loading into a match otherwise I'd dispute some of his statements.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

RestosIII, on 20 August 2017 - 10:34 AM, said:

He's talking about the MCII. Loading into a match otherwise I'd dispute some of his statements.

Ah, I see now, he edited after I made my comment. Thought I was going crazy for a moment there.

[FunkyT]

RestosIII, on 20 August 2017 - 10:34 AM, said:

He's talking about the MCII. Loading into a match otherwise I'd dispute some of his statements.

Well, guess I can be looking forward to a preaching of the Shark-Saint himself

[Angel of Annihilation]

The Madcat Mk II despite the hitboxes is still a good mech because of all those high mounted weapons however it is no where near as powerful as all the IS whiners want to make it out to be and this includes even the hero which is probably the best variant of the entire pack.

[FunkyT]

Yeah, I didn't mean to say it's a bad mech. It's just that they feel stupidly squishy. As I said, pretty much like Glass Cannons.
Maybe it's my somewhat reckless playstyle preventing me from having consistently good matches with these. Gotta start treating them as glass cannons, I guess.

[Snowbluff]

RestosIII, on 20 August 2017 - 10:34 AM, said:

He's talking about the MCII. Loading into a match otherwise I'd dispute some of his statements.

He's absolutely right,. The MCII shares the hitbox issues with the missile pods.

However, the MCII has the better arm hardpoints, which helps considerably. However, this means the arms are good for shielding, which is a bad thing, because you might as well have lost a side torso if you're missing a ballistic...

Keep in mind the MCII is going to be a huge target. I tend to die pretty quickly in it simply because people will always shoot me first.

#diamondshark4life

[Imperius]

Mad Cat MK II is life

[RestosIII]

FunkyT, on 20 August 2017 - 10:43 AM, said:

Well, guess I can be looking forward to a preaching of the Shark-Saint himself

Alright, got some free time, so I might as well describe my personal experiences with her.

Her arms and legs take the most hits out of all her parts. If I try to twist, the majority of the enemy fire is going into my arms, which, depending on your build, could either be crippling, or good shielding. The missile ears are actually not a target that's really aimed at outside of when you're getting hit from the side, and I don't really feel like I'm being punished for having them. The only times where I feel like hitboxes are failing me are when I, in hindsight, was just staring too much, or over-twisting and showing the flat side of her missile ears.

You want to hear some advice on how I think she should be run though?



She CAN be tanky, (I'm a big fan of my 2 LB 20-X + 2 HLas build since I'm crazy) but you'll get the most out of her if you keep to medium ranges. Try to keep her torso as the only thing visible to the enemy, and use medium-long range weaponry. 2 Gauss and 4 MLas actually works very well for that purpose. Combine that with her decent speed, and you've got a reliable gun platform. You're the middle ground between brawlers like Gladiators, and snipers like Warhawks. Oh, and if you want to run missiles on her, use ATMs. Larger LRM racks make the missile ears finally reach the point where they start to turn into viable targets to be aimed at, and her main weakness is when mechs get within the 300 meter distance anyways, which is where ATMs will pack the most punch to scare enemies off. And don't be scared of having at least 1 JJ. The added options for getting over small bumps are understated usually.

Honestly, even though I admit I'm SUPER biased, she's easily my favorite Assault mech. Only Clan Assault that I feel comfortable in for maneuverability+doesn't have knuckle dragging weaponry. You just need to be a bit cautious with what battles you fight, since she definitely isn't an Atlas.

[El Bandito]

If you are dying too fast in MCII, then you are not engaging at the right range.

[Scout Derek]

Imperius, on 20 August 2017 - 11:19 AM, said:

Mad Cat MK II is my entire childhood

ftfy

[Imperius]

Scout Derek, on 20 August 2017 - 04:35 PM, said:

ftfy

This is also a true statement lol.

I’m thinking my next crusade will be for 8 v 8. Thankfully it seems. The majority on at least here in in twitch are for it.

[Scout Derek]

Imperius, on 20 August 2017 - 04:59 PM, said:

This is also a true statement lol.

I’m thinking my next crusade will be for 8 v 8. Thankfully it seems. The majority on at least here in in twitch are for it.

I mean, the Mad Cat MKII came up brand new thanks to MW4. So there's that for fancy nu tech

But yeah, 8v8 was a thing I never got to hop on into but watched. Rarely played any 8v8 with the exception of Comp Play and private matches.

[Hit the Deck]

The thing about the Mad Cat MKII....

...is that she needs her walking animation to be fixed.


Then I'll finally buy the standard package.

[Imperius]

Hit the Deck, on 20 August 2017 - 05:15 PM, said:

The thing about the Mad Cat MKII....

...is that she needs her walking animation to be fixed.


Then I'll finally buy the standard package.

When you hire Michael J Fox as your mo-cap actor your gonnna have a bad time.

Seriously I was disappointed I didn’t get a hero variant or even gold paint.

I was one of the few that always ran my gold Dire Wolf.

[Metus regem]

Imperius, on 20 August 2017 - 05:24 PM, said:

When you hire Michael J Fox as your mo-cap actor your gonnna have a bad time.

Seriously I was disappointed I didn’t get a hero variant or even gold paint.

I was one of the few that always ran my gold Dire Wolf.

Hey Imperious, are you going to do MechCon this year? I'd be a great way to vent to Russ and Co. In person about the walk animation, if it's not fixed by then....

[Imperius]

Metus regem, on 20 August 2017 - 05:43 PM, said:

Hey Imperious, are you going to do MechCon this year? I'd be a great way to vent to Russ and Co. In person about the walk animation, if it's not fixed by then....

Yes, and I hope I don’t have to vent about that. I’m quite mad the whole pack was super rushed.

[Metus regem]

Imperius, on 20 August 2017 - 05:45 PM, said:

Yes, and I hope I don’t have to vent about that. I’m quite mad the whole pack was super rushed.

Cool see you there.

[Xetelian]

They really need to do a touch up on this and the TBR. The STK is a good frame of reference, it narrows at the tip quite a bit and allows you to spread the damage back and forth between the STs.


Maybe we could get a movement going? They only fix these things when enough people talk about it and this has nothing to do with it being powerful and everything to do with it being corrected.