CK16, on 13 October 2017 - 05:00 AM, said:
Why do these seem more frequent lately?!
Balance has not changed in a long time, but it also hasn't been in a state of total imbalance for awhile. Also this is based on battletech which has never balanced out Clan vs IS besides numbers (but we can't do that really in a pvp shooter That's like saying hey want to play Russian's that have crap but unlimited respawns? Or the Germans with all the fun toys but you get one life? Who wants to die? I guess in game IS seems to have a slight advantage of attrition in a 1v1 of equal tonnage(more armor and structure, better hit boxes on many mechs ect) but clans chew it up, TL:DR there, still down to skill and using the advantages to your strength and limit your weaknesses)
Grass is not as green as it looks from both sides, clans for instance would love to be able to have more forgiving ghost heat numbers, single shot AC's, shorter laser durations, structure and armor quirks, better torso twists on many assaults, ect. ect. ect. True 100% balance will likely never happen unless every mech at the tonnage brackets was the exact same, and could mount the exact same gear and weapons (like MW4....) but hell no to mixed tech atrocities!
TL:DR balance is honestly the best it has been since the Clans came in, is it perfect? No, but we never will have perfect balance in a game like this for many lore and game play reasons.
Why are these more frequent?
Because:
1) The skills tree. If I have to explain how this percentage based system buffed clan mechs to a disproportionate degree then there is no point in discussing this further.
2) The skills tree nerfs. Predominantly affected IS mechs far more than clan mechs. While PGI backed off of most of the really egregious ones that were part of the PTS, they nevertheless did nerf quite a few.
3) The energy rebalance. Example: Hitting LPLs by 1 little point may not be much but that adds up, particularly when you consider that this weapon was a (thee?) mainstay of most good if not competitive IS builds. See also energy range disparity.
4) The major rebalance last month. Here they were painfully careful to hit not just some so called “over performers” but their counterparts on the other side of the tech as well. Example: the LMG nerf applies not to just the mist lynx and cheetahs boating 6-8 of them (the only mechs imho that LMGs were “over performing” on) but they applied it to IS LMGs as well on whose side of the tech no mech can carry 8 and only 3 mechs can carry 6 and none of them are lights. This guarantees that the perceived imbalance is maintained and even heightened since the Clans got yet another 6B light on the same day (Jenner Hero) and are soon to get the Piranha.
5) The preponderance of new clan mechs since the IIcs came out, which have more numerous and/or higher hard points than any equivelant weight IS mech. What IS mech has the hard point number and height of a Deathstrike? A Mauler perhaps? Now try building them similarly and compare them value wise and model wise side by side. You don’t see a blatant imbalance there? How about something as mundane as a Hunchback IIc? Build me an IS 50 ton mech with JJ and the ability to carry 2 UAC10s at shoulder height with near full armor and back up lasers. Take any of the mostly clan mechs (oddly enough) mech from the MWOWC and build what was played in the tourney on a same weight IS mech and honestly tell me which you would rather play...IS quirks and all.
6) Civil War tech. Many clanners like to point to all the cool new stuff that the IS got vs the Clans and say, in effect “boo hoo, we got screwed”. This is totally disingenuous. The Heavy Laser line of weapons out classes anything new on the IS side. A 1 ton weapon doing 10 points or a 4 ton that does 18 both at reasonable heat. Yeah, the IS 10 ton, slow as ****, 15 pinpoint point HPPC compensates for that I guess.
There’s more to it than that of course, but I am just focusing on what I perceive as being the cause of “why are these [imbalance whine posts] more frequent” within the context of your assertion that balance is “the best it has been since the Clans came in”. Balance is not “the best it has been” and there are very good reasons why folks -on both sides of the tech mind you- are complaining about it.
Edited by Bud Crue, 13 October 2017 - 08:19 AM.