12
It is clear that there is an issue with Laser power and usage in MWO, a reality supported by observation, play, player feedback, and metric monitoring. Energy balance is something that is always being discussed in the community; we see it on a daily basis in the forums, in our direct feedback tickets, and in other community discussions. However, the changes originally outlined in the Patch Notes for October 17th and informed by feedback and monitoring were far too wide-ranging, with very significant deltas in their values. It is because of your resulting feedback and our own internal discussions that we are now scaling back those originally-planned energy weapon changes.
*Please note that this rollback ONLY pertains to the laser energy weapon changes made to small and large lasers. The medium lasers are still going to be addressed but on a much reduced scale. Ballistic/Missile balance changes will still move forward as mentioned in the patch notes.
Our main goal with this balance pass was to initially target Medium Lasers in terms of their use and effectiveness in the mid-range ‘Laser vomit’ builds currently being fielded. At this point our focus isn’t about targeting Alpha Strike capabilities specifically, but the overall usage of Medium Lasers when comparing them as a 1-ton weapon versus heavier weapons in the same class. For example, comparing 3 ER Medium lasers against a single Large Pulse Laser shows a significant imbalance when compared ton-for-ton when looking at weapons of relative range and damage profiles.
In our investigation into possible solutions, we found that it was necessary to also address the DPS situation with the other Laser weaponry as part-and-parcel with the ML changes. This caused a domino effect resulting in what essentially amounted to a global Energy weapon nerf. While serious and continued considerations for Energy and weapon balance are needed, the manner in which this particular balance pass was structured and presented was not the ideal approach. This was a case of too many changes, of too great a significance, happening all at once.
While we are still aiming to address Medium Laser balance in this patch, the changes you’ll see in the October patch are with a much smaller delta than previously outlined in the original Patch Notes. The changes do still impact Cooldown. When evaluating these changes however, it should be noted that Duration should always be kept in mind when doing any calculations on the changes proposed. (Total laser Cooldown is a sum of Cooldown and Duration. The Cooldown timer does not begin until the end of the laser Duration. e.g. a Medium laser's Duration is 0.9 seconds and has a 3.5 second Cooldown. That is a total re-fire time of 4.4 seconds.)
Medium Laser
- Cooldown Increased to 3.5 (from 3.0)
- Cooldown Increased to 4 (from 3.35)
- Cooldown Increased to 4.5 (from 3.75)
- Cooldown Increased to 5.5 (from 5.0)
The Grasshopper quirk changes...
The changes to the GHR-5H, GHR-5HC and GHR-5P were being made in anticipation of the original, global Energy change originally outlined the Patch Notes. As a result of the adjustments outlined above, we will not be going forward with those Grasshopper Quirk changes in the October patch.
