Posted 23 October 2017 - 06:59 AM
You do see the same build on the DWF, the DS is just faster with better mounts and agility. You see three-quarter versions of it on the MAD-IIC as well, using either the same number of lasers with a single Gauss or twin Gauss with fewer lasers. Again, though, the DS has better mounts (and so does the MC II-1, which is just as big of an outlier as the DS).
To combat the Gauss-vomit, you have to out-range it. But then you have the SNV to contend with and, frankly, the MCII can still hit you with its own ERLL and the Gauss and IS ERLL are not at all competitive unless they have access to that increasingly scarce 10% range quirk. 799 meters with 20-22 DHS and a TCI is nothing compared to >900 meters with 28 cDHS and a TCIV, the range gap is simply too large.
As for the Nightstar, I think it is more competent than some give it credit for, but a 63-point Gauss-vomit alpha at 55 kph just can't hold a candle to 72, 80, or 94. If PGI.
Does the DS warrant a nerf? I don't see how you could even do that without whacking the agility again, but that doesn't solve the broader issue of giant Clan alpha strikes. There is no justification for why Clans should continue to be able to blast out 71+ points from lasers or lasers and Gauss while IS continue with the same alphas they've had for four years now (and they have been diminished, too, with LPL damage nerf and quirk nerfs). The way I see it, there are four options:
1. More stringent ghost heat groupings on Clan lasers
2. Damage nerfs on Clan lasers
3. Broad, significant durability buffs for the IS
4. Broad, significant improvements to IS equipment (e.g. faster firing, colder firing everything so they can at least get similar sustained DPS as the Clans)
IMHO, the first two options are going to incite an uproar and, really, Light 'Mechs have it hard enough without the only weapons they can feasibly use getting ground to powder; GH also doesn't solve much because the Clans can just push and out-DPS the IS (see: Energy Draw). The third option is a finite resource for a 'Mech and is thus harder to actually take advantage of because of it, though it can be done and we've seen it before. The last option is the most desirable because the lack of it has been what's wrong with Clan/IS since 2014 and, appearances aside, it is the most straight-forward fix.
4
poor Spirit Bear
