Arrow 6, on 20 January 2018 - 12:29 PM, said:
Main balance strategy since skill tree hit has been a leveling down everything OP. How about a change of culture and buff underrated features instead?.
Like you, I and others have advocated for this in this thread. I think the number one reason it would be better is that nerfs tend to take a mech/build that feels good to play and make it no fun anymore. Buffing the competition doesn't make your mech feel less fun, but it means the competition gets increased fun. Yes, powercreep concerns and all that, but fun is important.
Think on all the critical nerfs over the last year or so.
CSPL nerfs made that fast but fragile lights no longer as fun to play. You couldn't deliver enough damage quickly enough to compensate for the risk of being one-shot while you worked your way around the enemy. Was the CSPL OP? Yes, but the nerf went so far as to make it useless. A smaller nerf (5 dmg?) plus a IS SPL buff would've made more sense.
The engine desync killed the ability of many heavy and assault mechs (the latter especially) to up-engine and dance in close during brawls. What used to be a preference choice (mobility vs. more firepower) was taken away and the game lost variety because of it.
The medium laser nerfs on both sides hurt lots of mechs, but particularly lights and mediums without the tonnage to take big weapons.
I'm sure there are a ton of other examples, but PGI's tendency to attempt to balance through nerfs more than buffs makes the game less fun to play. I want balance. I'd like for a lot of my IS robots to be something better than dusty chunks of metal occupying a mech bay. But nerfing my clan mechs doesn't make those IS variants feel any better. Lowest common denominator isn't fun.