Warning EGO's will be bruised.
My take on game balance and the boring play.
Yes it's very dull, Chris Lowery's system doesn't work.
It just draws everything into the middle where he's tried to make every weapon play the same.
Now there is nothing wrong with this, if, and only if each Mech gets quirks for various weapon systems so that each variant has a point.
Mr Lowery doesn't want to do this, because it makes his skill tree look a complete failure, yet it's proven to be the one defining factor that bring some measure of balance between high and hard point mounted mechs.
Without quirks the Bushwhacker is just a mech that boats missiles. Without quirks the Annihilator is a nothing mech, the Uziel is a nothing mech because it has poor quirks in comparison, the Urbie also punches above it's weight, because of it's massive armour quirks.
The Grid Iron another example, a nothing mech, that was over quirked so it's single GR fired like a machine gun, suddenly became feared in Q.P. Quirks reduced, virtually disappearing once more.
The Night Gyr feared because it pop tarted and it is far more durable, and did higher damage, than the Victor poptart, (that caused gauss charge up, and hover jets) and had high mobility, (fast torso twist)coupled with above average hard points, needed a massive slap down, and got over slapped, that even if you use all the torso twist quirks is still very bad.
WarHawk a nothing mech, used as a LRM boat by the masses, that is mostly ignored other than by a few comp players, because it's ERPPC Quirks which the average shot in the game can't make use of.
Again it's base mech quirks, and not weapon changes that make this mech work.
Sure there are people that will say oh no that opinion is wrong, I get 600 damage with an Uziel easily in Q.P, but those people tend to be the type of people that frankly could get those kind of scores in an unquirked Vindicator.
The people that have decided between themselves to become the unelectted Voice of the community, are the same people that presented an alternative skill system that was so easily exploitable, it makes the official node system look good by comparison.
These changes won't do anything positive, for the game, just make it more how this very small minority, want to play the game.
It won't make OP mechs chilled, it won't make bad mechs better, it won't bridge any weapon balance between a single mount, and a mech that can boat high multiples.
All these proposed changes will do is make it easier to hit at range, and reduce the need for brawling, the only real change in brawling is the clan SRM Artemis change. this makes the Huntsman and the Hunchback II and Now the Storm crow even more powerful in scouting.
So yeah these proposed idea's are really going to make changes for the better
They're not even addressing the issues in the correct order, the core issues of this game which are are.
1. Weapon placement, location, how many can be boated.
2 Mobility, how fast a mech can torso twist is the primary, why sword and board clan builds were so good, and the Night Gyr, but speed is an important factor.
3 Clan equipment weight, and crit slots
4 Clan durability, XL engine, free case, that weighs nothing.
Until these base line mech abilities are addressed, everything else is pointless, these proposed weapon changes are only going to hurt the numbers of people paying to keep this game afloat, because the people that spend in this game are mostly people that are very poor shots, and increasing the range so that the good few shots can pick them off at range is going to cause far more to leave than dull stale game play.
Base line quirks, quirks and more quirks.
Are the only mitigating factors worth looking at, because these are the only things that can on a mech to mech basis, make a low hard point mech.
then only then should weapons be looked at for their personal niche placement, doing it the proposed way is only going to make the things that matter harder to balance.
I do understand why this has been chosen first, it's because, it's the thing P.G.I are most likely to be receptive in altering.
But it's wrong and no matter how well meaning will damage the game, make the average timid person even more timid and stop playing, which is the one thing the comp people never ever take into consideration, the effects on marketing, and sales, only how they want to play the game.
For all P.G.I's faults, they've made a game that while has become increasingly dull, has some elements of balance in it, which is more than can be said for MWLL the most unbalance pile of ****, I've ever played, which many point to as the way to do it right.
If anyone of this imposed 'voice of the community' is actively 'helping' make MWLL please remove yourself from the players committee immediately and take no further part in trying to make this game good, the proof you can't is out there already.
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