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Currently there is no system in game that limits alpha strikes directly.
Ghost heat works somewhat but only limits certain weapon combinations which leaves loopholes that can be exploited by mechs with the right combination of hardpoints and free tonnage.
Also: Heat limits alpha strikes in some way, but mainly limits the sustained DPS a mech can put out. Putting out DPS while constantly shooting is the opposite of only shooting alpha strikes (talking Dakka vs Laservomit). When shooting alpha strikes you can peek out of cover->shoot->twist->drop back behind cover --> repeat. When you rely on DPS you have to face the enemy the entire time to put out damage and - in turn - you can be shot at the entire time.
Having both playstyles limited by the same factor (heat) makes balancing rather difficult.
My suggestion:
Keep the heat dissipation as it is on the live server right now and use weapon heat to limit the sustained DPS a mech can put out (heat already does that).
Remove ghost heat and unearth the fast refilling energy draw bar for limiting alpha strikes.
An example: 31 Points of available energy by default. When you empty your energy, your mech shuts down (just like it does with excess heat). Assuming the energy draw of a weapon equals the damage a weapon can put out (just as an example) this limits the alpha strike to 30 damage, no matter which combination of weapons you use. Weapons that spread damage, e.g. missles, could have a reduced energy draw to account for the damage spread.
The idea is to limit alpha strike damages by its own ingame resource and uncouple it from heat, which already limits the sustained DPS a mech can put out, to make weapon balance easier.
The few outperforming mech variants, that have a too good combination of durability (armor, structure, hitboxes), firepower and mobility can be put back into line by variant specific negative quirks.
Underperforming mech variants in turn can be buffed to be on par with the other mech variants.
First PTS impression after ~7 matches:
- The fast heat dissipation after an alpha strike (bug) is an immense buff to alpha strike builds
- Clan laser vomit still seems fine, simply swapped 2HLL+1ERML for 3 ERLL on my Vomit HBR, basically trading 8 alpha damage and 0.8 sustained DPS for a lot more range.
- The recoil on the clan Gauss is just a minor inconvenience you get used to really fast, has no lasting effect on the effectiveness of the Gauss as a weapon
Edited by Kaeseblock, 13 July 2018 - 11:59 PM.
