20 replies to this topic

[Yoho]

I can't quite pinpoint the difference between 'simple' laser (such as heavy-med lasers), ER-lasers and pulse-lasers.

I see that heavy-med are slow-firing and deal more damage. But that is generally all I can see... Maybe they take more slots... but does it really matter? On NVA I don't feel any shortage in slots.

Could you please tell me, short and simple, what's the tactical difference between those three types?

Maybe you could provide me with a link to a good guide to lasers?

[AnAnachronismAlive]

Hey Yoho! The ingame-mechlab or pages like THIS provide certain characteristics for each weapon. Generally you can say that

• Standard Small lasers do low damage, have low range, low weight in terms of tonnage, lower cooldown between shots, a low burn-time and produce less heat than
  
• Standard Medium lasers that do average damage, have more range, higher weight in terms of tonnage, a longer cooldown between shots, a longer burn-time and produce more heat than
  
• Standard Large Lasers that do high damage, have high range, high weight in terms of tonnage, a long cooldown between shots, even longer burn-time and produce high heat.

These general characteristics count for the other lasergroups, but

• ER-Lasers (small, medium and large) have more range, but produce more heat per shot than their standard counterparts, while
  
• Pulse-Lasers (small, medium and large) do a bit more damage, can fire faster but have less range and more weight than their standard counterparts.

These families of lasers exist on Clan-Side too (except they are more advanced in terms of technology and don't have use for standard lasers anymore ) and work the same, but do more damage, have higher range, weight less but produce more heat in general.

Furthermore you have Clan-Exclusive only

• Micro-Lasers (cute n cuddly baby-small lasers - rest is kinda self-explanatory)
  
• Heavy-Lasers (do more damage, need more slots, produce more heat, have longer cooldown and lower range)

Have fun and do not expose your eyes to laserbeams too often without your cockpit-polarization being fully operational. Else yer world gonne be disco non-stop for forever-ever-ever, baby!

Edited by AnAnachronismAlive, 06 August 2020 - 05:52 AM.

[Yoho]

Ah, thank you for he numbers, and thank you more for wrapping it up for me. I saw numbers in the client, but I could not make up a rule out of them, on my own.

So as I understand it, tactics-wise: ER is for longer range, while Pulse are Heavy are rather for a knife-range killing blow.

[AnAnachronismAlive]

Yoho, on 06 August 2020 - 05:58 AM, said:

So as I understand it, tactics-wise: ER is for longer range, while Pulse are Heavy are rather for a knife-range killing blow.

No worries, lad. We are happy to help any newcomer around as much as we can (bring friends!!! ).

Yep, generally some of em are for long-range encounters while others are for mid2short-range brawls. Generally ye try to setup your weapon setup kinda synergetic by using weapon systems that kinda share effectice weapon range etc. (like an Autocannon 20 and Standard Medium Lasers having the same range, so you can unload an alpha-strike without thinking about effective weapon range too much).

But first rule is: have fun and keep experimenting. But since this game can feel a little grindy in the beginning, do not hesitate to ask whatever question comes to your mind. MWO-Community is very helpful and there are a lot of guys exceeding my knowledge bout weapon types etc. by far.

See you on the battlefield ... and again ... bring friends !

[AnAnachronismAlive]

Funny thing ... ye registered 2k12 already, so I assume ye are more of a comebacker than a newcomer.

[Yoho]

AnAnachronismAlive, on 06 August 2020 - 06:47 AM, said:

Funny thing ... ye registered 2k12 already, so I assume ye are more of a comebacker than a newcomer.

Yes =) I registered at the very beginning and even played some matches. I was very excited for the online MW action! But the optimization and the UI were too bad. So I left for WT, WoT and other combat machinery, and now I am trying to start again.

[Aidan Crenshaw]

Welcome back, then did you know that you can mouse-over your weapons in the mechlab and it will show you a tool tip with all the item's crunchy numbers? Also this, albeit a bit techy, could be interesting: https://mwomercs.com.../list/full.json
Also, smurfy might be outdated, but it's equipment table should reflect the latest values: https://mwo.smurfy-net.de/equipment
Wanna theorycraft mechbuilds outside of the gameclient? https://www.nav-alpha.com/mech/ has what you need.

[Yoho]

Aidan Crenshaw, on 07 August 2020 - 12:02 AM, said:

Welcome back, then did you know that you can mouse-over your weapons in the mechlab and it will show you a tool tip with all the item's crunchy numbers?

Sure thing! It's just that sometimes it's a bit difficult to make a system out of all the values on different guns. And also there're things that are not too self-explanatory (such as, 'spread-fire', for example)

[AnAnachronismAlive]

Yoho, on 07 August 2020 - 01:20 AM, said:

Sure thing! It's just that sometimes it's a bit difficult to make a system out of all the values on different guns. And also there're things that are not too self-explanatory (such as, 'spread-fire', for example)

Again, lad: No need 2 worry. Mr. Crenshaw and myself - and lotsa other even more helpful folks - are happy to lend a hand whenever possible. So if ye have questions => Fire at will!

[Yiryi-Sa]

AnAnachronismAlive, on 06 August 2020 - 05:17 AM, said:

• Standard Large Lasers that do high damage, have high range, high weight in terms of tonnage, a long cooldown between shots, even longer burn-time and produce high heat.

Fun fact about IS Large Lasers: they cooldown faster than IS Mediums, despite having longer duration.

[Horseman]

Yiryi-Sa, on 07 August 2020 - 07:05 PM, said:

Fun fact about IS Large Lasers: they cooldown faster than IS Mediums, despite having longer duration.

... keeping in mind that the cooldown doesn't start until the burn ends.

[Yiryi-Sa]

Horseman, on 08 August 2020 - 01:31 AM, said:

... keeping in mind that the cooldown doesn't start until the burn ends.

“...despite having longer duration.”

This can be demonstrated on any unquirked mech. Yes, the first medium laser shot delivers damage faster, but any follow up shot shows an IS Large Laser cooling down faster by a small yet noticeable margin.

[Leone]

The only weapons that really spread fire are LBX autocannons and missiles. We talk about lasers 'spreading fire' mostly because with longer burn times it's assumed a skilled mechwarrior will torso twist to spread the shot out.

~Leone.

[Yoho]

Leone, on 08 August 2020 - 12:22 PM, said:

The only weapons that really spread fire are LBX autocannons and missiles. We talk about lasers 'spreading fire' mostly because with longer burn times it's assumed a skilled mechwarrior will torso twist to spread the shot out.

~Leone.

Ah, yes, I've seen this 'spread fire' exactly on LBX. What does it mean? It shoots all around the crosshair, like a shotgun?..

[Horseman]

Yoho, on 09 August 2020 - 10:01 AM, said:

Ah, yes, I've seen this 'spread fire' exactly on LBX. What does it mean? It shoots all around the crosshair, like a shotgun?..

Basically that, yes.

[Gilgamecc]

Yoho, on 06 August 2020 - 05:58 AM, said:

Ah, thank you for he numbers, and thank you more for wrapping it up for me. I saw numbers in the client, but I could not make up a rule out of them, on my own.

So as I understand it, tactics-wise: ER is for longer range, while Pulse are Heavy are rather for a knife-range killing blow.

You also have to take your build into account, like I have a pet Rifleman-3N build that runs twin LB10x and a half dozen small lasers.

Surely the ER smalls or four mediums might be a better fit, you say?

Well no. The regular smalls do the same damage as ER, and while they do have ~less~ range than the ERs, they only give up 50m of optimal range but produce exactly half the heat. Making them spectacularly good for high DPS knife fighting, while giving up a very manageable amount of range. Mediums would require more sacrifices in what is essentially an autocannon gun truck build, and don't allow for the same heat endurance.

[letir]

Gilgamecc, on 09 August 2020 - 11:12 AM, said:

You also have to take your build into account, like I have a pet Rifleman-3N build that runs twin LB10x and a half dozen small lasers.

Surely the ER smalls or four mediums might be a better fit, you say?

Well no. The regular smalls do the same damage as ER, and while they do have ~less~ range than the ERs, they only give up 50m of optimal range but produce exactly half the heat. Making them spectacularly good for high DPS knife fighting, while giving up a very manageable amount of range. Mediums would require more sacrifices in what is essentially an autocannon gun truck build, and don't allow for the same heat endurance.

LBX build with heat problems?

[Horseman]

I mean, take 2xUAC10 and you have the firepower of those two LB10s and quad mediums combined.

[Omniseed]

letir, on 09 August 2020 - 11:16 AM, said:

LBX build with heat problems?

it's for out-heat endurance killing other mechs, sometimes two or more

[letir]

Omniseed, on 09 August 2020 - 10:41 PM, said:

it's for out-heat endurance killing other mechs, sometimes two or more

I don't think that dinky lasers are matter much in outlasting anything on the 'Mech which have 90% of firepower in ballistic builds. Kissing enemies in the face without any durability quirks is suicide.