24 replies to this topic

[AjerWerklWerkl]

Supposedly it's 5 damage per shell... but when a shell hits my mech, the whole mech turns yellow, and I'm quite sure it's not doing like 0.5 damage to each component... because often artillery can destroy a weak open component.

Can anyone explain what's going on, and how artillery really works? Thank you!

[Nightbird]

Any damage turns the mech yellow. Go into testing grounds, target a mech, and sweep a small laser (3 damage) quickly across all components. Everything it touches will turn yellow.

[w0qj]

Clicky:
https://mwomercs.com...400-20april2021

Consumables Overview
In this patch, adjustments have been made to artillery and air strikes in order to boost their area denial (Artillery) and reach (Air) aspects, and to move them away from their current “feast or famine” state. Currently due to high damage shells of these strikes, and very short period of bombardment, luck plays a large part in determining whether a target is able to move out from a strike in one piece. This is particularly detrimental to medium and lighter ‘Mechs, considering their lesser armor. The approach taken here is to increase the bombardment duration (or air strike length), and in return significantly reduce damage per shell. You would have time to leave the strike area before being crippled, but you’ll take noticeable damage over time if you decide to stay in the area for the duration.

Changlog (Previous Values are based on Pre-March Patch Values):

Artillery Strike:
Damage per shell reduced to 5 (from 15)
Bombarding duration increased to 6 seconds (from 3)
Total number of shells increased to 20 (from 10)

Air Strike:
Damage per bomb reduced to 10 (from 15)
Total number of bombs increased to 7 (from 6) - longer distance

- - - - - - - - - -
And of course, Skill Tree nodes can improve upon above stats

Edited by w0qj, 18 April 2022 - 06:11 PM.

[AjerWerklWerkl]

Thanks both... Yeah, I know that any damage to a component turns it yellow. My question is, is the 5 damage really divided equally across all components? Because there are a lot of components... head + 3 torsos + 2 arms + 2 legs = 8 components = 0.625 damage per component.

But if it's really just 0.625 damage per component, why is it that one shell feels so much more potent, and are actually able to destroy components fairly often???

If it's really 0.625 damage per component, I'd care a lot less about artillery!

[Lumovanis]

Artillery damage isn't divided across your mech, from what I've seen, the full damage splashes across the mech. So that 5 damage from a shell is actually 5 across all the areas in the splash, though I suspect that distance from the hit also reduces the damage some. Being hit directly with a shell does significantly more damage, making it risky to stay inside an active artillery zone.

Edited by Lumovanis, 19 April 2022 - 04:21 AM.

[AjerWerklWerkl]

YES! Exactly Lumovanis... I think that's what happens, which is MUCH more significant than 5 damage! It's actually like 40 damage PER SHELL!

[Curccu]

AjerWerklWerkl, on 19 April 2022 - 05:58 AM, said:

YES! Exactly Lumovanis... I think that's what happens, which is MUCH more significant than 5 damage! It's actually like 40 damage PER SHELL!

would be 35 if it hit all components it can hit with full damage and I don't think it is full damage like Lumovanis said, probably 5 to section it hits and then less damage further the hit is from center of impact.

But yes If you play light mechs smokes are scary...

[AjerWerklWerkl]

Thanks Curccu!

So it seems that no one actually knows what damage artillery actually does!! Hoping someone from PGI might comment? Thank you in advance!

[Magnus Santini]

The premise of area denial being enhanced is a little dubious. Big guys sitting around policing smokes from the ground are too slow to get out of the way. Little guys actually doing work are busy and can't run live fire drills.

[Corbantu]

The area denial is an interesting concept, I kinda wish the airstrike was more of a burst damage approach tho. Leave the arty foe area denial.

[feeWAIVER]

I think it's a flat 5 dmg to each component except the head.
35 total.

It would explain why a good arty strike can raise your dmg score by about 250.

[TheCaptainJZ]

AjerWerklWerkl, on 18 April 2022 - 04:59 PM, said:

Supposedly it's 5 damage per shell... but when a shell hits my mech, the whole mech turns yellow, and I'm quite sure it's not doing like 0.5 damage to each component... because often artillery can destroy a weak open component.

Can anyone explain what's going on, and how artillery really works? Thank you!

I had to really dig to get the original description of this feature... https://mwomercs.com...-drawing-board/

Quote

Each explosive shell does 10 damage.
Each explosive shell has a damage fall off of 10 meters from its impact point and damage falls to 0 at the outer edge of this radius.

Numerous things have changed between then and now, but I think the basic damage implementation still holds true, so if you get hit directly (I think they fall straight down from the sky), you take x damage and if it doesn't hit your mech geo directly, you might take splash damage.

I think that might be how it works. I do remember they added an exception for head damage where it is greatly reduced so you aren't so likely to get head-shotted.

Edited by TheCaptainJZ, 19 April 2022 - 10:48 AM.

[Corvus Antaka]

this is why we need a bar graph HTAL

[LordNothing]

isnt there a hard cap on how much damage a mech can take durring a single strike? i thought i read something about that. i think the idea was to keep mechs from getting one hitted by unlucky rng rolls.

[feeWAIVER]

Does arty hit your head?
I didn't think so, but now that I think of it, I think I was thinking of Long Tom.

[Curccu]

feeWAIVER, on 19 April 2022 - 10:41 AM, said:

I think it's a flat 5 dmg to each component except the head.
35 total.

It would explain why a good arty strike can raise your dmg score by about 250.

depends how many mechs happen to wander in that zone and how many shells each of the catches.
If there is 20 shells coming down and 4 mechs catches 3 of them each (pretty reasonable numbers) that would be 700 dmg with flat 35 dmg.

feeWAIVER, on 19 April 2022 - 06:26 PM, said:

Does arty hit your head?
I didn't think so, but now that I think of it, I think I was thinking of Long Tom.

Not anymore.

Long tom just did shitloads of damage to all components and one shotted pretty much everything in the area. Worst case pretty much could wipe whole wave of attackers GGCLOSE.

[AjerWerklWerkl]

Curccu, on 20 April 2022 - 12:54 AM, said:

depends how many mechs happen to wander in that zone and how many shells each of the catches.
If there is 20 shells coming down and 4 mechs catches 3 of them each (pretty reasonable numbers) that would be 700 dmg with flat 35 dmg.

Thanks Curccu! Yeah, your point here explains why it can't be a flat 35 damage per mech, because even with a really good arty hit one doesn't see 700 dmg added at the end of match. So it's something less than that...

(Many thanks also to TheCaptainJZ for that old link. Hard to say how much of that is still true!)

What I can see from this thread is that no one really knows the answer!!! I wish an admin would chime in with some facts!

[TheCaptainJZ]

AjerWerklWerkl, on 20 April 2022 - 08:44 AM, said:

(Many thanks also to TheCaptainJZ for that old link. Hard to say how much of that is still true!)

I don't think anyone at PGI exactly knows either. They've have to dig into the code again and discover it. As for what still holds true:

• Cost: 40,000 CB -- YES
  
• Requires 1 module slot -- YES and NO. The Module system was scrapped with the old skill tree but we did get limited Consumable slots instead.
  
• Can only be used once per match. -- YES
  
• If used, the module must be repurchased for the next match. -- YES
  
• There is an 8 second flight time between the call for support and impact of the first shell. -- Not sure the exact number
  
• 6 shells are fired and land within 3 seconds of the first shell making impact. -- This has changed to 20 within 6 seconds? Whatever the Cauldron patch notes said.
  
• The 6 shells will drop randomly within 50 meters of the targeted location. -- I don't recall if the radius has changed. Also, is it really random? I think there are skill nodes that will shrink the radius also.
  
• When a player targets a location for artillery, a smoke canister appears at the location and continues to smoke for the duration of the barrage. -- YES, based on the ARM (circle) reticle, not torso (plus reticle)
  
• Each explosive shell does 10 damage. -- Changed
  
• Each explosive shell has a damage fall off of 10 meters from its impact point and damage falls to 0 at the outer edge of this radius. -- Unsure but probably yes.

MC Purchased Artillery Strikes

• Cost: 15 MC -- YES
  
• There is an 6.5 second flight time between the call for support and impact of the first shell. -- Cbill and MC versions were converged into the same stats when the old skill tree was replaced, so the time for both might be 6.5 seconds now.
  
• 10 shells are fired and land within 3 seconds of the first shell making impact. -- There's only one type of strike with now 20 shells.
  
• (I've cut out redundant points)

[Hobbles v]

Corbantu, on 19 April 2022 - 10:41 AM, said:

The area denial is an interesting concept, I kinda wish the airstrike was more of a burst damage approach tho. Leave the arty foe area denial.

The area denial effect I feel is less about making people move away (although a lot do) bit more stopping people from entering an area as well. Most people with brains don't walk into an active artillery strike until it's over.

The other big bonus for artillery is the blinding effect. When I drop smoke on someone and they stay in the series of explosions I've found I can be a lot less cautious poking on them. I see artillery strikes as free damage, mostly coming from the shooting I get to do while my target is blinded/running.

They are also great for covering a retreat.

[AjerWerklWerkl]

So no one actually has a precise answer for how artillery ACTUALLY works, it seems? (Many thanks to those who've replied so far.)