pbiggz, on 19 September 2023 - 09:54 AM, said:
I don't think we'll get a fix for lock-on weapons that doesn't involve a different lock-on mechanic. I'd love to see one that maybe rewards positioning and skill a little more, but I can't say I know what that would look like.
The thing is, the current locking mechanic actually does that. It rewards direct locking by having a constant 1 second lock time for targets you can see, and disincentivizes indirect without TAG or NARC by increasing lock times based on distance to target and whether or not they're under ECM protection. It also does reward skill and positioning, because to be consistently effective with these weapons you need to be aware of your position and your opponents position, and forces you to keep staring at them. The locking mechanic doesn't need yet another rework, especially not a biased one. Not that its even possible at this point.
What can and should be changed however, is the effectiveness of the counters and the weapons themselves. ECM should not get more effectiveness from skill tree like how active probe doesn't, radar deprivation should be max 70% so that it effectively only counters the benefits of target decay, and AMS should really have its range reduced and the AMS quirks on the 2-4 AMS mechs removed (because its unlikely they'll ever bother fixing AMS being able to shoot through all terrain or to have diminishing returns).
Similarly LRMs can be rebalanced with stats changes. Reduced minimum range, Increased velocity, increased cooldown, heat and notable ghost heat penalties. These are to spread out the sizes of missile volleys, give people more breathing room to react and seek cover while also making them actually reliable weapons for long range bursts. Consistent DPS with them would require a NARC.
Artemis upgrade removing minimum range entirely, and providing even more velocity alongside the spread reduction (that only works against targets in LoS to begin with) would make artemis LRM builds more focused towards solo play and direct fire fighting, while at the same limiting volley sizes even further due to slot and tonnage penalties. Personally I'd like to see clan LRMs lose minimum range completely, because the way they stream fire would limit their effectiveness at close range very hard. While Artemis clan LRMs should have their volley delay stat reduced so that they come out of the launcher quicker and in a tighter pack to more effectively resist AMS alongside the proposed velocity increase.
ATMs are in an alright spot. Though they could come out of the launcher in a more tighter pack by reducing volley delay so that they aren't quite so vulnerable to overly abundant AMS options.
Streaks are bit of a pickle, because you can't increase their damage or they'll start crippling light mechs in a single volley. Overall a valid approach is to lower their heat and cooldown while increasing their critical damage and ammo per ton to make them more into a consistent DPS weapon that rewards committing to a target. One that encourages the player to keep moving and dancing around their opponent while they whittle away at them. That way you avoid legging or taking a torso off a 20-25 ton mech in one volley, but improve their chances against anything heavier.
Edited by Runecarver, 26 September 2023 - 01:32 AM.
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