honestly as far as the stalker goes i find it it just the good side of mid. yeah its got good geometry and i like anything that you can run more than one or two builds on effectively but to call it overpowered is a bit of stretch when just about any Clan mech in the same weight category will smoke it. its not overly quick for an assault or even that well armored for one. the only big thing Stalker has going is the good geometry and high hardpoints (don't get me wrong i do enjoy my Stalkers (3FB being a go to but the Misery isn't bad (AC/10 MRM-40 with some ML back-up)). but thats pretty much all it really has above other mechs in the same weight class. yeah the geometry is better than any other IS mech of the same tonnage but thats about it.
as for the last 4 years i can say with confidence that yes the Cauldron has done some good (unless you are a an LRM player that is) but they are not the saviors of the game by any stretch. they balance for the top 1% when the vast majority of players couldn't give two shits about comp play and just want to have stompy robit fun in QP (FP wouldn't be the desert it is is if this wasn't the case) or perhaps the odd EQ. i hate to say it but i think it was more the Pandemic that saved MWO more than anything PGI or the Cauldron did. with the restrictions and the fact most smart people were staying home when they could (or at least avoiding large gatherings) there was a big draw for a F2P game that can easily run on not the best hardware. you had people coming back who hadn't played in years and some new people being brought in from word of mouth (PGI seem incapable of any kind of advertising). this was the true savior for MWO. now we are back to bleeding off players. (though with so many T1 players making alts to club seals its had to get a good sense of just how many new players we gain and keep each year.)
as for me personally i couldn't even bring myself to finish the Holiday Loot Bag event for 2023. the game just seems more frustrating than fun these days. oh i have a fun match now and again but i have to drag through a good half dozen horrible ones for that one good one match (i am talking a fun match not necessarily a victory). perhaps thats why i have been playing more HBS Battletech (advanced 3062 mod) lately. not sure what PGI could do at this point to bring me back to even weekly play let alone how much i used to play back before the big LRM nerf hammer. (around the time they gave the balance over to the cauldron). i might come back for the odd event but thats only if i find the free mech being offered interesting in any way. (so not Lights or Clan, though this is just a personal preference nothing more) honestly the only reason i did the free X-mas mechs for 2023 was because it only required getting on and playing one match.
Edited by VeeOt Dragon, 16 January 2024 - 02:01 AM.