29 replies to this topic

[moerker]

I'm fairly new to MW titel. Just wondering about what lasers to use... Pros / cons.

Lets say the mech i want uses 4 ML. What if i swap those 4, for 2 LL instead? what would the Damage / Heat differenses be? and the pros and cons about the 2 setups.

[Ilfi]

In general:
Large Lasers: for long range harassment
Medium Lasers: close range work-horse
Small Lasers: go-to for Scouts; lighter, but still useful en masse

I don't expect MWO has strayed from this formula.

[trycksh0t]

Hello fairly new guy!

Small lasers - Weigh .5 tons, use 1 critical space, generate 1 heat, deal 3 damage, range: 90 meters.
Medium lasers - Weigh 1 ton, use 1 critical space, genearate 3 heat, deal 5 damage, range: 270 meters.
Large lasers - Weigh 5 tons, use 2 critical spaces, generate 8 heat, deal 8 damage, range: 450 meters.

Per your example, the 4 medium lasers would weigh 4 tons, generate 12 heat total, and deal 20 damage total. Swapping them out for 2 large lasers would also require some other sacrifices, because you would need 10 tons. They would, however, deal a total of 16 damage for 16 heat, but would have a considerably longer range.

[moerker]

OK thanks for the imputs. This is for a stalker. So could i switch out the ML's, SRM's for the extra tonnage and maybe get some spare to add on armor or some extra heatsinks?

http://mwowiki.org/i...p?title=Stalker

Edited by moerker, 22 July 2012 - 05:02 AM.

[Khobai]

Small Laser = useless since laser boating isnt allowed
Medium Laser = best all-around weapon in game!
Large Laser = just use a PPC instead
ER Large Laser = just use a PPC instead

Quote

Lets say the mech i want uses 4 ML. What if i swap those 4, for 2 LL instead? what would the Damage / Heat differenses be? and the pros and cons about the 2 setups.

Youre better off using PPCs instead of Large Lasers. PPCs do more damage, do their damage instantly, have longer range, generate only slightly more heat, and weigh only slightly more.

The only non-pulse laser currently worth using is the medium laser.

Edited by Khobai, 22 July 2012 - 05:26 AM.

[moerker]

Think i'll just stick to AWS-9M then

[Faenwulf]

Khobai, on 22 July 2012 - 05:09 AM, said:

Small Laser = useless since laser boating isnt allowed
Medium Laser = best all-around weapon in game!
Large Laser = just use a PPC instead
ER Large Laser = just use a PPC instead



Youre better off using PPCs instead of Large Lasers. PPCs do more damage, do their damage instantly, have longer range, generate only slightly more heat, and weigh only slightly more.

The only non-pulse laser worth using is the medium laser.

This soudns like a NDA Breach to me.
Nobody outside the Beta has ever heard any information how the different lasers fare ingame, especially not pulse lasers.

You may want to edit you post. A lot.

[Khobai]

Quote

This soudns like a NDA Breach to me.
Nobody outside the Beta has ever heard any information how the different lasers fare ingame, especially not pulse lasers.

Im not in Beta. Im basing it on what ive seen in videos. Lasers do damage-over-time now, with the beam lasting 2 seconds, and you have to hold it on the target for full damage. Where PPCs do their damage instantly. So it seems that PPCs are just outright better than Large Lasers. I mean why would you want a DoT weapon when you can just have an instant damage weapon instead? Especially when that instant damage weapon does more damage and has better range...

Edited by Khobai, 22 July 2012 - 05:30 AM.

[Faenwulf]

Well, that question can only be answered after testing the weapons ingame and knowing how the Btech stats have been modified. Possibly the PPCs produce a lot more heat than LLs etc.

Besides, as far as I know in original BattleTech lore, PPCs have a minimum range where large lasers have none. If this is implemented, then you should see why both can be useful.

[moerker]

I hear ER PPC do not have that min-range. This is what i found thou.... not much http://mwowiki.org/i...hp?title=ER_PPC

Edited by moerker, 22 July 2012 - 05:35 AM.

[SinnerX]

Don't PPCs also weigh more and take more slots? They could also take longer to recharge, which I think is how pretty much how every other Btech game balanced them.

If it comes down to taking a PPC + a small laser, or two large lasers, I imagine it will be a mostly even split of people taking both.

[Faenwulf]

Well I wouldn't give too much on the Wiki Information right now. Sicne the BEta is still under NDA, they can't be very accurate.

[Khobai]

Quote

PPCs have a minimum range where large lasers have none.

Thats true. Although ERPPCs have no minimum range.

Quote

Don't PPCs also weigh more and take more slots?

Yeah slightly more. But they also do better damage and have better range.

Quote

They could also take longer to recharge, which I think is how pretty much how every other Btech game balanced them.

In MW3 the way they balanced them was to give PPCs a noticeable travel time while lasers were near-instant. That made lasers way better for sniping. But in MWO lasers are now DoT weapons while PPCs have travel time but do their damage all at once. So I see no reason to use large lasers over PPCs.

[moerker]

So... a stalker with ERPPCs do sound like fun

[Combat Chaplain]

I have to add that a DoT laser has a greater chance of at least hitting ... You can sweap accross your opponent where a PPC is a one shot one hit or miss .... So maybe if you have trouble keeping a lock on your target lasers might help ... Or running light mechs as they seem to bounce around a lot.

[SinnerX]

Khobai, on 22 July 2012 - 05:45 AM, said:

Yeah slightly more. But they also do better damage and have better range.

I don't see this as a factor. In general, the heat/damage curve stays pretty constant for energy weapons. So you may do more damage, but you'll generate more heat, meaning you'll have to stop firing sooner(or space your shots more). Alternatively, you can load up more heatsinks, which takes more tonnage away from armor, engines, other weapons, etc. The result is that they all have pretty much the same DPS over time.

Range could possibly be a factor, but I doubt it. Unless they make wide open field maps, I'm sure there will be passage ways and cover for getting around the map without being too exposed. I can't really remember they layout of the forest map, but the frozen city looked like it had cover everywhere with the buildings and ice caves and whatnot. I don't think we'll see a lot of situations where someone is completely out ranged with no hope of flanking.

[Nikoliy]

The stats for the weapons are all known and sense the devs are sticking to the TT rules you can go to Sarna and get a comparison of all the weapon stats. One thing that we really don't know is how easy it is to aim different types of weapons. Lasers vs Pulse Lasers vs PPC. I would think that the pulse lasers are the easiest to hit with especially against a fast scout.

[Faenwulf]

That is the theory Nikoliy. But since this is a real time game unlike the TT, the Devs will probably tweak everything a bit to get it balanced.

From the FAQ:

Quote

Q. How loyal will MechWarrior® Online™ be to the tabletop rules (heat management, melee, armor penetration, etc.)?

A. We are adhering very closely to the BattleTech® tabletop rules. Some mechanics in the tabletop version of the game do not translate well into a videogame and we are coming up with our own rule sets that mitigate these differences in an intuitive and fun manner.

[Odanan]

Khobai, on 22 July 2012 - 05:09 AM, said:

Small Laser = useless since laser boating isnt allowed
Medium Laser = best all-around weapon in game!
Large Laser = just use a PPC instead
ER Large Laser = just use a PPC instead



Youre better off using PPCs instead of Large Lasers. PPCs do more damage, do their damage instantly, have longer range, generate only slightly more heat, and weigh only slightly more.

The only non-pulse laser currently worth using is the medium laser.

Yes, in TT the only energy weapons that worth are Medium Lasers and PPCs but the devs are probably going to balance this for MWO.

[Dustein]

(Speaking from otehr 'mech gameand TT experience) I find that heat managment Vs Space is my first though with what lazers to use. Or maybe I should say first thought AFTER deciding what distances I want to be engaging my target idealy.
I find in a pure stat point of view ML's do not seem all to efficiant.that being said I always carry at least one. They help in my support 'mechs when things get close, and they gove a lil extra range and kick in my brawlers too.
Stats at this stage are speculative but asuming you have unlimited space (thisnever happensbtw lol) then I think this is a decent guide:

• Small Lazer = Very efficient Heat to damage ratio. Short range
  
• Medium Lazer = Less efficent. Meduim range.
  
• Large Lazer = Equal efficiency. Long range.

When looking at PPCs ER or Pulse Lazers weight and hardpoints become more of an issue.


As has been mentioned there is the NDA to concider so we will not know any actual game stats till after live launch But i still find it fun to speculate baced on previous 'mech gaming exp, combined with what we have all seen in the videos and read in the Dev blogs / interviews / QnA's :-D

Stats quote from theTable Topgame are a safe speculation as it has been said that the weapon stats will closely resemble those from the TT.

• E.G. it has been stated in Dev blog that pulse will fire "faster" and other lazers will have to be "held" or can be "draged" accross the target, while PPCs deliver all damage in one "hit" that required slight travel time.

Hope the info people post here helps you moerker, as this is shaping up to be a great game. I find that Weapon combinations as well as teh 'mech you pilot comes down to play style as well as personal preferance. If ANYONE tells you that a 'mech or Weapon is "useless" I am sure there will be an example of somone out ther pwning withit. Most any combination is good in the right situation. You just practice at making those situations happen and/or edit your load out to teh situation you expect to be forced into

(ps when you are comfortable with Energy Weapons check out Ballistic and Missile systems)

~Edit: fixed some spelling ARGH is still moar bad sorry, is late no back ligh on this keybard and is dark lol, hopefully you know what i mean~

Edited by Dustein, 22 July 2012 - 07:26 AM.