34 replies to this topic

[William Petersen]

Hawkeye 72, on 28 March 2012 - 05:47 PM, said:

I have been a CLANSMEN before, but never a CLANNER. And I would only choose a house in order to infiltrate them and acquire intel for the invasion...

Psh, A true clansmen would not sully his honour with such underhanded- and deviousness.

mwhighlander, on 28 March 2012 - 04:05 PM, said:

I suppose House Kurita wouldn't be bad since we regard highly of honorable combat.

Kentares IV and Sendai say "Hi."

[Siilk]

I never could relate to any of IS houses(or mercenary units for that matter). I am a man of Clan Wolf, so I'm lonewolfing till it arrives.

[DarkBazerker]

*covers up the Clan Wolf tattoo on his arm* Why join a house and kill for honor and very little pay, when i can be a merc and get paid alot for killing everyone. Honor is nice but it doesnt put food on the table or repaire my mech. On a side note all you house members do know that after your done servering your house they recollect your mech right? *evil laugh*

[Basch]

Ill be rolling a MERC core till invasion, then its off with the rest of the vipers to lead the clans and houses in rebuilding the star league

[Scipio Nostra]

Being NovaCat I can only guess when "my" clan will arrive in MWO. Never? And till then, Wolf's Dragoons? Kurita? (CNC will settle there eventually) I dunno, have to discuss that with a buddy.

Edited by Scipio Nostra, 29 March 2012 - 03:45 AM.

[Xyph3r]

as a Ghost Bear since getting to know the universe, Ima go Merc until the invasion starts and we are able to claim our Dominion. :-)

[Trevnor]

I'm not planning on joining any Clan, unless they somehow manage to take me as bondsman. FRR to the core, and I will fight to the end.

As for those saying "Just join the FRR, then switch" That would earn the wrath of quite a few people, like myself. I have always viewed most of the clans in a bad light, just because I've read most of the books. Clan Ghost Bear is okay in my books, but only because they leave the populous of any planet they conquer mostly alone.

[Flame]

I'd say, as a House Steiner loyalist since before the Clans existed, that all those who would join the Clans should start with House Liao--and then defect en masse when the Clans do arrive.

(My brother chose Liao a long time ago, and I feel the need to needle him about it constantly.)

[Orsus Z]

The title of the topic is misleading. "Old Clanners" would be translated as solahma or dead. An old Clanner is no longer on the frontlines, and therefore is either dishonored in a garrison or has bought a farm.

Preferably the latter.

[Jake Valeck]

ive played the game before there were clans and just about everything after. id love to see the timeline backed up a year or two (not going to happen i know). 3025 tech is much more fun and less easy mode. dont get me wrong though i loved my timberwolf back in the day.

[Hawkeye 72]

William Petersen, on 29 March 2012 - 12:14 AM, said:

Psh, A true clansmen would not sully his honour with such underhanded- and deviousness.

http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Watch Actually...

Edited by Hawkeye 72, 29 March 2012 - 09:24 AM.

[Sidney]

Jake Valeck, on 29 March 2012 - 06:03 AM, said:

3025 tech is much more fun and less easy mode. dont get me wrong though i loved my timberwolf back in the day.

I'm genuinely curious- as I've seen this expressed a lot by the so-called 'gronards' (not implying you are one! Just mentioning what they call themselves on the Battletech forums

How is 3025 'more fun' yet 'less easy mode'?

Neverminding the slew of equipment and additional rules that makes 3050+ more complex right away in my mind, 3025 is significantly slower. Both in damage dealing- (making a mistake much more forgivable) but also in mobility. Most heavies are 4/6 and mediums are 5/8. Not only are you presented with less options during the movement phase (move three hexes into woods or up an elevation) but, again, you are far less likely to be penalized by making a mistake in leaving your flank open. Any light 'mech that can actually exploit a hole doesn't have the firepower 3050+ lmediums do, nor the speed of the 3050+ lights to help them ensure survival.

I'll concede that heat is 'easier' if you're using a 'flashbulb' design, but those will be outmatched by units that are properly bracket firing or using their heatscale correctly in 3050+, just like 3025. And to be honest, there's nothing difficult about moving an Awesome into a forest hex and then standing there for the rest of the game firing a 3-3-2 pattern.

I've seen the arguement raised of 'headcappers' and 'pulse lasers', but, frankly, I find 3025 more random in sudden deaths through TACs and ammo explosions. Many 'mechs only have ammo in a location, ensuring their death as soon as any weapon damages the internals with a 8+ roll. Hell, speaking of any weapons, any weapon in 3025 has the same odds at a chance at a TAC then hitting the head (1 in 36) and with single heatsinks, an engine TAC (or two) might as well be a decapitation anyway. (For more fun, any small laser, flamer, or machine gun that hits many of the 'mech's on the side table has a 1 in 36 in rolling a crit roll. Only have ammo in that side torso? Oh well, instant death!)

I don't know. 3025 is always the same. Campaigns- you have a merc lance of four pilots who seige worlds who have nothing but a few vehicles and PBIs defending it (if they're really unlucky, maybe a half damaged Locust). In pick up games, it always breaks down into the same thing:

-Heavy or Assault to soak up damage and sink your first initiative move (Warhammer, Marauder, etc.
-Long range hitter (Catapult, Longbow, erc.) supportive fire. Move this one second.
-A couple of medium 'jack of all trades' (Wolverine, Shadowhawk, Phoenix Hawk etc.) either jump forward to the heavy/assault to apply pressure, or jump back to the support 'mech to reinforce...depending on if you won or lost initiative.

While fun, it gets a bit stale for me. There's much more complexitty, tactcis, and variety in 3050+ in my experience. And more challenge as their's no 'cookie cutter' lance (as above) and if you make a mistake, your opponent can exploit it to much more of a degree.

In the end though, if 3025 is the more challenging era, why is it consitently used to teach the game to new players?

Edited by Sidney, 29 March 2012 - 10:13 AM.

[MacabreDerek]

I personally am a fan of 3025 tech. Yes it makes for a slower, more forgiving game and is easier for new players (Kerenski knows we need them) but it's also forcing tactics to be that much more deliberate. One of the things i was not a fan of was Clans having 3/4 values of gunnery/piloting, it just made it so easy to just alpha-strike a target to death instantly. In order to take down a mech in 3025, you need to really focus fire and give your own mechs the best possible chance of striking, which is hard enough.

[CoffiNail]

Clan Wolf and my Clan Ghost Bear both mainly in MWLL are joining forces to form a Merc unit to fight in until the Clans come available. The Illician Lancers. It is a small merc corp that has been around since the Star League days. I have little interest in serving one of the Houses, so a Merc Corp is about the best option... even though Mercs are dezgra surats. If anything I would join up with either the Capellans or the FRR, as Sandra Tseng was born a Capellan and Hans Jorgensson was from the Rasalhague area of the Combine

[GreyGriffin]

Sidney, on 29 March 2012 - 10:12 AM, said:

I'm genuinely curious- as I've seen this expressed a lot by the so-called 'gronards' (not implying you are one! Just mentioning what they call themselves on the Battletech forums

How is 3025 'more fun' yet 'less easy mode'?

I think the problem that many people have is that the new mechs were better than the old ones. If you build a lance from TRO 3025 and one from 3050U using the same chassis but more recent variants, odds are the new guys would win. That's tough to face for players who are as sentimental as Battletech players.

The real harbinger of the great divide, though, was the clans. Prior to the introduction of the Clans, games could be easily balanced by tonnage, and now the Clans, moreso than any of the technologies that permeated the inner sphere, created a very asymmetric situation. While Battletech has grown, creating balanced matchups has only become more difficult. This has made pick-up games virtually impossible. While I appreciate the increased pace of post 3050, I do understand that my faction of choice really shook up the game and created a real balance problem, by throwing a wrench into a game where game balanced matches were never really a priority.

As for MWO, it looks like the Snow Ravens will be chilling with the FRR and the Ghost Bears. So there I will be.