10 replies to this topic

[Jack Caine]

I was wondering what is going to be the in game effect of having an XL engine in a mech.

Will it make the mech more vunerable to destruction through damage?

or will there be no difference in the way XL and standard engine mechs are destroyed.

I ask because if there is no downside to having an XL engine then everyone will be forced to get one and all the older mechs without an XL engine will just not be viable. outside of the cost factor why would someone pilot and less effective mech.

Edited by Jack Caine, 15 March 2012 - 04:22 PM.

[SnowDragon]

I imagine an XL engine will be just like it is in the TT. Side torso hits mean the chance for a reactor critical hit. Three of those and... haha... you're roast, buddy.

[Nik Van Rhijn]

Which if you have an ammo heavy mech isn't really a problem 'cos that goes in the side torso's usually and can toast you even easier - inly 1 crit needed.

[Jack Caine]

Aye Nik an ammo explosion is usually going to have the same effect ie its going to gut your mech.
However with "Case" this risk is resolved almost completely, sure you'll probably lose an arm and a side torso but you will have a chance to bug out and run for home. however a XL engine destruction would mean your mech is completely dead and your out of the fight and there is no "Case" for a destroyed engine.

[Dlardrageth]

There might also be the minor point of availability and/or price tag on the XL engine. If swapping out the standard engine for a XL engine with fivefold the price tag and repair costs (=upkeep) yields only a modest improvement, many would reconsider getting one. Apart from the point where you need to have enough free critical slots in the first place.

[Victor Morson]

I am really hoping for the canon TT drawbacks to XL in MWO.

I think it'd make the concept of picking a variant with a base XL engine versus one with a Standard engine a real, serious question. On one hand you can fit tons more stuff into an XL 'mech, but on the other, blowing off the side torso means it's a dead 'mech (at least for the IS).

It'd add a major design choice to the mechlab and give two different types of players (reckless vs cautious) a chance to make some hard decisions.

[Rhinehart]

I don't think we'll see a lot of XL engines available right away. This is advanced tech for the Inner Sphere and only the really elite House units and perhaps a couple of canon Merc Units (Wolf's Dragons, Snord's Irregulars, maybe the Kell Hounds) might deploy it. So we shouldn't worry about it until it becomes an issue.

[Sam Spartan]

I'm also hoping to see the drawbacks to XL engines ingame. Maybe I just like showing level 2 players just how tough a 3025 mech can be.

[Victor Morson]

Sam Spartan, on 05 April 2012 - 04:37 AM, said:

I'm also hoping to see the drawbacks to XL engines ingame. Maybe I just like showing level 2 players just how tough a 3025 mech can be.

In all fairness, I think the majority of the Aces command feels the same way. If we're ever optimizing 'mechs in TT we'll use lots of T2 tech so not exactly 3025 (DHS, ER Weapons, etc) but roll a standard Engine, if a light isn't available due to year. It's a huge, huge deal to stay alive.

XL is almost always worth it for the Clans, though, because they can survive enough hits to keep mobile after losing an entire side torso.

All in all, if they model XL to canon, it'll be an awesome risk-reward system. The units I think that get the most benefit out of XL are actually smaller recon forces or fast medium strikers, because it allows them to carry the bite of a much heavier unit or push their speed and equipment to the limits and they have the speed to avoid getting shot at. By contrast an XL on an assault means you can carry a LOT of firepower, but you're still going to get your side torso chainsaw'ed like a hot knife through butter.

Edited by Victor Morson, 05 April 2012 - 05:34 AM.

[Jonas]

IDK, I had a Wolfhound that I swapped to a XL, the weight savings let me switch out the ER laser to a ER-PPC. Later I switched out the armor to FFA then later on added endo steal at one time I switched everything to clan tech then added a few extra things I liked. I always mixed Clan gear with Inner sphere Mechs.


Note: I only could have both FFA & ES, after I got my hands on the clan gear before I just had the Inner sphere XL, and FFA

Edited by Jonas, 05 April 2012 - 08:00 PM.

[Victor Morson]

Jonas, on 05 April 2012 - 07:52 PM, said:

IDK, I had a Wolfhound that I swapped to a XL, the weight savings let me switch out the ER laser to a ER-PPC. Later I switched out the armor to FFA then later on added endo steal at one time I switched everything to clan tech then added a few extra things I liked. I always mixed Clan gear with Inner sphere Mechs.

If handled in a canon fashion, this is a debate that has no wrong answer. Standard vs XL is a per 'mech, per pilot, per situation basis kinda thing. You can trade it up for a lot more firepower, as you're saying, but the drawbacks are pretty huge too. Sometimes it's a good idea, sometimes it's a bad one, and that's why I find the idea of them making a canon conversion of the mechanic so appealing. It's pretty much the definition of a "risk/reward" mechanic.