Apoc1138, on 15 November 2012 - 07:41 AM, said:
ah, but there in lies your mistake young grasshopper... if I build an atlas as a brawler, I tear your guass mech apart and you are then removed as both a tanker of damage and dealer of damage for your team, meaning your 100tons was wasted as part of the drop and even if I end up damaged I am still of benefit to my team and my team continue to deal big damage to the rest of yours
it doesn't matter how efficient per ton you are or over what time period, because in 20 seconds you are gone, meaning you are then 0 DPS per ton and anything I have over 0 is a benefit to my team from that point on
your model is incomplete
if I build a support mech, it is great at support and not so good at brawling, I don't engage head on, I... support
if I build a brawler, I hide and use cover, and only expose myself when it's expedient to do so (e.g. I know I can out DPS my opponent)
weapon balance is all about creating niches for weapons to fill... if all weapons were balanced according to DPS per ton allowing for heatsinks or ammo then this would be a much more boring game
MWO is all about creating niches for mechs and weapons to fill
So, 20 second damage output race? Only stipulation is that both builds are built to maximize damage output in twenty seconds, and one must use AC/20, the other a Gauss?
Two mechs builds. Start with same chassis design, Atlas-K. Same engine.
Start with an AC/20 on one side, and a Gauss Rifle on the other, and a twenty second time frame in which to deal damage and not shut down..
AC/20 fires five times, deals 100 damage.
Gauss fires 5 times, deals 75 damage.
So AC/20 gains an early lead in damage.
With this weapon and sink load AC is sitting at 10 heat. (6*5) = 30, 30 - 10*.1*20 = 2
And Gauss is sitting at 0 heat. 5*1= 5, 5 - 10*.1*20 =-15, can not be less than 0 ==> 0.
So lets add four medium lasers to both builds.
AC/20 + 4 Mediums fires five times.
(6+(4*4)) * 5 = 110 heat. 110 - (10 * .1 * 20) = 90
Current heat cap is 40.
To prevent shut down the AC mech needs heat sinks. How many? Create an equation and solve for x.
Heat - ((# extras + #engine) * SinkRate * seconds) = HeatCap
110 - ((x + 10) * .1 * 20) = x + 40
- ((x+10) * .1 * 20) = x - 70
- (2x+20) = x - 70
-2x - 20 = x - 70
-2x = x - 50
3x = 50
x = 16.667
No partial sinks => 17
So:
110 - ((17 + 10) * .1 * 20) <= 20 + 40
110 - ((27) * .1 * 20) <= 20 + 40
110 - () <= 60
56 <= 60
Riding just below the heat cap.
Total tonnage for this build: 14 tons (AC) + 4 tons (4*MedLas) + 17 tons (heat sinks) + x tons (ammo).
35 tons + BallisticAmmo. Any tonnage you add here, The Gauss build can add as well.
Gauss + 4 Mediums fires five times.
(1+(4*4)) * 5 = 85 heat. 85 - (10 * .1 * 20) = 65
Current heat cap is 40
To prevent shutdown the mech needs heat sinks.
65 - ((x + 10) * .1 * 20) = x + 30
- ((x + 10) * .1 * 20) = x -35
- (2x + 20) = x -35
2x + 20 = -x +35
3x = 15
x=5
65 - ((5 + 10) * .1 * 20) <= 5 + 30
65 - ((15) * .1 * 20) <= 5 + 30
65 - (30) <= 35
35 <= 35
Riding JUST at the heat cap. Gotta press O, but not a problem.
Total tonnage for this build: 15 tons (Gauss) + 4 tons (4*MedLas) + 5 tons (heat sinks) + x tons (ammo).
24 tons + ammo.
As it stands now the Gauss is 25 damage behind in damage, but 11 tons ahead in tonnage cost.
If I install 2 SSRM 2, (2 * 1.5 = 3 tons) 1 ton of ammo (1 ton) and 7 heat sinks (7 tons, total 11 tons), I can fire the SSRMs about every 6 seconds and still not over heat. Actually with those additions my heat buildup over 20 seconds actually comes down. That's ~thirty extra damage in 18 seconds. Therefore the Gauss build just surpassed the the AC/20 build's output by 5 points.
I could install a single SSRM6 (4 tons), 1 ton of ammo(1 ton) and 6 heat sinks (6 ton, total 11 tons)... and only fire the SRM6 every 6.667 seconds. (~three times in 20 seconds). That's an additional 45 damage output to the lasers and Gauss, exceeding the damage output of the AC mech by 20.
But this is why I avoid missiles. Because if I do, someone's going to start in on hit percentages and so on. If I weren't limited by hardpoints, I'd simply add another medium laser and call it in favor of the Gauss build. Not a big fan of SRMs in general.
But with the SRM6, I have to land 55.56% of the missile damage on the same location to equal the damage of the AC build.
As it is, it's photo finish with neither build being a clear victor in the Brawler area... but the Gauss build has the range and extra ammo capacity to harrass a bit with the Gauss rifle. So whatever you lose in actual "Brawling capacity" you gain in flexibility.
I'd have to run the numbers on an AC/20 + 4MedLas + 2 SRM6 build (which maxes the hardpoints). If the hardpoints and RoF over 20 seconds are maxed, the AC/20 will probably win.
So aged master, where resides the pebble? The niche build that gambles all or nothing on being able to engage at it's optimum range, or a build with the flexibility to engage at multiple ranges?