7 replies to this topic

[Shadyjames]

Okay, i'm not here to complain, i'm here to raise a series of points that i believe are valid, and if anybody has valid counterpoints i am quite happy to concede my point.

For the duration of this post i will be using a modified version of Ohm's Quick Reference Sheet. All i did was add an extra column: DPS per weight. Which i believe is a very important metric.



Different things will jump out to different people. The one thing i want to draw attention to is that every single missile of every type has a higher damage per second per weight than any other weapons barring the small and medium lasers, which use up an entire hardpoint each. The other thing that i want to draw attention to is that everything i just said is okay. LRMs require a lock and cannot be fired from inside 200m. Furthermore they can be shot down by AMS, and faster (as well as aware, well-positioned) mechs can often force some of the projectiles to collide with their terrain cover, rather than themselves. I am not going to get into LRM balance, because a lot of people feel very strongly about it, but i will say that their huge DPS per weight is counterbalanced by a lot of limiting factors.

SRMs are also okay, because they live up to their name of Short Range Missile. They have the highest DPS per weight in the game by far, but you must lead your target well in advance in order to score a hit. Furthermore, even though the sheet says their max range is 270, and that is where they will explode mid-air when fired in-game, anbody who has fired SRMs at somebody more than 150 meters away knows full well that they spread out after being fired, meaning that even a PERFECT shot will at most hit the target with ~50% of the srms fired, thus reducing their effectiveness at range.

I don't even care about the fact you don't have to aim. Sure its weak to have a high DPS weapon that you don't have to aim, but it has a role to play in the game, and at short range SRM's *should* be king. I do, however, care extremely hard about the fact that they are 100% effective all the way up to 270 meters. Not a single SRM will miss, no matter what, meaning that huge balancing factor in SRMs insane DPS is suddenly gone; range does not matter. In my opinion, streak SRMs should either:
1. have additional weight added to them to reduce their DPS per weight
2. have their maximum range reduced SIGNIFICANTLY, meaning if you want to do that kind of ridiculous, unavoidable DPS you have to actually be kind of close to them..
3. have an SRM-like reduction in their effectiveness at range (My preferred option - just bring them in line with the other SRMs with the same range falloff penalties, and that way for the rest of forever you can accurately balance all SRMs as the same entity, rather than having all these ifs and buts about the streak variety) Perhaps make the missiles fan out into a "wall" of missiles, which will home towards the target. At range the wall spreads out, meaning that it will hit a larger silhouette, effectively reducing its damage at range proportionate to the silhouette size of the target (It just occurred to me that this may be flawed because it will greatly reduce their effectiveness against light mechs, which i don't think is fair)


But either way, i'm not here to balance the game, i'm just here to state an immutable fact, for the record:
TL;DR: Streak SRMs have a FAR higher DPS per tonnage than every single ballistic weapon in the game, and they cannot miss.

Thank you for your time.

[Sulf]

They're changing it so SSRMs lock on to a random component rather than just the center torso. Problem solved.

[lsp]

Brickyard, on 03 November 2012 - 04:57 PM, said:

They're changing it so SSRMs lock on to a random component rather than just the center torso. Problem solved.

Not problem solved, that makes the ssrms useless. Might as well just take srm's.

[Xandralkus]

lsp, on 03 November 2012 - 06:13 PM, said:

Not problem solved, that makes the ssrms useless. Might as well just take srm's.

Your autowin-stick is getting nerfed, and rightfully so. Deal with it.

Once SSRM's are balanced, they can add the SSRM4 and SSRM6.

[Naelobo]

Based on the number of 8 streakcats teams I've been seeing, this cant come fast enough.

[Sulf]

lsp, on 03 November 2012 - 06:13 PM, said:

Not problem solved, that makes the ssrms useless. Might as well just take srm's.

Um... You still hit 99% of the time... That's better accuracy that literally any other weapon.

If you're using it to core atlas's then you've got the wrong weapon. it's meant to kill lights. and still can, considering how they tend to have XL engines that's 3/7th of their components already. Also with how arms tend to go about the same time anyway it's really only the odd shot to the leg you lose out on.

Do you really need SSRMs that bad? I take it you've never been able to core a running jenner with an AC/10. I'm sorry.

[Sanreal]

I absolutely hate SSRMs right now, as they are an entirely skill-less weapon that does insane focused damage. LRMs and SSRMs are the only weapons being used these days.

Nonetheless, making them lock-on to random body parts is the wrong way to balance the weapon, as it will make Streaks entirely useless. I'm in favor of balancing the weapon, not throwing it out of the game. I think the guidance should be nerfed so it can't guaranteed hit a turning target, I also think the range should be reduced slightly, and the missiles should spread apart in flight so that they don't hit the center torso on a mech 100% of the time.

[Anubis6]

Quite honestly I belive they need to look at the Firestorm battle tech pods on how to solve this issue.

My real problem with this subject is that SRM's are not SRM's they act as Rocket Launchers. For those that are unaware of rocket launchers in Battletech cannon, they are simply ridiculously cheap unguided rockets fired at the enemy just like our current SRM's. According to all Battletech fiction and cannon SRM's use a similar guidance systems as the LRM's and home onto the targets in a scattered pattern hitting several different locations As long as you have achieved a missile lock. The Streak system is simply a modified SRM system that prevents the launcher from firing with out a proper missile lock.

As I stated earlier, PGI should use the same system used in the Battletech:Firestorm engine that is a modified Mechwarrior:4 engine. In BT:F SRM's require a lock similar to how SSRM's work currently, hold your cross-hairs over the target for a few seconds and bam you got your lock. Once locked and the trigger is pulled the SRM's start homing in on the enemy in a scattered fashion like our current LRM's even if you don't keep the lock. Streaks follow this same flight path with a bit more maneuverability making it harder to dodge them, although they are truly different in the targeting mechanics.

The SSRM's achieve a lock INSTANTLY, and WON'T fire unless there is a Lock. The lock stays for a few seconds after you move your cross-hair off the target, and in this case the missile revert to the standard SRM flight path aimed at the center of the target in a scattered fashion. If you do have your cross-hairs over a target then the Streaks will home in on the location the cursor was over at the time you fired the missiles. These combined let you "Sweep" your missiles, just hold your trigger down and bring it across the enemy mech and they fire off at the first location your cross-hairs hit. Or instead of "Sweeping" your target you can actually aim where your missiles will home in on.