42 replies to this topic

[Mercules]

Tuku, on 18 November 2012 - 08:04 AM, said:

Ya know what....I rolled out in a catapult with dual ac2 to see what all the fuss was about....I found that the bigger effect that they have is suppressing fire! Yes they do plenty of DPS technically but its all spread out. When you here that going off though....the BOOM BOOM BOOM and then you are shaking every second or so and all you see is flashing on your paper doll because the rounds aren't giving it enough time to settle down and stop flashing it makes people get moving behind cover. Constant damage is a powerful thing. Not so much because of raw killing potential but because of the ability to make an LRM boat get behind cover from across the map because they cant be sure where they are being shot at from.

I did the same. I found such a mech is VERY useful in group play where my teammates can let me know where to put my disruption, either on the target they are focus firing or on a non-target so that I keep them from coming to the victim's aid. You have to be speedy and have multiple systems for disruption. Having something that can actually do some damage helps too. hammering a foe with multiple AC2 is a psychological effect that makes it really hard for most players to aim straight and can just as helpful if not more than DPS. After all, killing a mech in 10 seconds will taking 100 damage in return is not always better than killing a mech in 12 seconds while taking 20 damage in return.

[Havyek]

MMORPGs have totally screwed up some people's perceptions of what is "better".

They look straight at DPS without considering a multitude of things.
Higher DPS weapons do lower damage faster. Fine if all you're worried about is the simplistic hit/miss of WoW or DAOC.
In MWO you have miss/hit head/hit CT/hit RT/etc/etc. DPS is great if you're trying to destroy the entire 'Mech quickly. I'd rather use a heavier damage weapon that will strike 1 location.
Heat. As was mentioned, many higher DPS weapons cause more heat. Therefore they can cost more tonnage/space than a lower DPS, but higher point damage equivalent.
Ammo. Weapons that fire faster are use more. More likely to spray and pray than to carefully line up a shot when you know you'll be needing a few seconds to reload and your ammo is more limited.
What you're comfortable with. You may love your Gauss Rifle, but running 2 AC2s is higher DPS and ends up being more efficient. But you can't make as many of your shots count as you need to take advantage of that DPS.

Long post short.
Use whatever you want, ignore the 'tards that say "That build is gimp because it doesn't have the highest
DPS it can!" They only knew that because they are dead and riding in your cockpit.

*EDIT because I was slow in replying at work*
As others have said, there's also the difference between burst and sustained DPS.

Edited by BDU Havoc, 20 November 2012 - 11:45 AM.

[Sheriff x]

Huntsman, on 20 November 2012 - 10:52 AM, said:

Burst damage is more valuable when you have the luxery of setting up shots. Either you're close in, but your buddies are closer and enemy attention is on them, or you're a sniper like a gausspult. In these spots you're not under pressure, or being thrown off by impact shake. You can take a moment to line up a shot and, your damage done, you can slide back into cover if you need to.

Massive misconception of what burst is, or you're not considering the fact that "brawlers" heavily utilize burst.

For an example, chaining or linking an SRM dump / AC20 simultaneously is massive burst, and if you truly need to "carefully" aim your shots, then you had best pick up another role on the battlefield.

It takes a modicum of my focus / planning ahead to know when I'll be able to nail a target with those two weapons at the same time.