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Information Warfare, for the purposes of MWO is finding your enemy, and keeping them from finding you. Or as I like to put it “How not to be seen”.
Electronic Warfare, in its most simplified terms is the disruption of enemy systems, and the protection of your own systems.
These two concepts are very different; and of course they have overlapping roles.
It is only natural that electronic warfare equipment is capable of disrupting Information Warfare. This is where ECM comes in. In other words, ECM is here to stay, and it is a good thing.
ECM in MWO serves as an exceptional Information Warfare and Electronic Warfare suite. It simultaneously hides and disrupts.
While there has been a lot of criticism over ECM over the last week, The problem is not that it both hides and disrupts. The problem is that it is exceptional at these roles for such a small investment of 1.5 tons and 2 critical slots.
ECM 'hides' friendly units from enemies more than 200 meters out and disrupts enemy units from within 180 meters. Obviously 'hidden' mechs are not truly hidden, they can still be seen visually. The true problem is that as implemented, the gap between where ECM hides your mechs, and where ECM disrupts enemy mechs, is a mere 20 meters. This is an incredibly narrow window of operation; a needle that no one can successfully thread. Information sharing is essentially shut down for the enemy team.
There are currently 5 modules in the game. ECM completely cancels out 3 of them. Target Info Gathering, Sensor Range, and 360 Target Retention. Meanwhile there are no modules that cancel out the power of ECM.
Compare ECM to Anti-Missile System. AMS is .5 tons plus 1 ton (or more) for ammo. AMS only stops a portion of enemy missiles from striking your own or nearby friendly mech. ECM completely prevents enemy missile locks for all friendly mechs in a 180 meter radius. Surpassing everything AMS can do, and still providing other benefits.
ECM does have countermeasures of its own, the TAG laser and ECCM. However these have their drawbacks.
Using TAG is an “active” counter: While ECM is a passive system. Using TAG effectively takes coordination and planning. TAG requires active participation on the part of the user, and that participation can difficult to perform. Meanwhile ECM silently runs in the background with no intervention from the user to be effective. Even when TAG is used, it negates ECM on a single enemy mech, while ECM hides and disrupts multiple mechs.
ECCM: Compounding the power of ECM is that the other countermeasure to ECM, is more ECM. Specifically, putting your own ECM module in ECCM mode. This only encourages players to equip ECM.
The net result is a game where players are putting as many ECM modules onto their team as possible. Information warfare becomes a one sided affair, there is little to no target sharing between teammates.
Suggestion:
The solution has two parts: A small reduction in effectiveness for ECM, and the addition of new modules.
Part A -
Increase the distance that ECM hidden mechs can be targeted to 450 meters, allow modules and BAP to increase this distance. By allowing BAP and modules, their worth is not completely negated, and provides an additional countermeasure to ECM.
Next, allow missile locks from within the ECM disruption radius, but double the lock-on time.
Part B -
Add Four new modules to MWO.
Module #1 - When ECM is equipped, mechs hidden by your ECM have the target lock distance reduced by 200 Meters. This brings the detection range down to 250 meters.
Module #2 - When ECM is equipped, enemy mechs disrupted by your ECM have the lock-on time increased by an additional 100%. For a total of 200% increase.
Module #3 - When BAP is equipped, mechs hidden by enemy ECM can be targeted at 650 meters.
Module #4 - WHen BAP is equipped, friendly mechs disrupted by enemy ECM have their lock on times reduced by half.
An ECM pilot who purchases BOTH modules #1 and #2 would be able to get very close to the benefits of ECM as they are implemented now. But must make a much larger investment in their mech.
An BAP pilot who purchases BOTH modules #3 and #4 would be able to mostly counteract the penalties of ECM, but not eliminate them.
Edited by Eldragon, 08 December 2012 - 09:08 PM.
