Aphelion Dax, on 10 December 2012 - 05:06 PM, said:
I would like to make the suggestion that the weight of the AC2 should be lowered to 4 tons. I feel this weapon weighs far too much to be a viable option on most 'mechs. With a damage output score of 2; the AC2 does (according to the in-game numbers) the same damage as a single machine gun, but for 12 times the weight. The AC5, on the other hand, supposedly fires a projectile that is 2.5 times the size of the AC2 round; but only weighs 25% more. By reducing the weight of the AC2 to 4t, you create a more balanced scale; making the tonnage more intuitive.
Another thing to consider is that there are currently no ballistic weapons available between 0.5t (MG) and 6t (AC2); which makes equipping a mech with multiple ballistic hardpoints extremely difficult, and often, not worth it. A 4 ton AC2 would bridge that gap nicely, and allow more 'mechs to use more of the hardpoints without taking a huge hit to their damage output numbers.
There may well be reasons why the AC2 weighs so much, (either canon or otherwise) and I would like to hear them; but from a gamer's perspective, I fail to see a scenario where I would ever use one, when for 2 more tons (and more slots, I know) I could be using a weapon that is more than twice as powerful.
Firstly: the Devs are highly unlikely to change the weight or critical spaces of any of the equipment, as doing so would start to make canon builds too light or too heavy, or impossible to build due to volume constraints.
Granted, they can and have altered things like ROF, damage per salvo, armor points per ton, and cooling rate, but none of those actually affect the ability to build the basic 'Mechs to the degree that suddenly making even the AC/2s weigh two-thirds of what they should (and other analogous choices) would.
We're far, far more likely to get the canon ability to split heavy weapons (like the AC/20) across two (and only two) adjacent locations before weights and volumes (critical space requirements) for the AC/2 (or anything else) are ever touched.
Secondly: the
Light AC/2, introduced in 3068, weighs 4 tons and consumes 1 critical, but has a shorter range than the standard AC/2 (540 meters, vs 720 meters).
The reason the LAC/2 exists (or is to exist) is that the standard AC/2 doesn't get any lighter.