109 replies to this topic

[kitazari]

There's two things the LPL is competing with.

First is the PPC/ERPPC, which has the same weight, takes up one more space, and is long range. If you are a slow mech, this is almost always a viable replacement.

The second is an MPL, which is about a third the weight, two thirds the damage. If you are a fast mech, you can often choose to have either 3MPL or 1 LPL. The first weighs less and does more damage.
As has been said before, the only thing I can think of as an advantage of the LPL is headshotting. 20 damage directly into the cockpit might be worth the extreme tonnage, but then again an AC20 might be as well. Just replace some of the tonnage of heat sinks for ammo, and treat it as fire and forget, rather than tracking for full damage. At that point, though, laster will allow forgiveness for missing when you pull the trigger, and the AC20 won't.

So the two roles of the LPL I can see are either to have a more forgiving AC20 that has infinite ammo and allows you to miss in the beginning of your shot, or an AC20 that can go on laser mechs.

[tarlison2k11]

Well for now every body say its underpowered until anothet
Ace start posting his kills on youtube then it become inba
W

Well for now every body say its underpowered until anothet
Ace start posting his kills on youtube then it become inba
W

[Bayamon]

I like LPLs and use them to great effect on my stalkers and currently (for experimenting) on my Highlander.

Usually i dont compare them to large lasers but, due to their weight and size, to PPCs.
The LPL only has range disadvantage compared to PPCs but other than that, its easier to aim because its not a projectile.
I can hit moving targets fairly conistently with PPCs (i do use PPCs on some builds), but depending on how far away they are i dont bother with trying to aim for the cockpit or any other specific part, which is largely due to not only latency making it difficult but also convergence issues.
A problem that i dont have with LPLs...and they still pack a punch outside of 300meters.

They also cycle faster than PPCs.

A lot of the reasons why i pick LPLs are subjective...they just "feel" right to me....like a specific scope or weapon in BF3 would.

If i look at it objectively, the Large Laser is better, because it does less dmg(1 less total+DPS lost to longer cycle) but has a higher range and weighs 2 tons less.

But i rarely compare these 2 when building a mech.

[Hayashi]

LPLAS is the strongest non-ballistic laser.

For builds with extreme hardpoint limitations it is the most powerful weapon available.

Like for example the Spider 5K. Range is a non-issue due to speed, heat is a non-issue as it is the only weapon. With a LPLAS it can do 350 damage, 2-3 kills. With a LLAS it can do 270, 1-2 kills. That's a large difference.

But if I had the hardpoints and crit space for it, boating MPLAS is better of course. Like how boating LRM5 is better than LRM10. Or boating MLAS is better than LLAS. Or how boating SLAS is better than MLAS.

Etc etc.

[armyof1]

I think it boils down to a question of if you have more slots or weight to spare. If you have slots then 1 LL and 2 tons for either DHS or ammo sure feels better in most cases than one LPL.

Edited by armyof1, 06 April 2013 - 10:15 PM.

[TOGSolid]

There's a whole lot of "if you have the hardpoints take mediums" crap being thrown around here and it's a really dumb argument.

LPLASs and LLASs are weight inefficient compared to MLASes but that's the point. They only take up one Energy slot so if you're in a mech that has limited energy slots, then suddenly these weapon systems gain a ton of value. You're trading slots for tonnage. The only direct comparison the LPLAS should be getting is to the LLAS. If you want to bring mediums into the mix then compare the MPLAS to the MLAS and see how they vary. From there, compare the LPLAS to the LLAS and see if they are in line with their little brothers or if the LPLAS just doesn't offer enough.

The biggest problem I see with pulse lasers in general is that their beam duration just isn't different enough to make the extra tonnage and heat worth it. That's about it really.

[Elizander]

I like Large Pulse Lasers now, especially with the heat reduction. You'll need to be playing fairly carefully or have a relatively fast mech though due to the lack of range on that thing.

They're great for legging lights and slightly better for pinpoint shots. You can think of it as the short-ranged version of the PPC. You get your 10 damage out relatively fast for less heat and no minimum range.

Edited by Elizander, 06 April 2013 - 10:51 PM.

[Karpi]

I love using LPLAS. I run a 340 xl on my AWS-9m with three LPLAS and three MLAS. It runs at about 75km and im able to fit a streak and about 20 dbh. Best brawler I have, consistent 450 - 600 dmg per game, plus 2 maybe 3 kills. Personally, it feels like the LPLAS penetrates mech more like an amunition weapon than the LL. Heat is ok, Im thinking the pulse just needs to last .5 of a second, that'd be the only thing I'd change. Out side the 300 m range all the way up to 450 it still deals a lot of damage, further than that its just no worth it, conserve the heat and move in.

[Karpi]

heres a good comparison, weapons stats so far:

Matches Fired Hit Accuracy Time Damge

LPLAS
100 4,338 3,240 74.69% 08:31:29
20,585

LL
48 1,485 1,086 73.13% 04:02:03 5,986

[aniviron]

LPLs are a really nice luxury for skirmishing mechs, when you have the tonnage. I run two of them on the only good config I've found for the RVN-4X so far, and used to run three on my AWS-9M. If you're weaving in and out of cover, the faster beam time really does make a difference, and generally if you're weaving in and out of cover you can also afford to fire quickly to max heat and then duck out to cool off.

That said, while I like LPLs they are exactly what I said above- a luxury. When I upgraded my AWS-9M to an XL380, I just didn't have the tonnage for them and swapped out for LLAS. While I do miss the faster refire and shorter beam, especially at the higher speeds the bigger engine brings, I don't miss it six tons' worth. Now that the maps are getting bigger with Alpine and Tourmaline showing up so often, the metagames is also shifting away from close engagements, and I am finding that having LLAS instead of LPL means I have the flexibility to hit at range as well as brawl.

I honestly feel like LPL has the same issue as MPL; sure, the extra damage/sec is nice, but unless you're short on energy slots and high on tonnage, they're a total waste. It would maybe almost be worth it if they had the same range, but giving up a third of your range in addition to adding significantly to the tonnage just makes them very very niche weapons.

And yeah, the sound is sweeeet.