124 replies to this topic

[StarColonelBicen]

wanderer, on 03 June 2012 - 08:23 PM, said:

Gauss ammo never exploded to begin with. The gun ITSELF will, if critted.

I beg your Pardon... My Gauss ammo was exploding all day long in MW2. They may have fixed that in MW3 and 4, i just want to make sure that history doesn't go repeating itself.

And the Gun itself shouldnt explode theres nothing in a gauss rifle that would Warrant an Explosion. Now... destroyed, yes! Explode... NO! I could see maybe an Electrical discharge maybe but thats different than a big KABOOM! causing internal damage like ammo would.

[Nik Van Rhijn]

In canon it was the capacitors that exploded, but it only causes 2o damage, unlike ammo explosions which can rip your mech apart. If you put it in a side torso you can use CASE, but if there is no damage transfer it wouldn't be necessary.
As to the OP - it comes down to choice and personal preference. If we find that when we get to play that most matches turn into close range knife fights then an AC20 makes sense for brawlers, while the Gauss would make sense for those who are able to hang back. Like a lot of things it's something that we wont really be able to anwer until we can play. It gives us something to do while we are waiting

[Ricama]

wwiiogre, on 17 May 2012 - 07:40 AM, said:

Nothing says love like a single shot that takes off a Medium or Light Mechs arm or cripples a leg. Two shots can usually core a Heavy or Assault Mechs side torsos. Three Shots can usually core an Assault Center Torso.
*snip*
Chris

Well that all depends on if armour doubling is in the game or not. With armour doubling an ac-20 shot can't even reliably take someone head off; it becomes an inefficient, big, heavy, hot, short ranged throw back to a forgotten legend instead of the terror of the battlefield it is with normal armour.

[Dozer]

Because an AC/20 comes standard with my Atlas and I'd rather spend my C-Bills on cigars, whiskey and loose women... not necessarily in that order

Edited by Dozer, 25 June 2012 - 03:02 AM.

[zencynic]

We don't have information of how the Devs have implemented the all mechanics of the AC/20 and Gauss Rifle. There are a great many differences in the TT BT rules, but I will not get into that as most of them have been touched on in previous replies to this post.

As this is the Suggestions forum, I will list some suggestions for what I would like to see to make them different, but both viable.

• Have the targeting reticule swing slower for the Gauss Rifle
  
• Give the AC/20 projectile a larger drift

I am actually OK with the Gauss Rifle having the same rate of fire as the AC/20 and getting rid of the minimum range on the Gauss Rifle - assuming non-instantaneous projectile travel time and a corresponding increase in the Gauss Rifle's battle value (or whatever they choose to call it)

[Zyzyx66]

An AC/20 may be a more attractive option when looking at the 'mech as a whole. If you have a 'mech that can ONLY fit either a gauss or AC/20, perhaps the gauss will improve your performance. If you've already got medium and long-range firepower, and you choose to fit a gauss, you're limiting your short-range fighting potential. There aren't many weapons that're anywhere near as effective at short range as an AC/20. In that sense, it's covering a base.

To reverse an argument in this thread, if your gauss 'mech DOESN'T get that extra range advantage as it closes with the enemy, if the AC/20 enemy DOES get into knife-fighting range, you are limited. If both 'mechs are kitted out with more than one weapon, like every 'mech likely to carry either weapon, both weapons can fit into a larger build that makes them effective.

There are also things like aiming time and targeting information to consider. On paper, the gauss may well be better. But in practice, I suspect the AC/20 will come into its own.

Edited by Zyzyx66, 25 June 2012 - 03:34 AM.

[Uri Brauer]

If the gauss rifle has in fact lost the TT min range of 1 for MWO, I'd hope the devs would apply a minor nerf to rebalance it.

[RedDragon]

I wonder why we haven't actually seen a Gauss Rifle yet (at least I haven't). Neither official nor unofficial pics/vids I have seen showed a Gauss, yet I heard it is already in the game and you can use it. That may give a hint that the AC/20 in fact (at least at the moment) is better than the Gauss, for whatever reasons that may be.

I'm a huge advocator of burst-firing ACs, so my solution to the problem would be to give the AC/20 a huge bullet-spray at longer ranges, but at closer ranges a visibly higher damage potential than the Gauss (even more than in TT). So if you want to snipe, you use the Gauss, but if you want to brawl, you'd take the AC/20. And that way the AC/20 will be truly feared in close combat.

[Death Mallet]

In the TT game the gauss rifle was definitely the superior weapon.


But this damage/time thing is misleading when you;re discussing the properties of the weapons with respect to the online game. In TT, everything fires once.

However, weapons WILL have varying cycle times in the online game. I suspect that they'll tweak the AC/20 so that it fires faster than the gauss rifle. This would make the gauss rifle a sniper weapon, while the AC/20 is an in-your-face jackhammer of a weapon.

[Xandre Blackheart]

StarColonelBicen, on 03 June 2012 - 08:50 PM, said:

And the Gun itself shouldnt explode theres nothing in a gauss rifle that would Warrant an Explosion. Now... destroyed, yes! Explode... NO! I could see maybe an Electrical discharge maybe but thats different than a big KABOOM! causing internal damage like ammo would.

So Magnetic Coils driven by superconducting busses won't explode if damaged? The hell they won't. Get one misaligned and it will shred itself and toss shrapnel in curves. Magnetic Shrapnel.

Even assuming room temperature super conductors a WEAPON is going to need cooling so assume pressurized liquid nitrogen. Doesn't matter what you store it in it's a huge pressure differential. I.E. Boom.

As a matter of fact the FLUX itself from a damaged magnetic alignment would be strong enough to crush the arm or torso of a mech like a freaking beer can.

So sure, the ammo is safe (and it's typically NOT steel balls, but rods, better ballistics).

The gun however is a delicate peice of machinery that can cause catastrophic failure.

[Bambusbar]

Cause an AC/20 has that "In your Face" attitude.
And - real MechWarrios fight at point-blank machinegun range!

[RedDragon]

Well, never mind the first part of my last post - today we actually see a Gauss Rifle fired! ^^
(at about 0:59)

http://www.youtube.c...&v=Ma1Fj3bOfDg#!

Looks a bit anticlimactic if I have to be honest...

Edited by RedDragon, 25 June 2012 - 08:10 AM.

[Strum Wealh]

RedDragon, on 25 June 2012 - 08:09 AM, said:

Well, never mind the first part of my last post - today we actually see a Gauss Rifle fired! ^^
(at about 0:59)

http://www.youtube.c...&v=Ma1Fj3bOfDg#!

Looks a bit anticlimactic if I have to be honest...

Nice find!

Looks like we're looking at 6-7 seconds for the Gauss Rifle's recycle time (based on the segment from 0:49-1:03)...

[MrM1971]

really just depends on what my mech is built to do

1 mid to long range support then prob the gause rifle

2 short to mid range support then the ac 20

[Kyzar Kon]

I'm starting to think to give my atlas more ranged firepower, so i don't get kited. debating between replacing my medium lasers for large lasers or AC20 for gauss. I'd think I'd lose more firepower switching out the mediums, and the SRM's are still there for CqC. It's all situational. I just hope the AC's have knockback to make them worth thier salt.

Edited by Kaiser R Metzger, 25 June 2012 - 03:52 PM.

[BlacKcuD]

I was scratching my head over the ac20 vs gauss question for a long time. now I have my Atlas and now I have tested them both out in the current build and my vote goes to the ac20.

The only advantages of a GR are the the increased ammo capacity and higher effective range, HOWEVER (big however):
- Having 30% more ammo usually does not decide the outcome of a battle
- AC/20 does damage up to 800 meters away
- AC/20 is visually and auditorilly much more satisfactory
- One-Shotting a commando with a loud BÄNG never gets old!
- As soon as you are toe to toe with another heavy/assault which also has crazy cqc damage capabilities you will win versus any gausser!

Tonnage/Slots differences are only a concern if you have some super freaked out setup in which every slot/ton counts (endosteel, XL engine, ...).

If you are still undecided, go with the AC/20!

Edited by BlacKcuD, 09 November 2012 - 09:44 AM.

[Reverendk]

Prosperity Park, on 17 May 2012 - 07:34 AM, said:

• Gausss Rifle has more than twice the firing range of the AC/20
  
• Gauss does 15 damage per unit of time, which is pretty close to the 20dmg/time generated by an AC/20.

Am I the only one pinging people in the face at range with the AC/20? All you have to do is compensate for elevation and you can slot floppies all day.
Who sits and just trades big hits with other mechs? Unless you're having an alpha contest in your Atlas you shouldn't just be sitting still waiting for weapons to cycle. When you aren't shooting you should be searching for targets and moving.
Send round downrange, displace, send another round, collect component points as you de-limb assault mechs.

[JoeKano]

3Xtr3m3, on 18 May 2012 - 07:31 PM, said:

I think it is all about the boom. I think a GR firing would be relatively eventless. Capaciters firing, a fairly quiet reload (ca klink), and the whine of capaciters recharging(ZeeeeEEE). The GR round would of course create a sonic boom in traveling and a pretty good clang with impact, but frankly not a lot of noise with it.

AC/20s I think are much louder, much more fire and smoke and light. A much more satisfactory auditory experience. (Ca-BANGKRAKAKOOOOM) And in a night battle I want it lighting up a huge area in front of me.
If I have the sound cranked up, I want the neighbors cat peeling itself off the ceiling.

So why AC/20 over Gaus? Because it should be more fun. IMO.

"Someone hand me my Boomstick" effect. Yup, like it.

HOnestly its a matter of personal preference if you often find yourself way out there in position to send it downrange at 500Mtrs plus then Gauss up. If your style is move from cover to cover under the umbrella of friendly missile fire to suppress enemy scouts then pop out at short range for a mugging of said suppressed scout then I think a 20 is the way to go.

[IceWendigo]

MW4 " AC20s had a recycle of 6 while GRs had a recycle of 8"
Yes, If you shave off a second from the recycle time of the AC20 and add a second to the recycle time of the Gauss the problem is solved. (imo the Gauss would *Still* be the better choice for open terrain and the AC20 would then be the better choice for cluttered terrain/brawl)

[Elizander]

The main issue with Gauss vs AC/20 is the heat. On my Founder's Atlas, I replaced the AC/20 because of heat issues. With a Gauss Rifle, you can stand atop the freaking volcano on Caustic and keep shooting like a baws. A Gauss Rifle will go with any weapon set. It won't kick your heat up after you fire your 4 MedLas and you can use it at any range. It's well worth the trade-off for 5 damage.

Now if they bump the AC/20 damage to 25 or give Gauss its minimum range then I am sure some heads will turn.

Edited by Elizander, 09 November 2012 - 06:49 PM.