30 replies to this topic

[Relicide]

In the latest patch I read that PGI was considering re-working the flame thrower entirely. I suggest that you might consider a 'flamethrower' that shoots napalm that sticks to mechs. The more you get on them, the worse the thermal load imposed over a set period of time. They would fire like the NARC. Have range but hard to land at a distance.

[Ptom]

Prepare to get a lot of hate from diehard TT fans.

I agree the flamer needs a buff, but just a bit more damage and a lot more of causing the opponent to overheat.

[xxx WreckinBallRaj xxx]

All it needs is to produce more heat on the enemy than it currently does. Currently it's too low to bother with. You have to be at point blank range and channel it just to use it... then it doesn't really do anything. This is why you NEVER see it used in a match anymore. The last time I used it was in early Closed Beta when I first got my Founders. Then I noticed that it never actually did anything to the enemy(zill dps, not enough heat), so I tossed it and have yet to ever touch it again.

[Frenche6]

From what I understand it is not an actual flamethrower, but a new weapon that shoots napalm that sticks to people.

So, does it deal damage or does it just provide heat?
Can the napalm ignite to deal damage or generate heat?
Is there a "flame" element to it, or just a goop shooter?
Could it cause a pilot to not see out of window if hit in the face?
Could it wash out, or at least reduced, in water?

Btw, Love you relic..

[SonOfAgony]

As previously stated, I too, dropped the Flamethrower like it was hot... hardy har har:

However in a desperate attempt to see if it did ANYTHING. I loaded a Hunchback 4P with 10 ports of fire vomit.
I overheated and died. I got hits on the CT and Cockpit to turn yelllow. Or it could of been the Jenners MPL's that was with me.

p.s. I have also done the 3 MG Hunch to no affect as well. (maybe a range boost for the MG?)

Edited by SonOfAgony, 20 December 2012 - 02:27 PM.

[Frenche6]

Well, flamers deal zero damage right now..So the Jenner could land one laser and deal more damage lol.
Flamers also cost a whole ton (which would be fine if they actually provided some effect)

I do not think they should deal much or any damage, but if a light were to run circles around an assault..they should have little to no heat dissipation and should overheat eventually. If they decide to do something silly like alpha strike 4 PPCs while being flamed, then they should just stay powered off due to being at around 150% heat permanently.

[Draxtier]

Just worth noting... There is a section of the forums specifically intended for suggestions, and this isn't it.

[darkfall13]

SonOfAgony, on 20 December 2012 - 02:23 PM, said:

As previously stated, I too, dropped the Flamethrower like it was hot... hardy har har:

However in a desperate attempt to see if it did ANYTHING. I loaded a Hunchback 4P with 10 ports of fire vomit.
I overheated and died. I got hits on the CT and Cockpit to turn yelllow. Or it could of been the Jenners MPL's that was with me.

p.s. I have also done the 3 MG Hunch to no affect as well. (maybe a range boost for the MG?)

I did this same thing in CB except for the overheating, had some fun groupings that I could play with and prolong the heat. Even in Caustic, where I thought I'd be invaluable, I only ever recall shutting down 2 mechs.

[Strum Wealh]

About the Flamer... the idea behind the standard Flamer it is that it actually redirects plasma from the Fusion Engine to the emitter (as opposed to the so-called "Vehicle Flamer", which would require the 'Mech to carry several tons of highly-volatile fuel).
The plasma that is redirected is the same as that that runs through the engine's tori (as BT/MW Fusion Engines seem to be generally based on toroidal real-world devices called tokamaks) to generate the electricity that powers the 'Mech,

If flamers really need a "buff" to appear/be more useful/attractive (by playing up the weapon aspect of its nature), one plausible and (IMO) reasonable way to do so would be to make it a "two-fer" weapon - that is, the Flamer can be made to deliver both damage and heat to a target (instead of one or the other), while still being balanced (read: more difficult to abuse) by it's flaws (relatively high heat to the firing 'Mech, short effective range).
Also, players could be allowed the choice between a higher-heat, infinite-use "standard Flamer" and a lower-heat, finite-use, ammo-explosion-risking "Vehicle Flamer".

Your thoughts?

[Soy]

I don't understand the problem people have with the Flamer.

Step 1 - Get in face
Step 2 - Flame
Step 3 - ???
Step 4 - Dead mech, next target

[Kraven Kor]

It's going to be a tricky beast.

Make one flamer viable, you make 9 Flamer Hunchbacks ungodly terrifyingly overpowered lol.

I think the trick is, get it so one flamer is decent at causing heat, but that multiple flamers only do so much more damage / heat.

Make 1 or 2 flamers more than a nuisance, but 3+ flamers not "you are shut down and never starting back up."

[Broceratops]

Soy, on 20 December 2012 - 02:58 PM, said:

I don't understand the problem people have with the Flamer.

Step 1 - Get in face
Step 2 - Flame
Step 3 - ???
Step 4 - Dead mech, next target

step 3 is "someone else on your team kills the mech and does 99% of the work"

[Skyfaller]

Relicide, on 20 December 2012 - 02:06 PM, said:

In the latest patch I read that PGI was considering re-working the flame thrower entirely. I suggest that you might consider a 'flamethrower' that shoots napalm that sticks to mechs. The more you get on them, the worse the thermal load imposed over a set period of time. They would fire like the NARC. Have range but hard to land at a distance.

It has been said a thousand times over that the MG and Flamer needs a buff.

MG's need to have their rate of fire increased by 5x and if possible, the range maxed out to 300m, and their crit-rate tripled. That way the MG's arent anti-armor unless you manage to really spray 1000 rounds on one spot... but its an excellent section popper if you rip the armor off.

Flamers oth, need to have the same crit-seeking after armor is stripped ability BUT limited to 90m and they should generate at minimum 2% heat per second on target mech. Flamer also should not generate more heat to the unit firing it than it does to the target.. a flamer should heat the user's mech by 50% of what it does to the enemy mech. After all, a flamer uses fuel and reactor not just reactor.

[Soy]

Broceratops, on 20 December 2012 - 03:01 PM, said:

step 3 is "someone else on your team kills the mech and does 99% of the work"

...

You mean my Flamer wasn't roasting mechs in 5 seconds all by itself?

...

*uninstalls*

Edited by Soy, 20 December 2012 - 03:04 PM.

[Broceratops]

Soy, on 20 December 2012 - 03:04 PM, said:

...

You mean my Flamer wasn't roasting mechs in 5 seconds all by itself?

...

*uninstalls*

im sure it was causing a measure of confusion and perhaps panic, since most players probably have never seen one in action. i tried a 9 flamer hunchback before. on the ice map, I had enough heat sinks to basically spam them the whole game, and I didn't die. I did 90 damage

[xxx WreckinBallRaj xxx]

Soy, on 20 December 2012 - 03:04 PM, said:

...

You mean my Flamer wasn't roasting mechs in 5 seconds all by itself?

...

*uninstalls*

You can sit next to an enemy with 2 Flamers for a full minute WHILE they're shooting and accomplish nothing. Just an FYI.

[Kraven Kor]

Bluten, on 20 December 2012 - 03:08 PM, said:

You can sit next to an enemy with 2 Flamers for a full minute WHILE they're shooting and accomplish nothing. Just an FYI.

Depends on the mech, really.

Really hot builds are affected by flamers, doubly so on caustic.

If your heat rating is 1.0 or higher, then for the most part, flamers mean "Oh, I fire one less medium laser every few minutes, the horror!"

[HighlandCoo]

The idea of flamers sounds good in theory.. but wait till your the one sitting still, locked in a heat shutdown while a light (another bloody light! Im sick to deatah of LIGHTS! ) runs around you not getting hit due to lagshield.

not alot of fun. Which is the name of the game no?

[Vassago Rain]

Make it add heat, like it should.
Then, you add something like a flamer resistance, that depends on the TOTAL NUMBER OF SINKS CARRIED OUTSIDE THE ENGINE.

Now it has a use, a defense, it doesn't work on everybody, and you can't troll or grief the slow targets that everybody is so afraid will be trolled by flamers.

[Liberty]

Flamers are an easy fix. Firing them generates no heat or extremely little heat. Every hit with a flamer generates heat on the opposing mech equal to one medium laser fired. This is stackable. Thus two hits from a flamer or being hit by two flamers at once makes your opponent generate two medium lasers worth of heat while you generate none. This might not seem like much but two medium lasers worth of heat can push a hot mech into shutdown easily. That and if your mech is surrounded by units all employing flamers it can get really hot. The flamer would need a proper cooldown before firing a burst again of course.