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LRM & TAG combo is now required to have a functional LRM boat due to ECM .you cant not take TAG, if you run into 1 smart ECM mech shielding his team you are useless.
However, with the new patch and tightening of the LRM fire, the TAG & LRM combo is leading to devestating LRM strikes. I have however noticed that light mechs especially due to difficulty in maintaining TAG can dodge LRMS pretty good when the TAG is lost. +1 for this.
But somehow the LRMS feel a little OP, both using them and taking fire. They feel like they are doing twice the damage they did pre-patch, and drilling right through mechs with the TAG & LRM combo. Again, not necessarily a bad thing considering how they work inconjunction with ECM.
On average my games using LRMS have been very balanced damage wise, and much more in line with my teammates damage vs previous patches.
Maybe it would be good to allow LRMS to obtain locks on ECM mechs without TAG, subject to the lock on time penalty obviously but since LRMS without TAG are softening more than coring this would at least let new users etc bring mechs without TAG and remain useful instead of useless. I don't recall in btech that if you didnt take a TAG for your LRMS you should pack up and go home.
I'm loath to recommend lowering damage given the way games play out now.
But cutting the turn rate by more yet, so that any mech going over 80 KPH has the ability to dodge LRMS while not being Tagged or Narced thus taking perhaps only 25-50 of a full volley might be worth considering still. this would help mediums and lights primarily, and if TAG is on the mech still allow for the strikes we get now.
In general damage output seems significantly increased, and mechs are living a lot shorter. I even considered recommending adding another 50% armour increase to compensate for the loss of lag shield, but somehow don't think thats a great idea.
Given that coolant flush is coming, it might again be worth considering to simply cut the heatcap by 25-50% so that overall mech firepower versus heat efficiency needs to be considered more carefully, thus forcing damage output down across the board in favour of heat efficiency?
Tough call. I've had great games across the board with this patch, and even the TAG artemis drill LRM doesnt seem crazy out of place, unless a 4 LRM 20 stalker catches me in the open. Perhaps the most significant problem is that on certain maps LRM + tag boats can supress and kill pretty much anything outside a pop-tart sniper, when stuff is caught out in the open to LRMS it just crumples, and without a viable approach via cover the LRM is the ultimate weapon.
But then, thats the whole point of the LRM right?
