2 replies to this topic

[Karlack26]

A 3 ton module with at least 1 ton of ammo(6 uses) ,taking up 4 slots and a missile hardpoint.
Which then can be rendered entirely useless by a module that weighs 1.5 tons that takes up 2 slots, has unlimited uses and does not use up a weapons hardpoint. what is the point of using NARC at all even with a buff.
Artemis with a tag seems way more useful in every way. you just lose slots and weight in proportion of how many missile hard point you have and you have the tag to help counter ecm.

As for ECM it should require an energy hard point and cause heat generation while it is active. ECM is like a television broadcast antenna but broadcasting across the electromagnetic spectrum. They put out a lot of heat and cooling is a must for any broadcast antennas power supply.

On the other hand Lasers use focused visible light and thermal electromagnetic radiation instead of the multispectral broadcasting that ECM would use.
Would make sense that they would both require the same hardpoint.

In short Lasers and ECM are very similar but utilise different techniques of the manipulating the electromagnetic spectrum
The back end(ie the power supply) would be the same, instead of attching a laser on it you are attaching a antenna.

[Monky]

The only comprehensive way to fix NARC is to make them provide a lockable target regardless of LOS, OR have the timer increased drastically. It is too heavy, too short ranged, too cumbersome, to compete with TAG. Even if they make the first suggestion, it needs to increase the lock time to 45 seconds minimum, LRM's take time to lock and travel to the target, scoring a NARC hit should be rewarding.

It seems now they -should- be providing LOS locks, however they have a 35 'cumulative damage cutoff' after which they simply stop working - is this damage only missile, only LRM? or is it any kind of damage? Even if it is limited to only LRM damage, that is effectively 1 full LRM 20 hit, which is pretty silly low. an LRM can fire 6 times per ton of ammo... so a NARC would be spending 4 tons (launcher + ammo) with every narc pod landing just to have a single LRM 20 dump a single ton of ammo?

Edited by Monky, 19 February 2013 - 06:04 PM.

[Roadbuster]

Increase the ammo/ton to at least 50 and either the cumulative damage to 50 or make the target visible even when not in LOS.
This would still not be as good as ECM regarding the weight and hardpoint requirement but it would be a start.