• Bushwacker
• Huntsman
• Marauder IIC
• Night Gyr
• Supernova
• Viper
• Warhammer IIC

Tuning and Value Changes

Based on the results of the recent LRM Updates PTS and player feedback, this month we are releasing a very large overhaul of a number of systems that feed into the LRM weapon systems.  This overhaul has been focused on the following points:

• Introduction of more clearly defined direct fire vs. indirect fire behavior for LRMs and the Weapon Lock-on system.

• A focus towards giving each firing mode of LRMs their own distinct give and take. 

• Overall buffs to direct fire capabilities of LRMs, with overall nerfs to indirect fire through weapon properties and mechanic changes.

• Updates to AMS, TAG, and NARC systems accounting for these new mechanical changes.

The net sum of the changes being introduced this month result in a major re-work of not just LRMs as a weapon, but also the core weapon lock-on mechanics and the way that various equipment interacts within these systems.  With these changes we are not aiming to subvert the utility of indirect fire in favor of the weapon becoming more apt at direct fire, but to provide a proper weapon and system balancing pass in order to better reward those that do expose themselves to return fire when using LRMS, while providing more direct drawbacks to indirect fire that make it more difficult to use effectively at extreme ranges without team coordination.

Weapon Lock-On system Overhaul

We have decided to move away from a universal weapon lock-on system into something with more depth depending on your overall position and ‘Mech configuration relevant to the target you are attempting to acquire a weapon lock on against. While also bringing more direct importance to the sensor system with how it relates to indirect fire weapon locks. Like LRM direct vs. indirect fire, the weapon lock-on system will now be broken up into two distinct states dependent on if you have direct LOS to the target or not.

Direct Line of Sight:

• Attempting a weapon lock in direct LOS will see a 20% reduction in weapon lock-on time over the previous universal lock-on base time.

• This rate is a flat rate that applies equally across all ranges provided you have direct LOS to the target. Furthermore, this value cannot be augmented in any way. 

No Direct Line of Sight:

• Indirect Weapon Lock-on time will now be dependent on the range of the target relative to your max sensor range.

• Indirect locks attempted at close range will retain a lock-time identical to the previous universal lock-on time.

• The further out the target is relative to your max sensor range, the longer this time will take to acquire.  With anything at extreme range or past max sensor range taking the longest time to acquire a lock compared to locks attempted at closer relative sensor range.

• These lock-on times are treated as base values, and as such are modified in both positive and negative ways by equipment such as ECM, TAG, and NARC.

• Sensor range increases can potentially impact your indirect-lock-on time dependent on where the target is relative to your total sensor range. 

• TAG and NARC will have expanded functionality in how they will interact with indirect fire described below to account for these changes.

The video below demonstrates the difference between Direct LOS locks, compared to short range indirect locks compared to extreme range.  Note that there are intermittent steps between the short and long range lock-on process dependent on the target’s relationship to your max sensor range.

Design notes: We want to put added emphasis on the fact that the values gained through this new system and tested through the PTS series are considered “baseline” values.  And as such, they will bear the brunt of lock-on time buffs / debuffs more severely depending on their relationship to the target.  This is particularly important when it comes to how ECM interacts with target time against out of LOS targets under ECM cover. 

In these cases, the increases to indirect fire time associated with being under ECM cover are now more pronounced against targets at longer sensor ranges, while closer sensor ranges will have the equipment behave similarly to how it operates now, with extreme ranges being particularly prohibitive to indirect LRM usage while the target is under ECM cover.  This is intentional.  As we want to see one of the primary benefits of ECM cover is to act as a further impediment to indirect locks and an aggressive counter to extreme-range indirect LRM fire.  Pushing players to counterplay around these drawbacks through direct LOS locks, which are not impeded at any range, nor get any lock-on time debuff from ECM, or coordinating with team mates in a number of ways to either counter, subvert, or brute force your way through the drawbacks now associated with indirect lock-ons.

LRMs

New LRM Direct / Indirect fire behavior:

The core change coming with this patch to LRMs will be the addition of unique LRM behavior dependent on if a firer has direct line of sight to its target or not at the time the weapon is fired.

Direct Line of Sight:

LRM volleys fired within LOS will now have new functionality that conveys the following changes over their current implementation:

• A much shallower angle of attack for the missile volley resulting in the following benefits over the current implementation:

• Around 40-45% reduction in time to target

• Less time for AMS to shoot down missile volleys as they approach the target

• Tuned to reliably be able to fire upon enemies under vertical cover from a distance, including under the overpasses of Crimson Strait from the island, as well as the low ground of Rubellite Oasis from various locations.

• Attacks made in direct LOS will now have 20% tighter missile spread when compared to indirect fire.

• For this initial roll out, direct fire LRMs will be set to a 10% buff to missile spread over previous universal spread values 

No Direct Line of Sight:

• LRM volleys will arc in the same way they previously behaved.

• Attacks made outside LOS will have 20% wider missile spread compared to shots made in direct LOS

• For this initial roll out, indirect fire LRMs will be set to a 10% nerf to missile spread over the previous universal spread values.

LRM Weapon Changes:

LRM 5:

• Velocity increased to 210 (from 190)

• Indirect Spread set to 4.7 (New)

• LOS Spread set to 3.7 (from 4.55)

• Minimum Heat Penalty Increased to 5 (from 4)

• Heat Penalty increased to 3.4 (from 2.8)

• LRM 10

• Velocity increased to 210 (from 190)

• Indirect Spread set to 4.7 (New)

• LOS Spread set to 3.7 from (4.55)

• Minimum Heat Penalty increased to 4 (from 3)

• Heat Penalty increased to 3.4 (from 2.8)

• LRM 15

• Velocity increased to 210 (from 190)

• Indirect Spread set to 5.7 (New)

• LOS Spread set to 4.7 (from 5.2)

• Heat Penalty increased to 3.4 (from 2.8)

• LRM 20

• Velocity increased to 210 (from 190)

• Indirect Spread set to 5.7 (New)

• LOS Spread set to 4.7 (from 5.2)

• Heat Penalty increased to 3.4

• Clan LRM 5

• Velocity increased to 210 (from 190)

• Indirect Spread set to 5.05 (New)

• LOS Spread set to 4.05 (4.55)

• Heat increased to 2.4 (from 2.25)

• Minimum Heat Penalty Increased to 5 (from 4)

• Heat Penalty increased to 3.4 (from 2.8)

• Clan LRM 10

• Velocity increased to 210 (from 190)

• Indirect Spread set to 5.05 (New)

• LOS Spread set to 5.05 (from 4.55)

• Heat increased to 4 (from 3.7)

• Minimum Heat Penalty Increased to 4 (from 3)

• Clan LRM 15

• Velocity increased to 210 (from 190)

• Indirect Spread set to 6.05 (New)

• LOS Spread set to 5.05 (5.55)

• Heat increased to 5 (from 4.65)

• Heat Penalty increased to 3.4 (from 2.8)

• Clan LRM 20

• Velocity increased to 210 (from 190)

• Indirect Spread set to 6.05 (New)

• LOS Spread set to 5.05 (from 5.55)

• Heat increased to 6 (from 5.6)

• Heat Penalty increased to 3.4 (from 2.8)

Below is a video highlighting the net results of these changes. Please note that we utilized dev-tools to achieve the indirect fire examples despite it being within direct LOS in order to properly highlight the differences in the new arc behavior:

Design notes: In addition to the number of changes targeting the new functionality being introduced this month, we are also rolling over a number of heat related nerfs to LRMs tested through the PTS series. With all launchers gaining a bit more aggressive heat scale penalties, with clan launchers seeing their base heat increased in addition to the heat scale penalties.

AMS

Missile Projectile health vs. AMS Tuning:

With this patch, we will be moving away from a global missile health setting to one that allows for finer tuning when it comes to individual missile interactions against the AMS system.  The net effect of this change will see better efficiency for AMS against larger missile volley sizes, in addition to having a much more pronounced effect on non-LRM based missile systems. 

• Volley health is now tuned at the launcher level.

• Smaller volleys will be tuned with more base health to allow for more missiles from smaller launchers to reach their targets.

• Larger Volleys will be tuned to be more vulnerable to AMS fire, resulting in more physical missiles being destroyed against larger volleys.

• The previous universal value will be set as a baseline and applied to LRM 5 launchers.

• From there, larger launchers will have less health making them more vulnerable to AMS fire.

• Additionally, all other missile systems have been tuned to account for this new AMS behavior, resulting more consistent AMS performance against non-LRM missile types.

• While this will increase vulnerability, this tuning is still set to have AMS act as a “soft” counter that reduces potential damage from incoming shots, it is not tuned to be a hard counter that shuts down all missile play.

AMS (Both Clan and Inner Sphere)

• Range increased to 190 (from 165)

• Max Range increased to 275 (from 250)

Laser AMS (Both Clan and Inner Sphere)

• Range Increased to 190 (from 165)

• Max Range increased to 275 (from 250)

TAG + NARC Feature Additions:

TAG Changes:

• Weapon Lock-on speed booster removed

• Targets that are being painted by TAG are treated as if they are in direct LOS for the purposes of Weapon Lock-On time and Missile spread.

Below is a video example of TAG’s new functionality in action compared to a base long range weapon lock.

NARC Changes:

• Targets with an active NARC pod attached to them are treated as if they are in direct LOS for the purposes of Missile Spread.

Design Notes:  One consistent bit of feedback we received through our tests of buffing direct fire LRM, but toning down indirect fire LRM was that there was still a desire to reinforce indirect fire potency through the use of team based equipment such as TAG and NARC. And that any nerfs we took off of the baseline LRM equipment should be rolled over as perks to the TAG and NARC systems. On this front we were in agreement. With the expanded functionality of the Weapon Lock-On system, and the new penalties to the spread from indirect fire, we feel it is fair enough to have ways of re-introducing LRM’s current indirect potency provided it is accomplished through teamwork with specialized equipment.

When it comes to TAG, we are rolling the Weapon Lock-On property previously associated with TAG into the core Direct Fire Lock-On mechanics. Because of this, we are eliminating this boost on the base property of the weapon in order to further reinforce its primary role as a team boosting piece of equipment rather than a personal enhancement device.

For NARC, we are only providing it with the boost to spread. This is due to the fact that the base NARC equipment keeps a sensor lock even outside of indirect LOS to the enemy. This is to allow a bit more time to respond to your ‘Mech being NARCed before longer ranged bombardments have a chance to lock onto you. However, locks against you will still have boosted spread potency.

ATM

• ATM 3

• Velocity increased to 242 (from 220)

• Indirect Spread set to 3.9 (New)

• ATM 6

• Velocity increased to 242 (from 220)

• Indirect Spread set to 4.9 (New)

• ATM 9

• Velocity increased to 242 (from 220)

• Indirect Spread set to 5.5 (New)

• ATM 12

• Velocity increased to 242 (from 220)

• Indirect Spread set to 5.5 (New)

Design notes: As ATMs will be equally effected by a number of downsides being introduced with the changes to lock on weapon systems, we will be giving them a velocity boost along with the LRMs to coincide with the changes made to the weapon lock-on systems.

When it comes to spread value, while this is listed as a new stat, this is actually something that has been present on the launcher for a bit now.  ATMs in the fiction are built with integrated Artemis systems.  To replicate this bit of lore within our game, we replicate Artemis’ behavior through the equipment itself.  With the change to the way direct vs. indirect spread works with LRMs, we will also be exposing this value that was previously hidden on the baseline ATM launchers.  Like LRMs, we have applied a 10% nerf to the indirect spread for ATMs, but this was taken using the pre-Artemis properties of ATMs that previous was only something visible behind the scenes.

Mech Quirks:

AMS quirks:

With the large buffs to the baseline properties of the AMS systems, we received PTS feedback that the new settings combined with a number of ‘Mechs with high value AMS quirks ended up shutting down missile play rather than acting as a soft counter for missile systems.  While we still intend to keep AMS quirks as a part of a number of ‘Mechs flavor quirks, we have made an effort to tone down a number of these quirks to account for the incoming baseline balance changes.  Some will see reductions, some will see their benefits shift over to set of 8 quirks, and some will see their quirks fully removed.  A brief summary of the ‘Mechs that will be impacted by these changes:

• JVN-10N & JVN-10F

• WLF-1B

• MLX-A

• KFX-C

• ADR-Prime

• SHC-Prime

• NVA-A & NVA-S

• SMN-B & SMN-D

• WHK-Prime

New HSL quirk assignments:

The following ‘Mechs have been provided with new HSL quirk assignments:

• HSN-8P: LRM 5 HSL +1

• UZL-BE: Light PPC HSL: +1

• TBR-D: Streak Missile HSL: +1

Hatamoto-Chi:

• All variants receiving modest boosts to Bonus Armor quirks.

Design notes: The Hatamoto-chi has performed a bit below the curve for our liking, and as such, will receive a bit more in the way of durability quirks.

Warhammer IIC:

• All variants to receive new Armor quirks

• Nearly all Variants to receive slight boosts to offensive quirks.

Design notes: We quirk ‘Mechs based on the final in-game model approved by the Art team.  With the incorrect model being submitted for review previously, this meant that we would have to re-evaluate the corrected model entirety.

Exact details to be provided in the PDF change table here.

• Streak Missiles now properly target the Center Torso of the Cicada.
• The Cicada CDA-3D now has proper Jump Jet animation
• The Vapor Eagle and Charger Mech's cockpit no longer jolts when equipping or changing a cockpit item.
• The Vapor Eagle Walking Cockpit item's right leg no longer has a minor animation issue
• The Decals placed on the Mad Cat MK II will now be accurately positioned to where the player placed it.
• The Catapult will no longer twitch when Jump Jetting while turned at the same time
• The Piranha Mech AMS now works correctly when equipping 2 C-Laser AMS on the right and left torso.
• The WHM-IIC-3 armor point increase no longer bugs when reducing armor points once the custom loadout is at max tonnage.
• The Solaris ELO change value now displays properly.
• Fixed an issue in Tourmaline Desert where 'Mechs would get stuck in places on cells G5, F5 and H6
• Fixed an issue in Mining Collective where 'Mechs would get stuck in a spot on cells F5
• Fixed an issue in Crimson Strait where 'Mechs would get stuck in a spot on cells F5
• Fixed an issue in Liao Jungle where 'Mechs would get stuck in a spot on cells A1
• Updated te End of Round screen to display the amount of time a player has spend on a capture point for the game modes of: Assault, Domination and Conquest.
• Structure Quirks are now displayed in the same manner as Armor Quirks in the MechLab Loadout.
• The Sensor Range stat is now displayed in the Mech Stats panel in the MechLab.
• UI improvements for the Premium Time window now displays both player Active and Banked Premium Time.
• Players can now activate partial amount of Premium Time through the game client instead of activating all.
• A corrected version of the Warhammer IIC has replaced the one released in the February Patch.  This version error occurred where the wrong ‘Mech model was released last patch and has now been corrected with this patch.  This addresses the talon and overall size error, see image below for the before and after comparison: