April Dev Vlog #1

Thread in 'Official 'Mech News' started by Excalibaard, Apr 2, 2021.

  1. Excalibaard

    Excalibaard 101 010 Staff Member

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    Link to full article here

    An absolutely INSANE amount of balance changes have been announced in this vlog, be on the lookout for the final patch notes :)
     
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2021
  2. https://thecauldron.nav-alpha.com/

    A few highlights...

    No PTS - straight to live with weapon changes!!

    No ghost heat for 4x IS Large Lasers...?!? hmmm

    Lots of roll backs on laser nerfs.

    PPC roll backs, mostly buffs compared to status prior to March patch.

    ATM damage nerf, missile health buff.

    AMS/LAMS buffs.

    IS Case for free.

    RAC5 is getting tweaked for less spread and more velocity.

    Gauss Rifles getting more range and velocity buffs.

    Light gauss getting more damage and range and taken off Gauss/PPC ghost heat.

    Light Gauss Rifle (IS):
    Damage increased to 10 (from 8)
    Ammo per ton decreased to 20 (from 25)
    Cooldown increased to 3.5 (from 2.6)
    Velocity increased to 2200 m/s (from 2000)
    Range increased to 880m (from 750)
    Max range increased to 2200m (from 1500)
    Heat penalty is removed.

    Notes: Currently, Light Gauss are a weird amalgamation of AC/5 and AC/10 class weapons, and Gauss Rifles. We wish to diversify them into a class of their own with a number of large changes. To start with, a sizable damage, and decent velocity increase brings it more in-line with similar weapons, PPC’s and Gauss Rifles. To compensate for this, we have given it a sizable nerf to its cooldown, and a slight nerf to its ammo economy. To give Light Gauss Rifles a more unique sniper niche, we have also decided to give them a 3x damage at range fall-off, in addition to improving their optimal range by a sizable amount . A rather large change we are also making to the weapon system is removing all associated heat penalties with it. This will allow the weapon to synergize much better with PPC class weapons, giving them an added degree of versatility.


    Looks like I might have to get a better computer to run High for maximum viewable range...
     
    Last edited: Apr 6, 2021
  3. Excalibaard

    Excalibaard 101 010 Staff Member

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    You got exactly the same highlights as me, CASE is probably the change I feel most positive about, as they changed something that was hard to understand (why can't i equip it in my arms while clan does) and borderline useless in most mechs (anything not running a standard engine), to something that you'll want to find the slots for if you can, and doe 'Do I run a Gauss with PPC and a Light Engine, or do I change the PPC to an ERLL and get Case in the same torso' kind of choices are excellent.

    Light Gauss seem absolutely insane this patch, and I fear they'll become the new meta. A Quad LGR FNR-5 can do 40 damage every 3.5 + charge seconds at 880m (And still respectable damage beyond 1000), without heat buildup. At least they require direct LoS. I think the heat penalty will be added back soon.

    MRM volley also (finally) scales properly with launcher size, so there's finally a point to running multiple MRM10s over a larger MRM (besides the missile health).

    Changing ATM damage tiers to 2.5 / 2.0 / 1.6 makes them a lot better for the game I think, as they are no longer complete garbage at long range, and no longer as overwhelming at short range either.
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2021
  4. I would like to see that minimum range greatly reduced/eliminated since ATMs are now doing 3/4 damage of comparable MRMs and require lock to be effective.

    I am glad to see weapon buffs/slight un-nerfs, but I think some of the quirks will need to be greatly watered down. There are some scary MRM mechs out there that are going to do even better things with these buffs.
     
  5. Excalibaard

    Excalibaard 101 010 Staff Member

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    True, Mrms will be really powerful until they streamline quirks in (one of) the patch(es) after this april one.
     
  6. ShooterMcGavin80

    ShooterMcGavin80 MechSpecs Addict

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    Interesting stuff. Really should have done a PTS first rather than just going live. I'd prefer slower changes rather than touching pretty much every weapon type.

    In general, changes look interesting. Very wary of the 4xLL change... ugh... IS laser vomit meta is already very strong. If an IS mech can load up 4xLL + ML's, wowsers, that is going to be a nasty.

    IS small lasers I don't think needed a damage buff. Fleas running around with 5xSL can already ruin your freaking day.

    Mixed feeling about the cSPL damage increase combined with the cooldown nerf.

    IS medium lasers did not need any tweaking, they're already freakin' awesome.

    cHML's are already I think pretty good, actually. I appreciate the buff, but wowsers. Limited by range obviously, but wow, my UAC20/HML combo builds got nastier.

    glad to see cERML's got a buff. I think they will still not be able to compete as a boating type weapon for clan mediums and lights in the same way that an IS light can boat ML's and get good work done.

    Pretty dramatic range decrease on cMPL's. Ooof, that hurts. My feeling is that IS MPL boats will still be able to tear apart cMPL boats, but the cMPL boat lost its usage at midrange potential. More damage and shorter burn is good, but we'll see how that plays out.

    3 Snubnose PPC's sounds freaking dangerous in combination with an AC20. 50 pinpoint IS brawler. Whether or not it will be too hot to run sustainably is another question, but it seems like a potentially very dangerous build to try on a few IS chassis. Such as:


    I like the reduction in shells on clan standard autocannons.

    Nerf to clan streaks is weird. Not sure why that was coming. Streaks are already difficult to employ effectively. IS streaks get to keep their same higher damage? Streak Cyclops and Marader-2's can be devastating.

    Nerf to ATM's close range damage may finally rid us of the curse of ATM pop tarters. Increasing the long range damage seems weak though, the ammo count, higher heat, and lower tube count for ATM's means LRMs will still be king at long range. Instead of 2.5 at short I would have gone 2.75.
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2021
  7. The "true" lurmers may gravitate to them for damage at very long range (1100 meters before skills/quirks).


    The Clan Streak Damage Nerf seems like a lot. The spread on clan streaks is already very bad.
    Lowering the cooldown is a slap in the face considering how fast stealth lights with Radar Dep drop lock.

    Maybe they are gearing up for Radar Dep not being an instant lock breaker and having Tag knock out stealth for 2 seconds at a time.
     
    Last edited: Apr 3, 2021
  8. CarloArmato

    CarloArmato Professional Potato Carrier

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    Gauss rifle health increased... I'm gonna dust off my warhammer.
     
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