[Feedback] Patch notes - May 19, 2015

I'd totally use the Dragons, if I had them, skipped the sale and then what I have is somehow working so I don't bother with them because I solo(and I think this is the main reason why I keep the DDs alive longer ), but I must say I prefer the 6R overall and so I think I would love the Dragon playstyle. The 1N burst is ridiculous as well, more constant and saves 5T. Better for CW after all.

But sooner or later I will get them too, so 2 or 3 days later they can nerf them like every mech I buy

The 10T drop will hurt flexibility, but I guess it will be harder hit for the clanners, as they will get the best chassis nerfed and there's not really much else to use right now.

But the IS will more and more turn into the same dropdecks as well with the reduced tonnage and the nerfs...you think twice before bringing an 85T unless it's really overquirked, and the 4N might not be worth the tonnage anymore in CW.

 

Yeah I just drop in new mechs I'm levelling or events solo queue. Though in my opinion the non CW maps give far better chest high cover for DD's. Most of the CW cover is pillar style.

PS: you're banned from 1N's.

 

The TBR nerf does not include missiles though, so there is that.
Not sure if ti is a good odea to nerf the light, which is the one thing IS does better than clans.
I would say the same for the 4N also.
I do understand the stormcrow thing, but I think the numbers act up too much.

 

So, quirk thoughts:

Firestarter A: Took a hit, but the SPL build is cool enough that it'll still be viable. Range nerf doesn't much affect a weapon that had shit range anyway, so at worst I'd say expect people to shave off 1-2 SPLs from the normal 8 laser setup, and this will still be a beast.

Firestarter H: The H was nerfed? Really? Who fucking uses the H? Was already a dead variant compared to the A and S, this only made it less appealing.

Firestarter S: The loss of heat safety hurts the S more than the A, since it has always been the hotter of the two. Could be problematic for the 5 MPL build, but I'm betting the 6-7 MPL builds will fade away pretty quickly.

Raven 2X: RIP Comp Raven, the 3LL build will be gone now. Sign me back up for the RVN-3L, it will likely be the better PUG performer once more thanks to ECM.

STK-4N: Hard to say on these changes. The 6 LLas build will likely be too hot to run with, but just removing one LLas could make it far more manageable, so it may just lower the DPS slightly. Will have to see how it goes on live, but IMO, the worst-case scenario for me is that it removes my Stalker from my IS drop deck and replaces it with another Grasshopper, which I don't see as a negative.

Stormcrow/Timber Wolf: Some negative quirks there, yes, but a lot of them come in small numbers (and some negatives are outright negated by the right setups). Doesn't change that some of the nastiest setups that I use are completely unaffected, and that they still have superior hitboxes compared to other mechs. These changes might screw over some players, but they will not affect me in the slightest.

Overall: Hopefully PGI doesn't get a stick up their ass about every single energy boat in the game, especially since a lot of our newest mechs in the IS (GHR, BK, Crab, WLF) are energy-only for the most part, with no way to get around that. Some other energy boats, like the Wubanshee and TDR-5SS, may see the nerf bat soon too if they are really trying to get people away from energy builds (which would be kinda stupid, completely negating entire variants by making them less viable out of the box). I can only imagine how Resistance 2 is going to look if they start applying a wide brush to this idea.

As far as the Stalker, I'm of two minds on that mech: people bitch about it constantly, but it still begs an important question, does it get used so much because it's too OP, or does it get used because there is literally nothing else that is effective in the assault slot for IS? I know I use it in my drop deck because it's a heavy damage dealer that doesn't rely on ammo, and since it normally comes out in CW, that's something I count on there. However, I'd say that my GHR-5J(R) has performed better in CW overall, often averaging over 1k damage every round, since it's my first mech on the field each and every time. I mentioned above that, if the 4N sucks now, it would just give me a reason to load in one of my other Grasshoppers instead, and run two of them in lieu of an Assault. Right now, the only other assault I would even pretend to consider for IS CW would be the Banshee, which would require me to modify my deck yet again since it would be too heavy...and it would be less than ideal, since my strongest banshee at range is the triple AC5/quad MLas build, and that doesn't have the ammo I'd like for CW.

The Raven 2X and Firestarter H changes annoy me...the 2X will likely go back to being a forgotten variant, since its main allure was that it could perform well with 3 LLas in lieu of having ECM on the mech, making it finally able to compete in a role vs. the 3L. Removing its heat efficiency now means that it goes back to performing the same at range, if not worse because it is so easily spotted. Removing its niche means, honestly, removing a lot of its ability to perform. The FS9-H is an even bigger joke, I already mentioned that it was a crap variant when compared to the others, and I meant it. NO ONE takes the H over the A or S, and giving it a buff or two might've changed that after this patch...instead, by uniformly nerfing them all, you still keep the A and S as the best of the bunch, and the H remains the beaten stepchild off in a corner somewhere. Far less than ideal, and as usual, it means not much will change on the field as far as which mechs of those chassis you will continue to see on the field.

Speaking of the FS9-A/S, they will continue to remain the King of Lights simply because of the firepower they can still mount (the A particularly I would estimate will just have some adjustments to make, and it will be fine), right up until the Arctic Cheetah lands. The nerfs might make the Wolfhound a bit more desirable later on, but there's no telling how that will work out before the mech is actually here. The changes on those mechs are arguably the least likely to change anything, though the S might struggle some more without dropping an MPL.

 

Very nicely argued piece.

 

YES! Nerf all the quirks. Next nerf dragon and thunderbolt and wolverine etc.

 

w/e

 

I'll reserve my opinion on the Clan quirks until I see them in action. The % seems very high though.

 

I've stopped having knee-jerk reactions about quirk changes until I see them in practice After all, the WVR-6K changes (along with the LLas ghost heat change) still resulted in a playable mech, despite people hating the loss of the Wubverine. I did pop a message off to Russ about the missed opportunity with the FS9-H, but that's really the only thing I'm up in arms with. The 4N nerfs don't surprise me, though they do disappoint me, as I mentioned above that the reason you see it used so much is because there just is not another great Assault option for the IS. However, when Grasshoppers become open for cbills, I might purchase another 5J to use in my CW deck (unless the 4th bonus variant gets some good long range quirks) in order to replace the Stalker with something that I really like. I would, however, like to see more competition from IS assaults to the Stalker as a result of them being brought up to its level, rather than it being taken down a peg. Particularly, I wouldn't mind seeing some love go the way of Victors, as they have been out of the limelight for a long time thanks to the JJ nerfs.

Either way, we'll see how things shape up tomorrow...I don't think it will be the end of those mechs being great, but you're going to see some build modifications that keep them competitive. The 4N I would highly guess will likely see some 5 LLas builds with a larger engine.

 

The 2X is really no sense at all, there's no way to put it out.

To nerf the quirks that much equals to another useless mech, at that point they might as well given huge LPL quirks for a 2LPL build, or very nice MPL quirks for a quad MPL, but like this, who's gonna use it?

 

Just a note. They did buff the new stormcrow arm in the process though. I guess now you play stormcrows as energy-missile hybrid, or just ignore the cooldown and build a 12xSPL high alpha nightmare.

 

I am confused.

You can run 9 energy hardpoints with c-bill available pods for +24% duration (9+6+3+3+3) and -24% cooldown...

...or you can run 10 energy hardpoints (all arms) for +18% duration and -18% cooldown with torso pods open for missiles or better turning quirks.

 

@Durandal, I'm likely to just go 4LLAS in the arms (I frankly used them most in CW in ridge peeking and the ST ones when in the open) and supplement with CQB weapons for punch. M/PLAS or SRM maybe.

 

Working out their methodology is not an easy task. Perhaps they view torso weapons as superior due to great longevity, as arms are easier to destroy even though they can contain more weapons. Perhaps they look at each omnipod as an individual item, or perhaps they quirk the pods based on the combined sum of the variant, so when quirking they will quirk all prime pods together, all A pods etc.

TL;DR fuck knows.

 

But to run the 10 energy pod version you will have to buy the mech in the gift store. See what I mean?

Actually I wish they would update those models with the release of 0X.
Speaking of model update, they still need to update the Awesom (as wll as expand the missile tubes on PB and 9M to something other than 2 (6 or 10 would be fine) There are other mechs that needs fixing also. For example, the missile tubes on the cicada-X5

 

What does this exactly mean? Do they mix up the public queue with the group queue if you are not enough players for a 12 man or what? Or is this something with the LFG tool?

 

It means that clicking "Launch" does not pull up the option for "Public Game" vs "Private Game" any more, just like clicking it in solo queue does. The private game thing has been relocated elsewhere.

 

no interesting content in this patch, not a lot to be excited about

 

Bug fix is good though. Things they should be doing. I would check if the Night Vision is getting better.