[Feedback] ECM Changes Incoming

Source: http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/203871-a-significant-change-to-ecm/

Spoiler

Should really change things up, especially in CW where the clans will have two strong ECM mechs with the SHC and HBR to contend with, but also effects the IS the same.

 

Personally, I think it's a step in the right direction, but they need to make a lot of other changes before I'd consider it "good". A lot of people want them to remove the "cloud" completely from ECM and make it more like true Guardian ECM (which doesn't effect missiles) instead of Angel ECM (which does), however doing that will mean there needs to be a complete rework to things like NARC to make it balanced, otherwise NARC will be an end-all death mark in most matches. This will make it harder to shroud entire teams, but groups will still be able to stack ECM to accomplish it easily.

 

Just tips things further to Damage > All rather than boosting role warfare in any way.

I've always argued that since 3/3/3/3 only lights should carry ECM anyway which would give them a role and force them closer to their heavier team mates. All that has happened is that ECM has become a solo defence item in anything except an organised 12 man. Only in that venue do targets get volleyed the second they break cover which allows you to mitigate the vulnerability to artillery etc of being in a close death ball. Arguably it is also a massive buff to selective mechs and formations. The Spider 2D and Griffin 2N comes to mind for the IS but the clan side are laughing with their ability to mix firepower and ECM. To a Hellbringer the ECM weight is almost literally nothing so theres no reason not to take it.

More dejected that theres yet another total rewrite to mech balancing coming in. I'm not a fan of static changes but theres now no point at all in setting up mechs except out of spare parts until the balance changes are finished. Particularly with how fast they caved in to clan demands over TBR/SCR changes and the laughably imbalanced IIC variants potential.

 

ECM doesn't really bother me. I normally use it as a form of solo protection.

I'm with Remarius on the rebalance, it is really frustrating spending time/cbills mastering a build on a certain chassis only to have it completely change a patch or two later.

 

Improvise, Adapt & Overcome, most of you have been playing this game for so long that it is only a question of changing loadouts and not buying new mechs and i actually welcome the changes as it means that the game will become less stagnant (at least i hope) even if for a moment notice only.

 

Well, 90m instead of 180m bubble will certainly help, but, with SO many mechs being release with ECM now, it's becoming quite redundant. Remember when the DDC, 3L and 3M were the only ECM mechs with the occasional SDR-5D? ECM was a useful tool then... In a week, we will have 12 mechs with ECM... That's growing the need for a better system of information gathering and technological warfare exponentially. If a team could realistically (and easily) have 4-5 ECM mechs on every drop with viable loadouts, why do we have paper-dolls anymore? It's just blind CT cores from range unless you're in their face...

I like the small step to curb ECM, but, it's far from a solution that we need. With a few mechs on the battlefield capable of supporting with ECM, it is a useful tool. However, "when everyone's special... no one is."

My 2¢.

 

One of the primary reasons I use the poptarting Nova in groups though is to disable ECM as currently there are only 2-3 mechs carrying all the ECM for a team. For a clann side now it will be easy to carry personal ECM and theres very little reason to take down ECM as almost certainly someone else will have ECM close by.

Look at the poor plight of BAP - who on earth will carry that now?

 

Imo this was more of a step sideways instead of a step forward. It's really not going to change a damn thing in terms of gameplay or role warfare. I only rely on ECM when it's on my own mech. I never depend on my team mates having ECM or compromising my positioning just to stay within its bubble.

Will this reduction be noticeable? Probably
Will this change impact typical gameplay? I highly doubt it

When I heard/saw that ECM was "Changing" I thought they would be redoing the whole system in a critical way, not just a simple range change. That's not an ECM "change". It's a simple ECM nerf, call it what it is. nerfs and buffs to values of a system without fundamentally changing the system is not actual change imo.

 

well its the 1st change of several - and it looks like that some mechs will get quirks regarding their sernsors/ECM range etc - so lets wait and see...
right atm ECM is a no brainer - do u have it, can u take it with u - than get it - that might change.

right atm ECM is inflationary - and im not too unhappy if this will change.

 

But the "big" change of reducing the range by half isn't going to impact gameplay very much. So what are "special quirks" for sensors and ECM range going to do? Buff it to an inbetween range? Pointless

 

I want to like it, but I'm having trouble. Reducing the baseline for ECM and changing expectations isn't really a bad thing, and I'd even call it good if they're going to use it to open up design space. DESIGN SPACE, not raw-value quirks. So now we have the trouble. I'm afraid they're just going to play with ranges and call it "information warfare". If they actually use this to differentiate ECM mechs, I can get behind it, but this will also have to involve sensor suite buffs (both baseline and B/cAP). If a mech is good with ECM, it shouldn't just be because of a range boost over the baseline, it should be because of an actual functionality shift, and the same goes for active probes. Give us mechs that will actually steer missiles off course instead of just preventing them from being fired at all. Give us mechs that use probes to take active sensor pings that will create flickers (keying in to enemy locations, but not providing the ability to lock) at the cost of becoming a sensor beacon while that functionality is active. I know it's easier to just shove that sort of thing aside as lore only because in TT it mostly translates to hit/miss numbers if it even has a tangible effect at all, but there's really potential for MWO there if they're willing to go for it. Heck, if we're really talking potential, give mechs a reason to take probes even when they have ECM that aren't "I had nothing else to use the tonnage on, I GUESS I'll take the sensor range" by unlocking some other functionality.

It COULD lead to awesomeness. But I can't muster that expectation

 

Shit... Now THAT'S an idea! Hell! An ECM consumable or Flare consumable. 40,000CBills gives you 3x Flares. You can deploy flares three times per drop to deter missiles. If you you three, the consumable is destroyed at end of round. If you you one, the consumable is destroyed at end of round. Either way, if you use it at all, it is consumed. That's a great idea. Someone call Tina!

Moreover, BAP/cAP should do more than just slightly extend sensor range, slightly improve locks and slightly counter ECM. Make the 1.5t IS/1t c worth more while. Give a true information gathering suite. An Active Probe can extend range on UAVs, increase friendly Mech's sensor range/info gathering (like an ECM bubble for friendlies, but, also buffs mech within range with the added perks instead of the stealth of ECM shrouding) THAT could make the extra tonnage and modules worth more while...

Interesting line of thinking... Lets flesh these ideas out more! Com'n MechSpecs! We can change the Inner Sphere!

 

They always go for complicated solutions(they then want to add quirks, change BAP, etc) while it could be easy:

IS ECM : 2 slots/1,5 ton, works like old ECM but only for the given mech.
CLAN ECM : 1 slot/1 ton, works like old ECM but only for the given mech.
Angel ECM for both : 2 slots/2 tons, works like old ECM but has 60m radius for the others.

Done.

 

60m would be utterly pointless.

One of my problems is that electronics wise clan should not have an advantage if you're not using the tabletop rules/stats imbalance. Differentiation I have no problem with (e.g. ERML's/ML's duration, heat etc) but built in imbalance is silly in a FPS game.

Clan SRMs and electronics are the classic one for me as their weight allows you to fit more elsewhere and no balancing mechanic exists. People just compare the end result - hey look they must be balanced as they are functionally identical performance wise. Well my SRM 30 Summoner might beg to differ as its never run out of ammo before dying, is far hardier than anXL engined IS mech, handles heat brilliantly, rips though targets like a knife through butter and even has five jump jets... no IS mech I've used comes even close in that role as you have to make massive compromises. Some people would still claim they're identical....

 

I'm 100% with you! to me ECM, Gauss, DHS and stuffs like this of different weight or crit space same power is total c**p in an online FPS game, but they said they are never going to change it.

 

That is why I always think the teams should be BV balanced.
Sure there are always better min/max builds (and we are going to make it!), but it is better than the sillyness now.

 

Ok. Now remove ghost heat and quirks and the game will be pretty darn good.

 

Quirks. Actually I like to have some quirks.
This would help do things things we cannot emulate in-game.

For example, vindicators should have some kind of cool down and heat reduction quirk for PPC, in lore they have a special cooling system also.

Also, quirks does make some variants viable.
Without quirks some variants (or even chassis) are just a waste of jizz and there is no reason to own them.

 

I'd have to agree there...if they roll back and remove quirks, a lot of mechs are going right back to the way they were. Wolverines vanish off the face of the earth, Dragons go back to being subpar, the Ember goes back to being the single best IS light, and so on. There are just too many mechs that go right back into the trash pile if quirks are no longer a thing...entire chassis, in fact, simply die out on day one of that rollback.