First Energy Draw Test Imminent

The new changes on the PTS both DOUBLED the heat penalty as well as increased specific weapon's energy consumption. Why they would do both at the same time is beyond me. They should have done one or the other and saw how it felt, not both which would obviously feel terrible and it does... oh it does.

If the final version is anything near PTS2, you would simply build to avoid the 30 energy with weapons that best line up with a 1.5 cooldown. Or a 60 energy draw that you can stagger over a 3s cooldown. It looks boring as hell PLUS that limits so many build opportunities! also, building mechs to a min/max would require a spreadsheet or deep understanding of all the weapon systems to min/max towards. This makes mechlabbing even worse for new players. New player would simply lose from the mechlab.

 

Gives @Solahma beer for his post

Well - I saw that ED v. 1.0 was indeed a very cool idea, but after seeing what v. 2.0 will bring...
PGI - what the hell!? D:

 

In fairness to them (bearing in mind I'm not a fan of the new system in general terms) at least they are listening to people actively testing and putting down non ranty posts or streaming.

 

Idea? Prime.

Implementation? PGI'd.

 

So its round 3 of Power Draw: (for those wanting the original: http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/235952-pts-energy-draw-sept-1/)

PTS Changelog 9/1

We closely examined Long Range play based on feedback from both PTS’. While we are happy that long range play did not run the board like it did in PTS1, we feel that in PTS2 it was a little too restrictive. This paired with feedback that the increased ED values to direct fire weapons last patch complicated overall visibility of what people were able to do has lead us to dial back the ED draw values on single damage projectile weapons back to a 1/1 ratio. With Duration based weapons reduced to a 0.9/1 Damage to ED ratio to ensure that there is still differences between full damage single projectile weapons, and duration based weapons per the extensive feedback we received during PTS1.

We have also made a series of other changes to weapons based on feedback and data that we observed during both PTS sessions.

• Weapon Value Changes:
  • Autocannons:
    • AC/2
      • Energy Consumption decreased to 2 Energy total (from 2.4)
    • AC/5
      • Energy Consumption decreased to 5 Energy total (from 6)
    • AC/10
      • Energy Consumption decreased to10 Energy total (from 12)
    • AC/20
      • Energy Consumption decreased to 20 Energy total (from 24)
    • CAC/2
      • Energy Consumption decreased to 2 Energy total (from 2.4)
    • CAC/5
      • Energy Consumption decreased to 5 Energy total (from 6)
    • CAC/10
      • Energy Consumption decreased to 9 Energy total (from 10)
    • CAC/20
      • Energy Consumption decreased to 18 Energy total (from 20)
• Ultra Autocannons:
  • Global UAC jam time increased to 8 seconds (From 5 Seconds.)
  • UAC/5
    • Jam chance reduced to 12% (From 15%)
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 5 Energy total (from 6)
  • C UAC/2
    • Jam chance reduced to 7% (From 14%)
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 2 Energy total (from 2.4)
  • C UAC/5
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 5 Energy total (from 6)
  • C UAC/10
    • Jam chance increased to 17% (from 15%)
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 9 (from 10)
  • C UAC/20
    • Jam chance increased to 20% (From 15%)
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 18 (From 20)

The Ultra AC’s double tap mechanic has made the UAC hit pretty consistently above its competitors for quite a bit. Especially on the clan side where it is a flat DPS upgrade for nothing compared to other AC weapons. With the global weapon’s cooldown, the double tap mechanic has become a bit too good to ignore under the current PTS data. As it was leading to an average DPS increase of above 50% in the case of the UAC 10 and 20 classes.

We have altered the stats on the UAC’s to bring them a bit more in line with where they should be. Most will still provide a solid DPS upgrade on average, but will be a bit less extreme to what you see currently. This change also gave us an opportunity to balance the scales across the entire AC line so you no longer see the extreme gulf of DPS differences between low caliber and high caliber UAC’s, as well as providing the IS UAC a slightly better jam chance rate to account for its increase in tonnage compared to standard AC’s.

• PPCs
  • PPC:
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 10 Energy total (from 12)
    • Cooldown Duration lowered to 5s (from 5.25)
  • ER PPC:
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 10 total (from 12)
    • Cooldown Duration lowered to 5s (from 5.25)
  • C ER PPC:
    • Splash damage removed
    • Damage increased to 15 (from 10)
    • Cooldown Duration increased to 6 (from 5.25)

Along with some cooldown tuning on the IS PPCs, with the reduction of the ED value of the PPC, we felt like it was a good time to test giving the clan PPC its full 15 damage. With a 50% increase to its pin point damage, this needs to come with a further cooldown increase to the Clan ER PPC to keep its overall DPS in line with other long ranged weapons.

Please be aware that this is subject to change in the final release based on data we acquire through this test.

• Lasers
  • Small Laser
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 2.7 (from 3)
  • Medium Laser
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 4.5 (from 5)
  • Small Pulse Laser
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 3.6 (from 4)
  • Medium Pulse Laser
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 5.4 (from 6)
  • C Small Pulse laser
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 5.4 (from 6)
  • C Medium Pulse Laser
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 7.2 (from 8)
  • C ER Small Laser
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 4.5 (from 5)
  • C ER Medium Laser
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 6.3 (from 7)

As mentioned earlier, Duration based weapons have been re-configured with a .9 to 1 Damage to draw ratio in order to differentiate them from direct damage projectile weapons. Many of these weapons have been performing just below the threshold for where we would like them to be, so we hope this slight boost better defines them against one another. Although there are some in this group that we are keeping a very close eye on.

• Large Lasers
  • Large Laser
    • Damage decreased to 8 (from 9)
    • Duration increased to 1.15 (from 1)
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 7.2 ( from 9)
  • ER Large Laser
    • Damage decreased to 8 (from 9)
    • Duration increased to 1.3 (from 1.25)
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 7.2 (from 9)
  • Large Pulse Laser
    • Damage decreased to 9 (from 10)
    • Duration increased to 0.8 (from 0.67)
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 8.1 (from 10)
  • C ER Large Laser
    • Damage decreased to 10 (from 11)
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 9 (from 11)
  • C Large Pulse Laser
    • Damage decreased to 11 (from 13)
    • Duration increased to 1.2 ( from 1.12)
    • Energy Consumption decreased to 9.9

The reduction in ED of beam based weapons combined with testing data pointing to many Large laser class weapons performing above the curb under the context of ED has had us re-evaluate the entire Large laser line for this test. We would like to stress that these stats are not final and are for testing purposes at this time.

• Gauss Rifle ( IS and Clan)
  • Energy Consumption decreased to 18 (from 20)

We are rolling back a little bit of the Gauss’ ED from the previous PTS to be consistent with the roll back in the other direct damage weapons, but we will be monitoring this change closely, as we do not wish to see it return to being a weapon that is taken to simply offset the effects of the heat penalties.

 

I'm not sure what to make of it - except to say I wish they'd related the changes to the main server values not the round 2 of the power draw!

They've dialed back some of the nerfs but hit UAC's hard with a global 8 sec jam (up from 5) and pulled back the varieties of large laser a bit (rip my beloved LPL though).

That 8 secs will seem like a lifetime.

 

So time for the latest ED changes - at least well organised now in the article so they're learning. Though... wow.... complex. Some of the changes are laughable and imo they've essentially killed uac 20's etc. Lol at the skill tree changes etc.

Heat Sink Changes
We feel that there is merit in testing - as part of the Energy Draw system - some often-requested pieces of feedback toward placing heavier restrictions on Heat Thresholds, and unifying the previously distinct Engine Heat Sink and External Heat Sink values. This test comes with certain caveats, however.
The first caveat is that we have run the numbers on the often-requested "flat 30" Heat Threshold value, and have subsequently concluded that this value would be too restrictive - even with full Double Heat Sink Dissipation rates - to be practical for builds heavily focused around Energy weaponry.
Heat Sinks will therefore still add to the total Heat Sink Threshold, but Double Heat Sinks will now only add 1 Threshold per Heat Sink. This will put the Total Heat Threshold at levels which long-time players will be familiar with from the days before Double Heat Sinks were introduced.
Single Heat Sinks will keep their current threshold values, but will unify their Dissipation Rates between Engine and External Heat Sinks. While this will give them a higher Heat Capacity, they will not have the Dissipation efficiency of Double Heat Sinks.
We will closely monitor these changes, and make further adjustments as needed.
The second caveat is that these changes, as currently structure in this PTS build, will not be a replacement for the Energy Draw system. We discussed that potential internally, and ultimately the Threshold change alone does not directly address the design goals intended with the implementation of the Energy Draw system.
Single Heat Sinks
• External Heat Sink Dissipation Rate: 0.12• Engine Heat Sink Dissipation Rate: 0.12• Heat Capacity: 1.2
Double Heat Sinks (Inner Sphere and Clan)
• External Heat Sink Dissipation Rate: 0.17
• Engine Heat Sink Dissipation Rate: 0.17
• Heat Capacity: 1

Skill Tree Changes
We are reducing the values for the following Skill Tree Efficiencies to assist with getting a better baseline reading on the above changes to Heat Sinks. These are not the final values.
• Cool Run decreased to 2.5% (from 7.5%).
• Heat Containment decreased to 2.5% (from 10%).

Weapon Changes
Gauss Rifles
With the heaver restrictions on Heat Thresholds in this update, we are re-introducing the Charge mechanic for Gauss Rifles and bringing the Energy Consumption values down to their original 1:1 values.
• Charge mechanic has been restored.
• Energy Consumption decreased to 15 (from 18).
• Cooldown Duration decreased to 6 (from 6.71).

PPC's
After reviewing the previous PTS testing data and evaluating the overall goals we wished to accomplish with Energy Draw, we feel that the previous PTS values for the Clan ERPPC presented too great a difference when compared against other weapons of similar weight, even with the drastic reduction to the Cooldown Duration of the Clan ERPPC. Restoring Splash Damage to the Clan ERPPC allows us to better justify a further reduction to its Cooldown Duration and Energy Consumption values, for roughly comparable Damage output.
For PPC weaponry in general we feel that we also had an opportunity to improve the Anti-ECM effect of PPC impacts, in an effort to provide the weapon with some additional utility.
Clan ERPPC
• Damage decreased to 10 (from 15).
• Splash Damage has been restored.
• Cooldown Duration decreased to 5 (from 6.8).
• Anti-ECM effect increased to 6s (from 4s).
• Energy Consumption decreased to 13.5 (from 15).
PPC
• Anti-ECM effect increased to 6s (from 4s).
ERPPC
• Anti-ECM effect increased to 10s (from 4s).

Lasers
Up until now, Lasers have been designed with the same Cooldown Duration values across the entire Laser size class, while Beam Duration has generally been the primary attribute that distinguishes the different Laser classes.
We feel that previous implementation left little room for adjusting the different Laser weapons without introducing undesirable results. We feel a better solution here is to unlock the Cooldown Duration attribute for different Laser types, allowing this attribute to better distinguish Lasers from each other and to give us greater flexibility in balancing Clan Lasers against Inner Sphere Lasers.
For this implementation we are tuning Laser weaponry under the following design directives:
Standard Lasers:Baseline lasers, which all other Laser types pivot around.
ER Lasers:Keep the same Beam Duration as Standard Lasers, but with longer Cooldown Durations to adhere to the previously-stated design goals regarding Cooldown differences between close and longer ranged weaponry.
Pulse Lasers:BeamDuration and Cooldown Duration will be lower than Standard Laser and ER Laser values, but some general tuning has been performed to shift Pulse Lasers into a slightly more DPS-focused role.
Clan Lasers:Will typically have longer Beam Durations compared to their IS counterparts to account for their greater Damage and Range values.
Large Laser
• Beam Duration decreased to 1.1 (from 1.15)
ER Large Laser
• BeamDuration decreased to 1.1 (from 1.3)

• Cooldown Duration increased to 3.9 (from 3.74)
Small Pulse Laser
• BeamDuration increased to 0.6 (from 0.5)

• Cooldown Duration decreased to 2.4 (from 2.59)
Medium Pulse Laser
• BeamDuration increased to 0.7 (from 0.6)

• Cooldown Duration decreased to 3.3 (from 3.45)
Large Pulse Laser
• Cooldown Duration decreased to 3.5 (from 3.74)
Clan ER Small Laser
• Cooldown Duration increased to 2.8 (from 2.59)
Clan ER Medium Laser
• Cooldown Duration increased to 3.7 (from 3.45)
• Max Range decreased to 749 (from 770)
Clan ER Large Laser
• BeamDuration decreased to 1.25 (from 1.35)

• Cooldown Duration increased to 3.9 (from 3.74)
Clan Small Pulse Laser
• BeamDuration increased to 0.85 (from 0.75)

• Cooldown Duration decreased to 2.5 (from 2.59)
Clan Medium Pulse Laser
• BeamDuration increased to 0.9 (from 0.85)

• Cooldown Duration decreased to 3.3 (from 3.45)
Clan Large Pulse Laser
• Cooldown Duration decreased to 3.5 (from 3.74)

LRM's
While our current PTS data has relatively limited information regarding the effectiveness of LRM's in the PTS environment, we have seen the feedback regarding a desire to generally improve the LRM dynamics within the PTS for testing and experimentation. We know that some normalization of the LRM class of weaponry has been a long time coming, so we examined a few methods by which we can better balance the different LRM's in relation to each other.
LRM 5
• Inner Sphere LRM 5 Cooldown Duration increased to 4 (from 3.74)
• Clan Cooldown LRM 5 Duration increased to 4.3 (from 3.74)
• Inner Sphere and Clan LRM 5 Spread increased to 4.2 (from 3)
LRM 10
• Inner Sphere LRM 10 Cooldown Duration increased to 4.3 (from 4.6)
• Clan LRM 10 Cooldown Duration decreased to 4.6 (from 5.18)
• Inner Sphere and Clan LRM 10 Heat decreased to 3.33 (from 4)
LRM 15
• Inner Sphere Cooldown Duration decreased to 4.6 (from 5.46)
• Clan Cooldown Duration decreased to 4.9 (from 6.33)

LRM 20
• Inner Sphere LRM 20 Cooldown Duration decreased to 5 (from 5.46)
• Clan LRM 20 Cooldown Duration decreased to 5.3 (from 7.48)
• Inner Sphere and Clan LRM 20 Heat decreased to 5.5 (from 6)
• Inner Sphere and Clan LRM 20 Spread decreased to 5.2 (from 6.2)

Ultra AutoCannon's
Our initial Design for adjusting U-AC behavior called for distinct Jam Duration values across the U-AC line, centered around adjustments to the Clan U-AC/10 we pushed in the last patch on September 1st, but due to a communication mix-up the implementation of the Jam Duration changes ended up as a Global increase to 8s for all of the U-AC weaponry.
In this update we've fixed that Global 8s Jam Duration and have implemented the intended per-weapon Duration. As the Clan U-AC/10 is the reference point against which the other U-AC's are balanced, the Clan U-AC/10 keeps the 8s Jam Duration.
Inner Sphere U-AC/5
• Jam Chance increased to 15% (from 12%)
• Jam Duration reduced to 5.5s (from 8s)
Clan U-AC/2
• Jam Chance increased to 17% (from 7%)
• Jam Duration reduced to 2.3s (from 8s)
Clan U-AC/5
• Jam Chance increased to 17% (from 15%)
• Jam Duration reduced to 6.5s (from 8s)

Clan U-AC/20
• Jam Chance decreased to 17% (from 20%)
• Jam Duration increased to 10s (from 8s)

 

Just noticed the large LRM size changes...

 

Finally trying UACs with specific jam durations.

 

No problem.

Coincidentally I've found Kanajashi's series very useful and this one hammers home how much of a change the heat sink one is:



I rather worry what on earth will lights and to a lesser extent mediums do under the new system as they have no capacity to bulk up heavily with extra heat sinks.

Makes me wonder if this is revenge for a Locust kill on Paul or Russ.

 

Just as a reminder PGI are playing a shell game here that I hate, aka they're referencing the test server stats not live when they do comparisons. For example cERPPC's are listed as decreasing cooldown from 6.8s to 5s.... well no they're not they're actually increasing cooldown from 4s to 5s in other words less of a nerf but still a nerf.

 

Latest update on PTS (16 Sept - sorry yes I was slacking):

After much feedback toward the restrictiveness of the last update this test will try to determine if increased Dissipation rates, coupled with higher Heat Penalty values, will yield better results.
This is not a final value; we will be closely monitoring the impact of this change.
• Heat Penalty has been increased to 1.4 point of Heat for every point of Energy over which you have exceeded your Current 'Mech Energy Value.
This is an increase from the previous value of 1.0 Heat for every point of Energy.

Heat Sink Changes
The implementation of the Heat Sink changes with our last PTS update came with a reduction to the efficacy of the two Skill Tree nodes. The coupling of those changes was intended to provide us with a better baseline for determining the impact of the changes to Heat Sinks. However, we agree with the feedback from the last update that those values, taken together, were too restrictive. We also observed some interesting concerns regarding the effectiveness of Single Heat Sinks in comparison to Doubles.
In this update we have made baseline changes to both Heat Sink types to hopefully put us in a much better spot, and to account for proper advancement of boosts received from the Skill Tree. The Heat Capacity stat has been tuned to account for the reintroduction of the Skill Tree stats. Elite 'Mech Skills should pull you up to similar thresholds that were seen previously.
Single Heat Sinks
• External Heat Sink Dissipation Rate decreased to 0.11 (from 0.12)• Engine Heat Sink Dissipation Rate decreased to 0.11 (from 0.12)• Heat Capacity decreased to 1.1 (from 1.2)
Double Heat Sinks (Inner Sphere and Clan)
• External Heat Sink Dissipation Rate increased to 0.19 (from 0.17)• Engine Heat Sink Dissipation Rateincreased to 0.19 (from 0.17)• Heat Capacity decreased to 0.9 (from 1.0)

Skill Tree Changes
When unlocked, these Skill Tree value changes should put Double Heat Sinks at a level slightly above their "true double" Dissipation rates.
• Cool Run increased to 5% (from 2.5%).• Heat Containment increased to 7.5% (from 2.5%).

'Mech Overheat Damage
With the changes to Heat Sink Dissipation, we see an opportunity here to adjust the method by which Overheat Damage is dealt.The method has been adjusted in a way that will see Overheat Damage penalties increase for excessive Overheating, in addition to some alterations for how Damage scales based on your Tonnage. While lighter 'Mechs will receive only a slight increase compared to what they experience currently, Assault 'Mechs will take an amount of Overheat Damage more proportional to their total health pool.

Weapon Changes
Clan Ultra AutoCannons
The majority of the UAC line is performing approximately where we would like them to be, but we recognize that the previous changes put the Clan U-AC/20 in a difficult spot, despite already being the highest average DPS boost across the UAC line. Given the drawbacks of the weapon, we are fine with reducing the Jam Duration to equal that of the Clan U-AC/10.
Clan U-AC/20
• Jam Duration reduced to 8s (from 10s)
Pulse Lasers
The Large Pulse Laser has proven to be fairly disruptive under the context of Energy Draw. We have attempted to maintain its previous weapon properties as much as we could under the previous directions, but it has become increasingly clear that something has to give; despite its increased Tonnage, having better Damage, better Beam Duration, and better DPS has made it the clear winner compared to other Large Lasers.
With this update we are going alter the Large Pulse Laser a bit and reinforce the previously stated design goals, with Pulse Lasers shifting to a greater focus on DPS. To that end we have decreased their Damage and Heat, while maintaining their superior Beam Duration, and are reducing their Cooldown Duration further to keep DPS comparable its previous weapon properties. We are also bumping the Energy Consumption of the Large Pulse Lasers back to a 1:1 ratio, as it still provides a very powerful stat line for what the weapon brings to the table.
With this update we have also taken a look at the Medium Pulse Lasers, and feel that they too can use a bit of a DPS boost.
We would like to stress that these changes are not final, as we are trying to find a spot where Large Pulse Laser excels at its intended 400-600m DPS role without invalidating similar weapon options.
Medium Pulse Laser

• Cooldown Duration decreased to 3.1 (from 3.3)
Large Pulse Laser

• Damage decreased to 8 (from 9)• Energy Consumption decreased to 8 (from 8.1)
• Cooldown Duration decreased to 3.2 (from 3.5)
Clan Medium Pulse Laser

• Cooldown Duration decreased to 3.1 (from 3.3)
Clan Large Pulse Laser

• Damage decreased to 10 (from 11)
• Heat decreased to 9 (from 10)• Energy Consumption increased to 10 (from 9.9)
• Cooldown Duration decreased to 3.2 (from 3.5)

Quirks
For the purposes of this PTS we have removed all Clan and Inner Sphere Quirks.
We want to very clear that is not a test for the permanent removal of Quirks, either in general or with the release of Energy Draw. Their removal in this PTS is intended to aid with deriving a better baseline regarding balance of Clan and IS tech levels under the content of Energy Draw, as it currently stands. We are particularly monitoring the effects of removing Heat Generation Quirks, so we can better tune the Quirks within the context of Energy Draw.
With that said, we also want to take an opportunity to test the baseline balance of the Clan vs. Inner Sphere dynamic in the absence of Quirks to provide us with better data in how we can potentially tune the Quirk system at a later date.
We are fully aware the Quirks are integral for the balance of many 'Mechs within the game, and we do not want to disrupt this. The removal of Quirks in this PTS session is purely to aid toward acquiring better baseline balance data.

 

Some of the changes aren't bad in the version from the last two changes - The pulse changes seem to work on PTS and they slightly pulled back on the ultra nerfs. They pulled back on the savage nerf to the heat related skills so its still worth training them and getting three variants imo.

The BIG changes are overheat damage now being related to your weight so assaults that could just ignore it before now have to be careful as they'll receive more damage - seems reasonable and I always presumed they did already.

The new system does seem to be getting overly complicated though now - with 1.4 heat penalty for every point over your energy value it looks like they've totally discarded the goals of making the new system simple for a new player. As soon as you bring in the new heat sink changes that is compounded and it (imo) becomes utterly essential to use external mech design programs.

The heat sink changes (mark 2) seem aimed at making sure the 100 tonners get less of an advantage with the new system but does nothing to help the lights or mediums that were hammered by it. In any case builds need totally re-writing from my tests on PTS.

Either way (for good or bad) PGI are literally rewriting the entire system in front of us.