Big changes you'd like to see in MWO

Thread in 'MechWarrior Online' started by Excalibaard, Sep 13, 2016.

  1. Excalibaard

    Excalibaard 101 010 Staff Member

    5,051
    1,107
    269
    Hi all,

    Since the Energy Draw tests on the PTS are in full swing for a while already, that inspired me for this topic. Besides the rework of the heat scaling/energy draw system, what are some other big changes that you'd like to see in MWO somewhere in the future? I'll start with something(s) that I think would be really nice, feel free to chime in with your own ideas (or comments on each other's rambling).

    A rework of the GXP-based systems:

    Weapon modules:
    Instead of a per-weapon no-downsides bonus, it'd be interesting to see things like:
    "Hi-Frequency Pulse Lasers - Reduce the duration of pulse lasers by 25%, but decrease their damage by 15%."
    "Overloaded Lasers - Increase damage of laser weapons by 15%, but increase their cooldown time and heat generation by 25%"
    "Uninhibited PPCs - Remove the minimum range of PPCs. Firing the weapon has a chance to deal damage to the mech component."
    "Short Barreled - Increase spread of the LB-X and decrease range. Each pellet has a higher chance to critically strike."
    "Small Autoloader - Decrease the cooldown of AC2, AC5 and their Ultra variants by 25%. Increase the jamchance by 3%."
    "High velocity LRMs - Increase minimum and maximum range of LRMs by 20%. Decrease damage by 10%."
    "Micro-adjustable Tubes - Decrease spread of SRM weapons by 30%. SRMs fire sequentially with a delay of 0.05 seconds."


    etc. Things that feel like they're actually adding something to the weapon, but will also take something in return.

    A change like this means that instead of a slew of seperate weapon modules to grind/unlock, there are some specific modules that could require more than the current amount of GXP to unlock/improve. People which have these modules will not necessarily have an advantage over people who don't. You'd also be able to buy different levels according to your preference (if you've unlocked them), and the best thing is that you don't have to look through a bazillion rows of extremely similar looking weapon modules that all do the same boring thing. People are refunded their spent GXP and C-Bills and can advance in the tree as usual.

    Other things that this system could work for are possibly the PPC Capacitor from 3060 might be as introducing a dynamic slot that takes a ton which sticks to the component in which a PPC is equipped. Also since they're not adding different ammo types yet in the equipment section, this could also have certain ammo 'modifiers' for weapons. However, since these pieces of equipment an actual TT thing that requires tonnage and critslots, it may be better that it's implemented in the weapon loadout section instead.

    Mech Modules:
    These are fine, except that some are clearly much more useful than others (Hill Climb vs Seismic Sensor) and could use an improvement. But essentially this is what I'd like the weapon modules to be like (except for the lack of downsides).

    Pilot Skills:
    Generally they're a good way to implement a certain game mechanic of familiarity with a chassis/weight class. However, a lot of people (myself included) have a lot of mechs that they simply grind to elite/master and then barely touch again. Levelling up each variant seperately means that it's rare to benefit from the full 'quirks' that you get for playing in that mech.

    I suggest a tiered EXP system similar to Warframe's Mastery Rank system through which you unlock titles, global buffs and items. Each Weight Class has a level, which combine into your general player level (which could also have rewards such as Mech Bays). For each weight class level you unlock you will gain one of the aforementioned perks which will then apply to all mechs of that weight class. You unlock levels by playing different (variants of) mechs. Each mech variant can be filled up with XP, and once you do, the bonuses of that weight class are doubled on this variant (much like eliting a mech nowadays). If you complete 3 variants of one mech, you gain a title of '#MECH Master' and all variants of that mech will have the doubled bonus as standard (even when not completed). Mechs with full XP get an extra module slot (just like mastering). Mechs which have been completed will provide no/little XP towards your Weight Class Mastery when played in, but since there is no level cap (at least for now that's the idea) it still provides a little GXP and C(lass)XP. This means that even on unlevelled mechs, you will be able to feel a little extra power from playing all those other medium mechs. It will also be providing a better long-term goal for people who have a lot of stuff.
    I realise that the GXP/module system is meant as some sort of 'general player improvement' as they can be applied to any mechs, but shopping for expensive modules with small/strange effects is a less intuitive kind of 'hey I'm getting better' than the mech unlocks are, or an XP bar would be IMO.

    Contextualized Quirks:
    Now quirks are mainly 'oh this mech is underperforming here have better weapons'. It'd be interesting if a mech has specific upsides/downsides due to its manufacturing or shape. The King Crab for example can have AC20 CD quirks due to the claw housing being built specifically for AC20s. Another mech may have increased Jumpjet range/faster acceleration due to its aerodynamics, less heat generation due to the placement of heatsinks next to an important weapon, increased structure due to the nature of a certain component, like the Hunchback's hunch or the Centurion shield arm. Some of these have already been implemented, but it's alongside some really weird out-of-place quirks. It'd be cool to see more support for the lore-based improvements.
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2016
    ReyWay and ReconSaint like this.
  2. Joe Bopper

    Joe Bopper Well-Known Member

    183
    30
    27
    Hello! Sorry I never replied to such a good thread.

    Excalibaard, I very much agree with the ideas for new weapon modules you listed. Very cool indeed. Those percentages you listed may or may not need some balancing. Hell, they should also add more weapons to MWO (such as most other weapons you can find in the BattleTech MechWarrior lore.) To make things more fair / balanced, they would have to increase time-to-kill for all mechs across the board even if slightly.

    And yes! We also need cool / interesting new mech modules. Here are some of my ideas... (I'm sure some of these will never be in MWO but hey they are ideas)
    • Jump Jet Overdrive: Increases boosty qualities (how would you phrase this?) of all jump jets by 20-35%. (decreased fuel regen time, higher jump height)
    • Turbo Drive: A super turbo speed boost like you would see in Armored Core! Turbo boost horizontally (if the ground dips, you will essentially still be levitating and traveling horizontally) and as you are boosting your fuel decreases. You stop when you release the button or your fuel is empty. Has a long cooldown time. Can risk blowing up your mech, possibly.
    • Ally/Enemy Advanced Information Sensor: Equipping this will allow you to know all about your teammates or enemies. While highlighting friendly or enemy mechs, you can see information such as equipped modules, ammo stockpile, weapon cooldown rates, amount of heatsinks, item detection, and etc. You will be able to see friendly loadouts and limb health.
    • A new module (Can't think of a name, maybe call it 'Separation Targeting System'?) that allows you to aim different weapons separately. To make it more balanced, it can only work for the arms if that's what's desired. A new button hotkey can be created which when pressed will stop the reticle where it currently is dead in its tracks, and literally split or copy a new reticle which you can then control. When you press the hotkey again / or release it (if it is toggled or held), your view will then reset itself and both reticles will then combine into one. Seems like an awesome idea to be used by skilled pilots, if you ask me.
    • Increase the effectiveness of Hill Climb module in its own right.
    Perhaps add new armor types along with Standard and Ferro-Fibrous such as...
    • Reflective Armor - Just as heavy as standard armor (if not slightly heavier), takes up more slots. Adds extra protection against lasers.
    • Reactive Armor - Just as heavy as standard armor (if not slightly heavier), takes up more slots. Adds extra protection against ballistics and/or missiles. (likely not missiles)
    Items / equipment / tools could be added such as...
    • MASC for more mechs?
    • Shields held in the hands of a mech or attached somewhere to the body for added protection.
    • If melee is added, melee weapons of course.
    • Flashlight attachment equipment. Takes up an energy hardpoint slot or equipment slot. When a button is pressed, you will turn on your mech's flashlight. I'm getting sick of night/heat vision because you are not able to see far away. They have their pros and cons. At least with an equipable flashlight, you can turn it on in the dark and a smaller area in front of you will be illuminated but you can still see the whole environment naturally. The drawback is that enemies can obviously see you running around with a floodlight on your mech.
    Gameplay revisions such as...
    • Bring back melee (balance it)
    • Bring back knocking to the ground (balance it)
    • Add crouching abilities to mechs? (balance it)
    • Bring back mech repair and ammo costs.
    • Bring back the cockpit monitors which were actually useful and told you how much ammo you had, how many heatsinks you had left, what items were destroyed, other useful information, and etc.
    • Ejection, Self Destruct, and Retreat systems (all modes)
    We need new game modes such as...
    • Mech racing mode. In the future, some people also find racing mechs instead of cars to be incredibly fun. With all the mayhem that may entail...
    • PvE mode with various level / mission types such as survival or objective based.
    We want even more such as...
    • Customizable female robot / Betty voices
    • Customizable sounds
    • Customizable HUD
    • Customizable mech hangar
    Rather than bring a lesser number of casuals in with recent changes, PGI should do what we're saying in order to bring in tons of players ranging from casuals who love all the cool stuff to serious players and lore enthusiasts alike.
     
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2016
    ReconSaint likes this.
  3. ReyWay

    ReyWay Active Member

    73
    7
    10
    Personally, i wish they would add more things to commander.

    *Things like a special game mode where each team must have a commander mech.
    *A training mode where you have to complete 10 matches as both a commander and a pawn to play the new game mode.
    *Higher CB rewards in this mode and you would be rewarded on following orders and not just on how much dmg you did
    *No premades allowed in this mode

    Both in game and in menu height map so you can position your pawns at the best possible positions and study the map while you're not playing.
    Commander mechs have equipment that can increase their max consumable slots to 8, but they trade tonnage that could be used for weapons.

    Consumables can be targeted with a laser range finder so the commander mech can either stand back and use his consumables from range or use an allies laser finder to use a consumable.

    Light mechs can mount advanced sensors that forward information to the commander, these sensors allow the commander to check where weapons and equipment on scanned enemy mechs are located, longer scan times mean more information (A commander might for example mark a target with H, CT, LT, RT, LA, RA, LL or RR to notify allies where to shoot)

    The Commander can also create secondary lances for allies depending on their weapon loadout, alternatively allies can indicate their mechs preferred engagement range in the mechlab to speed up the process.

    These are just from the top of my head but i really think that the commander needs an overall to be made viable, currently everyone is too scared to be a commander due to fears of screwing up and the lack of information gathering methods (most scouts don't know they can hold E to spot an ECM shielded mech and mechs that are out of sensor range), it would also be nice if you could group spot if enough enemy mechs are next to eachother)
     
  4. Joe Bopper

    Joe Bopper Well-Known Member

    183
    30
    27
    @ ReyWay

    Not to be a hater, but honestly I think a lot of what you said is simply accomplished with a microphone and VoIP. I personally would never want to be a commander if I had to make so many trade-offs. I feel the commander is given too much power in some areas in terms of being able to position teammates and such. Also, as a light mech, I would not want to equip advanced sensors because I'd rather just type or use my mic over VoIP to tell my teammates what to do.

    For example, people may not agree with me on this, but I think a mech like a Spider 5V makes a perfect commander rather than a heavy or assault mech. The spider, although smaller and less armored, is just as capable to survive and deal damage. However it really succeeds in gathering intelligence and being able to see the entire battlefield. There is no better commander IMO than a skilled light pilot because they can easily monitor the whole battelfield and make the tactical decisions while the big mechs simply follow orders and fight head to head with the enemy.
    __________

    Otherwise, a lot of people have been saying this lately...
    I agree with this very much. We should be able to use certain consumable items from the Battlegrid as well as regularly. Would be a nice touch.
     
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2016
  5. P

    P Well-Known Member

    183
    32
    27
    side view mirror

    thank you


    ouh please
    a system that actually helps and boost teamplay instead of everyone for themselves

    such as focus fire bonuses,
    group flanking bonuses,
    i had multiple times seeing flanker group, all ran away when the main group are ready to push, those get left behind, dies
     
  6. skribs

    skribs Min-Max Maniac

    1,685
    164
    48
    An anti-alpha system that doesn't involve hidden exponential scaling of one resource or a second resource.
     
top-fast
top-fast
top-fast
top-fast