13 replies to this topic

[Necro]

This is a sort of closure to my first impressions thread, I feel ample time has past to allow players to have a better understanding of them mech. Please do not add to the thread if you haven't played it for a long enough time. Getting killed by it doesn't let you know exactly what is wrong/right with the mech/weapons.

Weapons:

• Mini-Flak: Feel like it needs a slower ROF and perhaps an expanding spread depending on the heat of the weapon to deter spamming the weapon.
  
• Flak: Feels very punishing if you miss with this weapon. Will be better against A mechs then the Mini-Flak in most fights.
  
• HEAT: I don't believe it's a balanced weapon for this mech and changes it's play-style entirely.
  
• TOW: As I first mentioned having self inflicted damage on a close range mech does feel weird at first but it seems to balance out the mech somewhat.

Ability:

• As I've mentioned this ability doesn't directly alter combat like the other ability's. It is used for speed. It's hard to compare because it's totally different but it doesn't feel too powerful or underwhelming. I think it would feel cooler if it was a speed boost instead of a fuel reserve.

Speed:

• All A mechs may be a little too fast and that's where there power comes from. Either that or B/C mechs may need to be sped up.

Health:

• It is a good enough number, you won't be winning to many head to head battles out in the open but that's not what this mech is for. Sometimes I feel it's too low. One lucky shot/unlucky dodge leaves you usually 2/3 or 1/2 way down but that doesn't mean the health needs to be raised.

I think that's everything...feel like i'm missing something.

Edited by Necro, November 28 2012 - 07:05 PM.

[Decoy101x]

i like your analysis. To me the miniflak feels balanced. Maybe a SLIGHT rof nerf but thats about it. The regular Flak is supposed to feel punishing if you miss, however big money big prizes if you nail a good shot with it.

HEAT over all i feel needs a damage buff. Testing it out with h0b0 yielded meh results. 80 - 90 damage uncharged and 125 charged.  For it being hitscan it also is punishing to miss. Shots you land dont feel rewarded enough. This is just me however. If the damage stays the same ill still use the weapon as i find its useful for certain engagements and i dont feel its too terribly under powered.

The ability..i find meh. I agree, a speed buff that increased walk speed/dodge speed/boost speed would be nice. and more fitting. Would it still last 8 seconds_

Speed: I feel the B/C mechs need to move the same speed they did in Beta 2. I disagree with slowing them down as they've done here in CB3

health: 500 is perfect for A mechs. any more and it would be stupid.

[Necro]

I don't think I would like it if the HEAT damage was raised, Skilled players are VERY good with the weapon. I haven't played with it much however so don't take my word as law or anything.

[Sylhiri]

I just got the Heat today so i'll try it out a bit but against other A classes, mostly lower level Scouts, a Heat + TOW is a real ranged advantage. Both of them hurt like hell and the A classes only got near 500 HP to begin with.

[Necro]

My problem is it turns it into a mid/long range mech. That makes no sense to me.

[Sylhiri]

Does the Weapon Ability Levels work in CB3_

If so then it would make the Heat easier to use, -10% charge time and +20% damage radius (Both level 2 and 3 are +10% for some reason)

[Crayyon]

I've only gotten my scout up to lvl 7 so far, but I'm enjoying it quite a bit. The play style feels very high risk high reward due to its squishiness. The mini-flak may deserve a slight dmg decrease, but the effective range is relatively limited, and paired with the TOW requires you to try to stay in that sweet spot where you can rip people apart with the mini-flak and TOW them without killing yourself.

A dev mentioned in another thread that they're considering removing/reducing self-inflicted TOW dmg for scouts, which would certainly make it easier, but I think would lead to overall less skilled gameplay and more cheese tactics. I really like how every mech has very specific effective ranges and that staying in those ranges adds a ton of tactical gameplay.

Having played mostly an infiltrator for the last 2 beta events, I find the scout's fuel ability much more versatile and useful both for engaging and escaping. The infiltrator cloak basically did nothing for me except for approaching in very specific circumstances, and almost never helped me escape, whereas the scout ability has saved me multiple times simply because I can boost for so much longer.

[Drtipes]

Miniflak is bad, doesnt need nerf.
No need for TOW self damage decrease. Good scout/zerk/infil keeps his distance.

Edited by Drtipes, November 29 2012 - 02:02 AM.

[Spawny]

Necro, on November 28 2012 - 06:57 PM, said:

Speed:

• All A mechs may be a little too fast and that's where there power comes from. Either that or B/C mechs may need to be sped up.

Health:

• It is a good enough number, you won't be winning to many head to head battles out in the open but that's not what this mech is for. Sometimes I feel it's too low. One lucky shot/unlucky dodge leaves you usually 2/3 or 1/2 way down but that doesn't mean the health needs to be raised.

I agree with most of what you said. Except for the speed on the B and C mechs. In the first 2 cb's, I always found it rather silly that it was near impossible to flee from a B mech as an A mech. They could stay in firing range just long enough to be able to finish you off.

The health is a bit of an annoyance. I've specced in the defense tree just to see what it does (very little), but if I miss a dodge I pretty much lost the fight. Especially against B and C mechs. Getting hit by a grenade/heat/sabot/TOW hurts very badly. This makes fighting infiltrators tricky too, as being hit by the grenade and the heat at the same time, can put me at a severe disadvantage early on.

Generally speaking though, I think the scout is pretty good as it is now. I can hold my own in most 1v1 fights, unless the other pilot is more skilled than I am.

I would like to see the scout get a more defined niche though. I would have expected to see the Berserker with the flak and miniflak (you know, zerking involves lot's of rage and close range fighting) and the scout with more medium/long range weaponry.
I hope horizontal progression includes some radar upgrades/extras available only to the scout, as it is a scout after all. I feel it's role on the battlefield should be to harass and scout out enemy positions, rather than a close combat mech with enough fuel to flee if things get hairy.

[PiVoR]

I think A mechs needs hard nerfs, they are dominating like they did in "previous test". You think they are too low hp_ Thats bs. A mech is the only one that can run away, ninja repair itself and come to finish the job, so their effective health is actually higher than the number shows.
Reduced self damage from TOW would make it no brainer also.

[3Jane]

Agree with op and Pivor really come on guys.. Heat on Scout is dumb.. even on Infiltrator its a bit too strong as it is. Considering a weapon with 'Heat' in its name generates no heat during its most powerful shot... if you could only fire 4-6 shots in a row before overheat (or close) it'd put a real timer on it + a little heat generated when keeping the charge held. Even then I'd still say the dmg might be a little too high (10-20%).

Scout Mini Flak fire rate is ridiculous, basically guarantees some damage which often guarantees a kill when it gets down to the wire. Combine that with how much faster A is than everyone else..

Everything this patch made A class stronger, while every other mech was nerfed.

[Necro]

Dayum...look at that idea for the HEAT^

Love it...Please add a heat increase to it if you hold it for X amount of time.
great idea.

[Karaipantsu]

The biggest issue I have with the scout is their combination of speed and flak makes it IMPOSSIBLE to escape from them if they want hugs.  They're difficult to target in close range because they can move and dodge basically forever, all the while pounding you with Flak and TOW's.  Self damage isn't too bad if you're going to down your opponent and run away to repair anyway.  This wouldn't be so bad if it were easy to catch them in the open, but there's not a lot of open spaces in the game design, which prefers tight quarters and narrow alleys.

Basically, if you don't have backup, and a Scout gets close, you're 95% doomed.  That seems unfair.  No other class has such an advantage up close except the Brawler, and good luck sneaking up on anyone in one of those.

[AsianJoyKiller]

3Jane, on November 29 2012 - 01:46 AM, said:

Considering a weapon with 'Heat' in its name generates no heat during its most powerful shot...

Siiigh...
HEAT is an acronym, not a description of a trait on how it works.
http://en.wikipedia....ti-tank_warhead

Edited by AsianJoyKiller, November 29 2012 - 08:16 AM.