When I first picked up the game back when it appeared on steam, I personally thought the deploy-able armor plates on the C class mechs to be honestly PRETTY FRICKIN' KEWL. Immediately, my first fateful mech purchase would be the Brawler and it would become my favorite mech today. However as I played I quickly realized that HAWKEN places more of an emphasis on speed and agility over health and firepower, and since turreting essentially strips you of your mobility I always felt gimped whenever I deployed my armor plates.
When the devs realized this inherent flaw in turret mode, they re-examined how a C class should play. The first experiment would result in the Incinerator, whose success and popularity would lead to the revised Grenadier "Artillery [BOOM BOOM] Shot" and the G2 Raider (Ah yes, the [in]famous "Battle Turkey"/ "Chicken of DOOM"). While I readily admit the Incinerator's Heat Burst to be most certainly visually impressive, the Grenadier and G2 Raider's armor plates felt like nothing more than decorative sheets of metal drooped over their backs, never to lower and face the thunder of gunfire like the appearance would imply.
Feels like a damn shame to me really, since I've always liked turreting, but hardly use it because it strips me of mobility, which I reiterate, is a very important element in HAWKEN's bouts of violent combat.
What I would like to propose, are alterations that while not completely thought out, I believe would improve turreting experience and viability in combat.
I think we should remove or reduce the movement speed penalty, it is already agonizingly crippling to fight in turret mode with evasive dodging unavailable and moving at the speed of slug is almost utter suicide without support and or a Technician with it's Helix Repair Torch jammed up your ass; especially so when you are lumbering into the enemy team to soak damage for your team in a slugging match.
We should also be allowed to move when deploying the armor plates, in addition to being more visually impressive and satisfyingly fluid to deploy on the move; it makes you less of a sitting duck and allows heavy mechs to keep up with their faster cohorts when spearheading an assault in such a fast paced game.
A buff to the Brawler's fortified turret is greatly overdue; 10% damage reduction with a slow regen does not justify the loss in mobility, even with support.
Also may I suggest adding more distinctive visual and sound effects when projectiles hit the armor plates?
I am severely disappointed to not hear PING PING PEWs and ricochet noises with the plates down.
I'd also like your thoughts on this matter.
By the way, any redditors here? /r/hawken feels like such a grave yard in comparison to /r/warframe (another great free mmo btw, SPACE NINJAS FTW)
Edited by Exomedia, 19 April 2015 - 11:07 AM.
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