Gauss rifles

[xInVicTuSx]

Few Gauss comments if ya dont mind.

1. I know in CBT Gauss rifle and CERPPC do the same damage, you guys have come pretty close to emulating that, only problem is the splash damage, if that gets fixed I think CERPPC would be about as popular as Gauss rather than more 
x2 so it is easier to see the difference, CT damage is about right, but splash makes the CERPPC easy mode weapon, I would go as far as to say it has gone further to breaking it than the Heatsink system has and I won't lie, it makes the IS ERPPC easy mode too comparatively (x2 CERPPC= x3ERPPC in damage exactly in game, just right).

2. Can we expect to see the Gauss rifle Pod model normalized? Currently the big fat box one is much easier to hit than the lean tube one at any angle from any range, combined with the explosion it gives a huge advantage to the lean model one, just wondering if you plan on choosing one over the other.

3. Should Hgauss do more damage when it explodes? It's about the same right now.

[Makaan]

Hgauss will never explode since the round is nothing but solid mass, so no AoE.
As for the balance, Clan ERppc have extreme amount of damage like i've seen in the other mech games doing the amount of damage, though the only part that needs balanced is the AoE effect.

[xInVicTuSx]

I mean the rifle itself exploding, when it explodes it seems to do about the same damage to the parent mech as the normal Gauss.
And yeah, in order to get comparable damage you would have to fire at least 1 or two more Gauss shots into each side torso there, not to mention the head....sounds balanced to me.

[(TLL) Heretic]

Your comparing apples and oranges here, on that damage model you posted another salvo from the Gauss rifles will leave the CT with just a sliver of life left, 2 more CERPPC shots and the CT (and LT &RT) will be down to a third, both weapons should kill that target in 3 salvos, the points earned will be the same.

The CERPPC damage is about right (I did a test of the RACs vs CERLarge and CERPPC yesterday and can post up the image I took of the damages done to a Demolisher).

I'm surprised you haven't brought the Light Gauss up in this thread, as due to it's faster refire rate and thus lower damage since 0.3 I have abandoned using it completely....but I haven't tested it against the ERLarge Laser (should have the same DPS) so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm proven wrong by hard data on the Light Gauss (yesterdays tests proved to me that the RACs are balanced correctly and therefore the problems I have with them just proves that I suck with RACs  )

[xInVicTuSx]

So doing a little bit more single target damage justifies the ERPPC doing near 3 times more damage overall the more you fire?
So I have to snipe perfectly with the Gauss on the move where as I could just hit any torso section with mah ERPPCs and approach the same damage with a shit ton of damage to other sections to boot? That can't be right, with every shot the damage far outclasses the Gauss to the point of absurdity with minimal difference between the actual section hit damage.

Either equalize the damage among the splash or slash down the splash damage, its supposed to do the same as the Gauss not way more.

Furthermore Gauss are extremely heavy, have less range than ERPPC, explode when damaged, and only get a few shots, and yet ERPPC does more overall damage? Come on.

[(TLL) Heretic]

So doing a little bit more single target damage justifies the ERPPC doing near 6 times more damage overall the more you fire?
So I have to snipe perfectly with the Gauss on the move where as I could just hit any torso section with mah ERPPCs and approach the same damage with a shit ton of damage to other sections to boot? That can't be right, with every shot the damage far outclasses the Gauss to the point of absurdity with minimal difference between the actual section hit damage.

Either equalize the damage among the splash or slash down the splash damage, its supposed to do the same as the Gauss not way more.

Furthermore Gauss are extremely heavy, have less range than ERPPC, explode when damaged, and only get a few shots, and yet ERPPC does more overall damage? Come on.

 6 times?  Your exaggerating, try the ERPPCs against tanks you'd find the Gauss rifle working better than the CERPPC each time, so it really is apples v oranges, the PPCs splash works well against 'mechs, not so good against tanks.

And both are tricky to use on the move, but the PPCs are harder than a Gauss to hit a fast mover at range due to their slower travel speeds (Though I'd be for the Gauss rifles having a global speed increase of 20% which would make the Gauss an even better sniper weapon).

[xInVicTuSx]

I edited it before you posted, I confused myself by using the x2 damages.

And ERPPCs are easy to use moving at range because all you have to do is hit the general torso and you're in business, Gauss you have to hit one section over and over.

[=KoS= Eldragon]

Gauss has a much MUCH higher velocity, making it easier to hit fast moving targets. This is especially true on when the server is starting to lag (Since the delta between where your PC registers the target, and where the server registers the target are greater).

Furthermore for people who can hit the the same spot over and over again, the Gauss is preferable since it is doing more damage to the target location. At 900 meters, you are better off sniping with ERLargeLaser and Gauss than the ERPPC. I'm not saying it cannot be done, I'm not saying ERPPC is ineffective at sniping, I'm saying Lasers and Gauss are better at by design. The CERPPC is better for when you have 2 more more people shooting at the same target. You both won't hit the same spot, but with the splash damage you make up for it.

IMHO the balance between Gauss and CERPPC is just fine.

When you bring HGauss, PPC, and LGauss into the discussion is when there are some questions (DPS, Ammo, Heat, etc). But I feel the overall concept of "Splash does more damage overall, but less to a specific location" is a good one. The devs got that one right.

[Leeko]

CERPPCs should be a bit weaker IMO. The cockpit shake, the EMP, the heat transfer, okay fine. I'd like to see the damage reduced a bit or that irritating cockpit shake removed. It's REALLY irritating if there's an Awesome or a Novacat focusing on you, though much worse in the case of the Novacat.

[xInVicTuSx]

I only want the splash damage decreased a little, the single point damage is fine as it is, so after one alpha from a Novacat I feel like I got hit by an 18 wheeler filled with bricks rather than cinderblocks.
To my second comment, would everyone prefer the Box model or Tube model for Gauss? Currently the box is only on the Madcat B and MKII Prime I think. I would like to see the boxes on the Vulture A actually...

I didn't bring up the Lt Gauss cause I expect the damage to be increased and Ive made Hgauss comments elsewhere.

[Dragonlord]

One thing I never understood, and I hope someone here can explain that for me.
The PPC is an energy based weapon, it has as far as I know, no physical aspects.
So how is it that an energy beam like the PPC can cause so much shaking of the cockpit when you have no physical object to interact with?

I too find that cockpit shake very annoying, especially when your opponent chain fires them at you.
When chainfired at you it makes it completely impossible to aim for the duration, and if more than one opponent work together on it, they could make you completely unable to return fine until youre dead.

[=KoS= Eldragon]

One thing I never understood, and I hope someone here can explain that for me.
The PPC is an energy based weapon, it has as far as I know, no physical aspects.
So how is it that an energy beam like the PPC can cause so much shaking of the cockpit when you have no physical object to interact with?

The PPC is overloading your Mech systems with Charged particles. Causing electronics to error out and myomer to spasm (The Myomer is the the "muscle" on a mech's limbs. Imagine a thick metal wire that when a current is applied to it, it contracts with enough force to move many times its own weight).

[Dragonlord]

Thanks, now things make sense to me.
Nice that someone can explain what I dont understand.

Dont make it any less annoying, but at least now I understand why it happens.

[EagleFire]

 CERPPC's just seem like the most over buffed weapon in the game right now. They have loads of secondary effects AND they can damage every component on a mech with a single hit (such as being able to destroy CT armor through a hit to the back on pretty much every mech).  In .3 AC splash got greatly reduced while PPC splash was increased and the projectile speed increased. I wouldn't mind the CERPPC's being able to keep their current damage just get rid of that ridiculous splash.

[Cujo]

the one thing I would say and to keep in mind are the differences that make these weapons unique and methods to keep similar weapons in use.  The obvious differences...
1) Obviously one is energy and one is ballistic so the trade offs between heat and ammo are there, but with the ability to re-arm the advantage of unlimited ammo energy weapons is somewhat diminished.

2) Splash damage.  The PPC has splash damage, the gauss does not.  The splash damage is part of what sets it apart in design.  And when you think about it, it's a mass of particles rather than a solid mass of metal, so that makes sense to me at least.  The Splash damage also makes it useful for killing BA, especially when you don't have any MGs or small lasers with rapid firing rates.

just thoughts.  I think it's important to ensure that weapons that fill similar roles still seem unique in their own right so that they don't get more or less, shelved.