Would you rather have a weaker ShadowCat without JJs and 2UAC10s & significant heat management issues or a Mad Cat A? You could probably run through 2-3 Ninja-SCats in a MadCat A before RTB if you spotted them early enough (Classic Ninja v Samurai playstyle where the ninja will loose if he doesn't mug the samurai in the 1st few seconds). Both machines would be in the same price bracket..Stealth takes away from firepower and armour, so there's the balance, folks can counter it by using active radar with BAP/BHP or in the case of the NullSig by getting an eyeball on the enemy.
Well the problem with that is that if you're dealing with reduced loadouts is the first-strike advantage takes a serious hit - I mean, hitting someone unawares with 4x CERPPCs would kick some serious amounts of ass. 2x UAC10s would hurt if you got them in the butt but after that, the Mad Cat just turns around and cuts you up.
That's not a problem, it's design. It's a trade-off for the advantage of staying off radar it also has it's own quirks to balance it's use; right now you just press R with a ECM 'mech and you get that effect (EASY mode) without any drawbacks or pilot considerations. That SCat is not capable of taking down clan Heavies, and guess what? If you stealthed that MadCat it would hit more like a medium, if you stealthed a MkII it would hit like a Heavy, these are rough comparisons, but that's the trade-off Stealth systems take up massive internal space and thus reduce your firepower, the heat effects of both systems means that UAC10s and SRM4-6s (cold running and smaller sized) would be the weapons of choice for a Stealth machine, not Gauss, ERLarge or the various Class 20 Autocannons.
Sniper configs with these Stealth systems are very hard to do (you could have ERLarge snipers on some machines but any more than 2ERLarge and you'd overheat almost instantly, PPCs are right out and Gauss are too big to fit in almost all stealthed machines. For another example a stealthed Blood ASP would be reduced to UAC10s in the Torso mounts, instead of Gauss, or UAC20s.
It's not meant for snipers, as no chassis (well perhaps the Fafnir) could mount the Gauss while Stealthed, and a lot of people will avoid it, many folks are addicted to armour and high firepower over anything else, others aren't and could see the advantages in stealth, thus it adds to gameplay.
I can see how the Null Sig would be useful, in fact you could even use it to infiltrate the enemy to a degree - it would also probably be somewhat disorienting in combat as they wouldn't be able to target you - but I probably would never give up the heat capacity and weapon weight for it. I just don't think the Null Sig would be effective enough considering the downsides.
You might also never fly, or play dedicated BA or AA Tanker as those roles might not be your cup of tea, others think differently and have fun doing different things, Stealth would be another thing to do, the disadvantages are meant to be high, because the advantages, in the hands of the right pilot, would be great.
*SNIP*
And I think the Chameleon would only be abused in ways that weren't intended. Saying the 'red reticule' would counter sniping with it is ridiculous, because what stops you from just picking up a brawler using it too? [FINALLY!!!Sheesh, that's what it's designed for]As with stealth in all games, it'll be impossible to balance in the way it's supposed to be and either be unused or abused. To say that this is wrong is just ignorant.
Although your still confused as to thinking that either system if a snipers wet dream - they're not by design (reduced weapon sizes and major-fatal Heat issues for energy boating)....you are beginning to get the point. It's designed for brawlers to use to create ambushes and deep strikes/infiltrations, so here's a further example of the intended gameplay of the 2 systems:
The Cham system pilot stays passive sensors and turns the Cham on when moving between cover, off when in cover and off when engaging. The Cham pilot can only use the system sparingly or he'll overheat, the hard counter to this system is a good heavy Scout with active sensors (like Scouts are meant to do).
The NullSig pilot stays active sensors all the time, the Nullsig pilot has to be careful with his heat management (as it's halved in efficiency while the NullSig is active) and some builds will have to turn it off in combat, the advantage is undetectability. The Hard Counter to the NullSigs sensor invisibility is to eyeball the asset and shoot (which any unit can do).
@Matthew, yes I know Chameleon is different in the tabletop (totally OP concept in a LoS based tabletop game) and hence all those rules and built in fragility. I'm only using a
similar system to bring a different type of stealth to the IS side from the Clan side, it's heat buildup, based on speed, is what prevents it being abused and keeps it intended as a "use between cover or when closing those last few 100m to avoid getting legged/armed or cored right away". ERGO It's a gameplay feature, not a CBT one, NullSig makes better Ninjas IMO but clan tech should be better, so that's ok too (IS side still have Longtoms to balance this out).
Really if your going to get precious about it the Clans shouldn't get anything Stealthed at all (they have the tech but view it as dezgra) and the IS should get the NullSig system (Hell the Liao has been mass producing an "almost as good as NullSig" system since the late 3050s, a decade before we see 'mechs like the Uziel, MkII and Thanaots on the field). But where's the balance in being 100% pure to CBT? Where's the fun with the IS having both LTA and NullSig and the Clans having nothing? Or both having the same Nullsig system?
Sure Chameleon is very ComStar/WoB Spec Ops and right on the cusp of the Jihad storyline (which I, and a vocal majority here, reject) but it would be quite fun to play with, not OP if adjusted well and easily defeated by the Clan side fielding a good Scout unit (Even a Loki can have enough electronics to sniff out any passive Chameleoned units with ease, as long as he stays active, so it's hardly like forcing folks into lights to counter, just increasing the EW depth and value in the game).
But ultimately I would suggest dropping Chameleon and giving NullSig to both sides if people hated Chameleon(or it was gameplay breaking) or demanded NullSig for the IS side(it is the more useful system). But we're speculating on this, how do we know unless we try?
