As Defender has just stated, several of the DEV team members have their own opinions about how BA should be presented within MWLL, but the deciding factor really is the direction that the Leads (Kami & Crim) decide to go in.
Personally, I have been experimenting with the various game roles and have developed my own opinions of the BA within MWLL. I would like to see some minor tweaks introduced to the actual BA implementation. However, the real "fix" to BA isn't a radical nerfing of their capabilities across the board, but changing the scoring mechanics of the game to correctly balance them against the other elements AND to introduce the remaining gameplay assets/elements that are currently absent and would help to normalise the BA role. Remember folks, we are still in BETA1, we've got some more rabbits in this hat.
I would love to:
- Strip players of all weapons except the Beam Laser upon entry to a vehicle (no dual weapons, no C8, no SRM2). If you get in a vehicle, you are restricted to "stock" BA armour and a single weapon.
- Credit players in C-Bills for their stripped weapons
- Have kills on BA result in a reward that is contingent upon the rank of the player and their equipment loadout AND the weapon used to make the kill
- Have rank-up C-Bills awarded while a player was still alive to encourage... staying alive (yeah yeah yeah yeah, stayin' alive)
- Have deaths count against a player in rank progression and C-Bills (in a minor but cummulative way)
- Have dropped weapons from killed BA persist on the battlefield longer to let you swap/pick them up
- Reintroduce the claw as a means of BA transport
- Reintroduce the APC and heavy VTOL transports to move assets around maps and retrieve downed "pilot" BA
- Allow for BA weapon and equipment upgrades (at appropriate C-Bill expense) for the player who chooses to play the role of a standalone BA. Ideas here: enhanced radar, manpack Gauss, enhanced JJ, enhanced armour (at mobility cost unless offset by JJ improvements). Basically: a 'Mechlab for BA loadouts as you can afford them.
I think the above list, implemented with care and thought, would still allow the retention of the eject mechanic from 'Mechs/vehicles but put those BA "pilot" players in a position where it would be
much more desirable to return to base than to stay on the battlefield. Ejected "pilot" BA would have the limitation of a single weapon and the very real possibility of facing "real"
dedicated BA players hunting them with better equipment.
Short Version: Award players for ejecting to stay alive, not to be a pain in the ass UNLESS they left the hangar with that intention (as a dedicated BA with the equipment to support it).
