Hello.
There are some assets in the game which make many people look at the design and think 'why in the world does this design even exist and why would it buy it over similarly priced Asset X'? While there are some assets to which this question does fully apply (for reasons which will be explained), there are others that are greatly misjudged. In large part, some of this is due to the transition from CBT mechanics to the MWLL interpretation of a real-time simulator. I hope that the information herein will help with understanding these peculiarities. While a post intended to be informative, particularly in regards to the CBT -> MWLL transition of assets, this thread does contain opinions on balance and such, so keep that in mind. Warning: this is a LONG read. The entirety of this first post is nothing but an intro and an underlining of some key concepts and mechanics before the actual list itself.
First, a couple quick notes on balance:
LBX in particular is unbalanced in this version, but that is being corrected. I will discuss LBX assets as if they are balanced, but keep in mind they're by and large underpowered as of 0.2.0
The same general rule regarding the particulars of weapon balance will apply across the board, so if you see an opinion on a design and think 'No way! Weapon Y sucks and that mech has too many!' keep in mind I'm approaching it as if they're balanced, which I'm sure is the devs' intended goal.
There are certain designs (*cough Novacat cough*) which were given way more heatsinks than they should. I will discuss these mechs as if that has been corrected.
There are also certain designs (*cough Osiris B cough*) that are way overtonned. I will discuss these mechs with both their current balance and balance of a theorized correction in mind.
Anti-aircraft: A notable problem in 0.2.0, I will discuss aero designs as if this has been corrected.
Tank maneuverability sucks in 0.2.0. This is likely not as much an issue in the next patch and will be ignored, but keep it in mind for selecting tanks in 0.2.0
Now then, there are some factors in MWLL which simply do not exist in CBT at all., or vice-versa. Some of these largely affect balance, and I will discuss each--note that I am doing so for the sake of explaining why these affect my opinions on designs as well as educating those unfamiliar with some important CBT concepts, not for discussing these particulars. They are all issues worthy of their own thread/discussion:
Torso twist -- In CBT, all mechs have the same torso twist. On the other hand, in MWLL, mechs have varying degree of twist (a concept seemingly borrowed from MW4). An important thing to note is in CBT, there are mechs which have 'flippy arms'.. arms with no lower or hand actuators which can flip their arms 180 and fire behind them. These mechs seem to be represented by a full 360 twist. Personally, I do not care for the varying degrees of twist as it interferes with chassis balance too much. Furthermore, while the 360 twist for flippy arm mechs can be argued as balanced, keep in mind they can fire ALL weapons in MWLL, and furthermore, do not have the disadvantage of not being able to punch since that isn't a factor in MWLL. I have an idea regarding this, but that isn't the purpose of this thread. However, twist ability will affect my review of mechs and their weapon brackets.
Coolant -- Another concept borrowed from MW4. While I personally think it has more utility and potential than torso twist (as it is designed to keep up the pace of the game), I do believe certain types of mechs benefit more from this than others and as such it represents a balance issue which needs to be addressed more in weapon values. Again, another topic worthy of its own thread, and I won't go there here, but once again such will affect my review.
XL engines and IS vs clan XL -- In tabletop, there exists a difference in engine sizes and such can greatly affect a mech. Clan XL engines are half the weight, freeing up much room for equipment. A penalty is 2 engine crits in each side torso -- losing 1 side torso can greatly impact a mech's ability to bleed heat, and losing 2 is the death of the mech. IS XL engines take up 3 crit spaces in each side torso, and losing a single side torso is the death of the mech. Other mechs still have standard engines and no engine crits in the side torso (but also a lot less free tonnage). This is a mechanic that simply does not exist in MWLL; while I believe the mechanics in MWLL reflecting the IS to Clan difference is balanced, there are some IS mechs that have weapons loadouts reflecting a standard engine, but have none of the benefits of having a standard engine (Greater survivability). I'm of the belief the tonnage/loadouts of all affected designs should be increased so as to reflect all designs basically having XL engines. This is another factor that will affect my review.
Ammo & Gauss Explosions -- While there are mechanics representing this in MWLL, the effects aren't even close to representing the catastrophic effects in CBT (even with CASE). This most particularly affects the balance of mechs heavy on ammo (such as LRM boats) or gauss (any gauss boat) and will affect my review.
Side Torsos -- In CBT, if you lose a side torso, not only do you lose it but the attached arm. This is also important in regards to the above notes on explosions. The lack of this in MWLL does affect the balance of certain designs and will be taken into account.
Arm movement -- There is no arm movement in MWLL, which in addition to flippy arms, has other effects regarding the utility of certain loadouts. While the lack of arm movement is part of the reason I'm not strongly opposed to the idea of mechs losing side torsos keeping their arms, it does affect the utility of certain designs and such will be noted.
Jumpjets -- A vastly different mechanic in MWLL. In CBT, the jumping mech does not fire until landing, representing a great level of inaccuracy while jumping that MWLL doesn't reflect. On the other hand, in CBT, JJs can be steered mid flight and allow for greater tactical maneuvering. As such, in CBT, while giving long ranged mechs certain mobility advantages, they primarily benefit brawlers and backstabbers. On the other hand, in MWLL, their power is in allowing long-ranged mechs the infamous poptart/poptard tactic, in which they can hide behind obstructions, hop up to keep their exposure brief/take advantage of lag, fire, and be safely behind cover in a second. It should be noted that JJs in MWLL seem to create even more heat than their CBT equivalents, so that's another thing to keep in mind. All in all, these mechanic changes are very important and will affect my analysis of designs.
That's the main ones I'm covering for now. While there are others, these are the differences which by far have an influence on certain designs and brackets. The above mechanics will be referenced when they happen to give a particular unit advantages or disadvantages, particularly if such results in a notably overpowered or underpowered design. Now then, onto weapon brackets themselves.
In CBT, the importance of the usefulness of certain weapons at certain ranges is much more pronounced than in MWLL. There are certain weapons combinations that simply make no sense for use in MWLL's rendition of a real-time environment, but are largely useful in CBT. Also in CBT, mechs are much more likely to fluctuate in and out of certain effective ranges, often changing targets depending on the availability of a good hit, and as such, a blend of weapons ranges is more important in CBT than MWLL. Some mechs are designed around this, or designed around the range limitations of certain weapons. Gauss, for example, has to-hit penalties at very close ranges, while in MWLL they're some of the best close-range weapons available.
As an example, this is especially pronounced in LRMs. In MWLL, all LRMs pretty much have max effectiveness out to their max range, and seem to do better at such ranges as the missiles have more time to turn. On the other hand, IS LRMs do their best at medium ranges in CBT, suffering large penalties at closer ranges but also ranged penalties at longer ranges. As such, IS mechs are designed around this, with LRM-bearing mechs designed with either other weapons effective in a similar bracket installed (smaller autocannons, PPCs, gauss, ER large lasers), or with a complementary loadout of short-ranged weapons for backup. The standard catapult with large LRM racks and 4 backup medium lasers is a good example. This tends to give IS LRM boats a rather simple game plan: stay at medium range, bombard the enemy, toss in a backup weapon occasionally to take advantage of heat capacity while making sure to keep well away from the action.
Clan LRMs, on the other hand, have no minimum range. They're as effective point blank or 100meters off as they are at the 300 or so meter range in which IS LRMs are at their best. As such, LRM-bearing Clan mechs tend to have a radically different design philosophy: LRMs are not only long range bombardment weapons, but supplementary heat-efficient weapons at close range. As an example, let's have a quick look at two clan designs which are very effective in CBT but sometimes questioned in MWLL.
Example A: Cougar Prime. In CBT, this is a great design. At close range, the LRMs are an important tool in its heat management. Two rounds in a row, you may fire both LPLs for a solid 10 damage and a good chance to hit. This is a little heat intensive in combination with running, so the next two rounds, you fire a large pulser and the 2 LRM racks to cool down, while at the same time having the potential to do more damage (with a lesser chance of hitting that's more pronounced on fast moving targets). Or perhaps you stand still a at medium range for a round and pop off both lpls and an lrm, generating a little excess heat, then next round you kick it into high gear and pop off the same large pulse laser, 2 LRM combo. In MWLL, on the other hand, at anything under 300m you can only hit with the 2 large pulse lasers, causing a major damage and heat inefficiency problem at close range. Likewise, you can't hit at all with the pulse lasers beyond 600 meters in MWLL, meaning that from 600-1000meters, more than half of the LRM's effective range, you're basically an undergunned LRM boat. As such, in MWLL, this is a mech that's only at its peak effectiveness in a medium range bracket, 300-600meters.
Example B: The Vulture Prime. This thing is basically two cougars spliced together with the JJs removed and a couple medium pulsers tacked on. It uses similar bracketing tricks: at medium range, it may fire 2 large pulsers one round and a large pulser, an LRM rack, and a medium pulser the next round, or, depending on range, it may go with firing both LRM racks and both medium pulsers. At close range, it may prefer to pop off both both medium pulsers, a large pulser and an lrm rack one round, and next round, itll go with both lrm racks and a medium pulser, or both mediums and a large.. well, suffice to say, it has a variety of combinations available to it which shift ever so slightly depending on range, and it's a very versatile and deadly tool. On the other hand, in MWLL, it has the same problem as the cougar: no LRMs to balance damage/heat efficiency below 300 meters, making it rather ineffective at that range. At the same time, it's an undergunned LRM boat at long ranges... compared to say its cheaper quad LRM variant. Not only is this one only effective in a medium bracket of 300-600 meters, but with the medium pulsers being part of its heat management, it's really only at its very best at a difficult to manage range of 300-400 meters.
So here we see two cases of a design that's very effective in CBT is questionable in MWLL due to a mechanic difference which the designs weren't made to handle (clan LRMs and minimum range). However, they also point out another issue: The Medium Bracket.
The Medium Bracket is sort of a zone of death in MWLL. In a standard engagement, if you fight in the medium bracket, it means you're in both optimum range for the poptarting long range boaters and the short range boaters. Even worse, you're both less damage efficient at close range than the brawlers and less damage efficient at long range than the boaters. This is a nasty state of affairs that rather negates the damage advantage you may have in the medium bracket (a well-made medium bracket mech tends to be the most damage and heat efficient of mechs available). That's not to say mechs made for such are entirely ineffective, but they do suffer in a lot of circumstances. On the other hand, they do have the potential to make good team play mechs, where they can chip in damage at both long range and short range. However, this requires a skilled pilot who is good at quickly cycling between long range and short range targets while at the same time keeping on the move (I would suggest some of Snowball's youtube videos as an example of this, as he rather favors the Timberwolf's B variant, a mech at its best in the medium ranged bracket, and he does quite well with it and it features in many of his videos. Said Timberwolf variant, however, doesn't carry the LRMs that many other medium-range mechs do and thus remains a very strong mech at close range).
In general, the medium bracket requires a much higher degree of skill and more overall concentration to play effectively. It could be argued that weapon balance and some of the mechanics I listed earlier combine with this to make boating long or short range weapons a much easier and more desirable choice for most players. This also causes many players to turn their noses up at some medium-ranged mechs, particularly ones that carry LRMs. This most particularly applies to the Bushwacker's Prime and A variants, even though these are very deadly mechs that outdamage individual long range and short range boats of similar tonnage within their own medium bracket. To all but the best medium bracket players, it's simply too easy for the long ranged boat to do enough damage at long range to negate the advantage the Bushwacker might've had in getting a little closer, and it's likewise too easy for the short ranged mech to get close enough to negate a significant chunk of the medium-ranged mech's firepower.
Anyhow, the entirety of this post makes up the 'intro' to my analysis of and tips for each design--first I'll do mechs, then later vees and aeros. Feel free to comment on this section until said sections are added (reserving the 2nd post for such in the meantime).
