332 commentsGreetings MechWarriors,
Following up on Alpha Balance PTS 1.0, we will be conducting a second round of PTS testing that will be referred to as Alpha Balance PTS 1.1. This test will have two major changes from PTS 1.0:
- A handful of Clan lasers will be reworked adding back some of their previous damage potency, but at the cost of increased laser duration.
-
A handful of Inner Sphere ‘Mechs will have their defensive quirks reduced.
Based on feedback from the player base, we will be testing an alternative method of bringing the Clan lasers into line based around increased weapon duration to allow for heavier damage lasers. We also recognize that greater offensive parity with the Inner Sphere weapons has resulted in many IS 'Mechs having heavier defensive quirks that may be a bit too high for Clan 'Mechs to compete against and will be testing reductions to a handful of high performers from PTS 1.0.
We would also like to stress that the core Quirk system's main functions are to provide Corrective Quirks for geometry that may see inherit disadvantages in-game (the Hunchback's hunch being a prime example) and to provide light Flavor Quirks to 'Mechs with unique playstyles in-game. Since the introduction of the Skill Tree’s native defensive Quirks, which were not reduced with its introduction, they have become a de-facto barrier to entry for many Inner Sphere 'Mechs to be considered viable against Clan alternatives. While we do not seek to remove them as a form of Corrective or Flavor Quirk, their status as a barrier to entry for viability with Inner Sphere 'Mechs is something that directly goes against our primary intention of the Quirk system. This is why changes that push this dial towards better baseline balance between the two factions, moving away from this barrier to entry for viability, is something that we wish to test with this incoming PTS.
As with PTS 1.0, none of these changes are final, and we are still considering other avenues of testing internally that may be brought into future PTS testing sessions. While we know some have requested a follow-up to the original testing, we feel that it will be more constructive to initiate that discussion upon examination of the results of PTS 1.1 compared to PTS 1.0. We will be breaking down our results when we feel that we have something definitive that we can share.
Weapon Changes (note all alterations are notated from PTS 1.0)
C-ER Medium Laser:
• Damage increased to 6.25 (from 5.25)
• Duration increased to 1.38 (from 1.25)
• Cooldown increased to 4.25 (from 4)
• Range decreased to 370 (from 400)
C-ER Large Laser
• Duration increased to 1.6 (from 1.35)
C- Medium Pulse Laser
• Duration increased to 1.17 (from 0.9)
• Damage increased to 6.5 (from 6)
C-Large Pulse Laser
• Duration increased to 1.3 (from 1.9)
C- Heavy Medium Laser
• Damage returned to 10 (from 8)
• Duration increased to 1.6 (from 1.45)
C- Heavy Large Laser
• Damage returned to 18 (from 16)
• Duration increased to 1.75 (from 1.55)
The following breakdown highlights these changes throughout the previous PTS 1.0 testing compared to their live values:
|
C-ER SML LASER |
Damage |
Heat |
Cooldown |
Range |
Max Range |
Duration |
|
Live |
5 |
3.5 |
3.5 |
200 |
400 |
1.1 |
|
PTS 1 |
4.4 |
3.2 |
3.2 |
200 |
400 |
1.1 |
|
PTS 1.1 |
4.4 |
3.2 |
3.2 |
200 |
400 |
1.1 |
|
C-ER MED LASER |
Damage |
Heat |
Cooldown |
Range |
Max Range |
Duration |
|
Live |
7 |
6.3 |
4.5 |
400 |
800 |
1.25 |
|
PTS 1 |
5.25 |
5.7 |
4 |
400 |
800 |
1.25 |
|
PTS 1.1 |
6.25 |
5.7 |
4.25 |
370 |
800 |
1.38 |
|
C-ER LRG LASER |
Damage |
Heat |
Cooldown |
Range |
Max Range |
Duration |
|
Live |
11 |
10.8 |
4 |
740 |
1480 |
1.35 |
|
PTS 1 |
10 |
10.8 |
4 |
740 |
1480 |
1.35 |
|
PTS 1.1 |
10 |
10.8 |
4 |
740 |
1480 |
1.6 |
|
C-MED PULSE LASER |
Damage |
Heat |
Cooldown |
Range |
Max Range |
Duration |
|
Live |
7 |
4.75 |
3 |
330 |
480 |
0.9 |
|
PTS 1 |
6.25 |
4.5 |
3 |
330 |
480 |
0.9 |
|
PTS 1.1 |
6.5 |
4.5 |
3 |
330 |
480 |
1.17 |
|
C-LRG PULSE LASER |
Damage |
Heat |
Cooldown |
Range |
Max Range |
Duration |
|
Live |
12 |
10 |
3.2 |
600 |
840 |
1.09 |
|
PTS 1 |
10 |
10 |
3.2 |
600 |
840 |
1.09 |
|
PTS 1.1 |
10 |
10 |
3.2 |
600 |
840 |
1.2 |
|
C-Heavy Medium Laser |
Damage |
Heat |
Cooldown |
Range |
Max Range |
Duration |
|
Live |
10 |
8 |
5.5 |
270 |
540 |
1.45 |
|
PTS 1 |
8 |
7 |
5.5 |
270 |
540 |
1.45 |
|
PTS 1.1 |
10 |
7 |
5.5 |
270 |
540 |
1.6 |
|
C-Heavy Large Laser |
Damage |
Heat |
Cooldown |
Range |
Max Range |
Duration |
|
Live |
18 |
16 |
5.75 |
450 |
900 |
1.55 |
|
PTS 1 |
16 |
16 |
5.75 |
450 |
900 |
1.55 |
|
PTS 1.1 |
18 |
16 |
5.75 |
450 |
900 |
1.75 |
Inner Sphere Armor Changes.
The following Inner Sphere designs have seen a reduction to their current defensive quirks:
- Bushwacker: All variants
- Cyclops: Sleipnir
- Annihilator: All variants
-
Fafnir: All variants
We would like to thank all of those that have provided feedback on this matter. Feel free to continue to provide feedback in the PTS forums.
