There are ways to monetize the game that don't involve locking out options to non-paying players. Even if the variant is perfectly balanced, it still puts free players at a disadvantage versus paying players.
If they keep yanking the basic variants the hero mechs are based off of it can definitely turn into P2W. For instance, I am now completely locked out of Elite and higher mastery levels on my Centurions. And my primary mech is a CN9-AL.
Imagine doing that with one of the Jenner hero variants. There are only two variants in game for that, and one of them is the JR7-K. All of the unique Jenners are based off the JR7-K.
Oh and the codes also give access to the Beta, so if anyone wants in the game, again, send me a pm with email. Mothers maiden name, SSN, and Visa number are also accepted.
If they keep yanking the basic variants the hero mechs are based off of it can definitely turn into P2W. For instance, I am now completely locked out of Elite and higher mastery levels on my Centurions. And my primary mech is a CN9-AL.
Only temporarily. They're adding the Centurion D in November.
If they keep yanking the basic variants the hero mechs are based off of it can definitely turn into P2W. For instance, I am now completely locked out of Elite and higher mastery levels on my Centurions. And my primary mech is a CN9-AL.
Only temporarily. They're adding the Centurion D in November.
PGI has changed stance because of player comments before. As I recall, original XL repair costs were intentional until everyone flipped shit.
Trial mech winnings was intentional, until everyone flipped shit.
Whose to say they won't put the AH back in because everyone gets pissed at them removing it?
I much prefer the gauss over the AC/20 anyhow, the AC/20 produces too much heat with not enough range. I know I'm not alone in that.
Is there a medium that can carry a gauss? (honest question because I really don't know)
The guass uses less crit slots than the AC/20. Any mech than can carry a ballistic slot can carry a Guass AND an XL engine. So all mediums with ballistic slots.
And how many of them can run an XL300? Is the arguable benefit of the guass over the ac20 greater than or equal to the benefit of the speed advantage? That's obviously a rhetorical question until we see them in action against each other a significant number of times. But the point is that buying the combination of either the most powerful or second most powerful weapon in the game with the largest engine available for the weight class is a concern.
Oh and the codes also give access to the Beta, so if anyone wants in the game, again, send me a pm with email. Mothers maiden name, SSN, and Visa number are also accepted.
anyone with a copy of the magazine can get a code to anybody. Friend from work will be joining the game very soon.
PGI has changed stance because of player comments before. As I recall, original XL repair costs were intentional until everyone flipped shit.
Trial mech winnings was intentional, until everyone flipped shit.
Whose to say they won't put the AH back in because everyone gets pissed at them removing it?
Hopefully they do. Having a variant with a slightly larger engine (but otherwise unchanged) isn't that big of a deal.
After that, maybe we can start complaining about repair costs. Because oh god they're insane again (not XL engine insane, but still pretty crazy). Especially with any of the new L2 Tech. Barely making any money anymore
If they keep yanking the basic variants the hero mechs are based off of it can definitely turn into P2W. For instance, I am now completely locked out of Elite and higher mastery levels on my Centurions. And my primary mech is a CN9-AL.
Only temporarily. They're adding the Centurion D in November.
CN9-D can't run an AC/20.
That... doesn't have anything to do with the XP trees, which is the example you gave in your post.
Anyway, I still think you guys are thinking about this too rigidly. It isn't a balance problem for premium 'Mechs to be the best at something. The problem is if they're the best at everything. As long as free players have access to roles that they can fill just as well as a paying player, they can compete on even terms. It may become a problem in terms of keeping the game fun and interesting if you lock free players out of too many roles, but it's not a balance issue per se. In other words, not "pay to win" so much as "pay for variety."
Finally, does anyone really think they're going to keep yanking variants left and right? Even to the point of the baseline standard ones like the Catapult C1? I seriously doubt that will happen. Just remember, every time PGI has done something that looked totally nuts so far, they've walked it back or changed something else that made it work out pretty much OK. Give them a little credit and a little patience here; wait and see if this really becomes a pattern before getting too worked up about it.
I much prefer the gauss over the AC/20 anyhow, the AC/20 produces too much heat with not enough range. I know I'm not alone in that.
Is there a medium that can carry a gauss? (honest question because I really don't know)
The guass uses less crit slots than the AC/20. Any mech than can carry a ballistic slot can carry a Guass AND an XL engine. So all mediums with ballistic slots.
And how many of them can run an XL300? Is the arguable benefit of the guass over the ac20 greater than or equal to the benefit of the speed advantage? That's obviously a rhetorical question until we see them in action against each other a significant number of times. But the point is that buying the combination of either the most powerful or second most powerful weapon in the game with the largest engine available for the weight class is a concern.
Any of them that have a ballistic slot and enough weight to fit both an 300XL and a Gauss rifle.
Anyway, I still think you guys are thinking about this too rigidly. It isn't a balance problem for premium 'Mechs to be the best at something. The problem is if they're the best at everything. As long as free players have access to roles that they can fill just as well as a paying player, they can compete on even terms. It may become a problem in terms of keeping the game fun and interesting if you lock free players out of too many roles, but it's not a balance issue per se. In other words, not "pay to win" so much as "pay for variety."
Finally, does anyone really think they're going to keep yanking variants left and right? Even to the point of the baseline standard ones like the Catapult C1? I seriously doubt that will happen. Just remember, every time PGI has done something that looked totally nuts so far, they've walked it back or changed something else that made it work out pretty much OK. Give them a little credit and a little patience here; wait and see if this really becomes a pattern before getting too worked up about it.
I'll definitely agree with your last point. That's why I keep making sure to include caveats that I'm not freaking out (yet), just concerned. With a single hero mech, it's not really a problem yet. But if they continue to make the hero mech the best platform for a particular role for each chassis, that's a lost of rolls being filled by MC.
I much prefer the gauss over the AC/20 anyhow, the AC/20 produces too much heat with not enough range. I know I'm not alone in that.
Is there a medium that can carry a gauss? (honest question because I really don't know)
The guass uses less crit slots than the AC/20. Any mech than can carry a ballistic slot can carry a Guass AND an XL engine. So all mediums with ballistic slots.
And how many of them can run an XL300? Is the arguable benefit of the guass over the ac20 greater than or equal to the benefit of the speed advantage? That's obviously a rhetorical question until we see them in action against each other a significant number of times. But the point is that buying the combination of either the most powerful or second most powerful weapon in the game with the largest engine available for the weight class is a concern.
Any of them that have a ballistic slot and enough weight to fit both an 300XL and a Gauss rifle.
If they keep yanking the basic variants the hero mechs are based off of it can definitely turn into P2W. For instance, I am now completely locked out of Elite and higher mastery levels on my Centurions. And my primary mech is a CN9-AL.
Only temporarily. They're adding the Centurion D in November.
CN9-D can't run an AC/20.
That... doesn't have anything to do with the XP trees, which is the example you gave in your post.
Anyway, I still think you guys are thinking about this too rigidly. It isn't a balance problem for premium 'Mechs to be the best at something. The problem is if they're the best at everything. As long as free players have access to roles that they can fill just as well as a paying player, they can compete on even terms. It may become a problem in terms of keeping the game fun and interesting if you lock free players out of too many roles, but it's not a balance issue per se. In other words, not "pay to win" so much as "pay for variety."
Finally, does anyone really think they're going to keep yanking variants left and right? Even to the point of the baseline standard ones like the Catapult C1? I seriously doubt that will happen. Just remember, every time PGI has done something that looked totally nuts so far, they've walked it back or changed something else that made it work out pretty much OK. Give them a little credit and a little patience here; wait and see if this really becomes a pattern before getting too worked up about it.
It's just another element of the problem. The CN9-D isn't exactly a replacement for the CN9-AH (which I was looking forward to rebuilding post patch). And as for variants... since they yanked one to replace it with a hero 'mech, one can only imagine that's their policy on the matter. Admittedly, it might be a bit early to worry about it, but we don't have any evidence to the contrary.
And if we make enough of a stink now they might change their minds on the current policy.
I much prefer the gauss over the AC/20 anyhow, the AC/20 produces too much heat with not enough range. I know I'm not alone in that.
Is there a medium that can carry a gauss? (honest question because I really don't know)
The guass uses less crit slots than the AC/20. Any mech than can carry a ballistic slot can carry a Guass AND an XL engine. So all mediums with ballistic slots.
And how many of them can run an XL300? Is the arguable benefit of the guass over the ac20 greater than or equal to the benefit of the speed advantage? That's obviously a rhetorical question until we see them in action against each other a significant number of times. But the point is that buying the combination of either the most powerful or second most powerful weapon in the game with the largest engine available for the weight class is a concern.
Any of them that have a ballistic slot and enough weight to fit both an 300XL and a Gauss rifle.
Which, if I'm not mistaken, is zero of them.
Actually, it's two; The Cicada 3C and 3M. The 3M even comes standard with and XL engine that's even bigger than 300, and both come with balistic slots.
So actually there are even faster medium mechs that can come equiped with gauss rifles.
EDIT: and since Cicada's are 10 tons light than the YLW, you don't even need to fit a 300 engine to match it with a 300XL.
I much prefer the gauss over the AC/20 anyhow, the AC/20 produces too much heat with not enough range. I know I'm not alone in that.
Is there a medium that can carry a gauss? (honest question because I really don't know)
The guass uses less crit slots than the AC/20. Any mech than can carry a ballistic slot can carry a Guass AND an XL engine. So all mediums with ballistic slots.
And how many of them can run an XL300? Is the arguable benefit of the guass over the ac20 greater than or equal to the benefit of the speed advantage? That's obviously a rhetorical question until we see them in action against each other a significant number of times. But the point is that buying the combination of either the most powerful or second most powerful weapon in the game with the largest engine available for the weight class is a concern.
Any of them that have a ballistic slot and enough weight to fit both an 300XL and a Gauss rifle.
Which, if I'm not mistaken, is zero of them.
No. The YLW is the same tonnage as both the Hunchback and the Centurion. The only difference is in the hardpoint availability and placement. The Gauss rifle takes up less space than an AC/20, so you don't have the concern of not being able to mount it in an arm location without removing arm actuators. It's also small enough so that you can fit it in a torso location if you're running an XL engine. So the limiting factor in this case is tonnage. Both the Hunchback and the Centurion can mount both an XL and a Gauss. You would have to strip a lot of stuff off in able to fit both a 300XL and a Gauss, but you'd have to do the same thing to a YLW, because they're all the same tonnage.
In the case of the AC/20, though, yes, the YLW is the only one that can currently mount both an AC/20 and an XL engine.
I much prefer the gauss over the AC/20 anyhow, the AC/20 produces too much heat with not enough range. I know I'm not alone in that.
Is there a medium that can carry a gauss? (honest question because I really don't know)
The guass uses less crit slots than the AC/20. Any mech than can carry a ballistic slot can carry a Guass AND an XL engine. So all mediums with ballistic slots.
And how many of them can run an XL300? Is the arguable benefit of the guass over the ac20 greater than or equal to the benefit of the speed advantage? That's obviously a rhetorical question until we see them in action against each other a significant number of times. But the point is that buying the combination of either the most powerful or second most powerful weapon in the game with the largest engine available for the weight class is a concern.
Any of them that have a ballistic slot and enough weight to fit both an 300XL and a Gauss rifle.
The Cicada has two variants that can mount a Gauss Rifle and an engine big enough to move it as fast as the YLW with a 300XL. Even the Raven can technically do that, though it can't carry much ammo.
Also, if I had to choose the "best" weapon between the Gauss and the AC20 right now, I would handily take the Gauss. The range and projectile speed advantages, combined with MWO's handling of heat, make the Gauss much more appealing to me in the large majority of situations. Don't get hung up on the per-shot damage as a way of deciding what's "most powerful."
I much prefer the gauss over the AC/20 anyhow, the AC/20 produces too much heat with not enough range. I know I'm not alone in that.
Is there a medium that can carry a gauss? (honest question because I really don't know)
The guass uses less crit slots than the AC/20. Any mech than can carry a ballistic slot can carry a Guass AND an XL engine. So all mediums with ballistic slots.
And how many of them can run an XL300? Is the arguable benefit of the guass over the ac20 greater than or equal to the benefit of the speed advantage? That's obviously a rhetorical question until we see them in action against each other a significant number of times. But the point is that buying the combination of either the most powerful or second most powerful weapon in the game with the largest engine available for the weight class is a concern.
Any of them that have a ballistic slot and enough weight to fit both an 300XL and a Gauss rifle.
Which, if I'm not mistaken, is zero of them.
No. The YLW is the same tonnage as both the Hunchback and the Centurion. The only difference is in the hardpoint availability and placement. The Gauss rifle takes up less space than an AC/20, so you don't have the concern of not being able to mount it in an arm location without removing arm actuators. It's also small enough so that you can fit it in a torso location if you're running an XL engine. So the limiting factor in this case is tonnage. Both the Hunchback and the Centurion can mount both an XL and a Gauss. You would have to strip a lot of stuff off in able to fit both a 300XL and a Gauss, but you'd have to do the same thing to a YLW, because they're all the same tonnage.
In the case of the AC/20, though, yes, the YLW is the only one that can currently mount both an AC/20 and an XL engine.
The Hunch and other Centurion variants can no longer mount engines that large, though, since they lowered the cap on engine sizes a while back. I might opt for a Centurion A over the YLW for a Gauss carrier anyway, just because it keeps the lower arm actuator. You lose ~13kph, but being able to aim your arm is pretty nice. Or take the Hunchback G and use the shoulder mount to facilitate hull-down sniping.
I much prefer the gauss over the AC/20 anyhow, the AC/20 produces too much heat with not enough range. I know I'm not alone in that.
Is there a medium that can carry a gauss? (honest question because I really don't know)
The guass uses less crit slots than the AC/20. Any mech than can carry a ballistic slot can carry a Guass AND an XL engine. So all mediums with ballistic slots.
And how many of them can run an XL300? Is the arguable benefit of the guass over the ac20 greater than or equal to the benefit of the speed advantage? That's obviously a rhetorical question until we see them in action against each other a significant number of times. But the point is that buying the combination of either the most powerful or second most powerful weapon in the game with the largest engine available for the weight class is a concern.
Any of them that have a ballistic slot and enough weight to fit both an 300XL and a Gauss rifle.
Which, if I'm not mistaken, is zero of them.
No. The YLW is the same tonnage as both the Hunchback and the Centurion. The only difference is in the hardpoint availability and placement. The Gauss rifle takes up less space than an AC/20, so you don't have the concern of not being able to mount it in an arm location without removing arm actuators. It's also small enough so that you can fit it in a torso location if you're running an XL engine. So the limiting factor in this case is tonnage. Both the Hunchback and the Centurion can mount both an XL and a Gauss. You would have to strip a lot of stuff off in able to fit both a 300XL and a Gauss, but you'd have to do the same thing to a YLW, because they're all the same tonnage.
In the case of the AC/20, though, yes, the YLW is the only one that can currently mount both an AC/20 and an XL engine.
Actually, because of the engine changes, the YLW is the only 50 ton mech that can fit a 300 engine, since it has a larger starting engine than any other Centurion or Hunchback variant.
It is, however, not the only medium; every Cicada other than the 3C has a 320 engine as standard, and don't even need a 300 to match the YLW w/ 300XL in speed.
If they keep yanking the basic variants the hero mechs are based off of it can definitely turn into P2W. For instance, I am now completely locked out of Elite and higher mastery levels on my Centurions. And my primary mech is a CN9-AL.
Only temporarily. They're adding the Centurion D in November.
CN9-D can't run an AC/20.
That... doesn't have anything to do with the XP trees, which is the example you gave in your post.
Anyway, I still think you guys are thinking about this too rigidly. It isn't a balance problem for premium 'Mechs to be the best at something. The problem is if they're the best at everything. As long as free players have access to roles that they can fill just as well as a paying player, they can compete on even terms. It may become a problem in terms of keeping the game fun and interesting if you lock free players out of too many roles, but it's not a balance issue per se. In other words, not "pay to win" so much as "pay for variety."
The problem is that having less variety makes you less competitive overall. If they unlocked only assault classes to paying players, free players could have fun filling the roles of the other classes, but you would be at a disadvantage fielding a team against paying players. Introducing variants that are only available to paying players is absolutely creating a pay to win scheme, it's just a difference of degrees.
They may manage the degrees so that it isn't overbearing, but without the bright line of separation, you'll just have to trust their judgement. I'll continue investing my time into the game, but I will be wary about investing money until they've established a track record that shows they can tread a very fine line.
And as for variants... since they yanked one to replace it with a hero 'mech, one can only imagine that's their policy on the matter. Admittedly, it might be a bit early to worry about it, but we don't have any evidence to the contrary.
And if we make enough of a stink now they might change their minds on the current policy.
I can actually easily imagine that it's not their "policy." We have one data point to extrapolate from here. It could just as easily be a one-off situation as we're very early in the development of the game. In fact I strongly suspect that that's the case, and that in the future they'll do a better job of rolling out Hero 'Mechs without all the kerfuffle. After all, what are they gaining here? Do you think they think they'll rope in more people to buy YLW because they miss the AH? They've got to know that taking something away from people is much worse than never giving it to them in the first place.
That being said, yes, by all means head to the official forums and express your unhappiness. It can't hurt to make sure they know it's an unpopular move.
I much prefer the gauss over the AC/20 anyhow, the AC/20 produces too much heat with not enough range. I know I'm not alone in that.
Is there a medium that can carry a gauss? (honest question because I really don't know)
The guass uses less crit slots than the AC/20. Any mech than can carry a ballistic slot can carry a Guass AND an XL engine. So all mediums with ballistic slots.
And how many of them can run an XL300? Is the arguable benefit of the guass over the ac20 greater than or equal to the benefit of the speed advantage? That's obviously a rhetorical question until we see them in action against each other a significant number of times. But the point is that buying the combination of either the most powerful or second most powerful weapon in the game with the largest engine available for the weight class is a concern.
Any of them that have a ballistic slot and enough weight to fit both an 300XL and a Gauss rifle.
Which, if I'm not mistaken, is zero of them.
No. The YLW is the same tonnage as both the Hunchback and the Centurion. The only difference is in the hardpoint availability and placement. The Gauss rifle takes up less space than an AC/20, so you don't have the concern of not being able to mount it in an arm location without removing arm actuators. It's also small enough so that you can fit it in a torso location if you're running an XL engine. So the limiting factor in this case is tonnage. Both the Hunchback and the Centurion can mount both an XL and a Gauss. You would have to strip a lot of stuff off in able to fit both a 300XL and a Gauss, but you'd have to do the same thing to a YLW, because they're all the same tonnage.
In the case of the AC/20, though, yes, the YLW is the only one that can currently mount both an AC/20 and an XL engine.
The Hunch and other Centurion variants can no longer mount engines that large, though, since they lowered the cap on engine sizes a while back. I might opt for a Centurion A over the YLW for a Gauss carrier anyway, just because it keeps the lower arm actuator. You lose ~13kph, but being able to aim your arm is pretty nice. Or take the Hunchback G and use the shoulder mount to facilitate hull-down sniping.
Ok, well that assuages my concerns a bit. I didn't think there was competition in the YLW's weight class to match its combination of fire-power and speed. As long as PGI can continue keeping the hero mechs balanced with the grindable variants, I'll step back from the ledge a bit.
Really the only main advantage of the YLW is being able to mount a larger engine (from a purely gameplay standpoint). That is it. Though I will agree that removing the AH was kinda of a stupid move, I bet we'll see that mech return in the next patch or two.
If they keep yanking the basic variants the hero mechs are based off of it can definitely turn into P2W. For instance, I am now completely locked out of Elite and higher mastery levels on my Centurions. And my primary mech is a CN9-AL.
Only temporarily. They're adding the Centurion D in November.
CN9-D can't run an AC/20.
That... doesn't have anything to do with the XP trees, which is the example you gave in your post.
Anyway, I still think you guys are thinking about this too rigidly. It isn't a balance problem for premium 'Mechs to be the best at something. The problem is if they're the best at everything. As long as free players have access to roles that they can fill just as well as a paying player, they can compete on even terms. It may become a problem in terms of keeping the game fun and interesting if you lock free players out of too many roles, but it's not a balance issue per se. In other words, not "pay to win" so much as "pay for variety."
The problem is that having less variety makes you less competitive overall. If they unlocked only assault classes to paying players, free players could have fun filling the roles of the other classes, but you would be at a disadvantage fielding a team against paying players. Introducing variants that are only available to paying players is absolutely creating a pay to win scheme, it's just a difference of degrees.
They may manage the degrees so that it isn't overbearing, but without the bright line of separation, you'll just have to trust their judgement. I'll continue investing my time into the game, but I will be wary about investing money until they've established a track record that shows they can tread a very fine line.
Are you "eudaimonian" or something like that on the MWO forums? I don't think I've ever seen anyone else use the phrase "bright line."
Anyway, I would say it's a difference of context rather than of degree. It's not "a little bit pay to win," it's "pay to win in a specific scenario." In the solo/small group queue, where you're going to get lumped in with a bunch of random players, it really doesn't matter. You're just as likely to get a paying player on your side as is the other, and in any case it's not like you have the opportunity to arrange your force composition beforehand. (Hopefully they'll eventually flesh out the matchmaker to keep teams varied and balanced in terms of roles, but that's another topic.)
It does matter if you're playing as a full team of free players and you find yourselves unable to fill all the roles you'd like on your team with the free options available and you end up fighting against a team of paying players who happen to have a force composition that derives an advantage against yours on the basis of premium-only options. But honestly, do you anticipate a lot of full premade teams composed entirely of free players? In all likelihood, any group of people that's collectively that dedicated to the game is going to have at least a few members who will pay.
That being said, obviously there is room for them to turn it into a pretty onerous pay-to-win situation within that context of highly organized competitive play. Hopefully they won't!
No idea, I don't even pay attention to my money anymore.
And yes, the sighing was because of bad teammates.
How do you do 1 damage?
I got an Atlas near cored and left him for an Awesome and a Raven so I could defend the base cap against a hunch. He killed them both. Raaaage.
I would suggest turning auto-repair/rearm off, because the costs have gone way up. Especially for the new stuff. If you were running ES, or especially FF, you probably lost money that match.
Posts
Imagine doing that with one of the Jenner hero variants. There are only two variants in game for that, and one of them is the JR7-K. All of the unique Jenners are based off the JR7-K.
Only temporarily. They're adding the Centurion D in November.
CN9-D can't run an AC/20.
Trial mech winnings was intentional, until everyone flipped shit.
Whose to say they won't put the AH back in because everyone gets pissed at them removing it?
And how many of them can run an XL300? Is the arguable benefit of the guass over the ac20 greater than or equal to the benefit of the speed advantage? That's obviously a rhetorical question until we see them in action against each other a significant number of times. But the point is that buying the combination of either the most powerful or second most powerful weapon in the game with the largest engine available for the weight class is a concern.
anyone with a copy of the magazine can get a code to anybody. Friend from work will be joining the game very soon.
Hopefully they do. Having a variant with a slightly larger engine (but otherwise unchanged) isn't that big of a deal.
After that, maybe we can start complaining about repair costs. Because oh god they're insane again (not XL engine insane, but still pretty crazy). Especially with any of the new L2 Tech. Barely making any money anymore
That... doesn't have anything to do with the XP trees, which is the example you gave in your post.
Anyway, I still think you guys are thinking about this too rigidly. It isn't a balance problem for premium 'Mechs to be the best at something. The problem is if they're the best at everything. As long as free players have access to roles that they can fill just as well as a paying player, they can compete on even terms. It may become a problem in terms of keeping the game fun and interesting if you lock free players out of too many roles, but it's not a balance issue per se. In other words, not "pay to win" so much as "pay for variety."
Finally, does anyone really think they're going to keep yanking variants left and right? Even to the point of the baseline standard ones like the Catapult C1? I seriously doubt that will happen. Just remember, every time PGI has done something that looked totally nuts so far, they've walked it back or changed something else that made it work out pretty much OK. Give them a little credit and a little patience here; wait and see if this really becomes a pattern before getting too worked up about it.
Any of them that have a ballistic slot and enough weight to fit both an 300XL and a Gauss rifle.
I'll definitely agree with your last point. That's why I keep making sure to include caveats that I'm not freaking out (yet), just concerned. With a single hero mech, it's not really a problem yet. But if they continue to make the hero mech the best platform for a particular role for each chassis, that's a lost of rolls being filled by MC.
Which, if I'm not mistaken, is zero of them.
It's just another element of the problem. The CN9-D isn't exactly a replacement for the CN9-AH (which I was looking forward to rebuilding post patch). And as for variants... since they yanked one to replace it with a hero 'mech, one can only imagine that's their policy on the matter. Admittedly, it might be a bit early to worry about it, but we don't have any evidence to the contrary.
And if we make enough of a stink now they might change their minds on the current policy.
$99.95USD
12,000
$49.95USD
6,500
$29.95USD
3,000
$14.95USD
1,250
$6.95USD
Wait wait, did they increase the lowest buy in option price?
No, they made it more reasonable. It used to be 9.95$ for 1250 MC for some unknown reason.
Actually, it's two; The Cicada 3C and 3M. The 3M even comes standard with and XL engine that's even bigger than 300, and both come with balistic slots.
So actually there are even faster medium mechs that can come equiped with gauss rifles.
EDIT: and since Cicada's are 10 tons light than the YLW, you don't even need to fit a 300 engine to match it with a 300XL.
No. The YLW is the same tonnage as both the Hunchback and the Centurion. The only difference is in the hardpoint availability and placement. The Gauss rifle takes up less space than an AC/20, so you don't have the concern of not being able to mount it in an arm location without removing arm actuators. It's also small enough so that you can fit it in a torso location if you're running an XL engine. So the limiting factor in this case is tonnage. Both the Hunchback and the Centurion can mount both an XL and a Gauss. You would have to strip a lot of stuff off in able to fit both a 300XL and a Gauss, but you'd have to do the same thing to a YLW, because they're all the same tonnage.
In the case of the AC/20, though, yes, the YLW is the only one that can currently mount both an AC/20 and an XL engine.
The Cicada has two variants that can mount a Gauss Rifle and an engine big enough to move it as fast as the YLW with a 300XL. Even the Raven can technically do that, though it can't carry much ammo.
Also, if I had to choose the "best" weapon between the Gauss and the AC20 right now, I would handily take the Gauss. The range and projectile speed advantages, combined with MWO's handling of heat, make the Gauss much more appealing to me in the large majority of situations. Don't get hung up on the per-shot damage as a way of deciding what's "most powerful."
The Hunch and other Centurion variants can no longer mount engines that large, though, since they lowered the cap on engine sizes a while back. I might opt for a Centurion A over the YLW for a Gauss carrier anyway, just because it keeps the lower arm actuator. You lose ~13kph, but being able to aim your arm is pretty nice. Or take the Hunchback G and use the shoulder mount to facilitate hull-down sniping.
Actually, because of the engine changes, the YLW is the only 50 ton mech that can fit a 300 engine, since it has a larger starting engine than any other Centurion or Hunchback variant.
It is, however, not the only medium; every Cicada other than the 3C has a 320 engine as standard, and don't even need a 300 to match the YLW w/ 300XL in speed.
The problem is that having less variety makes you less competitive overall. If they unlocked only assault classes to paying players, free players could have fun filling the roles of the other classes, but you would be at a disadvantage fielding a team against paying players. Introducing variants that are only available to paying players is absolutely creating a pay to win scheme, it's just a difference of degrees.
They may manage the degrees so that it isn't overbearing, but without the bright line of separation, you'll just have to trust their judgement. I'll continue investing my time into the game, but I will be wary about investing money until they've established a track record that shows they can tread a very fine line.
The Centurion D should be able to mount a Gauss, though.
I can actually easily imagine that it's not their "policy." We have one data point to extrapolate from here. It could just as easily be a one-off situation as we're very early in the development of the game. In fact I strongly suspect that that's the case, and that in the future they'll do a better job of rolling out Hero 'Mechs without all the kerfuffle. After all, what are they gaining here? Do you think they think they'll rope in more people to buy YLW because they miss the AH? They've got to know that taking something away from people is much worse than never giving it to them in the first place.
That being said, yes, by all means head to the official forums and express your unhappiness. It can't hurt to make sure they know it's an unpopular move.
Ok, well that assuages my concerns a bit. I didn't think there was competition in the YLW's weight class to match its combination of fire-power and speed. As long as PGI can continue keeping the hero mechs balanced with the grindable variants, I'll step back from the ledge a bit.
Siiiigh
The bigger question is....did you make money?
Are you "eudaimonian" or something like that on the MWO forums? I don't think I've ever seen anyone else use the phrase "bright line."
Anyway, I would say it's a difference of context rather than of degree. It's not "a little bit pay to win," it's "pay to win in a specific scenario." In the solo/small group queue, where you're going to get lumped in with a bunch of random players, it really doesn't matter. You're just as likely to get a paying player on your side as is the other, and in any case it's not like you have the opportunity to arrange your force composition beforehand. (Hopefully they'll eventually flesh out the matchmaker to keep teams varied and balanced in terms of roles, but that's another topic.)
It does matter if you're playing as a full team of free players and you find yourselves unable to fill all the roles you'd like on your team with the free options available and you end up fighting against a team of paying players who happen to have a force composition that derives an advantage against yours on the basis of premium-only options. But honestly, do you anticipate a lot of full premade teams composed entirely of free players? In all likelihood, any group of people that's collectively that dedicated to the game is going to have at least a few members who will pay.
That being said, obviously there is room for them to turn it into a pretty onerous pay-to-win situation within that context of highly organized competitive play. Hopefully they won't!
No idea, I don't even pay attention to my money anymore.
And yes, the sighing was because of bad teammates.
How do you do 1 damage?
I got an Atlas near cored and left him for an Awesome and a Raven so I could defend the base cap against a hunch. He killed them both. Raaaage.
I would suggest turning auto-repair/rearm off, because the costs have gone way up. Especially for the new stuff. If you were running ES, or especially FF, you probably lost money that match.
EDIT: Thinking of grabbing a Cent-A and outfit it to be a fast SSRM beast of death, with maybe an AC5 or something too.