Posted 03 October 2014 - 11:09 AM

Since we're about to do an overhaul of IS mechs, which consist of all the (C) mechs except the 'stock' clan mechs which are available that way to 'try before you buy' since its a different technology base, I would like to request a major update to champion mechs that follows a few simple but effective criteria;1. Update (C) loadouts to be compatible with the weapon quirks being put in place2. Have community voting on the exact loadouts so we can avoid having poorly placed ammo, unpopular/ineffective weapons, and XL engines in mechs that are not generally considered smart to put XL's in (this is subjective to community opinion of course)3. Have a review set up semi-yearly (basically every 6 months) to take into account balance changes, changes in community thinking, and general 'dust off' of ineffective or low effectiveness (C) builds to keep a fresh and effective level of (C) mechs for new and experienced players alike.Current list of (C) mechs for IS;Spider - SDR 5K(C)Firestarter - FS9-S(C)Jenner - JR7-F(C)Cicada - CDA-2A(C)Blackjack - BJ-1(C)Centurion - CN9-A(C)Hunchback - HBK-4P(C)Trebuchet - TBT-7M(C)Kintaro - KTO-18(C)Shadowhawk - SHD-2H(C)Dragon - DRG-5N(C)Quickdraw - QKD-4G(C)Catapult - CPLT-A1(C)Cataphract - CTF-3D(C)Orion - ON1-K(C)Victor - VTR-9S(C)Stalker - STK-3F(C)Highlander - HGN-733C(C)Atlas - AS7-RS(C)I am not requesting this right out the gate, as we will need to see the effectiveness of various loadouts once the dust settles. I suggest a January or February date barring any exceptional changes to the tier list so that we can get relevant and functional builds on these champion mechs. All in all the community can shoulder most of the 'what do we put in it' work and the development cost is just changing the loadouts in the code and reaping the data from the community (which is fairly light weight all things considered). In exchange for this time investment PGI gets a stronger new player experience, more reputable (C) mechs which encourage player retention since they do not feel unable to find a suitable mech with 'try before you buy', and more functional (C) mechs overall for all players.Further, with a semi-annual review/update if mechs are found to be just fine overall, they do not need to be considered for a particular update with a simple metric evaluation and community up/down vote. This allows additional (C) mechs to be added down the line without seriously increasing workload as time goes on.Edit - added the new Trebuchet champion

Edited by Monky, 07 October 2014 - 12:06 PM.