Hey guys. So I just finished updating my Clan Master Guides with the new variants…and holy shit that was brutal. But it also means that I got to spend a lot of time with them in Smurfy’s and have concreted my views on them.
Specifically, they are pay-to-win.
Not all of them, obviously. The Kit Fox, Adder, Mist Lynx, Mad Dog and Summoner got nothing useful (and the Hellbringer got nothing at all).
The Ice Ferret, Nova, Gargoyle, and Warhawk all got boosts that make it so that if you don’t have the new variant, you’re not running optimized builds…but they didn’t get boosted into viability (though the Gargoyle and Warhawk may be on the precipice).
The Stormcrow, Timber Wolf, and Dire Wolf all got significant boosts to their viability. For the Stormcrow and Timber Wolf, they were decent boosts to their builds and the creation of new options which are, for the most part, better than the old options. For the Dire Wolf it was a massive change to the overall chassis, and every single build is best done with at least one of the new omnipods, if not the new variant.
And it will be 3 months (April 21st, according to the FAQ) until we get access to them. I’m calling p2w on this crap – not as hard as the original clan release (was ~5 months before those who didn’t pay cash even got to buy a Timber Wolf), but it’s still pretty bad considering the direct analog.
Some months ago, new variants of the Phoenix mechs were released – such as the SHD-2D and 2K – and it was exciting, and it made people happy, and they were released for C-Bills right away. Now, they do the same thing (releasing new variants of package mechs), but instead of making them instantly available in game, they set up a cash shop (not even MC can be used, and its pretty much been relegated to the status of, as Kin3ticx said, a tier 2 currency.
This is just another in a long line of PGI cash grabs in which I will not be participating, even though it means deliberately accepting a competitive disadvantage.
What, competitive disadvantage?
Oh yeah, PGI also just so happened to screw over the competitive community with this move. In the past, such cash package overpowered mechs were banned out of (or at least restricted in some way from) competitive leagues. But now, league runners are faced with two choices – allow p2w into their league, or institute rules against it which – get this – are unenforceable in some ways. There’s no real way to know if someone’s using a TBR-S Left Torso or a TBR-D Left Torso. The TBR-D Left Arm reduces energy weapon heat generation – a unique attribute which the TBR-S Left Arm doesn’t get. This means that people will be able to use such omnipods to improve such competitive builds as Ballistic Brawlers, Energy Brawlers, Hybrids, cERLL Boats, and (of course) Laser Vomit. And there is absolutely no way to be certain whether or not a person is using it.
In general, the competitive community is full of people who want good fights and legitimate wins too much to bother cheating in such a way. But it being an option leaves a taint on all competitive matches and really, really bothers me. I guess in a way it’s fortuitous that the new Dire Wolf variant is so massively broken – there’s no way to be sneaky about using its omnipods.
/rant
So what about a build of the week, then. Well, let’s look…
Set up one weapon group for your left side + head, and another for your right side + CT. Fire one, wait a sec, then fire the other. Do 122 damage. Nearly overheat. Maybe actually overheat. I’m not entirely sure…but my quick mental arithmetic says you should be able to get away with it.
Then set up a third weapon group for just your LPLs because they’re all you’re going to be able to shoot for the next 5 minutes.
This is obviously not a serious build. But it cannot be pleasant to take all of these lasers to the face. Unfortunately, it also cannot be pleasant to have to wait the 20 minutes to cool off.
For weapon modules, bring range, because cooldowns are going to be pointless.
glhf
-G