So... my early impressions after a few missions. I started a new campaign just a couple of days ago, so I can only comment on the early game.
Lance:
- Shadow Hawk frontliner, Bulwark + Breaching Shot
- Hunchback sharpshooter (AC/5, 2xLL), Sure Footing + Breaching Shot
- Centurion LRM platform, Sure Footing + Breaching Shot
- Firestarter spotter/skirmisher, Sure Footing + Master Tactician
Well... it all seems so great. Combat is extremely mobile now. Your job is to destroy the OpForce, and to do that, you need to shoot, and if you shoot, you must keep moving. While in previous version of the game you commonly had a lance mostly staying bulwarked in place, now I find myself circling the enemy, constantly flanking, constantly trying to move from cover to cover while maintaining LOS to the target, avoiding enemy LOS while trying to keep optimal range. It
feels dynamic the way a mech game is supposed to feel.
While you might not have quite as much evasion as in the previous version, it's more important now, because along with cover and good positioning it's the only thing that keeps you from being hurt. Jump jets don't automatically give you more evasion than walking, but you still benefit from them
a lot, as you need to stay moving and they help you traverse the terrain and reach cover when there are obstacles.
Bulwark is still good, but only situationally. You need to brace occasionally, because shooting and jumping generates heat, and because sometimes you simply end up in positions where you can't avoid incoming damage.
I love that you can use Bulwark to approach the enemy with your tank, so that it draws the first salvos from them, which keeps them vulnerable for your follow-up attacks. This is a great alternative for simply (EDIT: where did the rest of this paragraph go? Fixed.) luring the enemy to you every time - a Vanguard feels like a real vanguard now, when moving in with a full lance is a tactic that actually works.
From my pilot skills you might think that Breaching Shot is incredibly useful, but it, too, is only situational. Enemies don't seem to brace all that much now, so I mostly use it against Cover with Multi-target or when I'm just trying to keep cool.
I'm not sure about Sure Footing when it comes to Entrenched - I haven't gotten to test that aspect of it yet - but with that extra pip just from walking it seems like an
excellent choice for a lot of mechs. Bulwark is still better for tanking frontliners, I think, but for fire support and scouts and skirmishers Sure Footing seems like a great skill.
That's it so far. This is just a first impressions, but I'm really, really liking the changes so far. The game is a lot less static, movement matters a lot more and terrain is extremely important now, because cover actually makes a difference and you need to manage LOS and keep planning your movement ahead.
Good job, devs!
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