The Obvious Solution . . .

After reading this thread, the following solution to a commonly perceived MechWarrior rules problem occurred to me:

Problem: Players complain that Mechs are ineffective and nobody is using them.

Solution: Require that all MechWarrior armies include at least one Mech.

Rationale: After all, the game is called MechWarrior isn't it?

So, Mechs will still be ineffective, but that problem is hard, so it will get fixed later. At least players will be using Mechs in their armies again. ;)

Let's hope Wiz Kids can find a better solution

This is sort-of what I've been saying for a while: if people would step back and look at all the sets, there's an arms-race going on. DFA had only a few useable battlemechs, and infantry were dominant. FFE had some better 'mechs, and artillery reduced infantry's effectiveness somewhat. In DFA we had scary (but fragile) VTOLs, now we're getting powerful 'mechs. I think we'll find that eventually the 'mechs will be so good that few people will want to play anything except 'mechs and some infantry. But, I'm afraid that we'll have to be patient.

Thats probably true for the sculps. It would probably take a year to go from concept drawing to production.

Dial stats and rules I would hazard a guess at 8-10 weeks. The dials could be easily modified up to that point. Ditto that for the rules.

Their biggest problem so far has been one that many people fall into, and its a paradigm issue. Their "fix" paradigm is introduce new units to counter old, or leave the problem as is. Introducing new units to counter old units is a mistake. If you fix the rule that made the old unit broken, you then have a usable unit and don't have to introduce a counter, thsu freeing up space in the next release for something new. If you introduce units to counter game flaws, you effectively eliminate the problem unit and its counter, thus wasting 2 units.

Really, how many problems have been fixed in the life of the game? One. First turn kill/infiltrate armies. That's it. And people continually ##### about that. Its no wonder that WK doesn't fix anything because invariably someone will ##### about being "nerfed".

The lead time for these releases is huge, primarily due to art/sculpt concerns. Sure, the rules and exact stats take a lot less time, but to produce an entire set--rules and dial info--still takes a considerable amount of time. I'd expect no less than 4 months of just development. That means that CounterAssault rules/stating could have been started in September which would make it somewhat responsive to the problems that Liao introduced.

All that said, until they fix the tank drop issue (the first game breaking mistake, IMO) I won't have any faith in WK to fix what they've broken.

Yes, let's hope WK CAN find a better solution than this. Nothing like fighting Bart, Chuck, Danni, the Lego, Arnis, Faisal, and whatever other few 'power' mechs there are week after week after week. Granted, you'll have your mech, but about the third time in a tournament when your cherry Atlas gets smooshed by Arnis you'll be thinking it may not have been such a good idea.

I think you are all missing the point. It is about $$$$$

Each expansion will add new units that are better than the last so you you want to stay on the top you have to go out and buy the latest expansion. The whole thing about solving a problem by adding units that counter it is exactly what they want. I stopped playing Magic a great number of years ago simply because of this very same fact I was tired of pouring money into a game that if they had kept each expansion balanced with the base set then the base set would still be usable, but expansions do not do well unless you need them to stay at the top so it becomes an arms race. I for one am tired of being forced to buy new figures to be able to play against my friends and have a chance to win. If I can't afford new figures then the ones I have should be fine. I would be more apt to try and get the other figures later when I could afford them or when I felt it would be something nice to add to my army rather than I must buy it if I want to stand a chance. Look at the dollar signs there is where you will find the problem.

For those that comlain that WK doesn't respond quickly enough, look at the competition. GW rules fixes occur only after an issue has been at hand for at least 3 - 5 years. WL too powerful? It'll get fixed in 2004, only 6 years after the current edition of the rules was released. By comparison, WK is obsessive.

WK does seem to be responsive. I get the impression that problems are realized in testing and potential corrections are noted for the following expansion, which is under construction while testing for the previous is underway.

Honestly, I think the game is still working itself out. There need to be more units available and larger games. Once the games get bigger, the value of individual units will be diminished. Also, there need to be more solid regular units, including mechs. Domination by game-winning Uniques is too frustrating and turns away new players who don't have all the toys.

Redjack - you seem to be confusing "fixes" with "new editions". While I may not be the biggest fan of the Evil Empire (codex creep being a serious bone of contention, plus the lack of 40k Squats), they have a monthly magazine, and they do actually change rules in there, and issue FAQs and errata.

That monthly mag also allows them to create and release new pieces, in addition to the release of the various codices, which allows for some sense of balance, however small. But GW does issue fixes more often than you assert.

Wizkids tries, they often fail, and sometimes even make the problem worse, but at least they try. Better than some companies.

Just include the rule that mechs MUST be used.

So then you'll see two army types - those that use the mechs already in use (Bart et al.), and those who use the cheapest mech possible. Like that's a solution.

Yes,it is.

No, it isn't.

This is an oversimplification on your part. Many other factors must be taken into account.

We don't need quick fixes, we need permanent solutions. (I admit that none are forthcoming, and I myself have no brilliant solutions either.)

This is like using a bazooka to shoot flies.

As long as it is a mech,ICE or Unique,it is still a mech.And even the lowest-cost mech is 80pts,and that is quite a bit.

@BlackFusion-

I am sorry to see you get flamed. The truth is that many folks are angry with WK for various reasons, and whenever someone tries to defend WK, the defender catches all of the pent up aggression.

From what does this aggression spring?

1)Unresponsiveness. Many calls, emails, and threads seem to go unnoticed, unappreciated, and unreturned.

2)Rulings (or lack thereof). New rulings/fixes come slowly or not at all. Some things that MW players rant about are valid problems to WK; some are not. Players get frustrated when it seems their pet peeves are not being noticed. See #1.

Kevin Goddard seems to be taking some steps to rectify #1; I hope this is something that will continue even though he can't help with #2 directly.