Was the game meant to be pv(heavy mech group)? Do you think trials, and people wanting to join, or younger players want to go at eachother in squads of heavy mechs? Why should someone have to grind so long to pvp.

Keep the heavy mechs balanced for defense only. And let roams be something more fun for all.

I ran into that problem too.  I had to spend some precious EP in the reduction of CPU and reactor.  You can fit a T4 and guardian hardener and get a few other things but you will end up having a few open slots.

Have you looked at getting a logi bot account setup with your gropho?

Even with a logistics bot, you're still going to end up with just one range extender. In a game where in pvp speed and range are everything, and hmechs certainly don't have the speed. They can at least get the range, but not with a shield gen equipped. 450m-ish range low dps gropho is not something i want to get into a fight in.

Pre-release account specialised in gropho usage, I have very high fitting skills. Even with most of my fit being a prototype fit (because protos use less cpu/reactor), I am left with about 15 reactor to spare with a prototype medium armor repairer equipped. Try to switch that for a medium shield generator? I'd only be about 170 reactor short.

Re-enable the ability to fire while your shield is active, and then gropho would have something to make up for with its crummy range.

What range does your shield gropho with its 2 range extenders (of which i assume are T2s) and chemoactive ballistic missiles have?

My gropho with 2x T4 range extenders and level 10 propellant mixing gets 557 range. But like I said, reactor runs too thin on such a fit.

It seems like your asking a lot out of the fit. Greater range is a form of defense lke tanking. Having longer range is supposed to help by reducing your incoming damage, while tanking allows you to absorb it. Turret weapons suffer from fall-off, reducing damage at range, being at 550 ish doesn't move you out of damage range by any means, but it will put you in a reduced range. Having to choose between the two seems like it's balanced; longer range less tank, or exchange range (remove extenders) and increase tank (either rep or sheild). Wanting to fit both is understandable, but the increase in accumulator change on the seth doesn't acutally give it any more viablity against the gropho because they have to make that same choice between extenders and rep tuners now.

Yes, short-mid range shield tanking is just one way that the gropho can be used, and imo is far from the most popular. One problem, it's the only way that makes use of the grophos shield bonus. The devs could quite easily find a way to make this work without forcing people to use a shield unless they want a wasted bonus.

Removal of shield bonus, replace with ap recharge bonus. Go ahead and nerf the max accumulator of gropho a little too, but the extra AP will be useful to all gropho builds and not just shield builds.

heavies should have little own defense options and have to be dependant on logistic bots. this way they are kept away from solo viability but with proper support they are deadly.

Let's put it this way, the gropho is the only Heavy combat mech that requires you to use a specific module to make use of all of its bonuses.

Mesmer does have an armor repair amount bonus, but that bonus suits that bot and would suit any other combat mech bot. I would happily trade the shield bonus on the gropho for the mesmers armor repair amount bonus, but i'm not so sure that mesmer pilots are going to agree with this change

Seth gets max accumulator, damage and crit chance, all useful for any combat mech build.

Mesmer gets armor repair amount, damage and falloff, all useful to any combat mech build.

Gropho gets locking time, damage and shield absorb rate? The shield absorb bonus is completely ***, i'm sorry to say it, but i'm shocked that it was ever designed like this in the first place. Gropho is now the only heavy combat mech that is forced to use a module that not many people want to use in order make use of one of its major bonuses. This is utterly ridiculous. Why they would force people to equip a non faction specific module and use a hardly used specific build in order to be fully effective is beyond me.

Since when the hell were heavy mechs "specialised"? Light EW bots, EW mechs, those are EW specialised. Heavy combat mechs are just that, heavy combat mechs. Specialised versions will probably eventually come much later into the game development.

Don't missles have the slowest rate of fire though? Which would make them ideal candidates for using a sheild for defense between volleys.

Although that's sort of just trying to find a reason why it was included in the first place, that and maybe the devs looking to make them all just a little different in how they are fit for defense.

The balance issue I see here is that the reason sheild doesn't fit is that your going for range, which makes it really hard for turret bots to hit you, simply because there are few 500m line of sights. Using the sheild makes you come into med range, where Gropho is more likely to get hit, but where it can have it's sheild on most of the time. Changing to a rep bonus, it could then fit for range, take less dmg with LOS, have burst healing with med rep. and the only real weakness would be against other Grophos in a straight DPS fight. It wouldn't be invincible to demob and dmg once turrets broke through the range barrier of course, but that's the same for any bot.

so, i guess i'm wondering what impact range and burst healing fit would have if bonus was changed

Arga, just try to syncronise shield and weapon cycles, and try to survive in close-mid range. If grofa designed only for long range then this game is not about fitting variations.
Im sure this awesome game is about customising your bot for all types of range. or not?

I think the idea is the all sides had there rock to some other paper and a combined force is what was intended based on the current available setups.

Tbh it looks like they intended groups to fight with the blues at the front of the battle with the yellows in the middle and the greens at the back of the force.

the mechs would probably stay static in there range distribution but the lights and assaults would move in between two of the three groups.

yes in 1v1 you can be deadly but im sure a pair of scissors has no issue going thought a sheet of paper and the person behind it if you throw it at the paper.