The latest DLC/Expansion 'Heavy Metal' was released last Thursday(21st-11-19). So with my all in season pass/content edition of the game I've been playing it since it released.
Like the previous content I'm glad for the updates but not really interested by the additional mech's. The new mech centerpiece; The 'Bull Shark', has an impressive artillery piece strapped between it's shoulders. Which was (for me) underwhelming in action. I liken it to a nuclear blast but without the destructive power. Very anticlimactic. All looks and no action. I'd rather take a few more extra turns with more 'conventional' LRM's than manoeuvre a rare mech for that single purpose(handful of shots). Besides I'd get more practical use out of it by admiring it in the hanger. That's my own take and I'm sure others will have a different game-style with tactics that makes this new mech their linchpin. For me it's to rare and expensive(chassis and optimal weapons) to be practical.
The other new mech's are fine, but there's nothing that replaces anything on my current roster. The Stalker is still my general purpose Mech to beat. I tend to lean on multipurpose multirole mech's that are laser/LRM based; That's a trend I can trace back to my love of the Timber Wolf/Madcat & Mad dog/Vulture. A Stalker is a dime'a'dozen mech, they punch above their weight, easy to use, easy to replace(including weapons). Before heading into the expansion's new Flashpoint/story content, I did a more 'normal' mission to see how the new game changes would affect a standard Stalker lance with non-maxed out pilots.
Intercepted Salvage run:
It was a polar world so apt to really pushing the Stalker lance in the overheat department. I wanted to test this lance hard with the DLC changes. I think the mission served it's purpose. There wasn't much of a change on the ground that I could see; Other than a 'feeling' that LRM's had lost a bit of punch. Same damage but lacked the 'feel' of hitting hard. I think the animation had reduced the number of missiles you see going to the target. At least in my view. Still gets the job done and can still take a pounding. Game on!
The lance of pilots (lance 5) which I used were initially recruited to use during that previous DLC; Still effective and were fun to use. I seem to do that a lot.
Mech's aside the storyline for the expansion is the best of all the expansions. A tiny bit out there regarding the 'platform' but I can live with it as the story's worth it(imho); Really enjoyed it.
The ending is by far the best I could have expected.
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