Mortars in the Expansion Pack or CW2

[UpperKEES]

Mortars are very ineffective. They are expensive and consume way too much energy for the job they do. At close range you'd better use a blaster and for long range and higher elevation levels drones are the weapons to use. Even on maps like Gump, Chopraider and Corvus the high scores have been set with just a few blasters (and no drones). I hardly use mortars any more, even when they're included for free in a map.

I consider this a shame as every weapon should have its use and contribute to the possibility of using various strategies. This is why I think the mortar should be revised for future expansions and versions of Creeper World. It should not only be cheaper (maybe 40 energy units), but also use less energy and/or have a wider default range. Of course this can't be implemented in the current version, as it would change the gameplay for every existing map. What do you think?

[haloguy48]

i agree to a point. I have found myself using more and more blasters than motors. Although, for a map such as (self reference moment) spinning crater, a motor can be used to shoot over the crazy walls to where creep buildup is most highest.

I agree it needs a change, I dont agree that it needs to be a 'big' change.

[Karsten75]

I think mortars are excellent weapons to use for any map where the creeper gather in pools. Nothing cleans a deep pool of creeper up like a mortar, and it does not require the constant management of a drone.  I certainly think they have a place in the current (and hopefully future) version of Creeper World.

[UpperKEES]

I hope so too; that's exactly why I propose this revision. When you want to use a mortar effectively, you actually have to manage it more than a drone (activate/deactivate). Blasters kill all creeper around it up to 1 elevation level. Because of the reload time of a mortar you better put a few of them together in a pool for a few seconds and then just leave one to cap the emitter while you can use the others somewhere else. When the pool is deeper than one elevation level you send a drone in first.

Edit: a really nice improvement would be an adjustable fire rate (slow/medium/fast). Currently a mortar often fires too slow or too fast for me, depending on the situation.

[mothwentbad]

I suggested a solution for easier mortar management in the thread "smart mortars". I think the best thing would be to be able to use a slider bar to tell it how deep the creep has to be before it will fire.

[UpperKEES]

I just read your smart mortar suggestions and I love it! Sorry for not finding it before; it would make the mortars definitely interesting again! I noticed Virgil likes your idea as well, so let's wait and see if something like this gets implemented in future versions. :)

Edit:

Three and a half months later now and I have to revise my opinion about mortars. They're useful and well balanced! You just have to know when to use them and when not. No need to change anything. :)