Checking in on you guys and glad to be downloading perp again! ECM is big for me. I like the idea of cycle time. I dont mind ECM being very effective against a single target and even limiting ECM modules to one per bot unless it is an ewar bot. The strength is what always gets debated but the problem is strength will always be an issue by adding another tuner or another ecm all together.
I really like the formula Ville put up where a max skill ewar pilot would have 80% effectiveness before eccm. I'd further that thought with also changing cycle time. A jam breaks a lock but doesnt prevent you from immediately locking the target right back so sensor boosters can also counter an ecm better than an eccm in some ways. If cycle times were increased so that a small bot could fight bigger bots that do not have the best lock times without a sebo (thus removing a slot for eccm) then a light bot should be able to have a good chance of breaking a targets lock to get the chance to disengage or at least fight back for the time it takes to be locked again.
The argument I see is the fear of multiple ecms permanently keeping a target jammed. If a player cannot be attacked by more than 3 ewar modules (a typical ewar bots fit to ecm and sensor damp to lock out a single target) and the cycle time on those ewar modules was increased as well as power consumption comparable to cycle time, then I believe it would make it so the ewar bot could counter one larger target almost fully unless they fit the eccm (passive sensor strength with active burst for quick recovery) and sensor amps. I think you all have valid ideas and should bring them all to bare.
If ecm cycle time is lengthened to where even a large bot with one sensor amp and no eccm can lock and fire several shots before being hit with ONE eccm and having a 50/50 chance (assuming its not max strength character) to miss the second jam then it really makes a wide range for ecm to be unaffective as well as being a more situational module that I think it should be in. Perma running ecm shouldnt be a valid tactic for any but the ewar mechs and highly skilled players. Jam strength is good. A player with good skills should have at LEAST a 50/50 chance to jam another solo pilot with his ewar unless they fit an eccm (in which I would prefer the scenario where ecm activation cost high so it cant be perma run and has a longer cooldown but still giving an 80% chance to jam target unless guarded against ecm).
TLDR; ECM shouldnt be perma run except by the best mechs and highest skilled pilots but the effectiveness of one module should be good for burst uses. A solo player should have a good chance of getting one jam off to disengage if the target does not have eccm or a sensor booster to lock and web it before it runs.
No one likes being perma jammed but it should still be possible. Everyone likes seeing the random ecm on an artamis that hero jams when it counts or a group of 3 assault bots working together with their one ecm module allowed and fitting one ecm and the other two using damps so they can overwhelm a heavy unless its fitted for eccm and sensor boosting (will not completely protect but the assault bots could essentially run and use terrain until catching a jam cycle then they engage.