It was OP as hell, as you demonstrated.
I think it was situationaly OP. IF, you happen to be able to not get shot at. AND, if your game is short enough that the limit of 3-4 uses max has serious effects.
In game 1 I used it 1x, and felt ok about the investment.
Game 3 using it 3x, hell no, it was a desperate attempt to deal w/ serious scenario imbalance at set up.
I didn't want to risk a 2nd pilot hit causing death, because it was at that point, but it was that or loose the game.
Sniper was OP because it let you do that EVERY round. Without a Drawback. Now its over nerfed & short of taking it on an Archer or Warhammer there is no point.
Jumping Jack is questionable. Its not great for the Javelin that is currently using it. But when that is a Guillotine/GrassHopper, its going to decimate.
This at least had a Negative to it. One that gets progressively worse the more you do it.
It actually has TWO negatives, because you give up your initiative slot which means the entire enemy team moves AFTER you.
If the abilities are too lame then they aren't worth the points & no one wants them & its better to just unlock Skills or Bigger Mechs.
Trading turn order for early hit is a trade off & your paying 15 points for that ability. Now it feels as if the pilot hits are overkill.
Now you just use it to take advantage of fallen mechs, or to backstab mechs who thought, "I can take it for one round..."
But if you disagree, yes, you can swap it out.
Interesting situational ideas.
I'll try it nerfed for next game & then decide if that is fine by you.
I have the feeling that it won't be worth it, it will be TOO situational now.
Not worth the risk of sticking your arse out in the open for everyone to shoot at.
But I'm willing to try it for a game.
Though the more I think about it, long term investment is not worth it, as mechs get bigger the TMM would have been lower, & the firepower coming at you increases thus meaning your more likely to take Pilot Hits.
It feels like the opposite of Jump Jack that way, starts ok, but ends weaker.