19 replies to this topic

[JC Daxion]

As i play this game i am quickly developing a hate towards light mechs..I'm not gonna go off on a rant about them.. but I think part of it is more how people play the light mechs, vrs the mechs themselves.. For example, basically just doing their own thing, taking down random mechs, and not spoting/helping find/locate.. to me it seams like a lot just play it as a solo kill count thing. I learned a lot of this following light mechs after my death and watching them play. It is amazing how much you can learn after you die in this game.


But one thing i have noticed is i want to kill these things with a passion. Even my mobile medium mechs these things can give me fits. I can't seem to outrun them, or maneuver them. Often i find it very difficult to get them in a point i can actually shoot them. One thing i have tried is reverse turning, at least then i can fire once every circle.

What has worked best is to lure them into city places where they don't have as much room to maneuver but open maps that is typically not easy.

I tired search, and perhaps it was not working, as even just using the word "light" was coming up empty.. Perhaps someone can point me to a thread about this as i'm sure it has been discussed before.

I'm just looking for tips/tricks, or mechs/loadouts that really specialize in taking down these blasted light mechs...

[Atayu]

If a light mech is circling you here is what you do. First you go forward quarter speed full turn and see if you can get him locked on if you can burn him down. If you can not get him because he is staying in front of your turn rate all at once go from forward to full reverse swing your torso around the opposite way it was pointed and right as he starts to come into view start firing while at the same time switching back to quarter throttle forward and turn feet with him. You can rotate your torso for a while to keep a lock on and you changing direction back will give you a few more shots on them. Soon as they pass your firing arc repeat the process. There is a basic way to take out lights with slow heavy mechs. There are many other ways you can fight light mechs but this is a good one for beginners and helps people learn the foot vs torso movment system better. Hope this helps.

[Fastfire]

Against Comandos, try to get in tight spots, you want to avoid the "circle fights" v.s. a com,
and go for the legs, a light with one missing leg is a death light.

Next thing which is good to know is, especially commandos have the problem that even a slight bump in the ground slows them down quite a bit, meaning, if a com runs over a bump at full speed, he will loose about 1/3 of his speed for a second after he "falls down" the bump.

In worst case, get your back on some wall!

[Koniving]

Quite simply... aim for legs. Shots to the torso is a waste.

Another solution is to step on them.



Or wait until knockdowns and clothesline the little things.

Note that this seems to load slowly on some computers, the full version with better visual quality is in the spoiler. I used youtube editor to make this short snippet.


Full match under the spoiler.

Spoiler

Step on it.


Clothesline. Has better quality than shortened version and loads faster.

Or since that's so long, use this link to skip to 20 seconds before it happens.

Leave a like on the videos themselves if you enjoyed, it's always appreciated.

Edited by Koniving, 16 April 2013 - 04:51 PM.

[Royalewithcheese]

• Lasers (and now ballistics) have HSR implemented. If you've got a high ping, these are the anti-light guns for you.
  
• If you've got a low ping, SRMs are still monstrous against lights. Splash damage is brutal against small-hitbox mechs and against legs.
  
• If you've got a high alpha, you can use it to punish a light that makes a mistake like moving directly away from or towards you or getting hung up on terrain.
  
• Fake them out. Twisting a little to one side, then turning around the other way, works a shocking percentage of the time.
  
• If all else fails, get your back to a wall.

[JC Daxion]

wait untill knockdown? did they remove it or something? I thought i saw some mechs get knocked down in that video.. But have yet to see that happen in game.

So far, my best way to deal with them has been dual SRM 6's when they land.. In some ways i wish i could turn artmis off for when firing at them.. I think a small spread would be much better than an all out miss.


I think im gonna try my AC20 HBK tonight.. perhaps i will have better luck with it now. It was a hit or miss before the change, but when they land and you pop a light with an AC 20 and it goes boom.. boy is it satisfying.


I will try to use all these tips while i am making more c-bills.. Second time in a row i bought the wrong heavy mech. blowing all my cash.. Really wish there was a way i could see the entire load outs and play with the mech in the bay before i purchase it.. As soon as i went to drop in lasers this time i knew i screwed up!



(edit, what about machine guns vrs lights?) I was kinda thinking 3 or 4 might be worth trying on some mech.. I always loved machine guns since Mech 3..)

Edited by JC Daxion, 16 April 2013 - 05:11 PM.

[Koniving]

JC Daxion, on 16 April 2013 - 05:10 PM, said:

wait untill knockdown? did they remove it or something? I thought i saw some mechs get knocked down in that video.. But have yet to see that happen in game.

It had a number of bugs. Sometimes mechs would fall through the map. There was also abuse of the fact that every heavy and assault mech counted as being 100 tons, so when a dragon rushed someone it knocked you over regardless of what you were. Hence no one could tackle the dragon in the second video below. You could knock over lights at 1 kph, so team mates would trample over lights just moving from the spawn, sometimes resulting in team kills. Lights got absolutely no respect for a while. The 3-L's dominance over the game has been the revenge of the lights.

Mine.


Someone else's. Shows a few of the bugs.



MGs versus lights is not practical. If anything, it is best to use MGs against heavies and assaults to destroy their weapons without having to go through the time and effort of destroying their limbs. Shoot after removing their armor. 4 MGs can destroy an AC-20 in 3 seconds or less with the Atlas at yellow health for the right side torso internals. Gauss Rifles are the best guns to aim for with MGs, for the bonus of the Gauss exploding does a huge damage boost.

[Dalziel Hasek Davion]

I'm surprised no-one has yet mentioned the premier defense against light 'Mechs - allies. Even with one wing-man you can travel just far enough apart that a light circling you is easy target for your friend and vice versa.

Just like rock-paper-scissors, light 'Mechs in packs can kill assaults, medium mechs find it easier to kill lights and heavy and assault mechs kill mediums. If you are piloting a slow heavy mech with limited turning radius, then you need someone to watch your back.

Aim low - make them slow.

[Harleen Quinzel]

JC Daxion, on 16 April 2013 - 03:15 PM, said:

As i play this game i am quickly developing a hate towards light mechs..I'm not gonna go off on a rant about them.. but I think part of it is more how people play the light mechs, vrs the mechs themselves.. For example, basically just doing their own thing, taking down random mechs, and not spoting/helping find/locate.. to me it seams like a lot just play it as a solo kill count thing. I learned a lot of this following light mechs after my death and watching them play. It is amazing how much you can learn after you die in this game.

Where to begin, the reason we don't scout / locate is typically two fold. The first and biggest reason we do this is that you get little or no MC/XP reward for doing this, and lets be honest, for all maps we all know where the major attrition points are going to be. The second is that wandering around a corner to be faced by the entire team, is one of the best ways I know to end your game very quickly.

The best way to play a light is to stroll up with your drop buddies and wait for contact, to either help chase down a lone light, or spot a nice fat cat or similar stood away from his team that you can happily circle and kill to your hearts content.

The optimum way to counter a light, is to stay with your buddies. You only need 1 person that can hit the back end of a barn with a banjo and any sensible light pilot will exit very quickly - a few well placed shots and we're worm food. If you are separated from your team, then suggestions above about reverse turning are good, but the best is to park your fat *** against a wall so we can't sit behind you and melt the weak rear armour.

[Nash]

There is no perfect way vs lights as there is no perfect way vs any mech on the battlefield.

It all depends on your own pilot skills and the skill of your opponent.

I pilot nearly every mech class and so I can tell you that it is always hard to hit a light as long as it is on full speed. As soon as it slows down (bw it because he crashes into a wall, overheats, loses a leg or whatsoever) mostly a light mech is going down very fast.

Anyway that's not the question you did ask here.
All posters did give you a good advise and all are correct.

To understand the role of a light mech you have to pilot one (imho). So you can see that a light mech hast several basic roles and should not try to focus on only one of them.
There is e.g. the role of a spotter. He could do that if he gets into the back of the enemy as long as he isn't noticed (that whould be perfect ^^ ).
Than there is the role of a scout...he has only to tell where the enemy is so that you own team could get into position and so on...
I could go on like that but to be honest all these roles could also be done by other mechs...
So the main role of light is:

BE VERY NERVE-RECKING.

That means...rush in, delay some shots of the enemy so that your own team could aim better without being shot...
and as soon as the enemy isn't focusing on you as a light mech...get on the weak spots (back armor) of the enemy.


So here is the tricky way how you might get down most lights very easy. As soon as they try to shoot the weak spots they stop but this they will only do as soon as they assume that there is no dangour of being shot by an enemy.
That might only happen if you ignore them in the beginning and focus on the enemy but keep an eye on the lights. As soon as they stop and you see that...fire an alphastrike on them (best on one of their legs if possible) and so you might have good chances to get one down.

That's also a way how you might handle a light...but to succeed with this version you should not be alone somewhere but you should have some teammates near you...

[bonapartist1]

I almost always play light mechs and am a model citizen, I spot liberally and do way too much typing in game to tell my teammates where the enemy are.

If a light isn't boating SSRM, then there's probably not a jackass in it.

[zraven7]

The short answer is to leg them. Quickest light take down possible. As far as how to do this, it's completely up to what you're comfortable with. Medium laser boating is a great answer, because if you alpha and sweep, you can almost always bet on at least 12 damage to a leg, possibly both. SRMs are still a good option, though less accurate than lasers. Use artemis if you can afford it. Also, high-damage direct fire can work, if your twitch firing is good enough. 4 or 5 shots from an ERPPC, AC10, or gauss will very quickly give a light a bad day, if you can land those shots.

Edited by zraven7, 17 April 2013 - 07:42 AM.

[DEMAX51]

People have said it before, but as a predominantly light pilot, I can tell you:

1. Aim for the legs! And, if you can, pick one leg and stick with it - it's much easier to kill a light once one of their legs is gone.

2. Streaks DECIMATE non-ECM lights, especially right now because they hit almost nothing but CT on most lights.

3. Call for help!!! - the best way to fight a light mech is with a partner. If it's one on one a good light pilot can stay on your back, but if you've got a wingman, the light can't stay behind both of you at the same time!

4. If you do have to fight a light one on one, try to find a wall that you can back up against. That way he can't get behind you.

[Regina Redshift]

There's nothing like two LLas or two SRM6 to put the fear of ComStar into a light.

In all seriousness, the best counter to a light is to never travel alone. Make sure that at least one of your team (preferably lance) mates can see you at all times. If you get harassed, and no lance/team mate is nearby, just type "help [grid]". Most lights can't take you out before you type that.

[Dalziel Hasek Davion]

Here's some gameplay where, as a Stalker pilot, I allowed myself to become isolated in River City, facing a modest number of small, light 'Mechs (Spiders) and I end up making such a meal of killing them that we lose the game comprehensively. Mistakes and errors abound, but it was a learning experience. In the spirit of sharing...

[Loc Nar]

Don't wander off alone if you don't want to ride... The Carrousel of Death!

[ElLocoMarko]

I am interested in a medium which is a good light-killer. A friend of mine who played months ago said that he had a centurion that was fast enough to get solid hits on a retreating light and have it for breakfast.

Anyone want to share their favorite light-killer (which preferably isn't a light)...

[Watchit]

ElLocoMarko, on 19 April 2013 - 11:49 AM, said:

I am interested in a medium which is a good light-killer. A friend of mine who played months ago said that he had a centurion that was fast enough to get solid hits on a retreating light and have it for breakfast.

Anyone want to share their favorite light-killer (which preferably isn't a light)...

I've got a Centurion CN9-D with a 350XL 2srm6's and 2mpls, with speed tweak it's just as fast as most lights at 124kph

[JC Daxion]

zraven7, on 17 April 2013 - 07:42 AM, said:

Medium laser boating is a great answer, because if you alpha and sweep, you can almost always bet on at least 12 damage to a leg, possibly both.

Can someone explain what he means by Alpha and sweep? I assume that alpha is meaning alpha strike? really unsure about the "sweep"






The info posted has helped. I posted this as i have been having trouble with lights and base capture. Basically i have been playing a hunchback.. (leveling up all 3 chassis a missile AC, and laser) I swear more often than not playing on teams, the base is undefended, and the team goes stomping off to where ever it is they are going.. Most of the time it is blind follow the leader i think... Often it is to one side of the map or the other, So that leaves the other side wide open for mechs to sneak in.. (this is part of what i was saying about light mechs and scouting)

as a medium mech, and typically outside of a light or two that end up on the team, often i am the only medium mech. So then when the "Your base is being captured" signal hits ,I'm typically the only one in any position what so ever to make an attempt to take them down. I can't even count how often i am the only one that responds, for some times 2-3 mins.. It is so rare i get a light to help, that i almost jump for joy when it does happen.. (typically i call in what is in base when i can see it).

I think part of my problem can be maps, certain maps when small mechs are moving fast, my frames really drop, and shooting a slide show is next to impossible. (this seems to happen typically if i have been gaming a while, and i think the heat slows it down.. I often give it a break after a light mech slide show.

The other, issue i tend to get is the buggers getting behind me and not being able to get um into my sites. Some of the piloting tips has helped this..


I defiantly do best with my SRM mech, the laser mech is by far my worst.. perhaps knowing what laser "sweep" is may help

Watchit, on 19 April 2013 - 05:55 PM, said:

I've got a Centurion CN9-D with a 350XL 2srm6's and 2mpls, with speed tweak it's just as fast as most lights at 124kph

this sounds like a mech i could love! I really love SRM's

[Watchit]

JC Daxion, on 26 April 2013 - 06:56 AM, said:

Can someone explain what he means by Alpha and sweep? I assume that alpha is meaning alpha strike? really unsure about the "sweep"

The other, issue i tend to get is the buggers getting behind me and not being able to get um into my sites. Some of the piloting tips has helped this..

Yes an "Alpha" is just short for "Alpha strike", or firing all your weapons at once. To "sweep" your lasers at lights is exactly as it sounds. It's based on how lasers work and kind of impossible not to do unless the light is standing still.

Lasers deal damage over the duration of the beam, so even if your aim isn't perfect you can "sweep" your lasers across the legs of a light to deal at least some damage.

If a light is circling behind you try not to follow it in the same direction constantly, every now and then stop turning left and turn right and get him as he passes you by. Slowing down and reversing gives you a tighter turn radius and lets you keep up with the faster light better.