10 replies to this topic

[Eagle564]

I started playing this a couple days ago. I've read a bunch of newbie guides and all that. But I still can't figure out how damage works in this game. Some matches I'll get 200 damage but I didn't do squat and everyone else has 400+. Other matches I'll non-stop shoot and hit everytime and get 100 damage. It doesn't make any sense to me. I'm watching the mech diagram that shows where he's already damaged, firing on damaged parts. And still getting nothing. I'm currently using the HBK-4SP and the CPLT-K2 as ones that I've actually purchased. 5 medium lasers on my KBK and dual PPCs on my K2, and I can't hurt anyone. Staying within the appropriate weapon ranges too.

Also, what customization? I don't believe there is much of any customization in this game, nothing like Chromehounds for example. It won't let me swap weapons, everything requires slots that don't exist, and weight that you can't reduce. So you basically buy the pre-built mechs and change the paint, that's the extent of the customization?

I've been playing Mechwarrior games since I was a kid, and this doesn't seem to be anything like what the old games used to be.

[Fiest]

Have you purchased a mech or are you only using the trial mechs?
Trial mechs are free but you can't alter their loadouts

[Eagle564]

Fiest, on 24 May 2013 - 01:51 PM, said:

Have you purchased a mech or are you only using the trial mechs?
Trial mechs are free but you can't alter their loadouts

Purchased 2 mechs. as said in original post. Not much you can alter though. I can take off medium lasers and put small ones on, wooohooo. Can't remove everything and start from scratch. Can't remove my 2 PPCs and put AC/20s and other weapons on.

And I just spent 5 minutes shooting the same 2 morons standing still with my 2 PPCs, finished the match and did 173 damage and killed one of them. How is that even possible to have that low of damage? They sat still and I shot the same spot over and over again.

[nungunz]

Eagle564, on 24 May 2013 - 02:00 PM, said:

Purchased 2 mechs. as said in original post. Not much you can alter though. I can take off medium lasers and put small ones on, wooohooo. Can't remove everything and start from scratch. Can't remove my 2 PPCs and put AC/20s and other weapons on.

Probably because you are hitting your tonnage limit. You'll have to do other stuff to reduce the weight first. Upgrade to Endo-Steel Frame, get an XL engine (For the K2, the hunchie should probably stick to a Standard 250 engine).

And AC/20 is 14 tons and a lot of crit slots, you'll have to free those up before you can equip it.

Not sure what you mean about not being to unequip the mech. Just click and drag the items into your inventory (double-click might work as well).

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And I just spent 5 minutes shooting the same 2 morons standing still with my 2 PPCs, finished the match and did 173 damage and killed one of them. How is that even possible to have that low of damage? They sat still and I shot the same spot over and over again.

Depends on how far away you were. That fact that you did 173 damage indicates that you were shooting at stuff farther out than your optimal range. Damage falls linearly from base to zero once you start shooting past your optimal range. For energy weapons your maximum range is double the optimal.

So if you were shooting at something 1000 meters out with the PPC, you're only doing about 1.5 damage per hit. At 800 meters only about 5.2 damage per shot.

On top of that the shoots could be hitting intervening terrain or even hitting different sections of the mech.


Does that help at all? Let us know if there is anything else we can do!

[n00bfish]

Also, regular PPCs have a minimum range of 90m. That means if you fire at mechs that are within 90m, you'll be doing less than optimal damage. ER PPCs don't have the minimum range limitation, but run much hotter.

If you're looking to reduce tonnage -- the best ways are to unequip your existing weapons and ammo, or purchase the Endo Steel upgrade, so you can equip new weapons and try them out.

Good luck!

[Eagle564]

nungunz, on 24 May 2013 - 02:53 PM, said:

Probably because you are hitting your tonnage limit. You'll have to do other stuff to reduce the weight first. Upgrade to Endo-Steel Frame, get an XL engine (For the K2, the hunchie should probably stick to a Standard 250 engine).

And AC/20 is 14 tons and a lot of crit slots, you'll have to free those up before you can equip it.

Not sure what you mean about not being to unequip the mech. Just click and drag the items into your inventory (double-click might work as well).



Depends on how far away you were. That fact that you did 173 damage indicates that you were shooting at stuff farther out than your optimal range. Damage falls linearly from base to zero once you start shooting past your optimal range. For energy weapons your maximum range is double the optimal.

So if you were shooting at something 1000 meters out with the PPC, you're only doing about 1.5 damage per hit. At 800 meters only about 5.2 damage per shot.

On top of that the shoots could be hitting intervening terrain or even hitting different sections of the mech.


Does that help at all? Let us know if there is anything else we can do!

I can't get the endo-steel frame, I have enough credits, but I click on it and drag it and everything is red. I was able to get the Actual Ferrous armor upgrade but I don't understand if that is an upgrade to the entire mech or just the part that you put it on to.

I try to make sure that anytime I'm firing they are within appropriate range. The PPCs is like 600 some and medium lasers are 270 i think. So I keep my shots around there or closer, and yes, no shots with the PPC within 90 meters.
And these are shots making direct hits, not impacting hills and what not. The K2 is easy to fire and not hit random crap around.

Edited by Eagle564, 24 May 2013 - 03:25 PM.

[nungunz]

Eagle564, on 24 May 2013 - 03:23 PM, said:

I can't get the endo-steel frame, I have enough credits, but I click on it and drag it and everything is red. I was able to get the Actual Ferrous armor upgrade but I don't understand if that is an upgrade to the entire mech or just the part that you put it on to.

Ah, this would be the reason. They are upgrades that apply to the entire mech, but both Endo-Steel and Ferro-Fibrous take up 14 critical slots.

As a heads up Endo-Steel always saves you more tonnage that Ferro-Fibrous. The only reason to take Ferro-Fibrous is if you already have Endo-Steel installed and have at least 14 crit slots to free up more tonnage. Basically only Light mechs and some mediums/heavies should ever use Ferro-Fibrous.

If you want to try to play around with some builds outside of the mechlab, try this website:

http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab

Quote

I try to make sure that anytime I'm firing they are within appropriate range. The PPCs is like 600 some and medium lasers are 270 i think. So I keep my shots around there or closer, and yes, no shots with the PPC within 90 meters.
And these are shots making direct hits, not impacting hills and what not. The K2 is easy to fire and not hit random crap around.

Okay, I guess at that point it could possibly be hit registration issues. To be absolutely sure, test it out on the Test Grounds instead of in an actual match. If the issue still persists, take videos/screenshots and then submit them to the support email.

[Sepertar]

About endosteel, are you on the tab on the right with the + sign?

[Eagle564]

nungunz, on 24 May 2013 - 03:36 PM, said:

Ah, this would be the reason. They are upgrades that apply to the entire mech, but both Endo-Steel and Ferro-Fibrous take up 14 critical slots.

As a heads up Endo-Steel always saves you more tonnage that Ferro-Fibrous. The only reason to take Ferro-Fibrous is if you already have Endo-Steel installed and have at least 14 crit slots to free up more tonnage. Basically only Light mechs and some mediums/heavies should ever use Ferro-Fibrous.

If you want to try to play around with some builds outside of the mechlab, try this website:

http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab



Okay, I guess at that point it could possibly be hit registration issues. To be absolutely sure, test it out on the Test Grounds instead of in an actual match. If the issue still persists, take videos/screenshots and then submit them to the support email.

Alright thank you. That makes more sense atleast. I'll try and figure this stuff out

[LapsedPacifist79]

The UI isn't exactly intuitive but customization is the bread and butter of this game. Keep playing and you'll get the hang of it. Different chassis do different things in different ways. Build them up in smurfys before you spend your c-bills on them.

PPCs don't damage in close, they have a minimum range. ERPPC's don't suffer from this. Also Ferro-Fibrous looks like a good idea on paper but often isn't in reality.

[Koniving]

Eagle564, on 24 May 2013 - 01:28 PM, said:

I started playing this a couple days ago. I've read a bunch of newbie guides and all that. But I still can't figure out how damage works in this game. Some matches I'll get 200 damage but I didn't do squat and everyone else has 400+. Other matches I'll non-stop shoot and hit everytime and get 100 damage. It doesn't make any sense to me. I'm watching the mech diagram that shows where he's already damaged, firing on damaged parts. And still getting nothing. I'm currently using the HBK-4SP and the CPLT-K2 as ones that I've actually purchased. 5 medium lasers on my KBK and dual PPCs on my K2, and I can't hurt anyone. Staying within the appropriate weapon ranges too.

Also, what customization? I don't believe there is much of any customization in this game, nothing like Chromehounds for example. It won't let me swap weapons, everything requires slots that don't exist, and weight that you can't reduce. So you basically buy the pre-built mechs and change the paint, that's the extent of the customization?

I've been playing Mechwarrior games since I was a kid, and this doesn't seem to be anything like what the old games used to be.

Of the two mechs... here's the things to note:

HBK

• The main weapons on the Hunchback 4SP are 4 or 5 lasers + SRMs.
  
• Lasers need to be concentrated on the target. The full damage of each laser is dealt over the duration of the laser beams. If you can't hold the lasers on a specific body part of the target, it will be spread and wasted.
  
• Missiles need to be led ahead of the target. The recent patch reduced splash damage.

Catapult K2

• PPCs have a minimum range of 90 meters for full damage. You can deal damage at shorter range. However it is rapidly degraded -- 10 damage at 90 meters, 5 at 45 meters, 0 at 0 meters.
  
• ER PPCs can deal full damage at closer range in exchange for intense heat.
  
• Unlike lasers, PPCs deal damage instantly.

This should help you find double heatsinks, endo, etc., though it sounds as though you found it already.

Some people like min-maxing by carrying twin ER PPCs only with two MLs backup, or twin AC/20s, or AC/20 + ER PPC, or other mixtures. These require exchanges. You trade for that. That, for the other thing. You have 65 tons to work with. Your mech can be anything, so long as you work within those 65 tons. Want a 15 ton weapon? It's time to trade other things. Smaller engine, or maybe the super expensive Extra Light (XL) engine? You'd be trading speed for the bigger gun. Or perhaps you could trade armor, heat efficiency, or ammo to fit it in?

The list goes on. Good luck.