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Lrms, Spotting, And You 6/20/13


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#1 Tesunie

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 10:17 AM

Edit 1/19/18: Just updated and revised a few older and out of date information. Changes have been clearly marked by striking out the old information.

Some people may recall my old LRM guide, so I would like to at least say I do hope I know what I'm doing. On that note, over the last few patches, LRMs have changed dramatically, making my previous guides (though still good) basically obsolete.

This guide is for the new missile system as of 6/20/13 1/19/18, and will probably become obsolete as well over time. However, I'd like to try and help people understand how LRMs work for using them, how spotting works, and how a team that has any amount of LRMs is improved by proper spotting and LRM users shooting at viable targets.

What this guide will never do is blame anyone for not doing this or that. Basically, it is a request of spotters to hold locks if and when they can, but LRM users also need to be understanding that in combat things happen and locks can't always be held for the survival of a teammate.

To start, I'll cover the LRM behavior patterns I've noticed in the game. These are subject to change or could even be incorrect. However, after using LRMs for a long time, I'd like to believe that most of this is reliable and correct.

LRM Behavior and Suggestions


Here is a list of things LRM users should be aware of:
- LRMs now arc at an angle when one does not have direct line of sight. However, this does not make them smart missiles. They will still run into terrain and even friendly units if one is not careful. I was slightly incorrect with this statement. LRMs angle based upon the range to target. If the target is farther away, it will arc high than a target closer to you. This can be useful information to have and learn. If your LRMs are shooting into the ridge/obstgruction in front of you, try backing up some. The LRMs will arc higher, possibly clearing the object. Same in reverse for areas with a cieling. Sometimes you can still hit a target under those umbrellas if you snuggle really close to the minimum range (180m). Really can be useful in the docks of Crimson Straight, for example. Reminder, CLRMs have a soft minimum range and will still do damage inside 180m, meanwhile IS LRMs have a hard minimum range and deal no damage if within 180m.

- LRMs still arc in an upward motion when fired with line of sight up close, but it still isn't shooting in a direct shot upwards or forwards. This means that, even with line of sight up close, you can still shoot over other mechs. However, be careful as they drop to interceptable (by friend or foe) levels at it's initial start or intended target. That means that, if a friend is face hugging your target, you will probably splatter their backs with LRMs instead of your target. Try to keep an eye out for this, especially when targeting fast mechs.

- Artemis still only works at improving grouping on targets you can see. If you intend to use LRMs as an indirect fire bombardment, drop the Artemis for more ammo or larger launchers. If you are using LRMs as a long range damage device as you close with your target, you probably should consider Artemis. (Note 1/19/18: Should have mentioned this before, Artemis does also increase your missile lock on speeds. This is something I tend to find only moderately helpful for LRMs, but far more vital for SSRMs. This happens regardless of line of sight.)

- LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! Position can be everything for an LRM mech. You need to place yourself so that you have no obstructions directly in front of your launchers. You also want to make sure that there are not obstructions above, or directly in front of your target. Keeping an eye on the color of your reticule is a great indicator as to if you are causing damage or not. Be ware of the bridges in the citys, and the crystal formations and the way they slant in the Dessert, among other possible obstructions. (Note 1/19/18: Your reticle will turn red if you are dealing damage. Please note that this damage can also be to teammates. It doesn't care who you are hitting when it turns red. A red reticle may not always be a good indicator. So try to be aware of this too if possible.)

- Stay on the move when you can. I can't stress how much LRMs going into the air is like blood in the water for sharks, and those sharks are fast mechs, if not the whole enemy team. Either roll with your team (highly suggested), or shoot some and move on. Every shot is a beacon to the enemy on your location. (This tip also is for those who like to "shoot their weapons into the sky" too. Every time you do that, you tell the enemy team right where you are. I've seen this behavior on a "sneak behind and flank them" maneuver. Needless to say, when we got there, the enemy guns where expecting us thanks to one person.)

- Try and conserve ammo, don't shoot your LRMs as "test fire" at the start of the match. That wasted ammo can mean the difference between killing a target or not towards the end of a game, and you are low or out of ammo. View it as, you come into the match with only so much damage potential, the amount of ammo you carry. The less ammo you have, the less damage potential you have. (Note 1/19/18: There are now testing grounds and the Academy you can test your heat levels in. Use that, not the opening moves of a live match.)

- ECM can, and will, screw you over. TAG can help, if you intend to have direct line of sight. However, that's really about the best you can do on your own. BAP can cut ECM, but at too close a range to help yourself. On this one, you are just going to have to rely on your team more. (Note 1/19/18: This has changed over the years, hard to believe how old this guide is. ECM now has reduced effects and it's strength against getting locks and disrupting them depends mostly upon what skills your opponent has decided to take. If they take no ECM skill nodes, they can be locked out to 800m away with the right gear and sensor skill nodes yourself. Still makes getting a missile lock on an ECM unit really hard, but it's very doable now compared to when this guide was first created.)

- Another point I can't stress enough. your team (unless completely premade for 8v8 and soon 12v12) doesn't know what you have on your mech. They don't know if you have LRMs, SRMs, SSRMs, PPCs or any other weapon your mech can handle. Let your team know if you have any decent amount of LRMs at your disposal. I normally politely ask, "I have LRMs, please try to hold your locks" or something like that. Them just knowing can greatly help your team, as they know if they have a good lock and you can, LRMs will follow. I also find it nice to inform my team when I am "out of LRMs", though this is more optional. (Note 1/19/18: I have actually come to note that it seems to play out better (at least for my tier level of play currently) if I DON'T ANNOUNCE I HAVE LRMS. I've been finding that if I announce it, people seem to grip and complain a lot, if not even intentionally not get locks or even break locks intentionally when they see incoming LRMs. It's really rather sad...)

- Don't be afraid to do a little spotting for yourself. It's okay to try and play it safe, but at the same time you can't expect your whole team to hold your weight. They can help greatly, and some teams you wont need to, but sometimes the best way to make sure a job gets done is to do it yourself. That means, try to make your own locks when you can. Don't expect to have your team carry you to victory, and then complain because you lost and they didn't provide good spotting for you. It's a help they can do, not their job to pull you along. Remember, you are part of a team, that means you win or lose together. If they are busy (or trapped in ECM land), then try and get some spotting done yourself. Or, get in there with your secondary weapons I do hope you placed onto your mechs... Try to give a good showing of yourself.

- I find it best to try and shoot at targets that are around 300200-500m away. The missiles don't take long to get to their targets, which means that more missiles hit and less chance of things going wrong. However, I also will shoot missiles at targets farther away, if my team seems to be keeping the lock for a while. (Note 1/19/18: Close to minimum range typically is better. 600m is the out reaches of reliable LRM use. You can of course shoot them beyond that, and they may still hit, but your chances drop considerably outside 600m. Then again... Bells and whistles. The enemy might not know how far away you are, so sometimes even a 1000+m shot may never deal damage, but it may force the enemy to move...)

- LRMs are support weapons. Don't expect them to get a ton of kills. You cause additional damage for your team, and hopefully can open weak spots in armor for your team to take advantage of when the enemy does close in. (Personally, I've been feeling that LRMs are sitting about proper for damage to utility. They cause lots of damage, but it's so spread out that I'm not killing things with too much ease. You might disagree, but that is my opinion. Now if we can discuss cutting back a certain hard counter a bit more...)

- LRMs can make great suppression fire weapons. They give bells, warning and general annoyance to those you fire it at. And all those warnings tend to get people worried. Not to mention, it doesn't say how many missiles are coming in. So. people tend to take cover quickly or try to break a lock when they hear the warning. They can be great at forcing the enemy behind cover, or placing them into a false lull, as you shoot only small groupings of LRMs at a target, they start to get unworried because they aren't taking that much damage, and then pound on them with everything you've got once they start to cross a gap of cover.

- LRMs are a risk weapon. The sooner you realize the many counters to it, the better you will be. AMS is a soft counter, which will reduce damage your LRMs will cause. A single one is really little threat to your LRMs from what I've observed. A team huddled together with each having AMS will really not make your day if you are using LRMs. If this is the case, try and wait for any lone stragglers. I've never known a team that stuck shoulder to shoulder for long in a heated engagement. I could be wrong though, but you can always wait and shoot at lone mechs that poke out. (Note 1/19/18: Or you can alternatively just keep shooting small bundles at the AMS units, and hope they either overheat (for LAMS) or run out of ammo (for AMS). It's unlikely, but it could happen.)

- ECM is a hard counter. This means that it will stop you from locking on at all while inside an ECM field or if they are inside one. I wont go into my feelings on this gear, as I like the idea but not how it functions, but that's a different subject all together. Needless to say, unless you can TAG ECM at a range, or hit them with continual PPC fire, on your own there isn't much you can do against this gear. You'll have to count on your own team here. Lets hope that your ECM spotter knows how to switch modes on his ECM to jam, or that a friend with BAP can stay close enough to the ECM mech to shut down his ECM. (Note 1/19/18: ECM has been tuned down considerably since the last update to this post. It can still hard counter your LRMs at times, but now it is more than likely going to be far more of a soft counter than a hard counter.)

- LRMs require knowledge of terrain. Not just what is around you, but around whatever target you might have. Learn and avoid bad shooting spots, such as the tunnel on frozen city, or under a slanted crystal formations. You actually even need to try and predict the flight path of the missiles before letting loose. This can be a key point in River City with all the buildings and bridges, as well as in the dessert with a possible crystal formation sticking so far up and to the side that your missiles at it's apex of it's flight runs into them. Hate to say it, but you also have to try and learn where the "invisible" terrain blockers are too. There are certain sections, such as in River City and even once more the Dessert, where terrain is not showing, but will still block shots that should visually still hit. Hopefully PGI is working on this problem. Last I heard they where, but finding each spot of invisible terrain is no easy task.

- Observe enemy movement patterns. If you notice an enemy is running back and forth between you and cover, stop shooting at them. They are trying to get you to waist your ammo on them. You are also probably one of the least "busy" people on your team, beside searching for lock on targets. Sadly, you are also the person least "in the know" and are not as aware of your surroundings. Press B from time to time Look at your mini-map often to see where your friends are when you have a moment. You really should be behind your friends, but not so far that they can't help you either. Pressing B from time to time might also help you see that the red blip is almost behind you, or even see a fast mech you aren't targeting bee lining it into your direction. That might be a good idea to move and hide, or call for help. (Note 1/1918: If you have to press B to see your allies on your map, you are grossly out of possition. This was a slight misstatement in my original phrasing here, as I meant to refer to mini-map. Pressing B occationally can still be helpful, but check your Mini-map often. It will provide you with a lot of information. Remember, LRMs are best when in the group. It's okay to be behind the group a little, but you should rare/never be too far from the rest of your team. Running alone, no matter what the mech/weapons, is often a quick death. You have a team, so don't go it alone.)

- Don't be afraid to call for help! If someone attacks you, you honestly are probably ill equipped to deal with a direct fire fight. Don't be afraid to, while running away, type a quick "Help G4" or something. (Now with comms if you have a mic.) It's saved my armor many times by calling for help with my location. Do realize though that, like you, the rest of your team may be too busy to come to your aid, or you are just too far away for them to help. If no one comes, don't complain. This is war after all.

- I will say it again, but I suggest always having some form of other weapon besides LRMs. The reasoning is, if you had a good match for your LRMs and ran out, instead of being a useless hunk of metal, you can now join in the fray with your secondary weapons and still produce some damage. I can't tell you how many games came down to me and my med lasers, vs the last survivor of the enemy team (and maybe my last teammate or two, who might not be near). Those where times I was very thankful to have a secondary weapon. It also comes in handy when you are in an ECM field or LRMs just can't work for a moment or two. (Note 1/19/18: Solid back up weapons provides flexibility. If you have a solid enough direct fire capability, that means you can also do more actions with your team. They are pushing the under side of the docks on Crimson? Well, if you are a pure LRM boat, you can't join in that effectively. Have reasonable direct fire weapons, and you'll be side by side with your team. Maybe not as effective, but still able to help and serve. I have found it's well worth the loss in ammo or even smaller launcher sizes to have that solid direct fire punch. Secondary weapon to flavor, of course.)

- If, for some reason after all I've said already, you decide to forgo the secondary close range defensive weapons, there is a piece of advise for you as well. No, I'm not going to say you must have a second weapon system, as you don't. However, you will need to get more use to shouting for help when needed, and fight the urge to shoot at your harasser. Recall that LRMs have a minimum range of 180m (hard for IS, soft for Clans). Any target inside this bubble should be ignored, and instead you should try and concentrate your fire on targets that you can actually hurt. Don't waste your firepower doing 0 damage.

- This is going to be part of the spotting guide, but LRM users can as well. If you feel the need, call out targets you are shooting at. If everyone aims at the same target, they will drop much faster. For premade full teams, I might even suggest everyone taking a well balanced build. If everyone can contribute even just a few LRMs or fire into the designated mech, then your whole team remains effective. (I have a Dragon build that works well under any situation. I've only got 10 LRMs, but its enough for me to continue to aid and contribute to the team effort even when grossly out of position or moving into position.) (That Dragon build was replaced long ago... )

- LRMs do not have to be boated to be effective. If you intend to focus only on LRMs, then boating will probably be what you do. However, builds can be just as effective with a few LRMs from some small launchers as much as any other set up. It's all in how you use it. I like LRMs for their utility, and I tend to fire LRMs at foes as I approach. They can be a great support system to complement the rest of your mechs loadout, without overtaking the focus of the mech.

- I find that, when used in small numbers and as a support system within a build, I like the ability to always be able to cause damage to any target, no matter where they are on the field. This lets me deal damage as I close with a target, or keeps me from being a useless brawler mech (or near useless) on maps such as Alpine. The LRMs, even a few, gives you reach that your close range weapons just don't have. It may not have much punch, but it can still get the kill of a fleeing mech.

- Don't forget, LRMs don't just have a minimum range, but also a maximum range. They have a range of 180m to 1000m 900m (excluding skills). No exceptions to this. Anything outside that maximum range band can not be harmed by LRMs.

- LRMs are not "fire and forget" weapons. They require you to keep a missile lock the whole flight through. If you loose your missile lock (and/or target lock) the missiles with stop tracking and move along the last path they where taking. However, if you re-acquire lock ON THE SAME TARGET, then the missiles will continue to track once again.

- LRMs are most effective on slow mechs, and lose effectiveness on smaller and faster mechs. Currently, I find that fast mechs tend to out run the missile's as they collide with them. This means that they are only hit by the briefest of splash damage from the LRM, and not the actual direct hit. Fast mechs tend to be able to dodge the center of the LRM volley, letting many of those missiles hit the ground just near their feet. This means that fast mechs seem to be able to thwart a lot of damage just by moving. However, a stationary mech is fair game and will crumble. Aim for lights that are walking slow or stationary. Otherwise, try to aim your LRMs at more worth targets, such as Assaults or Heavy mechs. (Note 1/19/18: LRMs seemed to have gotten better tracking over time since the original creation of this guide. They no longer miss behind an Atlas moving perpendicular to the shooter. Light mechs still can dodge many of the LRMs, between size and speed, but they aren't as unhittable as they once where. Still recommended to shoot heavier and slower targets than lights with LRMs, but you do what you sometimes have to do anyway.)

- Artemis only works on targets that you have Direct Line of Sight to. If you intend to use indirect fire, Artemis will be a heavy and costly upgrade for very little benefit.



LRM Mech Construction Suggestions



- Contrare to popular belief, your ammo is slowly becoming least safe in your legs. I'm finding more and more people are shooting at a mechs legs to get to that "yummy" ammo. Depending upon your mech load-out and preferences, I'm actually finding in some mechs my ammo is safer in my arms, if not even my side torsos. Stalkers are great for having ammo in the arms, as they almost always loose a side before the arm. No damage to arm, no chance of an explosion. Quickdraws seem to have fairly safe side torsos, and I've found storing my ammo in my sides to save me, as I'm walking around on one leg and tatters for the other leg. Once again though, this is a preference thing, but the secret of safe ammo in the legs is no longer a secret.

- I suggest that all LRM builds try to have some form of backup weapons. Something that can work at close range. Either that, or try and be fast enough to out run your enemy. Basically, I don't suggest that LRMs be boated exclusively. Even with my own LRM mechs, I will charge a fellow LRM user that boats only LRMs, even if I only have a Med Laser for my own attack.

- LRMs are limited by the number of tubes a hard point has. It is not limited by the size of the launcher. The number of tubes a hard point has depends upon the number of tubes the original launcher that was there had. Ex: If your make is the Quickdraw, you have 2 missile hard points. The original size of the launchers is an LRM10 and an SRM4. That means that, no mater the size of the launcher you place in your LRM10 hard point, it will only ever shoot out 10 LRMs per shot. If you place an LRM20 in the LRM10 hard point, it will shoot off 2 rapid succession volleys of 10, equaling 20. If you place an LRM10 in the SRM4 hard point, you will get 2 volleys of 4 and a last volley of 2 in rapid succession of shots before the launcher is done shooting a single shot. Note 1/19/18: Much of this has changed. Missile hard points now have a tube count assigned to it's specific location on specific mechs. Some mechs can get a full 20 tube count in a slot, others may be limited to 5. You can always check Smurfy, or the visual of your mech after you have installed a missile weapon. The mech will now display the number of tubes visually that will fire. To do this without saving changes, just click on the "camo Spec" button when in the mech lab. Then select the side "Mech Loadout" tab to return to your build construction. IS LRMs and SRMs are the only things honestly effected by tube counts, and even then there should no longer be any tube counts under 6 so only LRMs should be seeing any hindrance from this.

- LRMs limited by a hard point tube size will not begin to reload until all the LRM volleys are launched from it's shot. This is a very minor point, but it will make a small tube hard point less effective for larger tubed weapon systems by delaying the refire rate. However, overall, this shouldn't cause too many problems.

- TAG is nice to have, but I find I tend not to need it. I so rarely have direct line of sight on a target that, even with TAG countering ECM, I don't personally find much use for it. Other people might disagree with me here. Personally, I'd suggest you give it a try sometime and see if it helps you out. It never hurts to give something a try. (Note 1/19/18: I continue to find that I am much better served with an energy weapon over a TAG laser for my LRM builds. Being a split build between LRMs and other direct fire weapons may have some part in this. I find very solid success with LRM mixed builds and with the reduction to ECM, I find TAG to be useful but not a necessity.)

- NARC will take up a missile slot, is unguided, and doesn't have much range. It also doesn't last for very long. Personally, I'd skip this weapon system for a dedicated LRM build. However, this could be useful on a dedicated spotter build. NARC a target, duck behind cover and hide till it needs to be reapplied. (WILL NOT WORK ON AN ECM TARGET! ECM will shut off NARC pods.) NARC now disables the ECM unit on the mech it hits/applies to. So it effectively can counter ECM. However, a nearby ECM can still turn off the NARC...

- If you have lots of LRM launchers, DON'T FORGET TO BRING AMMO!

- Ammo amounts will vary greatly depending upon what you wish for your LRMs to do. If it's your primary weapon, load up on enough ammo so you can last the most/whole match. If it's just a support long range weapon for your mech (like my mentioned Dragon for example), a couple of tons might be more acceptable, if not even just a single ton. Test field your ammo reserves on the testing ground before live combat. (WARNING: Testing grounds are still letting you cause extra damage somehow, as well as are stationary targets, as well as have stock armor. It will not show the proper amount of LRMs needed to kill similar targets in a live game. However, as a general rule of thumb, enough ammo to kill all targets in the training grounds should still last you a match. If you find you die before you run out of ammo, it might be a good idea to remove a ton and replace with something else and run another live test.) Note 1/19/18: The general rule of thumb is 1 ton of ammo per 5 tubes of LRM launcher. Less for a build with only a few support launchers, more for a dedicated boat. Adjust your ammo as you feel you need to. Too much ammo and you'll see poor performance. Too little ammo, and you may run out before the end of the match or your death. You want just enough ammo to not run out for most matches, or just running out as the match ends/you die.

- This advise goes for any mech you customize, don't be afraid to tweak a mech loadout to better suit yourself. Find yourself dieing with lots of ammo left to spare on a regular basis? Remove some ammo and maybe add in some more weapons. Find yourself getting closed in on and your LRMs are mostly useless? Shrink your launcher sizes or ammo reserves and add in more close range weapons. Find your leg getting blown off and your arms stick around longer? Maybe shift a few points of armor around here or there to better suit where you tend to take damage. Overheat just shooting LRMs? Remove a ton of ammo, a few secondary weapons or upgrade to DHS to help keep your cool. Don't seem to loose your side torsos often with a certain mech? Maybe an XL engine will work in that mech. (Note 1/19/18: Always upgrade to DHS... It rarely is a bad idea. Don't forget about the LFE now in the game as well...)

- Make a mech that works for YOU. What works for me, might not/wont work for you. I have mechs people say can't work, yet I'm a high contender with them. I've got slow lights, LRM Hunchbacks, and SHS Stalkers (please, don't go into this one). Seek advise, but try to make your mech yours, not someone elses. See a loadout you spectated in a match? Try to recreate it your way and see if it works. Don't be afraid to experiment and have fun with your mechs and the game. (Note 1/19/18: SHS Stalker was eventually changed over to DHS. Misinformation about how heat sinks operated lead to the build. It still didn't work all that bad though... And yes, I still have LRM Hunchbacks and operate slower light mechs. Actually, I run even more slow light mechs now than back then... and I have more LRM mechs in odd places. LRM Assassin anyone? I like to experiment, so sometimes I come up with just crazy stuff...)


Spotting, You, and Your LRM Teammates!



Now that the LRM section is done, I'll go into how you can help the LRM side of your team. Now, I'm just placing guidelines here. Combat is fast, messy, and difficult to predict. Take these to heart, but realize that sometimes there just isn't anything you can do. LRM users do LOVE to have targets to shoot at, however no LRM user should ask for you to die for their gain. Survival should be your main concern. You can't help the team, if you are die. However, if you are going to die (and you will), make sure you cause as much damage as you can on the way out. Spotting for your team is one way you can cause damage. If the LRM boat causes good damage in a game, and you helped spot, that damage is your damage. A team wins together, or looses together.

Here are a list of things a spotter needs to be aware of:
- Read the LRM guide. Even if you HATE LRMs and never intend to use them yourself, at least know what limitations an LRM user has. Don't expect an LRM user to preform miracles to help you out, and then whine that you where spotting but didn't see any LRMs coming in. The rest of this guild should help remove this problem, but it's always good to know anyway.

- If you are going to be a dedicated spotted, I'd suggest you also learn a bit about LRMs. Use some here or there from time to time. Test them out on the training grounds. The more familiar you are with LRMs, the better a spotter you can be.

- LRMs can't shoot through walls, buildings, rocks, or tunnels. If you are actually intentionally trying to spot for targets, know where your LRM users are, and try to plot their missiles as best you can. LRM users can't always see the terrain around their targets, so try to prevent them from wasting missiles on a bridge or other such obstruction. This isn't going to be an exact science here, but trying to be aware of this can be helpful.

- You don't need TAG, NARC or any other special gear to spot. ANYONE CAN SPOT. All you need to do is lock into a target and you LRM user can. REMEMBER! LRMs need a lock from launch to hit. This means, try to hold a lock on the same enemy if you are expecting LRMs to help.

- If you have a lock on a target, and you see a little 3 missile icon being displayed next to your target's name, then try harder to hold that lock. Don't get yourself killed doing so, but don't change your target you are locked on if you can help it. Flickering your locks is usually just annoying and will disrupt any help an LRM user might be trying to give you. Also, if you do this too much in a match, LRM users will start to ignore locks that they know you are giving them, as they know you can't seem to keep them. I've refused to shoot at locks from these people before, as they where wasting my own ammo.

- On the subject of flickering your targets, some of you will say you are just trying to inform the team that the enemy is over here and how many. Okay, great. After you are done with a cycle of this, HOLD YOUR LOCK (if you can). Your team will follow a single lock much easier than a constant flickering of locks.

- If you see the missile incoming icon, and don't see missiles hitting shortly after (about 30 seconds max), or see the icon disappear without any missiles hitting your target, presume that the LRMs are being blocks by something. Either find a new target you think LRMs can hit, or try to lure this target into a more favorable position. If you are engaging this target actively, then by all means keep your lock and fight.

- This guide is by no means being created to tell spotted to risk their lives for LRM users gain. It is not an excuse for people to complain that someone couldn't keep a lock. It is not an excuse for people to say that the LRM users failed to support them. This is war. Things happen. Locks are lost, LRMs are blocked or disrupted, or they are dealing with their own crisis and protecting themselves.

- Spotting is not an excuse to suicide into the enemy lines and complain that you didn't get support. Spotting is not an excuse to sweep a TAG laser on someone and stand still and die. I expect my spotters to run, dodge, duck, hide and fight as much as they can. I do not expect them to die, just so I can get a couple volleys of LRMs off. You are more useful to me causing damage and surviving than what a single volley or two before you die could ever do.

- As a part of spotting, I don't expect spotters to cause much damage. My damage is their damage. Any damage a Spotter causes is purely extra, and can be great.

- A spotter doing their job can cause 0 damage and still be contributing in my books. But only if they did their job. One such example is an ECM spotter with a TAG system hiding behind enemy lines, not attracting attention, while TAGing the enemy for my LRMs. If spotting ins such a fashion, causing damage informs the enemy they have an enemy behind them, and gives away your position. Sometimes, it is best to cause no damage yourself so your team can get more kills. This is purely situational, and is not an excuse to cause 0 damage and die quickly (Though it can happen).

- A good spotter for an LRM user is like gold. We may not give you the thanks you deserve, but you are more helpful than your stats say. Spotting is an art very few pursue. It is an unsung hero of LRMs, and we should give far more thanks than we do for your help. Consider this your thanks and recognition. (I've been known to call out people I know spotted as MVP of the match. You guys really are!)

- Teamwork is key.

- A spotter should be able to recognize targets ripe for LRMs. LRMs are less effective on fast targets, but slow targets are not just easier to spot for, but easier for LRMs to hit. Try spotting the big guys, even if you are shooting at a smaller guy, if you can. Otherwise, target what you are shooting at and try to dispatch that target quickly and then move onto the slower targets.

- BAP works great for spotting, not so good for the LRM users themselves. It's a 1.5 ton gear that any mech can take. BAP now shuts down one ECM within short range. This can be vital to the LRM user, especially if trying to take out a fast ECM mech. LRMs might be less effective on fast mechs, but they can still cause a lot of pain if they can keep that lock on.

- Use gear such as TAG, ECM and BAP to counter ECM enemies. If ECM is countered, LRMs can be useful. If ECM is on, LRM effectiveness drops dramatically.

- If you aren't spotting, but still see an ECM mech, LRM users would really love you forever if you could kill the ECM mech. One ECM is out of the way, our lives and jobs become just that much easier.

- If you have TAG, and no way to counter ECM yourself, then try your best to find the ECM producing unit and TAG that unit. I'd rather throw my LRMs at an ECM unit not expecting to be hit by LRMs, as well as I'd love to kill the ECM unit to help "clear the air" for my LRM locks.

- Yes, if you haven't figured out yet, ECM is something LRM users HATE. So, as a final note on that chapter, we want all ECM to die. The more you can help us with that, the more useful our LRMs become to the team.

- When spotting (or even playing the game), damage should not be a concern. Winning the game is what matters. (Actually, it's having fun with the game win or lose that matters most.) The more your can help your team as a whole, the better your chances of winning are. If LRMs are announced as being on the team, then by all means do what you can to help out. The more LRMs you have on your team, the more your help will be appreciated.

- I can't stress this enough, but I'll say it again. Your survival is still paramount. Don't be stupid (not saying you are) with your spotting. If standing in line of sight with a target is going to get you quickly killed, break the lock and run. If turning your ECM off to jam another ECM is going to get your killed by SSRM fire, then try to keep your ECM up. If your ECM is cutting an enemy LRM boat's LRMs off, then keep them shut down if you feel it's more beneficial to your team.

- This isn't so much spotting as much as just good advise. Try to have every action to do as an action to benefit the team as a whole. That means that if sitting back behind an enemy and just sitting there with a lock helps your team more than rushing in and shooting, then by all means, do so. If your suicide charge against an Atlas and his friends can drop the ECM Atlas at the cost of yourself, it might be worth throwing yourself in. If rushing back to base to stop a capture attempt will kill you but stop or delay the cap, by all means charge into your bases little square, stand there, and stop the cap at your own death. (Don't know how many assault games I've lost to caps with a defender standing off the base and shooting targets onto the base, and us loosing because the base got capped instead of the cap being stopped by the guard just stepping into the little square box.)


Conclusion



That about sums up this guide. Long winded, I know. I'm sure other people have tips and tricks they can mention, and I do encourage you to mention such tips, tricks or suggestions. If I am wrong about something, please POLITELY point out were you felt I went off and add any suggestions or corrections. (Except for my SHS Stalker. It's no longer up for debate, as I'm done talking to people about it. Okay?)

I shall stress one more, and final time. This guide is never to be used as an excuse for asking someone to die for your behalf, never an excuse to blame the LRM user for not supporting you, and never a reason to get upset because someone didn't hold a lock for you. Combat is fast, furious, ad unpredictable. The only things predictable in war is it's very unpredictability, and that your first casualty will always be your battle plan.

Have fun.

Good luck.

I hope you found this guide thoughtful, helpful and informative.


Other, older guide I've done:
http://mwomercs.com/...use/page__st__0
http://mwomercs.com/...de-how-to-spot/

Edited by Tesunie, 19 January 2018 - 09:52 AM.


#2 Selfish

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 12:20 PM

You really need to reorganize this. Way too many bullet points and no way to pick them out.


Artemis still works

#3 Tesunie

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 12:25 PM

Didn't think that the points needed to be too organized, but I'll see about working on that. Organization would be better. Suggestions on how to organize?

Artemis only provides it's benefits if you have direct line of sight. Indirect fire gains no benefits from Artemis, besides a faster lock on speed. Of course, I could be wrong on the lock on speed bonus. If they changed Artemis to provide bonuses to indirect fire, then I was not aware nor informed of this change (not that they, you know, inform me directly of changes to LRMs, of course).

Personally, when it comes to Artemis, I find that I get more without it than with it. Most of my LRM fire is indirect fire, though it does still have it's place and some people swear by it.

#4 Ningyo

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Posted 21 June 2013 - 03:09 PM

unfortunately some of your information is incorrect.

Artemis does work even on indirect targets (this is a known bug but has not been fixed)
even once fixed Artemis will still increase targeting speed on indirect targets

BAP cancels ECM on mechs near you so if a ECM light is running around your legs you may not be able to shoot it with LRMs due to range, but you will be able to shoot other mechs further away, making it very useful.

Range on LRMs says 180-1000: HOWEVER actual range in about 190-900m it seems it measures the missile flight starting from a point slightly in front of you so at 180m even against a standing mech your missiles will do zero damage. Also due to flight arc being high on long ranges you lose about 100m on the far end of your range. Unless desperate though you should never fire at targets under 200m, or over 750m though.

On the topic of backup weapons, I would suggest not carrying any if you cannot carry at least 2LL, or 3ML or more. carrying 2 ML will not help you kill anything, and will tempt you into trying to fight an enemy light instead of firing your 40-60 missiles at another target. IF you are carrying over 3ML, or 4SSRM or such then yes it can be very worth it.

I saw no mention of jumpjets, these are a huge advantage for anyone using missiles as they will allow you to poptart to reaquire targets or hold a target when they go behind low cover. They also double your survivability if the brawl gets to close to you.

You made little to no mention about firing at targets based on size or speed, these make a huge difference.

If you wish to find further information I suggest reading http://mwomercs.com/...-avoiding-lrms/ you do give a lot of good advice though. (OH and mine might not be perfect everywhere either, feel free to point out if I gave any bad info, or you think I should change something)

Edited by Ningyo, 21 June 2013 - 03:14 PM.


#5 Tesunie

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Posted 24 June 2013 - 01:53 PM

Artemis is advertised as working on direct line of sight to targets only. Must have been goofed in the latest missile revision. Use to work only on line of sight. For LRMs (under most situtaions at least) I find that a faster lock on speed with LRMs isn't a must have. For SSRMs, (which Artemis's faster lock on mechanics work with) it is a must have.

Good point. Didn't even consider that. I'll have to add it in. Sadly, BAP wont stop ECM until they get close, so there is still a period where ECM will mess up your locks and missiles before it shuts it down and lets you shoot again. I think BAP shuts down ECM around 150m or something, and ECM effects you around 160m? I don't know. I didn't have much luck on my BAP mech (a Dragon) and had to just about stand on top of an ECM mech to cut out his ECM. I'll need to experience and practice with BAP before I personally can give much more information. Still, I'll have to give this a try.

I've hit targets at 180m before. Of course, if you shoot missiles while a target is moving, and the flight time is not 180m by the time they hit their target, then they do not arm. Same with shooting at longer range. Not only do they get more warning (flight in air longer), but even if they where 990m away when the shot went flying, if the target moves outside 1000m flight range, then no damage. Can't say much for the extreme range shots, as I don't expect them to hit, but I do know that the short range ones will still hit at 180m, provided you aren't moving back (messing up your range to target information) and your target forwards. This... probably is sounding more confusing than it needs to be, so I'm just going to hope you get what I mean? Of course, with the new missile changes, I could be wrong again, but I'm fairly certain I've been forced to shoot LRMs at the 180 mark a few times and still did damage...

I find that any backup weapon is better than nothing. Even a pair of SM lasers. If you have nothing else, it's at least something. I've also had 2 med lasers win a game once I was out of ammo before, or a heavily damaged mech wonders too close for my LRMs. You just have to resist the urge to close in, and try to always get foes to stay at a distance. This is more of a discipline. But I can see your point too. I've got a Stalker that has 6 med lasers and 20 LRMs total. LRMs are as I close in, or to give me flexibility in choice to close and engage, or support from afar (and makes a great guard for LRM boats, as I have plenty of close range punch for anyone who mistakes me for easy LRM meat). Then again, I've played a Quickdraw with 2 med lasers and 30 LRMs. It was a little... rough, but I got the Basics done for my good Quickdraw to progress. I just tried to stay away from foes (or added the lasers into shots I could see around 300m).

Backup weapons are... up to personal taste. All I know is, I've come across too many LRM Stalkers who placed no other back up weapons, and I charged into them and killed them with ease (Stalker to Stalker, each are LRM designs). I just suggest you carry a back up weapon is all, especially when you have a minimum range, ammo based weapon primary. Of course, this is me.

Honestly, I have just started to toy around with Jump Jets. I've owned some mechs from time to time with them, but I never stayed with those mechs for long. The Quickdraw is my first mech with JJs that I'm probably going to stick with. (May repurchase my Spider as a JJ Spotter mech again.) So far, I have found some interesting situations where JJs are very useful, but I do not feel they are a must on LRM mechs. Helpful, yes.

I did mention about target types, I just didn't go in depth. :ph34r: But true. Spiders seem to be a pain to hit with LRMs, and even when they do hit, they take just about no damage unless they are standing still. It just feels like they are out running the initial damage and only getting hit with the little bit of splash damage. On the opposite end of things, and Atlas/Stalker just about can't help but get hit by LRMs, even on the move and I loose my lock half way through a flight. I feel this is more of a, feel it out and use some common sense on what targets are better LRM targets. Consider larger and slower as better targets.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll probably add and change this soon to include the recent advices given. I try to give good advice, and I try to take experience I've gained over technical information. (Some of this is based on the fact that some people think they need special gear to spot a target, and I'm just trying to inform the community that you just need to lock and keep a lock to be a spotter most of the time.)

I'll read your link when I have some time. It never hurts to get more tips on how to use LRMs even more effectively. Now, all I really need to do is find me a crafty spotter. Or be a Spotter to a good LRM user...

#6 Ningyo

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Posted 24 June 2013 - 04:59 PM

as for jumpjets with LRMs they are far from a must have, but.

Maybe 5-10% of the time you can keep a lock when the enemy goes behind low cover (small bonus)

Sometimes there is not much good cover around, or other mechs are peeking out the side where you wish to be. Then poptarting to fire or keep a lock is useful (again a small bonus)

When an enemy light starts running around your legs just jumping around as you move will reduce damage or spread it massively so you will survive 2-3 times as long till help arrives. (medium bonus)

Its kind of like TAG sure its not required but if you have 1 ton and 1 energy slot open its very useful.


An example one game I was in my highlander testing missiles, and had 2 lights running around my feet for 5 minutes while I jumped and torso twisted while firing missiles at the rest of their team. I ended up doing about 400 damage and getting 3 kills if I remember and even though they managed to remove all my torso and most of my leg armor my team came back and killed them just before I died. Without jumpjets I doubt I could have lasted even 2 minutes.

Of course if you can avoid getting in combat with lights or have massive backup weapons (4+ ML) then they are only of mild use.

#7 Tankopotomus

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Posted 01 July 2013 - 09:30 AM

As someone who just started playing this game a few days ago, I've found this guide to be pretty damn helpful!

I've always tried loading up the heaviest mechs with the heaviest weapons and played with a "brawler" playstyle, but I've started playing MWO with light mechs.

I love the concept of playing in a scout/spotter/electronic warfare role, but I'm still trying to learn how to do so effectively. I guess as communication becomes more and more facilitated/advantageous I'll learn how to be a bigger help to the LRMers on my team.

If I have ECM as a light mech, does it make sense for me to stay with the heavies and provide an ECM bubble, or would people prefer if I used the speed/agility to get close to the enemy and jam their equipment?

Also, if the map allows it, I'll try to find a pretty high point on the map (Alpine is usually great for this since I have Spider JJ) and then just call out what I see/get target lock. Is this the way to go, or should I try the riskier approach of trying to get closer to the enemy for better info but while making myself a lot more vulnerable?

I'm still using the keyboard/mouse setup on a 13 inch macbook screen, so I'm looking to upgrade to a joystick/mouse config with a larger monitor!

#8 Ningyo

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Posted 01 July 2013 - 09:46 AM

As a beginning player spotting/scouting will not help your team much. This has nothing to do with how good of a job you do, it mostly has to do with the fact that most newer players will not know what to do with the information you give.

This is a role primarily for 4+ man groups that are all talking on comms, and even then they will almost always prefer to have another mech actually in there fighting with them as in general with experience you can figure out fairly accurately where the team will be due to map setups (sometimes players get in a good ambush surprise).

If you do decide to do this, remember that standing on a mountaintop makes you highly visible as you are silhouetted against the sky. Standing in front of a relatively gray surface at range will make you very difficult to see however. Also you will want some modules (which are a pain to get) in order to do this effectively.

Having an ECM mech staying with your teams group can be a huge advantage. With the prevalence of BAP running around the enemies legs tends to be less useful, although distracting them to fire on you while your team kills them can be a good strategy in some cases.

Edited by Ningyo, 01 July 2013 - 09:51 AM.


#9 Tankopotomus

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Posted 01 July 2013 - 09:53 AM

View PostNingyo, on 01 July 2013 - 09:46 AM, said:

As a beginning player spotting/scouting will not help your team much. This has nothing to do with how good of a job you do, it mostly has to do with the fact that most newer players will not know what to do with the information you give.

This is a role primarily for 4+ man groups that are all talking on comms, and even then they will almost always prefer to have another mech actually in there fighting with them as in general with experience you can figure out fairly accurately where the team will be due to map setups (sometimes players get in a good ambush surprise).

&nbsp


Fair enough.
Its too bad though, I really do enjoy the playstyle of running from cover to cover, trying to stay out of sight/bob and weave if I get spotted until I can hightail it outta there!

Would you suggest I stick with some more "standard" roles until my skill level increases/games become more "structured and involved" then? I feel like if I don't play as a light in the beginner matches and then switch to light as the games progress I'll just get slaughtered by the more experienced players and then just get frustrated.

#10 Ningyo

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Posted 02 July 2013 - 11:30 PM

Just some perspective. (these are all estimates your results could vary by 25-50% easily)

Match length average approximately 8-10 minutes each from hitting launch to end of match (6-7 per hour)

First 25 matches you get a bonus to c-bills should have 8 million+ by end probably

Have a new mech it will take you 30-60 matches to gain all basic skill on it (5-10 hours, 2 million c-bills estimated)

if you get 3 mech variants of the same chassis you can unlock elite and master skill on all of them (very beneficial, do this on any chassis you really like) (15-30 hours each from buying to master, 6 million c-bills each 18 million total)


So I would suggest either starting with a single mech that lets you try lots of different things (like Jaggermech JM6-A) or playing a bunch of trial mechs, and reading:

http://mwomercs.com/...f-all-76-mechs/
and / or
http://mwomercs.com/...mech-tier-list/

they both give very good info on the different mechs. Try to go through highly rated ones first and find one of those you enjoy, then do 2 other variants of it to get your skills.

#11 Chados

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Posted 21 August 2015 - 08:38 PM

An excellent guide. Deserving of a bump. All of this information is still relevant two years after the original post.

On the subject of secondary weapons, I approve highly. 4xML, 2xSSRM2/2xASRM4, and 2xSL/2xSSRM2 (ALRM=Artemis-equipped LRM) are the three combinations I carry most often. They've saved my fourth point of contact more than once and allow me to help brawl when I run out of LRMs. I've helped win Conquest matches by charging in with SRMs and backup lasers to help medium mechs fend off a light swarm trying to cap a supply point we capped earlier.

I advocate the Target Decay module if possible, as it helps retain locks for fancy tricks like off-boresight shooting, where you lock the target, move reticle to clear an obstacle, fire LRMs over the obstacle, and put reticle back over target before losing the lock.

I like BAP because it extends sensor ranges, which is helpful when mechs are moving outside ECM; you can see them before they see you and you can pass the info to your team. It debuffs an ECM within brawling range, which can help brawlers you are supporting if you are close enough to engage with SRMs. It also will debuff the ECM carried by the enemy light that is trying to hug your legs and start the Circle of Doom with you. I do not carry TAG, because I prefer to dedicate limited energy hardpoints to lasers and TAG is difficult to use. I have a TAG and sometimes will equip it, but I have not had good results with it so far.

I don't ask for locks or for my team to hold locks. LRMs are misunderstood weapons and are much hated by a vocal minority part of the player base. I try to get my own locks. When teammates refuse to hold locks I'll switch to chainfire and throw one flight at a time, and wait to see if I can guide it in before I fire for effect. If I'm in cluttered areas, I'll do the same to see if I can clear obstructions at launch before firing for effect, so as not to waste missiles. Similarly, I advocate an aggressive, frontline support role where the LRM carrier is working near SRM maximum range where possible. A Catapult A1 with double heat sinks, packing 2xALRM15, 2xASRM4, and 2xSSRM2, can throw a 55 point alpha strike in a narrow window of 260-190m from target and repeat as fast as the launchers can reload for some time before overheating. And if you are careful, most LRM-carrying heavy mechs can soak some damage, though not like a frontline brawler can. If the enemy is trying to kill you, they're opening themselves up for your allies. LRMimg is the ultimate team sport. You don't do the most damage or get the most kills. In my mind, LRM-carrier success is measured most accurately by assists, where you've stripped armor or components off the enemy and opened him up for your lancemates to finish off.

I think Artemis is a must for two reasons. First, it speeds lock times. In today's high ECM environment, this is essential, and Artemis lock speeds are not line of sight dependent. Artemis is worth it, in my opinion, for this alone. And if you have line of sight, Artemis delivers tight groups that deliver max damage over a small area. Aggressive LRM play has you in at least partial line of sight often enough to make it worthwhile.

LRMs can fire without locks, often the only way to work with them in a high ECM environment where meta snipers are covered by ECM mechs. Unlocked LRMs will impact where you lay the crosshairs, just like placing an airstrike. This is called "blindfire," and it does not set off alarms. At distance the LRMs arc high, and the target often will think you missed. They'll stay in the open and try to snipe you...and get hit. Watch your rangefinder for distance and try not to stay in the open for long when blindfiring. Shoot and scoot behind cover like the hill humpers do. You'll hear LRM-haters scream in chat that you're wasting LRMs. Ignore the heretics. They don't know what you're trying to do.

LRMs are versatile and easy to learn, but hard to master. I enjoy using them, even in the high ECM environment we have.

#12 Tesunie

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Posted 21 August 2015 - 08:57 PM

I make thread. I watch thread. Someone posts in thread. No notification. Strange.


Anyway. It's been TWO YEARS since I posted that up? Wow. Didn't realize it was that long ago.

Great points Chados. Reminds me, I need to find a way to squeeze Artemis onto my new Thor... :ph34r:

#13 Chados

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Posted 22 August 2015 - 04:21 AM

I like the Thor, it is one of the few trashborn mechs I'd seriously consider obtaining, along with the Loki and Mad Cat. I like LRM support because that role rewards a slower, more deliberative, more strategic gameplay that feels more like mechs in combat to me, and that also happens to be friendly to players that don't have the twitch reflexes or hardware necessary to run the Circle of Doom, or the modules needed to play the PPFLD meta sniper game.

But the trade off is, as a lot of players have noted, that LRMs are feast or famine. You get great games with them. But you also get terrible ones. In one game you'll get great positions, and be able to shield yourself from incoming suppression, and deliver fire with hard locks, and see the enemy clearly enough to blindfire him when needed. Others, you'll get instacored by a one-shot to the back from an Arctic Cheetah a minute and thirty seconds in, before you fired your first salvo or have ECM thick on the field and bad positioning. Get target focused in an LRM build, and die fast when the team leaves you behind and suddenly all you see are unfilled red Doritos all around you. LRM carriers often are priority targets for the enemy, especially if you've thrown a few effective salvos. Enemy lights in particular will come hunting specifically for *you*. In my admittedly limited experience (about 250 drops as of this writing, almost all in missile Catapults, two of which have full elites and the third has all but the ignition booster), the only other mechs that get specifically hunted like that are assault mechs.

#14 Tesunie

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Posted 22 August 2015 - 09:21 AM

It's funny, isn't it?

LRMs are a "only scrubs use it" (to quote someone from literally my last match), and yet despite all the flak we take for using LRMs, we always seem to become priority target #1, or maybe two, depending upon if there are assaults or a Madcat around instead.

You would think if we were a non-consideration on the threat level, we wouldn't become target to be hunted down... :ph34r:
(You would also think there would be less ECM and other LRM counters (such as Radar Deprivation, the most recent "must have" module) in game and being used if LRMs were so non-threatening.)

#15 Robinson Crusher

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Posted 03 February 2016 - 12:14 AM

View PostTesunie, on 22 August 2015 - 09:21 AM, said:

It's funny, isn't it?

LRMs are a "only scrubs use it" (to quote someone from literally my last match), and yet despite all the flak we take for using LRMs, we always seem to become priority target #1, or maybe two, depending upon if there are assaults or a Madcat around instead.

You would think if we were a non-consideration on the threat level, we wouldn't become target to be hunted down... Posted Image
(You would also think there would be less ECM and other LRM counters (such as Radar Deprivation, the most recent "must have" module) in game and being used if LRMs were so non-threatening.)


Thanks Tesunie... great thread. And thanks for answering my question in the short question short answer thread.

In my opinion, people who look down on a certain class or play style in a game are just whining because they don't want to have to adapt their play to include it:
Remember "legging" in MW3. The game was bugged, so people adapted by treating leg shots as unfair. Then the bugs were fixed and all the people with no armour on their legs whined that "legging" was still unfair because they didn't want to drop a weapon to put armour back on their legs. The devs in MW4 actually gave Duncan Fischer (the Solaris commentator) a line where he talks about how any tactic that works in war is fair, because of this.

Missile tactics are fun. Thanks for the info to get the best out of mine.

#16 Tesunie

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Posted 03 February 2016 - 08:47 AM

View PostRobinson Crusher, on 03 February 2016 - 12:14 AM, said:


Thanks Tesunie... great thread. And thanks for answering my question in the short question short answer thread.

In my opinion, people who look down on a certain class or play style in a game are just whining because they don't want to have to adapt their play to include it:
Remember "legging" in MW3. The game was bugged, so people adapted by treating leg shots as unfair. Then the bugs were fixed and all the people with no armour on their legs whined that "legging" was still unfair because they didn't want to drop a weapon to put armour back on their legs. The devs in MW4 actually gave Duncan Fischer (the Solaris commentator) a line where he talks about how any tactic that works in war is fair, because of this.

Missile tactics are fun. Thanks for the info to get the best out of mine.


I recall that honor code from MW4. The occasional legging wasn't a big deal, but when we had someone do nothing but legging? Yeah. In that game, you were best not to do that to my brother. He'd ignore the first time. The second time he'd call you out. The third time? Well... each team tend to ignore him as he continuously ripped the legs out from under the offender (not dieing in the process I might mention) to get the point across. Then that person would whine about not targeting his legs, get frustrated and quit the match... Posted Image

Did I mention my brother was playing a Shadowcat vs the Meta Novacat? (And his Shadowcat was set up for heat and ammo, and had max armor on his legs, typically in a no heat and no ammo set up server, because that was all people wanted to play at that time.) The guy could dish it out, but he couldn't take it back. (Oh, and to make it worse, there was a common cheat people had of double out going damage, halve incoming damage.... Posted Image )


I'm always open to questions. I like to try to be helpful, even if I'm not the best mechwarrior in the game.

#17 Vonbach

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Posted 21 February 2016 - 08:48 PM

View PostTesunie, on 22 August 2015 - 09:21 AM, said:

It's funny, isn't it?

LRMs are a "only scrubs use it" (to quote someone from literally my last match), and yet despite all the flak we take for using LRMs, we always seem to become priority target #1, or maybe two, depending upon if there are assaults or a Madcat around instead.

You would think if we were a non-consideration on the threat level, we wouldn't become target to be hunted down... Posted Image
(You would also think there would be less ECM and other LRM counters (such as Radar Deprivation, the most recent "must have" module) in game and being used if LRMs were so non-threatening.)


One thing I've noticed is that people really despise LRM's. You can use that to your advantage as well.
I decided to get back into LRM's recently and I'm using TAG and at a much shorter range than normal.
I had something like a whole lance get tired of my shenanigans and pull themselves out of position to get
me and their base got capped shortly after.

#18 Tier5ForLife

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Posted 12 January 2018 - 11:22 AM

- LRMs are limited by the number of tubes a hard point has. It is not limited by the size of the launcher. The number of tubes a hard point has depends upon the number of tubes the original launcher that was there had. Ex: If your make is the Quickdraw, you have 2 missile hard points. The original size of the launchers is an LRM10 and an SRM4. That means that, no mater the size of the launcher you place in your LRM10 hard point, it will only ever shoot out 10 LRMs per shot. If you place an LRM20 in the LRM10 hard point, it will shoot off 2 rapid succession volleys of 10, equaling 20. If you place an LRM10 in the SRM4 hard point, you will get 2 volleys of 4 and a last volley of 2 in rapid succession of shots before the launcher is done shooting a single shot.

Interesting, I've never read or heard about is before.

As far as spotting goes. I spent my first 6 months of this game mainly playing Kit Foxes and spotting. And I LOST the Tier 5 (almost to Tier 4) that you start the game with. I only started rising in Tier level once I stopped spotting. As the LRMers were getting big damage numbers, I was getting my head taken off with Gauss, PPCs and many other weapons.

So basically when I hear someone ask to hold locks, I tell them to get their own like I do.

Here to me is the truth about locks. And it goes with my idea that the first target a LRMer should fire at is a enemy Mech that a teammate is fighting. This game is not about one on one, it is about two or three on one. So do not simply shoot at a easy target when you can help a teammate and thus your team.

And here is the truth about 90% of locks. They come because a teammate of yours is fighting face to face with that enemy mech. And they were smart enough to lock their target or it just happened.

#19 Daggett

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Posted 12 January 2018 - 11:28 AM

Rise again little thread, RISE!

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Edited by Daggett, 12 January 2018 - 11:28 AM.


#20 Tesunie

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Posted 12 January 2018 - 02:02 PM

View PostLikeUntoBuddha, on 12 January 2018 - 11:22 AM, said:

- LRMs are limited by the number of tubes a hard point has. It is not limited by the size of the launcher. The number of tubes a hard point has depends upon the number of tubes the original launcher that was there had. Ex: If your make is the Quickdraw, you have 2 missile hard points. The original size of the launchers is an LRM10 and an SRM4. That means that, no mater the size of the launcher you place in your LRM10 hard point, it will only ever shoot out 10 LRMs per shot. If you place an LRM20 in the LRM10 hard point, it will shoot off 2 rapid succession volleys of 10, equaling 20. If you place an LRM10 in the SRM4 hard point, you will get 2 volleys of 4 and a last volley of 2 in rapid succession of shots before the launcher is done shooting a single shot.

Interesting, I've never read or heard about is before.

As far as spotting goes. I spent my first 6 months of this game mainly playing Kit Foxes and spotting. And I LOST the Tier 5 (almost to Tier 4) that you start the game with. I only started rising in Tier level once I stopped spotting. As the LRMers were getting big damage numbers, I was getting my head taken off with Gauss, PPCs and many other weapons.

So basically when I hear someone ask to hold locks, I tell them to get their own like I do.

Here to me is the truth about locks. And it goes with my idea that the first target a LRMer should fire at is a enemy Mech that a teammate is fighting. This game is not about one on one, it is about two or three on one. So do not simply shoot at a easy target when you can help a teammate and thus your team.

And here is the truth about 90% of locks. They come because a teammate of yours is fighting face to face with that enemy mech. And they were smart enough to lock their target or it just happened.


That first section is actually a little out of date now. Still has some relevance, but the details are wrong. Missiles are still a little limited on the tube count of a given hard point location, but they are now no longer limited by the number of tubes that originally occupied that location. With the weapon mesh updates to all chassis in the game, they now gave certain mechs and their individual hard points different tube counts. For example, a Raven with a Narc tube (a single tube launcher) now supports I believe up to a 10 tube count. Best way to see this is by viewing your mech once you've placed a missile launcher and see if it shows the correct number of tubes visually. If you place a 20 launcher, and see only 10 tubes appear on your mech, than that launcher is a 10 tube location.

I will also comment, on the remark of tube count, that some weapons don't care what the tube count is, as they continue to function normally. MRMs, CLRMs and ATMs all don't care about tube counts, as they already stagger/ripple fire as it is. Even if you exceed a mech's tube count for a hard point location, it will still fire the correct number of missiles per pull of the trigger. It just wont do so in "one big volley" but instead as several "small rapid succession volleys".


As far as "holding locks", yes. An individual player should aim to get their own locks. Completely agreed. That doesn't mean that teammates can at least get locks as well and hold them when and if they can. I've seen so many players shooting targets over a period of time, and yet never decide to lock, which isn't helpful to the team or themselves.

The idea behind spotting is to get locks as you are fighting, when you can. It's never to "get locks until you die" for the LRM user to do their stuff. I agree completely that LRM users should make an effort to shoot at enemies engaged with allies. You are right for a twofold reason. For the first; it concentrates damage/fire upon a single enemy target, hopefully taking it out sooner. Fewer enemies, less sources of damage to hurt teammates. For the second; blinding, alarms, shaking and the attempt to force the enemy back into cover, protecting said ally and providing control over the battlefield. No one likes to be told that missiles are coming in...

View PostDaggett, on 12 January 2018 - 11:28 AM, said:

Rise again little thread, RISE!

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Thankfully, most of what is in this thread is still relatively useful. Though, some spots do show it's age... Posted Image





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