6 replies to this topic

[Koniving]

For those who are having problems with using the trial stalker 3F(C), I made a video for you. Recorded are my very first and second matches using this Stalker 3F©. In it:

• I walk you through setting up the missile launchers to not trigger what is called Heat Scale (Ghost Heat) Penalties (Punishment) by having the launchers chain fire.
  
• I also demonstrate and walk you through how to rearrange the weapon groups within a match to make it more comfortable for someone with 3 buttons instead of 4.
  
• I play in both first and third person views and switch frequently so that you can see what I'm doing.
  
• As it happens, during the match a number of situations that usually end the typical missile boat's life come up and I actively avoid or react to them; allowing you as the viewer to have an idea of how to handle flanks, being overwhelmed, see and pre-emptively escape deadly situations, and prioritize targets based on what they are.
  
• I demonstrate the ability to dumbfire missiles and score several hits.
  
• I demonstrate switching from chain fire to group fire in order to bring more damage to the front at higher risk of heat in emergency situations.
  
• In the first match, the active foresight that assault mech players develop is shown. Stating that I'm going down to the viewers, I also tell my strategy to allow myself to get ahead of my teammate to shield the Cataphract from damage and allow him to get behind cover to try and engage enemies one at a time.
  
• After I die, I watch survivors and give narration.
  
• On the video page itself I have written out how to get the wide-angle cockpit view that I have.
  
• So much more.

This is perhaps one of the longest videos I've ever done without talking about game balance. But, I sincerely believe it will be worth it to any new player who is either looking to use or is having problems with the Stalker trial mech.

I hope this helps everyone that is reading this. Please watch at the highest resolution for best clarity.

Match Summary:
First match: 592 damage, 0 kills, 4 assists. Survived 12:02 minutes. (Large map; Skirmish. Done in by a team with a superior organized strategy and ECM.)
Second match: 411 damage, 1 kill, 2 assists. Survived 7:19 minutes. (Smallest map; Assault. Enemy team had vastly superior direct-fire loadouts and powerful harassment lights.)

[Koniving]

Feedback, requests, questions and answers, etc. keep threads alive.

[Redshift2k5]

A nice ride along, but in parts too heavy on idle chatter and too light on information. A brief training grounds segment to simply showcase the hardpoints, reticules, and weapon grouping might've been nice.

during combat and maneuvering, I'd liked more reasoning WHY you're doing what you're doing. Why do you go in such a direction why pick that target, why position yourself where you did.

Also, it seems you may could've played it a little more cautiously and stuck to the team a bit tighter, which is what real rookies need to do.

[Koniving]

Indeed, I could play a little more cautiously. However I'm not so sure about staying too tightly with the pack. One way I look at the 'pack' is the front line. If the missile boats are on the front line or really close to it, there's quite a bit of risk there. Potentially more than if being held back. The front line can be seen as a wall. My ideal objective is lob as much firepower as I can at the enemy while maintaining the barricade that prevents them from reaching me.

If the enemy can reach me, then that means my barricade has been breached or I failed to maintain a safe distance. For example in the second match the team was being rushed so I relocated out into the water. Staying close to that wouldn't do me any good; ECM would jam me and the lasers are ultimately worthless against moving targets as anything more than a 'pray they fear it' weapon. What I failed to realize (even at the time) was that the enemy team had split up with lone wolves scattered and dotting the landscape (the autocannon fire that forces me to relocate again is in fact coming from two different directions by the time I'm stepping onto shore).

Hm. But yes, a "why I'm doing this" is a good idea. For example in the first match I was well aware of being flanked long before it happened (I repeatedly looked in the direction of incoming enemies often before they were ever detected or broadcasted and used the actions of allies to inform me of pushes such as the Quickdraw rushing in the 'wrong' direction), and I'd dot back and forth and try to push back advances to prevent the rush for as long as possible. I confess, if I had a team on voice I'd be rallying them to relocate down the cliff and out of that situation. But typing that would allow the push. It was my hope that the team might luck out and isolate specific targets, but when that fell through I began marking a specific priority target with the tag. I wish I had thought to change to group fire on those lasers much sooner. I could have reduced the damage I took at the time.

I was smooth enough to explain (indirectly) why I chose to slide down the cliff. A quick escape from a losing situation to retreat and regroup with whoever else survives. After all, there are times when it only takes one person to turn the tide of a losing battle into a winning one.

For me ever since closed beta, the first and foremost directive is self preservation for as long as it is logically beneficial for the team. We're not out there to kill everything we see. We're out there to survive. Stand and fight so long as it seems possible to do so. If the situation becomes hazardous, fall back and regroup or if you're coming in hot you can call out and bait them. Of course letting people know you're in trouble and your intention you can get help when you least expect it. If it becomes advantageous then you slap on those metal orbs and march in guns blazing. And if you cannot charge, cannot retreat, and cannot hold your ground then there is but one choice left.

The four primary directives are to play to survive, to win, to kill, and classified, in that order. It's the days when I drop the first part of that list that I do awful.

Directive 4.

Spoiler

to have fun

I'll see what I can do.

Edited by Koniving, 06 February 2014 - 09:22 PM.

[IraqiWalker]

Thanks for the guide. The new players definitely need this. I remember there was a "Trial by fire" thread that used to test out the trial mechs each month and provide noob friendly guides on how to pilot them.

[Corvus Antaka]

Good stuff here.

[Buckminster]

Haven't had a chance to watch the vid yet, but is it safe to assume you go in to the minimum range of LRMs?

I was playing this morning and ran into a champion Stalker with my Griffin. I got close enough so that his LRMs weren't effective, but he kept on firing them at me and ultimately shut down (and died) because of it. I did say something in the chat afterwards, but this is clearly something the new guys aren't getting.