40 replies to this topic

[Felbombling]

Does your Dire Wolf often look like this at the end of the match?



Yes: You probably haven't unlocked your basics yet. Don't worry... it gets better.
No: You have solid teammates, really know how to play or you hid yourself well. Do you have a guide?

This is good laughs. How did you Master your Dire Wolf without pulling your hair out? Share your secrets, successful Dire Wolf pilots!

[FupDup]

It seems to be a "feast or famine" type of mech. The Whale either it gets isolated and harpooned helplessly, or carries hard and roflstomps peoples' faces in. Its performance is fairly bipolar most of the time, and very dependent on the situation.

[JackPoint]

hehe, very tempted to buy one but the driving miss daisy syndrome scares the pants off me.

[Star Wolves Admin Account]

Direwolf is my prime mech right now. Averaging well over 600 damage and 2 kills a game right now. K/D ratio of around 1.5 (bit low since I had to master all my light, mediums, and the suckoner too).

Here is what you want:

2 gauss rifles

What is so special about them you ask? No heat.

Master the charge, mix in some medium and large lasers and you'll be ready in no time. Try not to be farthest on the front and you'll be fine, teammates love to pull back and leave you behind. You'll have the range to keep some distance.

[Xtrekker]

Got a little sick of being on the receiving end of 6xCUAC5's tonight. Saw it 3 times in about an hour of play. I'm in a 90 ton assault (Highlander) and my RT/CT/LT are stripped of all armor in about 1.5 seconds of exposure to the ripsaw.

But of course that's not OP. IS needs to L2P.

[Budor]

Always keep at least 1 wall/corner next to you. Check map frequently if you are not sure what the team is doing and try to not get left behind. Seismic and Radar Derp are your friend. Do not charge alone, do not hang back. Try to anticipate friendly and enemy movement and position accordingly.

If you cannot keep up with the team (nascar on river city), tell them and position yourself to secure 1-2 kills and stall the enemy as long as possible.

I have a 5.x k/d and 750 or so average damage in my Dire, its by far the easiest mech to farm cbills with in the ghetto.

[Daoa Hakoke]

Man I love my DIre Wolf. It is an amazing mech, I run one with UAC5x2 and UAC10x2 plus 3 erml and a targeting computer mk1. It is what I played mostly for a while when I would run my Dire Wolf, but recently I started running Gaussx2, 6 erml and one targeting computer mk7 and that thing destroys so much.

Master them I spent a long time finding builds I liked and fit for what the mech could do, ie not move very fast at all, so long to mid range based builds. I normally play in the group que but once in a while take a dip in the solo que and I just position myself where I know the enemy usually comes from, but that mostly just works in the solo que as most are fairly common tactics are used on each map.

FYI, I'm a little drunk now after drunk night drops with the unit so take what I have said with a grain of salt.

[XxXAbsolutZeroXxX]

Xtrekker, on 19 September 2014 - 08:00 PM, said:

Got a little sick of being on the receiving end of 6xCUAC5's tonight. Saw it 3 times in about an hour of play. I'm in a 90 ton assault (Highlander) and my RT/CT/LT are stripped of all armor in about 1.5 seconds of exposure to the ripsaw.

But of course that's not OP. IS needs to L2P.

.

Six CUAC-5's only deal +-30 damage in 1.5 seconds.

Maybe you were abducted by aliens and are experiencing lost time you can't account for?

Edited by I Zeratul I, 19 September 2014 - 08:33 PM.

[KharnZor]

I almost fell off my chair at that pic wd

I strapped 3 gauss and 4 er medium lazors to mine and rampaged my way thru pretty quick

[MischiefSC]

Have you tried stripping some weapons to free up weight for a larger engine?

Oh, wait...

Rule #1:

KNOW THE MAPS

Know from the instant the map starts where you're running to as a team and get out of the gate fast. Most pugs go slow, start late and wander. This leaves the chaff behind you to distract the enemy. Even in a Dire Wolf you can keep near the middle of the pack with good attention to position and knowing to stay ahead of the curve on moving along. For example if you drop in Alpha on River City, you start out at a sprint, cross the water right to C3 and cut under the bridge to D2. If you attempt to cross the bridge to B4 then down, you're going to die alone.

Rule #2:

ASK FOR AN ESCORT

You won't always get a good response but it's about shifting the odds. If you say in chat '100 tons of face-wrecking love, slow and lonely and looking for an escort'. You'll often find medium pilots who are very happy to Remora around you, keep you safe and scavenge kills off mechs you rip open. It'll also make people at least take a peek at where you are and be aware of you. Sometimes you'll get some smartass who says 'keep up fatty' or the like but often you'll get someone to watch your back.

Rule #3:

KEEP MOVING

You will be tempted to 'set up shop' somewhere and snipe at people. There are some occasions and some maps where that works but often in pug matches the hive-mind of a pug team will scatter and gather like a flock of birds, sweeping and swooping here and there. Don't get mesmerized by the hope of a certain kill, waiting for that half-crippled Summoner to peek around that corner again and then realize you're a full click from the rest of your team and in the path of the red swarm. Stay on the move; unless you're in the middle of a huddle you should be moving with the team after every single shot or major engagement. You need to try and stay in front of your teams movement curve, you don't have the speed to catch up.

Rule #4:

DON'T GET GREEDY

The Dire Whale is an absolutely unforgiving mistress. This is why really exceptional players can just dominate in them match after match; the fewer mistakes you make the more often you're going to really get to bring all that grief to work for you. For the rest of us it's a far more fickle mistress. Don't get greedy on kills with it. In the long run your KDR is better served by surviving matches than dying in the hopes of getting 1 more kill. 1 more kill in a 3 kill match in return for dying yourself makes that a 4/1 KDR run. Not bad... but surviving with 3, then getting 2 the next match and 2 the one after before dying makes that a 7/1 KDR. You're also more likely to drive more wins by being around for longer to do damage to the enemy. You can afford to get out of position a bit in a faster mech to chase a kill. Not much, but a little. If you're out of position in a Dire Wolf all you can hope is that the other team is terrible because you won't be able to get back in time.

That's all I got.

[Jhaele]

StaggerCheck, on 19 September 2014 - 07:36 PM, said:

Does your Dire Wolf often look like this at the end of the match?



Yes: You probably haven't unlocked your basics yet. Don't worry... it gets better.
No: You have solid teammates, really know how to play or you hid yourself well. Do you have a guide?

This is good laughs. How did you Master your Dire Wolf without pulling your hair out? Share your secrets, successful Dire Wolf pilots!

I'm bald..... No hair to pull out.

I primarily pilot my Prime. The best advice I have is keep moving... always. Pay attention to the map and move with the team. If the team is doing something stupid then keep moving to where you can do the most good. With some luck you might get a couple of others to move with you. You will be surprised at how often you can flank or even walk up right behind others because they just don't pay attention to their surroundings.

[Kain Demos]

Took me about 10 days to master my 3 variants. It was frustrating at times but I ended up with good win and k/d ratios after a while.

Here are the three builds I used:

DWF-Prime: 2 x CERPPC 2 x CGAUSS. CAP, TC, ammo as filler

DWF-B: 4 x CERLL (chain fire these guys) 2 x Gauss, CAP, TC, ammo as filler. I brought the A's arm in to allow the LA actuator.

DWF-A: I switched this around an awful lot but settled on 3 x CERLL 1 x CGAUSS 2 x CLRM15 w/Artemis. CAP, TC, AMS

My damage #s are solid in the -A but I just can't get the kills I do with the other two. Something about the PPC/Gauss combination scared people too because I hardly ever die in that build even though I have slightly less kills in it than my -B.

Sometimes you can't help but get left behind and wiped out. It sucks but sometimes you just get put in terrible groups. For me it happens on River City Night the most, they all take off across the water to the other side of the bank and when I get halfway across I'm exposed and get wiped out by the entire enemy team firing from the cover of the bank behind me.

If you can travel with the group and stay tight though you will wreck ****. I love when I get a team that will stay in a death ball and you find yourself in a target rich environment. Sometimes it almost feels unfair when you can start chaining the 3-5 kills together but that will be balanced by the times you get caught in the open and LRM'd into submission. The Dire Wolf is a feast or famine machine.....one mistake and you're done, period. You will not survive accidentally bumping into an entire ECM'd lance because of you speed and agility levels (unless its the rare time they are just scared of you and run) suck so bad. When you get on a roll though it is fun!

Edited by Kain Thul, 19 September 2014 - 09:59 PM.

[El Bandito]

Meh, I have been driving 300 Std engine Atlai during 2012 and 2013, and you didn't see me crying about getting left behind. It is all about map awareness.

[Felbombling]

El Bandito, on 19 September 2014 - 10:04 PM, said:

Meh, I have been driving 300 Std engine Atlai during 2012 and 2013, and you didn't see me crying about getting left behind. It is all about map awareness.

Ummm... I'm kidding around with this post. You get that, right? Still, lots of goo advice being added to the topic... by most people.

[Quxudica]

I flanked a whale in my 2d2 on crimson strait. he was between two of the buildings with an lrm fatlass partially in front of him. I parked behind him and unloaded my srms into that backside while he desperately tried to get out or turn.

I should have felt dirty.

I didn't.

[Sarlic]

Sable, on 19 September 2014 - 08:05 PM, said:

Title says it all. The spike damage nonsense wouldn't be such a problem if it took a whole lot more effort to bring down a mech. Heat management skills would be more valuable since you wouldn't be able to alpha all day long. Maybe it's just tonight but MWO is not fun right now.

Psssst! You know, somtimes the Atlas had this before the clans arrived this exact problem! :-x

Edited by Sarlic, 20 September 2014 - 12:49 AM.

[Nothing Whatsoever]

I expected to find a guide from the thread title (in the OP)!

[Solomon Ward]

i)  Alpine Peaks Skirmish and you spawn in L6 ...
    Crawling your way to the mountain you get shot from the left.
    Just pray there are no dedicated light pilots on the way to you.
    Once you manage to climb up that damn hill, half the team is already dead.
ii) Crimson Strait Skirmish and you spawn in F1.
    The whole team runs over the saddle and plays the "run counterclock and eat the slow guys"-game.
    Once you are on the platform/ saddle you realize they play the same game just the other way      around and you are the slow guy.


Other maps/ starting points are not an issue.

Edited by Solomon Ward, 20 September 2014 - 12:50 AM.

[Lefty Lucy]

I Zeratul I, on 19 September 2014 - 08:31 PM, said:

.

Six CUAC-5's only deal +-30 damage in 1.5 seconds.

Maybe you were abducted by aliens and are experiencing lost time you can't account for?

Not even close to true. The initial encounter between two mechs will be 30 damage immediately, then 30 damage 1.5 seconds later, assuming the DW didn't double fire, in which case you're looking at probably around 80 damage in 1.5 seconds. That's a lot of f'ing damage. Don't pretend like it's not.

[NextGame]

theres only 1 build worth using. Quad uac10 and as much ammo as you can carry.