57 replies to this topic

[DEMAX51]

NARC is not permanent, it has a duration of 30 seconds (40, if you're using the Upgraded NARC module), but that can be more than enough for a few LRMboats working together to kill even an Assault Mech. The nice part of NARC is that it's fire and forget, as opposed to having to hold the TAG laser on target.

A few things to know about NARC though:

1. It's a single missile, with a slowish projectile - you have to lead to hit moving targets. It can also be shot down by AMS, particularly if fired from longer ranges.
2. If you NARC an enemy, and that enemy retreats into one of his allies' ECM-bubbles, the ECM will cancel out the NARC, leaving the target protected from indirect-fire.
3. If you NARC an ECM-equipped Mech, your NARC will completely cancel out your target's ECM for the NARC's entire duration. This is where NARC really shines - ECM-Mechs should always be a NARCer's highest priority. Rule number 2 still applies though - if that target moves into another 'Mechs ECM, it'll be protected again.

Edited by DEMAX51, 25 November 2014 - 03:30 PM.

[stuh42l]

3xnihilo, on 25 November 2014 - 03:25 PM, said:

Ps. Thought it was only fair to warn you that if you do this properly you will be called horribl and nasty names by the OpFor.

Well fighting fair means you are entering a fight you think you have a chance of losing. I wouldn't do that in real war and everyone who plays at war should understand that.

[3xnihilo]

One of my favorite comments was something like "another talentless LRM victory" when I spent the whole match behind enemy lines spotting targets. if anyone had thought to look for the spider running around behind them they might have had a better day on the bright side when I have run NARC on my raven I almost always get a "nice job NARCing" from my team.

The free lesson here is if your team is getting rained on somebody is spotting you chase them off or kill them and it will make the lrmboats lives a lot harder.

Edited by 3xnihilo, 25 November 2014 - 05:43 PM.

[stuh42l]

Now i just need to stop focusing so much on the dang NARC and actually use those lasers I bought! Too many games today where I NARC a juicy target in the rear w when i might have been able to get to the engine only too get blown up but the irritated Atlas.

Oh well. There is a lot to keep track of in this game but its making me love it all the more.

[3xnihilo]

When I was newer, I tagged an atlas with the spider 5d. It had no clue. It was so hilarious to watch it getting bombarded with Lrm's I just stood there and watched. . . Until his friends came by and well you can imagine the rest

And yes it is precisely the things that make MWO so infuriating to learn that make it wonderful once you have figured them out.

[Shaemus Shadow]

3xnihilo, on 26 November 2014 - 10:33 AM, said:

And yes it is precisely the things that make MWO so infuriating to learn that make it wonderful once you have figured them out.

Amen, I finally figured out how to use artillery strikes. Caustic map...TDK...ran around the ridge and dropped it right in the middle of 7 mechs all bunched up and I hauled exhaust...1 kill and multiple cussings for being "whoever dropped the lame artillery". I confessed...

[3xnihilo]

Shaemus Shadow, on 26 November 2014 - 02:19 PM, said:

Amen, I finally figured out how to use artillery strikes. Caustic map...TDK...ran around the ridge and dropped it right in the middle of 7 mechs all bunched up and I hauled exhaust...1 kill and multiple cussings for being "whoever dropped the lame artillery". I confessed...

Arties (artys, arty's?) are lame I can't be your friend anymore.


JK, I stopped using them though when getting less then 50k became a real possibility. I always carry uav and launch them almost every round but drop an arty too and lose and you end up with 20-30k negative cbills on the round and I have soooooo many things I want to buy!

[Shaemus Shadow]

REALLY??? You lose money from using arty, artie, artee, arti, artilleraries??? O_o

I only used it one time, and now I feel dirty.....

Edit: Just figured out what you meant, and now I feel dumby. *Blush*

Edited by Shaemus Shadow, 26 November 2014 - 03:43 PM.

[stuh42l]

So I have another question if no one minds. I noticed the wolverine seems vulnerable due to most of the firepower being located in the rarm. So I was trying to think off ways to mitigate that. Would this tactic be viable or even possible?

Can you engage the enemy and then twist your torso to The right so that your left shoulder is facing the enemy. Then as your opponent is on the left extreme of your HUD move your arm x hairs over to engage with weapon fire?

I envision a wolverine running across an enemy left shoulder in his face and maybe the left arm pointing 1st The enemy in a sweet football move while. the right arm 83rd held across The body pointing to the left firing?

[Molossian Dog]

Timing and a feel for the cadence of your enemy´s fire is important.

And yes, when approaching the football analogy is fitting. You often lead with your left shoulder. (although turning your torso right, but your arm left is not going to work without a few tricks.) Also, when you are circling and in the slow motion furball, try to use your jump jets to give you a surprising new vector. Small hops for suddenly slowing down, longer ones to re-align your feet, swift 180 degree switches with your torso plus legs.

Remember you might not be able to actually dodge an enemy´s shots. But you might throw off his aim in a way that lets him spread his fire ineffectively all over your hitboxes. And each shot heats him up. Close combat is all about timing, heat management and precision.

I also see that you are a man of fine taste, sporting the Marik eagle. If you need more help, feel free to check our various teamspeak servers. Writing is fine, direct communication is even better.

Edited by Molossian Dog, 26 November 2014 - 06:54 PM.

[SnagaDance]

stuh42l, on 26 November 2014 - 06:42 PM, said:

So I have another question if no one minds. I noticed the wolverine seems vulnerable due to most of the firepower being located in the rarm. So I was trying to think off ways to mitigate that. Would this tactic be viable or even possible?

Can you engage the enemy and then twist your torso to The right so that your left shoulder is facing the enemy. Then as your opponent is on the left extreme of your HUD move your arm x hairs over to engage with weapon fire?

I envision a wolverine running across an enemy left shoulder in his face and maybe the left arm pointing 1st The enemy in a sweet football move while. the right arm 83rd held across The body pointing to the left firing?

Congratulations! You have personally theory-crafted the technique called 'Torso-Twisting', which is considered a staple of veteran players. This indeed involves twisting your mech's upper torso and offering the enemy your less useful side. Be that because of lack of weapons or maybe it is to protect a heavily damaged other side. The side being twisted into enemy fire is usually called the 'shield arm' or 'shield side'.

Unfortunately it is not possible to actually cross over your other arm and use it to shoot at the enemy. Making it necessary to twist back in order to be able to shoot. An important thing when using torsos twisting is that you need to minimize the exposure time of the side you want to protect. Thus you want weapons that unload fast and minimize so-called 'face time'. IS autocannons, regular SRMs and pulse lasers all fit this bill, while regular lasers are at the opposite of the spectrum and do not really work well with torso twisting.

When using this technique it's also good to get a feel of your opponent's weapon cadence. How long does his weapon load-out need to cool down, or in other words, when can you expect his next volley? You want your shield to block his volley and fire your own volley during his cool down period.

[Kin3ticX]

Just remember spotting support takes a backseat to actual combat and dogfighting roles. As a pure Narc/Tag spotter you will often become a soft and chewy cookie for a real light 'mech. Unless you are in a group, there is no guarantee your team will have significant amounts of LRMs or you may get a non-LRM friendly map.

The Raven-3L gets a little tricky in what it can do compared to the other staple lights

Battle Raven - 3xML, 2xStrk-2, ECM
Splat Raven - 3xML, 2xSRM-4, ECM
Kite Raven - 2xERLL, ECM
Narc Raven - Narc, LL, 2xML, ECM


You may later want to consider branching out to Firestarter-H(6xMedium Laser) and A's(8xSmall Pulse) or Jenner-Fs to get a well-rounded Light 'mech feel in this game.

if you haven't seen this site, it's a quick reference for all the quirks.
http://snafets.de/mwo/quirks.htm

Edited by Kin3ticX, 27 November 2014 - 04:16 AM.

[Catra Lanis]

Do you have a day free, a weekend for example? You should consider buying one day of premium time and do a "marathon". with your favourite mech. That was what I did when I started out this summer. One day doesn't sound much but it made a world of difference for me when it came to getting started xp-wise.

[stuh42l]

Catra Lanis, on 27 November 2014 - 04:14 AM, said:

Do you have a day free, a weekend for example? You should consider buying one day of premium time and do a "marathon". with your favourite mech. That was what I did when I started out this summer. One day doesn't sound much but it made a world of difference for me when it came to getting started xp-wise.

That makes sense and I a may get a few hours free. I have 2 under 2 in my house so not a lot of uninterrupted free time. I will probably get something during thesale this weekend but I want a Wolverine and there is no hero or champ for them yet

Kin3ticX, on 27 November 2014 - 04:09 AM, said:

Just remember spotting support takes a backseat to actual combat and dogfighting roles. As a pure Narc/Tag spotter you will often become a soft and chewy cookie for a real light 'mech. Unless you are in a group, there is no guarantee your team will have significant amounts of LRMs or you may get a non-LRM friendly map.

The Raven-3L gets a little tricky in what it can do compared to the other staple lights

Battle Raven - 3xML, 2xStrk-2, ECM
Splat Raven - 3xML, 2xSRM-4, ECM
Kite Raven - 2xERLL, ECM
Narc Raven - Narc, LL, 2xML, ECM


You may later want to consider branching out to Firestarter-H(6xMedium Laser) and A's(8xSmall Pulse) or Jenner-Fs to get a well-rounded Light 'mech feel in this game.

if you haven't seen this site, it's a quick reference for all the quirks.
http://snafets.de/mwo/quirks.htm

I'm running the NARC raven now except I have an ERll and ams as well due to t smaller engine size. I seem to be contributing but there have definitely been times I NARCed an entire lance of assaults to get not a single missile strike for my efforts.

[Molossian Dog]

stuh42l, on 27 November 2014 - 11:09 AM, said:

...
I'm running the NARC raven now except I have an ERll and ams as well due to t smaller engine size. I seem to be contributing but there have definitely been times I NARCed an entire lance of assaults to get not a single missile strike for my efforts.

Experiences like that make people looking for a unit to join.

Or stop the game alltogether.

[Sonny Black]

3xnihilo, on 25 November 2014 - 05:41 PM, said:

One of my favorite comments was something like "another talentless LRM victory" when I spent the whole match behind enemy lines spotting targets. if anyone had thought to look for the spider running around behind them they might have had a better day on the bright side when I have run NARC on my raven I almost always get a "nice job NARCing" from my team.

The free lesson here is if your team is getting rained on somebody is spotting you chase them off or kill them and it will make the lrmboats lives a lot harder.

Speaking as a missile guy I say God Bless Spotters! Unless I'm on the receiving end then expletive deleted...expletive deleted...expletive deleted

[stuh42l]

So just to update those who have been kind enough to help me, I purchased the Hero Raven since she was on sale. Took out the missiles and replaced them with 2SRM4 and an AMS and now I feel like a running shotgun!

Anyway, since I only need one more Raven to master the chassis, would you guys recommend the 2x or the 4x? The 2x looks like a pseudo sniper with the lpl quirks and the 4x looks more like a mid range hunter killer and I do love JJ.

They are both cheap and since I was grinding to get a wolv I have the cbills for whichever.

[HlynkaCG]

stuh42l, on 29 November 2014 - 01:09 AM, said:

Anyway, since I only need one more Raven to master the chassis, would you guys recommend the 2x or the 4x? The 2x looks like a pseudo sniper with the lpl quirks and the 4x looks more like a mid range hunter killer and I do love JJ.

I like the 4X myself, it is quite nice in the stock config.