Hi everyone,
since I didn´t see an introduction sub-forum (hint, hint), first a little bit about me (I think it is always appropriate to tell people who they are dealing with )
I´m a kinda old fellow from Germany, who got into BattleTech back in the mid 80s when I read the Warrior trillogy.
I got the boardgame soon after and then Crescent Hawks Inception and Mechwarrior I launched (hey, I told you I´m kinda old).
So, I´m totally new to Mechwarrior Online, but not to Mechwarrior (though I stopped after MW3, never could get into 4) but I am mainly a boardgame guy and this is where my questions are mostely coming from.
Ok, now to the questions:
1. One SRM-6 or twin Streak SRM-2?
This was an upgrade I did with every mech, once streaks became available in my campaigns, but does it work in MWO too (keep in mind that I don´t have the twitch skills nor the eysight I once had - oh, and on that tangent, I apologize in advance to anyone I am teamed up with for the stupid stuff I´ll probably do )?
2. Specialized builds or all-rounders?
With the boardgame, I liked my brawlers to have at least one long-range weapon (kinda soften them up while closing) and vice versa (like a stock Catapult).
Is this viable in MWO?
3. One big LRM launcher or several smaller ones. In terms of tonnage, LRM-15 and LRM-5 are _way_ more efficent than LRM-10s and 20s, so on my custom builds I usually replaced the big ones with more smaller ones (also avoids the problem of losing all your long-range firepower to a single crit).
What´s the drawback of this in MWO?
4. I was toying around with my GRF-2N Griffin (yeah, I know, should have played a lot more matches before buying something) and it came down to pretty much 2 variants
A} LRM-15 (3 tons of ammo), 2 x SSRM-2 (1 ton of ammo), ML, ECM (Heat Management 1.71) and
B} ER-PPC, 4 x SSRM-2 (2 tons of ammo), ECM (Heat Management 1.33)
I was thinking about dropping the Streaks from A) in favor of two MPL, since I am not gonna use the LRMs at MPL-range so heat should be manageable, but then I am probably _very_ bad at hitting fast lights/mediums so the lock-on thingy might be nice
Any thoughts?
Ok, I guess that´s enough for my first post, please don´t rip me to shreds, save that for the battlefield
Antecursor Venatus, on 05 October 2015 - 11:53 PM, said:
Hi everyone,
since I didn´t see an introduction sub-forum (hint, hint), first a little bit about me (I think it is always appropriate to tell people who they are dealing with )
I´m a kinda old fellow from Germany, who got into BattleTech back in the mid 80s when I read the Warrior trillogy.
I got the boardgame soon after and then Crescent Hawks Inception and Mechwarrior I launched (hey, I told you I´m kinda old).
So, I´m totally new to Mechwarrior Online, but not to Mechwarrior (though I stopped after MW3, never could get into 4) but I am mainly a boardgame guy and this is where my questions are mostely coming from.
Ok, now to the questions:
1. One SRM-6 or twin Streak SRM-2?
This was an upgrade I did with every mech, once streaks became available in my campaigns, but does it work in MWO too (keep in mind that I don´t have the twitch skills nor the eysight I once had - oh, and on that tangent, I apologize in advance to anyone I am teamed up with for the stupid stuff I´ll probably do )?
2. Specialized builds or all-rounders?
With the boardgame, I liked my brawlers to have at least one long-range weapon (kinda soften them up while closing) and vice versa (like a stock Catapult).
Is this viable in MWO?
3. One big LRM launcher or several smaller ones. In terms of tonnage, LRM-15 and LRM-5 are _way_ more efficent than LRM-10s and 20s, so on my custom builds I usually replaced the big ones with more smaller ones (also avoids the problem of losing all your long-range firepower to a single crit).
What´s the drawback of this in MWO?
4. I was toying around with my GRF-2N Griffin (yeah, I know, should have played a lot more matches before buying something) and it came down to pretty much 2 variants
A} LRM-15 (3 tons of ammo), 2 x SSRM-2 (1 ton of ammo), ML, ECM (Heat Management 1.71) and
B} ER-PPC, 4 x SSRM-2 (2 tons of ammo), ECM (Heat Management 1.33)
I was thinking about dropping the Streaks from A) in favor of two MPL, since I am not gonna use the LRMs at MPL-range so heat should be manageable, but then I am probably _very_ bad at hitting fast lights/mediums so the lock-on thingy might be nice
Any thoughts?
Ok, I guess that´s enough for my first post, please don´t rip me to shreds, save that for the battlefield
Welcome to MWO!
No worries about being "kinda old". Plenty of us are and started the stompy robot bug at the same time as you.
Now on the answers.
1) Streaks will underperform srm 6s all the time, due to the former's lack of sufficient damage. It's important to remember that srms do not lock, unlike streaks. On some mechs, streaks are more viable than others, but most will argue the case for srms over streaks.
2) I personally really like having one long range weapon on my brawlers as well. This does depend on the speed of the brawler though. Also, do not rely on the long range weapon at the expense of being separated from your team mates when in a brawler.
One nice thing about MWO is that it's okay to experiment with weapons and mechs to find a combination that really works for you, even though some will argue against it.
3) This one really depends on the mech. Not all mechs have enough lrm tubes to fire a 20 or two.
Check out this website to build a mech before spending any c-bills.
One thing about MWO and lrms is that smaller launchers will have a stastically higher percentage of lrms hit the ct on an enemy, however, AMS can take out up to 5 lrms per volley in an ideal situation. So that is what you need to bear in mind with lrms. Also, there are many here who will argue that lrms are a noob weapon. I am not in that camp. They are an easy weapon to use, but a difficult weapon to use well. This is because of the number of ECM mechs out there, the availability of AMS and that some mechs can equip triple AMS, and the travel time of lrms to their maximum range with allows the target to get under cover.
3) On your Griffin, if either build works for you then go for it. See the above note on streaks though. One thing that I am not particularly in favor of is mixing pulse and regular lasers of roughly the same range. I'd go either all mpls or all mls. I say this because they have different recycle times and ranges. I like things simple.
As far as hitting lights or fast mediums, pulse lasers are great for that. They have shorter burn times, which means more damage faster. Create a weapon group that just has pulse lasers in it, chain fire that group, and when confronted with these pests, chain fire your pulse lasers at their legs. Once they're legged they are easy prey.
But you will get to understand that as you play along.
Now about the questions.
1 - SRMs and Streaks are very different things. One shoots at the direction you are aiming, the other chases the target.
Now, a Streak is heavier than a SRM, so you need to take that into account when building a mech.
Also, there are IS Streaks SSRM2, and the Clan Streaks that go up to C-SSRM6. This last one is basically a SRM6 with guidance for a locked target.
You might want to check Smurfy for some information about all the basic builds on all mechs and also the mechlab for some insight on the weapon systems, damage, heat, weight, slots and whatnot.
Now that we have got that out of the way, if you want to trade a SRM by a SSRM2, you might want to keep the same damage output. To do so, you trade a SRM4 for 2 SSRM2, or a SRM6 for 3 SSRM2. But this isn't the only thing to take into account here.
If you upgrade the missile guidance to Artemis, you are basically grouping up the missiles so they have a smaller spread when they hit the target (effectively hitting less components at once, focusing the damage). This kind of upgrade is usually made at SRM4 and SRM6 builds. The more missiles an IS mechs shoots at once, the bigger the need for Artemis if you want to focus the damage.
Also, upgrading to Artemis adds 1 ton to each launcher you have equipped.
So, if you have a A-SRM6 build and want to change it for SSRM2, Artemis wont work with the Streaks (so not even the extra ton is part of the equation), but for you to do the same damage output you will have to use 0.5 tons more than the A-SRM6.
Also, if you use Streaks and when you are inside the range of an enemy mech with ECM, you better fit BAP (Beagle Active Probe) or your locking system won't work and you wont be able to shoot the missiles.
So, the best answer for you here is: Those are similar but in some key aspects very different kinds of missiles, the best thing for you to do is to test mechs with Streaks and without Streaks while you are using the trial mechs (which are changed at least once a month) and get an idea of what's best for you from there.
2 - It is always advisable to have backup weapons. If you have a long range mech, you should have at least 1 or 2 weapons for short range and vice-versa. The exception to this is when you are playing in a specialized group or unit, where you have people to cover your a$$ when you need to.
3 - That's a matter of purpose of your LRM boat. If you want one that does less damage but forces the enemy to look for cover and throws him out of his mojo while brawling (with lots of cockpit shake), than go for the multiple LRM5 as they shoot in a high rate of fire with a smaller cooldown. If you want something to maim and remove chunks of armor when the enemy is poorly positioned, then you can go with the LRM20 but again, the bigger the launcher, the more useful will Artemis be.
4 - About the Griffin builds, one side note. You can shoot any LRM at distance above 179 meters. So there is a sweet spot for you to shoot all weapons (MPL - Streaks and LRMS that goes from 180 meters to around 220 meters).
But if you struggle with the aiming, you should leave the SSRM2's for now.
Also, use the training grounds to fine-tune your mouse sensitivity, run around a mech and try to shoot the same component while using lasers. Then fiddle with the sensitivity and try again until you feel you have the aim working in a more stable way for you.
With re. to damage of SRM-6 vs. 2 x SSRM-2, I guess I am still kinda locked in my board-game thinking, where, on average, one SRM-6 would deal the same damage as two streaks - might have to re-think this
The "less spread with Artemis" is kinda neat, not as good a crit-seeker, but can punch through one locations armor faster, hm, might have to think about that (or is that, the crit-seeker part, also a misconseption I brought over from the board-game?).
Sticking with just either ML or MPL makes sense (huge KISS advocate here, lol)
Antecursor Venatus, on 06 October 2015 - 12:51 AM, said:
1) With re. to damage of SRM-6 vs. 2 x SSRM-2, I guess I am still kinda locked in my board-game thinking, where, on average, one SRM-6 would deal the same damage as two streaks - might have to re-think this
2) The "less spread with Artemis" is kinda neat, not as good a crit-seeker, but can punch through one locations armor faster, hm, might have to think about that (or is that, the crit-seeker part, also a misconseption I brought over from the board-game?).
Sticking with just either ML or MPL makes sense (huge KISS advocate here, lol)
Again, thanks a lot for your replies.
1) streeks fire missiles which each chose a component to aim for, they will hit that component unless the target is out of range or puts something in the way (e.g. another component or a hill), with regular SRMs, ASRMs, and all LRMs the more you fire at once the more they will spread out,
so if you fire a single SRM2 at something 200m away they will likely all hot the componant you are aiming at (provided you are a good shot), fire an SRM6 and they will likely spread all over the target, fire 8+ SRMs at something 200+m away and some will likely miss no matter how good shot you are however with Artemus 8 will likely all hit and 10 may all hit,
LRMs work the same except for larger numbers, fire 20 and most or all will likely hit, fire 30 and some will miss, firing 40 a lot will miss, but fire 30 with Artimus and all will likely hit
2) in MWO most weapons have a fixed crit chance, with most componants having 10 hp, so it takes 10 damage (each crit will take damage at random for each hit to an unarmored companant) so a PPC, AC10, AC20 or Gauss all being weapons that deliver 10+ damage in a single impact are great for crit seaking.
LBX Autocannons, Machine Guns and Flamers, all have a higher chance of getting a critical hit, making them extremely effective at killing exposed structure, however not at critting weapon or equipment, each Machine gun bullet deals 0.08 damage but if it gets the max possible critical hit it can deal more than 1 damage, at a rate of fire of 10 per second. Some MEchs are specificly designed to carry a lot of machine guns to kill Mechs with exposed structure, Mechs like the Firestarter Ember hero Mech and the Spider 5K will oftern carry 4 machine guns (some can carry 6+), and in the case of a fast light with MGs you in trouble if you are open.
Ah!
So each hit into internal structure has a chance to cause a crit (just like the boardgame)
And each component has a number of hit-points that have to be knocked out before the component is killed (unlike the boardgame)
And thus, missiles and LB-X are good at getting crits due to lots of hits, but are not so good at actually knocking components out due to little damage per hit, while PPCs and big ACs are not so good at getting a crit, but if they do, they usually knock the component out right away.
And the oddball out is the MG, which, due to it´s high ROF does lots and lots of crits, and with the sheer number of crits, chances are that at least some of them will do significant (for a MG bullet) damage.
Antecursor Venatus, on 06 October 2015 - 04:25 AM, said:
Ah!
So each hit into internal structure has a chance to cause a crit (just like the boardgame)
And each component has a number of hit-points that have to be knocked out before the component is killed (unlike the boardgame)
And thus, missiles and LB-X are good at getting crits due to lots of hits, but are not so good at actually knocking components out due to little damage per hit, while PPCs and big ACs are not so good at getting a crit, but if they do, they usually knock the component out right away.
And the oddball out is the MG, which, due to it´s high ROF does lots and lots of crits, and with the sheer number of crits, chances are that at least some of them will do significant (for a MG bullet) damage.
Excellent insight. Right on the money.
Welcome to the game btw. You'll find lots of 'old' people on here who will reminisce about MW2 or The Crescent Hawks Inception'. I'm one of them
Antecursor Venatus, on 06 October 2015 - 04:25 AM, said:
And thus, missiles and LB-X are good at getting crits due to lots of hits, but are not so good at actually knocking components out due to little damage per hit,
True of missiles.
Only partly true of LBX. Yes each hit doesn't do as much damage and but more likely to get crits due to number of 'impacts'. In addition to lots of hits (and max range 3x stated optimum instead of 2x, allowing their damage to carry more weight farther away despite spread), the LBX ammunition has an increased success rate of performing 1x, 2x, and 3x critical damage. Specifically above the normal success rate of munitions, LBX has an additional 14% chance of doing 1x critical, an additional 8% chance of doing 2x critical, and an additional 3% chance of doing 3x critical.
Considering that these are percentages out of 100... That's 25% or 1/4th less likely to fail at a critical than normal projectiles.
Currently normal weapons are at: 1x Crit = 25%, 2x Crit = 14%, 3x Crit = 3%, No crit = 58%
Thus LBX are at: 1x Crit = 39%, 2x Crit = 22%, 3x Crit = 6%, No crit = 33%.
Normal weapons: 58% chance to fail to get a critical hit per projectile (or for lasers, overall per 'use' they are 58% likely to not get critical hits; ticks are irrelevant.)
LBX: 33% chance to fail per 'pellet', with the LB-10x having 10 pellets, the 20 having 20, etc.
Note that this Hellbringer is using two Ballistic Weapons. The UAC/20 (pow pow pow pow pow) and the LB-20x (BOOM!)
That one that looks like a single shot -- that's an LBX-20, up to almost 270 meters they are so tightly grouped that it's a death cannon if your armor is exposed.
Quote
while PPCs and big ACs are not so good at getting a crit, but if they do, they usually knock the component out right away.
True of PPCs and ACs.
Again standard weapons crit at: 1x Crit = 25%, 2x Crit = 14%, 3x Crit = 3%, No crit failure = 58%
With a standard PPC you'll get 10 base damage + 10 crit (on 1x) damage (components only) + 15% of that crit damage as bonus damage... Thus: 11.5 internal structure damage, 10 component damage (instantly destroying almost any single component or weapon). Maximum potential of 14.5 internal structure damage + 30 component damage (divided by 3 and placed at 3 crit slot locations).
A Clan ER PPC -- I'll be honest since it splits fire I'm not certain how it works... But under the assumption of a single crit and given how the lasers work, here is how I would calculate it to function:
Area of impact: 10 damage. Adjacent sections (if applicable) = 2.5 each (limit 2). Total standard damage 15.
Assume area of impact and one adjacent section is without armor. Assume single crit rolled at time of firing.
Impact. Area of impact: 10 damage + 15% of (10 damage dealt * the number of Crits which is 1) = 11.5 damage at area of impact and 10 critical component damage.
Adjacent area without armor: 2.5 damage + 15% of (2.5 damage dealt * number of crits which is 1) = 2.875 internal structure damage and 2.5 critical component damage.
Maximum possible (assuming triple crit and all 3 affected areas are without armor) is: 14.5 damage area of impact and 30 critical component damage, up to 2 additional adjacent areas would suffer a maximum 3.625 internal structure damage and 7.5 critical component damage, for a total damage of 21.75 structure accumulated from 3 areas and 45 component damage divided up among 3 slots of 10 damage, and 6 slots of 2.5 damage.
(Anyone ever wonder why PPCs got nerfed?)
An AC/10 would deliver 10 damage on impact. Assuming single crit, it would deal 11.5 damage to the structure, and 10 damage to critical components.
Maximum potential damage of a single AC/10 shell is 14.5 structure, 30 damage to critical components in 3 slots of 10 damage each.
A Clan AC/10 would deliver 3 (it is 3 now right instead of 4?) slugs of 3.333333333333333 damage each (take that times 3 and you get 10). It is unknown whether crit chance is per projectile or per trigger pull for Clan ACs. Ultimately it is identical to the Inner Sphere AC/10 in total potential damage.
The IS AC/20 will instantly destroy every component it hits on a single shot if it gets a single crit. A triple crit can instantly destroy 3 components.
The Clan AC/20 cannot destroy "every" component it hits in a single trigger pull unless all 4 shots hit the same part and component (nearly impossible). Even then, on double and triple crits each of the bullets split their damage across multiple components.
As can be expected, Inner Sphere ACs are blatantly superior in pinpoint damage and component damage. Depending on if Clan ACs calculate per bullet or per trigger pull, Clan ACs may get multiple chances for crits per trigger or it could be identical for all shots fired. Regardless, Clans make up for this with longer effective ranges. (Mind you in BT these ranges were "accurate ranges" as in BT, lasers, MGs and ACs could reach out to over 2,000 kilometers-- but intentionally hitting something is a completely different story. In MWO, these ranges are "maximum damage effective" ranges.
(Note: MGs and Flamers use the LBX crit-chance chart, but each 'bullet' or 'tick' of the MG and Flamer has its own crit chance).
Thanks again for the clarification (and sorry ´bout the late reply)
Now I´ve got some more questions (this time mostly GUI related)
1. The mini-map
a} Is there a key to enlarge it? In World of Warships, the +/- keys do this, but apparently in MWO this doesn´t work.
I´m asking because at it´s standard size, the mini-map is pretty useless and doesn´t really show the geographical features.
b} Is there a way to make the map stop rotating? It´s a frigging map and North is supposed to be _up_ on a map!
2. Light mechs
I see that light mechs are usually the class played the least, so I most of the time choose one of those (the second reason for me to do this is that I suck big time, and piloting a Heavy or Assault would make me feel bad for my team).
Of course, given the light armor and weaponry and given my sucky-ness, I usually die within the first 5 minutes without inflicting a whole lot of damage (usually in the 2-digit range)
In fact, I have to find a reason to play a light at all as of yet, since the moment I take a broadside, I am usually dead.
I have stopped scouting ahead (yes, I thought: Hey, I´m a scout, so I´m gonna scout - boy, that didn´t turn out all that good ), but it somehow just feels wrong to hide behind the big-boys.
3. PVE
I take it there is no PVE "arena" for new players to practice (kinda like the Co-op in WoWs)?
Because I could use _a lot_ of practice and the stationary, non-reactive targets in training-grounds just don´t cut it
4. The mechlab
a) Am I missing something or do I really have to go to smurfy to see the tube limits for missiles?
b} It seems a mech´s quirks aren´t shown in the lab, but when I want to go back to look them up, I have to save the build (which might cost money) or start from scratch. Now this isn´t game breaking but annoying nonetheless (yes, you old hands probably remember the quirks of every mech, but I have a hard time with it).
c) What does "Heat Management 0.98/2 (as an example) actually mean. I mean, yeah, bigger is better, even I got that, but aside from that?
d) I don´t suppose it will be possible (sometime/somehow) to create test-builds and try them in the testing grounds without actually buying the weapons?
Would be nice to do that _before_ actually handing over the (in-game) cash
5. Skills:
I am pretty sure, the modules from the mech-tree are for that specific mech only, while those from the pilot-tree are in effect for every mech I am piloting?
Once I have unlocked a module, how do I mount it.
I have unlocked Cool Run and Heat Containment for my Griffin, but I can´t seem to find that module in the mechlab - or are the modules from the mech-tree mounted automatically?
P.s.: Why is this under the "Skill" tab, when those things are called "modules"?
1) There are keys to zoom in and out, but I never use them for some reason. I believe the minimap is a cockpit feature and thus the physical size of it can't change.
2) That wasn't a question.
3) Not yet, no, unless both players have running Premium Time and wish to drop in a private match.
4)
a) Yes. They are not in game, and are instead player-determined. They don't...really apply for clan LRMs, though, since all of those are chain-fired anyway. Correct. They are visible when selecting mechs either in the Store or the Select Mech mechlab menu, and the weapon quirks show up when you hover over an affected weapon in the mechlab.
c) I believe 2/2 is fully heat-stable, but I've never seen a mech with 2 heat efficiency. Smurfy's works better, but heat management is also map-, Ghost Heat-, and refire rate-/quirk-/module- dependent, so it's a general guide only.
d) Unknown. It's very possible to get a good idea of how a mech will perform without doing that, but of course experience is the only real final determination. A mech that works great for one person may be terrible for another, too, depending on play style.
5) Mech-skills are not just mech-specific; they are variant-specific. All 8 Basics, 4 Elites, and the Master skill work on that variant of that mech as soon as you get them. Mech modules, on the other hand, must be unlocked with GXP then purchased with c-bills, and each mech can fit at most 3 (2 max base, depending on mech, one in Master slot). Many of them are quite expensive. Weapon modules, same as mech modules, but specific to a particular weapon, and each mech can fit at most 4 (3 max base, depending on mech, one in Master slot). I think every mech can use 2 consumables per match, but I'm not sure since I've never used them.
If you do want a larger version of the minimap, you can press the "B" key (default binding) to get a larger map with battlegrid. However, this map takes up most of the screen so it is only useful for a quick check to get your bearings or if you want to try and use the drop commander orders.
Lights are cheap to buy, but typically don't have great stock engines so require a bit of investment. The role of lights isn't so much to scout really, since MWO only allows you to relay the information of a single targeted mech to nearby friendlies. If you are going to scout, probably the best thing to do is to take an ECM mech, peak over a hill from a direction the enemy aren't looking, and hold a lock an an enemy assault so friendly LRMs can pummel them. But it doesn't really work if the enemy team is all clustered in a ball with ECM cover. Or if your team is lacking in LRMs.
There are still a few neat ways to make good use of a light. One approach is to use long ranged weaponry and try to harass an enemy on their flanks. While they are looking at your friends, peak out, fire, and get back behind cover. If something comes for you, use can use your speed to run away and get back to the team. Its great if several enemy mechs waste their time trying to chase you.
On conquest, light mechs are a real boon for capping resource points. I've had many a game where one side has dominated the fight, but the game has been won by the other team having lights that were really good with the caps. It can help on assault as well, if you send out a light to try and cap base this will frequently lure several enemy mechs back to defend cap, temporarily taking them away from the main fight which can also really help out your team.
The main alternative to lights is to use a short ranged brawling build and aim for a 'boom and zoom' strategy. Typically you want to avoid trading shots with this kind of strategy, and you just look for opportunities. An ideal opportunity is when an enemy and a friend have become separated from the group and are dueling it out since you only really need to worry about the one mech who happens to be distracted anyway. Its also quite handy when larger groups get into brawls with one another, since the enemy mechs are typically more inclined to focus their fire on the larger easier to hit mechs. You can also use a brawling light to take out long range lights, or LRM boats, since they are quite often separated from the rest of their team, and you can often beat them in a one on one fight.
As mentioned, some lights like to boat a bunch of machine guns. This is basically a more specialised boom and zoom, it makes you *really* great at taking out enemy components once they are down to internal structure. Using this kind of set up you can actually get an awful lot of component destruction and kills, though its a little too situational for my taste.
Maybe I can add some insights into piloting lights. The single most important attribute for a light is speed. If you find yourself having to stop to fire (I have seen this happen on more than one occasion) do not drive a light. A light that has to stop to fire will be dead soon. Instead for a sniper, take one or two shots and then move to a different location. My build on my Spider 5D has 3 medium pulse lasers. I use ECM to be able to get close to the enemy and look for isolated targets. In a light, you want to use the outside of the map. Let the brawlers use the middle, you're fast enough in a light to be able to go the long way around and still get behind the enemy before the rest have all engaged.
Also, lights are cheap to buy, but really, really expensive to equip. That's because they all NEED XL engines and double heat sinks. Those two upgrades make them more expensive than some assaults.
You NEVER want to overheat in a light. If you need to cool off, run away from the fighting and stop moving a bit. Do not reengage until your heat has completely dissipated. Repeat as often as necessary. If you are doing this too much, reexamine your weapons. Maybe there is an easy fix for this, like dropping that 7th medium pulse laser in exchange for 2 double heat sinks. Also, chain fire can be your friend.
Never engage the enemy without locking your desired target and looking at his weapons first. If you have your eye on a Timberwolf and he has a bunch of streak 6s and some LBXs, he's set up to take out your legs. Do not engage him directly. Instead lock him and let your buddies take him out. If he manages to get swarmed, then feel free to get some shots in on him, but never let him face you alone.
Antecursor Venatus, on 08 October 2015 - 12:08 PM, said:
Thanks again for the clarification (and sorry ´bout the late reply)
Now I´ve got some more questions (this time mostly GUI related)
1. The mini-map
a} Is there a key to enlarge it? In World of Warships, the +/- keys do this, but apparently in MWO this doesn´t work.
I´m asking because at it´s standard size, the mini-map is pretty useless and doesn´t really show the geographical features.
b} Is there a way to make the map stop rotating? It´s a frigging map and North is supposed to be _up_ on a map!
It's a preference thing. And I DO NOT KNOW the precise answer to your question, as I've never had occasion to want to switch the orientation of the minimap. The 'battlegrid' map SHOULD be oriented with north UP, and failing that, at least with a north-seeking arrow. Not sure it's the case, though. As for ENLARGING it ("ENGORGE!", shameless plug for another very fun game), that's the 'battlegrid'. Really, who comes up with these names? A minimap and a battlegrid. If the minimap is 'mini', then where's the regular, vanilla, non-mini map? "Sorry, just that and a battlegrid." Freakin' commies...
Quote
2. Light mechs
I see that light mechs are usually the class played the least, so I most of the time choose one of those (the second reason for me to do this is that I suck big time, and piloting a Heavy or Assault would make me feel bad for my team).
Of course, given the light armor and weaponry and given my sucky-ness, I usually die within the first 5 minutes without inflicting a whole lot of damage (usually in the 2-digit range)
In fact, I have to find a reason to play a light at all as of yet, since the moment I take a broadside, I am usually dead.
I have stopped scouting ahead (yes, I thought: Hey, I´m a scout, so I´m gonna scout - boy, that didn´t turn out all that good ), but it somehow just feels wrong to hide behind the big-boys.
Okay, it is NEVER EVER EVER okay to stop scouting. Any mech that can do 100 km/h or more WITHOUT speed tweak, and has either JJs or ECM, and is NOT as tall as an Atlas (thus eliminating the SHD, GRF, and pretty much the WVR, which can all go get bent IMO), is just fine for recon. I'm actually about 2/3 of the way done with the first rough draft of a reconnaissance guide for MW:O, due out by year's end. Used to be, the Jenner was GREAT at this. Raven was pretty much made for it. Locust can't really do much of anything else, so it's a scout by default. Arctic Cheetah, Firestarter, and some Raven variants are SUPERB for the role. Most lights and some mediums (especially Cicada and Shadow Cat) are naturals.
But in recon (I define 'Scouting' as "Performing reconnaissance as one's primary role', more or less) you simply MUST accept that you will almost NEVER be a top damage producer, you will almost NEVER have a top match score, and you will pretty much ALWAYS draw the ire of your team's tryhards, win or lose. Your job as such is not necessarily to do a bunch of damage and score kills and impress the Homecoming Queen. Rather, it's to provide your teammates with timely, accurate, and useful information on the enemy's whereabouts, activities, and capabilities. Not for the faint of heart. More sneaky and peeky, a lot less pew-pew-pew. Get THAT into your head, and I think you'll find lights a bit more impressive. Also, if you do it well, the match scores will improve pretty quickly, as will the tier and the win/loss ratio (though K/D will not be much to write home about).
Also, the game will naturally be pretty rough in any STOCK configuration. Even the CLAN mechs' stock loadouts are pretty weak. They either lack firepower or armor, or they are too damned hot to use any of it. You're gonna have to spend some cash on customizing.
But lights are fun. What they lack in armor and armament, they generally make up for in speed and hard-to-hit size.
Quote
3. PVE
I take it there is no PVE "arena" for new players to practice (kinda like the Co-op in WoWs)?
Because I could use _a lot_ of practice and the stationary, non-reactive targets in training-grounds just don´t cut it
Nope. That's as good as it gets, and it's a HUGE improvement over what we had up until a couple weeks ago. Before two patches ago, the tutorial was dismal. The Mechwarrior Academy and Basic Training might not seem like much, but they are VAST improvements. Still, no real opportunities for a relatively challenging PvE training experience. Sorry.
I will chime in with a few more tips for lights
Light Mechs can perform several roles well;
Scouting, locate enemy Mechs and let the team know where they are, this is high risk low reward
Spotting, keep a lock on a Mech to allow your teams LRM users to target it, any MEch can do this just by keeping a lock, however if you are carrying TAG, NARC or UAV you can be more effective at this, if a target you are providing the lock for gets hit by LRMs you get a bonus, if you counter ECM (TAG, NARC, UAV, BAP and an ECM set to counter can all counter ECM) you will get a bonus
Umbrella, use ECM or multiple AMS (Kit Fox) to provide cover to your team, you would generaly stick with the main group and try to keep as much of the team as possible covered
harrassing, in a fast light with lots of weapons get behind the enemy and keep shooting them in the back, hit and run. most lights can do this but the Jenner, Firestarter, Locust and Arctic Cheetah work best
Sniper, pack long range weaponry be it 1 or 2 (ER)LL, (ER)PPC, or possibly even AC2/5, fire and relocate, stay behind cover and avoid being predictable, if you poke from the same place 3 times in a row the enemy will likely have a Gauss shell or 5 waiting for you.
if you can mount a 250 or larger engine then do so, you get 1 in engine heat sink for every 25 of engine rating up-to 250, built in engine Double Heat Sinks dissipate heat twice as fast as single heat sinks, out of engine or removable engine heatsinks only dissipate 1.4 times as much heat as singles, and as a light most of your weapons will be high heat, so any heat advantage you can get is worth having.
@Torezu with re. to 2., guilty as charged
The question I actually wanted to ask was: What´s the point of light mechs, but the other helpful people answered this not-asked question already pretty extensive.
Again, thanks a lot everyone
P.s.: I knew about the "b" key, what I was looking for was
a map about half-way between the mini-map and the battle-grid, that I could keep up while playing.
Doesn´t seem to be in the game, so I´ll have to make do with what there is.
The rotating map is _really_ confusing for me. I played many strategy games (yes, I know this isn´t a strategy game) over the decades and _never_ have I encountered a map that wouldn´t stay with north up, south down and so on. A map turning as _I_ turn?
Heresy!
I guess it is just because I am totally not used to that.
The map was pretty confusing for me initially as well. If you really really want compass points, they are at the top of the HUD, but honestly they aren't very useful. Just use coordinates from the minimap (which are the same as on the battlegrid) or say the line, for example the 2 line or the J line. I actually don't even miss the compass points anymore.
Antecursor Venatus, on 09 October 2015 - 07:22 AM, said:
(yes, I know this isn´t a strategy game)
Woaah there, Hold on. Stop. No.
Seriously, don't think like that if you wanna get good. Heck, just don't think like that. If you listen to anything I say, that is the most important. Yes you have First Person view. Yes you only control one unit. Yes, aiming and piloting skill makes a difference.
But, I tell you right now, if you look at that map like an RTS player, like a tactician, well then, you've a leg up. Just looking at your own teams positioning gives you tons of info about the enemy team that could save your mech, or, if your more aggressive, spell trouble for the enemy. I'm more a dedicated medium pilot than a light pilot, but I've been working on my lights skills, and I can tell you right now, knowing when to mix it up in the middle of the enemy formation, and when to bug out, can single mechedly tip the scale and win an engagement, and then, save your mech to do it again.
A good assault can tank an amazing amount of damage by torso twisting and dead siding. A good light can tank more by distracting and removing focus. Damage that doesn't get applied to the team anywhere.
This is a tactical team game.
Strategy doesn´t come into play, hell it´s not even an operational game
Note:
Heart of Iron or Victoria and Europa Universalis are strategy games
(strategy: Deciding where (Russia, in Africa or invading England) and with what forces (how many divisions to allocate) to attack (or even whom to go to war with) as well as what to produce (army, air force or navy; medium or heavy bombers,... for example)
Country level decisions - the decision to attack Russia in ´41 was a strategic one.
War in the East and War in the Pacific AE are operational games
(operational: The above decisions are already made, now you have to decide in which area of a front to attack (attack in the north or the south or let the enemy attack and prepare a counter-attack) and how to allocate the forces you are given.
Army/Army Group/Front decisions - the decision for Operation Zitadelle (battle of Kursk) was an operational one.
Mech Commander and all Mechwarrior games are smack dab in the middle of tactical gaming.
(tactical: All of the above decisions have already been made, now it´s time to decide how to actually _do_ the attack - attacking tank-heavy or infantry-heavy, pin the enemy with a few heavies and circle them with the mediums and lights or push right through their middle with everything you´ve got - the battle of Cannae for example)
From Squad up to perhaps divison decisions
And yes, I realize you pretty much mean the same thing but this is a pet peeve for me - I really, _really_ hate it when people say "strategy" and actually mean "tactics"
1
)
Correct. They are visible when selecting mechs either in the Store or the Select Mech mechlab menu, and the weapon quirks show up when you hover over an affected weapon in the mechlab.
