5 replies to this topic

[CJ Skinner]

Hey all,

I have recently been piloting a Dragon, and I am wondering if my choice of ammo location is hurting me.

My question arises because I don't fully understand how slots affect critical hits. I currently have 4 tons of gauss ammo loaded on my mech. Two in each side torso. I am wondering if this increases my chances of getting critical hits in these very vulnerable areas.

I know gauss ammo won't explode, but is it still attracting crits?

Basically, if you want to protect a component from critical hits, do you fill slots to "absorb" the hits or do you keep as little slots filled as possible to reduce the chances of any one of those slots getting a crit?

As a general rule, where is the best place to keep ammo with both of the engine choices?

I don't know if this question makes sense or not. Any help would be great.

Thanks!

Edited by CJ Skinner, 20 March 2013 - 09:00 AM.

[Arete]

You can use gauss ammo as crit protection since it won't explode. So put it in the same compartment as the gauss if possible, that way you lower the chance of the gauss getting critted on a critical hit. Other than that, put the ammo where the rest of the equipment that you want to crit buffer is.

[Least Action Jackson]

With regard to ammo location, if it takes a hit and explodes, it will damage stuff in adjacent sections, so my cardinal rule is "No ammo in torso unless absolutely necessary". Ammo placed in the cockpit gets used first, however, and is actually pretty safe.

With regard to crits, I am pretty sure (but somebody correct me if I'm wrong) that when the armor is breached, all the slots become fair game, and buffering it with nonvolatile stuff doesn't help. Filling fewer slots is the only way to reduce the chance of that item taking damage. To that end, I tend to put stuff like heat sinks and floating endo-steel slots in my torso whenever possible.

I hope this helps. Cheers!

[Deathlike]

Believe it or not, Gauss ammo is perfect for absorbing hits that would've gone to the Gauss rifle itself. You don't take the damage because this particular ammo doesn't hurt you, so it is actually a good idea to stuff all the Gauss ammo in the same slot that Gauss rifle is in. This isn't as helpful if you have two Gauss rifles...

For other ammo, the legs are usually the optimal places for hiding.... assuming you put armor in your legs.

Edited by Deathlike, 20 March 2013 - 09:08 AM.

[WardenWolf]

Keep in mind, though, that if ammo gets crit'd it is still destroyed - even if it can't explode and hurt you (like Gauss ammo). So don't put it in locations that may be destroyed in normal combat while your Gauss Rifle itself would still be intact! Use the same torso location, legs, head, even CT - but keep it out of the arms and the other torso (IMHO).

[Hayashi]

Keep it in the same location as the Rifle itself if you can, since if you get either the ammo or the rifle taken out the whole thing doesn't work. By keeping them together, you reduce the number of areas which have to be destroyed to inactivate your Gauss rifle to 1.

As far as I know, empty slots can also be critted - it just does nothing. So if you can't fit them together throw em in your legs. Or if your rifle is in your arm throw it in the side torso on the same side as the arm, since if the side torso is taken out the arm is off too, anyway.

Edited by Hayashi, 20 March 2013 - 09:37 AM.