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This is not, by any means, a comprehensive guide to playing all light mechs. This is merely an introduction point. It will hopefully grant some good information, dispel some rumors, and help people understand what they are looking forward to when they purchase a light.
Ok, first thing is first. Read the next sentence carefully.
YOU DO NOT NEED ECM TO BE A SUCCESSFUL LIGHT MECH PILOT.
I really feel that needs to be stressed, There is a common belief that light mechs are only good for ECM, and non ECM lights are good for mastering ECM lights. This is false.
I, personally, am against having ECM on your first light mech. Don't get me wrong, in the hands of an experienced pilot, ECM can be absolutely devastating. However, I feel that using it while you are learning to play a light can teach you bad map-awareness habits, and hinder your learning of using cover effectively. There are other schools of thought on this, and I'm not saying they are wrong. Just understand that ECM is NOT a requirement.
And yes, I run a Jenner.
Now, the main thing is to know the capabilities of your mech. This will be based largely on how you build it, but there are a few rules of thumb.
1) You are NOT a brawler. Do not take on enemies from the front unless you have absolutely no other choice, and get out from in front of them as soon as you can.
2) Your legs are your life. Yes, you are squishy compared to other mechs, but you move faster. Take away your speed, and your just something that is fun to kick.
3) There is no such thing as "cheap" tactics. Do what it takes to help.
4) Be especially cautious about engaging any enemy by yourself. This doesn't mean don't do it, but consider the situation and your possible escape avenues before you run in.
5) Just because you are in a light mech does not mean you should fight other light mechs. Some light mechs will not do well against other light mechs, especially if they are built with scouting or harassing in mind. If you want a light killer, there are plenty of guides out there, and everyone on your team will love having you around, but that is not the only use for a light.
6) You are not always the scout. Scout builds are also a rather specific thing, and most do incorporate ECM. Lights are not default scouts, however, and many are built as quick strikers, flankers, light killers, and assault killers (Yes, lights can be one of the best assault mech killers in the game).
Now, everything else is pretty much free game. I have seen effective lights in every single kind of build. XL engines are not required, but generally recommended. You're primary defense is usually not soaking damage, but dodging it entirely, so the added vulnerability isn't as large an issue, and it frees up precious weight. Large engines, and therefore more speed, helps a lot, but is not always needed. I've seen a Raven with 2 PPC's, a bunch of heat sinks, and a top speed of 90, and it was a rather scary sniper. It's just how you're comfortable playing.
End of the day, the main thing for successful light piloting is to understand that you need to somehow get hit much less than any other size category. Whether this be accomplished with range, speed, ECM, or whatever other means, is up to your comfort level.
Now, a few situational tips:
Lasers don't rock a target's cockpit, and can do a surprising amount of damage. The alpha of 4 or 6 medium lasers adds up quickly, and a lot of times, your small enough that they won't notice you until something goes critical damage.
A lot of heavies (assaults can be guilty of this too, but it's more heavies) maximize front armor at the expense of back plates. This seems to be especially true for Cataphracts. I've dropped many Cataphracts in 3 or 4 alphas to the back plate, and they didn't even notice me until the 2nd or 3rd hit.
Missiles come from somewhere. When you see huge clouds of LRMs arcing onto your team, watch where they come from. Missile boats tend to stay away from main combat, and are many times unguarded. A lot of the time, they have no close range weapons, or have only 2 medium lasers to fend off something close. Removing them can help your team immeasurably. On Catapults, target either the ears or the back plate. Target ears or legs on a Stalker (back play is good, too, but can be harder to hit than a Catapults, and Stalkers tend to have better close range weapons). Awesomes, go for the back plate.
Blowing off both of an opponents legs kills them. If you see a mech who already has one leg in the red, legging them is many times much easier than coring them. There are only 2 hit boxes below the waist, as opposed to 9 above it.
If you are scouting, do not forget to LOCK ON. You can see the enemy all you like, if you aren't locked on, you aren't helping. Also, maintain lock on, or your missile boats are just wasting ammo by firing, only to hit ground when you lose your lock.
Flanking a mech your team is fighting can make a HUGE difference, even if your damage output is low. First, it adds pressure to the target, hindering his ability to focus, and increasing his perceived threat. Second, it masks which armor sections are taking the most damage, making it harder for him to determine what to defend. Finally, if you happen to be using something ballistic, it shakes their cockpit, making it harder to aim and steer.
If you are capturing points in conquest, remember to use the rig in the center as cover.
In assault mode, a good trick for pressuring the enemy team and splitting their forces is to run to their base, stand on it just long enough to get the game to announce that it's being captured once or twice, then run away. They will send units back to defend the base, meaning less units firing on your team. Doing this several times during a match can really cause chaos on the enemy team.
Speaking of assault, BASE CAPTURING IS AN ENTIRELY LEGITIMATE METHOD OF WINNING. Forget the nay-sayers, if you can do it, do it.
Oh, and finally, max your leg armor. Always max your leg armor.
I hope this helps. May you blast the legs and back plates off of many opponents.
*Edited for accuracy. Thank you, barnmaddo! :-)
Edited by zraven7, 11 April 2013 - 04:12 AM.
