62 replies to this topic

[Urdnot Mau]

MonkeyCheese, on 11 April 2013 - 03:27 PM, said:

You forgot the Death's Knell it is really a different type of beast. It is the only Commando I own, mastered of course.
150kph, 4 arm mounted medium lasers, extra weight into DHS/AMS.

Playstyle - Run around like a madman leggin everything that moves, find a friend or 2 with a death's knell for even more leggin.

Sounds like a mech worthy of carrying the tittle of Trollmando lol

[Kaishaku]

Mech: Jenner JR7D/F/K
Total games: 134 (since stats started being recorded)
Kill death ratio: 1.305
Average damage per game: 265

Tip 1: Never stray too far from your allies especially if the opponents have lights of their own
Tip 2: Avoid big open spaces - you want to be able to get into cover quickly if needed. Big open spaces give them the opportunity to line up their shots.
Tip 3: Avoid mechs with streaks (unless you got ECM) if you MUST make sure you disengage long enough to break lock after every strafe. It doesnt take alot to cripple lights.
Tip 4: If your in a bad spot dont hang around use your speed and get out. I prefer to hang around larger mechs who usually attract all the fire while im free to go to keep plugging at them.
Tip 5: Do not EVER let yourself overheat. Its a death sentence in a light. Just find cover let your mech cool down and then go in again.

[NovaWasp]

You probably don't need the biggest engine, but you want to be at least 125 or higher.

Shoot and Scoot.
Find a wing man if you can.

[ElLocoMarko]

Plenty of good advice up there. I run Cicadas.

Since you don't have jump jets, use elevation changes to throw the heavies ballistics and PPC off target.
Don't stick around to get kills. If it doesn't happen and you are coming under fire, get out of there. Assists are worth more than kills (in C-Bills, kills are worth more in XP).

Modules: Sensor range, 360 degree targeting.

[One Medic Army]

Like a ****ing headless chicken with ADHD.

Never concentrate on any enemy unless they're shooting someone else, never move in a straight line for more than a second or two, double back behind every third building or so while in combat, spam your jumpjets whenever feasible.

In short never be predictable, EVER.

[Elizander]

Urdnot Mau, on 10 April 2013 - 05:44 AM, said:

Straight question. Can any light pilots (cicada pilots included hehe) share their play style?
I'm starting to take interest in fast mechs, but i'm not sure about its roles and how to play it.
Do you engage larger mechs alone? distract them? Focus on stopping the enemy team from advancing? Scout ? I'd like to know as much details as possible. As many strategies as possible.
Also feel free to share you favorite light mechs and their builds.

Now that HSR is implemented, being out in the open is usually bad. You will get hit if you expose yourself constantly. It's usually better to stick near cover so that you can fire and duck without receiving return fire as often as you shoot out. In other words, use your maneuverability and speed to get more shots in at them than they can get at you. Of course, if you are fighting one of the faster models CentD, PB, or any of the other fast mechs that go 90-100+kph you might have problems disengaging. You can still avoid them by tightly hugging corners in areas with high amounts of geometry (frozen city buildings, rive city buildings, etc). Map familiarity will help you avoid getting stuck in a bad place. You can practice weaving and ducking in Testing Grounds. Remember, when using cover, you don't have to keep going forward. If they expect you to come out of corner A after entering corner B, then you will get shot. But you can stop, do a 180 and go back out corner B after a few seconds and catch them in the back again.

The second is that you need to learn how to fire when moving at max speed, and when you can stop for a second to get an accurate shot when no one is looking at you. Not a full stop, but slowing down when an enemy isn't turning to face you and you're at his back is a good time (assuming no one else has a bead on you). You may be fast, but going at 100% speed is not the ideal in all cases (most cases it is, just not all). Practice getting behind slow mechs like Stalkers and Atlas. Most pilots won't have a clue anyway, but the good ones will be able to somehow predict your movements and get shots off on you.

I'm personally not on the whole ECM+Streak boat, though I have nothing against it. I prefer getting lasers and legging other lights all day. 3-4 lasers of the Medium Pulse to Medium Laser variant (and the important part) and enough Double Heat Sinks to fire many shots is what I usually look for. You might have to type "Leg all the light mechs" in pub games to have your team stop doing the wrong thing and shooting them in the torso where they can twist and spread damage.

This is all pub experience, of course. I don't do 8mans.

[Drehl]

bmortime, on 11 April 2013 - 01:42 PM, said:

I am almost exclusively a light pilot. (Founders Jenner 4 ML, 300XL)
...
Legging. Most heavy/assault mech pilots I talk to take armor off their legs because most people don't go for the leg, they go for the core. So, go for the leg. It will slow down the target, make them worry about the other leg and start playing more defensively, and is not the first spot they expect to get hit.

Nice post. Thats exactly how I'm piloting my jenner.. and its so much more effective than stupid circle-strafing.

One important note for legging: You can shoot the legs from any direction.. so it doesn't matter whether the enemy is looking at you or not. That's very usefull when utilizing guerilla tactics as you described.

When played properly you can engage and kill everything heavier than another light with very low to now damage taken.

[Rawyn]

Whenever I'm in the mood for some light action, I'll pilot one of my cicadas in a PUG. Playstyle / tactics depend on the variant and it's loadout, but it's usually

CDA-2A: XL320, DHS, 5ML, TAG
I try to stay with the main battlegroup ( if one exists *cough* ) and try to keep enemy lights off the backs of my heavier teammates. A spider loosing one of its legs mid-flight is always worth a smile....
Before the main battle starts or if there are no lights to hunt down, I'll try to flank and TAG the slower
targets.

CDA-3M: XL300, DHS, ECM, TAG, 2LL (yup, no ballistics)
Stay with the main group up to the supposed front line, then try to sneak around, find the enemy and stay at range. Then light 'em up with TAG from a covered position. If no LRMs start flying or the main battle has already started, snipe at exposed locations or melt away back armor at range. I won't forget that AWS who didn't notice his vanishing back armor until his core exploded. He was too focused on staying at the spawn point and getting those LRMs into the mountain.

X-5: XL300, DHS, 2 SRM6, 4 ML
A bee that stings. Stay with the group and use the weaponry as can opener on distracted assault mechs, preferably the weaker back armor.

However, if in conquest mode I'm the last lone survivor I'll try to run around capping things and avoid engagements with the enemy.

Don't know if that's efficient in any way, but I like it ;-)

Edited by Rawyn, 12 April 2013 - 12:16 AM.

[bmortime]

Ok, so I had some other thoughts.
Get used to dying. Lights are squishy, and one mistake, one lucky strike, can end your day with abruptness. I can remember quite a few times where things were going well, until those Gauss Slugs, PPCs, and Large Lasers came from no where and cored me.
But, you can also die to errant shots, by friends or foe. I was playing with a RL friend of mine (he was piloting a Gauscat), and I was harassing an enemy assault mech, and he fired both slugs at the same time I was moving in front of him at 150kph...I...intercepted the shots. I fell over laughing because it was so sudden and random, and my friend went, WTF happened? I have also been behind an enemy and taken shots that missed it and cored me. Just be ready for it.
Sometimes you make the sacrifice play to delay an enemy from capping your base. This can suck when there are 2 or 3 in the cap point, and they are all bigger than you or have streaks, but it is your job.
Which reminds me, if you are on Assault and you see your base has been tagged, disengage from the enemies and secure your base. It frustrates me to no end when I am trying to learn how to play anything but lights when none of the lights on my team will go protect the base.

I also find carrying AMS has kept me alive and is worth its weight to carry. A wrong move, and you can have LRMs raining on you, and it helps when a streaker is chasing you. Also, if you see an assault or heavy getting hit by LRMs, you can run under the fire and help alleviate some of the damage. I once parked myself under a LRM Stalker (I was hiding from a 3L) and let my AMS run dry curbing its missiles from destroying my Atlas friend.

Oy, I think about mechs and talk about them like my dad does about cars.

[Evil Ed]

Mech: 3L
Engine: 295XL
Weapons: 1 ERPPC, 2 ML
Equipment: ECM, and sometimes BAP.

Style:
Run in a biiiiig circle and find a good spot 600-800m behind enemy main group. Take your time and try to find pick one priority target and lock when he looks over a ridge/hill or around a building. Don't lock when he is in cover, that will tell him you are somewhere behind him. Take a shot now and then, but remember to hide in between and mixing up the pace of fire and if possible move between alternative hideouts.
When the fighting intensifies it is usually fine to just stand and fire every 3sec until heat is crit, but always be aware of other enemies and hide as soon as someone is about to look in your direction. Occasionally there is a good idea to make as much noise as possible, more then once a stupid Stalker has done a 180 and turned his back to your friends who is going for the big push.
Prime time of this playstyle is when you manage to induce friendly fire by the enemy. It happens, and it's a great sight when enemies start firing at each other because of me pecking their backs.

I do around 300dmg in generall and most of that is hitting the not so well armoured center - and side torsos.

[ElLocoMarko]

All this advice makes piloting a light sounds extremely hazardous (which it is) but let's not be all doom and gloom.
I have only one light (three variants of Cicada) and it is my most winning chassis, 14% higher than any other.

Side note: My next purchase. Probably a Raven 3L. If the devs won't nerf it, then I'll play it. If they put some teeth back in LRM I might avoid the dark side and go trebuchet or stalker.

Edited by ElLocoMarko, 12 April 2013 - 08:25 AM.

[bmortime]

ElLocoMarko, on 12 April 2013 - 08:22 AM, said:

All this advice makes piloting a light sounds extremely hazardous (which it is) but let's not be all doom and gloom.
I have only one light (three variants of Cicada) and it is my most winning chassis, 14% higher than any other.

Side note: My next purchase. Probably a Raven 3L. If the devs won't nerf it, then I'll play it. If they put some teeth back in LRM I might avoid the dark side and go trebuchet or stalker.

I hope it didn't sound all doom and gloom. I love my Jenner. My friends give me crap for not being good at anything but my Jenner. It just takes time and practice. =D

[DTheSleepless]

ElLocoMarko, on 12 April 2013 - 08:22 AM, said:

All this advice makes piloting a light sounds extremely hazardous (which it is) but let's not be all doom and gloom.
I have only one light (three variants of Cicada) and it is my most winning chassis, 14% higher than any other.

Side note: My next purchase. Probably a Raven 3L. If the devs won't nerf it, then I'll play it. If they put some teeth back in LRM I might avoid the dark side and go trebuchet or stalker.

Don't be THAT GUY. Play something that requires some skill, the 3L is still easymode and utterly broken against other lights.

[Jay Z]

I started with the Jenners and they are still my favourite mechs. You will learn through experience. When you die, don't DC, watch one of the surviving lights. See what you can learn from their techniques. Jumpjets U-turns FTW.

[drinniol]

I've been playing a jenner with 6 SLAS. Can fire almost constantly.

You want to get behind the enemy (NEVER circle strafe, it's easy to counter by walking backwards and counter-turning) and use your maneuverability to stay there.

If there is a furball going on I like to blitz past with a hit and fade style. If I'm lucky an opponent will give chase and open his back to my teammates.

If you know which assault and heavy loadouts are likely to be walking around with paper legs and they are ez-mode to disable and kill.

[Alamarian]

I was trying to Elite my Hunchback 4H tonight and in one match I solo'd two light mechs, then killed a third who was flitting about. I don't play lights but I did kill three of them and I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so here's what they did wrong:

They were predictable. That's the biggest part of avoiding AC/20 to the face: do not give someone who can aim a good bead on you. A Raven tried to circle strafe me. He died first. It's not just avoiding circle strafes though. Try to vary your movement speed and be careful about using jump jets. The last to die, a Jenner, was jump jetting around and made a predictable landing. Result? That's right, AC/20 to the face. If he had made one of those JJ u-turns or varied his thrusting a bit, he might have lived a bit longer. A few matches later, I tango'd with a Raven on Alpine who never stayed at the same speed for longer than a few seconds. He f'd me up. I was nearly dead before I landed one AC/20 shot on him. I got his leg but he killed me.

One didn't pay good attention to the map/terrain. A Spider ran into that plane at one of the spawn points on River City. He was stuck on it just long enough for me to remove his leg. After my dakka-stick reloaded, he too died of AC/20 to the face. Maintain awareness and try not to stop. If you do, get moving again as soon as possible. Maybe even use jump jets, if you have them, to throw off aim for a sec. Nothing is more annoying than a light who knows you can't aim your massive cannon too far uphill or downhill and exploits this to the fullest.

They didn't disengage. If the first two lights had just let me cap their spawn (it was conquest) they could have zipped off to cap more points or take out less aware prey. Or they could have waited a moment and come back to take me out from a safer angle. Instead, they just kept trying to bash their heads against a mech with enough dakka to do serious hurt to them and a fast enough engine to avoid being completely outmaneuvered.

[FallenSeraphim]

DTheSleepless, on 12 April 2013 - 04:16 PM, said:

Don't be THAT GUY. Play something that requires some skill, the 3L is still easymode and utterly broken against other lights.

I'm pretty much a dedicated light pilot (Jenners, Commandos, Spiders) and I've mastered the first couple, working on the last. I don't pilot Ravens, the 3L in particular, because it feels like I have an Easy button where my joystick would be. The typical 2xSSRM + ECM allows players to go in guns blazing without thinking. You don't have to be aware of escape routes, cover, etc as much and in turn, makes for a worse light pilot.

My favorite is the Jenner-D (300XL, 2xML, 4xSL, 2xSSRM) it puts out a solid punch, can take a good deal of damage and can run/jump away from most other mechs. The only thing with them is that right now I seem to be getting killed a lot from only CT hits because of how the hitbox is. And a shiny ECM crown (but if it did then the Jenner would be easily overpowered)

Other than that I'm enjoying piloting Spiders, the little buggers have small hitboxes (making them frustrating to hit) and can easily dart around the battlefield. They may not have many weapon options but they are definitely fun to pilot!

[Eboli]

FallenSeraphim, on 14 April 2013 - 08:08 PM, said:

Other than that I'm enjoying piloting Spiders, the little buggers have small hitboxes (making them frustrating to hit) and can easily dart around the battlefield. They may not have many weapon options but they are definitely fun to pilot!

You got that right. Last night I was in learning Assault mech mode (therefore very low ELO) (Alpine map) and it must have been a bunch of new players on my team. Along came a spider and all the team (even heavies and assaults) - apart from myself decided to chase the damn mech. I stated in chat "don't chase the spider!" but they all died as they trickled into a kill zone where the enemy was waiting...

Kudos to the Spider player - he played his role perfectly.

Cheers!
Eboli.

[Kaishaku]

Right now "arguably" the top 2 light mechs would be either the Raven 3L and the Jenners. I myself am a Jenner pilot.

Raven 3L Pro
ECM this is the ONLY reason why you would pick a Raven over a Jenner. It makes you harder to spot, track and kill. Before the LRM nerf a few patches ago the 3L was the only really viable light mech to go with. The reason why its also superior to the other ECM capable lights (3M, 2D and 5D) is its weapon load out, 2 missile slots and 3 lasers allow for good highly efficient weapon load outs giving a significant punch.

Raven 3L Cons
This biggest weakness of the Raven is the lack of JJ so it's not nearly as maneuverable as other JJ capable lights. So you cant do crazy tight turns and leap over small buildings/obstacles. The other weakness of the Raven is the hit box size, for a light its pretty large and half of it is taken up by your huge *** legs. Hence getting legged (and killed shortly after) is quite common. Otherwise a very solid light. Also your required to level two absolutely useless variants just to master this one could also be considered a Con :/

Jenner Pros
Very fast, good weapon load outs and a small hit box makes this great little mech to pilot. Also due to the shape of the mechs hit box having an XL over a STD engine makes virtually no difference in survivability of the mech as the arm/chicken wings of the mech effectively shields the side torso regions. Also unlike the 3L all three current variants are actually viable so your not stuck leveling crap half the time. Also interestingly the JR7-D has an almost identical weapon load out of the Cicada X-5 has the same speed but has a smaller hit box and JJ. Not to mention it doesn't require MC to access making it a more than worthy alternative for people who were looking at the X-5 but not willing to spend MC on it.

Jenner Cons
Apart from the lack of ECM there is none its more or less the quintessential light mech. Truth be told even if I had access to ECM Id have a hard time finding weight for it (perhaps drop the SSRM/SRMs perhaps not). Hence I pilot Jenners


Other honorable mentions
COM-2D: Good but very dependent if the enemy can counter your ECM or not
CDA-3M: The ugly fat sister to the 3L. Not quite a troll mech but still ugly.
SDR-5D: Annoying little grasshopper that it is, not nearly as threatening as a 3L or Jenner.

Edited by Kaishaku, 14 April 2013 - 10:38 PM.

[Kamelkaze]

Kaishaku, on 14 April 2013 - 10:36 PM, said:

SDR-5D: Annoying little grasshopper that it is, not nearly as threatening as a 3L or Jenner.

The SDR is underrated.