12 replies to this topic

[Ewigan]

Good morning Ladies and Gents,

i have a topic in my head that enrages me a bit, whenever i come across it.

The topic is, as the title says: LRM max range.

This MIGHT have been changed, maybe even i just got it completly wrong, but this is what i remember:

- LRM Max Range is 1000m
- This number is just a reference point though
- LRMs do in fact fly farther, IF you have a lock.

So if you do have a lock on a target and you start to let it rain, you can deal some damage. Even in the best of worlds not all rockets will reach your goal though, and you do significantly less damage when you fire from over 1000m away.

I remember having discussions about that effect back in CB, and people would agree with me. I wanted to give it a try on the testing grounds, but didn't get to it (yet).

Anyone having some hard facts? It seriously annoys me when i read about people who call out other players for being "noobs that fire LRMs from over 1k". And nope, it didn't happen to me, i tend to somehow not run much LRMs these days.

(Testing grounds might get complicated though, because of sensor ranges, as you need a lock. Probably best tested in a regular game, when your teammates are giving you the target info.)

[Ewigan]

No one?

I tried replicating it on the testing Grounds, but as modules don't work.... Well i do not get over 800m to get that lock!

[Comguard]

Missiles explode after reaching max range. You can observe it when you are in a mech that is under LRM-fire on your own, the missiles plop right in front of you.

Of course no one is using missiles nowadays, so maybe it has changed.

[Zerberus]

1. many things don`T work in TG teh way they do in live.

2. I do not have hard facts, but I do know that yesterday I took about 5 steps back from a huge volley or LRMs fired from 996 yards, and watched them disappear in a harmless puff of smoke about 10 feet in front of me. FWIW

[TroubleEntendre]

Comguard, on 29 April 2013 - 09:48 AM, said:

Of course no one is using missiles nowadays, so maybe it has changed.

I use LRMs all the time. I bought a Cat C1 before I knew the stigma that LRMs carry, and I can honestly say I don't understand why people are so down on them. I get one or two kills and four to six assists around with LRMs as my primary armament. They have their limitations, but if you know how to work with them they're pretty cool.

[FrostCollar]

Remember, LRMs explode if they fly 1000m, NOT if they are fired at a target outside that range. Back when I used LRMs, I'd frequently hit targets that were out of range but moving towards me so they walked within range, and sometimes missed targets when they were within 1000m but walked out of range. That could explain any irregularities I've seen - LRMs are supposed to have a max range of 1000m and in the few times I've seen them in game lately I haven't seen anything to disprove that.

[Ewigan]

so far nothing conclusive... though FrostCollar seems up to something.

[shotokan5]

Interesting question considering that you can shred a Mech and get almost nothing in points. It's clear hits on all mech's at 600 to 700m. Try the true range of LRM 10's it might make you wonder if 1000 is the limit?

[DEMAX51]

Hopefully this clears up some confusion:

1. LRMs automatically detonate (in mid-air) as soon as they've traveled 1000m, whether you've got a lock or not. You can still target, lock on to, and fire at a mech more than 1000 meters out, but none of your missiles will actually reach the target, and you will not do ANY damage, unless the target moves inside of the 1000m mark before the missiles get there - (Similarly, SRMs and SSRMs detonate as soon as they've traveled 270m)

3. LRMs have a minimum distance of ~180m. Inside of 180m they will do absolutely no damage to anything they strike.

2. In order to acquire lock on any mech outside of 700 meters (which is your mech's maximum sensor range, assuming you don't have the advanced sensor range module), you need a teammate to "spot" the enemy for you or else you won't be able to lock on at all.

So, Ewigan, while I don't generally abide by calling people noobs, firing LRMs at targets outside of 1000m is pretty pointless (and, yes, somewhat noob-like), just like firing LRMs at a target inside of 180m.

[Cato Phoenix]

I've also read somewhere that this takes trajectory into account for total flight distance.

[Lord Perversor]

FrostCollar, on 29 April 2013 - 01:34 PM, said:

Remember, LRMs explode if they fly 1000m, NOT if they are fired at a target outside that range. Back when I used LRMs, I'd frequently hit targets that were out of range but moving towards me so they walked within range, and sometimes missed targets when they were within 1000m but walked out of range. That could explain any irregularities I've seen - LRMs are supposed to have a max range of 1000m and in the few times I've seen them in game lately I haven't seen anything to disprove that.

This pretty much, the missiles have a top range of 1000m as travel distance not as actual position when launched.

that's why you can fire missiles at targets far than those range and still hit if your objetive closes in before the missiles travel up the 1000m distance, same thing happens if you fire the Lrm into a target at 150m running away from you (lights mostly) if they get beyond the minimum 180m before missiles hit, then the missiles get active and can deal dmg.

this also can be seen when firing some LRM at light mechs in open areas near the 800m range, sometimes they are so fast, that missiles begin to fly behind them trying to catch them and explode mid air due the 1000m distance reached.

[DEMAX51]

Cato Phoenix, on 02 May 2013 - 11:42 AM, said:

I've also read somewhere that this takes trajectory into account for total flight distance.

Yes, I believe this is correct. So when the missile arches up, it eats up some of it's flight range.

[Asmosis]

A lot of people forget to take mech velocity into account. They'll fire lrms at a scout or something 800m away and continue to move towards it and wonder why their lrms explode when the target is still only 850m away.

I know it should be obvious, but its 1000m from the point they were fired not where your mech is relative to your target when they explode.

Also I don't know if LRM distance takes the real distance, arc and all, into consideration or just the horizontal distance. If you include the actual distance then the max range would be about 950m or so i'd guess (get a math guy to work out the length of the arc).

Its a moot point really though, at near max range your target has about 3-5 seconds to either move behind cover or simply move out of max range. He also has time to put 2 gauss rounds in your cockpit if your spotting for yourself.

Edited by Asmosis, 02 May 2013 - 07:31 PM.