13 replies to this topic

[General Sherman]

I'm a newish player who got into the game about the same day the Heavy Metal got added after seeing a news post about it on the Escapist.

In this time I've really taken a shine to the faster mechs with heavy dragon and my favorite Jenner-f. However in a light it's usually my job to either cap out an enemy team, chase down and kill lights, or try and pick apart the heavies at high speed.

This last part has been a slight issue for me as of late considering at least half the enemy team is Assaults usually and mostly they carry heavy sniper weapons.

(Note: Don't care about balance or calling anything OP, this is hardly my first beta so I'm fine with trying to adapt to the current situation until the next Flavor of the week hence this forum post)

Anyway I know to always target anything weak first or swing around to the back and try to melt the back armor if I sneak up on a solo sniper however if I'm weaving in and out of serious brawl this might not be possible so I'm wondering if anyone out there might be able to help me figure out some good places to target especially on the Assault Mechs?

I know there are some obvious ones like the Dragon ct or the Hunchbacks left torso but I honestly have no clue where to aim when dealing yellow armor Awesomes or Atlases or even the usual Jagermech

Any tips? Thanks in advance

[FrostCollar]

Sounds like you need a guide to where different mech hitboxes are! You can find just such a guide here.

[General Sherman]

FrostCollar, on 27 April 2013 - 09:32 AM, said:

Sounds like you need a guide to where different mech hitboxes are! You can find just such a guide here.

That's really useful thanks! I had no idea the Stalker CT was that narrow

[FrostCollar]

General Sherman, on 27 April 2013 - 09:40 AM, said:

That's really useful thanks! I had no idea the Stalker CT was that narrow

Indeed! It's a major trait of the chassis and a great reason to never take an XL in one.

[Volthorne]

FrostCollar, on 27 April 2013 - 09:41 AM, said:

Indeed! It's a major trait of the chassis and a great reason to never take an XL in one.

As a rule of thumb, never put an XL in an Assault. Unless it's a Highlander (you need the extra tonnage for the JJs).

[Victor Morson]

Volthorne, on 28 April 2013 - 01:09 AM, said:

As a rule of thumb, never put an XL in an Assault. Unless it's a Highlander (you need the extra tonnage for the JJs).

Exceptions can also be made for the Awesome 9M and Pretty Baby.

Speaking of XL, OP, that's something to learn. When you scan someone and see what weapons they have and how fast they are moving, when you learn to gauge if they have an XL engine or not, you will find out if side torso destruction will kill them.

This is huge. Knowing how to ID an XL 'mech makes it much, much easier to destroy. Those AC/20 Jaggers people are afraid of in public games literally die in SECONDS to an organized group, because if it's moving fast, it's positively XL.

EDIT: Also, if you're forced to fight a heavier 'mech, you might fire a shot at the legs to probe their armor. If they skimped on leg armor, many 'mechs are easier for a light to kill if they focus the legs first, because legs can be hit from 360 degrees around the 'mech, unlike front/rear armor.

Edited by Victor Morson, 28 April 2013 - 02:16 AM.

[Budor]

Awesome-9M and Pretty Baby are often XLd, either side torso.

Atlas with a Gauss RT till the gauss explodes.

Highlanders tend to have most non missile weapons in the RA/RT. (does not apply to HM, you go for LA/LT there)

Stalkers are a pain but they suffer low torso twist (3F not so much), watch where their legs point and try to stay out off sight. No true weak spots imo, sometimes you catch a XLd one and may ::.. :::: ::.. .

AC20 Jaegers are XLd, either side torso.

SRM/SSRM Cats have ammo in the legs and a big head/CT hitbox.

Centurions are hard might want to try the legs, often stripped + ammo.

Wangs are XLd, either side torso. (the slow ones are like standard Cents)

Cent-D is often XLd same as most Trebs.

Edited by Budor, 28 April 2013 - 02:35 AM.

[Victor Morson]

Budor, on 28 April 2013 - 02:18 AM, said:

Cent-D is often XLd same as most Trebs.

I will say when the meta allows mediums to have a place again, Standard Engine Trebs are actually very viable and might replace the Centurion for some people. There's some really good setups and the JJs improve survivability enough that it might be worth taking over a zombie.

Most are XL for the moment, though.

[General Sherman]

Budor, on 28 April 2013 - 02:18 AM, said:

Awesome-9M and Pretty Baby are often XLd, either side torso.

Atlas with a Gauss RT till the gauss explodes.

Highlanders tend to have most non missile weapons in the RA/RT. (does not apply to HM, you go for LA/LT there)

Stalkers are a pain but they suffer low torso twist (3F not so much), watch where their legs point and try to stay out off sight. No true weak spots imo, sometimes you catch a XLd one and may ::.. :::: ::.. .

AC20 Jaegers are XLd, either side torso.

SRM/SSRM Cats have ammo in the legs and a big head/CT hitbox.

Centurions are hard might want to try the legs, often stripped + ammo.

Wangs are XLd, either side torso. (the slow ones are like standard Cents)

Cent-D is often XLd same as most Trebs.

Thanks Info like this is useful to me since, as a light, I can be alpha'd down by one stalker volley lately if I don't hit something important and run off.

I know about the XLs in most dragons (Took out a 5n yesterday with my Jenner D's srm alpha in one shot to the rightT) but am not sure about which mechs have them yet since I don't know many other builds besides my jenners and dragon.

Also just how much damage does a exploding Gauss do? I hate Atlases since they just have so damn much armor

[Denno]

Any Atlas pilot with sense that uses Gauss puts CASE in that torso. Those that do not will lose the torso and the arm.

[Budor]

Gauss does 20dmg on explosion but it has only 3 hitpoints and a 90% to explode so its "free" 20dmg to internals. If it goes pop with low internal and no c.a.s.e dmg transfers to CT.

[Pater Mors]

Budor, on 28 April 2013 - 02:18 AM, said:

Wangs are XL

Well... I can't speak for yours, but mine certainly is.

Edited by Pater Mors, 29 April 2013 - 12:03 AM.

[Belorion]

side torsos from the rear is one of the best places to hit any much, Hunchbacks are often very squishy in the back. Plus if you are behind them they can't hit you. There are places on many mechs where if you are behind them you can hit their front armor. Equip a small laser good into the training grounds and hit the much in various places when you are behind them to find the areas. Some off the top of my head are the commandos head, and the cataphracts upper arm joint.

[DukeDublin]

Atlas - Side torsos depending on range; take out the ballistics or SRMS as needed.
Awesome - Hit the right sidetorso thats connected to the weapon loaded arm.
Stalker - Go for the gonads, but I prefer to hit the side torsos and leave them weaponless.
Highlander - Easy to hit head, aim above the glass in the centre if you are shorter/have lowmounted guns.

Dragon - Almost all XL with an easy to hit centre-torso.
Jagermech - Dual AC20s or Gauss combined with lasers is a clear XL, as well as hex AC2s.
Cataphract - Fairly strong chassis, weapons are mounted low so exploit it.
Catapult - Largest head hitbox, hit it from the front.

Hunchback - Go for the hunch unless it is a HBK-4SP.
Centurion - Arm mounted guns are easy to hit from all angles. Lack of ballistics means aim for the centre-torso or legs.
Cicada - Go for the legs, ignore the arms.
Trebuchet - Leg the fast ones, centre-torso the rest.

Commando - Rear centre-torso is abnormally large.
Raven - Legs are a good target, centre-torso can be elusive.
Jenner - Legs or centre-torso.
Spider - Same as Ravens.

Always go for a poorly placed gauss.
Alpha the rear if you can penetrate all the armour or know you can get another hit off on it.
If someone defensively torso twists wait till you have a good shot, don't waste heat.

Edited by DukeDublin, 29 April 2013 - 11:53 PM.