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Movement is survival:
I dont' care if you're in a 100 ton behemoth or floating around in a 160 20 ton mech. You should ALWAYS be moving if you are not in a set firing line with the rest of your team (and most of the time even then you should never completely stop moving).
This goes beyond simply just trying tp provide the enemy a harder moving target to hit, it has to do with a mech's ability to turn and run or move positions as needed. Mechs have momentum and inertia. It takes them a second to get moving and a second to stop. The heavier you are, the more that second gets longer.
If you are already moving, you don't have that split second "get going" momentum where your mech has to start movign before really accelerating. That means even in a firing line or set position if your speed is at .000001/KPH you're still going to have a much bigger advantage to getting out of harm's way, collapse to a new position, fill in a broken firing line, etc. as opposed to the players that were completely stopped.
If you're a fire support mech of any kind and sitting towards the rear of your team's position, this should be you mantra. Even you lurm boats, you can set your speed manually if need be and set it to 1%, it is slow enough to ensure you aren't going to fumble out into the open but, as described above, a fantastic trick to being able to move and get out of trouble. Your'e also still moving slow enough that your circling and turning ability is still abotu as tight as your mech is able to perform.
Never stop moving. When you are pushing into a position or bearing down on enemy mechs or pushing through a corridor you do not STOP! Ever. For any reason. The only thing you accomplish when you stop is causing every mech behind you to run into one another, block the firing line which prevents the rest of your team from shooting back, and due to accel and decel stats give your enemy a stationary sole target to focus down. It's bad all the way around.
(Obviously use common sense with this folks) If it's you and 2 other mechs and you turn a corner into half the enemy team, then yes by all means stop and let the rest of your team know.)
Remember 1/kph is better than 0/kph
Stick Together (The blob attacks):
Ok, this is a huge one I think many need help refining based on my pub drops lately. "Stick together" is a great strategy, especially for newer players. Stick together means sticking close to your team and working together to focus fire and such. Stick together does not, however, mean stand on top of one another.
Grid locations are fairly large with multiple firing lane opportunities. If you see 1-2 mechs already in a firing lane and position, move to the next. Do NOT attempt to "help" them, the only thing you're doing is clogging that lane and resulting in less damage being put on the enemy. Move over another 10-20 meters, set up 100-200 meters behind them if you're a support mech of some kind. There's a LOT of room in any grid location. Use it. The only thing you do when you clump up behind a single area is give the opponent plenty of opportunities to drop a bunch of arty and air on your entire team's head.
If you're a fire support mech and you're standing shoulder to shoulder with one of your short range buddies, you're doing it wrong. Set up in the best position and range for your mech. If your optimal range is 500 meters, then you should never be closer than 400 meters to your enemy.
If I'm using LLs and sitting at 500-600 meters away, I can use my weapons to their fullest potential while ensuring that any short range return fire I take is at a reduced rate due to being beyond their nominal range. If I get any closer I run the risk of being overwhelmed. When I see (on my minimap, don't worry I'll discuss this one next), that my team is shifting, moving, etc. or that the enemy is getting close to my 400 meter "danger zone" I relocate. (see the "always move" tips above)
Situational Awareness:
Pay attention! Just like when driving a car you should be constantly scanning the area in front of you and your eyes should be glancing from the "road" to your "dashboard" constantly. Your minimap, targeting information (don't worry, this one's next), enemy locations, terrain, etc. should all be scanned constantly.
Your mini-map is one of the most valuable (and overlooked) tools you have. It tells you the position of every friendly mech on the field as well as the direction they are facing. If you spot an enemy mech flanking and everyone is facing the wrong way you can immediately know this and prevent rear armors from getting shredded a lot of times.
It shows you the location of any enemy mechs your team has LoS on and their directional facing as well. It's invaluable intel and it requires nothing more than glancing down at it from time to time and being aware of where you're at in conjunction with your team and the enemy.
400 meters sounds like a lot of distance, but when you consider a mech can close that distance (even the slow ones guys) in a matter of a couple of seconds, it really isn't.
Be aware of your teammates. If they have firing lines set up and you start running across them, don't get pissed when you take friendly fire. It happens at times and it especially happens if you're not going to pay attention enough to not walk out in front of a mech that's firing at the enemy and you happen to walk right in front of their guns. That's on you.
Targeting:
Always hit "R" and target. Always. No exception. Always. Always target. Every time. Without fail. No excuses. Period. Even if it's not the mech you're firing on target an enemy mech. Always.
There is absolutely no reason to not target. None.
It gives your teammates valuable intel on enemy positions and the condition of enemy mechs. This is especially helpful in prolonged games. As mechs start taking damage their "doll" will change colors. Red = dead. By targeting enemy mechs you will know this information and if it comes down to you both having one shot to take and you have that targeting information and they don't you ahve a huge advantage. If the enemy has a cherry red leg and a fresh bright yellow torso and you shoot anything other than that leg, you're doing it wrong plain and simple.
If you have been targeting and cycling through targets and paying attention to the damage information obtained while doing so, you'll increase your success rate exponentially. You also get spotting bonuses, targeting bonuses, lock bonuses, etc. for extra exp and cbills so again, ALWAYS target.
I will conclude the first portion here. I'll be taking a few "placeholders" after this initial post so that I can easily break up the sections for easier reading and consolidating the information into a single area for players to read without having to scroll through a novel in a single post. Keep in mind that I know these are somewhat simplified, but this is intended for new players and very basic and generic information to help them improve regardless of mech choice and faction.
As always keep it on-topic, courteous, and productive. These aren't discussions on "best" "worst" etc., these are informational tools to help others get over the steep learning curve. I'll be doing some more detailed mech build and role filling guides as well when time permits so be looking for those as well!
GL&GH
May your pew pew pew be straight and true.
Monkeh salutes you all <o
Edited by Sandpit, 06 December 2015 - 03:10 PM.
