21 replies to this topic

[mack sabbath]

Currently I am piloting and loving my STK-5M with 5 mlas, 5 SRM 6.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...6572430d69bd620

I have been firing missiles on group one, lasers on group two, and this build is pretty heat efficient. I like using my lasers all at once on fast moving lights as they buzz by me and shooting all my missiles into targets who stand in front of me long enough.

I'm a new player, and lately I've seen A.C.E.S. and other videos where they use my same build, but chain fire everything. Of course those guys are experienced players and could win a match in an unarmed Cicada if they really wanted, and I'm a rookie.

So chain fire or not to chain fire? I'm looking for suggestions please.

Thanks in advance.

Edited by Die Primate Die, 06 May 2013 - 05:42 AM.

[Ryokens leap]

Get your butt into testing grounds and try different chain fire combo's. Figure out what you like and what works for you. I love spamming firing lines with chain fire erppc fire, keeps their heads down while team mates flank.

[Oriius]

If you are able to hit them all in group fire, and arn't too hot, then by all means go for it. If you can shear off a lights leg with em all in one go, you can ruin their day.

When you are in a longer fight and are running really hot, then it's worth going chain fire. In my experience it all depends on your heat level and how much more you can handle. Shutting down means you are exposed, it's better you lower your damage output and stay online than to fire then shut down (unless the shot that shut you down kills the person, with no other people around to shoot you).

I'd say give both ways a try, get a feel for the heat levels of both, then switch between as you see fit.

Edited by Oriius, 06 May 2013 - 10:09 AM.

[Ph30nix]

be careful if you fire everything at once people will call you a boat or cheese.

but in seriousness, that loadout you shouldnt have much heat problems, if you want do this

Group 1 Missles (i usualy put the weapon id use the most so id put ML here since they also have greatest max range)
Group 2 Beams (id do missles but it really what you are used too
Group 3 Both or just missles (and set this group to be chain fire, this only works if you have a 3 button mouse (mousewheel is usualy a button if clicked)

again the heat shouldnt be an issue, and chain vs group firing in alost of cases is more prefernce then necessity there are pros and cons to both.

dont let what other people do dictate how you play, You dont know what their set up is besides their mechs loadout, they coudl have a 20+ button mouse, the could use macros so that with one button they fire so fast in chain fire it might as well be grouped.

the main differnces is

chain fire
easier heat managment
Less time when you dont have a weapon ready to fire
if you miss you waste less heat/ammo and can fire again
but
you have far more chances to miss
in cases of fast enemies you might only have time for one shot
in oh crap moments a group salvo vs a 1 shot might mean differnce between you living or not, happened many times to me id turn a corner and walk face first into an enemy in those situations whoever gets their shots off the fastest has the advantage since you might take out equipment or kill outright. if your firing chain chances of it being u are slim.

group fire though
more time with nothing to fire
if you miss you completely miss


etc etc. just play however feels best to you, In the end working with your team has far more of an effect then anything else. You take even those A.C.E.S and put them in with a pug of noobs they wont be able to carry the team.

Teamwork Trumps all

[Blair]

I tend to group my weapons by range / weapon type, and default to firing them in groups until I start running hot. When I need to thread the needle, I'll activate chain fire to float around 80-90% heat during the fight. If I can't take them out, I may break off for a few seconds, cool down a bit, and then switch back to group fire for a bigger punch.

Ultimately it's not an either or situation, both should be part of your arsenal, and you should be adapting to the battlefield situation as you go.

[stjobe]

Alpha beats DPS.

That's really all there is to it - putting your 5 MLs in the same spot is far superior than chain-firing them and spreading the damage all over the target.

[Shatterpoint]

Can't speak for the Stalkers but I always set my Aws weapons in 2 sets, L/R mouse buttons each fire a weapon type in group so all lasers and all missiles. I also have 2 mouse keys set to cycle fire on both types, I rarely fire all as groups unless I'm point blank and wanna burst.

95% of the time I'm firing in cycle mode..often hitting the buttons fast to fire the cycle at high speed it's pretty much a full group shot but the heat is a little more dispersed usually letting me get off more semi-burst shots.

[NRP]

Chain-firing general helps with heat management, and also to keep a steady stream of pee on fast moving lights (who don't like steady streams of pee).

Firing all at once is about putting max damage on a mech in the shortest possible time. When to use which firing mode is something you'll have to learn for yourself, based on your preferred play style.

[One Medic Army]

I don't chain fire anything except UAC/5s and AC/2s.
For everything else I personally prefer waiting for the perfect shot and unloading everything.

The other thing to understand is that missiles need to lead the target, whereas lasers don't. If you're chain firing both you can only use one weapon group at a time, unless the target is stationary or very close.

NRP, on 08 May 2013 - 02:27 PM, said:

Chain-firing general helps with heat management, and also to keep a steady stream of pee on fast moving lights (who don't like steady streams of pee).

as a light pilot I'll say that I've learned to only fear lasers that are group fired. Sure, someone chain firing can keep sweeping over me with lasers, but the damage is so spread it can be ignored. Once they're firing a couple largelas or 3+ medlas at once it starts to hurt regardless of how much the beam sweeps.

Edited by One Medic Army, 08 May 2013 - 02:31 PM.

[Sephlock]

Chain fired lasers = damage spread all over = a very very very angry Sephlock (because the guys who do that **** are always on MY team)...

[Escef]

Chain fire has 3 purposes.

1. Slowing down heat build up so that you don't shut down and get killed.

2. Staggering your fire so that a miss does not represent a huge loss of potential fire power. Chain firing weapons and walking fire onto your target results in less lost fire power than throwing everything and missing.

3. Maximizing screen shake or vision obscurement for your opponents by spraying firepower at them over a longer duration.


If none of those are relevant to you or your build than don't chain fire.

[Flak Kannon]

Hi,

This is how I play, but you mileage may vary...


Easy answer...it all depends on your target.

If you are face to face with another Assault or Heavy, and there are within 200 meters, and they aren't moving to severely obliquely your position, then it's a massive group fire discharge, I don't mean alpha strike. I mean one 5 ML group blast, followed by one massive 5 SRM group blast.. and when/if you heat up past 85/90%, the quickly switch to chain fire to manage said heat.

When facing a fast light, or fast Medium battlemech, I tend to always, always, alwyas Chainfire my ML and chainfire the SRM's to lead the target and get 'some' of my ammo on target.. you know, to cause at least a little damage.

Kinda pointless to fire a massive 30 shot SRM volley at a 150 KPH Spider and miss each and every missle.


This text illustrates the strengths of Pulse Lasers in dealing with Lights and fast moving Mediums.. and illustrates the benefit of added range of standard lasers for targeting Heavys and Assaults...

[Sephlock]

^ After giving it a bit more thought, I recommend a different approach.

Always chain fire when you aren't on my team, otherwise, always alpha strike.

[OneEyed Jack]

One Medic Army, on 08 May 2013 - 02:29 PM, said:

I don't chain fire anything except UAC/5s and AC/2s.

Please tell me you're referring to a macro and not actually using the built-in chain-fire for AC2's.

Edited by OneEyed Jack, 08 May 2013 - 04:11 PM.

[One Medic Army]

OneEyed Jack, on 08 May 2013 - 04:10 PM, said:

Please tell me you're referring to a macro and not actually using the built-in chain-fire for AC2's.

I don't macro, my left hand game pad feels too spongy whenever I try and use it.
Of course, the last time I used the AC/2 was before the LRM nerf.
I almost never use UaC5s either, I prefer 20 10 or the paired 5s on my heavy metal.

[Sephlock]

^ Wow.

[OneEyed Jack]

One Medic Army, on 08 May 2013 - 04:14 PM, said:

I don't macro, my left hand game pad feels too spongy whenever I try and use it.
Of course, the last time I used the AC/2 was before the LRM nerf.
I almost never use UaC5s either, I prefer 20 10 or the paired 5s on my heavy metal.

Never, ever chain-fire AC2's. It's almost exactly as effective as having a single AC2, because the pause on the chain-fire is close enough to the cooldown as to be essentially the same. Macroing them is good for trolling, although not for much else. Otherwise, just group-fire to get the same ROF with higher damage.

[One Medic Army]

OneEyed Jack, on 08 May 2013 - 04:47 PM, said:

Never, ever chain-fire AC2's. It's almost exactly as effective as having a single AC2, because the pause on the chain-fire is close enough to the cooldown as to be essentially the same. Macroing them is good for trolling, although not for much else. Otherwise, just group-fire to get the same ROF with higher damage.

You're a bit off.
Chain firing 2x AC/2 does lose you some fire rate, but not much. The chain delay with the AC/2 is closer to .25sec than the .5sec delay of the AC/2. Chain firing 3 AC/2s is a complete waste however.

Well, at least that's how it was last time I tried.

Edited by One Medic Army, 08 May 2013 - 04:51 PM.

[Traigus]

I usually chain my lasers. if I have to shoot them all, I click fast and set them all off. (Kind of using the first one as a laser sight for the rest). You don't have to wait for the first laser to fully fire to add more in on the chain. Just click away.

This way if a shot presents itself I can fire them all quickly, but if I have to dodge, then I only heat up a little.

I find it easier to leg lights this way too.. try and hold 1 laser on. If I can, then I pour 2-3 more in. if he jinks, I do it again, always havign a ton of heat in reserve to pour it on with a good angle.

[aniviron]

Never chain fire unless doing so nets you a non-negligable advantage. Alphas will do all their damage to the same place, so even if it isn't where you wanted to hit, it might open up a torso or tear off a leg, and that will always be more useful than spreading the damage across the whole mech like chain firing will do.

Chain firing is useful in a few situations. If you're going to need your heat cap and you're firing at someone who is almost dead, use chain fire so you don't waste heat, since you need it for the next guy. It's useful when firing weapons that have large amounts of screen shake, because even though an ssrm2 or ac2 don't do very much damage they shake the screen almost as much as their much larger cousins, so you can make it hard for the other guy to aim. It's useful if you think you might be about to die and want to get off some more shots before you do, but you don't want it so badly you shut down and guarantee your death. And it's useful to test shot lead and range when first engaging.

So yeah, there are a lot of situations where it's useful, but most of them are fairly specific. If you have the mouse buttons for it, I highly recommend setting up your normal groups and then a duplicate group that has them all set on chain fire as well.