4 replies to this topic

[MustrumRidcully]

The most recent developments of the game have taught me a lot about the value of projectiles vs beams with a duration and the value of slow recycle times and high alpha values, as well as the value of torso twist speed and range.

I have been grinding my Jagermechs the past few weeks, mostly with Dual Gauss Rifle and Dual AC/20 builds. I am not a big fan of the Ultra AC/5 mechanics, and I am underwhelmed by AC/5s, AC/10s and LBX, and missiles have been... weird for a while now, and I am really not an LRM guy. So that's pretty much what is left to run.

And I say it's fun.

The typical play style when engaging with the AC/20 or Gauss for me is to fire a shot, then twist to the left or right as fast as I can, wait for the incoming fire and the AC/20 or Gauss to come off cooldown, twist back, take aim at a weakened spot, and fire again. This pretty much ensures that I am almost never hit "in the face". There are still some limits, unfortunately, what you can do with a Jagermech in practice - the side torsos are still hittable usually, but at least I manage to spread the damage a bit.

I switched to my Fatlas for a few matches. It has a more diverse loadout - 3 Large Lasers, some SRM6, and an AC/20.

My play style needed to adapt notably. The first thing of note - 3 weapons with 3 different flight characteristics mean no alpha strikes, except against stationary targets. But whether I can fire at stationary targets or not, another thing - when I fire those LLs, I have to keep the enemy in my sights for the entire duration of the beam. So I cannot torso twist immediately after pressing the button, I have to wait for the beam to finish. This gives my enemies a full second facetime. But if I can't alpha, this 1 second is also followed by the time required to re-aim for the AC/20, and then the SRM.
Theoretically, my Atlas does not have that glaring weakness of the XL Engine. But unfortuantely, it "compensates" by forcing me to look into the face of the enemy

Your loadout can signifcantly affect your defensive options. And this example might also point out why "alpha strike" builds have always been popular and effective ,and why having a diverse weapon loadout can become a drawback in a firefight.

[MustrumRidcully]

This post might have seemed unfocused and rambling perhaps... I really need to work on that.

TL;DR: Having to shoot many weapons seperately is also a serious defensive drawback, as it gives you less time for torso twisting.

No one might be surprised by this "relevation", but what can we do about it if we think about alpha-boats vs "versatile" or "balanced" mech builds?

[Deathlike]

Well, it lends to JJs being the optimal goto mechanism for alpha strikes. For certain shots, getting back immediately into cover is what JJs provides similar to a mech w/o JJs crossing one building to another in Frozen City and shooting the targets. The difference though is that cover is easier to achieve with JJs than walking from one area to another.

With that said, a loadout can change the mentality of how you are to approach the enemy and how you engage them... with an AC boat, bundling them with some LLs would be effective, but not so much if you were to use PPCs instead.

[Whompity]

I never exceed 3 weapon groups, each with their own mouse button. Typically something like this:

1) fire often, medium range, medium heat (banks of MLs)
2) Heavy guns, fire when you have a GOOD shot (AC/20, Gauss, PPC,etc)
3) LRMs, SSRMs, etc.

I also try to make sure I don't break a group between arms/torso, but it depends on chassis.

On my DDC, the two arm LL's are group 1, the AC/20 is group 2 and the 3xSRM6 are group 3.

On my Jenner, 4xML are group 1, 2xSSRM are group 3.

In some cases, I'l make groups 1 and 2 the same weapons (say, a bunch of ML) but have Group 2 on Group Fire and Group 1 on Chain, so they still fit the requirements above (1 is regular plinking, 2 is a heavy hit)

More than 3 groups and I have to think too much.

Edited by Olivia Maybach, 03 June 2013 - 11:13 AM.

[Bilbo]

It seems you are brawling mostly. Use pulse lasers instead. Less face time needed on target and they have a similar range profile as everything else you carry.

Edited by Bilbo, 03 June 2013 - 11:11 AM.