16 replies to this topic

[Surtosi]

With 12v12 and the rugged lava map scouting is the diffrence between victory and defeat. Here is how to be a good scout and make bank at the same time.

1) don't engage the enemy until their armor is gone. Scouts have great speed and small profiles but lack burst firepower. Cycle through targets with R and type the quad u find them in.

2) use the beagle and tag. I've made 200k in cbills and 1200xp with just spotting. Dedicated scouts can make money and xp all day just by being the first to target and hold lock on high priority mechs (stalkers, tanks, bRawlers, snipers, scouts in that order. I stalkers are the highest alpha mechs and are therefore the most dangerous.)

3) get the engine first. Not all mechs start off with 100kph speed but easily can do so with a slightly bigger engine. If you're not pushing 120kph, you're too slow.

4) get behind the enemy. Take the long way round. Either you setup in the rear of the enemy and play god choosing who dies from lrm storms first or you hit the enemy making a flanking maneuver and prevent the early cap.

5) be the vulture. Vultures are terrifying for the implication that death is imminent. Play a good scout and you'll feel their fear as the try to run in their injured mechs. Take off the legs and turn the enemy into toy soilders.

Please take this to heart. Win by letting the team do the work and stop trying to out maneuver 5 mechs at once. Good luck and prey you never meet me in my spider.

[Straylight]

Assuming that the other eleven guys you dropped with are competent pilots, familiar with the mechanics of the game, know the basics of small unit tactics and have a collective weapons capability that is well-rounded, this is sound advice.

Unfortunately, that's a fairly dangerous assumption to make. For every drop where I've been able to use my sensors and TAG to play Finger of Death, I've probably had three or four drops where I don't see my side fire a single LRM and they just trickle one at a time into the guns of the entire enemy team.

In those cases, staying on recce duty just results in getting chased around the map by the entire enemy team and finishing a ten-minute match with nothing to show for it but 25K Cb and 100 XP.

[The Duke of Dirty]

OP is completely correct. Straylight is just a troll.

[LoboSG]

Do teammates see the 'target' icon when THEIR teammate has been tagged? I've tried 'tagging' (with ecm on) and somehow, I get found out and was shot at...

[Benjamin Davion]

LoboSG, on 06 August 2013 - 10:20 PM, said:

Do teammates see the 'target' icon when THEIR teammate has been tagged? I've tried 'tagging' (with ecm on) and somehow, I get found out and was shot at...

TAG has a visible beam that can be traced. It is said that 'Tracers work both ways.' and this is also true of TAG. I have, one mroe than one occassion, spotted a mech tagging myself or a friendly, followed to see where the TAG was coming from, and crushed the tager. I've done this particularly quite a few times on Tourmaline. A lot of scouts coming from, at least what I think of as the North side, like to park to the southwest of the 'Stargate', up on the hill. Mechs advancing towards the 'Stargate' from the southern spawn point aren't initially able to see this location, and I often find a Jenner parked up there TAGing the team moving below. I do it myself quite often, though I rarely spawn on the northern side for some reason. It's a good spot, but once someone realizes you're up there tagging, you'd better get out fast.

[Ertur]

You don't NEED tag to be effective, it just adds a bonus. The fact that you can be found with it is a negative. Just calling out what you find and holding a lock adds much value to the team.
The calling out what you find part is the important part.
If you have to type, take cover first. If you can see them, they can see you. And if you are standing still while they are seeing you then you will be spectating right quick.

Lights can be scary in packs against people who stray from the herd or who are alone on a flank. Don't try to swarm alone. It doesn't end well. Unless you LIKE blowing up, in which case it works just great.

Unless you're the last guy standing. Then just entertain the 11 people who are watching you.

[Benjamin Davion]

Ertur, on 06 August 2013 - 11:01 PM, said:

You don't NEED tag to be effective, it just adds a bonus. The fact that you can be found with it is a negative. Just calling out what you find and holding a lock adds much value to the team.
The calling out what you find part is the important part.
If you have to type, take cover first. If you can see them, they can see you. And if you are standing still while they are seeing you then you will be spectating right quick.

Lights can be scary in packs against people who stray from the herd or who are alone on a flank. Don't try to swarm alone. It doesn't end well. Unless you LIKE blowing up, in which case it works just great.

Unless you're the last guy standing. Then just entertain the 11 people who are watching you.

To that, I respond:

There is little more devastating than a well-coordinated lance of lights.

[Ertur]

Even a poorly coordinated pack of lights can ruin someone's day.
The video makes a lot of good points:
Constant motion.
Frequent change of direction.
Focus fire on flanks and back.
Finding the mech that's all by its lonesome self.

You don't need just 4 spiders to do that, 3 or 4 of any kind of light can be a miserable experience for even the most fearsome assault mech.

[Gremlich Johns]

You presume that pilots in MW:O even know what a scout is supposed to be doing.

Look here for some great scout related writing on the NGNG forums

[Ertur]

Wouldn't scouts be used for, I dunno, scouting?

[Koniving]

Can't stay long, but this advice is sound.

While it is possible to engage sooner, it is better to engage later when the target is already busy unless asked to do otherwise as in this example.

Sitting behind enemy lines, behind so many enemies, completely undetected until orders are given.

Good luck mechwarriors!

[Vanguard319]

If you are spotting for LRM boats, refrain from firing on the mech your are targeting. Nothing reveals your position like the flash of a medium/large laser or PPC, and the longer you remain undetected, the longer you can maintain a weapon lock for your teammates.

[LordDante]

1. never ever stand still

2. always attack the rear side

3. dont play fair

4. if u get engaged by other lights retreat to team

5. help lrm boats

6. cycle through targets find weak one and kill it

7. use shut down to dissapear ( hide ) then power up and execute 2.

8. run through enemy team to create distraction

9. never zoom in ! ur situational awareness is paramount

10. WIN

this and being a squirrel on crack ! = Pain in the A$$

[BookWyrm]

Pro scout tactic, just don't:) Enemy can only start in one place, and usually goes to one side or another. Anyone can figure that one out. Not on one side? Guess where then:) Unless we're confusing scout with harasser, skirmisher, etc.

Edited by BookWyrm, 08 August 2013 - 07:48 AM.

[Z0MBIE Y0SHI]

I dont see 'shoot the target as its getting bombarded by lrms', so I'll throw that in. Good way to sneak in some damage.

[Z0MBIE Y0SHI]

Also, I see a lot of lights failing at picking and choosing their fights. If you go toe to toe with a fresh AC40 Kat, you're gonna have a bad time. Never assume HSR is in your favor or that the other guy is a terrible shot, especially if he only needs to get lucky once. It's also a good habbit to always assume the other light has reinforcement coming when you find yourself in a 1 v 1 scenario.
Fight when you have the otherguy outnumbered, and if that scenario doesn't exist assume you're outnumbered or about to be. The best thing a light can do for his team is stay alive. Things start to go south, you can play the objective better then any other weight class. (Though this is debattable with the current cap speed nerfs...)

[mailin]

I find when I pug that it's really a crap shoot whether my team has lrms or not. I will typically find the enemy and target one, and try to keep that target locked while letting my team know where they are, which way they are going, and how many and what types are going there. I then let my team decide where to engage while I try to wait to see what happens. Situational awareness is paramount when you're a light, because very often you are away from friendlies and behind enemy lines, which translates as very, very vulnerable. You can use this to your advantage if you get a couple of enemies on you. Simply run back to your buddies while trying to avoid getting shot in the back or legs. More often than not at least one enemy will follow you. As soon as you're in weapons range of your friends, turn around and turn the tables on the baddy.