43 replies to this topic

[John Buford]

When fighting other lights yes that means I pilot a Jenner I seem to have better luck with Missles. So when I shoot my Heavy/Assualt Mech teleported (SSRM's) and leg my opponent the big guys show up Alpha the doomed mech and do a happy dance. Seriously try it one day when you do leg that light Heavys and Assualts you didn't even know where there just appear and UNLOAD. But on a serious note if you can run with some SSRMs and get lock on that light when he is over there trust me they work. Also LBX-10 works wonder also, as stated before its so much easier to hit a fast moving target with a shotgun.

How ever the best tactic in dealing with lights is team work. Having a Medium shadowing that Assualt Mech just means I look for an easier target since I want to find straglers and such. In fact the scariest set up I ever saw was on Caustic Valley where there was a Cent providing cover for an Atlas. No way I was going after the Atlas since it would open me up to getting shot in the back so I took a look at what the Cent was carrying maybe I can pull him off. Well it was a LBX-10 and 3 SSRMs needless to say I got nowhere near that.

Edited by John Buford, 05 September 2013 - 11:59 AM.

[Maj Ow]

I've played many incarnations of MW over the years. I was regularly in the top ten in kills, worldwide, in BK. And I have to say lights in this version just plain need to be nerfed. Back in BK days I was well-known for being a light mech hunter in my Daishi, I would routinely take them down in only a few shots. In any case, even the fights I lost, I would always leave them smoking and ruined with missing limbs, for their trouble. Now though, it is next to impossible to land enough crippling shots fast enough to kill or even seriously injure them before they've CT cored me. I am using the same tactics as before (all the things mentioned here) and I have lost every single fight 1 on 1. I'm sorry but that should simply not be. A light mech should not normally win a fight with a heavy or assault that is using good tactics and landing shots on them. Two lights on one heavy, ok, but not one on one. I suppose knock downs would help, because that was always part of my tactic. Alpha knock down and then finish them, or at least open them up to being shot on the ground by team mates, but IMHO I think they also need to slow those buggers down a bit, to be fair.

[RedThirteen]

SHOOT ITS LEG OFF SO EVERYONE CAN TAKE TURNS

[Esperys]

As an almost exclusive light pilot, the Raven and it's 3 variants to be specific, I'll say this. It becomes very very apparently very very quickly when I encounter a skilled opponent. A skilled opponent in -any- size mech lands their shots and exploits my paper thin armor quickly, even when I'm moving at 150kph. I must then disengage or suffer the consequences. On the other hand, an unskilled opponent can't land their shots, always firing in my wake or overcompensating for my speed and firing in front of me, allowing me to dismantle them unopposed.

If you're having trouble taking out light mechs, I suggest you work on your aim. As an above poster said, there is no simple 'knock them down and lulz while they can't move' tactics in MWO right now. Your only chance is to hit your target while it's moving. If you can't do that, practice until you can, because believe me...there are plenty of people out there doing it. You just may not be one of them.

[mailin]

I have to add my two cents here. The single best way to kill a Spider, or any light for that matter, is to NOT be alone. Nearly every drop I see an enemy who goes off by themselves, apparently thinking, "hrm, maybe if I can sneak behind them I can take them all out." It's not gonna happen with a decent light driver around. Please, stop giving us easy kills like this. All it takes is for you to request someone to go with you either on comms, or in team chat. When confronted with multiple lights focus on the ones with streaks or ecm first, and again, let your intentions be known to your team mates. All it takes is to type a capital letter in chat. Once you do that and if your team mates see and respond, the lights WILL drop like flies, or spiders.

[Kenyon Burguess]

RedThirteen, on 07 September 2013 - 05:07 PM, said:

SHOOT ITS LEG OFF SO EVERYONE CAN TAKE TURNS

lights use XL engines. light legs have more armor than torsos. if your trying to leg a light, your doing it wrong.

[Fred013]

Most importantly, never go out alone. In an atlas. With only 1 AC/20 and 2 SRM6s. On terra therma. (you know who you are, and if I catch you again, I will solo kill you twice as fast)

[stjobe]

Geist Null, on 07 September 2013 - 08:25 PM, said:

lights use XL engines. light legs have more armor than torsos. if your trying to leg a light, your doing it wrong.

Lights are small targets that constantly move, effectively torso-twisting continuously. This means you'll be spreading your damage across two arms, two side torsos, the head, and the CT - i.e. most of the 'mech. Also, damage transfer rules make any hit on a destroyed arm transfer only 50% to the side torso, and any hit on a destroyed side torso only transfers 50% to the CT.

Legs; there's only two of them to spread damage across, and if they're destroyed any hits on them transfer 50% damage to CT. Also, when one goes, the light slows right down and becomes a much easier target.

So yeah, if you've got the alpha and can make the shot(s), go for a side torso XL kill. Very few people are half as good shots as they think they are though, and are much more likely to get a kill on a light by legging it.

[mailin]

Also, if you're firing on the legs and one blows out, chances are really, really good that the other is nearly gone as well. As far as XL engines, why yes, lights do typically run XLs. Good luck trying to hit a side torso on a light though. Having said that, if a light shuts down in the heat of combat, then, if you can focus on that cherry red side torso or the light's head. One time I was fighting a Jenner D in my Spider and we both managed to shut down while facing directly at each other. Luckily, I had the rapid start up skill and he didn't apparently. I was able to quickly fire three medium pulse lasers directly at his head while he was still restarting.

[Donald J Trump Kerensky]

LOL ive seen a recent tactic that has been used against me in my spider.. i loled but died..
two mechs sandwiched me... and i went splat!

Also when they circle and you cant seem to get an aim.. slow down youll turn faster...

[theblackdeath]

Hit and run guys, hit and run.

[Bhelogan]

I run every weight class a lot, with the exception of Mediums. When it comes to fighting lights, the tips given are good. If you can trap them gains the wall they die (this happens to me in alight far more than I am able to pull it off in a heavy or assault). Team mates jumping on lights heads kills them quickly too. Hit boxes for spiders legs are hard to hit, if your not in a light yourself. May be easier to CT them in larger mechs. Also pointed out, don't go off solo. When we run light packs, we just run around till we find someone who is far enough away from the team that we can pick them off before taking much incoming fire.

[Lefteye Falconeer]

To kill a Spider you need a Kintaro 18 with 5 SSRMs and a Beagle probe. Fill the rest with whatever you want. Profit. Soon you will see them running away from you. Hilarious.

[mailin]

Lefteye, on 09 September 2013 - 07:58 AM, said:

To kill a Spider you need a Kintaro 18 with 5 SSRMs and a Beagle probe. Fill the rest with whatever you want. Profit. Soon you will see them running away from you. Hilarious.

Except when you're outnumbered by ECM lights. Then BAP does nothing and the guys driving the Spiders (like me) are actually finding it hard to fight because they're laughing so hard. But, this brings up another really good point. If you have ssrms, you NEED to have BAP; otherwise I WILL tear you apart.

[GargoyleVine]

Rad Hanzo, on 31 August 2013 - 04:53 AM, said:

Leg them Lights is all I gonna say

even then, i saw a spider last night take about 37 hits and still alive, 10x more damage than my atlas can take. Terrible damage allowance on the spider mech and this is certainly not the first time

[mailin]

Even though a Spider is my main ride, I will be glad when they get the hitboxes fixed. I really wonder what percentage of hits that should be registering on Spiders actually are registering. PGI claims that they are reexamining lights. I wonder what they have in store.

[psiber14]

A little trick I do on my spider while jumping is to do a 360 if I have enough JJ juice.

This is mostly useful when I am (1) heavily damaged and (2) when there are skilled pilots shooting me while i move and jump at 151km.

Most of this damage is laser and missile damage and it really, really helps spread this everywhere. Try is sometime, besides it looks cool from the cockpit

I have done this with no CT armor left and did not get cored. I had 2 people with good aim shooting me on the move lol.

P.S. The skilled light pilots will drag the aim of your unskilled teammates right to your giant Atlas backside. Any time I see a pilot shooting like crazy I harass them and lead their weapons right into the giant assault mechs around me. FIRE CONTROL PEOPLE!

Run a clover leaf pattern between a group of big slow mechs in a tight group. Once they shoot each other a few times just run away lol. They will probably get into a chat argument if you see them just standing there after that.

Edited by psiber14, 16 September 2013 - 08:56 AM.

[L Y N X]

mailin, on 09 September 2013 - 12:53 PM, said:

Except when you're outnumbered by ECM lights. Then BAP does nothing and the guys driving the Spiders (like me) are actually finding it hard to fight because they're laughing so hard. But, this brings up another really good point. If you have ssrms, you NEED to have BAP; otherwise I WILL tear you apart.

BAP is a hard counter to ECM now, so I am not sure where you get the idea that does nothing. BAP also gains a 25% faster missile lock. The 25% sensor range boost does nothing but who cares? in this threads context it is mounted for the exclusives purposes of faster missile locks and defeating ECM mechs. 5 streaks is 25 points of hurt every few seconds, if it does not drive you away then it will leg and defeat you. Unless you wolfpack, that can work very effectively for light mechs. The best way to defeat a wolfpack is overwhelming numbers, including anti-wolfpack to hunt them down.

[mailin]

7ynx, on 16 September 2013 - 09:01 AM, said:

BAP is a hard counter to ECM now, so I am not sure where you get the idea that does nothing. BAP also gains a 25% faster missile lock. The 25% sensor range boost does nothing but who cares? in this threads context it is mounted for the exclusives purposes of faster missile locks and defeating ECM mechs. 5 streaks is 25 points of hurt every few seconds, if it does not drive you away then it will leg and defeat you. Unless you wolfpack, that can work very effectively for light mechs. The best way to defeat a wolfpack is overwhelming numbers, including anti-wolfpack to hunt them down.

A single BAP is a hard counter for only one ECM. If I am with my friends and there are two or more of us using ECM, we can and have easily taken out StreakCats and other mechs that become isolated, but are overconfident because they have streaks and a BAP. SO, against a single ECM mech, BAP is devastating, against multiple ECM mechs a single mech with BAP is at our mercy.

[ohtochooseaname]

Geist Null, on 07 September 2013 - 08:25 PM, said:

lights use XL engines. light legs have more armor than torsos. if your trying to leg a light, your doing it wrong.

Think of it more like the total hp/armor for the top half or the bottom half. The bottom half has much less than the top, so it's generally better to go for the bottom half unless you can insure you are always facing the same side of the light, which, other than in a light vs light fight, basically never happens.