9 replies to this topic

[wintersborn]

I am trying to build my first LRM boat and one thing I know about big slow boats is they are easy prey for fast lights if you get caught alone.

So I was thinking about a STK 3H with LRM20's in both arms and Streaks in both torso's for light protection.
My main question is about the 360 "Target" retention perk and will it keep my Streaks locked on target ® in that 360 degree area? The description of the 360 perk says it retains the target "Information" even when its behind you, 360 deg. w/no LOS within 200m.

So can anyone confirm that the 360 target perk will keep Streaks locked onto their target in that 360 degree area while targeted ®?

I am still poor and can not justify spending CB to clarify PGI's mechanics.

Thanks.

[Deathlike]

AFAIK, think of it along the lines of Target Info Gathering, where the stored info is held ONLY as long as the enemy is within 200m.

What you really want is Target Decay, where your locks can be held up to 3.5 seconds with the Advanced/upgraded version... which is useful for both Streaks and LRMs assuming you have the target still targeted (including those under ECM to a limited extent).

Only your LOS or teammate LOS can assist in Target Decay's effectiveness. Once you switch targets, there's always a good chance that the target you had previously targeted will immediately disappear due to loss of LOS, thus negating the benefits of Target Decay.

Edited by Deathlike, 26 September 2013 - 12:10 PM.

[Vanguard836]

Hi,

360 will indeed allow target INFO to be retained.
Missile lock will still break : missile lock depends on your reticle being kept on the target.

Combined with the above answer, if you were to have the enemy in your back for more than the 3.5 seconds then you will loose your lock.

[wintersborn]

The only info I saw was this by a Staff Moderator?

"It only keeps target lock 360 degrees not weapon lock.

You lose weapon lock instantly when you are 45 degrees off your target"

But I was not sure if that was still current and official or it applied to missiles.

So Target decay is not just for "Information" like the 360 description but affects missile "Lock"?

In that case if I was going to fend off lights with ONLY Streaks and for close range damage I would need a fast torso twist with Target Decay perk. Because in my mastered light I can stay behind a big boat all day even when they back up to a wall since I can run up most walls or just jump over them.

To me light defense is what scares the hell out of wasting CB's on big mechs.

Edited by wintersborn, 26 September 2013 - 12:30 PM.

[Mogney]

360 retention keeps them targeted so allies can still missile them, doesn't help with your weapon lock. Go target decay and a BAP

[Greenknight419]

"Advanced target decay" does not help your weapon lock.

In simple turns, when you target someone a red box shows up around them, this is a "target lock". When you hold your retical over the target with locking weapons your target lock circles turn from yellow to red, that is a "weapon lock".

"360 target retention" and "target decay" both only affect "target lock". With "360 target retention" if you target someone and then look away you will retain your target lock as long as they are within 200m and there is no terrain between you and them. With "target decay" you will keep a target lock longer when they go out of view by going behind terrain, or going behind you.

You will still need to hold your retical over the target to maintain your weapon lock. Keep the circles red.

I use 360 target retention when I am running a light with missle support. This allows me to run around harrassing an enemy and retain a "target lock" on the enemy. This way my missle support does not lose "target lock" and can maintain "weapon lock". Somtimes I'll use both, allowing me to maintain "target lock" on things behind me and extending them time I hold target lock when they go behind terrain or go farther then 200m behind me.

Since you intend to run LRMs "target decay" is the better choice. "360 target retention" would not be very helpfull since to get a "weapon lock" you will have to be able to put your retical on them, meaning they are in front of you allowing a "target lock".

[DEMAX51]

I think there's some misconception about Target Decay in this thread too - it does not help you retain LOCKS longer, it only helps you keep an enemy TARGETED (ie, they still have the targeting rectangle around their mech and you still get the info about their loadout) for a short while after you lose line of sight. You can use this to keep lock for a bit longer, but you're still required to keep your aiming reticule over them and to keep them within a 45 degree arc in front of you.

There is nothing in game at the moment that will help you keep a lock on your target for longer if you fail to keep your aiming reticule over them.

Edited by DEMAX51, 04 October 2013 - 10:15 AM.

[Viral Matrix]

Seismic is better. It can tell you where multiple enemies are. 360 retention will just give you target info, but not target lock, of a single enemy. 360 will tell you the direction your target is facing though, which can help you outmanuever some lights that try to stay directly behind you. But it wont really help you fire your streaks much faster or more reliably. I dont know how it interacts with obstacles that would block LOS, if it still retains them, that might be good. EDIT: I see Greenknight answered this, it doesnt hold through LOS blocking obstacles. Ya, Seismic is better. Actually thats a really good post, some interesting combos, for even directfire brawler mechs in there.

I like 360 on light mechs, so i can torso twist while still giving constant target info to allies with LRMs etc. But i still try to take seismic with the 360.

Seismic is so good, i was kinda looking forward to the nerf PGI mentioned. Wanted to have some reason to not take it on a stalker.

Edited by Viral Matrix, 04 October 2013 - 11:38 AM.

[wintersborn]

Thank you for the information, I finally bought target decay and it does not seem to affect my "Weapons lock" as much as I have been told. It only seems to help re acquiring a "weapon lock" since I can track the target longer with the "Target Lock".

Basically if a mech ducks in cover I can see him pop back out of cover and maybe get my weapons lock back but only at long range due to the slow flight times or LRM's.

Overall a small help to LRMs just for the tracking of targets.

[evilC]

By mounting 360 Target Retention to your mech, you are not helping yourself, you are helping the LRM boat you are spotting for.

Run into a fight, target mech A and call it out to the LRM boat. Keep mech A as your current target, but you do not need to keep him in front of you - if you have lasers for example, you are perfectly OK to have mech A behind you while you shoot mech B, as long as you keep mech A as your target.