40 replies to this topic

[Hexy Smexy]

SO, I've been a big fan of Mechwarrior since MW3 and really enjoyed messing around with friends in MW4. Naturally, when MWO was announced, I was really excited, though sadly I didn't have internet at the time. Long story short, I do now and thus have been playing recently. I went through my cadet phase and was recomended a Raven 3L. I bought it and enjoy it enough, though I really don't feel like I'm doing anything half the time. At first, I thought it was because I was too slow, which I honestly did feel incredibly slow with the stock engine, so I sold everything I didn't need and upgraded to an XL290. Good. Nearly doubled my speed! Now I feel like a real light mech. However, I still didn't feel impactful.

If I scout ahead, I usually wind up taking too much damage and/or die, even if I scout up a flank, or I run into another scout and get get stomped into the ground by a spider moving even faster than my 136kph with more firepower to boot AND jump jets I might add. At least that what it seems. Last one I ran into had 3 ML and a LL to my dual ERLL. I was dead at 1:26 because I coudln't even fight him, nor could I hope to out run him.

On the contrary, if I stay behind, I feel like I'm wasting the 4.7mil I put into my engine and might as well have just bought a heavy mech with more firepower.

In the game when I think I'm doing well, you know, my shots are on target, maybe I get a kill or two (My kdr is horrid btw, 27/96 aka .28), the game ends and I've only done 166 damage. I've read posts where people with the same setup do 500+ damage or even 1000, and I'm wondering how that's even possible. Hell, a good game for me is when I get 90k C-bills, but it's usually somewhere around 50k.

What am I doing wrong here?

[Toadkillerdog]

you were right to try out the 3L as your first light, but lights are probably the most difficult weight class to pilot. I would not recomend ERLL as a light, as your main role is to help peck down heavies and assaults, or to duel other lights. Typically MGs, MLs, MPLs, and Streaks are the best light weapons, as they fire fast enough and weigh so little you can dish out the most damage with them effectively. The fairly standard build of 3 MLs and 2 streaks is difficult to mess up, just make sure you run as big of an xl as you can fit effectively. Xl engines are a must for lights, as a raven going 80 is a giant AC20 magnet.
You also need to stick with the other lights, as with 12 players on each team, a lone light out ahead of the main force is simply too delicious to pass up. If you can survive until the main battle starts, you won't be the main target and can essentially assassinate heavier mechs. If two cataphracts start firing at eachother, they won't bother trying to shoot you.
Even without heavies, if you and a few other lights can seperate an enemy you can essentially swarm him until he goes down. The thing an Atlas hates the most is three lights circling around him in different directions.

[TheCaptainJZ]

166 damage isn't bad, but 500 is unrealistic. Streaks used to be grossly overpowered and therefore damage numbers were inflated. 200-250 is probably a great round in a raven.

I suggest you drop the er large laser and go with medium lasers. lower heat, more guns, able to combat with lights better. make sure you have ecm and max armor and streaks. That's the typical build for a raven 3L anyway.

[Ensaine]

You might consider joining a group on one of the Teamspeak servers..... on most, you can find good help, and great groups .....you MAY also want to look at the training help we give new players......

Have a read.....
http://mwomercs.com/...to-new-players/

In any event, outside of some general things, Q&A on the forums can be very inefficient ......get on comms. You'll be glad you did.

[Sadistic Savior]

Hexy Smexy, on 25 September 2013 - 02:11 PM, said:

What am I doing wrong here?

Unless you actually enjoy scouting/capping/spotting (and some people do), I would avoid lights and mediums, and get a heavy or assault. You will be able to do more actual fighting.

You can do that with lights and mediums too, but you have to be constantly moving because you can't take a lot of hits (movement = armor). Your choice of weapons will also be more limited, and opportunities to fire them more narrow (less weight for heat sinks and ammo). Heaven help you if you shut down due to heat. Heavy mechs will eat you alive.

IMO it actually takes more skill to kill stuff in a light mech because of all the distractions. But Heavy mechs are more fun IMO, and you will see more action in them. Dump your raven and get a Jager or Orion or Highlander. Stick a big engine on them and you will not feel that slow (My 90 ton Highlander has a 330 and can run 65kph).

Edited by Sadistic Savior, 25 September 2013 - 02:25 PM.

[Five by Five]

You should probably run a different build. Try 2 streaks and 3 medium lasers. Of course ECM, that's the whole point of the 3L. Matter of opinion, but I like BAP in mine also. AMS is good if you can fit it. Learn to flip your ecm between counter and disrupt. When fighting an ecm'd spider, flip your ecm to counter and then you can get streak locks.

Don't operate alone. A lone Raven is at a disadvantage against two other of anything. If there is a group of lights in a drop, or even another, try to stay with close (but beware if they have jets cause they may leave you behind), if not, stay with the main body and guard it against other lights. And don't stand still to take your shots, always be moving if an enemy can (or maybe able) to see you.

And if you decide you like lights, try a Jenner.

[Sn03y]

Unfortunatly, I have the exact same problem as you. I know I'm doing something wrong, I just don't know what it is. Also, how did you find out what your k/d is? Been wondering how to find that out.

[Orbit Rain]

you're fine with your dual erll because that's where it's at with the current balance/meta - given how many more 2erll lights I'm seeing lately (and runing...shhh) without speed tweek or your basics doubled, you have no business running it out front (yet!) stick with a lrmboat and give them ecm cover while you peek super long lanes with your erll's. target people for your lrm boats, and your money and xp will go up...ECM raven wouldn't be a bad first mech because you really can choose whether to leave the main body or not, and they can't target you...oh wait...you are ALSO a priority target...so if your guy and a red guy are facing each other, you shouldn't be in front of where his little red triangle is pointing...

good luck

[Alaskan Nobody]

Sn03y, on 25 September 2013 - 02:31 PM, said:

Unfortunatly, I have the exact same problem as you. I know I'm doing something wrong, I just don't know what it is. Also, how did you find out what your k/d is? Been wondering how to find that out.

It would be under your forum profile

Profile > Stats

I wouldn't worry as much about K/D as much as W/L though - especially if you are piloting a lightmech

[Hexy Smexy]

Getting a new mech is 100% out of the question unless they massively up C-Bill aquisition. It's also impossible to justify putting money into right now, especially since MC prices are absolutely absurd, because money's tight. In short, I'm stuck with my Raven, so I might as well make the best of it. I used to run a Catapult LRM boat back in the day, but I also enjoyed playing lights.

I was looking at TS, but the sticky is a year old, so I wasn't sure if any of them were even active anymore.

I ran STKS and 3ML before and it didn't feel like it accomplished much. From a numbers point of view, by all means it should, but I don't know. Guess I just got tired of spiders walking all over me.

@Sn03y, hit Profile at the top. I just learned that reading another thread before making this one =)

[Lucky Noob]

i woud recomend to stay with the Team , provide ecm to em,fire at targets you see, stay behind the Big ones and lurk out to fire.
After the Battle realy starts use your speed to run around Maintargets and assist your Team.

You will not be primary Target if you are close to an Big Atlas, so youre free to fire at will and let shine your Speed to roam around and fire at whatever you like.

Edited by Braddack, 25 September 2013 - 03:19 PM.

[Dalziel Hasek Davion]

In my opinion, light 'Mechs are the third hardest chassis type to pilot. I tend to think mediums are harder because they don't have the speed to run away or the armour to take many hits. However...

Think carefully about whether Conquest may be better than Assault for a light 'Mech in terms of rewards. Also consider that your ERLL is a great weapon for pinging an enemy 'Mech at extremely long ranges without much danger of retaliation. In this way you can farm kill assists and saviour kills. It's a great weapon for waggling over a distant enemy and getting a point or two of damage. The C-Bill reward is good - the XP reward not so good.

A light 'Mech with a big engine can operate as a scout, but is equally comfortable as a light hunter or flanker. You should always be moving at top speed and jinking, regardless of whether you're close to friendlies or not. The RVN-2X and 4X are not as good as the 3L. I could only make them work as an "Assault escort" using 2 large lasers to do some real punch to whatever the Atlas is shooting at. The 3L is more capable as a multi-role vehicle because of the ECM.

I would suggest avoiding the "circle of death" (orbiting one enemy until one of you dies), preferring instead to concentrate on "jousting" (running past several enemies, pinging several of them as you go).

Running in a pack can really help.

[focuspark]

Scouts need to be on voice chat, or they're mostly useless. I pilot Commando because I think they're a lot of fun, but I don't really scout much. I mostly skirmish (2.5 KDR w/ COM-TDK). Depends on your play style.

Light 'mechs should avoid engaging solo vs. anything, for as long as they can.

Look for bigger 'mechs who are distracted by bigger 'mechs on your team; then get behind them and open their backs.

Look for wounded 'mechs who are trying to get out of the main battle and tear them down

For god sakes, KEEP MOVING - lights that stand still die quickly

You have ECM, use it. ECM keeps the LRMs off of you.

Streaks ain't what they used to be, strap on a LRM5 or LRM10 and help soften up targets before you skirmish them.

Use Medium Lasers - they're the perfect light 'mech weapon.

[Swords to Plowshares]

Perhaps try playing your Light more like a Medium, to begin with, to give yourself time to learn. Don't use your light mech to run far from the group. Stay with the main pack and let them all benefit from your ECM coverage. That alone is a big benefit that helps you win more games, even though it doesn't make you yourself any deadlier per se. When enemy light mechs harass your heavy hitters, chase them off. And when your heavy hitters are engaged, use your speed and size to get behind the targeted enemy.

[Vidarok]

Dunno bout you guys but I roll in the Jenner champion trial mech.

When the game starts, I tend to run to a desolate area and tab out. A minute or two in I decide to come back and start fighting as people will most likely be busy shooting at eachother.

Might I add, I think it's pretty important to learn the torso twist speeds and angles of the bigger mechs. Then you can determine which one to single out (or distract) and ultimately circle around, hopefully killing him.

[Tesunie]

Hexy Smexy, on 25 September 2013 - 02:11 PM, said:

SO, I've been a big fan of Mechwarrior since MW3 and really enjoyed messing around with friends in MW4. Naturally, when MWO was announced, I was really excited, though sadly I didn't have internet at the time. Long story short, I do now and thus have been playing recently. I went through my cadet phase and was recomended a Raven 3L. I bought it and enjoy it enough, though I really don't feel like I'm doing anything half the time. At first, I thought it was because I was too slow, which I honestly did feel incredibly slow with the stock engine, so I sold everything I didn't need and upgraded to an XL290. Good. Nearly doubled my speed! Now I feel like a real light mech. However, I still didn't feel impactful.

If I scout ahead, I usually wind up taking too much damage and/or die, even if I scout up a flank, or I run into another scout and get get stomped into the ground by a spider moving even faster than my 136kph with more firepower to boot AND jump jets I might add. At least that what it seems. Last one I ran into had 3 ML and a LL to my dual ERLL. I was dead at 1:26 because I coudln't even fight him, nor could I hope to out run him.

On the contrary, if I stay behind, I feel like I'm wasting the 4.7mil I put into my engine and might as well have just bought a heavy mech with more firepower.

In the game when I think I'm doing well, you know, my shots are on target, maybe I get a kill or two (My kdr is horrid btw, 27/96 aka .28), the game ends and I've only done 166 damage. I've read posts where people with the same setup do 500+ damage or even 1000, and I'm wondering how that's even possible. Hell, a good game for me is when I get 90k C-bills, but it's usually somewhere around 50k.

What am I doing wrong here?

If I may add my 2 c-bills worth...

The Raven is a nice platform, but your ER lasers might be eating too much of your weight/heat. Personally I'd change over to two normal large lasers. I find the little less range between large and er is not significant for the weight/heat. With the saved weight on sinks and weapons, you might be able to add in another weapon system even, such as SRMs or SSRMs. I also have to ask if you have ECM or any other upgrades.

As far as speed goes, have your worked up the upgrades for the mech? Skills? If you haven't gotten speed tweak, I hate to say it but without speed tweak you aren't running full tilt. Sadly, going from 130ish to 150ish makes a huge difference.It's like, at 130 they can hit you like you are standing still, At 150, they suddenly forget how to hit you. So, if you haven't worked on those skills and experience points, I'd do so soon. If you need help explaining the skill system, either search the forums, or just ask.

As far as play style, you can choose to run as a scout/flanker/etc and try your odds on your own. The other part is, stay with the group. Yes, you are made for speed, but sometimes it just needs some timing too. You can set yourself up for a fast support role. Basically, walk with the group, and once combat is engaged, punch the speed and try being as much of a distraction and nuisance as you can be. Try to turn your opponents backs to your team, or if they don't turn, shoot up their rears. Going solo isn't the only option to use that speed you have, but it is the more natural and preferred.

The Ravens, all of them, are very nice light mechs. Heaviest of the light mechs, so it can bring more to the field. ECM capable. Learning to duck and weave is one of the hardest skills.

I'm not a Raven pilot, so I can't suggest too much. I go for Jenners (my remnant from MW2), Cicada (and old favorite) and a spider (among other mechs). If you have any more specific questions to be answered, ask and I'll give what I can.

[Dan Nashe]

Really minor point.
But always use smurfys and check.
You'll notice that a 295XL is the maximum engine for a Raven 3L and weighs the exact same (15 tons).
Once you get speed tweak (sorry, the raven 2x and 4x are rough) you'll be plenty fast with a 290 though, like 150 vs 152. :-p.
Not worth the money. But a lesson!

Make sure you remember to buy ECM for a Raven 3L. Just in case you didn't.

RVN-3L
Is a typical build.
I would save teh dual ER LL build for a Raven 4X (it has jump jets but it's engine cap is really low)
(You'd need it to elite (light mechs really need speed tweak).

Light mechs are hard to play and by taking them the other team is more likely to have lights, which is really really rough.
Trebuchets are expensive but a fast medium option. And fun. A little squishy though.
I like the cataphract 3d, but really expensive again :-).
Jaegers are always a solid dps platform.
I think with ER LL build you HAVE to stay with your team. You can support teammates well but you cannot fight a light 1 on 1. You'll overheat far too fast to kill anything and not do enough dps. So I wouldn't play that as a scout.

/random

Edited by DanNashe, 25 September 2013 - 06:20 PM.

[focuspark]

Yes Smurfy provides an excellent tool. http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/ in case you need the URL.

If you have Windows Phone, you can use Skunkworks, to model 'mech loadouts, on the go as well.

[Nick Makiaveli]

For the record, I have elited all 3 Ravens, and have basic on 3 Jenners. Not bragging, as that is hardly unique, or a major accomplishment, just saying I know what you are going thru

You can't really scout in PUGs. They generally don't listen. So hang with the group, wait the big 'uns to get stuck in, then take pot shots at enemy mechs that are blasting someone else. Hit "R" to target them so you can see if they are about to lose an arm you can try to finish it off. One thing that worked for me was a single LL and some one or two ML or MPL (depending on the mech). Gave me range for when the opportunity presented itself, and some up close quick firepower for scrapping with lights.

On the Raven with ballistics (I assume you will want to at least get Basic on them so you can Elite the 3L to double the basics on it) I always had MGs as they are great for getting crits. Just hot key them to your MLs and spray away. Takes some practice but soon you learn when to let off just before the MLs cycle and fire again. Course if you are running right at the back of a Atlas, no need, just hold down the button

[Johnny Reb]

With your engine might wanna try this:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b0745a767b640be