10376 replies to this topic

[Horseman]

StarFox88, on 17 September 2018 - 12:24 AM, said:

The Shadowcat was often mentioned as a good Sniper, but I don't see that, with arm-mounted weapons and no Bonus like that on the Blackjack.

The Blackjacks are fragile, have a low engine cap and don't have any arm yaw. Depending on what you're targeting, this may range from a minor nuisance to a crippling handicap.

Edited by Horseman, 17 September 2018 - 03:21 AM.

[Brethren]

Koniving, on 17 September 2018 - 02:31 AM, said:

Nothing wrong with a Blackjack.

Agreed.

StarFox88, on 17 September 2018 - 12:24 AM, said:

The Shadowcat was often mentioned as a good Sniper, but I don't see that, with arm-mounted weapons and no Bonus like that on the Blackjack.

You will not find the reason in the quirks. The Shadowcat may bring no weapon bonuses to the table, but a whole set of equipment that make it fare pretty well in the role of a PPC sniper.

• Jump Jets - like the BJ the SHC mounts JJs and make it possible to either position yourself on higher ground or to poptart.
  
• Speed - with full Speed Tweak skill nodes the SHC runs 104kph with short bursts of 124kph with MASC.
  
• MASC - popping out of cover to shoot and back in with the proper use of MASC makes it really hard for an enemy to return fire in time. Proper use needs practice, though.
  
• ECM - usually SHC snipers bring ECM to make it even more difficult for the opponents to locate them. Being 500+ meters away will usually guarantee that they will never have a lock on you and have to shoot on sight.

So generally speaking the Shadowcat can make for a very good sniper because it is hard to locate, fast to relocate and can reach positions where not every mech can follow.

In my opinion the BJ is a better poptart (jump and shoot), but it cannot compete with the harasser style of the SHC.

Edited by Brethren, 17 September 2018 - 03:37 AM.

[TheCaptainJZ]

In reality, you can make most mechs do most roles but they may not do them well. BJs have never been famous for sniping. I like the BJ a lot and use it as a harasser/skirmisher which fits my preferred play-style. Lay down some fire then run into cover. The "boomjack" is still a nice one to pull out every once in a while too (BJ-1 with AC/20 and med lasers). I used it in a few Solaris rounds. Is it a great brawler? Heck, no. But it can be fun and effective.

[Tier5ForLife]

When fighting close, like with a Pirhana what FOV does everyone use? There are 3. Normal, first zoom, 2nd zoom.

Because of my eyesight and maybe my poor PC, I tend to use at least the first zoom.

I tend to lose sight/track of the enemy when fighting close.

Maybe switching to heat vision would have helped with this map.

[StarFox88]

Ok, thanks guys for the insights on the Sniper. But since the Shadowcat costs around 10-11mil just for the stock variant, I have to try some other chassis first to test, if I like that role.

[Tesunie]

StarFox88, on 17 September 2018 - 09:42 AM, said:

Ok, thanks guys for the insights on the Sniper. But since the Shadowcat costs around 10-11mil just for the stock variant, I have to try some other chassis first to test, if I like that role.

Thing is, to fully optimize, when you are done most any mech will probably cost around the same price when finished. So that Shadowcat looks expensive, but the Blackjack will be about the same cost once you finish with Endo, double heat sinks, a new engine, maybe even Ferro Fibrious...

Personally, I don't mind the Blackjack. It's got health quirks over the Shadowcat, but the Shadowcat does come more recommended because of ECM. Better to be harder to detect than to just have more health.

Many mechs can work in many roles. The Hunchback can get in on the sniping action with it's high mounted shoulder weapons (IS version and IIC). The Uziel does well as a jump sniper (so can the Blackjack). The Raven 3L comes recommended as well, two ERLLs, ECM and maybe even some Stealth armor as an option... I personally like more midranged combat, so for me the Raven X2 comes recommended with twin LLs and dual ERMLs. Good punch and reasonable heating with decent range.

When asking for build/mech advice, you'll get a lot of different opinions, builds and advice. Many mechs can do what you are asking, depending upon what you really want it to do.

[Tesunie]

LikeUntoBuddha, on 17 September 2018 - 08:59 AM, said:

When fighting close, like with a Pirhana what FOV does everyone use? There are 3. Normal, first zoom, 2nd zoom.

Because of my eyesight and maybe my poor PC, I tend to use at least the first zoom.

I tend to lose sight/track of the enemy when fighting close.

Maybe switching to heat vision would have helped with this map.

Depends completely upon the situation. A lot of your fighting in the video I would have been at normal view, rather than using any kind of zoom, but sometimes the zoom can cut through things such as particle effects, glare and other environment issues. I know I use the first level of zoom to cut the glare down on the ice maps. I also use the zoom to find beacons in scout mode easier...

[Tier5ForLife]

StarFox88, on 17 September 2018 - 09:42 AM, said:

Ok, thanks guys for the insights on the Sniper. But since the Shadowcat costs around 10-11mil just for the stock variant, I have to try some other chassis first to test, if I like that role.

It took me a while to understand that while the price of a Clan mech seems higher, it often ends up to be lower or almost the same. I have some I.S. mechs that I'd never been able to afford to fit out. Most need double heatsinks, endo-steel, and a Light Engine which is an easy $3-6 million more.

[tutzdes]

LikeUntoBuddha, on 18 September 2018 - 11:15 AM, said:

It took me a while to understand that while the price of a Clan mech seems higher, it often ends up to be lower or almost the same.

Frankly speaking, IS mechs still tend to cost less, even after all upgrades, even if we are not considering using, say, one light engine for several mechs.
Clan Omnimech becomes much cheaper if you like the chassis a lot and want to try multiple different builds. I own multiple variants of some IS mechs. The combined cost of those is much higher that of single omnimech+weapons+omnipods. Omni-heroes (and specials) are especially efficient as you can frankenstein almost any variant and still keep the c-bill bonus.

[DarthHias]

Can we still change our Field of view? There used to be a slider in the options menu.

[Horseman]

It's still there, right in the main settings.

[DarthHias]

*facepalm*
How could I miss that Thank you!

[Jables McBarty]

Kind of a two-part question....what makes a 'mech XL-safe? Like, is there a general rule that I can apply, or is it really a chassis-by-chassis, variant-by-variant basis?

And related, what about your 'mechs with a more elongated torso? E.g., Crab, Bushwacker, Archer, Catapult, Dragon, Marauder, Stalker. When I last played regularly pre-Civil War, I recall these being almost exclusively Standard Engines, as you could then shield with a big dead ST. But I've also seen the Catapult described as XL-safe, so maybe I just don't know what I'm talking about

[Brizna]

An XL safe mech is one in which the chance of losing a side torso and thus dying because of XL is small, or at least won't happen until you have been damaged all around. Usually these mechs have small and /or easily shieldable side torsos.

Most of those mechs are XL unfriendly because if you are flanked most of the damage you receive will concentrate in that side torso leading to quick deaths if using an XL, that said if you manage to avoid being flanked their front profile actually allows to spread damage evenly across all three torsos just wiggling your nose a bit. Because at long range that is easier than if you brawl a lot of people consider Catapult an XL friendly mech since that mech usually fights at mid to long range so being flanked by anything big enough to blast your side torso in one go is unlikely, it's really a trade off between pay load and survivability. TLDR: PPC/LURM Catapult can use XL, if you pack a bunch of SRMs on it, just don't.

Edited by Brizna, 27 September 2018 - 12:01 PM.

[Horseman]

Jables McBarty, on 27 September 2018 - 11:33 AM, said:

Kind of a two-part question....what makes a 'mech XL-safe? Like, is there a general rule that I can apply, or is it really a chassis-by-chassis, variant-by-variant basis?

Chassis-by-chassis, due to hitboxes. Sometimes variant-by-variant depending on survival quirks.

[Throe]

[delete by user]

Edited by Throe, 08 November 2018 - 03:42 PM.

[Koniving]

Tier5ForLife, on 17 September 2018 - 08:59 AM, said:

When fighting close, like with a Pirhana what FOV does everyone use? There are 3. Normal, first zoom, 2nd zoom.

Because of my eyesight and maybe my poor PC, I tend to use at least the first zoom.

I tend to lose sight/track of the enemy when fighting close.

Maybe switching to heat vision would have helped with this map.

If you need speed,, do no "zoom" as it reduces your twisting speed.
Chaange your FOV to something sub-60 if it matters that much. Personally I play on a 38 inch TV so I'm not terribly affected.

I also typically play at 75 to 86 FOV

Side note: If your FOV is set high enough, you can also see out of the side windows at the same time which actually significantly increases what you can see... But with two blind spots along either side of the middle it does make things a little tricky against small targets.

(Thermal would have helped.)

Edited by Koniving, 28 September 2018 - 09:02 AM.

[Audacious Aubergine]

If I leave a match after I die but before the match ends will I still get any kill assists that happen after I quit?

[Koniving]

Audacious Aubergine, on 28 September 2018 - 09:55 PM, said:

If I leave a match after I die but before the match ends will I still get any kill assists that happen after I quit?

For the longest time the answer has been no.

If it has changed, which I doubt, I haven't heard or seen anything about it.

It has a bit to do with the way the game awards them by giving them to player slot X, which is occupied by you.

....unless you're not there. Then they're awarded to "No Pilot." Which used to also come up as an error message saying "No pilot killed X", if a player managed to be killed by a machine abandoned by a player leaving the match. And yes, it has happened. Typically by collision.

[Audacious Aubergine]

I know I asked and/or saw the answer on the forums like 2 years ago but I couldn't remember for the life of me