10417 replies to this topic

[Redshift2k5]

Gauss rifles can be a risk, and if they blow it could kill you. BUT the K2 is an excellent base chassis for dual gauss, because it's advantages can make up for the shortcomings. The slim side torsos lessen the risk by a big margin.

[Robert Montjoy]

... short Question:


Q 1: How can I tell if the red Triangles in my Radar Screen where from my own Radar or from the Radar of a Teammate?

Q 2: Why do so many people call for "Target please" aka "Press R-Button" at the Beginning of an Match?


Explanation 1:
I don't know if it's true but I think I've read somewhere that the Bonus for ARTEMIS Missiles is only applied if I target them by myself. If this is true and there are now a multitude of red Triangles I would certainly prefer those Targets which my own Radar picked up.

Explanation 2:
Do the red Triangles only appear for me when a Teammate actually
1) target a Mech (outsight of my Radar range and Sight) or
2) when he actually sees it
3) and what if he sees it and it's outside his Radar Range.

Again I'm not sure but I think I've read somewhere that the red Triangles appear for all when someone sees a Mech. Right?

Disclaimer: Above goes without any ECM or BAP considerations to leave the answer as easy as possible.


Can somebody please clarify?

Many thanks in advance.
Robert

Edited by Robert Montjoy, 28 November 2013 - 03:21 PM.

[Victor Morson]

Robert Montjoy, on 28 November 2013 - 03:20 PM, said:

Q 1: How can I tell if the red Triangles in my Radar Screen where from my own Radar or from the Radar of a Teammate?

If you don't have direct LOS on the target, it's a teammate. If you have direct LOS, it doesn't matter, since you can maintain lock even if they disengage.

Robert Montjoy, on 28 November 2013 - 03:20 PM, said:

Q 2: Why do so many people call for "Target please" aka "Press R-Button" at the Beginning of an Match?

Because people with indirect weapons (LRMs) can fire on targets that are locked, but not in their line of sight. Many new players don't bother locking targets.

Additionally this lets the other players on your team know where a 'mech is, and also, it's damage level.

Robert Montjoy, on 28 November 2013 - 03:20 PM, said:

Explanation 1:
I don't know if it's true but I think I've read somewhere that the Bonus for ARTEMIS Missiles is only applied if I target them by myself. If this is true and there are now a multitude of red Triangles I would certainly prefer those Targets which my own Radar picked up.

Artemis works for targets in direct Line of Sight. If you can see them and they are under 1000m, your Artemis will impact your LRMs just fine. If you lose line of sight (can no longer see them) Artemis stops working and you get indirect fire instead - which is much more scattered.

PS: Unrelated tip, start mounting a TAG if you like LRMs. It lets you break ECM, and TAG'ed targets lock faster, group better and track better - all of this stacking with Artemis.

Robert Montjoy, on 28 November 2013 - 03:20 PM, said:

Explanation 2:
Do the red Triangles only appear for me when a Teammate actually
1) target a Mech (outsight of my Radar range and Sight) or
2) when he actually sees it
3) and what if he sees it and it's outside his Radar Range.

1. That's why scouts will sometime lock a big group rapidly (toggling) so people can see the outlines. However, they will also appear for anything in your LOS, in addition to targets being locked by a teammate.

Robert Montjoy, on 28 November 2013 - 03:20 PM, said:

Again I'm not sure but I think I've read somewhere that the red Triangles appear for all when someone sees a Mech. Right?

Disclaimer: Above goes without any ECM or BAP considerations to leave the answer as easy as possible.


Can somebody please clarify?

Many thanks in advance.
Robert

Hope this helped! To recap:

Lockable contacts only show up when a target is locked by a teammate, or if the target is in your direct Line of Sight so you can lock it. Once you lock it, anyone that does not have LOS can also see the target on radar, including the damage levels once you scan them. Artemis also only works when you have direct line of sight.

Hope this helped!

EDIT: Also not meaning to complicate things more but the UAV can mass detect targets in an area (netting you great XP bonuses); anything in it's line of sight will be lockable for all players, all the time. Just thought I'd bring it up in case you see this happen from time to time, with suddenly the majority of the enemy team appearing lockable without LOS.

Edited by Victor Morson, 28 November 2013 - 03:29 PM.

[Robert Montjoy]

@ Victor:
Thanks a lot. That helped.

Because I see something (or better the sensors of my Mech picks it up) does not mean It shows on the Radar of my Teammates (w/o LOS) ... if I want that to happen I must actually target it. Right?
If correct that's confusing- I thought I have read otherwise. (something like "any Mech can see what one Mech sees" maybe in the Tutorial perhaps?)

[ManaValkyrie]

Robert Montjoy, on 28 November 2013 - 04:49 PM, said:

@ Victor: Thanks a lot. That helped. Because I see something (or better the sensors of my Mech picks it up) does not mean It shows on the Radar of my Teammates (w/o LOS) ... if I want that to happen I must actually target it. Right? If correct that's confusing- I thought I have read otherwise. (something like "any Mech can see what one Mech sees" maybe in the Tutorial perhaps?)

By locking the target up with your mech, a fire support mech gets a solid lock onto that target as well as being able to actually get a full read on the enemies condition. It lets them see the paperdoll of the enemy mech and helps them identify if there missiles are hitting the target or if it is behind cover from where they are.etc.

Unfortunately the tutorials do need improvement. A mech can see mechs that are in LOS of friendly mechs, however, they don't get good solid lock or target info on 'non-locked' mechs sighted by friendlies. Also by locking up what you are shooting at where possible it means your LRM friends can help you kill that mech quicker.

[Heavenly Angel]

3 lrm15 vs 3 lrm10+a? assuming chainfired.

Edited by Heavenly Angel, 28 November 2013 - 07:18 PM.

[ManaValkyrie]

Heavenly Angel, on 28 November 2013 - 07:18 PM, said:

3 lrm15 vs 3 lrm10+a? assuming chainfired.

3 lrm 15's will give you more penetration against AMS so more hits on target theoretically but subject to more scatter across the enemy mech. If you are using for fire supression outside of artemis range so 750m - 1000m then 3 15's is a better chain fire for punch as you dont have to worry about artemis.

3 lrm 10's + Artemis. The 3 lrm 10's have a tighter missile grouping so hit in a more concentrated bunch outside of artemis range, with artemis and line of sight under 750m the 3 10's in chain fire will core out a mech quick. The faster cycle time means better uptime. Also 3 10's against an AMS protected targetted can be salvo'd for a significant punch too.

[Denolven]

Robert Montjoy, on 28 November 2013 - 03:20 PM, said:

Q 1: How can I tell if the red Triangles in my Radar Screen where from my own Radar or from the Radar of a Teammate?

Q 2: Why do so many people call for "Target please" aka "Press R-Button" at the Beginning of an Match?

A1:
Full triangle: target has been locked by an ally (or by yourself, then you also get the rectangle around the target).
Empty triangle: target is seen by you, but not locked.

Everyone has his own triangles - you never get anything from allies, unless they lock something, which then becomes a solid triangle and is shared among the whole team.
You can maintain your own lock as long as you have line of sight to the target. Artemis needs line of sight to work. A lock without line of sight means that it's an allies lock.

A2:
Information is power. In essence, the information we have decides what we do. the more information we get, the more accurate our "image" of what's going on, which increases chances to win. It has to do with battle strategies and counter-tactics and all that stuff. Locking a target shares alot of information with the rest of the team (troop distribution, weaponry, etc.).

Advanced players don't like being blind. Just lock the stuff in front of you, and you are helping already, no matter how much of a newbie you are. It's a very simple action with a very meaningfull effect. If your allies don't know what's going on, they can't help you.

Edited by Denolven, 29 November 2013 - 12:59 AM.

[Victor Morson]

Heavenly Angel, on 28 November 2013 - 07:18 PM, said:

3 lrm15 vs 3 lrm10+a? assuming chainfired.

I'll keep this brief but welcome to the terrors of GHOST HEAT, the undocumented (outside of the forums) worst feature ever. Anyway, to answer your question:

If you have more than 2 LRM launchers of any size (OTHER than the 5), you will begin incurring heat penalties based on your largest launcher. If you fire 4 LRM10s and an LRM20, you will take a massive amount of heat (the same as firing 4 LRM20s.)

As such you need to have two "primary" launchers as your main LRMs; a couple LRM5s can blend in to the mix (provided your 'mech has the missile port maximum to handle it) free from heat.

So that's huge factor #1: You don't want either above example.

The other factors include the aformentioned missile ports (some 'mechs will scale the number of ports on some hardpoints - check Smurfy's for details) that you can push, and the Artemis. You want the Artemis always with LRMs. LRM 'mechs without Artemis are doing it wrong.

I guess if you wanted to run 3x15 (45 missiles) you'd be better off running 2x20 1x5 (45 missiles) since you would be free from penalty for the same number of missiles per volley.

[Heavenly Angel]

its for a mech w/ 3x15 slots. choosing between the two because they occupy the same # of slots

[Redshift2k5]

Artemis only benefits you if you are getting your own line of sight, and so works best with either a very mobile missile platform or a mixed build that also brings direct-fire weaponry. Note that a set of Artemis 10's will also use 30% less ammo than a trio of 15s! So you can either shave off a ton or get a larger number of salvos.

Unfortunately I don't have any hands on evidence of which would be superior in actual play. You may have to run an experiment!

[Denolven]

That's pretty much a classical MWO thing - you simply try both and see what you like better. Both are valid, both have advantages and disadvantages and some tiny details to them. There is no wrong choice. There is only "that one works better for me".

LRM15 = bigger salvo (= more damage per volley, but less accurate)
LRM10 = smaller salvo (= faster fire rate, more accurate, but less alpha damage)

[SniperCon]

Robert Montjoy, on 28 November 2013 - 03:20 PM, said:

... short Question:


Q 1: How can I tell if the red Triangles in my Radar Screen where from my own Radar or from the Radar of a Teammate?

Q 2: Why do so many people call for "Target please" aka "Press R-Button" at the Beginning of an Match?


Explanation 1:
I don't know if it's true but I think I've read somewhere that the Bonus for ARTEMIS Missiles is only applied if I target them by myself. If this is true and there are now a multitude of red Triangles I would certainly prefer those Targets which my own Radar picked up.

Explanation 2:
Do the red Triangles only appear for me when a Teammate actually
1) target a Mech (outsight of my Radar range and Sight) or
2) when he actually sees it
3) and what if he sees it and it's outside his Radar Range.

Again I'm not sure but I think I've read somewhere that the red Triangles appear for all when someone sees a Mech. Right?

Disclaimer: Above goes without any ECM or BAP considerations to leave the answer as easy as possible.


Can somebody please clarify?

Many thanks in advance.
Robert

If you can see a 'Mech with an empty red triangle it is visible from your radar. Teammates will not be able see the 'Mech unless it is also on their radar. For an out of sight teammate to see the 'Mech you need to target it (press R). This has additional ramifications beyond LRM spotting.
If you see an isolated teammate fighting what looks like one enemy, they may actually be fighting five enemies, but the only have one targeted.
If you are isolated and fighting five enemies, cycle your targets before you die to give your team better information on the enemy strength at that location.
If there is only one enemy left and your team has split up looking and you find the last enemy first, do not target them so that you can keep the kill for yourself. That way your teammates won't know to come to your location and steal your kill.

[Choppah]

Can in-engine heatsinks be critted seperately from the engine? Example: SHD-2D2 HS question. Would this build have a the same chance of critical hit for the engine as for the lbx? If so, what about DHS?

[Koniving]

The additional one added to the engine can, in fact, be critical-hit. Also with DHS it can happen. What then arises is whether or not the engine's own heatsinks can be critical hit. Here, they are considered part of the engine. 10 out of 10.



I'll be honest, when I have only the engine DHS I have never lost them. But if I have one added to the engine, such as a 275 engine + 1 DHS, that one registers as "Center Torso." And I always lose that one on my way down to knock on death's door.

[Redshift2k5]

I've never seen the engine register less than it's full complement.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Redshift2k5, on 30 November 2013 - 04:01 PM, said:

I've never seen the engine register less than it's full complement.

I think I've had it register 7/10 for the 180XL I use in my Locust and Commando...
But I would need to double check.

[Redshift2k5]

Shar Wolf, on 30 November 2013 - 04:14 PM, said:

I think I've had it register 7/10 for the 180XL I use in my Locust and Commando...
But I would need to double check.

A 180 XL only holds 7. 7 is it's "full complement".

[Koniving]

Shar Wolf, on 30 November 2013 - 04:14 PM, said:

I think I've had it register 7/10 for the 180XL I use in my Locust and Commando...
But I would need to double check.

As Red said, that's its full compliment. Take 250, that's 10. 275 is 10+1 slot. 300 is 10+2 slots. But go backwards. 225 is 10-1 (9). 200 is 10-2 (8). 175 is 7. 150 is 6. 125 is 5, 100 is 4, 75 is 3, 50 is 2, 25 is 1, and anything less than a rating of 25 is 0 built in.

Currently the minimum rating is 100. The smallest rating on a mech recorded is 20. Some UrbanMechs use a 60-rated engine.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Redshift2k5, on 30 November 2013 - 04:19 PM, said:

A 180 XL only holds 7. 7 is it's "full complement".

Koniving, on 30 November 2013 - 05:30 PM, said:

As Red said, that's its full compliment. Take 250, that's 10. 275 is 10+1 slot. 300 is 10+2 slots. But go backwards. 225 is 10-1 (9). 200 is 10-2 (8). 175 is 7. 150 is 6. 125 is 5, 100 is 4, 75 is 3, 50 is 2, 25 is 1, and anything less than a rating of 25 is 0 built in.

Currently the minimum rating is 100. The smallest rating on a mech recorded is 20. Some UrbanMechs use a 60-rated engine.

I am aware of that.. but I was under the impression that the engine count on the monitor was for the 10/10 engine heatsinks - not a percentile or the like (why would they use 10/10 when you have 7/10?)