57 replies to this topic

[Jman5]

One of the subtle things about the game is that certain mechs get naturally focus fired without anyone saying a word. Whether it's seen as super dangerous or more frequently as an easy kill, some mechs just have it rougher than others.

My top 5 are:

• Blackjacks
  
• Awesomes
  
• Hunchbacks
  
• Dragons
  
• Commandos

As a hunchback pilot, I see this almost every game. I'll waddle over to join a big brawl then, all of a sudden, several enemies will turn from their targets and start hammering me down. If it happened occasionally, I would just chalk it up to bad luck or good communication, but it's pretty consistent from game to game. Like I have a giant "FREE KILL OR YOUR MONEY BACK" sign over my head.

On the flip side there are mechs I'll actively avoid because they feel like damage sponges.

So what mechs do you feel are unfairly persecuted on the battlefield?

[Sephlock]

Any light will have entire teams chasing after them- even the 30kph assault mechs that have no chance whatsoever of even re-gaining line of sight on them, let alone hitting them even once.

[Wintersdark]

Yup.

Much the same for me, it's:
Mediums in general - Low armor, high damage dealing ability. Fairly easy kills, lethal if ignored.
Dragons, Catapults, Awesomes - Easy kills for their weight class

To a lesser extent:
Jagers+Assaults I know to be packing XL's (based on loadout) - Easy kills. Mind you, every now and then I encounter a Jag with an STD engine. As I always target one of the Jag's enormous side torsos, this is usually a fatal mistake for me. Doesn't happen often though, at least not with Jag's that still have loadouts capable of doing significant damage.

On the other hand, I'll generally leave for last:
Centurions: CT is hard to hit, and they can sponge damage like nobodies business by exploiting their huge destroyed arm stubs and damage transfer mechanics. If I have to fight one, it gets legged.
Lights: Unless I'm in a mech tooled to combat them (typically, my Mediums) these end up drawing too much firepower to destroy, relative to their offensive abilitiy.

Everything else is up in the open, targets of opportunity.

[stinkypuppy]

i'm guilty of focusing fire on hunchbacks. there kinda small, can be potentially fast, and pack a heavy punch.

i also fire upon jagermechs because i know they lack heavy armor and are usually packing XL's so i get easy kills for focusing fire on their side torsos. i love it when i sneak up on a group of like 3 jagermechs and burn away their side torso armor with large lasers then hit them with a guass and instant explosion. it just takes like 16 seconds to burn away a line of them it just feels so awesome.

also catapults. there weak. in my light mech i like taking passes at them and destroying their LRM launchers making them pointless. in my heavy mech, well i just use the heaviest guns on that massive cockpit and there dead.

[Bront]

AC20 hunchies get the torso targeted. Atlas and Stalkers tend to draw a lot of fire in general. Catapults draw a lot of "easy kill" fire.

[XphR]

Any mech I pilot, if its not my fingers getting me into trouble... my paint schemes kick in for back up aggravation. >_<

[Gaan Cathal]

Sephlock, on 06 October 2013 - 12:25 PM, said:

Any light will have entire teams of bads chasing after them- even the 30kph assault mechs that have no chance whatsoever of even re-gaining line of sight on them, let alone hitting them even once.

FTFY

Jman5, on 06 October 2013 - 12:16 PM, said:

As a hunchback pilot, I see this almost every game. I'll waddle over to join a big brawl then, all of a sudden, several enemies will turn from their targets and start hammering me down. If it happened occasionally, I would just chalk it up to bad luck or good communication, but it's pretty consistent from game to game. Like I have a giant "FREE KILL OR YOUR MONEY BACK" sign over my head.

It's not so much the "free kill" as the fact that they actually pack a surprising punch for their weight, meaning they can do a lot of damage if ignored, and the maneuverability to put the kibosh on any attempt to disengage.

[General Taskeen]

Gaan Cathal, on 06 October 2013 - 12:44 PM, said:

FTFY

[/size]

It's not so much the "free kill" as the fact that they actually pack a surprising punch for their weight, meaning they can do a lot of damage if ignored, and the maneuverability to put the kibosh on any attempt to disengage.

mmm, you could build a hunchback build with the same speed on a cataphract, but you don't get a debilitating "hunch" when you strap an ac/20 on.

The "hunch" is there only because the original catalyst art showed a "hunch." The hunch was not a liability in TT when you strut around your little miniature on the battle map due to randomness. The Hunchback packed a wallop in TT and was not hampered by its Hunch.

This a real-time game where you aim, so the 3d representation of a Hunchback has made that part of its hitbox a liability in comparison.

[Buzzkillin]

Never been focused fired in my black jack, i am actually ignored when with other mechs, which allows me to rack up the damage. I am more focused in the Dragon though,

[151st Light Horse Regiment]

I always go for the hbk. It seems to me to always be the mech where components break of very very easily.

I'll never, ever go near a Misery unless I have to.

[Egomane]

Every mech I run in, is a focus fire magnet.

I just don't know why!

Edited by Egomane, 06 October 2013 - 01:41 PM.

[NRP]

Any mech I'm in it would seem.

[Wintersdark]

Gaan Cathal, on 06 October 2013 - 12:44 PM, said:

It's not so much the "free kill" as the fact that they actually pack a surprising punch for their weight, meaning they can do a lot of damage if ignored, and the maneuverability to put the kibosh on any attempt to disengage.

This.

Hunchbacks carry a substantial amount of firepower, and can really wreck things in a short amount of time.

However, they are fragile, so not too tough a target. As an assault or Heavy, simply directing attention to a HBK will generally get them to disengage and find easier inattentive prey.

[MortVent]

It depends, I get a lot of fire at my cats... and one guy screaming it shouldn't still be alive at the end of a match because of it (I upgraded the armor dude! Plus kept moving and jumping to spread the dmg a bit..)

But it seems to focus fire happens randomly in general on what ever is the biggest/easiest target they can see (or most annoying... like the cat sitting on a ridge at the desert raining down on them)

[Deathlike]

Any mech that is classified as a "support mech" are almost always a focus fire magnet.

If you are not able to tank damage whether by having naturally high armor or by spreading damage effectively, you are a focus fire magnet.

[TychoTheItinerant]

Jagers are pretty high up on the "KILL THAT GUY FIRST" list, and they're usually on the fragile side to boot. Hunchies are high-priority targets as well for me.

[Gizmoh]

I've never been more focused that when I'm riding my jager, not on my hunchback, not on my cent, maybe people hate the firebrand?

[Lucy Cameron]

AC40 Jagers are kill on sight.

[smokefield]

what i prefer to avoid is misery - it seems its much more resilient that other stalkers.
i like to fight atlasses lol. they are so big and slow...and a lot of their pilots have no idea how to pilot one. In 100+ fights in my fb i encountered only 2 good atlas pilots. dont remember the names cause the fight was pretty intense and i had to work in order to outmaneuver and hit them hard...

[Spheroid]

The correct answer is the Orion. The CT is so weak it feels like you are fighting a slow 40 tonner. Basically a free kill for anything with an alpha greater than 30.