53 replies to this topic

[Mott]

Hello All,

I'm a recent noob, having just DL'd MWO 3 nights ago. I'm pretty much hooked - as I expected to be considering how much i loved MW3 online back in my college days - and that's a bad thing as I'm also growing very frustrated.

Currently I own the HBK-4P & CTF-3D. The hunchback is running with just 6MedL and 1PPC. The Cataphract has 1LB10x, 1UAC5 and 4MedL. Both have slightly increased armor.

The reason i'm getting frustrated is my continual low damage per match, despite 50%+ accuracy rates. I prefer a lance support role, either by living in the shadow of a slow Assault and covering his back, or curving along inside the arching path of some lights flanking our enemy and pulling fire away from them.
Because of my style, i don't get to take many shots (often blocked by the larger assaults who are eager to unleash their payload and think nothing of stepping in front of my sniping LoS) but I strive for quality shots.

But i'm finding the payoff isn't there. I'm regularly getting <100 damage per match. I tried switching things up with the CTF-3D, and going balls-out with the LB10x and UAC5 unleashing 43LB10x rounds and 64 UAC5 rounds with 63% and 58% accuracy respectively in my best match... and still only ended up with 135 points of damage that game.

What am I missing here? I hate being a net negative impact player. It's driving me nuts!

[Arnold J Rimmer]

If your accuracies are that high and you're loosing that many shots, I'd ask if you were keeping to your effective ranges first. Energy and ballistic weapons' damage tails off after their 'maximum' ranges, out to double and triple range respectively.

I might have said hit registration, but UAC's and lasers don't really suffer greatly from that issue - primarily it's SRM's and LB-10s that get it in the neck due to the number of concurrent impacts on the target.

Another thing to bear in mind with laser weapons is that they do damage over the entire beam duration, in discrete ticks. IIRC, there are 10 ticks per beam for the ML and LL, and 6 (?) for the SL (not sure on the numbers for pulse lasers, but I'm pretty sure there are fewer ticks per shot). Each one does a tenth (or a sixth) of the damage for the whole beam. If you swipe a target, your reticle will still show a hit, but you might just have melted the paintwork a bit.

What's your region/ping? High-latency players can also find it difficult to land damage consistently, despite HSR.

[Mott]

Thanks Arnold,

I'm usually within 500m, so range is fine for the ballistics. I'll regularly let loose with the lasers around that distance as i close the gap... as i forget what their maximum range is, but thought they could score some damage out that far.

I guess the swiping is probably my issue... my targeting reticle does seem to be bouncing like crazy and I can't get it to smooth out. Often i'll have a shot lined up on a key weapon group in a mech's arm and the reticle will suddenly "skip" to the side without me even moving the mouse. I've tried a couple mice (all wireless) and still have the problem.

Probably have to spend some $$ on a gaming mouse... the extra buttons will come in handy even if it doesn't help the reticle bounce much.

My ping is never higher than 50... so, I can't blame it for my crapiness! lol

Edited by Mott, 08 January 2014 - 07:16 AM.

[Arnold J Rimmer]

ML's reach to 540m, so that's fine...

Re: bouncing reticle, are you playing in first or third person?

[Mott]

1st person, arms unlocked. I've been using just one of those crappy Logitech usb wireless mini mice.

[mikelovskij]

Arnold J Rimmer, on 08 January 2014 - 07:16 AM, said:

ML's reach to 540m, so that's fine...

Re: bouncing reticle, are you playing in first or third person?

Ok, but at 500 m ML deal really low damage, usually they are not worth using at that range because of the generated heat (of course all depends on the situation)

On the other side UAC should deal all of his damage at that range while the damage done by the lb-x depends on how many of the shots actually hit the target, so if only one of the shot hits the enemy it still counts as a hit in the stats but the damage dealt is low.

Before changing mouse, try to lower the sensitivity in the game settings to 0.2 or something similar, for me it helped A LOT. Also consider that changing direction (pressing A or D) while shooting makes aiming really difficoult, expecially in ligher mechs who have a high turning speed.

[Koniving]

Mott, on 08 January 2014 - 06:38 AM, said:

Hello All,

I'm a recent noob, having just DL'd MWO 3 nights ago. I'm pretty much hooked - as I expected to be considering how much i loved MW3 online back in my college days - and that's a bad thing as I'm also growing very frustrated.

Currently I own the HBK-4P & CTF-3D. The hunchback is running with just 6MedL and 1PPC. The Cataphract has 1LB10x, 1UAC5 and 4MedL. Both have slightly increased armor.

The reason i'm getting frustrated is my continual low damage per match, despite 50%+ accuracy rates. I prefer a lance support role, either by living in the shadow of a slow Assault and covering his back, or curving along inside the arching path of some lights flanking our enemy and pulling fire away from them.
Because of my style, i don't get to take many shots (often blocked by the larger assaults who are eager to unleash their payload and think nothing of stepping in front of my sniping LoS) but I strive for quality shots.

But i'm finding the payoff isn't there. I'm regularly getting <100 damage per match. I tried switching things up with the CTF-3D, and going balls-out with the LB10x and UAC5 unleashing 43LB10x rounds and 64 UAC5 rounds with 63% and 58% accuracy respectively in my best match... and still only ended up with 135 points of damage that game.

What am I missing here? I hate being a net negative impact player. It's driving me nuts!

Switch to first person. (F4) Remove armlock in the options; you can also set "start in third person" to off from there. Press shift when you need to focus all weapons.

Next step. For the Hunchback consider removing some medium lasers. 6 is an okay number but the amount of time needed to focus is too much. Have you tried small pulses? You have to get a little closer, but it deals its damage in half the time, and a full second before mediums can fire again you'll have fired a second time with SPLs and be able to start running away if need-be.

My 4P currently runs 3 PPCs (in rapid chain fire) and many small pulse lasers. Or you can simply use 2 + the small pulse lasers. Or whatever weapons suit you.

For your 3D your weapons are a bit diverse. 3 groups isn't bad but that depends on your mouse. Consider changing the UAC/5 for an AC/5 or the LB-10x for an AC/10. Actually do both. UAC/5 swap to AC/5 and LB-10x for AC/10. That'll even out in weight distribution gain and loss. The damage will be much more focused and no jam times.

Come back with the results.

Btw:

540 meters MLs do zero damage. 539, it's a fraction. It's energy weapons 2x the stated range for exactly 0 damage. 1.5x the stated range for half the damage. 1x the stated range for maximum damage. For most energy weapons anything less than the stated range is also maximum damage. Except standard PPCs which are useless at less than 90 meters.

For ideal use, keep MLs firing at under 300 meters to get the best effect.

[DONTOR]

After having watched my friends play on my account I noticed their damage was low when they had every opportunity to have great damage given the match. It was always due to poor aim. It takes a little while to get good at moving and shooting in ths game, make sure your arm lock is turned of as you will have increased arm mobility for hitting faster targets. Keeping a laser consentrated on an enemy mech for the maorty of the beam duration is very important for damage. Also you may have to lead targets slightly because of internet speed, or if its a very fast light. Hope some of this helps.

[Bront]

A few suggestions:

1) Unlock your arms. It's a hard transition, but it improves weapon accuracy on arm mounted weapons and helps against lights.

2) Lasers do Damage over Time, so be aware you have to keep the beam focused when you hit with it.

3) LB10X is easy to miss with a few of the projectiles. I suggest going either AC10 for more punch, or AC5/UAC5 for lighter weight but better range.

4) If you're doing ranged support, longer ranged weapons might work better. With the Cataphrat 3D, the popular "poptart" 3D build might work for you even if you don't jump around much. Something like this for PUGs is nice, When you need to fire over friendlies, jump over them. For the Hunchie, you might be better dropping the PPC for more lasers, more HS, and a larger engine, and then do some flanking or light defense.

5) Work on getting better angles. There are plenty of ways to hang with a meat shield and still fire around/over them.

6) Practice. It took me over a while to break 100 damage, and over 2 weeks to start averaging over 100. Damage also isn't the whole story. With the mech I listed above, it's not unusual for me to have a 4 kill match with under 500 damage (I've had a 4 kill 300 damage game before), and it wasn't simply me kill-stealing (not that that's a thing in a team game), it was pinpoint damage blowing though armor rather than spreading damage.

7) Get the Elite skills. It makes a HUGE difference. Speed Tweek is the best skill out there, and doubling your basics makes a HUGE difference.

[Mott]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far folks (even those who didn't read that my armlock IS already OFF lol)

I'll work on tweaking my loadout tonight for a couple of the suggested weapons that should suit my playstyle better, and drop my mouse sensitivity even further. Hopefully that creates a quick and noticeable net-gain on my performance.

I really want to join a group as my style and skills don't suit lonewolf, non-team play... but no self respecting group would have me at this point. lol

[Aluminumfoiled]

Mott, on 08 January 2014 - 07:30 AM, said:

1st person, arms unlocked. I've been using just one of those crappy Logitech usb wireless mini mice.

Execellent. The only way to start.

I would add that when you unlock the mech efficiencies they improve dramatically. You get a new better mech after. Don't know if you have more than the 2 listed. Don't sell. Buy a new mechbay first.

I like the LBX 10 but it is a late in the game weapon for me that costs you damage to keep it healthy until the enemy is already worn down some. Koniving's advice is worth considering. (Ytube links are good)

Short, sharp and harsh life at first in MWO and worth every death. I remember my first kill. Stick with it and you will be rewarded. So glad I did. See you on planet.

edit: A nice mouse is a buff.

Edited by MicroVent, 08 January 2014 - 04:23 PM.

[Arnold J Rimmer]

Hop on the NGNG Teamspeak server. I use the same name there - look down the list for Crimson Hydra. We'll get you going

EDIT: The NGNG server in general is a good place to find people/units to drop with. There's also EU and NA ComStar servers as well as servers hosted for the various Houses. Good list here.

Edited by Arnold J Rimmer, 08 January 2014 - 08:31 AM.

[Koniving]

Mott, on 08 January 2014 - 08:00 AM, said:

I really want to join a group as my style and skills don't suit lonewolf, non-team play... but no self respecting group would have me at this point. lol

Sometime tonight I'll drag you along for some matches if you like. Add me on MWO with Social (bottom right), add player, " Koniving "

[Mott]

Koniving, on 08 January 2014 - 09:36 AM, said:

Sometime tonight I'll drag you along for some matches if you like. Add me on MWO with Social (bottom right), add player, " Koniving "

Thanks Koniving,

Tonight may have to be a night off for me as the bride has been pretty accommodating for the last 2. But I'll definitely grab the opportunity to drop with you at some point.

Cheers and good hunting.

[Spheroid]

Your loadouts are not conducive to high damage. High damage is not necessarily the same thing as high lethality, but does often result in high match scores.

Without seeing your full loadouts I would say that one PPC is not adequate on the battlefield and that a UAC-5 with a LBX-10 is not a good combo. For the 4P you might consider going large lasers and mediums or dual PPC and massed small lasers.

Standard AC-5s are awesome right now I strongly recommend them. Maybe dual AC-10s and lasers, again depending on what parts you have available for your Cataphract.

Edited by Spheroid, 08 January 2014 - 10:27 AM.

[Mechteric]

I'd highly recommend something more like 9 medium lasers on the 4P, or perhaps 2 Larges and 3-4 mediums, the PPC isnt a great fit for a hunchy IMO.

As for the cataphract, the LBX10 is prety worthless, drop it for a second UAC5 and you should be good.

Edited by CapperDeluxe, 08 January 2014 - 10:24 AM.

[Mott]

Noted and thanks.

I'll definitely be making some changes as soon as i can. Silly work is in the way right now though. I actually have both without JJs at this point and have noticed with their slow (relative) 65kph speed it's a pretty big limitation.

What are folks thoughts on trading JJ mobility for increased firepower, ammo or heatsinks?

[Bront]

Mott, on 08 January 2014 - 08:00 AM, said:

I really want to join a group as my style and skills don't suit lonewolf, non-team play... but no self respecting group would have me at this point. lol

Trust me, we've worked with players greener than you in the 5th RCT.

Steiner Hub is a great place in general if you're looking for a friendly pickup team or want to join a group.

[Spheroid]

Near stock 3D with 280XL? That is half the problem. How many C-bills do you have available? Remove CASE, upgrade the heatsinks and we can start on the real work.

[Turist0AT]

Hey Mott. You dont have any synergy in you firepower. 3 totaly different weapon systems. 3 different ranges. Get 2 LBXs, or even better 2 AC-10s, or 2 UAC or 2Gauss. ML are a good backup weapon, but thats it, backup. Think about swiching to somthing heavier energy. PPCs or LLs. So that your energy has the same range as balistics, so that you can fire everything.

Right now any real damage at medium to long range is delt by one UAC. LBX is just spreading damage and so are the lasers.

My 3D is packing 2 Gauss with 1 ERPPC, every hit is either 30 damage or 10, no matter range. 40Alpha. i get 5 hits on an enemy thats 200 damage, no mater range.