4831 replies to this topic

[Fox With A Shotgun]

Say hello to my little friend...



Oh, and the one that actually works, too.


LBX10, XL100. No armor. 1.5 tons of ammo!

Edited by ArcturusWolf, 07 November 2015 - 05:13 PM.

[Tim East]

3xnihilo, on 07 November 2015 - 10:05 AM, said:

The way screenshots are saved was recently changed so that the date is part of the name. This means newer screenshots get saved at the beginning of your screenshots folder now not he end. I had the same issue a couple weeks ago until I went through my whole folder and realized what happened.

Over 436 seconds I managed to inflict an average sustained DPS of 3.04 and change. This means that according to smurfy, I only fell short of optimal damage per second over extended time by .8 DPS. That feels pretty sweet.

I'll grant you that it was a perfect storm kind of match, since the enemy repeatedly stopped focusing on me the instant I left view due to my teammates' excellent pressuring of them. Also, for some reason completely unknown to me, my own team ignored the last two enemies (an ML/SRM combo Raven and a CTF that had been reduced to a stick) entirely, so I got all the sweet, sweet, C-bill showers there.

Also, double thanks again to 3X, without whom I never would have realized that my screenies were still being taken. I wish the like button would let me double down once in a while.

And now, for a Locust carry harder pic to inspire you all.

[3xnihilo]

Tim East, on 07 November 2015 - 08:43 PM, said:

Over 436 seconds I managed to inflict an average sustained DPS of 3.04 and change. This means that according to smurfy, I only fell short of optimal damage per second over extended time by .8 DPS. That feels pretty sweet.

I'll grant you that it was a perfect storm kind of match, since the enemy repeatedly stopped focusing on me the instant I left view due to my teammates' excellent pressuring of them. Also, for some reason completely unknown to me, my own team ignored the last two enemies (an ML/SRM combo Raven and a CTF that had been reduced to a stick) entirely, so I got all the sweet, sweet, C-bill showers there.

Also, double thanks again to 3X, without whom I never would have realized that my screenies were still being taken. I wish the like button would let me double down once in a while.

And now, for a Locust carry harder pic to inspire you all.

Whooohoo! Glad you found your screenshots. Those are some pretty sweet rounds, it would have been a shame to lose them.

[Dino Might]

Dino Might, on 09 October 2015 - 04:34 PM, said:

I can bring you more, on demand.

[mad kat]

Been trialing the 6spl 1E for a little while, i don't like it gone back to my 6ML build. Much better. Just gotta figure out what to do with my 3M then thinking joke flamer build....

[Dino Might]

mad kat, on 11 November 2015 - 08:57 AM, said:

Been trialing the 6spl 1E for a little while, i don't like it gone back to my 6ML build. Much better. Just gotta figure out what to do with my 3M then thinking joke flamer build....

Rapid chain-fire TAG build? The ultimate infowarrior!

[Donatello Jones]

Time East, you kick serious butt in a Locust. I have been in a few matches with you. Watching you run the Locust made me buy them. Respect.

Edited by Donatello Jones, 14 November 2015 - 08:26 AM.

[Tim East]

Donatello Jones, on 14 November 2015 - 06:32 AM, said:

Time East, you kick serious butt in a Locust. I have been in a few matches with you. Watching you run the Locust made me buy them. Respect.

Thanks, dude.

They're my very favorite mech to play in this game because you can hit almost as hard as a Firestarter or most mediums while screaming across the battlefield like a flash of emerald lightning, and you die pretty much always in one good hit. It makes you get practice at not getting hit, and there's no better rush than going on a madcap mech-butt-shooting murder-spree when a single errant alpha can annihilate you.

Just remember: Drive fast, fear nothing, and take at least one with you. After all, there is literally nothing you can do that another mech can't do better and bragging rights are what it's all about, right?

/edit: lol, swear-filter. Hopefully that Barney's it up a little.

Edited by Tim East, 14 November 2015 - 09:46 PM.

[TimePeriod]

Been running my Lolcust for a few matches, its one heck of a ride with huge personal skill requirements. Not for the faint of heart.

As for my setup, I've packed it with as much firepower as the little thing can hold without making a huge sacrifice to speed.
Lolcust
x2 mls x2 mpls 180 xl endo+ferro+dhs and guardian.
I average out 4-500 damage pr match which I think is pretty good for such a small mech.

[Ovion]

Just noticed on the PTS thread...
Their intent is to reduce Speed Tweak from 10% to 7.5%.

This would make the Locusts top speed 165.44, losing 3.45kph top speed.
This.. irritates me as a concept.

Edited by Ovion, 15 November 2015 - 07:54 AM.

[3xnihilo]

Ovion, on 15 November 2015 - 07:51 AM, said:

Just noticed on the PTS thread...
Their intent is to reduce Speed Tweak from 10% to 7.5%.

This would make the Locusts top speed 165.44, losing 3.45kph top speed.
This.. irritates me as a concept.

They also removed the mg quirks and ct armor quirks from the 3v

[Fox With A Shotgun]

On the flipside, they gave virtually all lolcusts additional armor on legs on the test server. Energy quirks seem intact, so it may not be as bad as we think.

....We're not affected as badly as the assaults though, so the lolcust's natural prey has become easier to devour. Direwhales will be 100 tons of juicy mech myomer.

[loopala]

as locust pilots we must remain optimists. don't look at what they took away, look a what we have been given. we still get some insane energy range quirks.
who is with me looking forward to the 1125m tag on the littlest lrm boat yep tagging from another zip code
we still have the ER LPL on the 1v fastest erll in the inner sphere. add range mod you are dumping on clanners from a klick away every 2 sec for under .75 sec
and who an't loving that 70% decel on the 1m 1v 3s and 3v
yep going to be good times to have mastered locust prowling around

[Tim East]

Ovion, on 15 November 2015 - 07:51 AM, said:

Just noticed on the PTS thread...
Their intent is to reduce Speed Tweak from 10% to 7.5%.

This would make the Locusts top speed 165.44, losing 3.45kph top speed.
This.. irritates me as a concept.

I'm actually not that bothered by this because it means that the tiny gap between Locust and Commando/Spider/etc. shrinks a little bit. Yeah it sucks to lose speed, but weakening the closing ability of other light mech pursuers (or more likely in my experience, evaders) seems likely to be an intangible boon of sorts.

3xnihilo, on 15 November 2015 - 10:24 AM, said:

They also removed the mg quirks and ct armor quirks from the 3v

I'm gonna miss that armor badly, but as long as I have my super-LPL I can still fight in it.

[DarthHias]

1E gets Leg Armor instead of Structure which is a net buff.
1M gets Missile velocity, better Accel/Decel, Torso Yaw and Leg Armor instead of Structure - buff.
1V looses Ballistic range, gets better Accel/Decel, gets Turn rate, Torso Yaw loads of Torso structure and leg Armor - net buff.
3M same as 1E - net buff.
3S exchanges Missile range for Missile Velocity, gets better Accel/Decel, Turn Rate, Torso Yaw, Leg Armor - buff.
3V is the most complicated: Looses 8 CT armor gains 8 CT Structure. Looses M-Gun quirks. Looses 5 Side Torso Armor gains 5 side torso Structure. Goes from zero agility buffs to the full programm.


Well I think the Locusts get normalized performancewise, the best ones imho, the 1E and the 3V don´t get much but stay good the rest gets a nice buff. Only thing I don´t really like is the 3V loosing it´s "tank" status among the lolcusts

BTW: Spider buffs

[Ovion]

Tim East, on 15 November 2015 - 08:20 PM, said:

I'm actually not that bothered by this because it means that the tiny gap between Locust and Commando/Spider/etc. shrinks a little bit. Yeah it sucks to lose speed, but weakening the closing ability of other light mech pursuers (or more likely in my experience, evaders) seems likely to be an intangible boon of sorts.

Actually it's the reverse.

It actually improves most things closing ability.

In flat terms, it should be roughly the same as everyone loses the 2.5% speed.
But being things go different speeds, those mechs that go roughly the same speed will lose roughly the same, but a slower mech will be affected less by this.
So a mech going around 170, loses around 3.86kph.
160 > 3.63
150 > 3.41
etc.

so it makes the gap ever so slightly less except for:
Non-ECM/Hero Spiders top matches the Locust so remains the same. (both losing 3.84)
Non-ECM Commandos (though in my experience they don't commonly run the max engine for more armour / firepower) lose a top max of 3.88, which in relative terms, makes them 0.04kph slower than they were in regards to the Locust.

My main question is though, will I remain able to dodge AC20 fire with thise loss of almost 4kph?

Edited by Ovion, 16 November 2015 - 02:55 AM.

[Fox With A Shotgun]

Ovion, on 16 November 2015 - 02:54 AM, said:

My main question is though, will I remain able to dodge AC20 fire with thise loss of almost 4kph?

Pretty sure you still can for heavies and assaults. Not sure about mediums like the YLW or any AC20 hunchie, though. Dodging is completely and entirely up to both players' skills (their poor aim vs your unpredictability) in the frontal arc, so I won't even cover that. But what I can cover is calculating what distance you can hold to be completely immune to fire, because you're too close to them to be tracked (heh, trench run anyone?)

What it comes down to is to be able to exceed the turning rate (degrees/sec) at a certain combat distance.
Assume you are fighting a victim at a given distance, R. Your lolcust is travelling at V kph ( V / 3.6 in m/s). Your victim can turn his legs at YL degrees/sec, and his torso at YT degrees/sec.

There are two possible scenarios. One at which his torso yaw has already maxed out (you're flanking so hard that he has to turn his whole mech), and another where he has to turn to face you. In order for him to face you, he must be able to turn at such a rate that the distance his vision covers at distance R is less than the distance you cover in your locust in the same period of time.

The formula for finding the distance of being completely immune to return fire in 1v1 is this:

V = velocity (of your locust, km/h)
R = radius, in metres (distance to target -- I mean, victim)
YT = yaw rate of torso, in degrees/sec
YL = turning rate of legs, in degrees/sec

((V / 3.6) / (2 * Pi * R)) * (360 degrees) > YT + YL

For the case of torso being maxed out, set YT to 0.0 deg/s.

So let's cover the two cases. Assume that the lolcust is travelling at maximum velocity, and that it is capable of maintaining that speed on flat ground, and is able to travel a full circle without obstructions. Assume Pi is 3.14.

1) Torso yaw not maxed: case study, Dire Whale. DWF can torso twist at 60deg/s, and it can turn at 34deg/s.

V = 170 / 3.6 = ~48m/s
YL + YT = 34deg/s + 60deg/s

Degrees locust can travel in 1 second, at a distance of R: (48 / (6.28 * R)) * 360.

For a locust to be completely safe from a DWF:
= (48 / (6.28 * R)) * 360 > 34 + 60
= (48 / (6.28 * R)) * 360 > 94

Solving for R:
= (48 * 360) > 94 * (6.28 * R)
= (48 * 360) > (94 * 6.28) * R
= (48 * 360) / (94 * 6.28) > R
= ~29.272 > R

Therefore, a lolcust needs to be within 29m of a DWF with both torso twist and leg movement to be unable to be targeted.

2) Torso yaw maxed: Case study, Dire Whale.

Following the above:
= (48 / (6.28 * R)) * 360 > 34 + 0
= (48 / (6.28 * R)) * 360 > 34

Solving for R:
= (48 * 360) > 34 * (6.28 * R)
= (48 * 360) > (34 * 6.28) * R
= (48 * 360) / (34 * 6.28) > R
= ~80.929 > R

Therefore, a locust that has completely flanked a direwhale can safely engage at 80m without fear of getting shot at, assuming that he maintains 170km/h and the direwhale continues rotating at maximum rate.

In other words:

Safe radius R = ((V / 3.6) * 360) / ((YT + YL) * 2 * Pi). If you are within R, congratulations, you can now murder the mech in front of you at will.

This radius grows very, very small as the yaw total goes higher. I don't expect the lolcust to be completely immune to return fire against any mediums or lights, because their yaw is quite high (for reference, a SCR is 68deg/s leg, 120 deg/s torso). But even with a reduction of around 5km/h, this is a reduction of only about 1.5m/s. Against heavies and assaults, this just means you need to close the gap by another 2-3m or so if their torso yaw is locked.

Edited by ArcturusWolf, 16 November 2015 - 04:02 PM.

[Fox With A Shotgun]

Actually, I now have a challenge for you all. Has anyone here managed to pull off a Locust Deathstar? Closest I've gotten is 10 kills on a match ages ago. Darned thing can never get that first two kills because it doesn't have enough long-range alpha for the initial contact engagement...

Edited by ArcturusWolf, 16 November 2015 - 04:16 PM.

[Virlutris]

TimePeriod, on 15 November 2015 - 06:26 AM, said:

Been running my Lolcust for a few matches, its one heck of a ride with huge personal skill requirements. Not for the faint of heart.

As for my setup, I've packed it with as much firepower as the little thing can hold without making a huge sacrifice to speed.
Lolcust
x2 mls x2 mpls 180 xl endo+ferro+dhs and guardian.
I average out 4-500 damage pr match which I think is pretty good for such a small mech.

Mah build!

You're the first other pilot I've seen (who's mentioned) running what I call my "Mixed Greens" build. I like squeezing a couple more points into the alpha while giving some interstesting laser-play/heat-management options, and the ECM makes up a little (IMO) for the loss in speed.

Glad to see someone else enjoying it too!

[DarthHias]

@ArcturusWolf welp, my best Locust game so far where 7 kills so my Challenge will be Ace of Spades

@Virlutis I ran that build for a long time on my PB

@Everyone What´s that with the hitbox changes in the upcoming patch? Locust hitboxes are fine I think? PGI Plz don´t break that sweet little ´Mech...