4831 replies to this topic

[Old-dirty B]

Often i get the idea that some people believe that the locust should not be combat capable, it should scout, cap, perhaps drop a uav but otherwise stay away from the fight and if they do, the locust should be destroyed quite easily. These thoughts or remarks often seem to popup when a locust takes out a much more "combat capable" mech...

Anyway, do you mean that kind of funny?

[the sixth tier]

i mean funny like when they take out a less combat capable mech. like a spider, or a jenner.

or a raven, or a wolfhound, or a panther.

Edited by the sixth tier, 28 April 2017 - 12:58 PM.

[Old-dirty B]

Not sure if i understand completely, but you seem to think the locust is more combat capable then said mechs but shouldnt?

If so, i dont think it really is... i believe its comes down alot more to pilot skill and generally speaking more skilled people tend to perform better when piloting a locust and on the otherside less skilled people that pilot the locust perform really bad. The other mentioned mechs tend to have less extremes in its performance.

Edited by B3R3ND, 28 April 2017 - 01:06 PM.

[the sixth tier]

i think i read that wrong. anyway...

back to the point, which was that something half the size of an arctic cheetah with 6 small pulses is going to brawl any other light down. i'm saying that it's objectively better than other lights in any reasonable situation, without excusing it by pointing to the new player who drives it into a tree and gets blasted.

Edited by the sixth tier, 28 April 2017 - 01:57 PM.

[Old-dirty B]

the sixth tier, on 28 April 2017 - 01:34 PM, said:

... which was that something half the size of an arctic cheetah with 6 small pulses is going to brawl any other light down. i'm saying that it's objectively better than other lights in any reasonable situation ...

Do you pilot locust (often) or do you "just" run into them?

If you do pilot them frequently, you should know - if not, i can assure you the locust is not a mech you just pick up and destroy any (light) mech you come across. Actually, if you dont know how to pilot them most likely you will get killed real quick if you run into another (light) mech, provided that other pilot is not a complete potato.
The locust is one of the few mechs that will really put you to work and if you do so, you will be rewarded. The locust is all about skill, not just the mech...

Edited by B3R3ND, 28 April 2017 - 02:48 PM.

[the sixth tier]

i didn't buy them because it seemed like half the lights in any given match were locusts

edit: not sure what you mean by quoting "just". i run into them all the time because they're very popular.

if i was a locust pilot i'd probably ramble on about how much skill it takes, too. i just think that the reason there are so many locust pilots is because they're the king of is lights, not because they're out to prove how good they are with an underpowered 'mech. agree to disagree i guess.

Edited by the sixth tier, 28 April 2017 - 02:59 PM.

[Old-dirty B]

"Just" was meant in a few ways:
1. You comment the locust without piloting them, that means you only encounter them and thus know half the story
2 You go head on with a locust pilot, only really good or really stupid locust pilots take on other lights - the rest usually runs away back to their team. Assume you are facing a competent locust pilot if he decides to meet you in a dogfight.

Perhaps the locust is popular, do take into accoubt its the cheapest and most affordable mech available. Besides that, most locust pilots just squirrel and "secure" kills and / or get killed wihout contributing significantly ( a bit scouting or capping), i rarely come across competent locust pilots or light pilots in general that put up a thrilling fight and im pretty sure my piloting skill is far from the best light pilotsout there.

For science sake, please pickup a locust and see for your self how good this mech really is.

[the sixth tier]

well like i was spectating a locust just now, and he was bugging around a kodiak, until he got his leg shot off with a lrm. kodiak turns around and he cores him with that last alpha. i said "that was fortunate" and he got really defensive about how it was all his skill.

i don't go head-to-head with a lct-1e or a pirate's bane because they simply outgun and outmaneuver me. on top of that, they're half my size and harder to hit when we're both running max speed. i don't know anything about their competence... it's just because their alpha hits twice as hard as mine and cools down faster.

[IraqiWalker]

Raubo, on 28 April 2017 - 10:44 AM, said:

Is this the Locust appreciation thread?
6 SPL can turn a 1:6 around:

Yes it is. Bring the tears of your enemies to our feast, XD.
(This comment is not really in response to the discussion above).

Anyone that takes a look at Locust armor theory will realize just how crazy it is to pilot them. This is a mech where dropping with almost zero armor makes an almost negligible impact on your survivability.

I've always ran into people who trashed the locusts, or thought they "shouldn't" be taking out bigger or "better" mechs. Usually those players seem to forget that skill is the biggest factor, and them turning their back to me for 5 seconds is why they died to a locust.

Edited by IraqiWalker, 28 April 2017 - 03:58 PM.

[Ertur]

The fact is, Locusts are easier now than they were before. They were small before, now they are miniscule. Given the fact that the Locust is about half the height, half the width, and half the length of a Jenner, it should weigh 1/8 as much as a Jenner, or just over 4 tons. 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/8. To have the proper weight ratio between the Locust and Jenner (4:7), the Locust should be about 81% as tall, 81% as wide and 81% as long as the Jenner.

I heard people in team chat talking about Locusts: easy mode, best light, 400 damage per match, and so on.

[Old-dirty B]

the sixth tier, on 28 April 2017 - 03:44 PM, said:

well like i was spectating a locust just now, and he was bugging around a kodiak, until he got his leg shot off with a lrm. kodiak turns around and he cores him with that last alpha. i said "that was fortunate" and he got really defensive about how it was all his skill.

i don't go head-to-head with a lct-1e or a pirate's bane because they simply outgun and outmaneuver me. on top of that, they're half my size and harder to hit when we're both running max speed. i don't know anything about their competence... it's just because their alpha hits twice as hard as mine and cools down faster.

I dont know what the guy with locust was doing but getting legged when trying to backstab a kodiak and then killing him sounds more like luck then skill to me. Getting close, then backstabbing the kodiak without him ever laying eyes on you (staying in his blindspot) then walking away without any damage taken, thats how he should do it.

Anyway, you seem to overlook one aspect of the locust and thats lack of armor / durability and to minimise or even better to avoid damage it all comes down to piloting skill.

But to come to an end, i think you give the locust too much credits and overlook the pilots influence on the results. You should give the locust a go and see for yourself how hard or easy it is to pilot and do well.

[Old-dirty B]

Ertur, on 28 April 2017 - 06:03 PM, said:

The fact is, Locusts are easier now than they were before. They were small before, now they are miniscule. Given the fact that the Locust is about half the height, half the width, and half the length of a Jenner, it should weigh 1/8 as much as a Jenner, or just over 4 tons. 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/8. To have the proper weight ratio between the Locust and Jenner (4:7), the Locust should be about 81% as tall, 81% as wide and 81% as long as the Jenner.

I heard people in team chat talking about Locusts: easy mode, best light, 400 damage per match, and so on.

Do you pilot locust frequently?

[loopala]

everybody remembers that one killer 6spl lct that tore through the flank of their team. nobody remembers the dozens of LCTs that were 1 shotted peaking over a ridge/corner ....

[stealthraccoon]

Given the standard 7 tons/8 slots and new tech, what new toys are you going to be adding to your bugs?

1) Snubnose PPC+2 RL10's
2) Light PPC + 2 HMG's
3) ERMlas + 4 HMG's
4) ERMlas + 4 RL20's
5) 2 x MPL + 2 HMG's

[the sixth tier]

the thing you don't seem to get is that i'm not saying that flying lights takes no skill. i'm saying that the locust is hardly "underrated". i know what it's like to get my leg blown off in one shot and everything else, because my legs are much bigger than a locust's. it's just using a one-sided argument against one i never made.

as for the "have you ever piloted a locust?" nonsense... it doesn't explain why any other light is better than a locust. it doesn't even really discredit me. it's just opting out of explaining how a jenner or a spider's objectively better.

*for instance, like to argue for my side i could say "well you say that avoiding damage is the skill you're referring to. if the locust were bigger, it would be easier to hit. if i can kill another light in a single alpha, that's an advantage over that light."

Edited by the sixth tier, 28 April 2017 - 08:14 PM.

[loopala]

there was a time when the spider dominated the lights, then along came the firestarter OMG how that thing beat up on people. clan lights are still way behind the IS lights. but the Arctic "cheata" with it great hit boxes and ecm and good weapon location really brought the clans into the light game. a missle boating jenner or jenner IIC can really wreck your day. the thing to remember is this thread was started before the quirkering. a time when locusts really were death traps. some of us have been piloting locusts from way back in the dark times. a light on light fight is normally a loser for both sides. lights are still not the PIA most think they are. back before the 3/3/3/3 stuff wolfpacks of lights would ruin your day. so out came the fast med dedicated light killers.

these days of stand off long range slow assaults hiding in the back has made a perfect feeding ground for the locust.

give it time and nerf hammer with fall and some other shiny new mech will be the dominant light

[IraqiWalker]

Ertur, on 28 April 2017 - 06:03 PM, said:

The fact is, Locusts are easier now than they were before. They were small before, now they are miniscule. Given the fact that the Locust is about half the height, half the width, and half the length of a Jenner, it should weigh 1/8 as much as a Jenner, or just over 4 tons. 1/2 * 1/2 * 1/2 = 1/8. To have the proper weight ratio between the Locust and Jenner (4:7), the Locust should be about 81% as tall, 81% as wide and 81% as long as the Jenner.

I heard people in team chat talking about Locusts: easy mode, best light, 400 damage per match, and so on.

There are shadowhawks, in canon, that are almost as tall as an atlas. Size, and mass are 2 extremely different things.

Also, tell those people who are talking about locusts being easy mode to go play them.

Yeah, things are a bit easier for a locust pilot these days, but just barely. If the locust was so good, it wouldn't need the quirks it currently has.

the sixth tier, on 28 April 2017 - 08:08 PM, said:

the thing you don't seem to get is that i'm not saying that flying lights takes no skill. i'm saying that the locust is hardly "underrated". i know what it's like to get my leg blown off in one shot and everything else, because my legs are much bigger than a locust's. it's just using a one-sided argument against one i never made.

as for the "have you ever piloted a locust?" nonsense... it doesn't explain why any other light is better than a locust. it doesn't even really discredit me. it's just opting out of explaining how a jenner or a spider's objectively better.

*for instance, like to argue for my side i could say "well you say that avoiding damage is the skill you're referring to. if the locust were bigger, it would be easier to hit. if i can kill another light in a single alpha, that's an advantage over that light."

When I first wrote up this guide (2014), it was during a time when people would literally (not figuratively) report you if you brought a locust into the match. People treated you like crap, and bashed you non stop for it. Hell, things were even harder back then, because we had the poptart meta, dominating the field.

Everyone condemned it as a bad mech, and back then, pulling a 100 damage match was a pyrrhic victory for the locust pilot. It was beyond underrated. Lo and behold, even back then, we managed to crank out some serious numbers out of it. Especially before the days of quirks. The quirks that are helping the locust be half decent (and the smaller size), are all so new that if we put them as days on a 1 year calendar in the lifespan of the locust in MWO, they would only cover the last half of December.

[Erronius]

B3R3ND, on 28 April 2017 - 06:31 PM, said:

I dont know what the guy with locust was doing but getting legged when trying to backstab a kodiak and then killing him sounds more like luck then skill to me. Getting close, then backstabbing the kodiak without him ever laying eyes on you (staying in his blindspot) then walking away without any damage taken, thats how he should do it.

Can't always be helped, though. I had this game not long ago and it just devolved into a free-for-all scrum. We were down something like 8-5 or 8-4 at one point and I was just running around trying to even things up. It was one of those times were there's just too many enemies to try being sneaky. Lost a leg getting the 4th kill, killed the guy that took my leg, then managed to finish off a HBR. But a lot of this was probably luck on my part, admittedly.

It's just me with one leg and no armor left, and a Quickdraw. Must have been a really young kid or something, as he wasn't really fighting but thankfully we were up on caps and the enemy PB just ran off to cap, I guess. But I was happy that my team didn't yell at the Quickdraw too much. Looked up his stats and he's only played a handful of games, has a KDR of .10 and an average match score of 55, I think.







Somewhat unrelated, but since I'm posting stuff...got this after hill-humping the ***** out of a HBK-IIC in a -1V.

[IraqiWalker]

Erronius, on 28 April 2017 - 10:59 PM, said:

Somewhat unrelated, but since I'm posting stuff...got this after hill-humping the ***** out of a HBK-IIC in a -1V.

Lol. That is a good summary of how most chat logs end up when a light is on a roll. Nice job.

[Fox With A Shotgun]

IraqiWalker, on 29 April 2017 - 11:46 PM, said:

Lol. That is a good summary of how most chat logs end up when a light is on a roll. Nice job.

One of these days we should all form a group and go with (mostly) lolcusts. Would be hilarious to see how the enemy fatmechs respond