Magna Golem, on 12 January 2014 - 04:15 PM, said:
Hey all,
First off let me start with my friend recently got me into battletech and I wanted to learn a little bit more (I finally got the difference between lrms and SRMs, no idea wtf a ELRM and a LRM are).
Anyway, so I understand there is a learning curve with any game but it almost feels like these trial mechs I've been given are:
(A) Made of paper
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Can't turn worth anything outside of the light spider I was given
( C ) Deal no damage
It's the equivalent of being in a stock Ford at a NASCAR race while everyone else is race-ready. Your armor isn't often top-grade in orientation or amount (often a lot more back armor than you want at first), turning is fun cause you'll turn -faster- if you're going slower (and a reverse-traverse is often better still in a circle-fight), and you're often using something with basic single heat sinks instead of the almost inevitable first upgrade someone puts on a 'Mech - the far more efficient double heat sink.
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I'm dying to other light mechs no problem and I'm getting peppered with missles before I even see the enemy. Not too mention the radar is comeplete fail when I have enemies moving behind me and it never shows me.
Out of the 8 or so games I've played so far I've won 0 and I dont last more then 2 minutes.
Your radar doesn't show targets behind you, and LRM fire is quite capable of "indirect"- that is, fired with visual data from a distant spotter who's frequently using ECM to be invisible to your radar outside of 200m or so. If he's REALLY annoying, he's also guiding those missiles in with a TAG designator laser. If you see a thin red beam waving over your 'Mech and not doing damage, it's someone painting the 'Mech for missile fire.
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This game really seems fun but I'm not getting what I am doing wrong, or was the game store owner lying when he said that I would actually get paired with other new players?
You likely are- however, they're not -all- new players. There is no "newbie-only" games right now. That being said, the first 25 games are "cadet" ones- you get a good chunk of money win or lose, and consider them throwaway matches. In addition, get some time in on the Training Grounds- just to get used to the controls, how much firepower you can send down the line, and how different maps can cause you different kinds of trouble. One big newbie mistake is holding down the triggers. You want more damage. The game will shutdown your 'Mech from overheating in short order if you do that, ESPECIALLY with the trial 'Mechs you're in right now- it teaches you a healthy respect for your heat gauge. Remember that hitting "O" before it hits 100% will allow you to override that, but the cost is your 'Mech takes damage staying at 100%+ heat and still fighting...which will kill you if you're not careful. On the other hand, so does shutting down in front of a fully-armed
Atlas. Yes, you -are- at a disadvantage, especially until you get a feel for how much you can throw at an opponent before you're making the 'Mech wish you hadn't.
Hit and run (or get in cover). Trial 'Mechs brawl like fat kids after five hours in an all-you-can-eat Twinkies buffet. One salvo is likely sane and safe. Two is pushing your heat, especially if you alpha-strike (and unless they're all the same kind of weapon, that was likely a Bad Idea as some of them will be inside minimum/outside effective range and might have well been an overheating nerf ball lobbed at your target by a dyspeptic poodle). Learn your ranges (did I mention the Training Grounds) and what's effective how and where. Even a Trial 'Mech is not a simple machine to use, other than failing at living. It's great at dying faster than you can say "Redshirt me." when abused, and stock 'Mechs are the most tempermental of 'Mechs.
Try and give yourself a chance to cool down between shots- and use the time to line up those shots on whatever's orange/red if possible. Better one laser that hits square and solid for the whole burn to one spot than three shots that just streak across the armor and barely scratches four different sections in a pretty light show, never mind whiffing that AC shot into a wall.