40 replies to this topic

[Karrig Fetladral]

OK, I know that this is out of date for the Locust, But I'm using the double xp weekend to get all three of my Locusts mastered....and I really would love to know PGI, why the Locust?

Its 5 tons lighter then the commando making it the lightest mech in the game as of right now...its a one hit wonder (really it is with the meta...), EVERY mech (including other Locusts) in the game can alpha strike the Locust and remove a component (possibly destroying the engine...killing it)....why put something in the game that is so...so ...SO incredibly fragile, and there for useless?

To my knowledge NO one person that plays the locust has "good" stats on it, all of them are negative, please can you look over the locust to some how make it a more competitive mech in all forms of game play, as things are, with everything in the game as it is right now and will be...


The Locust that has been implemented is a joke....just remove it and refund me in MC...


The ONLY way I see this mech being used, is in tonnage limited community groups to fill in....if any player is asked to play a light mech...you go Spider, Raven or Jenner...or now Firestarter


Please be constructive and thoughtful...

Regards,
karrig

[Tahribator]

Give it some more leg armor. The upper torso is surprisingly durable but it dies to legging 99% of the time. Nobody likes mechs that get easily legged. Ravens get away by having the tonnage to mount 2xLL and keeping the distance from combat.

Bump it to 24 at least.

[Sephlock]

They could give them interesting quirks- like making them able to climb hills the way you could prior to the implementation of the hill climbing code.

[Karrig Fetladral]

on all my Locust I'm 19.9 out of 20 with FF armor ...138/138 armor...

max armor on the legs is 16, CT is 14/10, R/L torso 10/10, R/L arm's 12.....with the meta and most other mechs in the game...every one has the ability to one shot a locust....

Me and a few other players discussed if the locust had more Modules....it would take a few (more then 2 additional) to make it feel worth it though...


just why add the locust...

[El Bandito]

I blew away his Locust's arm with a lucky double PPC shot from 500+ meters away. Couldn't believe how paper thin Locust's armor is. Does Locust not have any internal hit points?

[Sephlock]

El Bandito, on 16 February 2014 - 04:10 AM, said:

I blew away his Locust's arm with a lucky double PPC shot from 500+ meters away. Couldn't believe how paper thin Locust's armor is. Does Locust not have any internal hit points?

Try overheating in one sometime .

[SgtKinCaiD]

The real problem of locut is actually the speed limit : it should be able to go as fast as 200/220 km/h.
But as the hitreg is going wonky with fast moving target, PGI put engine restriction to limit the max in game speed.
This is one of the reason PGI don't release the Flea as well and why they have troubles coding the MASC..

[Josef Nader]

I have positive stats on my locust...

What we need are tonnage limits. There are better mechs to bring than the Locust, but the 5-15 tons you save bringing a Locust over another light can be used to great effect elsewhere, and a good pilot in a locust can still do very well.

[PhoenixFire55]

Just saw a Locust do 650 damage and end up top of his team. 'Learn to drive' is what comes in mind.

[o0Marduk0o]

Karrig, on 16 February 2014 - 03:25 AM, said:

To my knowledge NO one person that plays the locust has "good" stats on it, all of them are negative

What are "good" stats for you?

[Escef]

To be fair, yes, the Locust is a very unforgiving mech to pilot. Most other mechs even look at you funny and you explode... But they rarely spare you more than a glance. The Locust's biggest strength IS its weakness, almost no one takes the thing seriously. So long as you are not the only target, people are not likely to fire on you. I've been able to pull off games where I do over 500 damage in a Commando for the exact same reason. Not that I, or even the mech, is terribly good, but because no one considers the mech worth shooting at until you've more than proven yourself a threat. People forget that a 2D Commando can pump out 15 points of missile damage with unusually high accuracy, plus a medium laser. Just as many folk don't pay attention to a Locust until they get a huge chunk of armor flayed off by 5 medium lasers (LCT-3M). Or they have one or more locations with exposed internals and hear those MGs going off (LCT-1V). Even the LCT-1S, arguably the least effective of Locusts, can do evil stuff if you don't take it seriously.

[Fuggles]

o0Marduk0o, on 16 February 2014 - 04:55 AM, said:

What are "good" stats for you?

I would assume he means positive w/l and k/d ratios.

The locust doesn't offer anything that any other mech can't do better. It's not the fastest mech, the commando is faster, its not the smalest or hardest to hit, the spider is. it doesnt have JJs butit does climb hills like it does and it has more hardpoints than a commando or spider although filling them can be a problem.

The biggest problem though is the leg damage it takes, it seriously needs a buff. You take leg damage from small pebbles or the smallest dip in the ground. Other lights don't play like this. 9/10 deaths are legged deaths.

None of this means you can't be successful though, it just means you could do better in a different light. It's like brawling in a hunchback, you could just as easily bring an atlas. Even with tonnage restrictions, the 5 ton difference to run a commando is completely irrelevant.

[jper4]

ironically Escef my 3S is the "best" (using the term loosely) of my Locusts, only one with a positive w/l and best kdr of the three (not that it's over 0.5 mind you but still ).

more leg armor though is definitely a must. i have to tiptoe down the sigma hilltop start point in Forest colony to make sure i don;t take any leg damage climbing down, or being very careful try to climb up the canyon river bank (+ many more examples) or forget it leg damage. if i accidently take a turn too fast and go off a ledge i cross my fingers and hope i still have legs left when i reach the end of the fall.

better climbing rate would be nice too. bad enough pebbles damage my legs but then i can't even climb up a small ledge because of the angle and end up either having to back up (and hope i don't get 1 shot), run along the side (and hope i don;t slip down and wreck my legs) or try and zig zag to get that extra last foot or two to reach the top (and hope i don't get 1 shot).

only thing Locust really has going is speed and once another light decides to chase you you're done there and unless you're in the 3M probably going to get killed soon unless help shows up (my 3S is more of a last shot KSer than anything)

[rolly]

I think you're confusing the Locust for a front-line combat fighter. Its not a brawler or even a light mech killer. It is THE locust. Its iconic because of what it is and exactly because of what its not meant to be.

As they say: buyer be ware. The stats when first purchased were there for all to see. Of course its not going to be competitive because its not mean to compete at all. Fixating on a positive kill death ratio is really just silly. If stats matter THAT much, I suggest to drive another mech.

I'm in total agreement with Escef. One of my first few battles I cut down an Atlas because he was ignoring me as a threat, up until the point where I stood behind him and MG'ed his back open.

As for the LCT-1S it makes it a great LRM platform. I was able to completely destroy a Catapult and drop a Cataphract then arty and airstrike the opposing team from behind because I was utterly ignored. Total damage was around 400 and that was before I unlocked the improved arty and air strikes.

Edited by rolly, 16 February 2014 - 05:31 AM.

[o0Marduk0o]

The worst Locust is the 3S in my opinion, because not enough tonnage to fill all the missile slots and for the ammo. 4x SRM2 seems to be the best option here. It is not so hard to get a much better KD than 1,0 in the other variants. The WL on the other side depends on your team while pugging, it is just bad luck.

Edited by o0Marduk0o, 16 February 2014 - 05:54 AM.

[Butane9000]

I regularly don't pilot lights but I attempted to get used to the Locust since I bought a Phoenix package. Sadly I just couldn't get used to em and they die in one hit. I'm a fairly decent light pilot and never stop moving. So I sold off all the variants I could. Sadly I have to keep the Phoenix variant which I'll use strictly for giggles and non serious play.

[Karrig Fetladral]

You all make good points, my highest stat is on the 1V running ER Large and 2 MG with 1 ton ammo, and its the K/D at .92, I know to keep the Locust as far away from fighting as possible...only to dive in when its advantages...

I really don't feel that the Locust gets ignored unless you can go "unseen" during a fight and at that point your not being ignored, they just aren't aware that you're there (tunnel vision on whats in front of them)...most of the time for me its - they see me, ignore everything else and chase the light mech (locust) down because it's an easy kill...

[Fuggles]

heres my tips on how to do reasonably well with a locust (one play style at least).

play conquest only. equip cap accelerator and seismic sensor. if you have a third slot, pick target info gathering.

from the start, try to go with another light if you can, but go to the "right" to minimize the chance of running into the other team. if others are following you, just get it tipped over to your side, then book it for the next one, preferably the enemy starting point. the goal is to get the majority of the resources asap.

this is impossible on terra, on terra, fights break out at epsilon and kappa because of the spawn points and going to either one of these is a death trap. For the most part people stay out of the middle, at least at first. run to theta and cap it asap, and then head to the enemy starting point.

this is important, while your capping, you are not moving, hide. if you see seismic blips, run, as soon as you can. it really doesnt matter whos coming, you cant take em, just run and go to the next one. getting the majority of the points is whats inportant even if they are just barely capped.

now once this is done, find the fight. go and help your team. target info helps here, find the weakest opponent, it doesnt matter if they are the main target or not, find someone with exposed internals and blow them up. dont over commit, make a couple passes then bug out of the fight, circle around and find another. if your team is winning the fire fight, keep this up, youll have a nice reward at the end of the match.

if your team is dropping faster than the enemy, do what you can but if you have to know when to bug out. if your even thinking it might be time to GTFO, its already time. go cap and hope the enemy team realizes they are loosing the cap war and splits off to cap. once again, its about survival. you see someone coming, go the other way.

Dont fight lights unless you have to, or you have alot of help. press R to get a look at the enemy team. if you see a streak boat rememer who they are (normally kintaros or Shawks) and avoid them, dont get in range of them and they cant kill you.

worst case scenario is when its a light fest on both sides, theres not much you can offer here. best case is alot of larger mechs that you can out maneuver. know what types of mechs equip gauss/ppc/ac5s. avoid being in their arc of fire, just dont. they will one shot you if you let them.

as far as builds all run a xl190, speed is life.

the S is trash. best build i had was 3 srm2s and 3 tons of ammo. medium laser plus streaks works too, but you cant really run more than 2 and theres no room for bap. difficult to get locks on lights and streaks dont work great on large mechs. i prefer srms to the back.

the V, 4 mgs plus lots of ammo and a flamer. yes a flamer. you dont have ecm, you just have a flamer, use it to blind your opponent and just fire it as you run past them, it doesnt even matter if you hit them with it. if you follow my advice youll only pick on the weak with open internals. get in there with your MGs and gut them.

for the M, 4 mlas, dual ams 1t ammo. cant get as many kills compared to the V but you can harrass alot better. the arm hardpoints are high and work well for hill humping.

5 small pulses also work but then you are a dedicated knife fighter. thats fine but it really limmits your play style. the nice thing is that because of the lower recharge rate you can get 2 alpha strikes in when you do a strafing run, if you do medium lases, they wont recharge fast enough to hit.

5 medium lasers is just too hot to be effective. it can be ok, but its generally not optimal. ive done 800 damage with just 4.

anyway nothing here is some hidden genius but i hope it can help
good luck

Edited by Fuggles, 17 February 2014 - 09:33 AM.

[Amsro]

The 3M is the "most" useful of the 3, I still take them for a boot now and then. 4 Medium Laser @ 170 is decent.

The other 2 variants have 3-4 tons in "unnecessary" heat sinks depriving you of mediocre weapon options.

AC/2 1V is amusing and requires great team work, or ER Large Laser from range.

Borderline OP!

[Supersmacky]

The Locust is a boss! Sure it has rice paper thin armor but it is a 20 ton mech after all. It is not mean to just stand there an take punishment. It is supposed to scout, flank, vulture where possible, harass other lights and generally sew mayhem where it can. Much like the Atlas, most people misuse them.

One the 3M, put in a 190XL, DHS, Endo, FF and Max Armor like this: LCT-3M

Go full speed, jink, approach by obliques and take advantage or terrain. DON'T stop moving, get into a slug fest or directly charge an enemy mech.

It rocks!

Cheers!
SuperSmacky