32 replies to this topic

[UniverseBear]

So I come from WoT and in that game I do quite well...not so much with MechWarrior Online however but I'm getting better. One thing I don't really understand is the spotting mechanics in this game. What is the factor that decides whether an enemy becomes targetable or not? I sometimes find myself pretty close to a mech, close enough to see it moving and be able to shoot it but it never becomes targetable. But then sometimes that same mech that I can't target seems to be able to lock on to me with LRM's so I'm a bit confused there.

Second, and I have a feeling the answer will be "well your screwed", I picked up an Awsome 8Q. I did some reading on it and I know you have to use your arms to block incoming fire in between shots. The problem is I'll get to a point where I have no arms, no right or left torso and I'll just be running around with no weapons because they have all been blown off. What should I do here? How can I still be helpful to the team? I know I can run around capping points but in skirmish modes what can I do? I feel like if I knew how spotting worked I could at least spot for my allies. Right now I just try and run around trying to distract the enemy and soak damage for allies.

[PhoenixFire55]

UniverseBear, on 27 February 2014 - 11:03 AM, said:

So I come from WoT and in that game I do quite well...not so much with MechWarrior Online however but I'm getting better. One thing I don't really understand is the spotting mechanics in this game. What is the factor that decides whether an enemy becomes targetable or not? I sometimes find myself pretty close to a mech, close enough to see it moving and be able to shoot it but it never becomes targetable. But then sometimes that same mech that I can't target seems to be able to lock on to me with LRM's so I'm a bit confused there.

Some mechs can install ECM, which prevents you from locking them unless you have a TAG unit. BAP also helps allowing you to target ECM mechs withing 180m I believe. You can also bring your own ECM to counter theirs and allow your teammates and yourself to lock ECM protected mechs.

UniverseBear, on 27 February 2014 - 11:03 AM, said:

Second, and I have a feeling the answer will be "well your screwed", I picked up an Awsome 8Q. I did some reading on it and I know you have to use your arms to block incoming fire in between shots. The problem is I'll get to a point where I have no arms, no right or left torso and I'll just be running around with no weapons because they have all been blown off. What should I do here? How can I still be helpful to the team? I know I can run around capping points but in skirmish modes what can I do? I feel like if I knew how spotting worked I could at least spot for my allies. Right now I just try and run around trying to distract the enemy and soak damage for allies.

Awesome might not be the most awesome mech but the fact that you are losing your arms before you lost CT is a good thing. It means you do spread the damage. Not much you can do when you lose all weapons, just run around and distract people.

[Kanajashi]

Targeting requires the enemy to be within range of your sensors (under 800m) and is not obscured by ECM which renders mechs untargetable unless is it disabled or you are within 1/4 of the normal sensor range (200m). You can boost the sensor range with the sensor range module and/or BAP.

And you are never really screwed after you have lost you arms/sides. If you are in a cap race head off and secure points, if you are in skirmish try to act as a meat shield for your allies or as a spotter for your team's LRM mech. You are already doing this so you have all the basics covered, and as PheonixFire55 said, the fact that you are losing your arms/sides first is great because you are properly spreading damage.

And the Awesome-8Q has a head laser so you might want to keep a meduim or meduim pulse in there for those situations.

Edited by Kanajashi, 27 February 2014 - 11:15 AM.

[Malcolm Vordermark]

UniverseBear, on 27 February 2014 - 11:03 AM, said:

So I come from WoT and in that game I do quite well...not so much with MechWarrior Online however but I'm getting better. One thing I don't really understand is the spotting mechanics in this game. What is the factor that decides whether an enemy becomes targetable or not? I sometimes find myself pretty close to a mech, close enough to see it moving and be able to shoot it but it never becomes targetable. But then sometimes that same mech that I can't target seems to be able to lock on to me with LRM's so I'm a bit confused there.

Second, and I have a feeling the answer will be "well your screwed", I picked up an Awsome 8Q. I did some reading on it and I know you have to use your arms to block incoming fire in between shots. The problem is I'll get to a point where I have no arms, no right or left torso and I'll just be running around with no weapons because they have all been blown off. What should I do here? How can I still be helpful to the team? I know I can run around capping points but in skirmish modes what can I do? I feel like if I knew how spotting worked I could at least spot for my allies. Right now I just try and run around trying to distract the enemy and soak damage for allies.

You may target mechs already target by friendlies from any range and regardless of line of sight.

Otherwise, mechs become targetable around 800 meters. You must have line of sight on the mech. You will be unable to target the mech if it is being covered by an ECM from itself or its team mates.

If you end up with no arms and no side torsos pat yourself on the back, you've done well. If you have any weapons left keep firing until you die. Capping is also something you could do.

[Voivode]

People have already answered the targeting question for you by bringing up ECM. If you don't already have an ECM capable mech then it's worth picking one up. Most of the ECM capable mechs are a variant of a light chassis. The Cicada 3M is a medium, although at 40 tons it has more in common with Ravens than with mechs like the Griffin. The only other non-light with ECM is the Atlas DDC, though that mech may take some grinding to afford if you don't have cbills saved up.

As for the Awesome, some people may tell you you're out of luck. I am not one of those people. After 2 years of playing the Awesome is my hands down favorite mech. The fact that you are losing side torsos and arms before death indicates you are doing what you need to as far as piloting. If you don't mind my asking, what is the build you use? I love the Awesome and could give you some build pointers if you'd like.

[Koniving]

Spotting:
Combination of things. I'll try to summarize it.
If you are within 750 meters of an enemy and you can see them, they appear as a hollow triangle. This is called "Passive Marking." This just means they are seen, that's it.

If you press R, they become a solid triangle. This is "Active Targeting." For the person targeting a red square also appears.

Target information is shared. If I am ahead of you and I find a target, you will simply see a red triangle. So if you just see a solid triangle but no square, they are actively targeted by someone else. This is the only way to target someone that you cannot see.

If for some reason you hear a rapid series of beeps and a rapid series of random triangles, this is a player-developed move called a "Panic" or "Distress" Signal. It means, to put it simply... "HELP ME GOD DAMN IT IM GONNA DIE!"

Ahem. That said, target range can be extended using BAP, Advanced Sensor Module.

It can be augmented using NARC Missile Beacons to mark targets or by using UAVs.

Turrets in Assault mode can also spot targets. But their range is much shorter.

You can use TAG to specify and extra-mark a target for LRM support. In reality, a target crosshair icon next to a target is a TAG signal, and is typically a request to "help kill my target."

TAG can also mark enemies that otherwise cannot be marked, like those under ECM.

There are non-visual methods of detection. Audio; footsteps, etc. Seismic Sensor, which gives an Aliens style motion tracker when you are stationary; note that really soft footsteps are undetectable.

Certain tricks can avoid detection. ECM is the most obvious. Being powered down helps at range.

--------------------------

Far as your Awesome goes once you've lost all your sides the only recourse is the head-mounted laser.
Some vids.
Awesome.
Awesome versus Poptart.
Awesome versus AC/40 Jager.
If it helps, you can increase the armor to your arms if you haven't already. Bring the armor to the side torsos more to the front as well, and avoid LRM fire whenever possible.

[Turist0AT]

Wellcome to a game where you dont need to grind teirs to get a machine you want. Save the money and buy whatever you please. My first mech was CTF-3D, its like, if the first thing i did were to get a Tiger or T-34 in WoT or WT

Edited by Turist0AT, 27 February 2014 - 03:05 PM.

[5LeafClover]

Came from wot myself and initially found the targeting frustrating. I actually now prefer it as in MWO it pays to scout. Lights also stand a chance, not like being 3 tiers down and pointless in wot. Target something and your buddies are very likely to pour down the rain without you even needing to pul the trigger

[luxebo]

itsXthomasTAG, on 27 February 2014 - 11:19 AM, said:

Question #2: I've got about 4mil credits saved up atm from running the trial mechs and i wanted to ask which heavy or assault mech is good for using auto cannons? I miss my Deimos from MW4. I loved it's auto cannons.

Deimos's closest buddy in this game as of now is the Jagermech for sure, there is no other similar heavy/assault with that kind of AC holding ability (for those of you that don't know it from Mekpak, it's an Assault from Clan Snow Raven that has giant arms that can hold as much if not more autocannons than a Jagermech, with some missile and energy ability all at once.) Another thing to think about is the interesting assault that maybe coming soon. If it's a Banshee or Mauler, you may have one assault with the same amount of dakka holding ability as the Deimos...

You should also be able to recognize the Victor from MW4 Mercs, it was there for sure. Another thing I don't think anyone mentioned is the mastering of a mech. Whatever mech you choose to start with will be better after eliting, which means you need 3 variants for the chassis you want to complete in order to master the mech chassis. Lastly, play through all your Cadet Bonus (around a bit more than double what you have as of now) before you get a mech. Hope I helped.

[Alaskan Nobody]

luxebo, on 27 February 2014 - 04:59 PM, said:

Another thing I don't think anyone mentioned is the mastering of a mech. Whatever mech you choose to start with will be better after eliting, which means you need 3 variants for the chassis you want to complete in order to master the mech chassis. Lastly, play through all your Cadet Bonus (around a bit more than double what you have as of now) before you get a mech. Hope I helped.

How did we miss both of those?

Bonus points for Lux today!

[Zaprozhan]

Not sure if it was mentioned, but lock-on is only required for Streak and LRMs. You can take shots with direct fire weapons like energy, AC, gauss, SRMs with no lock-on required.

Also, PPC shots will disrupt ECM.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Zaprozhan, on 27 February 2014 - 09:20 PM, said:

Not sure if it was mentioned, but lock-on is only required for Streak and LRMs.

LRM can be dumbfired - but have no locking mechanic when fired so.

Learning to aim dumbfired LRM is key to mastering the weapon

[ASH the silent]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet: if you have a friendly who is engaged and you can see him and the enemy mechs he is fighting but not target them - he's under enemy ECM. A friendly under ECM cannot share target info (indicated by the 'low signal bars' over his head).
A general rule: if you see a friendly mech all alone with 'low bars', he's likely engaged fighting some lights.

[SnagaDance]

luxebo, on 27 February 2014 - 04:59 PM, said:

Deimos's closest buddy in this game as of now is the Jagermech for sure, there is no other similar heavy/assault with that kind of AC holding ability (for those of you that don't know it from Mekpak, it's an Assault from Clan Snow Raven that has giant arms that can hold as much if not more autocannons than a Jagermech, with some missile and energy ability all at once.) Another thing to think about is the interesting assault that maybe coming soon. If it's a Banshee or Mauler, you may have one assault with the same amount of dakka holding ability as the Deimos...

You should also be able to recognize the Victor from MW4 Mercs, it was there for sure. Another thing I don't think anyone mentioned is the mastering of a mech. Whatever mech you choose to start with will be better after eliting, which means you need 3 variants for the chassis you want to complete in order to master the mech chassis. Lastly, play through all your Cadet Bonus (around a bit more than double what you have as of now) before you get a mech. Hope I helped.

I'm pretty sure this answer should actually be in: http://mwomercs.com/...-scrublord-out/

But if you like AC/2's there's nothing that beats the Bane/Kraken: http://www.sarna.net...ne_%28Kraken%29

(both unavailable in MWO, should I say sadly or thankfully?)

[Modo44]

Shar Wolf, on 27 February 2014 - 09:24 PM, said:

Learning to aim dumbfired LRM is key to mastering the weapon

Nah. It is only useful in edge cases, when targets stand really still.

[Voivode]

Modo44, on 28 February 2014 - 01:06 AM, said:

Nah. It is only useful in edge cases, when targets stand really still.

Really still like a shut down mech?

[Flyto]

Weaponless damaged mechs automatically get a "taunt" superpower: 80% of the enemy will flock to try to get the killing shot on the thing that is no threat, and ignore the two assaults that are right there, tearing them apart. If you get the chance in that scenario, it can actually be quite helpful to stay alive as long as you can, in range of teammates!

[Alaskan Nobody]

Modo44, on 28 February 2014 - 01:06 AM, said:

Nah. It is only useful in edge cases, when targets stand really still.

Or for ambushing people or for pounding other LRM boats (who tend to be slow enough to hit them anyways) or for pounding on that DDC.....

Dumbfiring has a lot more uses than just targets standing still - just takes a bite (lot!) more skill

[Modo44]

You will not get aimed hits at anything but stationary targets. The projectile is simply too slow to be effective against non-noobs.

[Barkem Squirrel]

Shar Wolf, on 27 February 2014 - 09:24 PM, said:

LRM can be dumbfired - but have no locking mechanic when fired so.

Learning to aim dumbfired LRM is key to mastering the weapon

This is so true with the atlas DDC just standing there without a care in the world and BAM, 30 or more LRMs hit. Especially useful when you have flanked their position.

Odds are you are seeing mechs that are covered by ECM and you can not target them. You can turn to thermals to see them depending on the map. It does provide a better target.

there are a few things to do after losing arms and torso's. (nice that you can get down that far with spreading damage.) Where you can cap, cap. Skirmish, well you can be another target running around or target for LRM's or SRM's if they are ignoring you. Also you can call out where to hit on a mech that is already damage. Be the spotter in their rear.