6 replies to this topic

[Yoda27]

1) If I team with my friend and we drop into a pug, who's rating (ELO?) is the match based on?

2) I've heard that the best combat chassis class is the Light because it hard to hit and packs more weapons than heavies. This seems counter intuitive to me, shouldn't the light be, well, light? not a massive damage dealer? Is there any point in saving for a heavy chassis? I'm confused.

3) What is ghost heat I keep hearing about? Is that the same as the heat penalty for firing too many weapons?

Thanks

[Koniving]

1) It takes both of yours and finds a middle number. Drop with someone higher rated and you'll go up, drop with someone lower rated and you'll go down. But there's only 4 tiers of ELO so there's only so much of a difference.

2) Lights run hot as heck, will (sometime next year maybe) be easy to knock down, and actually they typically pack around the same number of weapons as mediums, and heavies but in smaller sizes or in smaller numbers but as large sizes.

Lights are able to do this by using "Extra Light" engines which make them even easier to kill. The typical build carries 1 or more missile launchers and 4 to 8 lasers.

Most mediums carry 2 or more missiles, 1 to 9 lasers, and sometimes autocannons.

Most heavies carry much heavier weapons with energy between 2 to 7 lasers (or PPCs), 1 to 6 autocannons when possible, and 2 to 6 missile launchers.

3) Ghost heat is the negative name for Heat Scale, which is the penalty for firing too many identical weapons at once or firing said weapons too quickly (less than 0.5 seconds apart)

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...eapon_heatscale for the penalties and what they are.

[Svidro]

Lights can also frequently rack up much higher scores by having higher time on target. While the heavier and slower mechs are still trudging away, they can be sniping or plinking away at isolated mechs or the backs of mechs. Having a lot of weapons you can fire at once isn't the only way to be effective at dealing damage.

[Koniving]

All mechs have weight restrictions. Lights work within 20 to 35 tons. Mediums within 40 to 55 tons. Heavies 60 to 75 tons. Assaults in the 80 to 100 ton range.

Tonnage affects maximum armor, and speed with engine sizes (A mech with a 50 ton limit and a 250 engine moves similar to a 55 ton mech with a heavier 265 ton engine). That's a difference of 1 ton extra necessary to throw in the engine at a 5 ton difference in mech size.

Here's an example of the sacrifice made to bring forth bigger firepower. This 35 ton mech was reduced to an XL 180 (a 5.5 ton engine). Some 35 ton mechs go slightly faster than 151 kph. But not this one.
Raven 4X sporting an AC/20 and 2 small lasers; faster than a stock Hunchback.

A second example, another 35 ton mech (Firestarter).

For a comparison, this is my Griffin fighting 3 Firestarters and a Raven. Ignore the sound differences, they are edited in. Check out how amazingly fast they are.

Now compare to a Heavy. This one gets in a 1 on 1 then a 4 on 1 fight and takes 3 of them down with it. It's right around the circle.

Edited by Koniving, 04 March 2014 - 03:57 PM.

[luxebo]

Koniving, on 04 March 2014 - 03:40 PM, said:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...eapon_heatscale

BTW, to the OP, this is a very good tool (the entire website of Smurfy) to create builds beforehand and then afterward making them in the game itself. Very useful tool.

Also, on the topic of Lights vs Mediums vs Heavies vs Assaults, this shows the chassis hierarchy. Each class has chassis, which each have a different gameplay aspect and role in the game. Depending on what you arm a mech, it can change it's role drastically. Another thing to consider is that you need 3 variants of a mech to master it, this is important as it makes the mech more efficient. Hope I helped.

[Redshift2k5]

not all lights pack a 30 damage alpha with a boatload of medium lasers. (which is still a lower alpha than any Heavy build in my mechbay), but those that do are a deadly force on the battlefield.

Other lights pack SSRM2s and ECM, or focus on long range play with dual ER large lasers. Some others focus on machine guns.

Gunboat lights with 6 medium lasers are pretty high risk:reward, and reward not only aim but also knowing when to engage and when to back off, and learning how much you can handle so you don't bite off more than you can chew.

Lights are certainly a viable choice, but don't be confused that they're "better" than heavier chassis. It's more like rock paper scissors but with a lot more variables.

[TheCaptainJZ]

What may make a light mech seem stronger than a heavy is mobility. It can be hard to hit such a fast mech when your torso turns slowly and your guns don't lock on. Really though, it's more a result of pilot skill. A heavy mech is fully capable of taking down a light, but also vice versa if the light pilot is a better player (to generalize here)