35 replies to this topic

[BigFatGator]

I've been trying to transition and learn to play light mechs with the firestarter, but have been having generally poor results. Previously I'd played only heavy mechs and in the one I drop in the most- JM6-S or JM6-A get avg. ~300 dmg, 2:1 K/D ratio, and pretty even win/loss. I'm far from great, but feel at least competent dropping with by default 2xAC10, 4xML JM6-S.

After about 100 matches with various firestarters trying to get the chassis elited out, I'm probably averaging about 125 dmg, and 1/2 K/D ratio and 0.75 win/loss. I can't seem to get in the flow with light, faster mechs. I'm running an XL260 I had from a previous mech and have tried all kinds of configurations.

Specifically, with a heavy mech, I'd tend to group up with the rest of the team and attack where opportunities came- generally by staying parallel and left or right of the attacking group to provide support fire from flanks. This was simple, since my max speed was about right to be moving with the group.

With light mechs, seems like speed=life, but I can't sustain speed and stay with the group. So far that's meant that I wind up separating from the group- generally with bad results unless the group is so good that I can swing back behind the enemy and carrion pick. Or I stay with the group and play it like a small medium mech, which negates my speed advantage.

Any tips from those who have made a good transition from heavy to light mechs?

[Artax33]

Hit and run. Open spaces and straight lines kill. Use cover often. Learn to give them the higher armor areas when they might have a shot. Never over heat. If you see a mech with a lot of streaks, run away. You don't need to stay with the pack with light mechs.

[Mootrix]

You would have been better with a Jenner I think, I bought a firestarter and they don't feel as responsive.

Apart from that there are a few threads on how to play lights, here is one of my favourites:

http://mwomercs.com/...ot-light-mechs/

[Darth Futuza]

Play like a troll, don't feel bad about dishonorable tactics like frying the enemies backside and running when its 2v1.

[Acierocolotl]

I only drive lights. Sometimes I goof off. Here's my SOP, which may not match up with others. That's the beauty of this game.

First and foremost, put the biggest possible engine in there. SPEED IS LIFE, make that your mantra. When you're in combat, the only time you're slowing down is so you can make a quick change of direction, and never do that when you're under fire.

Also LOTS OF ARMOUR. At speed, the majority of the damage I take is from having lasers swept over me and the occasional potshot. Max the leg armour, and the rest is up to you; I'd peel some off for an extra half tonne of weapons on occasion.

I go for short-ranged, light weapons: as many small pulse lasers as can be shoehorned in there, SRM2 or 4 if there's missile hardpoints, MGs for ballistics. Module slots are artillery and UAV consumables.

As for actual battle tactics, I only linger with the group until the battle is joined, if I do that at all. Once there are genuine shots fired, the leash off. Slam that throttle up to full, skirt around the battlefield if possible and attack the enemy from the back.

Things to look for: Twin-HLAS Ravens, isolated Atlases that fell behind the group, LRM boats, distracted snipers, smoking enemies, leg armour.
Things to avoid: fast lights, streakboats, The Red Mist, slowing down, driving in straight lines.

HLAS Ravens are slow and have heat problems. Catch one on his own, get in his grille and don't let up. You're able to put out much more damage than he can for given heat, and if you never give him a chance to cool down he's yours for the taking.

Your agility gives you an edge over lone Atlases. Get behind them, they will never shake you off. Claw that back off.

LRM boats are *usually* only packing a few medium lasers for self defense, if that. If they're busy trying to track you, they're not bombarding the enemy. Stay close if you can, because dollars to doughnuts he'll fire a barrage at you if the opportunity presents itself.

Distracted snipers will usually be standing out on a ridge somewhere. Introduce yourself with a kick to the knee or back armour. Alternately, drop an artillery beacon just behind his ankles. That's an easy 200-300 damage right there.

Smoking enemies have had their armour breached. They may be easy kills and you're in a position to do something about it. At the very least, give 'em a blast of your guns as you charge on by, just to show you're thinking of 'em.

A lot of enemies skimp on leg armour, and sometimes back armour as well. Experience with a given mech and its loadout may help, but it's always worth firing a blast at a knee just to see if it goes orange with the first attack. As an added plus, those legs are almost at face level with you, you don't even need to aim upwards.

Avoid fast lights: you can't easily disengage from them and you'll both be wearing each other down. An exception is if you have an ECM light and it's a four-streak Oxide, in which case enjoy your easy kill. (Providing you can keep jamming him, of course.)

Enemy streakboats are usually bad news, but if your fellow lights are already stuck in, you may as well pour on the firepower to finish the job with minimal friendly casualties. These guys are usually driving medium mechs so they're not that tough.

The worst enemy I have is the Red Mist. It's when you're so certain you've got that kill and you just need another couple hits to finish the job, and you've failed to notice that it's now a three-on-one against you. The smart course of action is to disengage and get out of there. They'll get bored soon enough, you can come back for your target then.

Never go in a straight line once the battle's joined, unless you want to play a rousing game of Catch the AC20. Zigzag around, move your torso around in different directions to disorient the enemy while you're closing the distance or trying to disengage. It'll spread damage, looks hilarious, and you're way harder to hit with single-shot, hard-hitting weapons, and you can't afford to get hit by them.

No apologies if this was long, I'm enthusiastic. I like fast lights a lot.

[Koniks]

I'd echo what Aciero said above.

I'd also add that you should save up for an XL295. Firestarters don't start to feel fast until they're going at least 140kph. And there's a noticeable difference once it hits 150kph with speed tweak.

The FS9 also has poor acceleration, deceleration, turning radius, and torso twist ability compared to other lights. That's exacerbated before being elited. And you're compounding that further by using a smaller engine.

FS9s run hot. Take a lot of heat sinks. This will get somewhat better once you've elited them but you'll always have to watch your fire control. A big part of hit-and-run tactics isn't just running to avoid counter-fire. It's running away to buy time to cool off.

I'd sacrifice AMS and jump jets before sacrificing armor, engine size, or firepower.

Invest in the Target Info Gathering module. It'll be your best friend in rapidly cycling through targets to find one with a weak spot. Take either Seismic or Artillery for backup modules. Seismic is a little less useful for lights than other mechs because there shouldn't be many times you're stopped. But it's still good to check blind corners with it every now and then or for when you're on a cap point. ETA: you could also opt for either a UAV module or TAG in an energy hardpoint to rack up XP and CBills faster.

Try some less common builds like an ERPPC+backup weapons. You can fit them by sacrificing an entire arm's worth of armor.

Spectate other light mechs after you die.

And go watch Koreanese's YouTube tutorials.

Edited by Mizeur, 01 April 2014 - 08:13 PM.

[Mordin Ashe]

What Acier said, basically.

The problem in battle is you can never, ever get caught by the enemy unless that is exactly what you wanted. Don't wander off your group too soon just because you want to see what does the other side of map look like only to meet full two enemy lances in close quarters. Stick to your group for the first minute or two, get some idea about where the enemy groups are and even better what are they going to do. Then you can decide about when and where you will flank, harass, finish off weaker pieces in the herd and get away via your exit corridor.

If you wish to stick with the team, there are some situations that you can exploit. Those moments where two brawling lances hit each other can be god for you because if you don't let the enemy team notice you, there will be many half-dead enemies and stripped CTs for you. You should never be the first around the corner or snipe from the same spot for too long because you are a standing pumpkin most Mechs can squash with one alpha.

But mostly it is about practise and learning how to drive you Mech. If you wish, the Oxide seems to be the perfect driving simulator because if your driving is anything short of perfect you will be dead very soon. Or you can simply stick with an ECM Mech and shoot, an easy mode for all light. The choice is yours.

[Modo44]

Upgrade to DHS, Endo Steel, and Ferro Fiber. Equip an engine within 20% of your engine cap. Never, ever stop. Target all enemies. If in doubt, hide behind friendlies like a scared little girl. Be as annoying as humanly possible. Whenever you see a butt, rip it open.

Edited by Modo44, 01 April 2014 - 08:51 PM.

[Haji1096]

Survival should always be your top priority. Don't overextend your self, make sure you always have an escape route back to friendly units. Piloting is the most important priority. Hitting a wall or an enemy mech while you are trying to line up a shot is not acceptable. Overheating is not acceptable. Disengage if you are drawing too much attention and switch your point of attack.

• Never approach heavier mechs from the front. Always engage from oblique angles or from behind. A good rule of thumb is to never get within 300 meters of a heavy or assault.
  
• Never get target fixated. You need to be aware of enemies that are attempting to line up a shot on you. Pay attention to the mini map for red triangles. Watch your entire screen.
  
• Don't run in straight lines when retreating

The point is that you should never give the enemy a zero deflection shot. Always be moving. Target damaged components. Learn to hold medium lasers on one component to concentrate damage. Fire while jumping to give yourself a stable firing platform.


Light mechs are all about putting pressure on the enemy. If the enemy knows you are there you are doing your job. However, you have to do so while mitigating risk to yourself.


Watch other light pilots: Wispy, PEEFsmash, Adiuvo.

Edited by Haji1096, 01 April 2014 - 08:57 PM.

[GMAK]

Be fast, don't get shot and flank them all.

That's my trick for light mech.

It work all the time in my case and with a 4 laser combo, one shot kill in the back if you aim well.

[xMintaka]

Haji1096, on 01 April 2014 - 08:52 PM, said:

Watch other light pilots: Wispy, PEEFsmash, Adiuvo.

This is probably the best advice in the thread.

Check out their twitch streams/youtube channels/etc.


But generally speaking, learn how to "jump turn" and "jump glide". This way you can still be running away from an enemy mech while shooting at them. Jump turning is invaluable for lights, and also affects medium and heavy mechs. The idea is you jump into the air and turn your legs. As soon as you land, you jump again for a split second.
The thrust from the second JJ boost pushes you in the direction your legs are facing, rather than having to wait for a second or three for your mech to build up speed again.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

Three words to light pilots: CIRCLE OF DEATH

Edited by Cookiemonter669, 03 April 2014 - 10:11 PM.

[Rushin Roulette]

Cookiemonter669, on 03 April 2014 - 10:11 PM, said:

Three words to light pilots: CIRCLE OF DEATH

Actually, Ill improve on that for you with the addition of only 1 word

NEVER CIRCLE OF DEATH (unless there is at least one other friendly Light circling with you)

The highly praised Circle of death is actually a death trap for a light if he is against a good opponent. The circle makes the movement very predictable and easy to manipulate. Much better is the figure-of-8 of death where the path crosses behind your target which also gives you much less exposure to the big guns at the front.

One tip which has not been mentioned yet is "use your jumpjets to your advantage". They are not only there to get you up steep parts of the map, but also to make you much more maneuverable. You can use them to immensely tighten your turning circle, which is especially useful on mechs with comparitively big turning circles such as the Firestarter.

[Selfish]

Turn down your mouse sensitivity if it's too high. Lower sensitivity = Better control. You need to make your shots count, and you'll be making them while jumping, turning, and twisting. You need to be able to consistently land shots that take up to a second to deal full damage.

[Lostdragon]

Lots of good advice, I would add my take and say that different light chassis are good at different things and there are some that are better than others.

The first rule is never fight or expose yourself unless you have an advantage in numbers, speed, terrain, firepower, etc. If you don't have the advantage then bug out. Use dead spaces and your speed to get away or lead the enemy into your team.

The second thing, as already stated, is to run a max rated engine the vast majority of the time. If you want your lights to be good you are going to have to spend money on them. A big engine, DHS, and endo are basically mandatory for most builds and some also need FF armor.

One of the often most overlooked aspects of playing a light is distraction and harassment. If you can flank the enemy and get one or more larger enemy to chase you and shoot at you then you may be significantly reducing the damage the rest of your team is taking. You can also lead enemies who chase you into your team's firing lanes. If you are harassing a bigger enemy 1v1 then keep track of his shots amd make him miss. When his guns are on CD make your pass and rip him open. If you can use 35 tons to tie up 70+ tons of the enemy team that can have a huge impact on your team's success even if you don't personally rack up tons of damage.

Target Info Gathering is your best friend in striker type lights, including the FS9. As a light you typically do less damage per salvo than heavier mechs so you need to put your damage where it will have the most impact. I always shoot for exposed internals first, then depending on the enemy I go for the back or the legs.

Being familiar with other mechs will help you too. If you can look at an enemy's loadout and tell whether or not he is using an XL that is a huge advantage.

Getting my first light Elited was painful and time consuming but I am glad I did it. I don't play much anymore but when I do I play lights 90% of the time.

[Nanoswimz]

Use ECM lights mechs. I use cicada, its medium with low tonnage, closer to light-type mech. ECM+2ppc+2medium laser. Runs hot only at therra therma.

Sneak through mountains/buildings/rocks/trees etc. Try to flang enemy and make shots in back armor. Your primary targets is medium to assault mechs. I dont like lights-brawler mechs due to old new LRM meta.

[Wayreth]

ECM is going to save you a lot of grief with streak locks and LRM boats. I typically run a spider with ER PPC and a med laser. Snipe early in the game and soften up those hard targets. After the main group engages I slip off to the rear to harass and occupy LRM boats while my teammates deal with the frontline. Peel off when you get too much heat and start to target those mechs that are smoking or missing limbs.

Speed is key but targeting will either make or break you. Avoid medium mechs as they are going to give you the most grief. If you do pick up a fast mover on you lead them into your lines and let your teammates pick them off. Be persistent, tenacious and also a well timed arty strike and air strike will send their lines scattering like cockroaches.

[MisterPlanetarian]

*Aim for 140+kph with speed tweak.

*Learn to read the terrain with the minimap for navigation so you don't have to stick your rear torsos in harms way all the time by looking straight ahead, especially when disengaging. Twisting left or right as I disengage in order to avoid a gauss rifle slamming into my back has saved my life multiple times.

*Try to remember where annoying rocks and other obstacles are on the map, even if you are in a jumpjet mech.

*Always run zigzag/slalom style in combat unless you line up a shot, even a fast light is easy to hit if it moves in a straight line.

*Don't shoot stuff you can't hit, especially at close range. It's worthwhile to slow down periodically when fighting other lights since it will massively improve your accuracy.

*Your legs take less damage when submerged, especially from lasers.

*Never, ever overheat. Disengage when you cool off against any opponent.

*Always kite enemy lights towards the rest of your team

*Concider four instead of six medium lasers with additional heatsinks. Your DPS goes up alot while your alpha takes a slight hit.

*If you sneak up on someone from behind at close range, disable ECM untill they notice you. The minimap scramble is an instant giveaway.

*AMS is worthwhile now, especially if you don't have ECM.

*Protect your ECM with Double Heatsinks.


5.0 KDR on my Raven. 3x Medium pulse and 1x NARC.

[BigFatGator]

Thanks to all, appreciate the ongoing commentary. Sprung for a XL295, and the 20kph speed difference from XL260 is more noticable than I expected. I'll have to put off buying a shadowhawk for a while now, but it was worth it.

Still trying to get the DHS/Laser balance right, running more than 6ML seems like a mistake.
Getting best results with 4ML/2MG/2SL in the -H so far. Might pick up an Ember if it goes on sale.

[mailin]

One thing of note on jump jet use. Use them in short bursts to help increase your maneuverability. Try to avoid the long bursts that I sometimes see inexperienced pilots use. With a long burst you fly through the air on a perfectly straight trajectory. Not what you want to do in a light. Otherwise, there is a LOT of good advice here.