229 replies to this topic

[Bhael Fire]

Bishop Steiner, on 21 April 2014 - 10:16 PM, said:

Moral of the story.. Arms Lock is for bads, and if you use it you should feel bad. Against mobile opponents, you will lose, almost every time.

Depends on the mech and it's loadout.

I'm hardly a "bad" and I use it all the time with certain mechs because it's more advantageous because of it's loadout (i.e. all torso-mounted weapons)

I do wish, however, that they'd make it an in-game toggle instead of a preference setting.

[AlmightyAeng]

Bhael Fire, on 22 April 2014 - 07:46 AM, said:

I do wish, however, that they'd make it an in-game toggle instead of a preference setting.

You mean like the left-shift key...that it's bound to? Hold it down...it IS an in-game toggle. That's why people complain about it lol.

[MeiSooHaityu]

I never use it because it is FAR too restricitve most of the time.

I do wish it was toggle-able on the fly though. It is too restricitve and inconvenient to use 100% of the time, but occasionally there is times I would like the arms snapped to the torso. Mostly for a good high alpha...which might be the reason not to make it toggle-able too...hmm.

[Bhael Fire]

Ghost Badger, on 22 April 2014 - 07:47 AM, said:

You mean like the left-shift key...that it's bound to? Hold it down...it IS an in-game toggle. That's why people complain about it lol.

No, I mean a toggle that turns it on and off without having to hold it down.

[AlmightyAeng]

MeiSooHaityu, on 22 April 2014 - 07:47 AM, said:

I never use it because it is FAR too restricitve most of the time.

I do wish it was toggle-able on the fly though.

It IS. Using it to suddenly 'arm lock' at the height of a jump is why people complained about its use for poptarting.

C'mon guys, explore your key bindings.

Bhael Fire, on 22 April 2014 - 07:49 AM, said:

No, I mean a toggle that turns it on and off without having to hold it down.

Oh. Ok. That's fair then

Edited by Ghost Badger, 22 April 2014 - 07:49 AM.

[YueFei]

I use armlock on my HBK-4SP when firing all 5 lasers together. Otherwise, against a moving target, or even against a stationary target while I am on the move, the head laser will not track onto the same spot as the arm lasers, because the torso crosshair lags behind. I also use armlock when firing all the lasers on my Centurion-AL.

Yes, you can fire them separately, but that leaves you facing the enemy for an extra second, tanking damage with your face.

[Faith McCarron]

It's a useful tool when used properly. Call it a "crutch" all you want, why would you NOT use a tool that is available to you? That's like saying "Ranged weapons are a crutch. Anyone using them is a badz. I only use small pulse and srm-2"

[FireSlade]

I am with Bishop on the armlock; it is a crutch that only hurts a player's skill. Also with it off you can turn it on with the left shift key just like you can turn it off when you have it on. With it off I have been able to engage 2 different targets at once and to twist my torso away from the enemy while keeping my arm crosshair on them by using the left ctrl key (it allows you to look around the cockpit but still moves the arms just not the torso). The only thing that hurts me running with armlock off is that I cannot run the CTF-3D efficiently with dual ballistics (so I run an AC10 and put a bigger engine in rather than abusing the meta) or if I run similar weapons in both the arm and torso (easily fixed with putting the arm ones in one weapon group and the torso ones in a second group).

Although I cannot say that armlock has always been a bad thing (when the enemy uses it). I love how mechs can barely track my 86kph Ilya while I shrug off negligible damage and chew away at them with twin AC10s and MLs.

[moneyBURNER]

What was supposed to be a crutch for new players also became an expert tool to maximize pinpoint damage and make aiming easier. It should never have been implemented.

[Xenon Codex]

If my mech has no arm weapons, then I turn on Arm Lock at the beginning of the match. Otherwise it stays off.

On mechs without arm weapons, I find the arm crosshair to be visually distracting, so I lock it down. The less confusing things my brain sees the better I play.

For this reason I'd also very very much like to change the crosshair color. On some maps, that brown crosshair doesn't contrast very well and gets lost in the clutter of mechs and rocks.

I feel your pain watching a newbie attempt to brawl in an Atlas with arm lock on at full zoom, not sure I could hold it in...

[Ngamok]

Morang, on 21 April 2014 - 11:26 PM, said:

I use arm lock often. Both for sniping and for making attack runs against large targets when I pilot light striker. I'd like to have it as a toggle. For now, as it's not, I have it off by default, because I'd rather have one finger occupied switching it on when sniping or maiming enemy heavies, than switching it off in twitchy dogfight.


PS Topicstarter, by your description of the fight you can as well say that zoom is bad and using it one should feel bad.

But I like people who use Adv. Zoom Modules in LRM + Medium Laser Stalkers.

[Screech]

Oh the unwashed masses, what will ever become of them.

You do you.

[Bishop Steiner]

Jownzee, on 22 April 2014 - 06:30 AM, said:

That Boars Head was me! I didn't even know I could switch am lock off tbh wish I'd known before now.

I'll be toggling that off next time I log on though!

Not winning that game for the team, or not knowing about the arm lock doesn't make me a bad player!
I had done plenty in that round to get the team back into it in the first place.

I'll learn from it, and it'll help me in the future!

That's what I was afraid of man. Armslock is something that will stifle your ability. As you get more experienced, like some say, it can be used to snap your aim back (though I'll be honest, I think it's a bad habit, as I said). And you had contributed earlier, which is one reason I wasn't anming you. But that mechanic, and PGIs non-intuitive way of burying it, got you killed and cost us the match. Had it just been you, this 1 time, I would not have said anything. But over the last couple of months, I have spectated a huge number of people getting owned because of it. And have seen a lot of people get killed because of it, and a lot of games lost, so after that come back last night, it was largely the last straw.

So please, don't take it as a personal attack on you, and by all means keep growing as a player. In fact if you ever want any help, advice, or people to drop with, stop by the HARDCorp dropship in the Comstar NA TS3 server. We are always open to working with people. That match just happened to be the tipping point on my frustration with armlock in general. It should not be in the game at all, and it certainly shouldn't be buried in the options like it is (nor should 3pV, constant throttle for that matter).

So yeah, like I said, it was not you so much as the "plague" that armlock has become in this game. Yet another Paul Inoyue innovation gone bad.

PhoenixFire55, on 22 April 2014 - 06:33 AM, said:

Yes. And other things as well, like TV, video games, and especially internet.

so true. Have trouble watching TV..... wishing I didn't need the blasted net at times either. I have a cousin who's an English teacher, and it's purely shocking how bad literacy skills are in High School these days where it's common for people to use "text speak" and crap in graded papers. And apparently, without spellcheck, the next generation would be doomed, lol. I'm far from perfect but oy, sometimes it makes my brain hurt.

[Bishop Steiner]

Mcgral18, on 22 April 2014 - 07:14 AM, said:

You're being a bit of an ass here Bishop. And a noob. Some builds benefit a fair bit from Arm lock (3D, HGN) because their main weapons are seperated by arm and torso hardpoints. Some mechs you have no real reason to use arm lock, other than to make lasers more efficient. Some you want to avoid it like the plague (Stalker, Jenner)

I leave the lock off by default, because you can turn your view faster than with it on, but I'll lock it when I want precise laser fire.
To say someone is a noob because they use a built in feature to make their weapons more efficient...is flawed.

Pretty sure I prefaced the comment that way (ya know, that I was being a jerk), and since it was spoken to another vet, I think he'll take it as intended, bro.

And no, sorry, I realize it's in the game, but it really is a crutch, and should go. Pinpoint convergence is already too easy. We don't need anything dumbing down the basic poptart skill set even further. If a person can't do their own convergence, I don't feel especially sorry for them.

[DONTOR]

Curccu, on 21 April 2014 - 11:50 PM, said:

I don't think torso twist speed is increased when arm-lock is off, your pilot just turns his head also when turning and it might feel faster? or prove me wrong .
(at least it shouldn't be faster)

It undoubtably is faster to turn with arm lock off, its the first thing I notice when I go from triple gauss to any other mech. Its very noticeable.

[3rdworld]

I don't do the perma-on, lock myself. But ever time I pop, I hit shift to lock the 2 together. Increases the chances of the full alpha hitting the same location.

On mechs that don't use arm mounted weapons, I find the arm reticule moving about slightly annoying, so i end up holding shift much of the time.

[Bishop Steiner]

Mcgral18, on 22 April 2014 - 07:21 AM, said:

That may be true, but calling people noobs while being more effective isn't good logic.

It's in game, like ghost heat and this borked heat system. PGI isn't about to change it. Exploit it until they do.

and of course, you have always been 100% polite and measured in every comment or post in the forums? Or when you see something that really is a detriment to the game as a whole, you don't speak up? Feel free to disagree with my opinion on the matter, but don't get holier than thou on me.

[Flaming oblivion]

I believe if your using a joystick it handicaps your ability to lock somewhat perhaps this was the case.

[Bishop Steiner]

Appogee, on 22 April 2014 - 07:41 AM, said:

Which part of ''converged when I need it to be, unlocked when I need it to be" did you find difficult to follow?

all of it, I couldn't toggle armlock fast enough to track it.......

[Ngamok]

Bishop Steiner, on 22 April 2014 - 09:24 AM, said:

Pretty sure I prefaced the comment that way (ya know, that I was being a jerk), and since it was spoken to another vet, I think he'll take it as intended, bro.

And no, sorry, I realize it's in the game, but it really is a crutch, and should go. Pinpoint convergence is already too easy. We don't need anything dumbing down the basic poptart skill set even further. If a person can't do their own convergence, I don't feel especially sorry for them.

I still like you though Bishop