14 replies to this topic

[Makenzie71]

Serious...I can watch someone lob a bunch of LRM's into the air...750m away...I don't get a warning until half a second before they hit me.

How is that done? Seems like a handy trick.

Edited by Egomane, 28 April 2014 - 01:01 AM.

[Sephlock]

Makenzie71, on 27 April 2014 - 06:21 PM, said:

Serious...I can watch someone lob a bunch of LRM's into the air...750m away...I don't get a warning until half a second before they hit me.

How is that done? Seems like a handy trick.

Answer to your topic title: Fire without getting a lock. Answer to your thread: ...

[SirLANsalot]

Makenzie71, on 27 April 2014 - 06:21 PM, said:

Serious...I can watch someone lob a bunch of LRM's into the air...750m away...I don't get a warning until half a second before they hit me.

How is that done? Seems like a handy trick.

Let me guess....you were standing still?

Its called dumb fire for the LRMs, and is incredibly hard to get to land on targets unless they stand completely still.

[ICEFANG13]

Try A/Cs and PPCs, they don't have warnings at all

[Dracol]

Yup, dumbfiring LRMs can be handy. If a mech is repeatably ridge humping the same spot, one can try to land em just as they are re emerging. I'll also dumbfire at short range right when a mech appears if its large and approaching. I usually get a lock on just before the missiles recycle.

[Makenzie71]

I've tried that but it seems once I let them go, even if get a lock while they're in flight, they don't alter course...just go wherever.

[Mcgral18]

It could have been the missiles headed for an ally, who decided to hide behind you.

Dumb fire is the other option. They will hit where you aim the crosshair.

[Makenzie71]

Do you have to do something special for the dumbfire to work? I asked something about missiles sometime back and was told you could only really dumbfire srm's. missiles aren't much my thing so I don't keep up with it.

[Mcgral18]

Makenzie71, on 27 April 2014 - 06:48 PM, said:

Do you have to do something special for the dumbfire to work? I asked something about missiles sometime back and was told you could only really dumbfire srm's. missiles aren't much my thing so I don't keep up with it.

You just point on the ground where you want them to hit, then fire. Or at a stationary mech, but they will likely move before they hit. Almost no use in dumbfire.

Streaks you can't fire without locks, but LRMs you can.

[Troutmonkey]

The problem OP has is that locked on missiles don't warn him until just before they hit him.

I too suffer from this problem occasionally, but usually only when multiple volleys have been launched at me. The first volley will warn me appropriately, but consecutive volleys will either warn just before they hit or not give a warning at all.

I believe this is to do with a minimum time between Betty's audio cues, otherwise she'd start talking over herself. I think this may also be a problem if Betty is currently announcing something else, like a base capture, damaged components or the like.

Download FRAPS or MSI Afterburner and record a couple of games, see if you can pinpoint the issue.

[Firelizard]

I think the missile warning only displays when the client thinks the missiles will actually hit you. As such, it may be possible that latency is throwing off the calculation. Or maybe there's so much stuff flying around that the missile warning gets dumped as a lower priority bit of information.

[Trauglodyte]

In defense of the OP, there are actually 2 instances where this could happen:

• The firing mech is extremely close to the point where Betty won't give you a warning until the missiles land
  
• You've just taken a ton of damage where you get the critical damage warning along with item destructions so you've got so much information being tossed your way from Betty that you won't get a warning until the missiles land

Then again, if you're a hug freaking assault mech standing still with ECM running, I can just dumb fire them into your face. So, never stop moving and try not to be insanely slow.

[Firelizard]

Trauglodyte, on 27 April 2014 - 07:08 PM, said:

Then again, if you're a hug freaking assault mech standing still with ECM running, I can just dumb fire them into your face. So, never stop moving and try not to be insanely slow.

Best rule of thumb for ECM deployment is to remember the difference between 'cover' and 'concealment'.

'Concealment' stops the eyes. 'Cover' stops the bullets. Guess which one ECM is?

[Lynx7725]

Makenzie71, on 27 April 2014 - 06:48 PM, said:

Do you have to do something special for the dumbfire to work? I asked something about missiles sometime back and was told you could only really dumbfire srm's. missiles aren't much my thing so I don't keep up with it.

Firing LRMs on dumbfire is simple. Point and pull. Like any other weapon, really, so all those are pretty dumbfire too.

Hitting things on dumbfire is not so simple, but it is a basic fundamental skill set that any LRM specialist needs to pick up. If a "LRM Specialist" is always relying on locks for LRMs and doesn't know how to use dumbfire, he needs to go back to school.

And those who tell you that you can only dumbfire SRM is... not a LRM specialist.

Mcgral18, on 27 April 2014 - 06:53 PM, said:

You just point on the ground where you want them to hit, then fire. Or at a stationary mech, but they will likely move before they hit. Almost no use in dumbfire.

I beg to differ. Knowing when and how to dumbfire is critical when dealing with certain situations -- one, against ECM mechs. Two, against a horde of enemies when they mob up and start charging. Lock and shoot in either situation is either impossible or inappropriate to the situation. I have dumbfire in both situations as a suppressive fire/ force dispersion effect, and have been successful.

[YueFei]

Maybe someone can also lock, fire, unlock, re-lock, etc., and that will also prevent a missile lock warning? I don't know.