11 replies to this topic

[ManDaisy]

Hey all you pros out there...

Quick question,

When being shot by lasers do would you rather ...

1) Take the damage and return fire at the same time?

Or

2) Weather the damage by torso twisting, and return fire when possible?

[Appogee]

It's situational.

Generally...

1. Avoiding/spreading damage is the better idea. That becomes essential if you have exposed crits.

2. If a shot or two will finish off the assailant, then it's better to take the opportunity to kill them and stop them delivering any more damage at all.

I can think of many different specific situations where alternatively choosing to avoid, spread or ignore the damage would be the right strategy.

Edited by Appogee, 10 May 2014 - 07:54 PM.

[crossflip]

Not a pro, but here's my two cents. It would depend on the number of lasers on me and the firepower I could trade back. If I had FLD weapons then obviously the answer would be torso twisting but with lasers of my own it would be a question of who has the stronger pews. Torso twisting while firing arm mounted weapons is also an option.

[Koniving]

It's a good question.

If they have lasers and I have ACs, I take the brunt and know that I'm dealing it a LOT faster.

[ShinVector]

mandaisy... you didn't state what weapons you have.. makes a BIG difference.

[YueFei]

Option C: I launch massive swarms of SRMs in his direction, giving the game server many more objects to track, and thus crapping out hit detection for his laser beams. In return, I get to watch my SRMs fly through him like he's a damn ghost or something. =P

[Zordicron]

This is the thought process I blast through when I encounter a laser boat:

1. Make sure it is actually a laser boat. Well i dont actually do that before I decide, at least not at the time of action. This can be mostly determined based on what mech you are fighting, and other observations on the battlefield, maybe you saw it shooting a team mate, maybe you have the target info, etc. Besides, if you dont know what it is the default is going to be torso twist till you do know, so let's just go with yes, it is a laser boat for this discussion. And by boat, I mean, at least 4 ML. If someone wants to shoot you with only 15 dmg or less, you should be making them eat alphastrike.

2. Really the first consideration, once said laser mech is actually engaged. I look at my ping for the match early, and sometimes during small lulls during combat. See, my ISP is poor, so I get anything from 35 ping to 450, and somtimes during the same match. If I have poor ping, well, unless I predict the shot very early, heh, the dmg wont spread that much anyway as the server has completed my dmg before I finish twisting. I have turned my atlas before a shot and gotten hit in CT plenty of times in matches with the 400 ping nonsense. A lot of times this is unavoidable, and sometimes it has no bearing on what I do depending on what mech I am in. It has strongest effect on my decision in medium mechs, as several of them I do not have loaded for extreme speed, so I need to be on the ball for defenses. Further considerations of ping: not only you, but the enemy. You may see the enemy is a 6 ML boat, but as they shoot you either your bad ping, or theirs, or both, combined with HSR is going to give them or you a big advantage in dmg. VERY hard to tell on recieving end, but on delivering it, it is easy to spot that guy that has epic lag shield vs your dmg.

3. Decide if I want to spread dmg because I need to, eat it because I have superior power by far, defend because there is no need to take the dmg anyway. Last option, eat the dmg, because I am running something like my Facewreckz atlas loadouts or my damn golden boy 70 point srm alphaboat, and I want whatever is shooting me to know that I am going to take it, and retrun with facewrecks anyway. This isnt the same as the superior firepower situation, in that situation, you are firine to take out the enemy faster because of the situation. In this last option, you dont want to show you are defending, specifically as a mental game approach. Many times, the "I dont care about your puny lasers, eat this!!" attitude sparks a panic reaction, or at least a change in enemy movements, usually putting them on defense. This is also very situational, and dependant on mech and loadout.

Number three probably sounds like a rehash of your question, but it is simply put: you need to work on observation skills. There is no yes/no answer to this question OP, as the answer is dependant on mech, enemy, loadouts, battlefield numbers and positions.

However, i will offer this as a starting point: if you find yourself being picked apart by laser users, like getting a ST cored out and having CT in good shape etc, in general you are eating it too often, and should twist or at least work on strafing more. If you are asking for the purposes of a small numbers fight out dual or whatever, then it becomes really really situational.

[Buckminster]

Koniving, on 10 May 2014 - 08:24 PM, said:

It's a good question.

If they have lasers and I have ACs, I take the brunt and know that I'm dealing it a LOT faster.

Amen.

Just got out of a match where I was 1v1 against a Cataphract in a Jager - my quad AC5s beat out his lasers and ACs in no time flat.

[Captain Stiffy]

Buckminster, on 12 May 2014 - 02:47 AM, said:

Amen.

Just got out of a match where I was 1v1 against a Cataphract in a Jager - my quad AC5s beat out his lasers and ACs in no time flat.

Try a Banshee with 4 PPC's in a single torso... there is no mech that can stand you down in that scenario.

[Charons Little Helper]

Captain Stiffy, on 12 May 2014 - 02:20 PM, said:

[size=4]

Try a Banshee with 4 PPC's in a single torso... there is no mech that can stand you down in that scenario.

Except at under 90m .

[Captain Stiffy]

Charons Little Helper, on 12 May 2014 - 03:09 PM, said:

Except at under 90m .

Great thing about 95 tons is you get EVEN MORE guns than that!

[Modo44]

Can you kill it or put a big alpha in? Beat your chest and take it all. Are you recycling weapons? Then why the **** are you looking at the target?!