9 replies to this topic

[Mouzie]

This fail guide is created by a noob for fellow nooblets.




Introduction
I booted up the game and fell in love with it like most of you did (you wouldn't be reading this if you didn't, right, right?!). After trying the other mechs (starter of course), I hated the heavier and powerhouse classes. I just can not get my brain around them - I know their usages, concept, and everything. But, they just don't feel right to me and then my eyes caught the light class - the Raven more so; I got hooked. Playing as a light class even more so if you're starting out is hard, trust me, I was there and everyone who'll ever play this game can understand the pain.

Specific Roles

There's specific classes per classes per classes. Sound confusing? Good. Lets start.

Light classes are - well light (GENIUS HERE) and so you have to understand three rules which is common and must be followed at all times or you'll die fast :

Speed is Life

Range is Life

Dodging is Life

Common sense, is common sense, but some mechs are slower, faster, weaker, stronger, etc. So we'll break them down one by one and gives us nooblets something to work with.

First 'Speed is Life' is the anthem of the Light Class. You MUST always be able to outrun the Heavier classes, you MUST be able to be swift to dodge missles and shots coming your way. You MUST not get hit and you MUST at all times be ready to move as soon as they get into punching your face range - go. Go like you're holding it in and the bathroom is right around the corner. Pretend that you just got KFC and it's waiting for you - GO MEANS GO.

Second is 'Range is Life', unless you're a heavier class like Atlas or something, you're not going to fight well - you're not going do much damage, you're not going live very long. It's like a five years old taking on a full grown man, the little kid could win - but not possible. Listed below are some stuff for specific roles, range doesn't mean far it just mean not get in their face which I will explain further.

Last is Dodging is Life, you're not a tank, you're not Brad Pitt throwing a grenade into an airplane and surviving it while it crash landed with a large metal into your chest and be an unspoken Pepsi Ad twenty minutes later. No, you're Winston:

Use covers, your speed, and agility to weaves around missles, lasers, and shots. Another great example is of World War II, the weaker Shermans were lighter, faster, but weaker against the feared German Tigers which is FAR heavier and powerful than the Shermans, but the Shermans uses their speed against the far slower Tiger who is unable to turn very fast. Use that logic and you'll be fine. AMS (Anti-Missles Systems) is handy, but it's not hard to dodge which I will show later.

Now onto the roles, these roles are specifics and must be played no matter what they are. You might never get a kill, but victory is sweet and even sweeter when you're still alive.

Classes

Mobile Class:

Mobiles are extremely fast and light class using their speed and agility to the fullest. Long range weapons are not advised and often enough they have short range missles, MGs, and lasers. You're going to hit-and-run the enemy, always flank, always stay away from the front. Use your speed to swiftly hit, run away, find another target, hit again. Mobile while very fast and agile are extremely weak and often with the best engine will result in an instant death if you lose just one of your sides. These are often scouts which is important to direct key intelligence to your team.

Skirmishers Class:

They are long range class. They are the snipers, with long range missles, lasers, and maybe cannons, they stay behind the team and harass the enemy. Drawing their fire towards you or aiding the team by hitting the enemy or wasting the AMS. They are the second fastest, but they trade the fast speed for firepower, range, and armor which is a must for a skirmisher. While you can dish out more damage than say the mobile, you're still far weaker than the heavier mechs and classes.

[This is my personal class for the Raven 4X is not fast enough or be able to use ECM. Using a combo of Tag, Long Range Laser (with the long range laser perk), and 5 LRMs. I harass and attack without the enemy getting close or being too far for their weapons to do anything to me while having good armor to take some hits if they get too close.]

Heavy Class:

ECM spam from these classes, these massive giants are 'light' (Riiiight). They can carry the most weapons, armor, and are the slowest. They can take more damage and because nearly every single one I've seen has an ECM tend to survive a little longer.

Tactics

Being support means SUPPORT the team, you must play the role you're playing. If you're skirmishing, don't get close, if you're mobile don't stop ever. Common sense is common.

Use mountains, hills, rocks, buildings, etc. as your own personal AMS. You can take that off your mech and have more room for other things. LRMs tend to fire in a wide arch and is surprisingly easy to dodge. ALWAYS face the front and direct towards the enemy no matter what class you are. When the OH GOD MISSLES IS COMING FOR YOU alert happened you can see the missles direction. They target that spot, simply steps away and while one or two might hit you you're still alive most likely.

When attacking at long range as a sniper/tagger you can 'peek' which is awesome for you and annoying for your enemy. Using covers, you can fire barely over rocks or whatever you're hiding behind and when they launch LRMs they most likely will just hit your cover (and if you move) some areas around you giving you some breathing space.

Retreat if needed, you are very silly if you think you can duke it out with a heavier mech. Fall back, move away, do something to distance you and them.

This very simple guide will give you an idea of what to expect and I will see you on the field!

Edited by Mouzie, 07 May 2014 - 07:47 AM.

[Anvil Dragon]

One that seems to be forgotten to often is when you are spotting, don't shoot. You found a good spot behind the enemy you lock a mech for the LRM boats and then your brain falls out and you just have to shout out "Here I am, I'm behind you!" Then we send LRM and long range fire to say "Hi" back.

Ran a light and got a good perch behind the enemy. Bad day for them. Ten solid locks held til they died. LRM hell.

[mailin]

I'm primarily a light pilot, so to piggyback on what Anvil has said, if you have a TAG you will need to be within 750m for it to be effective. If you have one and the conditions are right, find a target closest to their rear or that's isolated, get behind him, lock him, and tag his legs. The reason for tagging his legs is because if he turns around suddenly it is much less likely that he will notice you than if you are tagging his torso and suddenly there's a laser pointer in his eye. Also, when the lrms do come, if you're in range, fire lasers at about the same time the lrms will hit him. You do some added damage and get an extra bonus for the assist.

Edited by mailin, 08 May 2014 - 08:09 AM.

[ThatBum42]

If you're good at evasion, there's always the OMG SQUIRREL factor. That is, if you run in behind an enemy formation and start taking potshots, it might cause enough chaos to for them to turn around and try to chase you. It could disrupt their firing line, the crucial distraction the rest of your team needs to move forward from being pinned down. By no means should you just Leeroy into an unknown situation, however.

Bonus points if you coordinate with other lights while doing this. This is called "wolfpacking". It's hilarious for an enemy assault to come trundling over, only to have your other light buddies charge around the corner and eat him alive.

Edited by ThatBum42, 09 May 2014 - 02:30 AM.

[William Slayer]

A great thing I am learning about lights is that with a few exceptions, each light design has a mech that fits into one of these roles. You can pick your chassis, then discover which version works for what role (Mouzie s Ravens are a great example, but my Jenner s get no ECM love). I grabbed a Commando 2D to play that role.
.:-)

Edited by William Slayer, 10 May 2014 - 04:37 PM.

[mailin]

One more thing to add. It IS possible to engage and take out Streak Pults and other light hunters with streaks. The first thing you NEED is ECM. No ECM, don't try this method. First, find the streak build. Next close to within about 100m or so. (Well within BAP range.) See if your ECM is cancelled or if he is jammed. If he's jammed, stay in tight and blast away. If he's jamming your ECM, get out of there (About 200m or so). Turn around and engage, but keep him at least 150m away from you. (He'll be under ECM, and you;ll be able to fire on him without worrying so much about streaks. ideally you want to lure him back to your friendlies. Either way, this is extremely frustrating for light hunters when the prey kills the predator. Oh, and go for his legs. He'll love that!

[Koniving]

Truth be told I tend to be a slower support mech. But then again, it depends on what you're using to provide your support with. Firestarters do superbly well as slow mechs with ACs, PPCs, or even MGs MPL and SLs between 92 and 112 kph.

With standard lasers I find slow works much better, as that high speed is spreading beams and not focusing damage. Though nothing says you can't be fast, but slow down to fire to be more effective in combat.

That said, even my Locust runs slow.
(Skip to 6 minutes in as it also includes many of the problems with the 3/3/3/3 match maker's first implementation before it or as it got disabled).

[Octantis]

My nugget of knowledge to add is "don't forget your jump jets". This falls under the speed is life category. JJs get you into places without the enemy seeing you. They get you out of trouble if they do. I've found the best use of JJs is in Canyon where you can hope from one wall to another (make sure to have enough jj) and immediately flank. I find the enemy doesn't really know how to react to this situation.

When jousting with another light and running the circle of death jump up and do a 180 turn. The enemy will be right behind you and you can get in a great shot while his aim can't compensate for the change in movement. This is also great for buying yourself a few seconds to cool down.

I see way too many lights in knife fights and the JJ bar is full and unused.

[mailin]

I agree that jump jets are either under-utilized, or improperly used. Firing them in very short bursts will let you turn very quickly. Do not get into the habit of holding down the jet button and flying like superman. When you do this, you become a target that even a noob driving an atlas can hit. Speed is life, but maneuverability is . . . I don't know, armor maybe?

[Mercer Skye]

I usually just pull my Light tactics from the Steiner manual;

Step 1; Get and Atlas
Step 2; Cram in the biggest XL you can
Step 3; Equip 'light' things like narc, tag, ecm, bap
Step 4; Fill in remaining crit space with Big things like PPCs and Auto20s
Step 5; Do 'scouty' things like tag targets and look for ammo in legs.