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What's The Locust's Place In Mwo


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#1 M0rpHeu5

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:00 PM

I recenlty thought of trying the locust (the 4balistics one) and i keep getting oneshoted, Advice?

P.S.:I keep moving

#2 Alaskan Nobody

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:06 PM

Playing a locust successfully is really tricky - you are going to get one shot killed, you just don't have the armor to prevent it.
To the point where a lot of locust pilots (including myself) frequently drop their armor down under 100 points total.


However - they can be of great use to your team, so don't feel to bad about your choice. :(


Ballistic one? what do you have mounted? MG?

#3 GunnyKintaro 01

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:07 PM

Hit and run that's its place for me.. Stick and move... Or I hide behind a bigger Mech and act as extra guns for him

#4 Charons Little Helper

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:11 PM

To die horribly - then wish they were in a bigger mech?

Seriously - other than in private games that use tonnage limits (where you can be the lightest scout/spotter possible - leaving more tonnage for your buddies) they're simply inferior to bigger lights.

#5 Alaskan Nobody

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:13 PM

Forgot to mention >.<

Regardless of loadout - you have to be really sneaky in a Locust (due to the armor issue)

Speed can help - but there are several builds that quite successfully make use of smaller engines (including the 100std - which still gets you moving ~90kph)

Which they can do - because while speed will help you reposition yourself - your armor is low enough that even speed will not keep you alive.


Actually, now that I think about it - playing a Locust is almost exactly like playing an Atlas :lol:
Both of them rely a lot more on positioning and teammates than anything else. :(

#6 Xoxim SC

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:17 PM

I could see the Locust being great for the standard mech Monday thing, where you don't have to deal with a bunch of meta, outside of that the poor little ****** just can't compete.

This is madness, you can't say bug ger? o_O

Edited by Todd Lightbringer, 08 May 2014 - 01:18 PM.


#7 Bigbacon

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:18 PM

honestly, I'd pick a different variant than the 1V unless you want to try some crazy low armor/lower speed setup which I can't see being fun when you get one shotted by anything.

you can do good stuff with the locust. it takes time and practice but you always need to realize that you are one good shot away from death.

Speed is your only saving grace, that and brawling chaos.

Edited by Bigbacon, 08 May 2014 - 01:19 PM.


#8 Alaskan Nobody

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:21 PM

View PostTodd Lightbringer, on 08 May 2014 - 01:17 PM, said:

This is madness, you can't say bug ger? o_O

It means something different over in England I am told.

And yes - I am told that so far the Locusts are performing very well in the stock matches - since they are just as armored as most of the stock Cicada and Jenner - but are faster. :(

#9 Kraven Kor

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:21 PM

The Locus in MWO has one of two jobs.

Missile-Spotter: Don't get shot at, provide targets for Lurmboats.

Ankle-biter: Annoy and confuse the crap out of the enemy team.

Some truly awesome pilots might even be able to wreck house in one; you or I? Probably not so much :(

#10 Barkem Squirrel

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:21 PM

You have to learn to be sneaky and invisible.

Place, spotting in the beginning during the movement to contact. Then at the end clean up.

You can have 5 or 6 lasers on two.

LRMs, SRMs, or SSRMS on two

On the last one you have the MG's of death for near the end of the game to pick off the stragglers.

Now all of them can run with one ERLL in the center.

I have one vollied Locust a few times with the catapults and each time I think back why did he run out in the open when there was an intervisibility line right beside him that he could have run behind.

#11 Bront

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:32 PM

What's The Locust's Place In Mwo?

Mostly KDR padding for the people shooting at it. It can be an OK carrion picker, but as a scout, the Raven or Spider is better, as a light combat mech, the Firestarter and Jenner are significantly better, and the Commando is better as well.

#12 M0rpHeu5

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:36 PM

Thanks for your advicies everyone.
I guess i should have gone for the spider, lol

Edited by M0rpHeu5, 08 May 2014 - 01:38 PM.


#13 L a S e R

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:52 PM

It takes luck. I can have 10 damage matches, or my best, 5 kills and 565 damage

I average about 300 damage a match with 300 kills

Edited by L a S e R, 08 May 2014 - 01:58 PM.


#14 LoPanShui

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:52 PM

The trick to running a Locust successfully is about teammates and position, like was said earlier. They are not easy to pilot at all. You have very low armor and firepower, but you have three distinct advantages to help make up for it.

1) You are fast. Only certain Commandos can keep up with you once you're speed tweaked, provided you're running the max engine size. This is not a saving grace, though. Speed will not keep you alive, but it will help.

2) You are maneuverable. There is no other 'Mech in the game that can turn with you in close quarters. Again, this won't save you, but it's very valuable.

3) You are TINY. This is the Locust's best attribute. It can hide behind things no other 'Mech can, or dodge shots that would have hit larger 'Mechs. A Locust running through a hilly area is a ridiculously hard target if it's zig zagging and going up and down inclines. In an urban environment the little sucker can duck behind low boulders or fuel tanks on Crimon that nothing else can hide behind and use them for cover.

Here are some Locust tips:

1) Don't fight anything that is looking at you, ever, not even a Commando. If it's looking at you, move on at top speed. This is NOT the same as knowing you're there. It's fine to fight things that know you're there provided they aren't looking at you. Maneuver to keep them form looking at you.

2) Target the sick and injured. Just like any good predator, don't go for the fresh badass with all of the powerful gones. Go kill the LRM boat with 1 medium laser that's sitting way back and none of your allies can get to. Finish off that Atlas with no rear armor so your buddies don't have to waste time with it. Is that enemy missing a leg? Then he's gonna have a really hard time turning to look at you!

3) ADVANCED MANEUVER: Chase down lights that have no idea what you are. If a light is scouting and your allies start to chase it off, go follow it! Keep the pressure on. Shoot its legs. Often a fleeing light will not turn to fight if he was shot at by heavies, he'll just keep running, assuming that the heavies are still chasing him, not a Locust he could never escape. Leg him before he gets back to his team, then book it! You've taken him out of the fight!

4) ADVANCED MANEUVER: Got 4MGs on your 1V? Nothing in the game strips off components like MGs. if you see an Atlas with a red right torso you can do a sweeping pass and his Autocannons will vanish in slightly less than a single second of continuous fire, even if you don't destroy that section. This also applies to anything that might be storing ammo in its legs or gauss rifles.

Here are some credentials. Not my best, but what I had quick access to.

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#15 Ovion

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 04:51 PM

Ours is not to reason why. Ours is but to do and die.

Though in all seriousness, the Locust is a hard mech to master.
It's not the fastest (though it really bloody should be!).
It's about the least armoured.
It can't fit much in the way of armament (the most it can possibly hold is 6-7T).

It's actual role is scout/spotter, in a game focused on sheer damage ability.
And it's cheap.
But there's plenty of good advice in this thread (some I'll even file away and try myself, because I'm still a bit pants in my locusts).

Additionally, I think everyone should have at least one locust. Piloting my favourite little deathtrap teaches you how fragile you are, to learn the maps, to use cover and speed, to dodge and to fire and hit while going crazy fast (because stopping is death).

#16 Ruccus

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 06:40 PM

With regards to the Locust 1V, because it's main weaponry (unless you forego the MGs and just mount an ERLL in the nose) is close range machineguns, trying to use MGs right from the start (when mechs are all still well armoured) probably won't provide much success. I'd suggest that for the start of a match that you (for conquest) cap at least two points before entering combat or (for assault or skirmish) go off on a tangent to skirt around the map and try to either TAG enemies (if you've mounted a TAG laser), scout and inform your teammates, or try to find LRM boats and cause them trouble.

Don't try to go in and attack larger mechs until after there have been at least a few mechs killed - by then there should be mechs on the battlefield that are showing internals and it's up to you to find those mechs and fill their weak spots full of lead. Look for the mechs that are smoking and have retreated from the front lines of combat - it's a good bet they've got a big hole in their mech and are trying to stay back to keep firing while not attracting return fire.

I'd also suggest to make sure your locust can go at least around 145 to 150kph; the minimum speed I run in my locusts is 160kph (180XL engine; I also own a 190XL that I use in my locusts regularly). A locust that's going around 130kph (stock engine without speed tweak) is too easily killed.

#17 Buckminster

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 06:52 PM

The hardest thing for me is that I get impatient and move in too early.

A lot of people will say that speed is the key to life with the Locust - it isn't. The key is to remain unnoticed. Your position is more as a scout and a vulture. Put your eyes on the enemy, maybe take a shot or two, and leave. Or find the guy 100% focused on his brawl and go nip his ankles. But as soon as someone sees you, you're as good as dead.

One last point - don't think that you have to run full speed all the time. Running that fast can actually draw attention to you.

Edited by Buckminster, 08 May 2014 - 06:54 PM.


#18 Alaskan Nobody

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 06:55 PM

View PostBuckminster, on 08 May 2014 - 06:52 PM, said:

One last point - don't think that you have to run full speed all the time. Running that fast can actually draw attention to you.

Which is half the secret to Tesunies design. ^_^

#19 Spheroid

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 06:56 PM

I would use the 1V as a support platform since its module slots are useless for normal weapons.

170kph can get you to the front lines extremely quickly. Get there first, watch for seismic and deploy UAVs to help your team.

You can also act as a squirrel decoy on water maps where you can avoid a lot of incoming fire by submerging.

You must, must wait until the last third of the match before engaging or you will get killed. There are exceptions of course. Isolated mechs or stragglers are valid targets on large maps like alpine or therma.

Edited by Spheroid, 08 May 2014 - 06:59 PM.


#20 ArchMage Sparrowhawk

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Posted 08 May 2014 - 07:16 PM

locusts are fast. That's it. A good locust pilot can play a number of roles, and get kills. Mop ups and finishing are what the bullet locust is good at. Pretend you're the remote unit of that Giant assault mech on your shoulder and focus on whatever red is on the target he's shooting at. See someone backing off from a fight? Do a quick scan and see if they're cored, and then open them up. Locust is a role fighter, or a scout, but finding the enemy first and knowing where they're at is only so useful in the game. It's best to make your locust into something that can kill.

Speed armor is real, but it means outrunning and using cover so the laser doesn't get a full or direct shot, and so the missile hits something else other than you. A locust can be a real benefit to its lance, if they use it correctly.





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