What's The Locust's Place In Mwo
#1
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:00 PM
P.S.:I keep moving
#2
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:06 PM
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
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:07 PM
#4
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:11 PM
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
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:13 PM
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
Both of them rely a lot more on positioning and teammates than anything else.
#6
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:17 PM
This is madness, you can't say bug ger? o_O
Edited by Todd Lightbringer, 08 May 2014 - 01:18 PM.
#7
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:18 PM
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
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:21 PM
Todd Lightbringer, on 08 May 2014 - 01:17 PM, said:
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
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:21 PM
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
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:21 PM
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
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:32 PM
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
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:36 PM
I guess i should have gone for the spider, lol
Edited by M0rpHeu5, 08 May 2014 - 01:38 PM.
#13
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:52 PM
I average about 300 damage a match with 300 kills
Edited by L a S e R, 08 May 2014 - 01:58 PM.
#14
Posted 08 May 2014 - 01:52 PM
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.
#15
Posted 08 May 2014 - 04:51 PM
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
Posted 08 May 2014 - 06:40 PM
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
Posted 08 May 2014 - 06:52 PM
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.
#19
Posted 08 May 2014 - 06:56 PM
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
Posted 08 May 2014 - 07:16 PM
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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