26 replies to this topic

[Capnflintlock]

You might be asking yourself, why the hell would I want someone to tell me how to die? I do that often enough as it is! Well my friends, I'll tell you.

Dying is just as much of an important role of a battle as killing mechs, because it allows players to distract the enemy, buying time for their team to get a few more gibs. It doesn't matter if you have no weapons left, or even very much armor, as long as you can draw the attention of the enemy during a battle, you're succeeding in helping the team, even if for only a moment.

So how should I die then?

First off, you should analyze the situation your currently in. For example, look into how much armor do you have left. If you're a brawler, your fronts probably wasted, however, your rear armor is probably intact, more or less, use this to your advantage and turn to face a wall, while drawing in the enemy to waste shots on it, while your healthier teamates try to kill the enemy force.

Look at the terrain around you. Are there walls or cliffs you could use to dodge behind/ jump jet over? Lava, that you could use to overheat the enemy and lower their rate of fire?

Once you have a good idea of your mechs current state, and your surroundings, you can move in a fashion to protect your body, while getting distance away from the main conflict. If players are blood thirsty for kills, (and they usually are, chasing a disarmed mech halfway across the map just to get the kill) you can draw the attention of the enemy away from your comrades. Once your at a point where you can escape no further, you should try to prolong your life as long as possible. Do this by again, utilizing whatever armor you have left, whether it be on your rear, arms, or side torsos. If you're hurten bad everywhere, start twisting to try and spread the damage evenly across your mech.

If however, the enemy does not chase after you, you're next priority should be to harass the living piss out of them in any way you possibly can. Do you have only a medium laser, or mg left? Well then thats good enough, daka daka or pew pew away at their side/rears until they turn their attention on you, and then flee back behind whatever cover you can find. You might not hurt them very much, but players rarily know the full extent of what every mechs load out is, and they might think that that medium laser hitting them in their blind spot is something more dangerous, causing them to shift their attention, or even in some instances, panic, at a possible 2v1.

Just a small guide I wanted to write, after having seen a vast array of players just giving up hope, and standing till to be cored.

Remember, you might not be able to deal any more damage, but you CAN draw the enemies fire to buy your team more time, even if by only a few seconds.

[One of Little Harmony]

Yes. People are afraid of dying in this game. You shouldn't be. I love the final few moments before death, going into a desperate situation, everyone focusing on me and seeing how much damage I can deal out before I'm taken down. To be honest, even when I warn people in team chat that I'm going to charge their position since everyone else seems content with entrenchment....they never bother to move up and take advantage of the distraction. It's too bad because usually one person being willing to die and unseat the enemy's position can often turn the tide of battle.

[Davic Kerensky]

I certainly found this to be an interesting concept ... afterall in several games I saw a team abuse their last man with 'WTF ! die man! be honorable and just waste yourself!' ... which I can see the issue if it is a Raven or Locust against a 'Roflstomper' team that is walking the scene like a plague.

But like you said about wasting ammo ... I to suckered a team in a conquest game that my last survivor alongside me ... and the team .. was surprised. We was around the 600 mark but heavily overwhelmed on the Crimson Strait ... the sun was beating down and the deathbell was about to be heard for us .. since it was 7 vs 2 ... my companion was in a Jenner built for capping .. whereas I was in an Ilya aimed at causing grief ... so with the chance of the other team recapping and taking the game ... it was sacrifice time ... I told my companion to find a hidey hole whilst I plodded off to my inevitable doom ... but like a warrior staring at the gates of Valhalla .. I smiled .. and stomped at full speed .. noticing all seven in the underpass ... with great gusto ... fired at the 6 I could get a hit to ... bingo ! ... full attention recieved and after a trade off of excess ammo I was nothing more than a twisted mess ... but had the satisfaction of seeing the counter hit 750 ... my death may have been for naught .. but we had max resources and a mech alive to tell my tale !

Total fun !

'One of Little Harmony' .. I've also seen that firsthand ... they seem to berate you for wanting action ! ... and when you light up the enemy like a christmas tree .. you suddenly realise .. they wasn't even focusing.

[Tim East]

I've reverted to a scouting role when my weapons get shot off before. Actually won a couple of games that way with last minute turnarounds. It's not so much about how to die, as how to help your team with what you have. If what you have is a thunderbolt at 30% with no guns, you still have eyes and the "R" key.

[bar10jim]

Here's a story. We were playing Conquest on the Canyon map. It was down to myself in a beat-up Shadowhawk, a compatriot in a Jenner, and DC'd Atlas half-way between Sigma and Epsi. Against us was a Catapult with (only) LRM's, a Hunchie, and a Cataphract (I think).

My team was ahead on points, the enemy was concentrating on taking Theta, which was being mightily defended by the Jenner. The enemy team had control of Sigma and Kappa, we had control of Epsi and Gamma. I was positioned near Kappa (that needed only a slight bit of un-capping to turn it yellow). My rig was missing lots of armor and I was down to 2-3 AC5 rounds and 1 med laser. I knew I couldn't get over to Theta in time to do much good, and right about then the Jenner died. Realizing that we could still win on points IF THEY DIDN'T FIND THE ATLAS, I decided to draw everybody my way to gain time.

I purposely stood high on the ridge and fired my few remaining AC rounds at the Hunchie to make sure I got his attention. Then I dropped down to de-cap Kappa. As soon as I saw the Hunchie, I pressed myself right against the cliff at river level to cut down on the angle from the possible LRM's if the Hunchie got a lock for the Catapult. The Hunchie dropped down to my level and engaged, but he didn't have too many weapons left. The Catapult came over the ridge and I hopped up and hugged him so that his missiles were useless. I kept up the hugging/twisting/staying alive for a bit. The Hunchie pilot told me to "Die already!" in the chat window, I replied "You first!". Anyway, shortly thereafter I finally did die.

I realized that the Cataphract had trundled off to Gamma, but wasn't going to be a factor at this point. The resource counter was up to 720 at this time, and I took great glee in informing the opposition that it was now too late, and that they could never find the DC in time. Suckers.

Understand your situation, and sell yourself dearly.

I

Edited by bar10jim, 03 June 2014 - 01:22 PM.

[Tim East]

I've had some good luck in using my crippled mess of a mech to physically c*ckblock an enemy from retreating from my allies too. I love imagining the panic they feel when they can't retreat like cowards.

[Pekiti]

When piloting a Light mech, I suffer from Terciel's Curse...this means I have four minutes to live after the buzzer sounds and the match starts. Seriously, I can turn and sprint to the farthest corner of the map to hide and try to live past the 4 minute mark...but if I did, Koniving (or worse) would be there ahead of me waiting. (Imagine Koniving making a sandwich, pausing to blow Pekiti into flaming wreckage, then return to making a sandwich). I always die within four minutes in a Light, no matter what I try to do.

So...I started embracing the Curse instead, and decided to make the most of my four minutes (and subsequent death).

Some Things To Do When You Realize You Are Going To Die In MWO (my 'Kick The Bucket' List, as it were).

1. Hit the R key, then fire a weapon, any weapon, and hit the enemy you just targeted. Do it fast, because you want to cycle through every enemy you can see, hitting them all. Hit everyone at least once, so that if any of them are later killed, you will get an assist (more cash/XP for you). Spin or run around in a circle so you get the cowardly ones who are shooting you in the back, too.

2. Move directly into the biggest bunch of enemy you can see, and try to mash your mech up against the BACK of one of them if you can. The taller and wider the other guy is the better. He will not be able to shoot you for a bit, which is a Good Thing. His friends won't care that you are using him for a shield though, and will continue to hose you down with everything they have. Your hapless dance partner will absorb a significant fraction of this, and he will be Unhappy.

3. Hold down the Insert button on your keyboard (its over there on the right, above the arrow keys probably). This will Launch The UAV. Kind of like when submarines sink, they release a buoy that marks the point where they went down. It will hover above your last moments on the battlefield...and mark all the enemy around you, so your friends can avenge you from a distance. You'll also pick up some nice Spotting and Assist bonuses. (You do carry a UAV in a light mech, yes?)

4. Look at your dance partner's feet, or if your'e still scurrying around, look at the feet of the biggest/slowest/most crippled enemy mech around. Then hold down the Home key (right next to the Insert key, which is handy, no?). Once you see red smoke bloom by their feet, and you hear the announcement 'Artillery Strike activated' you can let go of the button and Run Like Hell (but only in a slightly larger circle, so the big guys near smoke are encouraged to try and turn in place to track you with their guns). With luck you'll get some nice damage bonuses, maybe have a mech fall over in flaming wreckage or my favorite "Be Killed By Your Own Artillery" - which means none of the enemy pilots can earn a full 'kill' bonus for your death despite riddling you with thirty thousand rounds of ammo and enough lasers to start a rave party. (You did bring an Artillery Strike, right?)

5. If you have jump jets, use them in short bursts and turn while in the air. Act like the ground is a hot frying pan and you have bare feet. This annoys mechs with low slung weapon hardpoints, and encourages them to shoot under you into their friends. If you're lucky you'll fall over cliff or behind a wall/building/terrain feature.

6. If you are still alive and mobile at this point (ignore all those Critical Damage' and 'Incoming Missile' alarms, you already knew things were Not Good, right?) you should run. Beat feet, brother. Don't run in a straight line, try to zigzag behind cover like rocks, buildings, enemy mechs, friendly mechs, anything that will stop incoming fire. If you are in a canyon or other low ground, stay low and get out of there.

7. If you manage to get out of the immediate kill zone, STOP behind cover and make a note of exactly where you and the enemy are at right now. This will be Important later on, when your team asks where you died bravely/fled cowardly (its all in the timing, trust me). If you can, put this info into team chat in a simple format like 'E4 OMG THEY ARE ALL HERE KILLING ME'. (If you see your words spelled out in White lettering after you hit enter, you have Failed At Chat. Press Alt+F4 immediately to redeem yourself.)

8. If you are currently hidden from the enemy, get yourself aligned for the next piece of cover you're going to run to, and then WAIT. You want them to have to come looking for you and 'flush you out', which wastes their time, increases their uncertainty about your motives, and just plain irritates some of them. If nobody comes after you in thirty seconds (it'll feel like a lot longer) feel free to stick your head out and shoot someone to remind them that you're still alive and they need to work a little harder at fixing that issue.

9. Once you die (hopefully at the feet of an assault mech whose pilot is yelling at his team mates to 'Stop Shooting You Idiots') hit the 'Click to spectate' button on the bottom right of your score card. Cycle through your team until you find someone driving a mech you like, or doing something cool. Watch over their shoulder and learn something new. Anything will do, but enjoy a few minutes of observation and try to pick up a tip or trick, maybe look around the map and do some sightseeing.

10. Stay in the match until it is over, no matter what. You will get more bonuses this way, because any kills that happen AFTER you leave do not give you 'kill assists' and so forth. Also if your team captures a base, you won't get the bonus for the capture if you already quit the match.

Edited by Pekiti, 04 June 2014 - 10:37 PM.

[Dago Red]

Tim East, on 03 June 2014 - 08:23 PM, said:

I've had some good luck in using my crippled mess of a mech to physically c*ckblock an enemy from retreating from my allies too. I love imagining the panic they feel when they can't retreat like cowards.

I've had good luck using a combo of this and the OP's suggestions. It's amazing how often they'll turn their attention away from someone who's still actively shooting them to deal with you trying to headbutt your way too glory. Bonus points if you then immediately start death circling them with a single medium head laser.

Just try and keep them in your teammates line of fire is all.

[crossflip]

It is hard to tell exactly how much damage is coming your way. IDK if this is only when you have a high ping, but the paper doll takes quite some time to update and may phase from yellow to crit within a few flashes. The impact and shaking caused by many weapons does not necessarily reflect their intensity or power all the time. Because of this I find that I often get overly cautious and run from minimal damage.

It's useful to know how much damage is coming your way and whether to take it or leave it.

[Tim East]

Valid point. I had a match on terra therma a couple days ago where my leg went from no damage to red internals with no shake at all. I'm pretty sure it was due to blue on blue, but unless they changed it, team damage should impulse just the same as enemy.

[wanderer]

My personal favorite is dumping artillery at my own feet in a clinch with the enemy.

They're usually too busy killing me until it's too late and the shells begin raining down. Bonus: Sometimes you'll deny them the certain kill by self-destruct. If they don't usually give you the hug of death? Airstrikes work too.

When you're going to die, the last thing you do is run away. Run AT the enemy. This often forces them to turn, which can expose them to backshots from other team members. If you can dump arty as you dash by, all the better. Turning in place means they won't get out of the barrage. In addition, a reversing target is easier to chase- charging past them is actually more evasive than backing up. If they don't turn, feel free to hug their backs and ping them with whatever your crippled 'Mech has left to shoot.

[Danghen Woolf]

Mechwarriors,

I agree with Mechwarrior Pekiti's assessments and some of his tactics. When piloting a Commando I will use mobility to frustrate slower mechs into chasing me around. I specifically target lone enemies that are configured for direct fire weapons as my lance has not been issued AMS units for our light mechs. Playing the decoy has saved not only myself but also some of my lancemates. The damage indicators on these Succession Wars era mechs are not as sophisticated as the old Star League designs so they do not accurately tell you what you are getting hit with. A small laser indicates the same way as a large laser so situational awareness is a must. Knowing that you are getting plinked with a machine gun versus a heavy autocannon can really help you focus on the important threats. Throwing your mech into the mix of large mechs can really sow some chaos as they try to hit you without shifting fire and hitting their lancemates. Slower tracking mechs can usually do more damage to each other than you can if you can pull a good run through on them, especially if they are using SRMs. Good job Capnflintlock and Pekiti, see you planet side.

Corporal Woolf signing off...

[Piney II]

If my mech is reduced to a walking scrap heap, I'm more than willing to offer my services as a bullet sponge / meat shield.

Edited by Piney, 11 June 2014 - 07:52 AM.

[Tahribator]

Great post. I want to add something though. There are some situations(especially for brawlers) that it is certain you're going to die. In these situations trying to run away is useless. Stand your ground and go for the weakest looking(missing an arm, smoking or a squishy mech) mech you can see and try to do some damage.

Another point is to make the enemy work to kill you. Sometimes this will mean you have to forgo doing damage and focus on tanking instead. Keep twisting away and spam your jumpjets. The longer you can keep the enemy team focusing on you, the more time you give your teammates to do free damage to them. Make the most of your sacrifice.

The most common mistake in these situation that I see is, trying to run away while taking tons of damage(like being caught by 3+ mechs alone, away from your team). You know you can't get away, but you can still mess somebody up and make it easier for your team to kill them later.

Edited by Tahribator, 11 June 2014 - 08:08 AM.

[jper4]

when i'm hopelessly outnumbered/ half dead or worse/going to lose anyway i find the biggest pile of big mechs around and do figure 8s around them all for as long as i can shooting each of them to ensure every last one of them is shooting at (or more importantly above, ahead, below or behind) me. in the hopes that they do as much or more damage to each other than they do to me. have caused a few enemy TKs that way.

bonus points for being in a light, seeing the LRMs coming and finding an enemy atlas with it's back to you trying to turn your way to shoot you. atlases make good shields for locusts.

if i'm weaponless and in something bigger than a light i try to facehug a bigger mech since it's weapons will have to go through me to shoot a teammate and there's enough empty space for friendlies to still be able to shoot the mech i'm hugging until i finally die.

if in a locust every second you're still alive while something is shooting at you automatically qualifies as a good death because they're not shooting at something with firepower than can hurt them much more quickly and weaving locusts seem to be flames that draw the moth-like enemy targeting sights your way cause "it's an easy kill" suddenly half the enemy team is shooting at you (and hopefully hitting each other- see above) and not pay any attention to your teammates.

then they finally do hit you... spectating can be fun.

[IraqiWalker]

More people need to yell RAMMING SPEED when they lose all weapons.

Was in a match with my Ember, had about 1032+ rounds of MG ammo left, basically only the ammo in my legs was left. We're dancing around in forest colony. It was an 8 minute long battle, and my Ember was in the thickest part of it the entire time. I was trading blows with assaults, heavies, you name it. There was one Orion pilot who kept his eyes on me, and whenever my mech would get spotted, he would fire at me. So, at this point, he's alive, and so are two of his buddies, and we have equal numbers. It's skirmish, so there's no turning back, or cap strategy. I pop out, my critted out legs get shot, and suddenly I lose a full half a ton of MG ammo (32 rounds left), and my left leg.

I have no arms, and only 32 MG rounds, and I'm legged, my mech status is reading at something around 17%. Only my head still had some armor on it. So, I type in all chat "RAMMING SPEED", and my broken half-carcass of a mech drags itself across the field (the leg I had left was pure red, it would have taken a whisper for me to die), headed for the last location where I saw that Orion. I get really close, we lock eyes, and I jump in the air, twisting, and actually dodging some of his shots, the rest hit my CT (my JJs are in the STs). I empty my 32 rounds into his mech, and they just feebly bounce off of his armored shell, and then I land on his cockpit. He's still trying to hit me, while my comrades open fire on him, and that's when my leg gives out, breaks, and I die. Right on top of his mech. He didn't get the kill, and I distracted him and his teammates long enough for my teammates to secure our win. Possibly my finest moment in a weaponless mech.

[Jemima]

I agree, I don't fear death, whenever it helps my lance or team. But most of the times it's pretty useless, I wish people would use their eyes and brains, even when they run alone. You have 11 allies, and every dead pilot means your firepower gets weaker. So I have a simple plan: "I refuse to die!" Whenever I have only 1 weapon left (as you said) I try to secure myself and focus fire with my teammates. But whatever it takes - I try to stay alive, as long as I can. That doesn't mean running away and show my back armor, but :run, hide, pew pew!
But at the very end I am ready to catch the enemies ACs to save a loyal friend. Mostly in premade lances, seldom enough in public drop :-/ And now I come to the beginning again: Watch your own team, as well as the enemy-team! Look what they do, search their targets, and be patient instead of bloodthirsty ^^
Thanks, Capnflintlock, for attending to this topic!

Maj. Jemima

[Grayblue]

Any type of harassment unit is my first priority target. I pursue them to their confirmed destruction, as long as it does not put me in more danger.

Edited by Grayblue, 11 June 2014 - 06:51 PM.

[Koniving]

This is playfully cynical but I couldn't help it.

"How to die."
Slap in a war horn. Begin playing dub step -- not just when you get the kill but constantly [not that you can].
Promptly find yourself surrounded by people who'll wipe that troll grin right off your face.

[IraqiWalker]

Koniving, on 11 June 2014 - 07:39 PM, said:

This is playfully cynical but I couldn't help it.

"How to die."
Slap in a war horn. Begin playing dub step -- not just when you get the kill but constantly [not that you can].
Promptly find yourself surrounded by people who'll wipe that troll grin right off your face.

I was thinking of that when I was listening to the war horn soundbites. One of them is powered by wub wubs.