Jump to content

Meta Direwolfs - How Do You Beat Them?

Direwolf meta

137 replies to this topic

#1 Arc Viper

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 174 posts

Posted 31 July 2014 - 09:37 PM

I've been having a problem with figuring out how to go up against direwolfs with meta builds (6 UAC combo). If you have ever stepped in front of one while it's shooting 6 UACs at you, you know it shreds your armor almost instantaneously.

The only tactic I've garnered so far is to just shoot them when they are not facing me, too busy shredding somebody else. I've learned to never look one in the eyes. But what do you guys aim for? Do you have any specific strategies to take one down?

#2 R Durhan

    Rookie

  • Philanthropist
  • Philanthropist
  • 3 posts

Posted 31 July 2014 - 09:50 PM

Run around and hit hard. If you can´t run out of sight and hit hard, you are in trouble...

Edited by R Durhan, 05 August 2014 - 09:44 PM.


#3 Cerberias

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Legendary Founder
  • Legendary Founder
  • 228 posts

Posted 31 July 2014 - 09:51 PM

Distractions, high alpha and mobility. Don't take them on 1v1..

#4 Kin3ticX

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The People's Hero
  • The People
  • 2,926 posts
  • LocationSalt Mines of Puglandia

Posted 31 July 2014 - 09:56 PM

  • If you have ever seen the circular NASCAR formations in skirmish mode, its a good way to shoot Direwolves in the back. They will usually be at the rear and are sometimes able to be picked off.
  • Dire Wolves also knuckle drag a bit on top of being slow, just like with the Atlas but perhaps worse. This makes them susceptible to the jump sniping meta. Yeah they can shoot back but their exposure time will always be higher than yours.


#5 Wintersdark

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 13,375 posts
  • Google+: Link
  • Twitter: Link
  • LocationCalgary, AB

Posted 31 July 2014 - 10:03 PM

Don't stand in front of them. Get one's attention, get it to chase you while your buddy kills it. Watch it's red triangle; if it turns to face your buddy, hit it from behind.

Hill/ridge hump, jump snipe, LRM. LRM's in particular are quite effective against Dire Wolves. Just don't stand and trade fire with it, that's just dumb.

If you're fast, just get behind the Dire Wolf and stay there. If you're not fast, limit your exposure in his firing arcs.

Again, just don't stand in front of him and trade fire.

#6 Koniks

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Moderate Giver
  • Moderate Giver
  • 1,301 posts

Posted 31 July 2014 - 10:12 PM

Run perpendicular to its line of sight. Change direction. Twist your torso. That will help spread some of the damage.

The best suggestion is to not get in front of it or attract its attention at all. Use cover to attack it from the side, behind, or from above.

Take it down as a team. And soften it up with strikes--one of the few times it's worth using a strike on a lone mech.

#7 Arc Viper

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 174 posts

Posted 31 July 2014 - 10:25 PM

Come to think of it, I've had far more success when my team is always on the move. Guess guerrilla tactics teamwork is best. Thanks for the info.

#8 Modo44

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Bad Company
  • 3,559 posts

Posted 31 July 2014 - 11:13 PM

Heavy focus fire. Alternatively, run away to kill their overextended friends, then come back with heavy focus fire. Outcap on Conquest.

#9 YueFei

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 2,184 posts

Posted 31 July 2014 - 11:29 PM

As a brawling Hunchback, I struggle. If there are no LRMs or snipers on my team to force him to hug cover and be honest, he can just stand atop something with clear sight lines and lay down fire.

If there's LRMs and snipers on my team and he has to hug cover, then as others have said, you can use terrain to mask off half his weapons, so his weapons clip on terrain/buildings, and he can only hit you with half of what he's got. Try to position so that you can hit with all of your weapons into one of his shoulders.

I used this tonight against a Direwolf. I was able to trade a few favorable salvos with all of my firepower against half of his as I circled around a base. Unfortunately hill-climb frakked me over when my HBK got stuck on a knee-high rock and I wasn't able to continue rolling right. The Direwolf fully emerged from cover and laid into me with all his weapons. Luckily for me he was a terrible pilot who never shielded, so I managed to kill him with just my head laser.

I hate hill climb mechanics so much.

#10 Tim East

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Shredder
  • Shredder
  • 1,422 posts

Posted 01 August 2014 - 03:39 PM

Drive a Locust. The only time I've been killed by a DW in a Locust was when someone else (usually me) legged me.

#11 Destructicus

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Mercenary
  • The Mercenary
  • 1,255 posts
  • LocationKlendathu

Posted 01 August 2014 - 03:44 PM

If you can't find a way to get out a Direwolve's line of sight then you need to rethink your playstyle.
If you stay at a distance yeah, they're gonna shred you, close in on them the way you do LRM boats, and keep moving.
I don't know if you've piloted one, but once you realize how slow they turn you stop fearing them, they don't even have lower arm actuators.

#12 Flapdrol

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The 1 Percent
  • The 1 Percent
  • 1,986 posts

Posted 02 August 2014 - 05:44 AM

there's no reliable way to beat them in a 1v1, hope your team focusses him down I guess.

#13 InspectorG

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Boombox
  • The Boombox
  • 4,469 posts
  • LocationCleveland, Ohio

Posted 02 August 2014 - 07:45 AM

View PostFlapdrol, on 02 August 2014 - 05:44 AM, said:

there's no reliable way to beat them in a 1v1, hope your team focusses him down I guess.


Ive done it several times in a srm24 Kitfox.

You must be sneaky.

The Whale must be alone.

Creep behind Moby **** and harpoon his rump at @50m. 2-3 alphas but break your fire into groups so you avoid ghost heat.

WATCH his hips, not his torso.

Stay behind his butt, not his back. If it gets bad, just as he turns to face you, jump over him and pray he doesnt shoot your leg off.

Similar tactic for a spider/jenner/ect.

#14 Tim East

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Shredder
  • Shredder
  • 1,422 posts

Posted 04 August 2014 - 02:47 AM

View PostFlapdrol, on 02 August 2014 - 05:44 AM, said:

there's no reliable way to beat them in a 1v1, hope your team focusses him down I guess.

What? 1v1 is practically the only way to beat them. If they have friends around you'll get ganked by slowing down to shadow speeds for that thing. If he's well and truly alone, you can just plant your mech on his ass like some kind of horribly lethal fly, or to be more accurate, Locust, and waste his rear torso. Above poster is right. Always stalk mechs by sticking to their leg rear, not their torso rear. Usually doesn't take too many salvos to ruin an assault with small pulse lasers. Everybody front-loads armor like crazy to offset the cost of eating meta burst damage strikes. Which sort of makes one wonder about the opportunity cost involved with rear armor.

I mean, if each point of rear armor is a point not-front armor, and each person always front-loads all but about 10 or so of that armor, is front armor really so much better than rear? Is a given point of front armor 4-6 or more times better than a point of rear armor, and what does that say about the game itself? I think it says that we expect to be attacked from the front far more often than from the rear, which makes me question the viability of stealth a little bit perhaps. I don't know, just random rambling thoughts about how I feel the current meta might be impacting tactics. Maybe I'll make a coherent argument another time.

#15 Escef

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Overlord
  • Overlord
  • 8,529 posts
  • Twitter: Link
  • Twitch: Link
  • LocationNew England

Posted 04 August 2014 - 03:36 AM

Mobility works wonders. Saw a guy this morning damn near solo a Dire Wolf with a Cicada. Eventually the guy in the Dire wised up and put his back to terrain, at that point it was almost even money between the two mechs. Then another light came in and they finished him off.

Dire Wolves are sluggish as all hell, keep the battle mobile and they don't really get to participate, and then you have the luxury of tearing them up when they have no support.

#16 BOWMANGR

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Philanthropist
  • 220 posts

Posted 04 August 2014 - 05:35 AM

The best strategy that I've found after playing 50+ matches this last week is to go play something else until PGI nerfs the Clan offenders. This seems to work fine.

#17 The Great Unwashed

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Giant Helper
  • Giant Helper
  • 919 posts
  • LocationNetherlands

Posted 04 August 2014 - 05:57 AM

Tick Tactics: if you have jumpjets, go stand on top of him while he goes insane.

Edited by The Great Unwashed, 04 August 2014 - 05:58 AM.


#18 Cuddlytron

    Member

  • PipPipPip
  • Ace Of Spades
  • Ace Of Spades
  • 84 posts
  • LocationRichland, WA

Posted 04 August 2014 - 06:15 AM

How do you beat Dire Whales? Play a light or fast medium/heavy , then simply avoid / flank / backstab as others have said. They really aren't an issue if you have some mobility and use it. If you're up against a Dire Whale in another assault, then it's going to be rough. Go for the arms to remove their guns.

#19 Bilbo

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Nimble
  • The Nimble
  • 7,864 posts
  • LocationSaline, Michigan

Posted 04 August 2014 - 07:19 AM

View PostCuddlytron, on 04 August 2014 - 06:15 AM, said:

How do you beat Dire Whales? Play a light or fast medium/heavy , then simply avoid / flank / backstab as others have said. They really aren't an issue if you have some mobility and use it. If you're up against a Dire Whale in another assault, then it's going to be rough. Go for the arms to remove their guns.

If you are in an assault that is built for brawling, you shoot it in the face, repeatedly, while twisting between shots to distribute damage. Shooting at it's arms just gives him that much more time to use all that firepower.

#20 Khobai

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Elite Founder
  • Elite Founder
  • 23,969 posts

Posted 04 August 2014 - 07:26 AM

honestly the 6 uac direwolf isnt even the scariest build. because uacs are laughable weapons... theyre like ammo using lasers that jam randomly.

the scariest direwolf builds are the ones using dual gauss or five/six lb5xs which do entirely frontloaded damage.

Quote

there's no reliable way to beat them in a 1v1, hope your team focusses him down I guess.


this. no mech in the game is a match for a direwolf 1v1. the easiest way to take down a direwolf is to attack it from multiple angles, and always have a mech behind it firing into its back.

Quote

Go for the arms to remove their guns.


Thats a waste. Go for the side torsos to remove the guns. The arms generally have the same amount of armor as the side torsos so you might as well just take out the side torsos instead. But even missing an arm a direwolf still has the same firepower as most atlases. Disarming them is not always the best option... it all depends on the situation.

Edited by Khobai, 04 August 2014 - 07:32 AM.






1 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users