IraqiWalker, on 01 September 2014 - 05:21 AM, said:
(math is a bit off btw, mediums going 100Kph are only 33% slower than lights going 150Kph)
Ok. I have not had a single match in over a year, where killing the last straggler didn't take longer than the rest of the match did.
As for mediums capping, both arguments work, yes you rob your team of their second line mechs, but at the same time, the ones that move fast add a lot to the light mech's efforts. Don't forget, the original wolfpacks were not lights, they were medium mechs.
Keeping your team mobile, and using proper cover, can allow 5 mechs to hold off 12 for a few minutes actually. So the problem is going to be whether or not the main formation knows where to position itself, and whether or not the enemy team is loaded with chickens (usually both teams are).
I've had a few drops for Conquest, where we had a lance of 2 lights, a Cicada, and a Dragon. Most people would think we're 4 lights, only to get slapped by a dragon with Gauss, ERLLs, cicadas, and ECM lights.
My mistake, I meant to say that lights are 50% faster. Either way works out to the same point.
Sure mediums can add to the skirmishing power of light mechs, but the point is if you encounter enought resistance that you need help, you can just run away, becuase that means the main enemy force will be missing several mechs and you might as well go and help your team murder them.
Which brings us to another flaw with capping in mediums. You can get killed. Lights can run away, but mediums usually can't due to the extra size and lack of speed. Think of caps like Theta in Frozen City, if a lot of the enemy drops down there and you're in a light mech, you can just bolt out of there. Any heavier mechs usually get YOLO-ed and killed.
As for 5 mechs holding off twice their number or more... er... I wouldn't bet on it in a PUG game. If the 5 mechs had significantly superior pilots, maybe. But if you have such superior pilots, the game would end even faster and even more securely if you backed them up.
I'm sure there are examples of tactics like this working, but since this is about PUG games, you have to play the numbers and in most situations and most maps stuff like this ends in disaster. You could play around that, but usually there is no telling how your team will perform until it's too late to change initial tactics. So trusting your PUGs to survive while outnumbered is usually not such a good bet. Especially if you're a good pilot - the matchmaker will expect you to do a lot of the winning.
Maybe that's a bit pessimistic of me, but hey
Edited by Marmon Rzohr, 01 September 2014 - 07:18 AM.