175 replies to this topic

[nehebkau]

151st Light Horse Regiment, on 19 September 2014 - 07:49 AM, said:

I literally smh at this all the time.

People never lock targets. I've specced people going head to head with another mech and never locking them up. This happens all the time.

You're denying yourself help from friendly missiles, and more importantly, denying yourself valuable information.

I've seen a guy in a phract, going up against a KFX or something, as the only two mechs left. He didnt even bother to lock the other mech up.

So he doesnt know which parts are most damaged, is he set up for close quarters or ranged combat etc.

I just dont understand it.

I'll tell you why I don't often lock. Friendly fire. Since I mostly pilot lights, I will often get in a close turning battle with an enemy. If I lock the target my team will start sending fire that direction and more often then not, I get blow to pieces by showers of poorly aimed and ill-advised fire. LRMs are the worst for that, specially if its two lights fighting.

As for where the enemy is damaged, at the start of the game it doesn't matter -- I always shoot at the same spots depending on the type of mech. At the end of a game, i can usually tell where the enemy is weakest just by looking.

[Keira RAVEN McKenna]

I prefer fighting on my own but I find locking up targets allows the LRM boats to rain thunder and distract the targets so I can circle round behind them and back stab them. Best I've gotten doing this is 8 kills and the Ace Of Spades title.

What I hate is LRM drivers saying "Lock Targets for me" and then they do nothing to help me when they are too far in the rear hiding and out of range. When I see them ask that I usually think "Go F%$k yourself"

As an LRM boat driver a while back I used Adv Sensor range and the longer lock mods to help myself.

[Keira RAVEN McKenna]

MischiefSC, on 21 September 2014 - 10:27 AM, said:

Locking is what helps split good players from bads. It's not about lrms it's about helping your team with more enemy positioning.

If you are playing against your own team you're a bad. If you are content being a bad and being carried by goods.... Well, I guess someone has to be the dead weight that those high Elo players carry to bring them down enough to have a chance to improve.

This is incorrect. I average 4 kills a game lately and dont lock for others benefits anymore. you can carry your team quite easily if you use your head and use your team as bait while you circle behind the enemy and back stab.

3 Alphas max on an Atlas in the back and boom.

1 on all lights

1 to 2 on all missle boats unless I can see their cockpits then its a single face shot to help towards the 100 headshots for the Guillotine title.

I throw UAVs up just so my team can lock themselves and make the victims turn to face them in a panic while I rip out their backs. I DONT do it to help LRM players anymore as they are too much of a let down, never being in range or firing into hills like idiots instead of getting the lock then flicking the reticle up over a hill as they fire to clear it.

[Odins Fist]

AH Keira_NZ, on 21 September 2014 - 10:49 AM, said:

This is incorrect. I average 4 kills a game lately and dont lock for others benefits anymore. you can carry your team quite easily if you use your head and use your team as bait while you circle behind the enemy and back stab.

Only works pugging... You try that "I will flank by myself" maneuver with enemy pilots that have some situational awareness and you're toast..

Edited by Odins Fist, 21 September 2014 - 10:56 AM.

[MischiefSC]

AH Keira_NZ, on 21 September 2014 - 10:49 AM, said:

This is incorrect. I average 4 kills a game lately and dont lock for others benefits anymore. you can carry your team quite easily if you use your head and use your team as bait while you circle behind the enemy and back stab.

3 Alphas max on an Atlas in the back and boom.

1 on all lights

1 to 2 on all missle boats unless I can see their cockpits then its a single face shot to help towards the 100 headshots for the Guillotine title.

I throw UAVs up just so my team can lock themselves and make the victims turn to face them in a panic while I rip out their backs. I DONT do it to help LRM players anymore as they are too much of a let down, never being in range or firing into hills like idiots instead of getting the lock then flicking the reticle up over a hill as they fire to clear it.

Wow. As one of the greatest light pilots in the game you must work hard to stay on the down-low, so people don't see you to of the list in tournaments and rampaging solo through groups of competitive players. Clearly with you running around 3-shot killing every assault and having to carry the peasants you are saddled with....

Sorry. I just can't keep it up. The premise is so ridiculous I can't even mock it properly.

If you can get by in the underhive that way but in the deep side of the pool that doesn't work. If you were actually winning significantly you'd be in the deep end already. Use locks, be a winner. Quit sandbagging your team.

[zortesh]

Ensaine, on 21 September 2014 - 02:20 AM, said:

^THIS is the worst advice ever, pertaining to the OP.

Every player should learn how to target, and re-target, and target everything. Just because you have no LoS with your laser boat doesn't mean that target can't be hit from a different angle. That targeting box helps YOUR team become aware of that potential target, at some points, more than the mini map.

Target it, and let your team mates decide ....

While id agree targeting a should be done at every opportunity, even if just to share weakpoints on enemy mechs and enemy positions, it can be pointless... namely locking something for a quarter of a second before you leap back into cover achieves nothing in particular other then adding a extra button push, and maybe making a lrm boat waste some ammo, sure if you pop up you mayaswell mash r button rapidly to show all enemy positions, but you will never hold a lock long enough for missiles to land without getting guassed to death.

Also if you has no los you couldn't lock it up.

Excepting the fact theres 2-5 ecm mechs in every match now, holding a lock long enough for lrms to land is a incredibly bad idea for anyone in directfire situations, you shouldn't expect it as a lrmboat, its why i say bring your own narc, its not hard to pop up, ping someone with a narc, and have a solid target for 30 or 40 seconds however long that is, this way you'll also rotate in for damage with your team, get paid tons of extra cash for narcing, and gets thanks from all the other lrmboats who you'll end up carrying, and also have a chance every now and then to nail the enemy with your lasers.

Edited by zortesh, 21 September 2014 - 12:40 PM.

[MischiefSC]

zortesh, on 21 September 2014 - 12:38 PM, said:

While id agree targeting a should be done at every opportunity, even if just to share weakpoints on enemy mechs and enemy positions, it can be pointless... namely locking something for a quarter of a second before you leap back into cover achieves nothing in particular other then adding a extra button push, and maybe making a lrm boat waste some ammo, sure if you pop up you mayaswell mash r button rapidly to show all enemy positions, but you will never hold a lock long enough for missiles to land without getting guassed to death.

Also if you has no los you couldn't lock it up.

Excepting the fact theres 2-5 ecm mechs in every match now, holding a lock long enough for lrms to land is a incredibly bad idea for anyone in directfire situations, you shouldn't expect it as a lrmboat, its why i say bring your own narc, its not hard to pop up, ping someone with a narc, and have a solid target for 30 or 40 seconds however long that is, this way you'll also rotate in for damage with your team, get paid tons of extra cash for narcing, and gets thanks from all the other lrmboats who you'll end up carrying, and also have a chance every now and then to nail the enemy with your lasers.

That 1 sec lock told all your teammates about him. It kept an ally from walking into fire, it helped an ally plan an ambush, it drew allies to help you because they see you are engaging. It alerts your scouts to a potential target.

People obsess with lrms and locks. It's not about lrms, it's about sharing tactical data with your team. Doing it wins matches. If pressing r is too complex then map it to an easier location.

[KharnZor]

AH Keira_NZ, on 21 September 2014 - 10:49 AM, said:

This is incorrect. I average 4 kills a game lately and dont lock for others benefits anymore. you can carry your team quite easily if you use your head and use your team as bait while you circle behind the enemy and back stab.

[zortesh]

^ the thing is when i play i play with peeps on voicecomms, so i report positions that way, otherwise if I'm not going to have em locked long enough for even targeting info theres no point locking them.

Given i lock people on a regular basis in every game, but theres also alot of "I'ma step up with charged guass, fire and step back and nothing else" moments.

[Escef]

Dazzer, on 21 September 2014 - 08:50 AM, said:

Why would I lock so you can steal my kill with no risk to your self ?

Do you think I don't take risks? Do you think the armor is decorative? 4xML is barely enough firepower to scare off a frisky light, and even THAT doesn't work sometimes. As for "stealing your kill" let's look at the winning team's average damage per target in that example, shall we?
Mech Damage targets average damage
D-DC 689 10 68.9
Stalker 387 9 43
Jenner 121 4 30.25
Stalker 118 4 29.5
BLR-1S 906 12 75.5
Cent AL 539 12 44.9166666667
2D2 459 8 57.375
Raven 86 6 14.3333333333
SHD-2H 265 4 66.25
Dragon 250 7 35.7142857143
Dragon 78 5 15.6
Cicada 57 1 57

Look at that, would you? Highest average damage on the team. Seems 8 of MY kills got stolen, I deserved ALL the kills. Afterall, I did more damage per target than any of these other guys, right? ... Or maybe the natural conclusion is that in this game everyone "steals" kills from everyone else, and you're acting like a spoiled child.

Edited by Escef, 21 September 2014 - 04:02 PM.

[Beo Vulf]

In one word Noob, Veteran mechwarrior pilots will hit the R key when someone on their lance, or command get LOS on an enemy mech out of habit. There are a lot of new players out there right now, and you can tell who they are by the way they hare off by themselves at the beginning of a match while piloting an assault mech. Assaults are slow enough without having to hare of by themselves. Now not all of them are ploting assault mech I just used that as an example because enough of them are. I know that whether or not I have LOS or not once someone has an LOS target I will hit the R key just so someone will have a target lock that can shot at the target. There are more critical mistakes that players are making and they are getting killed because they do not look to the side or to their rear. Running into the center of a circle of mechs firing at an enemy mech and getting cored by their own team is another killer. There are enough ways to get killed by the enemy people don't have to help them do it.

[Powder Puff Pew Pew]

Ive seen matches where theres 2 Teamates alive on my team. Me being the LRM boat and my teamate some jackass Spider pilot who was all Pew Pew lazers who didnt lock the target capping our spawn and I was too far away to get insight of the target capping to get solid locks and the spider pilot kept going outside the cap zone and each time he did that the cap progression ticked away. The stupid part was it was down to the wire, and i just got in range to visualy get a lock on the guy but by then it was too late and as i recalled the guy had basicly no weapons and was almost dead. A few LRMs into his tick hide woulda won us the match but the stupid **** in the spider trying to score a selfish kill lost us the match. Thats the **** i'm talkin about, Locks count.

[wanderer]

Dazzer, on 21 September 2014 - 08:50 AM, said:

Why would I lock so you can steal my kill with no risk to your self ?

Your sig says "Worst Mechwarrior in the Inner Sphere".

Attitudes like that are why it's the gospel truth. I do not give a flying fig if you kill it or I kill it, as long as it doesn't kill you OR me and we win the match. I end games with 8 assists, 600+ damage and no kills? We won? Best ending.

I don't shoot at your target to steal your kills. I do it to steal their kill- you. I want them scurrying away or having the armor sanded off just as you put the guns in and plow it under. Or, if that wasn't quite enough, maybe my next salvo blows off a weak spot and saves you some grief. If it kills something with LRMs, it's not like I can aim the damage. It's blunt force trauma. Heck, I often put missiles downrange just to scare someone back into cover so he's not shooting you while you march forward.

Be my guest. Make it tougher on me. You're just easier to kill as a result and can die cursing the "cowardly" LRMs that are trying to pin them down so you don't end up plowed under.

[MischiefSC]

wanderer, on 21 September 2014 - 09:38 PM, said:

I don't shoot at your target to steal your kills. I do it to steal their kill- you.

That... that's ******* poetry right there.

[Johnny Reb]

Joseph Mallan, on 19 September 2014 - 07:51 AM, said:

Cause forget that kill stealing Missile boat! I'd rather die than Win!

This is the best reason. Glad my lrm boat can and does it, itself!

edit: or they just are new/ignorant/incompetent.

Edited by Johnny Reb, 21 September 2014 - 09:55 PM.

[Chagatay]

AH Keira_NZ, on 21 September 2014 - 10:49 AM, said:

This is incorrect. I average 4 kills a game lately and dont lock for others benefits anymore. you can carry your team quite easily if you use your head and use your team as bait while you circle behind the enemy and back stab.

Right........but in all honesty KPG is a good stat as it is very hard to manipulate in any real fashion.
Mine own is a mere 0.84 in a kitfox which I think is very, very good.


But try to lock when you can. Most of the time though, the enemy will be beneath the magic jesus box.

Edited by Chagatay, 21 September 2014 - 10:26 PM.

[Ensaine]

Prosperity Park, on 21 September 2014 - 09:39 AM, said:

Snippage .....


I think the game needs a better targeting tutorial.

It's evidently not the lack of a tutorial, it's toolery afoot. Just look at all the people in this thread who outright refuse to lock. It's total idiocy. Pre- pubescent teens with no clue about the lore and history of this game, just a K/D ratio.

Wonder where that epeen will go when they queue for 30 minutes to find a match, due to team players jumping ship because of a**hats like some of the above posters. They don't care about the team, the lore, history, nor the true scope of this game.

It's numbers, crunch, lather, rinse, repeat.

I wish I could spot 'em BEFORE I die, so I can blast them in the temple.

AH Keira_NZ, on 21 September 2014 - 10:49 AM, said:

This is incorrect. I average 4 kills a game lately and dont lock for others benefits anymore.

I rest my case.

Edited by Ensaine, 26 September 2014 - 02:31 PM.

[RazorbeastFXK3]

There have been times when I have LRMs where if I see an enemy mech that's just standing there with ECM and I don't have TAG equipped, I'll put my crosshairs over the mech and launch my LRMs which effectively hit the enemy (so long as they don't move before the LRM salvo reaches them of course) Makes it easier when they don't notice you first or see the missiles incoming as they try to cap.

Powder Puff Pew Pew, on 21 September 2014 - 04:25 PM, said:

Ive seen matches where theres 2 Teamates alive on my team. Me being the LRM boat and my teamate some jackass Spider pilot who was all Pew Pew lazers who didnt lock the target capping our spawn and I was too far away to get insight of the target capping to get solid locks and the spider pilot kept going outside the cap zone and each time he did that the cap progression ticked away. The stupid part was it was down to the wire, and i just got in range to visualy get a lock on the guy but by then it was too late and as i recalled the guy had basicly no weapons and was almost dead. A few LRMs into his tick hide woulda won us the match but the stupid **** in the spider trying to score a selfish kill lost us the match. Thats the **** i'm talkin about, Locks count.

[Brody319]

Locking targets doesnt just help your team. It helps you. Because I have seen so many people just ignore that on the upper right they can see who is about to die. Finish them off! Lock and shoot off their arms! If you lock, you can see their ammo is out for their right arm AC 20, so you should be aiming for the unarmored arm that is packing twin Large lasers and is about to rip your face open. Don't lock for me, lock for yourself.

[-Natural Selection-]

AH Keira_NZ, on 21 September 2014 - 10:49 AM, said:

1 to 2 on all missle boats unless I can see their cockpits then its a single face shot to help towards the 100 headshots for the Guillotine title.

It takes "1000" to get the title there hero. You only get GXP for 100.