175 replies to this topic

[Mr E Figure]

There are a number of problems with the 'logic' behind not locking targets to deny kills to the LRM boats. Following are a number of reasons why not locking targets is always detrimental to you as an individual player, and to your team.

The first is that this is a team game. Either the team wins the match, or the team looses the match. It doesn't matter if you get 10 kills, if your team looses you loose.

Secondly, so far as I can tell K:D means nothing in this game. ELO, which by the way is completely inappropriate for use in matchmaking(hint PGI), is based on wins and losses, not on kills and deaths.

Thirdly, if you want to have a good K:D you are pretty much going to have to lock your targets. Damaging mechs and destroying mechs efficiently are two very different things. I've recently started focusing on maximizing my accuracy and the effectiveness of my fire(the idea is to get the most reward for any heat generated). I've been cranking out multi-kill matches as a result. Here's an interesting side effect; my damage output has gone down the toilet. I'm doing three kill matches w/ less than 300 damage.

Fourthly, have you ever payed attention to how LRMs really work? If you have you may have noticed that LRMs tend to spread damage. While they can certainly take down a mech, they are not terribly effective at getting kills(and yes, I have spent plenty of time flinging LRMs). What they are great for is making it very hard for your enemy to fight back. Ever tried to aim when your mech is rocking so hard you can't tell which way is up? That works both ways, so you might want to use screen shake to your advantage.

Point the fifth is that kills don't pay squat. They don't pay well in cbills or in XP. Assists, on the other hand pay quite well. Did you also know that you get both cbills and XP merely for spotting a mech that a teammate damages? I make 20k cbills in spotting assists per match routinely, and that's without any form of bonus. If you tag or narc an enemy that a teammate damages you make even more. The best part is that if you are actively spotting and targeting while in combat you are actually in a better position to get the kill to start with(see point four).

I'm not going to touch on the value of the battlefield intelligence provided to the rest of your team, or the fact that you don't have to lock targets for your teammates to be able to fling LRMs anyway.

[Keira RAVEN McKenna]

Mickey Knoxx, on 26 September 2014 - 02:46 PM, said:

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

Yep... long way to go

39 down

I'm a patient woman, I'll get there one day

[TygerLily]

If you don't spam R before your trigger you're wrong! Okay...before the second shot at least. How do you know where to shoot? Why waste time chewing on a Jenner's CT when his legs are open? Etc.

[Macksheen]

I nearly always hit R, sometimes before the first shot. That said, I've got a bit of a reputation for having a very low damage per kill ratio among the guys I play with most frequently. I'm way too patient ... and patient isn't the right word, but I spend far too long and take too much care to try to hit what/where I want.

That said, I'm also prone to being too busy with the fingers esp. if dealing with multiple folks in my face to bother hitting R.

[RazorbeastFXK3]

The reason why it's called Mechwarrior: Online and not Mechwarrior: Mercenaries 'cause the Mercenary is only in it for themselves where Online games are more geared towards "Hey, if you help your team you MIGHT get something out of it."

Mr E Figure, on 26 September 2014 - 08:11 PM, said:

The first is that this is a team game. Either the team wins the match, or the team looses the match. It doesn't matter if you get 10 kills, if your team looses you loose.

I've always had the mentality of "Kill or be killed" when faced with the opponent. Always going for the cockpit whenever possible but if I can't I'll go for the arm or if they're about to lose their leg.. their leg.

Mr E Figure, on 26 September 2014 - 08:11 PM, said:

Secondly, so far as I can tell K:D means nothing in this game. ELO, which by the way is completely inappropriate for use in matchmaking(hint PGI), is based on wins and losses, not on kills and deaths.

Reason why I try reminding players to "shoot for the cockpit.. kill the meat.. save the metal" when faced with the last disconnected player. Normally they don't 'cause when they do manage to lock onto the disconnected player at the end of the battle.. that's when the rain comes. Sadly.. one battle I was in I saw a team mate get killed by incoming friendly LRM fire while they were trying to take out the disconnected player.

Mr E Figure, on 26 September 2014 - 08:11 PM, said:

Thirdly, if you want to have a good K:D you are pretty much going to have to lock your targets. Damaging mechs and destroying mechs efficiently are two very different things. I've recently started focusing on maximizing my accuracy and the effectiveness of my fire(the idea is to get the most reward for any heat generated). I've been cranking out multi-kill matches as a result. Here's an interesting side effect; my damage output has gone down the toilet. I'm doing three kill matches w/ less than 300 damage.

Back when I was mastering my commando/raven 'mechs, I had a blast stealing kills with a single LRM5 launcher.

Mr E Figure, on 26 September 2014 - 08:11 PM, said:

Fourthly, have you ever payed attention to how LRMs really work? If you have you may have noticed that LRMs tend to spread damage. While they can certainly take down a mech, they are not terribly effective at getting kills(and yes, I have spent plenty of time flinging LRMs). What they are great for is making it very hard for your enemy to fight back. Ever tried to aim when your mech is rocking so hard you can't tell which way is up? That works both ways, so you might want to use screen shake to your advantage.

I started using the UAV more and it's amazing how much more exp/c-bills I earn using those compared to using the artillery strike.

Mr E Figure, on 26 September 2014 - 08:11 PM, said:

Point the fifth is that kills don't pay squat. They don't pay well in cbills or in XP. Assists, on the other hand pay quite well. Did you also know that you get both cbills and XP merely for spotting a mech that a teammate damages? I make 20k cbills in spotting assists per match routinely, and that's without any form of bonus. If you tag or narc an enemy that a teammate damages you make even more. The best part is that if you are actively spotting and targeting while in combat you are actually in a better position to get the kill to start with(see point four).

Ahyup, it amuses me how there are still players who think that ECM makes them invisible to the naked eye when all it does is make them harder to trace using the radar.

Mr E Figure, on 26 September 2014 - 08:11 PM, said:

I'm not going to touch on the value of the battlefield intelligence provided to the rest of your team, or the fact that you don't have to lock targets for your teammates to be able to fling LRMs anyway.

[Neela_the_Tarantula]

Locking on is more beneficial than you all think. Remember, you gain more XP and Money if you destroy components. Locking on can tell you valuable weak points and allow you to bring down mechs quicker.

Locking on can also give you valuable information about the mech you are targeting. Then you can make a call to prioritize the target depending on who it is, what it is and what's on it. Hell, you can determine if a mech is an XL or Light engine mech and quickly dispatch them.

While yes LRM boats need to be able to Obtain their own locks (As a well known LRM Boater myself, I agree with this statement as LRM boaters need to learn how to brawl in a LRM Boat, Consider minimum range and choice of side arm), But consider that some LRM Boats can't necessarily get the lock themselves for some reason like not being in a position to obtain "Line of Sight" Lock-on. In this scenario is where those locks would be useful as the LRMs could force enemy repositioning and soften up the enemy.

Anyone who is not willing to utilize the tools and team composition properly is only asking for failure. Denying LRM boats the opportunity to assist you in combat is disrespectful, foolish and I hope you fail for your choice of neglect. Kindness, Teamwork and Respect will win you matches frequently.

[CFC Conky]

Wow, 6 year necro.

[LordNothing]

i have small lasers hold locks.

[w0qj]

Yeah, I also wish that our other team members would press "R" to hold locks more often.
Lots of mechs have missiles, not just LRM boats, right? (Mad Dog, Timberwolf, Thanatos, etc.)

Perhaps MWO can make the "auto target lock" function activate faster when you are consistently shooting a single target for a while (3 seconds?).

[The pessimistic optimist]

w0qj, on 17 November 2020 - 04:44 PM, said:

Yeah, I also wish that our other team members would press "R" to hold locks more often.
Lots of mechs have missiles, not just LRM boats, right? (Mad Dog, Timberwolf, Thanatos, etc.)

Perhaps MWO can make the "auto target lock" function activate faster when you are consistently shooting a single target for a while (3 seconds?).

That not need auto target is fine

[w0qj]

So how many seconds do you have to fire at the same target before "auto target" kicks in, assuming there's no ECM affecting this?
And assuming no Skill Nodes affecting this either.

SirSmokes, on 17 November 2020 - 04:58 PM, said:

That not need auto target is fine

[Gagis]

This thread is from 2014. Can we not?

[Nightbird]

[The pessimistic optimist]

w0qj, on 17 November 2020 - 05:08 PM, said:

So how many seconds do you have to fire at the same target before "auto target" kicks in, assuming there's no ECM affecting this?
And assuming no Skill Nodes affecting this either.

Not to long

Edited by SirSmokes, 17 November 2020 - 05:37 PM.

[w0qj]

To MWO Forum Moderator, please help to /Lock this 6+ year old thread. Thanks!

[Ekson Valdez]

Nightbird, on 17 November 2020 - 05:28 PM, said:

You need divine powers to do this properly. Observe!

Turn Undead!