having alot of experience with smashing lights with ac20's i can say that while all lights seem to "tank" more then they should. the firestarter specifically tanks way way way better then other lights.
like many have said if i hit a raven with my ac20 bam dead or leg is gone. hit a locust hes down for the count, same with jenners he's either gonna be dead or hurtin so bad that he can no longer run about and dance around my buddies. spiders are a little harder to hit but still i leg them often and kill them outright with a well lined up shot.
commandos can be lag-tastic but i notice its ping related IE a high ping comando will tank damage that a low ping commando cannot. most commandos do drop from a single ac20 shot or are left crippled with a cherry red ST.
clan lights tend to take another shot just because they are heavier but are really freaking easy to hit with ac20's
but firestarters..... something is up with them. i have hit them repeatedly sometimes in the same spot and not even broken their armor. no light should be taking 3+ac20 shots to the same location that's just absurd. the only thing that seems to work is to hit them in the legs repeatedly with pulse lasers and powerful ac's or gauss and you might get lucky. but honestly im really good with ac20's and can reliably hit lights legs even when their moving 150+ at close range. I know im hitting those firestarters but they just don't seem to be registering the damage.
that being said im far more terrified of an ember or a well piloted commando (they are very spry) or MG spider then most lights. You should not be letting SPL be getting the better of you when you can be smart, aim for the legs or an open torso (all lights rock XL's and i mean all of them).
one point of contention is that SRM's tend to be totally useless against lights unless you line up a perfect shot at less then 50m and even then it feels like 50%+ of the missiles simply miss same with LRMS most just seem to magically not register (30 damage to most lights can be fatal an lrm 50 should be almost one shoting them if not outright killing them). ya i know streaks are great for smashing lights but an IS mech will have to dedicate all of his missile slots to be effective and clan streaks are just kinda a joke with their massive cool downs.
that being said I pilot all lights (cept clans and jenners, never could get past that duck bill problem) and have mastered 17 in total. my personal preference has always been commandos for their sheer speed and agility. I have firestarters and i honestly feel like im cheating. I can get away with way more, tank way more and score far higher with them then my spider's ravens or even my personal favorite TDK. I know from experience that in any light i am only 1 pinpoint away from death even at full armor. doesn't feel that way in firestarters honestly they simply do not take the damage its not players missing, its not HSR or W/E BS.
its got to be something about them specifically because it does feel like straight up damage reduction. i still wouldn't say they are "OP" but they are definitely out of line with other 35 ton mechs. they are the timberwolf of their weight class, having all the advantages of speed and JJ, with none of the disadvantages like lack of firepower, lack of armor or being 1 shot from death at any time. and as a whole they do leave the other lights far behind. if the firestarter ever gets ECM i would call it OP. because then it would just be straight better than any light period.
Edited by Mellifluer, 17 November 2014 - 11:33 AM.
9
. But I would still rather 1v1 an Oxide over an FS9.
But both suffer from the same problem. The higher ELO brackets absolutely crucify you if you make a mistake.
