40 replies to this topic

[Joey Tankblaster]

Then you GonaDie.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Durant Carlyle, on 19 November 2014 - 06:42 AM, said:

Maybe a UAV or sensor range booster.

For herding pugs or building XP - nothing works quite like a UAV.

Joey Tankblaster, on 19 November 2014 - 07:47 AM, said:

Then you GonaDie.

That was bad
And you should feel bad. ( / )

[Flattoecory]

My first mech was Firestarter FS9-S and my second is the FS9-H. I loving the little guy and highly suggest him. He is tough but dont drop him into the middle of the croud. Its just painful.

[InspectorG]

Get good in a Locust, and you will very likely be better in every other mech as well.

[CimaGarahau]

I still prefer the spider, it's a very nasty opponent. In my opinion still bugged hitbox but pay attention to your legs! In general a very suitable scout.

[Joey Tankblaster]

Eclair Farron, on 19 November 2014 - 10:58 PM, said:

I still prefer the spider, it's a very nasty opponent. In my opinion still bugged hitbox but pay attention to your legs! In general a very suitable scout.

This!

Other options are Firestarters and Jenners.

[o0Marduk0o]

HlynkaCG, on 17 November 2014 - 07:51 PM, said:

Jenner, designed and produced in the Draconis Combine, one of the DCMS's signature mechs, and still a Top-Tier Light. Has arguably better hitboxes than the FS

Jenner has much worse hitboxes, because their CT is so huge and visible from all sides but the rear. A FS can protect the CT with his arms by twisting.

[Ens]

Embrace a challenge:

Get the CMD-TDK and learn light piloting the hard way.
Once you´re getting successful with it, jump into a Spider or Firestarter or whatever the "pros" dictate to be "good" and start to really melt some faces.

[ImperialKnight]

Jenner or Firestarter. Then maybe Spider and Raven

[HlynkaCG]

o0Marduk0o, on 20 November 2014 - 02:09 AM, said:

Jenner has much worse hitboxes, because their CT is so huge and visible from all sides but the rear. A FS can protect the CT with his arms by twisting.

Like I said, Arguable.

The Jenner's narrower profile makes it much harder to hit overall, while it's huge CT allows you to strip armor from the arms and sides freeing up tonnage for weapons and heatsinks.

Edited by HlynkaCG, 20 November 2014 - 03:07 AM.

[Rogue Jedi]

I am mostly a light pilot, here is a breakdown by class of the mechs I reguraly use

Adder,
very heavy firepower for its weight, slow, many possible configurations thanks to the omnipods, works like an IS meduim mech

Firestarter
mostly energy but 2 models can also mount balistics, a lots of firepower (most models have 8 weapon hardpoints) but as it is mostly energy based heat can be an issue, all can mount Jumpjets, fast, great hitboxes

Jenner,
fast, agile, energy and missile loadouts, significantly more agile and potentialy slightly faster than the Firestarter, can mount a 300 engine, huge front CT hitbox, 5-6 hardpoints

Kit Fox
like the Adder it is slow for a light, can mount ECM + 3 AMS making it great as support for a lance of heavier mechs, suffiscent tonnage to outgun most IS lights

Raven
ECM varient, brawler varient, some varients have a much lower engine cap than the Jenner or Firestarter, most varied hardpoints of the IS lights

Spider
realy fast and agile, all can mount Jumpjets, great hitboxes, low firepower compaired to other light mechs, ECM varient, 4 balistic varient, varient with only 2 beam hardpoints but 12 Jumpjets, my favorate light.

I have little experiance in the Locust or Commando, however I dislike the Locust cockpit, the frame for the cockpit glass seriously restricts your view of the battlefield

[GonaDie]

Shar Wolf, on 19 November 2014 - 11:54 AM, said:

That was bad
And you should feel bad. ( / )

I feel bad every time I drive that liitle pile of sh!t. I am a very sad panda...

[Gevurah]

I'm gonna approach this question from a different angle:

How much do you want to spend?

When I first started, I bought all the commandos for a fraction of the cost of some of the more expensive lights, mediums, or a cheap heavy/assault. The same holds true for locusts.

Out of the box, locusts, commandos, and spiders have the highest top speed in the game for minimal investment. They've received significant buffs recently and can all get by with 1-2 XL engine purchases.

IMHO the *BEST* lights currently are the Raven 3L and the Jenner-D/F variants. Cost gets touchy though there. The 3L is expensive out of the box with it's less than stellar XL engine. I think total cost of getting a 3L outfitted right is like 12 million? Something like that. Jenners are more doable since they all typically run the same engine but here again you have a HUGE front CT that is not very forgiving as previous posters mentioned. They're also TWICE the cost of comparable locusts/commandos. Spiders make for a good middle ground but their armament is sub-par on a good day. And the 5V used to be one of the worst mechs in the game. Don't know if it still is or not.

My recommendation is get a batch of commandos (the 2D, 3A and the DK are all really good). The 2D is the least expensive CBILL ecm mech in the game currently. Load up on missiles, buy a cheap XL engine (like a 195/200) and get to work.

The Locusts used to be absolute trash but with the recent buffs I'm mainting positive KDRs in mine so I'd say they're at least viable now and worth a look. This way you can save money for bigger and better purchases (or more light mechs).

The downside of the locust is it's durability. Don't get shot. Get the fastest engine you can and speed tweak it up to 170kph. Same for the commandos.

Edited by Gevurah, 20 November 2014 - 09:57 AM.

[Saiphas Cain]

Gevurah is pretty spot on there.

I would advocate the Locust 3M specifically for maximum shenanigans. It's a steep learning curve but the Locust is one of the lights capable of running under certain obstacles, like the ramps in HPG station. If you get behind a distracted Dire Whale it'll take you under 5 seconds to core it from the rear if your shots ring true. It dumps out 20 damage per alpha and I'm pretty sure the refire is under a second. If you're squirrely enough you can make in excess of 600 damage games in it, just know to run early and come back from another angle. Don't hang about with it. Did I mention how short it is? I once cored a whale from between the two hill peaks at the crashed ship on Frozen City and no one noticed me. You're able to hide under the HPG ramps and laser the corns off enemy feet, then pull back and around the corner before they can even turn to face you. The mech is a joy.

[Voivode]

I have all of the IS lights and the Kitfox (no Adder or Myst Lynx), and I have to say the Commando is my hands down favorite, with the Raven coming in second (an old favorite from previous games), so I'll give you a lowdown on all the lights.

Locust - Can be an absolute BLAST to pilot. Vulnerable in the extreme, never far from death. The quirks make it dangerous if ignored. Weight limitations that are part of piloting a light mech are very pronounced with this chassis. I would recommend only for more experienced pilots.

Commando - My personal favorite. Fastest mech in game, has enough armor to make one shots rare (unless you are in the habit of standing still) and is surprisingly durable for the armor it has. Weight limitations limit possible loadouts, though not as severely as with the Locust. Very fun mech to play.

Spider - Lacking in firepower due to poor hardpoints. It makes up for that lack by having excellent jumping capacity and the best hitboxes of all light mechs. Really great for scouting and harassment. A chassis with pronounced strengths and weaknesses.

Kitfox - A difficult mech to use. Slow and thin on armor, it also lacks meaningful high mounted hardpoints. Takes much practice but carries a payload that puts all IS lights to shame.

Jenner - The original scrappy light mech. Jenner's are tough for the weight, carry a decent payload, and have decent jump capabilities. The Jenner has a much easier to hit CT than the Firestarter, but it keeps its weapons higher up than the Firestarter does.

Firestarter - The new scrappy light. Has better hitboxes than the Jenner but keeps its weapons mounted lower. Similarly tough for the weight and capable of jumping and carrying decent payloads

Raven - Of all the lights, the Raven has the most "personality". Each variant is quite unique compared to other Raven variants giving this chassis the most variety in the weight class. Two of the ravens are capped at the lowest IS light speed (140KPH max). There are quite a large number of viable loadouts for each variant, making the Raven the most flexible light.

Edited by Voivode, 20 November 2014 - 12:17 PM.

[SuperPignouf]

I'm now in love with the Locust. You can die as soon as you do a mistake. But if you don't do any mistake you simply never die ^^



I'm looking to get an other light when I get more mechbays... A firestarter or a commando probably.

Thanks a lot to all of you for your help btw =)

[HlynkaCG]

SuperPignouf, on 23 November 2014 - 02:25 AM, said:

I'm now in love with the Locust. You can die as soon as you do a mistake. But if you don't do any mistake you simply never die ^^

I am glad to hear that you're having fun and invite you to join us in IraqiWalker's Locust appreciation thread.

[MLM13]

I just started and locust is not just my first light. its my first mech! I died a lot so i saved CB and got a hunchback. played trial mechs but, I end up playing locust as my primary mech for few reasons.

• I got 3 chassis,-1 with 4 machine guns, 1 got artemis srm, and 1 laser boat - wanna have fun with different weapons,
  
• I play mostly PUG so I can pretty much do anything I want but mainly support the heavy hitters.
  
• This mech has insane breaks and reverse speed!

Edited by MLM13, 23 November 2014 - 06:52 AM.

[3xnihilo]

SuperPignouf, on 23 November 2014 - 02:25 AM, said:

I'm now in love with the Locust. You can die as soon as you do a mistake. But if you don't do any mistake you simply never die ^^

Thanks a lot to all of you for your help btw =)

Looks like you figured it out!

[Tim East]

MLM13, on 23 November 2014 - 06:51 AM, said:

• This mech has insane breaks and reverse speed!

You're telling me, buddy. I've had matches where I walked around a corner and found the enemy team, before reversing all the way back behind my lines while shooting at pursuing lights the whole way and escaping relatively unscathed. It's a mech that can die instantly from bad luck, or live an inordinate amount of time with just a little good luck. Skill is important too; I've just died sometimes when I should have lived and lived a lot of times when I should have died.