108 replies to this topic

[CycKath]

16 headshots to 2166 post-reset kills. HSR seems to be helping me, most of my recent ones have been torso mounted AC/20 snap shots against moving lights...

[Satan n stuff]

Mickey Knoxx, on 04 December 2014 - 02:00 PM, said:

IMO you should always aim for head shot. 90% of the mechs the cockpit is almost CT. And either way if you miss it will either be a ct or side ct if you don't land it anyway.

Not I am not saying stop and stare them down to try and get it. However knowing a catapult cockpit is about 10% above mid ct, cicada and jenner is about the same spot then your going to that area is beneficial. It maybe only result in 1/1000 landing, but if it doesn't its still solid ct damage.

Doesn't matter if you're not going to kill them in one shot, because even if you hit the head at all you most likely won't hit the second shot, or the third, meaning whatever you just put into the head is wasted.
If I waste a chance for a big chunk of CT damage because of a headshot I probably won't follow up on, I'm not fighting efficiently. If I can kill them in one shot, I will definitely try, but I don't tend to run those kinds of builds often.

[CDLord HHGD]

4/1418

[Kain Demos]

Alistair Winter, on 04 December 2014 - 02:02 PM, said:

So let me get this straight. The average amount of headshots is less than 1%, even for people who have been playing since 2012. Most people don't get them except by accident or against disconnects. But they're fine where they're at.

Y'all crazy.

I don't know about anyone else but I just read this as "I'm a light pilot looking for more ways to get easy kills on bigger 'mechs".

C'mon man, you can already back core people in 2 alphas.

[Alistair Winter]

Kain Thul, on 04 December 2014 - 02:22 PM, said:

I don't know about anyone else but I just read this as "I'm a light pilot looking for more ways to get easy kills on bigger 'mechs".
C'mon man, you can already back core people in 2 alphas.

... what?

Light pilots would benefit the least from bigger cockpits, as they don't have the pinpoint damage of ballistics and PPCs to get the job done. When you're circling your target at 150 kph, you'd have to be a jedi to consistently hit the cockpit.

My AWS-8Q with 3 PPCs and advanced zoom module would benefit though. It's in the OP, I'm surprised you didn't go there.

[Satan n stuff]

Kain Thul, on 04 December 2014 - 02:22 PM, said:

I don't know about anyone else but I just read this as "I'm a light pilot looking for more ways to get easy kills on bigger 'mechs".

C'mon man, you can already back core people in 2 alphas.

Even with the old large head hitboxes, headshot kills with a light weren't remotely easy. I've had more headshot kills with my AC/20 Hunchback than I ever got with my 2 PPC Raven.

[Bilbo]

Alistair Winter, on 04 December 2014 - 02:02 PM, said:

So let me get this straight. The average amount of headshots is less than 1%, even for people who have been playing since 2012. Most people don't get them except by accident or against disconnects. But they're fine where they're at.

Y'all crazy.

I haven't shot at a cockpit on purpose since the dome on Atlases were the size of a spider. If they could be had as consistently as you seem to want there would be an ocean of tears and not a whole lot of fun to be had.

[Myke Pantera]

1229 kills
2 headshots
Ratio is fine by me. Being headshotted takes away the fun from a non-respawning shooter so it has to be a rare thing imo. Even the respawn in CW is too limited that I want to see a higher frequency of HS. I personally don't aim for them and am not using a*strikes.

[Alistair Winter]

Bilbo, on 04 December 2014 - 02:28 PM, said:

I haven't shot at a cockpit on purpose since the dome on Atlases were the size of a spider. If they could be had as consistently as you seem to want there would be an ocean of tears and not a whole lot of fun to be had.

There's always oceans of tears. TTK too high, TTK too low, alpha strikes, burst damage, LRMs, etc.

But let's say the average number of headshots is 0.5% right now. In a game like CounterStrike, it's probably, what, 20% on average? Maybe 30%? I figure we could probably increase the MWO average to 1% without destroying the game.

Right now, I think more people get killed from headshots by artillery & airstrikes rather than people actually aiming their guns at their cockpit.

[Kain Demos]

Alistair Winter, on 04 December 2014 - 02:27 PM, said:

... what?

Light pilots would benefit the least from bigger cockpits, as they don't have the pinpoint damage of ballistics and PPCs to get the job done. When you're circling your target at 150 kph, you'd have to be a jedi to consistently hit the cockpit.

My AWS-8Q with 3 PPCs and advanced zoom module would benefit though. It's in the OP, I'm surprised you didn't go there.

I saw the Awesome in the first post but I've read a lot of your other posts and you come across as very pro-light 'mech.

I think they would benefit the most from easy headshots--they move so fast it would never happen to them and some of them can pack a lot of pinpoint damage--6ML Jenner, 8 SPL Firestarter.

[Eboli]

2 headshot kills out of 2060. Basically every 1000 kills i get a head shot. I suspect that these may have been arty strikes as well.

Makes sense as over a 900 these kills have been from my SRM Oxide with quite a few of these being Heavies/Assaults getting their rear armour ripped out.

[Jackofallpots]

I havent gotten a single headshot kill ._.

[Scratx]

Alistair Winter, on 04 December 2014 - 02:02 PM, said:

So let me get this straight. The average amount of headshots is less than 1%, even for people who have been playing since 2012. Most people don't get them except by accident or against disconnects. But they're fine where they're at.

Y'all crazy.

This.

Hitboxes for the head component were insanely reduced so much that I'm finding myself starting to strip part of the head armor of some of my most recent mechs in order to beef something else. As long as I can take an AC20 hit on my head and have some hitpoints to spare I'm good. Heck, in the last year or so I recall only ONE headshot I dealt that wasn't an accident or a shutdown/afk mech. ONE.

And I only took that shot because I noticed somebody had already stripped its armor and put it cherry red, so I just lasered at the general cockpit area trying to finish it off. I managed to, but I didn't really have to, anyway... CT was almost gone by then.

Seriously, I recall the Catapult cockpit being so easy to hit that's how that mech seemed to die most of the time (against good pilots). Now you have to be dumb or really unlucky to die to a head shot.

Sigh. I think PGI's overcompensated on the head component to the degree that now, armoring the head is almost wasted tonnage. Just make sure the accidental AC20 hit won't instakill you and you're good.

[Agent 0 Fortune]

Alistair Winter, on 04 December 2014 - 02:34 PM, said:

There's always oceans of tears. TTK too high, TTK too low, alpha strikes, burst damage, LRMs, etc.

But let's say the average number of headshots is 0.5% right now. In a game like CounterStrike, it's probably, what, 20% on average? Maybe 30%? I figure we could probably increase the MWO average to 1% without destroying the game.

Right now, I think more people get killed from headshots by artillery & airstrikes rather than people actually aiming their guns at their cockpit.

A big difference between this and most other games, is a single headshot in MWO doesn't kill an enemy. I have taken tons of head hits in game, but only every died to head damage a few times (one of those being an artillery).
Most of the time, if I get my bell rung in a match, I am hyper-vigilant about exposing my cockpit to that shooter.

[MandyB]

1913 Kills 27 Headshots I rarely use air/arty so I know my head shots are intentional. Sorry not good at math so I cant say the percentage.

Edited by MandyB, 04 December 2014 - 03:25 PM.

[FearNotDeath]

Headshots are more about the types of weapons you choose if you use dual gauss in like a direwolf you'll probably get a lot more headshots than a mech using lasers or missiles.

[sabujo]

3235 kills / 24 headshots (0.7%)

The 1k headshots achievement, in pair with the Deathstar one, is pure pipe dream. One is a grind that will take more years than the game will actually last, the other just by friendly arrangement or lucky mass disconnect (like in Proton's video). They are nonsense and should be reformulated/erased from the list.

[Wine O]

Let me spill the beans on how to get all your head shot achievements. This isn't a guide on how to be a trick shot champ, this is only going to help drastically speed up getting the achievements. This is what I did:

1) Play Conquest.

2) Play a fast light with lasers.

3) On certain maps (Frozen city, River City, and Canyon Network are good ones) after you were a good team mate and capped your closest point you can usually backtrack and cap the opposite sigma or gamma that the Red team starts close to. This is where the "magic" happens.

4) Because you are FAST you will get there before your team mates. This is important because they always wreck everything. When you get to that cap point the Red team has moved on but in about 1 out of every 5 or 6 drops you will finds presents have been left out, like cookies and milk for Santa in the form of DC'd and AFK enemy mechs. Some might be a few feet away so keep your eyes peeled. Small maps are the best because they are usually right there.

5) Walk up to these mechs and press "R". Use your lasers and watch your radar to make sure you are hitting them in the cockpit. You will giggle a little when they die - that's ok it's natural.

I've got a ton that way.

Also, if it is an end game situation where you stumble on the DC, don't press R!! Team mates will come in and rob you with overzealous alphas (oblivious to your artistry) or LRMs will come crashing down and end the party.

Alternate method is to once again be fast and nimble light mech on a hot map. Terra Therma is great for this. If you have an enemy mech alone, begin the circle dance of death and he will at some point over heat. Proceed to step 5 above. Don't worry, if you get your shot off right away you can probably bury 2 alphas in that cockpit before they wake up. IS mechs are way easier for me to get then clan - it helps that you can practice on the training grounds.

FYI good luck cockpitting Firestarters. I thought they would be like commandos but every cockpit shot I take just hits a side or center CT. I'm sure it's there, just not as obvious as the others.

[Alistair Winter]

Agent 0 Fortune, on 04 December 2014 - 03:15 PM, said:

A big difference between this and most other games, is a single headshot in MWO doesn't kill an enemy. I have taken tons of head hits in game, but only every died to head damage a few times (one of those being an artillery).
Most of the time, if I get my bell rung in a match, I am hyper-vigilant about exposing my cockpit to that shooter.

In most games it depends on the weapon. Just like you won't get killed from a single AC5 round to the cockpit in MWO, you won't die from a single 9 mm bullet to your head in most FPS games. Sniper rifles? Yes. Assault rifles? Maybe.

Another thing is that most other FPS games don't have localized damage. You just go from 100 to 0 health points, regardless of where you're hit. Never the less, aiming for the cockpit in MWO is something relatively few people think about, I think, because actually hitting the CT is absurdly difficult. You're better off aiming for larger components.

Kain Thul, on 04 December 2014 - 02:35 PM, said:

I saw the Awesome in the first post but I've read a lot of your other posts and you come across as very pro-light 'mech.
I think they would benefit the most from easy headshots--they move so fast it would never happen to them and some of them can pack a lot of pinpoint damage--6ML Jenner, 8 SPL Firestarter.

Assuming that I want this because I'm a pro-light player is obviously a bias. I actually play all weight classes, and while I do primarily play Ravens (and Awesomes) on this account, I have a Clan account where I mostly play heavy and assault.

Even with 6 MLs or 8 SPLs, you're still moving extremely fast. It's a billion times easier to hit the cockpit of a stationary or slow moving LRM boat / sniper if you're in a mech with dual gauss / multiple PPCs, compared to circling it at 150 kph. The cockpit would have to be huge before that changes. Like 10 times bigger than what we have now.

I suppose Jenners would be good at taking out cockpits of mechs that have overheated, but they'll be no better at it than medium, heavy or assault mechs.

[Alistair Winter]

Wine O, on 04 December 2014 - 03:41 PM, said:

4) Because you are FAST you will get there before your team mates. This is important because they always wreck everything. When you get to that cap point the Red team has moved on but in about 1 out of every 5 or 6 drops you will finds presents have been left out, like cookies and milk for Santa in the form of DC'd and AFK enemy mechs. Some might be a few feet away so keep your eyes peeled. Small maps are the best because they are usually right there.
5) Walk up to these mechs and press "R". Use your lasers and watch your radar to make sure you are hitting them in the cockpit. You will giggle a little when they die - that's ok it's natural.
I've got a ton that way.

Uh, what's the point of that, really? I don't giggle when I kill ADK / DC'd mechs. If anything, I feel guilty, because the manly thing to do is to wait for them to reconnect or get back from their toilet break.