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The Gates And Whats Behind Them : A Visual Guide (Patch 38 Update)

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#1 pyroim

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 12:06 AM

DISCLAIMER I'm by no means a "top" tier player however some basic knowledge goes along ways and many of these concepts can be implemented in alot of scenarios.




ECM is highly over-valued in terms of utility in community warfare mostly due to the exposure time that any mech that is going to be killing the generators will have. Almost every time a non-ecm covered mech on the ramps will catch some sort of missile warning or a sniper shot they tend to back down so having ECM is imperative.

With the New Objective Generators Splitting up and having a rush squad drop a enemy Power Grid is now a viable tactic. Also Lights with JJ's, namely the fire starter can easily hop the gates and put down some serious damage onto the Power Grids by themselves without taking too much fire or risking a high tonnage Mech.



Reference Key for all the pretty colors!!
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First Up is basic breaching tactics of a Full 12 man Gate rush With simulated common defender positions and Cover or elevation changes that provide the defending team with an advantage.
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Basically the Primary lights and mediums would move up and bank slightly away from the enemy firing lines. After the initial barrage and once the assaults have made steady ground Several secondary lighter mechs would transition from their group to move with the Heavy group to provide cover from campers or hunt down enemy mechs that started retreating once the breach was a success allowing for some juicy back shots to be taken, provided you can get there of course..
After the breach Weakened assault mechs would then attempt to Line of sight the defending group with whatever cover they can within brawling range. While mediums and heavies would do their best to establish firing lines around the gate.

Examining the positioning of Assaults and heavies in this snippet can give you a pretty good idea of how to position.

View PostShalune, on 13 December 2014 - 04:41 AM, said:




For people looking for more to learn from SJR

http://www.twitch.tv...315733?t=78m00s






Sulfurous Rift: to be updated though most lines havent changed, its more about what you do after the push, Updates will come down the pipe eventually.


Beta Push Initial lines.

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Beta Push Right side(text details to be added)

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Alpha Push(text details To be added)

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Gamma push.(text details to be added later)


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Vault Guide!!

Much of this section applies to THE FIRST PUSH ONLY as many things change the further into the game things get, the second screencap is actually from the second push but still represents proper positioning and movement. However now with the advent of O-gens there is now some sneakier underhanded tactics that can be played out on the offensive side specifically.
With O-gens the "splitting" style tactics are now slightly more viable, However, the map is now more difficult to move about for defense but also has higher points of view giving sniper mechs and spotters good locations to scout out and rip into your team.

The general idea is this
Split the team into a few more mobile heavies or mediums + any lights that are looking to make a play on the O-gens once the gate is down. Have one or two lights peek-a-boo the ridge line either further up or further back down the gate ramp (offense) . Once fire is drawn to the lights the heavies can then run to the end of the ramp, alpha strike the gene, and simply fall down to ground level, minimizing risk.
In a perfect world the Gate Generators would die within about 10 seconds of each other giving the main squad time to form up before the secondary rush squad rushes in.


OLStill has some decent info,

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NEW Alpha Runs:

With the new Generator update The map has been Terraformed a bit more dramatically. This change in my opinion gives the offensive team a bit more leeway when it comes to their approach methods.
Most of the movement patterns stay the same with the exception being the Lighter mechs and those mechs (refer UltraLight) designed specifically for killing the internal generators. There are now a vast number of crevasses and sharp geologic Lines that the experienced light pilot could follow to evade missiles and enemies alike. With the new Ridge line in E7 that is roughly halfway between the base entrance and the E6 Canyon route Lights and UltraLights now have a lot of options, of course, Jump Jets also open up many new routes and can be used to cheese the first Power Grid down.

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A bit of a different angle with better views on the lights and the UltraLights Encroachments.
The two routes for lights pretty much can be accomplished by any mech moving around 81+ (TBRs SCR ect) but once your'e up on the Plateau there isn't much cover unless you are a shorter IE; Light mech. However making a break for the E7 Low ground is not a terrible idea as it puts you in some reasonable cover with good views on the enemy spawns and ridge line without much exposure to the LRM boats and Snipers likely posted up in the F6 Defensive Area.

Movement Routes Alpha gate Detail:


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Further Up the "E6 Canyon".

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This part hasn't changed much so the routes stay pretty much the same unless you are a ballsy light that feels like taking chances on the overland Path.
There has been some terraforming in this sector as well so wounded mechs or anyone that doesn't want a direct fight can now hug the wall in the Light path a little bit harder and generally avoid alot of fire.

A nice view from the opposite end:

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This really highlights the new routes for Ultra Light Objective killers and light mechs. (Seafoam Green Highlighting) As noted the E7 Road / Crevasse is now a good midway ground for the lights and UltraLights to rush towards as it gives great cover from the upper defensive line in F7 and those defenders that are deeper into the Base. Note the exposure time of the recommended routes.


If a Team is scouted making a move towards the E6 Canyon Route expect for additional defensive mechs to be positioned in the E7 area above/near the turret, as highlighted, This ends up being punishing for the lights and ultralights that wish to make a push on the overland route but with proper fire support (or multiple targets ECM) most can make it to the E7 Crevasse and nullify the positioning of the defensive mechs now stationed above them. From E7 going right up the main road past the turret is a viable option IF and ONLY if the turret is dead. Without the turret being inoperable it supplies vision to the entire F7 Road Approach, defeating the entire purpose of making a RUN up this alley

To summarize Alpha Rushing:

Lights take the high route but stay close to geologic features that can protect you from the impeding missile strikes. Make a break to the E7 Crevasse and asses combat readiness, Enemy positions, maybe use a UAV to scout the surrounding region. From there, make a push on O-Gen 2 or O-gen 1 dependent on defensive stats.

Heavies and Assaults: Unless you have ECM coverage movement down the new lines is difficult and predictible , you have terraforming to thank for that, as now once you go down a path it is often difficult to LEAVE said path. Two tricks to being an effective heavy or assault.

One: Make your movements known,and take a path which avoids Indirect fire. Drawing the enemy team out of position and hopefully making some holes in their defensive line. You might not die doing this, and if you are by yourself, with a small squad of mobile mediums, or under ECM coverage you can actually get a good brawl in and get some free kills in addition to forcing the Defending team to MOVE.

Two: Establishing firing lines INSIDE the gates has never been easier, no literally.
Now there are more options from the offensive side of things for you to choose from, You WILL take damage, you in all likelihood will DIE However it is often imperative for the Lights to be uninterrupted while they try and make their run on the O-Gens.

Try TIMING your breaches or Peeks with your lights runs using the timer at the top (IE: Push in at 15:30 ) giving the order and the time appx 30 -45 seconds prior to the actual push/ retreat/ ect .


Beta Gate Crashing Runs:




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Although Beta Gate and Surrounding area was not touch nearly as much in the O-Gen / CW balancing patch there is now a transitional run from Beta to Alpha side, as well as a Cheese Supreme Rush tactic for both the Power Grid Gate Generator, as well as O-Gen 3 Airstrike Rush ​ Tactics available.
The largest changes to the map by far took place on alpha side, Increased terraforming, more dramatic slopes, Higher peaks, lower Valleys. With the movement patterns outlined above (which are often implemented subliminally by teams) in the Alpha Section, Defending teams will often have little to no choice in engaging a force that moves up E6 Canyon With direct fire weapons. Provided that you can read the map and watch friendly movements, Beta is now a Straight shot to the O-Gen 3 and O-Gen 2, With only ONE single turret defending. This opens up certain oppertunities for even some of the heaviest mechs to get up in the base and cause some havoc on the defensive line as well as objectives.


The Power Grid Rush:

The most unique point about Beta is that given the right timing, and right configuration of mech, there is potential for a single mech to open the gate. I have personally had a Firestarter simply hop the gate and hump the Beta Generator. With proper positioning it is simple to avoid all defensive fire from the common F6 Defensive Firing Line and single handedly taking out the generator, all within about a minute from drop. This is easily performed in most light mechs equipped with Jump Jets and 2-4 laser weapons and could likely be performed by almost any class of mech, given the right number of Jump Jets and a suitable distraction at Alpha Gate.


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The run down:
With lots of open ground between the gate and the Objectives its often best for the heavier mechs to establish firing lines behind the Silos and the now presumed dead gate generator and provide overwatch and draw fire from the alpha gate. Even 2 to 3 Heavy mechs can draw alot of attention away from the Alpha gate, The defensive line in this area, and in F6 Firing position are often tunnel visioned on the objective that is being pushed the hardest, They are also exposed however, so breaking out in a good brawl at the base of the hill is not out of the question and often can be initiated by nearly Coring out an enemy sniper mech in the back. ( all highlighted in yellow)
Lights and UltraLight Objective Killing mechs however have a great run into the G5 area and can seek cover from direct fire weapons inside the small facility and in the low ground in G5/G6. Having A Heavy or LRM support while in the G5 /G6 is a good idea as there still is a single turret defending the line which needs to be taken care of as soon as it pops up otherwise indirect LRM fire can come from along.. long... long ways away and there is little cover to be found by running deeper into the base. Certain positions that lights get into or end up making a pass by do have a good Point of View on the Orange highlighted area, Stated simply.. You can drop artilery and air strikes on the walls of the building that is right infront of the O-gen 3 and cause some damage to it. Though Imprecise I have personally Confirmed that air strikes do work. B)




Another View For CLARITY
Note the route for JumpJet Equipped mechs to come right over the wall into the Beta Power Grid Generator. This can also be done on the opposite side as there is a small alcove that you can seek shelter from lock ons until the time is right.


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Edited by pyroim, 20 December 2014 - 10:16 AM.


#2 pyroim

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 12:46 AM

Seems like i'm getting reasonable views but no feed back. :mellow:
Like call me a noob? say my drawing is bad, call out the missing turrets, help me mark the dropship points.
I dont care, i want to hear from you guys, what are all you running strategy wise? Whats worked, what hasn't?

In other words guess ill move forward with Drawing up some basic movement patterns for Vault

Edited by pyroim, 13 December 2014 - 12:49 AM.


#3 kapusta11

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 01:08 AM

There's a turret right at the top-left corner of C2 and another 2 behind the cannon. As for tactic, spliting up is bad idea IMO.

Edited by kapusta11, 13 December 2014 - 01:10 AM.


#4 MoonUnitBeta

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 01:11 AM

View Postpyroim, on 13 December 2014 - 12:46 AM, said:

Seems like i'm getting reasonable views but no feed back. :mellow:
Like call me a noob? say my drawing is bad, call out the missing turrets, help me mark the dropship points.
I dont care, i want to hear from you guys, what are all you running strategy wise? Whats worked, what hasn't?

In other words guess ill move forward with Drawing up some basic movement patterns for Vault

I know how you feel, but nothing from me really... right now it's just food for thought. .hmm... looks great though. your drawing bad.lol you noob.

Edited by MoonUnitBeta, 13 December 2014 - 01:11 AM.


#5 Wolf Ender

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 01:15 AM

sorry i can't make sense of your post or your diagrams.

#6 pyroim

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 01:18 AM

To provide some clarity in regards to

View Postkapusta11, on 13 December 2014 - 01:08 AM, said:

As for tactic, spliting up is bad idea IMO.


I also agree splitting is a terrible idea beyond establishing firing lines.
To clarify, each one of the gates movement / assault patterns would be executed by the entire team or at least 2 Lances. Anything less would get torn apart by a dug in enemy.

View PostWolf Ender, on 13 December 2014 - 01:15 AM, said:

sorry i can't make sense of your post or your diagrams.


Anything specific I could elaborate on? Would individual gate tactics instead of an overview give a better idea?


A few edits to the language to provide better clarity on whats actually going on. Working on some Detailed gate tactics to give you more precise areas of where movements should be taking place and when.

Edited by pyroim, 13 December 2014 - 02:28 AM.


#7 generalazure

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 02:44 AM

Personally, I think the way to go on sulphur is to use a few harassers at one side gate to concentrate the enemy there and then have the rest of the team go straight for the objective from the other side.
Imho this is more effective than wearing the enemy down near the gates only to have him dropped on your head as you're nearing the cannon.

Wish they'd placed the drop points somewhere else...

#8 Lily from animove

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 02:51 AM

why not make some ingame screenshots? that would be a lot better for the guide

#9 pyroim

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 03:03 AM

View PostLily from animove, on 13 December 2014 - 02:51 AM, said:

why not make some ingame screenshots? that would be a lot better for the guide

Im neither in a unit or have access to the maps seeing as they arn't in training grounds yet! So beyond actually dropping into a match, in which case my focus is most often taken by... other things.... it would be difficult to say the least. I could make some attempts at getting reasonable screen shots (a at a risk to my own life!) if games get to a calm point, I can see where you're coming from, seeing the positions in dimensional space would make for much better clarity.

View Postgeneralazure, on 13 December 2014 - 02:44 AM, said:


Personally, I think the way to go on sulphur is to use a few harassers at one side gate to concentrate the enemy there and then have the rest of the team go straight for the objective from the other side.

Imho this is more effective than wearing the enemy down near the gates only to have him dropped on your head as you're nearing the cannon.



Wish they'd placed the drop points somewhere else...




While I agree with you that a harassment team may be more effective due to the likely heavy ton first drop of the defending team, this post is mostly relating to PUGs and a solid gate breach, where the variables are a little more forgiving.
Where as the likely hood of getting everyone to drop in a skirmish style mech is/ would be a lot more difficult. Although i imagine after a few people die it may be coordinated, but until i have experience with running a group like that ill stick to what i know which simply put is a basic corner peel with zone control ill hold my tongue on hit n run methods. However if you could point out some of the methods that you use, mechs to hold and draw their fire, recommended specification of the skirmisher mechs ect. im sure movement at least would not be hard to coordinate

Edited by pyroim, 13 December 2014 - 03:11 AM.


#10 Telmasa

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 03:13 AM

Most interesting I saw was some GBI units...took South route first, deathballed in and did as much damage to the cannon as possible before dying (they actually all ran past my Jagermech, only taking the sparest of shots at me, it was surreal). The rest of my team converged on them and wiped them out with about 45% of the cannon health remaining.
That wave was mostly Timberwolves and so on.

Then they took the North route (cheese map, btw), tried moving in, but this time was met more headon by my team, and ended up trading evenly, for what seemed like a pretty thorough net loss. They did leave many mechs a bit beat-up.
This one was some assaults and lighter heavies.

Then they went South again, and took a whole bunch of SRM stormcrows...and basically deathballed right in again. They lost 1 or 2 of them, but so many at once...there was no stopping those SRMs from dumping onto the base, not without a wall of Atlases blocking it or something.


I've seen lots of variety, though, and plenty attacks succeeding both IS and Clan. This is just one example that stood out.

#11 ZenFool

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 04:14 AM

Just wait for a drop with no defenders. You can take all the screenshots you like before you team kills the base

#12 generalazure

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 04:16 AM

View Postpyroim, on 13 December 2014 - 03:03 AM, said:

While I agree with you that a harassment team may be more effective due to the likely heavy ton first drop of the defending team, this post is mostly relating to PUGs and a solid gate breach, where the variables are a little more forgiving.
Where as the likely hood of getting everyone to drop in a skirmish style mech is/ would be a lot more difficult. Although i imagine after a few people die it may be coordinated, but until i have experience with running a group like that ill stick to what i know which simply put is a basic corner peel with zone control ill hold my tongue on hit n run methods. However if you could point out some of the methods that you use, mechs to hold and draw their fire, recommended specification of the skirmisher mechs ect. im sure movement at least would not be hard to coordinate


See, thats the beauty of PUGvsPUG (I'm usually PUG'in myself)... you don't really need a full drop of skirmish mechs, 2 red dots and a few flashy lasers are usually enough to get the attention of the defenders and shift most of their weight towards the gate you want them to be. Anything with enough speed to get in and out of cover and some annoying ranged poke can do the job. The rest of the team just has to form a murderball, which they should be used to from regular games. The real difficulty appears to be the right timing between the bait and the hammer, which can be tricky without voice comms.

Of course, a well coordinated defending unit would see through this pretty fast... but against such opposition, there's not much you can do with a PUG anyways.

So far, all successful attacks I've seen in CW were on the sulphur map and not a single one killed off the defenders...

#13 Bromineberry

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 04:20 AM

I think the most important tips are


1.: Kill as many turrets on the first wave.
The first wave will usually never make it, because it's 12 fresh Mechs vs. 12 fresh Mechs in better positions + turrets. So it is important to kill the turrets, because the second wave will be 12 fresh Mechs vs 12 Mechs (most damaged, some badly beaten up) + 0 turrets, giving the attackers the advantage until reinforcements for the defenders arrive.

2.: Group up after being killed!
If people dribble into the base one by one or in little 2 man groups, thats usually an instant loss. After the first wave is down, I think its best to group up and have at least 10 man to attack the base again (-2 for optional diversion at the other entrance(s).

3.: On the Sulphur map, use Alpha or Gamma as an attacker.
I think these two points are vastly surperior to Beta. If the attackers uses Alpha/Gamma, they usually get a pretty good position, to fire at the generator. If they use Beta, they have to physically kill all the defenders or pass them ("walk by them") to get to the generator, because they are usually close to the canon and the generator is at the back of this thing. You have to get very close to the defenders, you cannot use range to keep them at distance and if you just move by them, you have them in your back...not a good idea. Also, if you take a look at the map, Beta basically has 2-3 chockepoints! First the gates, then the one close to the cannon, and then the canon itself. Alpha nd Gamma on the other hand, onl have one realyl tight chokepoint.
I never saw pushes at Beta work so far. All the wins by attackers that I witnessed on this map have been carried out via the Alpha or Gamma gate.

Edited by Bromineberry, 13 December 2014 - 04:27 AM.


#14 generalazure

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 04:24 AM

Something more on topic: The 2 turrets at gamma can be taken out at range, from a point that's hidden from the usual defender positions by part of a ridge. The only thing the defenders can do about this is peek around that ridge, but that's usually a bad trade for them.

#15 Satan n stuff

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 04:36 AM

It's not a bad idea to try to open all the gates before moving in, it makes it much easier to get in on later waves, and forming up with the rest of the team after opening a gate is always an option if you've got a fast group on that gate.

#16 pyroim

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 04:37 AM

Im doing some work to get some in game images so I can put some of the positioning tactics and lines of sight into a more dimensional perspective so expect that in a few hrs or so! Other than that skirmish tactics seem to be one of the go to by most of the larger units, atleast for sulpher, and Im interested ill be trying to pull of some of the bait and switch tactics myself over my next couple of games.

#17 Shalune

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Posted 13 December 2014 - 04:41 AM

It's honestly going to take a while for even the best of us to thoroughly learn how these maps play so it's hard to provide feedback. I admire your positivity and organization though.

For people looking for more to learn from, check out SJR's stream from yesterday. Especially at ~1:17
http://www.twitch.tv...315733?t=78m00s

Obviously these guys are the best of the best and more coordinated than any PUG, but you can see how the tactic they use here isn't remarkably complicated. It's absolutely doable for a PUG group that's willing to work together and will probably see some level of success against your average defense. If they can end a game in 6 minutes, I'm pretty sure we've got a shot in 30.

Important notes:
Don't stop, and don't kill what you don't have to. You'll leave a lot of slow enemies out of the fight and avoid spawns dropping fresh in front of you.

Edited by Shalune, 13 December 2014 - 04:43 AM.


#18 pyroim

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Posted 14 December 2014 - 08:43 AM

Updated with some of the Vault tactics, actually ended up in a match with some of the SJR guys ( Including the streamer you linked Shalune!)
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Was a real honor to play with these guys and we actually used about the same tactic as in the Replay so I was able to get some real good images of the tactics and movement patterns these guys were using and applied them in the guide above!

More will come with time please let me know if you like the new image formatting.

Good screen caps with the clarity I want have been fairly difficult to come by as im often being shot at and i haven't got much variability in map selection. Mostly Vault. But I will be continuing to update with more images I get. Also will be updating with Hit n run tactics, Useful routes ( mostly for cheeze map) and ultra light artillery runs and routes!

Edited by pyroim, 14 December 2014 - 08:47 AM.


#19 Dagadegatto

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Posted 14 December 2014 - 09:50 AM

This is very good stuff. Thanks for taking the time to do this! :)
I think the map combined with cockpit view images is very useful. Could you add that for cheese-world as well?

#20 pyroim

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Posted 14 December 2014 - 09:58 AM

View PostDagadegatto, on 14 December 2014 - 09:50 AM, said:

This is very good stuff. Thanks for taking the time to do this! :)
I think the map combined with cockpit view images is very useful. Could you add that for cheese-world as well?


Yes! I will be doing this as drops permit, lately its been vault... and vault.... and vault.... ANNNNNDD vaulttt!!!!! but as soon as i get sulfuric ill be sure to be adding those to the collection!






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