23 replies to this topic

[Aerekplus]

It seems like no matter what I do I automatically get targeted and die. I prefer using the madcat if that helps at all. But if someone runs in my face I cant do enough damage to kill them, If I stick with my group, all the missiles hit me, and I get targeted first. Or my entire team scatters and there's nothing I can do. Is there anyway I can get better at this game?

[Kenyon Burguess]

you cant get hit if your behind cover. tw are priority one on the battlefield, so your gonna get aimed at by everyone

[Aerekplus]

I tried hiding behind cover actually, a team mate started firing on me and telling me I was useless for not helping in combat. :/

[Alaskan Nobody]

Part of the problem is your mech of choice (THE prime target)

The rest of the problem... I do not have enough info to say for sure, but at a guess...

How is your armor allocation?
Timberwolves have odd hitboxes - and while your rear looks big - you can pretty safely reduce your rear armor down to ~2 for most fights (last I checked anyways)

[SuomiWarder]

Try to stand by another Timberwolf is possible. The two of you will draw arti strikes but maybe the other T Wolf will be prime direct fire target first.

Be careful about getting out in front, don't use it to charge into close range, aim carefully at the same part of the target mech, twist side to side when not aiming to spread damage over your mech, and maybe up your armor levels. Stock mechs are not usually max armor.

[Papapeshu]

Aerekplus, on 08 January 2015 - 05:15 PM, said:

I tried hiding behind cover actually, a team mate started firing on me and telling me I was useless for not helping in combat. :/

There's no excusing that kinda behaviour. Your team mate is effectively shooting himself in the foot, as are you if you return fire.... and the whole team is two players down.
Whilst you're taking enemy fire you are also taking the enemy's attention away from your team mate who SHOULD be moving into a better position to engage the enemy.
I'm not saying you should be a bullet/laser/missile sponge, but get yourself from one place of cover to another close by to prevent you getting too wet in the rain, firing back as you go

Sometimes doing this causes my mech to lie in smoking ruin, but imo it beats watching a team mate take on a couple of mechs solo!

[Davegt27]

The first thing is load up your armor of your Mech with like 90% on the front side

Always run max armor on the center and side torsos

The next priority is either AMS weapons system or radar deprivation module

Next is try to shoot at mechs that are not shooting at you
I say flank don’t charge
Next look at your mini map don’t be that Mech that is off to one side alone
Stay with the group if you can
Support your team if the red pointer on the mini map is turned away from you hit them!

You will have to try different weapons but your goal is to be able to hit the bad guys before they can hit
You (I have a real hard time using anything smaller than a large Laser)

HTH

[Aerekplus]

Thanks for the advice guys, why is the Mad cat a prime choice in combat?

[Basskicker]

Aerekplus, on 08 January 2015 - 09:45 PM, said:

Thanks for the advice guys, why is the Mad cat a prime choice in combat?

Because a properly built one can pump out a lot of damage in a very short amount of time. Plus it has very good hitboxes for a mech of its size. It is currently the strongest mech in the game ton for ton, IMO. Not saying it is OP like others do, but it is a very good mech.

[Rogue Jedi]

The Timber Wolf (Mad Cat) is arguable the best Mech in the game, as the best Mech people will shoot it first unless there is a better target.

A Timber Wolf with a good pilot is just that dangerous that the enemy cannot afford to ignore it.

here are a list of high priority targets (Mechs that the enemy team are likely to shoot first), if you do not want to be a primary target pick a Mech that is not on the list.

Timber Wolf (Mad Cat)
Stormcrow
Dire Wolf
Helbringer
Mad Dog
King Crab
Thunderbolt
Cataphract
Stalker
Atlas
Banshee

the Mechs I have listed can be very powerful in the correct hands, but I would hesitate to advise any of them to new players purely because they will receive a lot of attention from the enemy team

[Vlad Striker]

If the missiles comes to you:
1. Find mech eqipped with ECM (eye-like simbol) and run close to him at all speed. When you see blue eye at right side of HUD you may stop.
2. If it does not help then look up to the sky and seach light-blue star without blue triangle mark. This is enemy UAV. Shoot this thing as fast as you can.
3. If there is no friendly ECM mech near by then look around and try to find enemy spy. That will be some light small mech without blue triangle above. Shoot it or change position to hide from scout.
4. If you are direct viewed by enemy group - hide.
5. Buy and install Radar Deprivation module. It helps you decrease lock time on you when you hiding.

Edited by Vlad Striker, 09 January 2015 - 05:51 AM.

[Unnatural Growth]

If you're being focused on by the enemy team, you're probably doing it wrong. At least in pugs anyway. There is not one single mech that can survive being targeted and fired on by 4 or 5 enemy mechs. You must learn to use cover. That does not mean just sitting and hiding all match, but it means moving from one spot of cover to another as you move across the map. Learn to "slice the pie" and only expose yourself to one enemy at a time, not just blaze around the corner into a full enemy lance.

Stay with your team. Always. Don't go out alone, ever. Not in a heavy mech, and not in pugs. Even if your team goes off in some profoundly stupid direction, you're better off going with them than not. At the very least, find an assault mech or two to shadow and stay with them.

Watch out for enemy spotters. Those LRM's that are raining on your head are coming from somewhere, either the LRM boat can see you, or there is an enemy light mech spotting you from behind. Find it and kill it, or move into a position that he can no longer spot you. Sitting there and getting "lurmed" to death is not an option.

I would recommend switching to an easier mech to learn the game on first. You are far too much a "prize" target in that TW. As an Inner Sphere pilot, you are one of the first mechs I will try to take out (if you're on enemy team or CW).

[Vlad Striker]

Aerekplus, on 08 January 2015 - 05:15 PM, said:

I tried hiding behind cover actually, a team mate started firing on me and telling me I was useless for not helping in combat. :/

You must hide but not stand and do nothind. Use hiding to change position and go flank enemy group. If you see someone who try to go surround enemy - help this mech.

[Bigbacon]

Aerekplus, on 08 January 2015 - 05:02 PM, said:

It seems like no matter what I do I automatically get targeted and die. I prefer using the madcat if that helps at all. But if someone runs in my face I cant do enough damage to kill them, If I stick with my group, all the missiles hit me, and I get targeted first. Or my entire team scatters and there's nothing I can do. Is there anyway I can get better at this game?

if your team scatters there isn't a whole lot you can do. Find a group and stick with them as much as possible, if you end up alone just find the closest guys and run to him/her/it or just stand a fight even though you'll lose to mass numbers.

there is no shame in hiding if you need to. Your teammate shooting you is something that doesn't happen very often so don't think that it the norm. Sad someone had to go to that.

Just try your best to stay with folks and in the back and ALWAYS be aware of cover around you. You'll learn the maps at some point and know where to go and where no to.

Timber wolf is a great mech to start with because of its speed, maneuverability, and weapons but as others have said, you also set yourself up to be target #1.

I'd say, take some long range weapons and some LRMs and sort of play a support role until you get more comfortable with getting into the brawl more. the clan ER LLs have a long duration so you can use that to help you learn to aim a bit cause you'll have plenty of time to watch the beam and learn to adjust and hit targets.

in the end Play what interests you and don't give up. There is a pretty good learning curve for this game. I've been playing almost a year and I'm still mediocre at best. Make sure to just try other class of mech, you may find out that the fast lights actually suit you better than heavies.

Edited by Bigbacon, 09 January 2015 - 06:07 AM.

[Mott]

You're not "auto-dying"... you're "learning". Hopefully.

MWO has a difficult learning curve. The first lesson anyone learns - harshly - is to stop running into the open, and into the sights of 3 or 4 enemies.

The second lesson you should be learning is that taking the best, most deadly mech in the game = you are a priority target for your enemies. They will shoot at your before they focus on an Atlas even.

I would suggest switching to a different mech until you've learned to play better. If that's not possible, you really have to work on flanking, poking and sniping and generally just spending less time in your enemy's sights. And if missiles are a problem for you, get Radar Deprivation asap.

[Bulletsponge0]

C J Sparrow, on 08 January 2015 - 05:52 PM, said:

There's no excusing that kinda behaviour. Your team mate is effectively shooting himself in the foot, as are you if you return fire.... and the whole team is two players down.
Whilst you're taking enemy fire you are also taking the enemy's attention away from your team mate who SHOULD be moving into a better position to engage the enemy.
I'm not saying you should be a bullet/laser/missile sponge, but get yourself from one place of cover to another close by to prevent you getting too wet in the rain, firing back as you go

Sometimes doing this causes my mech to lie in smoking ruin, but imo it beats watching a team mate take on a couple of mechs solo!

[Sadistic Savior]

Aerekplus, on 08 January 2015 - 09:45 PM, said:

Thanks for the advice guys, why is the Mad cat a prime choice in combat?

It is the most versatile pretty much. It is very fast for a heavy (81kph, before speed tweak). Can boat missiles or ballistics or energy.

I have been playing it for the last week after mastering the King Crabs. With mastered crabs I can average 1-3 kills most games. I am now doing that in a Twolf after only basic-ing in it. Yeah, it seems a bit overpowered to me.

[Kjudoon]

Aerekplus, on 08 January 2015 - 05:15 PM, said:

I tried hiding behind cover actually, a team mate started firing on me and telling me I was useless for not helping in combat. :/

If this ever happens, take screen shots (F12) which are put into your MWO user folder.
Send these to support@mwomercs.com
Give approximate time, map and assailant information.

Drive these people out of the game.

That said, it takes time, and probably learning on light mechs to teach you to use cover and not get shot so much.

[Koniving]

Aerekplus, on 08 January 2015 - 09:45 PM, said:

Thanks for the advice guys, why is the Mad cat a prime choice in combat?

This was effectively my first time running one. The design was based on how I run my Stalker 4N.


Vid by Lordred. I'm in it, but the highlight is the Timber Wolf's last stand.

Combination of speed, armor, weapons and versatility with hardpoints.

[Kjudoon]

Allow me to add some basic advice too.

1: pilot your mech as if you could really die if destroyed. This will teach you to not be reckless.

2: be aware of your minimap for it will expose threats early.

3: Do map studies and learn your battlefields. This is critical for survival and escape when you make mistakes.

4: realize this is a team game and you should consider joining a unit that meets your personal needs and play style.

5: watch videos of good players. Study what they do and learn to imitate it.


Best advice I can give new players. Seriously, good luck.

Suck up edit: Watch Koniving's videos for #5. He's very good for helping people out like this. Mine are more for entertainment and maybe some good support pilot tactics.

Edited by Kjudoon, 10 January 2015 - 06:19 AM.