29 replies to this topic

[Trooper Chunks]

What is support mech role look like in the eyes of an experienced player? As light and medium size mechs, do you do much shooting? either against large or small mechs? And whats your rule of engagement?

Thanks!

[Todeshonk]

dont know if i am qualified as experienced player but here are my 2 cents:

as a support mech, especially lights i would try to scout at the beggining of the match and relay information back to my team about enemy movement.

after that, when the firelines are drawn, i would check for flanking enemies or support my team with longrange fire and maybe ecm support (looking at you raven 3L)

there is also the option to apply narcs to your enemies for lrms, maybe even tag. but this is only viable with an lrm heavy team.

when you prefer firestarters or jenners try to find mechs with severly damaged components and go for a fast hard hitting attack. fast in fast out ... speed is life! this opportunities will occure in the mid to end of the match. also always keep an eye out for enemy light mechs harrasing your assaults.


as a medium mech support can be as an escort mech for assaults ... use them as cover and fire on their targets, there are many viable options here.
you could peel the targets on long range and cover against lights.
when doing this try to give your assaults enough space to move. keep a healthy distance.

or you can hang back and be an lrm support (hunchback 4J)

do you do much shooting you ask?


it depends on your mech ... ofc you shoot ... but look for opportunities to deal damage and not recieve as much. medium brawlers can be very effective in groups or even solo when sneaky from behind. (hunchback 4p or 4SP, stormcrows etc.)
if you prefer long range sniper go for largelasers (wolverines) or ppc builds.

i hope this was not to confusing. its a broad topic. there are many different aspects and oppinions, i hope i could be of some assistance.

sry for spelling errors, gramma fukcups etc ...

[Nothing Whatsoever]

Trooper Chunks, on 13 March 2015 - 05:50 PM, said:

What is support mech role look like in the eyes of an experienced player? As light and medium size mechs, do you do much shooting? either against large or small mechs? And whats your rule of engagement?

Thanks!

For any mech, the main idea is either focus fire or be the distraction (often called the squirrel for fast mechs). So then the two most important variables to keep in mind are speed to firepower. If you match speeds with fellow Assaults or Heavies for example, then you are going to tend to Focus Fire on an opponent.

But if you have mixed speeds you can have one mech divert the target to open the opponent up to get rear cored or simply draw fire from a friendly. Also with speed you can flank from a different angle, and with good placement, remain unseen by your target too.

---

The general rule of thumb to follow is don't chase the squirrel. Often faster mechs will try this tactic, and if an opponent falls for it they can be in for a very short and frustrating match.

Also if you are scouting you don't need to be too far from allies, as long as you help track where the enemy can approach and either target or type then you're doing your job.

The other good rule is be ready to take a risk, to gain an advantage, but don't sacrifice your mech. Meaning that sometimes it's better to push and take some damage than to hold back. But also don't go rambo by yourself or else you are just doing an impression of Leeroy Jenkins and end up regretting the decision.

Another general tip is remain in a match and watch what other players do, you can't see their weapon groups, but you can see how weapons fire or how they perform defensive maneuvers and move around maps to give you a better sense of what you can try in your next match on that map.

There are bunch of other tips, based on specific mechs that I can think of, but these are the most general points that came to mind right now; and I'm sure that there are plenty more to be shared too.

[Koniving]

Hello and welcome to MWO.

Depends on the sort of support you're doing. But see for yourself here, I've been around since before June 2012. I hope you can find what you were looking to find out from here.
Spoiler inserted. A number of different kinds of support from light, medium, as well as 1 heavy and 1 assault.
Scouting, sniper, hit/run, missile, ballistic.

Spoiler

For example, scouting... (Keep in mind this video is old)


Camera recording, and support of a swarmed assault mech.


Sniping light in support of a lance (after the Jagermech; note the Jenner vid splits end first then beginning; I know...bad editing on my part).


This is old school, but it's a hit/run and missile support light.


Missile support. (Seen from the exterior thanks to Lordred's camera commando). I'm in the golden Kintaro.


Ballistic support (it's a heavy,but it is a support role)


Combined arms support (assault mech)

Now, this is going solo, but it gives you an idea of what light mechs can do to other enemies all by itself. Vid by Lordred.

First target is afk. The others are not.

Edited by Koniving, 13 March 2015 - 07:06 PM.

[MavRCK]

There is no such thing as support.

You carry and kill or you don't.

This isn't league of legends.

[TercieI]

MavRCK, on 13 March 2015 - 07:15 PM, said:

There is no such thing as support.

You carry and kill or you don't.

This isn't league of legends.

^This. "Support Mech" is right there with "Bracket Build" on the list of terms that make good players cringe.

Edited by Terciel1976, 13 March 2015 - 07:33 PM.

[MavRCK]

Terciel1976, on 13 March 2015 - 07:15 PM, said:

^This. "Support Mech" is right there with "Bracket Build" on the list of terms that make good players cringe.

It's like when that slimy guy says, I'll 'support' your girlfriend when you're away on a work trip.

[TercieI]

MavRCK, on 13 March 2015 - 07:37 PM, said:

It's like when that slimy guy says, I'll 'support' your girlfriend when you're away on a work trip.

LOL.

[Rogue Jedi]

this is my favorite support Mech:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a23268149f85309

the way it works is to stay with the big guys, providing ECM and AMS cover, shoot at what they shoot at and just provide general support, this way you assist your teams biggest Mechs and allow them to to do their job. you may not get massive damage scores or lots of kills but you will be a big help especially if the enemy team have a lot of LRMs and you are on Caustic where there is not much cover

[CruiseMissileCowboy]

Try to keep it simple, support larger mechs by following them, and move to flanking positions to shoot their targets, and also keep an eye on their 6 to defend against light mechs.

[Trooper Chunks]

Thanks for the replies! I think the hardest part is figuring out where the enemy is coming from and not dying in the initial long range blasts that come at the group. Match endings are polar opposite, it's either 12-2 or 2-12. I try to stick with some bigger mechs and focus fire their targets. Sometimes that seems to work, other times, not so much.

I really like that Kitfox-S too, but you can't buy that version right now, since it's a trial. Hopefully it will be available when the new trials are released. I would love to customize it.

[TercieI]

You absolutely can buy the KFX-S now, for MC or CB. Go to the store tab.

[Mott]

Echoing MavRCK & Terciel.

There is no such thing as a support mech in MWO - it's a sad and common misconception among new players (i was one). The game is simply not designed or set up in a way that can allow even one player to hide in the backfield, hoping they don't catch any flak.

Oh, i know plenty of fluffy lore bunnies (i'm one of them) that wishes MWO had that level of lore immersion, where the eye of the battle is anchored by Assaults and Heavies, as Mediums swarm around them and lights harass lone and flanking units, while feeding valuable intel back to their commanders...

But... that's not MWO... so you gotta play with the game you have.

And in the game we have, every set of eyeballs on the enemy and every weapon spewing carnage down-range is infinitely more valuable than any "support" role/build you can dream of.

To compare to sports... be the player who wants the ball. Don't plan and strive to be one of the least contributing players on your team... plan and strive to be the guy carrying your team. Then build your skills and your mechs accordingly.

[Trooper Chunks]

Terciel1976, on 16 March 2015 - 07:49 AM, said:

You absolutely can buy the KFX-S now, for MC or CB. Go to the store tab.

I tried yesterday and couldn't. I'll try again when I get the pot of gold pay out tmo. Thanks!!

[TercieI]

Trooper Chunks, on 16 March 2015 - 01:43 PM, said:

I tried yesterday and couldn't. I'll try again when I get the pot of gold pay out tmo. Thanks!!

Very weird. Sorry. 5.848CB

[Trooper Chunks]

I meant the KitFox-C. I actually used some cbills to buy the S version which is fun, i love the pulse lasers! But the C seems more utility to larger mechs. any idea when that one is comin out?

[DemonicDonut]

Not sure, but you can buy different omni-pods for now to do different builds. You can get the ecm arm, as well as prime components etc

This is what I run on my KFX-S Note the prime legs and left torso to save some weight on JJ's to use for ammo. It does mean spending more c-bills though on a chassis instead of a 'mech though.

Edited by DemonicDonut, 16 March 2015 - 05:51 PM.

[Tim East]

Well, I actually need to step in and say something to all those who say that there is no such thing as a support mech really quick. You are 95% correct. The current meta does not support (heh) support mechs as an exclusive/primary style of play. I originally (until the clans came out) ran my Com 2D as a near-pure support build, with a TAG, and 3 SSRM2s. It was good at the time, and netted me very good (for me) w/l numbers, but never got much in the way of kills, and 200 damage was a lot for it. It also printed c-bills like the fed prints dollars for a brief while during the beginning phase of rewards 2.0.

With all that said, the meta changed, IS SSRMs became worth pretty much nothing, LRMs sucked even more and were seen even less, and the reward scheme changed so that TAG wasn't ridiculous. So, I changed it over to an SRM boat, enjoyed the damage output increase, and started harassing heavies instead of lights.

My point is, you CAN actually do a primarily support build, and in some instances you will even do ok in one, but in the current rewards environment, damage is and will likely remain king. Damage kills the enemy, AMS/TAG/NARC/ECM/B(C)AP does not. This does not mean that those items are useless; it does mean that you should consider very carefully whether they'll allow you (or your teammates, but mostly you) to inflict more damage than say, another weapon. For my money, I feel like ECM and BAP are worth it, and the rest generally aren't, though I will put AMS on mechs that run slower than 60 sometimes.

[Trooper Chunks]

to put the ecm arm on, what item do i omni-pod? the left torso or the left arm?

totally get it. thanks a million dude!

[Levi Porphyrogenitus]

Trooper Chunks, on 16 March 2015 - 06:05 PM, said:

to put the ecm arm on, what item do i omni-pod? the left torso or the left arm?

totally get it. thanks a million dude!

Uller (Kit Fox) Right Arm C.

Also, how do you define a support build? Many people mean many things when they say it, and some reject the premise altogether. Defining your terms here would help a bit with potential advice.