34 replies to this topic

[TLX]

There is players who like it, others who hate,but the true was that a rain of misiles over enemyes is always welcomed. As for me in a lrm based mech user and my best scores was with that.

And u,what do u think about lrm based mechs???

Edited the post for posh people

Edited by TLX, 09 May 2015 - 11:49 PM.

[Elizander]

Unless you are the artemis/tag type that can fire in the open, they are too situational. ECM can cancel them out. Lack of spotters can cancel them out. Cover can cancel them out. Being too close can cancel them out (unless you're clan, but even then damage is reduced).

Too many stars have to align (to put it simply, your enemies have to be bad/new) for LRMs to be consistent unless you're throwing it in their face and are familiar with dumb-firing them.

I do drive them for fun once in a blue moon, but there are too many ways to shut down LRMs for them to be taken too seriously.

[MechWarrior3671771]

As a new player I found them fun and effective. But as you get better the game will match you against more seasoned players who know how to defeat them. You'll know when because you'll start having matches where you feel you were useless. For me it was at around 400 hours of play, your experience may vary somewhat due to skill, but not much.

So enjoy them while you can and start training up on ballistic or lasers for afterwards.

[Levi Porphyrogenitus]

When I run an LRM carrier, I follow several rules:

1 - Throw weight is less important than total damage potential. Given the choice, go with efficient launchers (5s and 15s), and don't in general bother with more than 45 missiles (3x 15s). If you aren't able to burn through over 1k LRMs in a match, you are doing it wrong.

2 - Artemis IV is not worth it. For smaller launchers the boost to group size is marginal at best and the cost in tonnage and crits is amplified. For larger launchers you're still losing out compared to a single TAG.

3 - Always bring meaningful backup guns. My Catapult runs quad MLs, my Battlemaster runs dual LPLs, my Awesome runs triple MPLs, my Stalker runs penta MLs, etc.

4 - TAG is great, take it when you can. TAG does what Artemis does, but it does it cheaper, more efficiently, and cancels ECM. The only downside is the hardpoint requirement, which you should prioritize meaningful backup guns over a TAG, but fit the TAG if you can afford the lost firepower.

5 - Have two trigger groups: LRM volleys and LRM streams. Use the former for AMS-protected targets and mechs that you don't expect to get more than one volley off on before losing lock. Use the latter for mechs that are heavily engaged to keep the CC effects of LRMs going, and to reduce overall impact spread on the target.

Following the above, I have several dedicated LRM carriers that still pack a good punch close-in, enough to chase off optimistic lights or to continue to contribute after exhausting the 1k+ LRMs in my payload.

[Elizander]

Well to add to what was said above yes, backup weapons help. You learn how to use them and not be shoehorned into being unable to contribute. I do play my LRM45 warhawk but it also comes with 2 CERLLs which are more than enough to handle most jobs. LL/ERLL would be better because MLs won't help if your enemy decides to ECM at long range.

For more fun boating you can bring a friend to narc for you and try the group queue (though that has its own frustrations tied to it).

[Tesunie]

LRM boats? Don't really like them.

LRM based mechs? That's a different story, as I do love my LRMs.

I feel LRMs have too many weaknesses to be used as a boated weapon system, but they do work great as secondary or even primary focus weapons with strong alternative weapons. (This isn't saying you can't boat with LRMs, or that it can't be effective. Just saying I don't feel it's worth the risk nor is steady and/or reliable enough to dedicate too much to it.)

[HimseIf]

Good for support but when i creep up on them, they tend to be an easy meal, and not every situation calls for them. Plus most dedicated boats are actually dumb designs (I.E. highlander with lots of LRMs and a tag with no backup what soever is a really dumb design.)

[Gagis]

LRM Assaults are waste of good tonnage and LRM Heavies are usually bad too, but I can see some merit in running a LRM Trebuchet or LRM Hunchback.

Also, always bring both Tag and Artemis. BAP helps too.

Edited by Gagis, 09 May 2015 - 10:35 PM.

[Modo44]

LRMs depend a lot on luck to be effective, so they should not be your main weapon, or even any weapon if you can help it. Their best (well, least terrible) use is as backup/secondary firepower on mechs that are already full of weapons. Contrary to popular belief, that means assaults. Any other mech has to sacrifice most of its tonnage to LRMs, and that is usually bad. There are some LRM-quirked mechs, but even those can not overcome situations where the map/team composition/ECM situation just blocks LRM use.

[TLX]

My Catapult have artemis equipped and when i can,im going to put a BAP. The other thought i have was that the artemis focus the spread of the lrmissiles,and maybe is the contrary not???

[Leone]

A boat/mech? Like a Land Sea Mech? That'd be nifty! Like a LAM only without the awesome flying.

As for mechs with lrms, well, I do enjoy slapping an lrm 5 or two on clan mechs just for area denial. people see that lrm warning and find cover, giving you room to advance often enough.

But yeah, I slap Small lasers at least on any thing running lrms.

~Leone, Raid Leader of the Crimson Hand.

[Rogue Jedi]

my opinion is that LRMs have there place,

if you pull the correct map and have a spotter, or are able to get your own locks with your own TAG and mount Artemus they can be very effective, but in the same way that a single brawler on a team of long range Mechs will be useless for much of the match there will be times where you cannot get locks so end up doing little or no damage.

if the enemy know how to avoid LRMs and if a map has a lot of cover you are unlikely to do much damage, however you can still be of use to the team by suppressing the enemy, nothing convinces an enemy to hide behind cover like getting an incoming missiles warning every time they poke there head out.

maps where LRMs are harder to use successfully include River City, Terra Therma and Crimson Strait due to the abundance of high structures to hide behind.

the best maps for LRMs are Caustic vally, Alpine Peaks and Forrest Colony due to large open spaces.

[TLX]

I think that too,LRM can do psicologic warning to the enemy,either if u hit or not. They always go to cover if is a good pilot,but always there is a friendly mech go to this covered mech,so u obigate to enemy mech stay in cover and dont give the chance to move to another site,otherwise he want a rain of missiles. This is the cause ive said always that LRM was support weapons in some cases

[TripleEhBeef]

I like taking out my Treb 5N and 5J for some LRM skirmishing fun.

However, I think the biggest flaw with people who jump into LRMs is the "sit back and bombard" mentality.

When I run my Trebs, I try to stay close to the fight, getting line of sight on guys and dropping missiles on them at 300-500 meters while mixing in medium laser fire. Of course, a fat Dire Whale derping around on his own at 800 meters is going to get rained on, but most of the time I'm a lot closer to the fight.

There's a few reasons for this. First, the bombardier mindset causes the player to typically hang back pretty far from the main group. Light mech pilots know this. They have wet dreams about slow XL engine Catapults stuffed to the gills with LRM ammo firing missiles in some isolated corner of the map. On big maps like Alpine or Tourmaline, all you'll see is a panicked call for help in the chat, then that blue Dorito will blink out.

Second, due to LRM travel time, available cover, and the prevalence of AMS and ECM, your hit probability will decrease the further you are from the target. LRMs incoming at 900 meters are easy for even a King Crab to avoid. Not so much at 400 meters.

Lastly, being close to the fight means you can get potshots in with your secondary weapons, increasing your damage dealt and CBills earned.

[Hayashi]

LRM usage is a destabilising selection.

In the beginning new players favour them as LRMs allow you to fire behind cover and still get damage/kills, have relatively good effective ranges, doesn't require much by the way of aiming and doesn't require much by the way of movement as a minimum.

Then average players drop LRMs for other weapons as they spread damage too evenly to be useful for fast killing, have a low travel velocity allowing for people to just hide from them, aren't fast enough to hit IS lights reliably, can be countered by Radar Deprivation and can be countered by ECM.

Finally they reappear at the highest ELO brackets since you can use them to force people to go behind cover (suppressive fire), force others to charge you to close the minimum distance, shake cockpits incessantly denying opponents the ability to aim, and you can fire LRMs on a target halfway across the map while using direct fire weapons on the one in front of you to engage multiple fronts without needing to move past a sniper haunt. Some can also predict enemy movement well enough to dumbfire LRMs at 400+ metres and still hit with them - think of it as an Artillery Strike you can use far more than just once. And of course, in CW you can use them to open gates without taking any return fire by making use of its ballistic trajectory when dumbfired.

It's a rather interesting weapon type.

Edited by Hayashi, 10 May 2015 - 09:35 AM.

[Desorem]

LRM can **** faces if your team have NARCing light.

And i saw only two(sadly) NARCing lights - one was in my wet dreams and other was me when I got extremly bored with all this laservomit crap.

Because, you know, who will ever just throw away 4.5+ tonns?

Edited by Desorem, 10 May 2015 - 09:56 AM.

[Surtosi]

Lrms are a vital part of an effective team, either as a secdary system or boated. lrms start as low-skill wepons but as you move up the elo ladder they require the most skill to remain effective for the reasons listed In previous replies.

Wait for your frontline brawlers to engage then pick the most dangerous targets and work from there. what makes lrms mechs difficult is the importance of position, terrain between you and the target, and judging flight time over distance.

[TLX]

Surtosi, on 10 May 2015 - 10:28 AM, said:

Lrms are a vital part of an effective team, either as a secdary system or boated. lrms start as low-skill wepons but as you move up the elo ladder they require the most skill to remain effective for the reasons listed In previous replies.

Wait for your frontline brawlers to engage then pick the most dangerous targets and work from there. what makes lrms mechs difficult is the importance of position, terrain between you and the target, and judging flight time over distance.

Good to hear this U have reason.

[Surtosi]

Ha, thanks TLX

[Tesunie]

Is it just me, or did the title of this thread change from "What do u think about LRM boats" and is now "What do u think of LRM based mechs"?

Don't mind the broadening of the topic, but it doesn't feel honest when the title changes, which makes some people's responses seem more condemning of LRMs than they originally may have been intended for...