26 replies to this topic

[Athousandson]

Hi everyone, I just started out piloting mediums and I chose the Griffin to start with. Prior to this I usually pilot a Warhawk (1x UAC10, 2x ERPPC) and an Atlas (3x srm6+A, AC 20, 2x ML)so the playstyle is really different. I've just basic-ed a 1N and now I'm running with a 3M with a 4x SRM4 and LL build. But I've been getting pretty mixed results from the mech (both 1N and 3M).

At times I've done matches with 500-700 damage but most of the time I'm getting killed with around 180 damage done. In some games I just lucked out, in others I wasn't the main target of the enemy.

So the big question now is, as a medium pilot, what's my role on the battlefield and what should I be doing to maximize my damage?

[happy mech]

my tip would be to always stay near an assault

[stalima]

mediums are typically best when theyre around larger threatening mechs who can take hits for them and also throw out enough damage to protect them, exceptions do apply

[Colonel Clunge]

Athousandson, on 22 May 2015 - 08:25 AM, said:

Hi everyone, I just started out piloting mediums and I chose the Griffin to start with. Prior to this I usually pilot a Warhawk (1x UAC10, 2x ERPPC) and an Atlas (3x srm6+A, AC 20, 2x ML)so the playstyle is really different. I've just basic-ed a 1N and now I'm running with a 3M with a 4x SRM4 and LL build. But I've been getting pretty mixed results from the mech (both 1N and 3M).

At times I've done matches with 500-700 damage but most of the time I'm getting killed with around 180 damage done. In some games I just lucked out, in others I wasn't the main target of the enemy.

So the big question now is, as a medium pilot, what's my role on the battlefield and what should I be doing to maximize my damage?

Well. Maybe it's just me but if you are doing 500 to 700 damage in your Griffin you aren't doing much wrong in my opinion. That aside though what I've found from piloting mediums (mainly wolverines, shawks and enforcers ) is you cannot fall into the trap of thinking you can boss the front lines. Use heavies and assaults to draw fire and as cover themselves. Use all availabel cover and change your position frequently. This is probably the best the best piece of advice. Resist the temptation to stay put even if you have a good spot as at some point an assault will rain fire on you. Dont ever try and go toe to toe with anything heavier than you as chances are you will lose. Pick your moment to enter any brawl. Never go too early as you'll die very quickly. Mediums are mobile and can pack a punch so use your speed to pick good positions. Finally, dont get greedy - swoop in gets some hits in and get out quickly.Good luck!

[Flak Kannon]

Really only one tip needed.

Slow down. Make the other 'aggressive' players earn the SRM16 to the face.

Remember, you are not John Rambo. Anytime there are more than 2 mechs shooting at you and not something else, your kinda doing the SRM Griff wrong, in my opinion.

Just slow down a bit and let the flow come to you, not vice versa.

[Lugh]

Stick and move. You are fast enough to flank and assist and pour on fire to mechs that are shooting at your friends.

Don't go anywhere alone. You are a force multiplier for your assaults and heavies. If you are supporting them you are doing it right (higher damage numbers from not having to absorb incoming fire and mitigate damage)

It's sometimes tempting to get in extra shots because people haven't started shooting at you yet. Don't. Swoop out, take shots, then swoop to cover, rinse repeat. Try and vary the places you are attacking from as well.

[Spleenslitta]

Lugh, on 22 May 2015 - 09:30 AM, said:

Stick and move. You are fast enough to flank and assist and pour on fire to mechs that are shooting at your friends.

Don't go anywhere alone. You are a force multiplier for your assaults and heavies. If you are supporting them you are doing it right (higher damage numbers from not having to absorb incoming fire and mitigate damage)

It's sometimes tempting to get in extra shots because people haven't started shooting at you yet. Don't. Swoop out, take shots, then swoop to cover, rinse repeat. Try and vary the places you are attacking from as well.

Whether you stay with the team or not one thing is for certain. Not shooting from the same piece of cover over and over is very good advice.
Same goes for shooting over and over till you receive damage yourself. The best shot is the one were you don't get damaged in return.

[sycocys]

May or may not help in your case, but I play mediums as if they were a stock engine Commando.

Stick and move, only set up on guys that are otherwise engaged and you can reasonably strip parts or secure a kill.
Flank, flank, flank - or come out of other wise unexpected locations that give opponents bad firing angles.

If you are running ammo based builds like srms use artemis and a couple tons less ammo because you'll waste way less on missed missiles + focus the shots that hit into much tighter groups. I consider the srm4 + artemis to be an AC8 at anything over 50m. Biggest thing I found is to actually run SHORT or low on ammo then work your way up to a sweet spot where you'll generally have a few salvos remaining at the end of the mechs lifespan.

I personally would not target legs as a priority in a medium - put shots on critical parts to quickly gain control over any engagements. Torsos + Head are the best targets for me, once you have control of those areas you have control over the fight. Legs are a sub-target and generally only useful if the armor is very weak or pre-stripped.

[Spleenslitta]

sycocys, on 22 May 2015 - 09:41 AM, said:

May or may not help in your case, but I play mediums as if they were a stock engine Commando.

Stick and move, only set up on guys that are otherwise engaged and you can reasonably strip parts or secure a kill.
Flank, flank, flank - or come out of other wise unexpected locations that give opponents bad firing angles.

If you are running ammo based builds like srms use artemis and a couple tons less ammo because you'll waste way less on missed missiles + focus the shots that hit into much tighter groups. I consider the srm4 + artemis to be an AC8 at anything over 50m. Biggest thing I found is to actually run SHORT or low on ammo then work your way up to a sweet spot where you'll generally have a few salvos remaining at the end of the mechs lifespan.

I personally would not target legs as a priority in a medium - put shots on critical parts to quickly gain control over any engagements. Torsos + Head are the best targets for me, once you have control of those areas you have control over the fight. Legs are a sub-target and generally only useful if the armor is very weak or pre-stripped.

We did not agree on the AC2 issue Sycosys, but here we're totally on the same.....whatever we'll call it.
BTW OP here is something that has served me well.

Let's say you come out of cover and shoot someone. He turns to notice you but you run into cover as usual.
If he sees the direction you run in concider throwing in a feint such as-
- Run towards and past the next piece of cover that would make for a good place to shoot from while your out of line of sight.
He will expect you to pop out there but instead you run to the next place and shoot him from there.

Or

- Once your out of line of sight turn around and run in the opposite direction. Now you will pop out somewhere he didn't expect you to.
Ironicly this feint is more effective without a radar deprivation module because he will have a lock on you for awhile after you dissapear from his sight.
That time reinforces his belief of where you will pop out of cover next. Shoot but do not get shot in return.

Edited by Spleenslitta, 22 May 2015 - 10:07 AM.

[oldradagast]

The purpose of a medium mech, IMHO, is to be an extra bunch of guns that suddenly shows up "attached" to another ally mech. Is your Atlas stuck brawling with a Direwolf? Well, imagine if he suddenly had an extra AC20 and some medium lasers (Hunchback) helping him out?

Then, you use your decent speed to run off and be an extra set of guns for another ally.

You're not tough enough to simply take the hits, and you're not fast enough to avoid them. But you can take some hits, dish out good damage, and be fast enough to get to where you're needed.

[Athousandson]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I think they're all really good pieces of advice! Now the next question is, XL or STD? I've watched some videos of some guys running an XL340 on a 3M and they seem to do really well. Personally I do badly at XL engines but the STD im running only allows me to go at 81kph :/ SO, any opinions anyone?

[Spleenslitta]

Athousandson, on 23 May 2015 - 07:50 AM, said:

Thanks for the replies everyone, I think they're all really good pieces of advice! Now the next question is, XL or STD? I've watched some videos of some guys running an XL340 on a 3M and they seem to do really well. Personally I do badly at XL engines but the STD im running only allows me to go at 81kph :/ SO, any opinions anyone?

I think that as long as you get sufficient speed out of a XL engine it barelly matters at all which mech you put it in.Why?
Well....i do not have a simple way to say it except what i wrotte in this non meta light mech tactics guide.
It's basicly a set of tactics and feints to shoot your enemies without getting shot back.

It's a textwall monster and it was developed for light mechs, but i've recently found that my Vindicator 1AA is capable of doing this almost as well as a light mech.
The Griffin can do it too but with more firepower.
http://mwomercs.com/...-tactics-guide/

When things go the way i want it to the results are simply stunning. But when it goes wrong it does so bigtime.

[h0UNd]

happy mech, on 22 May 2015 - 08:35 AM, said:

my tip would be to always stay near an assault

Make sure that assault is a TimberWolf who DC's..

[Athousandson]

Spleenslitta, on 23 May 2015 - 08:03 AM, said:

I think that as long as you get sufficient speed out of a XL engine it barelly matters at all which mech you put it in.Why? Well....i do not have a simple way to say it except what i wrotte in this non meta light mech tactics guide. It's basicly a set of tactics and feints to shoot your enemies without getting shot back. It's a textwall monster and it was developed for light mechs, but i've recently found that my Vindicator 1AA is capable of doing this almost as well as a light mech. The Griffin can do it too but with more firepower. http://mwomercs.com/...-tactics-guide/ When things go the way i want it to the results are simply stunning. But when it goes wrong it does so bigtime.

I took some time to read the piece you wrote. It's a pretty interesting idea and I can see the potential for it in a light. But for a Griffin/Medium I'm not so sure, especially given my play style. When I first started off playing the Atlas, I was a typical brawler. After I mastered my DDC I continued my role as a brawler but this time leading the charge more often. After that I tried out a whole bunch of mechs but eventually settled on the Warhawk as a skirmisher. I could hold off mechs from mid-long range as long as I wasn't overwhelmed. But the point is, in both play styles, I was often close to the front line. So I guess in general my play style leans towards brawling or mid-range fighting, and that I think makes a lot of difference in the way one plays his builds.

[Spleenslitta]

Athousandson, on 23 May 2015 - 09:50 AM, said:

I took some time to read the piece you wrote. It's a pretty interesting idea and I can see the potential for it in a light. But for a Griffin/Medium I'm not so sure, especially given my play style. When I first started off playing the Atlas, I was a typical brawler. After I mastered my DDC I continued my role as a brawler but this time leading the charge more often. After that I tried out a whole bunch of mechs but eventually settled on the Warhawk as a skirmisher. I could hold off mechs from mid-long range as long as I wasn't overwhelmed. But the point is, in both play styles, I was often close to the front line. So I guess in general my play style leans towards brawling or mid-range fighting, and that I think makes a lot of difference in the way one plays his builds.

Indeed. This is not something you can do while being on the frontlines.
This mix of all range weaponry makes for hot builds that do below averagely in a brawl.
But the part about feints can definitivly be used.

It can be done in a Vindicator 1AA so it's not impossible in a Griffin.
But yes.....light mechs are best suited for it. In any case good luck.

[WANTED]

XL engine is ok if you go fast enough. I like to hit 90-100kph if possible ( ie my Yen lo has XL and goes 98kph) Then just stay near the group and keep moving and firing. Flanks are ok
If you stay on the outskirts of the main group but don't go so far as to get isolated and focused fired down. I am having success in the Cicada(121kph)and the ER PPC 50 percent faster velocity quirk with ac 5 as back up. Just keep moving and firing or find cover and fire then relocate and fire again. Really throws off the other team as to where to focus attention. I usually snaps fire the PPC and run around my team. Depends on your mech but play to its strengths.

[John80sk]

Athousandson, on 22 May 2015 - 08:25 AM, said:

Hi everyone, I just started out piloting mediums and I chose the Griffin to start with. Prior to this I usually pilot a Warhawk (1x UAC10, 2x ERPPC) and an Atlas (3x srm6+A, AC 20, 2x ML)so the playstyle is really different. I've just basic-ed a 1N and now I'm running with a 3M with a 4x SRM4 and LL build. But I've been getting pretty mixed results from the mech (both 1N and 3M).

At times I've done matches with 500-700 damage but most of the time I'm getting killed with around 180 damage done. In some games I just lucked out, in others I wasn't the main target of the enemy.

So the big question now is, as a medium pilot, what's my role on the battlefield and what should I be doing to maximize my damage?

The way I see it, the best way to pilot a medium is to try to be the "gray man". You don't necessarily need to be near the assaults as many suggest, but you do want a higher priority target to be available to the enemy team when you're hitting them. If you've got the attention of more than one mech at a time, you're probably doing it wrong.

Another thing to keep in mind is the advantage of bringing a medium is that you shouldn't be missing any engagements. Any time your team is fighting you should be there hitting the other team while they're shooting at what they perceive to be the bigger threat. This is probably the biggest bit, you should be in every fight that occurs during a match (within reason).

Angles are important as always. Try to limit the amount of mechs that are even able to return fire on you using cover. Striking from an angle that requires the enemy team to turn away from the bulk of your force in order to return fire is also a good thing.

[YueFei]

I'm gonna go ahead and say it's OK to take a few hits for your teammates.

It's just a fine line between taking a few hits for the team and overextending and getting gibbed.

But if you can safely take a few hits for teammates, go for it. It increases the odds of victory and survival, because instead of dead or disarmed teammates, by absorbing a couple hits for them, your buddies can live and continue shooting the bad guys with you.

Try to tell your teammates when you do this so they can take advantage of it.

Although usually the astute teammates don't need you to say anything, they'll see you make a move and they'll capitalize on it.

[Mazzyplz]

i pilot an ecm cicada from time to time it goes over 110 kph and shoots 3 large lasers. so if you have a similar mech then my experience could help you:





my tip would be to never stay put more than 1.5 seconds, go up the hill by braking hard at the summit, shoot your weapons load, and drive out as fast as you came

make intelligent driving routes around the map, you can make a drive that goes near the enemy but always have a planned return route that you can take to be behind your team again
also drive straight there and back, don't actually stop there for any reason

most of the time you want to go fast and know where you're going, but if you are being chased,
changing your route to be more unpredictable can be beneficial sometimes esp. if you have radar derp or ecm, you can make the enemy think you banked right and kept going when in reality you took a left somewhere in between!

drive like a getaway driver! imagine you are in a high speed car chase and you are in a sports car, make sure you take all those curves and get behind those hills that barely cover you, so you won't get hit and hear the bullets whizzing by

use your small size for cover, remember you can use some of the stuff for cover in the map that wouldn't hide a heavy mech, not only the hills that you want to navigate the best possible way, but also when popping in and out, in urban enviroments. like in frozen city there are some
buildings that are only waist high to an atlas, you can hide behind those

targets that you choose will be based on your weapons, for my 3 large lasers, it is mostly cataphracts, or similar heavy mechs - they are the right size for 3 large lasers to do something, but slow enough that they can't actually take chase after me or use a million small lasers to disintegrate my legs

targets that you avoid also based on your weapons, in my case, i can't deal with the dps and pinpoint at super close range that firestarters have, facing a jenner would be asking for a lot of trouble, and so would most of those small and medpulse laser boats in the game.
the superquirked huggin will also be your worst nightmare

fair fights that if necesary i can go into, for instance the spider which also tends to shoot long range, he flies but i have ecm so it could go either way.
myst lynx, cicada, kit fox (ecm too!)... you gotta learn to pick your battles

all of this could change if you for instance decide to put 2erppc in your cicada, then your playstyle becomes more fire and forget and you can better take on pinpoint mechs~

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

- do not stop moving
- do not engage in hillhumping contests
- poptart
- use brawling or lrm fire support mechs (4J hunchy or 7M treb)
- forget ballistics unless its gauss+ppc or ac20