30 replies to this topic

[Wild Hamster]

Dear fellow light pilots.. what do you think is the best approach toward attacking an assault mech?

I've tried getting behind em but its pretty difficult to stay behind all the time (even the whale) as they seem to be able to twist and turn their way out.

Plus, once they get their back to a wall, it's almost GG. And if its a whale with 2 gauss + 2 ppc and a good aim, its definitely GG.

Would appreciate any of your inputs!

[RagingOyster]

Instead of trying to stay behind them, work on staying ahead of their torso twist. As long as they aren't looking at you they can't hit you, which means being in their side arcs is just as safe as being behind them.

It's also always a good idea to focus on one component. Instead of only hitting that heavily-armored CT or just firing with abandon, shoot off an arm or a ST or even leg him. Crippling a mech can be as good as killing it in some cases, especially if you can leg some poor assault who got left behind by his team.

Cover is your friend. You will always be faster and more agile than an assault mech, so use ridges, rocks, hills and the like to hit and run. You can make yourself a huge pain in the @$$ by simply popping out, shooting them once and running, forcing them to chase you.

Lastly, remember that your goal does not necessarily have to be to kill the assault mech. If you can keep harassing him and get it to chase you, you've taken him out of the fight. Baiting assaults into traps or getting them to chase you like a dog chasing a squirrel are some of your best tricks.

Edited by RagingOyster, 26 May 2015 - 07:21 AM.

[Corbenik]

How do I put this. like if your strategy fails and they put their back to the wall after you engaged them, you don't have to stay there to finish them off or till one of you goes down, you can always retreat to cover and get away. it is usually a mind game to see who gives in first. it requires patience. pay attention to what way they are facing run away and try to circle around them.

I was fighting a Atlas in my Loc-3m in the Bog caught him off guard from behind. and boy was that the longest minute or two of my life. but he would try get his back in cover. and i would run to cover hit from the sides and then id circle around make him wait. I could see he let his guard down when i stopped attacking but I was near him the whole time waiting. and just kept resuming my attacks when he lay down his guard and move. eventually i slowly pecked him to death and he died.

I think things woulda turned out differently if i just ran around him trying to hit him the whole time because sometimes a lucky shot or a small mistake on my part would get me killed. patience is key.

[Wild Hamster]

Thanks for the advice guys. I've been stuck in a 1v1 situation on more than a few occasions though.. no team mates to back me up. If the last mech is a fresh assault, I find it extremely challenging to win the fight.
Not impossible, as I've won some bouts before, but just not very good odds - especially against the aforementioned whale with gauss+ppc+lls

[Shadey99]

Height is also usually your friend. No assaults in game right now have jjs sufficient to get them up as high as lights can go (Victors and Highlanders can leap certain obstacles, but not jump up onto buildings for instance). So if your weapons are in the arms and can aim down, go higher and hit them where they have trouble tracking you. Especially up and behind them. Many times a assault has put their back to a wall/building I can climb and I simply leap the building and keep shooting them.

Lights without jjs need to stick to cover, striking and fading and basically not staying still longer than it takes to read siesmic. Try to avoid being predictable, ducking out to many times from one side or the other lets them set up for a shot at you the moment you appear. Keep them guessing.

Also... Given the choice shot them in the rear torso. Your next highest targets are either legs or torso. Legs cripple a mech and even effect torso twist and arm speed, leaving them at your mercy. Specifically for IS lights, mediums, and some heavies you want to go for side torso because many run XLs and since sides cannot be armored as much as CT it's a better target. Now for clan mechs you want CT as a side torso won't kill them and the CT has less armor than 2 side torsos do.

[Darian DelFord]

1st Rule of Light Dog Fighting

NEVER go for the Rear, Go for the leg's No matter your position front side, or rear you can always hit them and hit the same component a legged assault is a dead assault. If they are a competent assault pilot you will only get one shot at his rear.

2nd Rule of Light Dog Fighting

When 1v1 against an assault, DO NOT CIRCLE Him, you will die. Be an Ace of quick reversing or JJ turning

3rd Rule of Light Dog Fighting

You do not have to 1v1 him all at once, take two shots and leave if you need to and come from a different angle

4th Rule of Light Dog FIghting

NEVER NEVER NEVER under any circumstance stand still to take a shot. (Advanced tactics if you do situational awareness)

5th Rule of Light Dog Fighting

Learn when to get the hell outta there.

Edited by Darian DelFord, 26 May 2015 - 07:33 PM.

[Arctcwolf]

poke...hide...poke...hide...poke...hide...

preferably from long range so he has to lead you and be a decent shot.

legs should be a focus unless u see an almost dead arm with all their weapons on it. most assaults carry lots of arm weapons, and if they lose 1/3-1/2, it saves you some potential damage.

hopefully you have ECM so he cant see where you are till you pop out

[Dagada Moor]

One other thing. If you are behind an assault and he is taking some fire you can shoot him in the diaper which will register to his front CT. Most times they will not know you are there. Once his CT turns red shoot him directly in back to make him turn. Circle opposite of his turn shooting his diaper or if you can get his back take that shot. Second choice should be legs then arms. A crippled assault is a dead one.

[xDust]

Darian DelFord, on 26 May 2015 - 07:24 PM, said:

When 1v1 against an assault, DO NOT CIRCLE Him, you will die. Be an Ace of quick reversing or JJ turning

I can't emphasize this enough. I don't know why so many pilots think it's a good idea to constantly run circles around the target, which means you get in their gunsights every few circles. And it's hard to do respectable damage to a single component.

As a pilot of every weight class, these kinds of light pilots amuse me the most. King Crab. They circle, I stop moving, start backing up, then turn towards where they're coming. It amazes me how many don't realize and take an AC/20 to the face.

I've so far only really piloted non-JJ lights. I have Locusts. You run behind them, turn your legs to face the same direction they're in, then start working. Then continue to adjust position as needed so you're constantly behind the assault, whether it be reversing or having to strafe a little to reposition.

And if they're making their way to a wall, realize it, then turn towards the quickest escape and run.

Edited by xDust, 27 May 2015 - 02:20 AM.

[Dino Might]

Try to approach from where they cant see you. If possible, wait for them to start shooting at someone or for someone to start shooting at them. Or, if they're alone in the open, just go to town on one leg. Leg them, then sit behind them and sweep the other leg. Works like a charm.

If they back against a wall, run away. They're out of the fight as long as they are back to the wall in a pure defensive posture. Your job is done, for the time being.

[loopala]

Erratic figure 8s with lots of speed changes.

Back to the wall bug out and wait them out.

Never get kill fixated. Keeping them out of the fight is very important.

Leg um and leave um.

Do not attempt to face tank.

If help shows up, bug out. 2 vs you is a death sentence.

When all else fails run away. That assault an't going nowhere fast.

[Tim East]

loopala, on 27 May 2015 - 04:41 AM, said:

Leg um and leave um.

Verbatim what I was going to say. It's mildly surprising how many of these guys both shave armor on the legs and stuff ammo in their socks. Plus, a legged assault is as good as out of the fight due to the compounding of their already poor mobility.

[Cato Phoenix]

I tend to try and slam a lot of damage into rear armor. That way- even if you don't stick around to duel them you've significantly hurt them/made them start lumbering around and bringing those guns away from your teammates. You can always circle back to shoot them again.

If their legs look weak/destroyable I'll go for those. A lot easier to pull an assault to pieces if they can't walk.

[Darian DelFord]

Tim East, on 27 May 2015 - 08:47 AM, said:

Verbatim what I was going to say. It's mildly surprising how many of these guys both shave armor on the legs and stuff ammo in their socks. Plus, a legged assault is as good as out of the fight due to the compounding of their already poor mobility.

Exactly, its gotten to the point now that is all I do cause as much damage to the legs of the assaults as possible. I am good for about 3 to 4 leggins a game. I will leg then move one. its rather funny, most will laugh if I only do 200 to 300 points of damage. What they do not understand is that 200 to 300 points of damage went to legging the assault mechs which allowed us to win the game.

This is a lesson that folks need to learn in this game. Just because someone does under 300 does not mean they were worthless. Its all about where you put that damage.

This is why lights get the ass end of rewards in this game. We are not actually compensated for what we really do.

Cato Phoenix, on 27 May 2015 - 11:55 AM, said:

I tend to try and slam a lot of damage into rear armor. That way- even if you don't stick around to duel them you've significantly hurt them/made them start lumbering around and bringing those guns away from your teammates. You can always circle back to shoot them again.

If their legs look weak/destroyable I'll go for those. A lot easier to pull an assault to pieces if they can't walk.

Against a heavy or an assault that knows what they are doing, you will only get one shot at his rear torso before he begins to twist and back up. Legs are juicier.

[Kali Rinpoche]

Definitely need to be running Seismic Module when hunting and nibbling at a Fatlass or other assault. If you have to hunt and peck at them (see above mention dire Gauss Whale) you aren't moving at high speed which makes you a 1 shot kill from behind from another mech. So when you pause to nibble at an exposed torso etc, pay attention to what's seismic sensor is telling you about surrounding mechs.

If you every played any flight combat games, think of running a rolling scissor when engaging fat boys. Once you get good you can out turn their torso twist and basically be come super hard to hit while nibbling at them. This is especially useful when they are trying to run for cover and trying to twist to damage you at the same time. (You get in at a certain rate of speed and as they say torso twist right to put some fire on you, you have rolled to their left side and are putting out DPS. You can almost continuously be hitting them from behind if you do this.

Edited by Kali Rinpoche, 27 May 2015 - 12:31 PM.

[Flak Kannon]

Hi Wild,

It's been a while since I've been in the cockpit of my Jenners and Commandos, in which speed is your armor, but this last week I've been my Panthers alot.

The key for 'me' is in being unpredictable. As you swoop and unload on a Big Boy, he expects you to complete your arc. More than half the time I'll figure 8 behind him, and circle back the way I left. Some times I'll do the circle dance with him if he's doesn't kick it into reverse and start looking the opposite way. When they act like a slow dog chasing his tail.. I tend to let him ( sign of a new assault pilot.).


Once in a while I'll run the infinity loop from side to side of him, kinda of like the Thatch Weave. If you want to be a better Light pilot, study air combat manevers, and practice them often.

Just try your best to not cross his firing line very often. Also.. Jump Jets are as good as another weight class worth of armor. I am never NOT jump thrusting around.

AND NEVER STOP to line up a shot unless you KNOW he's not looking at you, and most or all their team isn't close by.

If its just me verse an assault, I will never let him know which way I'm coming from, even if it means a 30 second repositioning move to many many hundreds of meters away.

[Dino Might]

I'll second seismic being THE most useful module for a light. Many a 1v1 vs Stormcrows, Timbies, and other dangerous prey have been won because I could play ring around the building and always get behind the other guy because I had seismic and he didn't. Always, always, always carry seismic. Much more useful than radar derp.

[Darian DelFord]

Dino Might, on 28 May 2015 - 07:28 PM, said:

I'll second seismic being THE most useful module for a light. Many a 1v1 vs Stormcrows, Timbies, and other dangerous prey have been won because I could play ring around the building and always get behind the other guy because I had seismic and he didn't. Always, always, always carry seismic. Much more useful than radar derp.

2nd'ed

Seismic and Radar Derp are standard issue on all lights of mine.

[juxstapo]

Darian DelFord, on 28 May 2015 - 09:01 PM, said:

Seismic and Radar Derp are standard issue on all lights mechs ever.

Fix that fer ya

[InspectorG]

1. If its a fair fight, you messed up

2. If they see you, you messed up.

Now, one good intro tactic is to escort your own assaults. Hide behind them(they have armor to spare). Peek when they enemy is on cooldown. Be sure to target the most vulnerable component.

Same as scenario above but flank to some cover @90 degrees to the target(be 'pretty' sure its clear). This gives the target something to worry about: does he ignore you? Does he relocate taking heat off your team? Does he turn to shoot you removing fire from your team?

Now In Puglandia the weather can get bad and it can start raining, specially if a special event is happening. So...
You wait for the battle line to form taking pot shots.

Look up at the rain.

A storm cloud way in the back is EZ pickings, they are likely alone.