11 replies to this topic

[Xannatharr]

Hi all, looking for your thoughts/suggestions!

For background, I am a longtime Battletech fan, having played tabletop for many years. I am familiar with the lore, the basic structure of the game and mechanics. I have been playing for about a week and am looking for tips on how to become more effective.

Can anyone please share some ideas on the right playstyle for the 'mech I am running?

I am using a Hunchback with 5 x Medium Pulse in RT and 2 x Medium Lasers (one per arm); Double Heat Sinks and an AMS with 1 ton ammo. I up-engined to 250 to get roughly 5/8 speed (84 kph?)

What I am doing currently is solo-queue matches; I try to link up with the assault lance and stay close to them, providing additional AMS coverage while I wait for a heavy slugging match to start. Once the real fight is joined, I move in to either provide direct fire support or attempt short flanking or backstabbing on whoever the assault mechs are focusing down. At times I use my speed to help discourage or deal with lights that try to make trouble for the big boys.

My results are mixed; it seems like most of the time I end up getting ripped up by two or more assaults/heavies and either sent running from the fight or knocked out. At best I am getting 200-250 damage with 4-5 assists and the occasional kill. I frequently end up with 50 damage or less with just 1 assist, no kills.

Am I dumb to try to link up with the Assault lance, rather than sticking with the Lance I am usually placed in (typically the Medium lance)?

Should I stay away from the slugfests and try to nibble at the edges more?
Or do I need to persevere with my strategy and just try to get better at judging when to expose myself to land some shots and keep working on my gunnery?

Does the current meta work for a short-range energy boat using IS pulse mediums?

Thanks for any insights you can share!

Xann

Edited by Xannatharr, 03 June 2015 - 08:52 AM.

[3xnihilo]

You have a similar strategy to what I use, so I wouldn't necessarily change what you are doing. The really tricky thing is knowing when to expose yourself and when not to. If you can support the assaults from a flank that often helps since their targets are looking at them. If you are trying to shoot from the same direction as the assaults you will be exposed to fire from their targets as well. Mediums do not tank a lot of damage so you want to avoid it as much as possible. The other thing I have found is that having one or two longer range weapons helps with the first few minutes of battle. I love mpl but often by the time you are inside of 220m the matchis decided and it is just clean up time for whoever is ahead. Maybe try a ml/erll build? I am not a hunchback pilot so someone else will probably be more helpful here. But, keep at it and work on your situational awareness, knowing where the enemy is and which way he is facing will go a long way to brining your scores up and increasing your longevity.

Ps. All the words that don't make sense are because I am on my iPhone and autocorrect is evil

[Anunknownlurker]

1. This is not Battletech, it's a very different game "based" on Battletech so don't expect much similarity
2. Don't expect teamwork in random PUG battles, it does happen from time to time but it is not the norm
3. Trouble with hanging with the fatties in PUGs is that, often as not, they split up and where does that leave the support?
4. Use in-game voice comms as much as you can, it's one of the best items in MWO an can help with both 2&3 above
5. I'd replace the pulses with mediums in the hunch (HBK-4P I assume?) just runs a bit better in my opinion.I've had pretty good games with 6 in the hunch and a couple of pulses for backup
6. Forget about the meta, it's constantly changing anyway
7. Definitely stay out of the furball for as long as you can, HBK is pretty tough but you want to "nibble" and kill-steal like a boss to get the best out of it imho.

Just my 2c

Have fun and good luck

[Jody Von Jedi]

I run my 4P with 6ML and 2 LL, one in each arm. This is with an XL engine, so that might not be the best for a new player.

As 3xnihilo says, add at least 1 longer range weapon to poke with earlier in the match. That will help out in the assists, category.

[shippy]

This sounds like the right way to do it from my point of view, (i'm also pretty new). stick with assaults and protect them, aid them.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

mediums are good in packs

- escort your assaults or heavies
- wolfpack with other mediums or lights against bigger targets (for example,if you see a spider poking a dire wolf,join the fun at a different angle if you can)
- hillhump with your hunch weapons.

there is nothing wrong with your hunchy-setup,STD250 makes it fast enough to keep pace with others.

however,the MPL:s have really short range unquirked,and i would suggest something like this for hillpeeking,you will need all the range you can get in that type of gameplay.Use only the medium lasers to poke from distance and use the full alpha for sure finishing shots.

[Xannatharr]

Jimmy DiGriz, on 03 June 2015 - 09:10 AM, said:

1. This is not Battletech, it's a very different game "based" on Battletech so don't expect much similarity
2. Don't expect teamwork in random PUG battles, it does happen from time to time but it is not the norm
3. Trouble with hanging with the fatties in PUGs is that, often as not, they split up and where does that leave the support?
4. Use in-game voice comms as much as you can, it's one of the best items in MWO an can help with both 2&3 above
5. I'd replace the pulses with mediums in the hunch (HBK-4P I assume?) just runs a bit better in my opinion.I've had pretty good games with 6 in the hunch and a couple of pulses for backup
6. Forget about the meta, it's constantly changing anyway
7. Definitely stay out of the furball for as long as you can, HBK is pretty tough but you want to "nibble" and kill-steal like a boss to get the best out of it imho.

Just my 2c

Have fun and good luck

Thanks very much for the reply.

Good teamwork has definitely turned out to be rare so far (I think I am about 50 matches in). I try to help that by being an instigator on voice comms; I'm Mr. "Good luck all, let's stick together and kick some a$$!" "Enemy Heavies at C4" etc.

But yeah, it's a free to play and these are the internets, so we all know how that goes. :-)

I started with 6-8 Medium Lasers and felt like I just wasn't able to hit anything and switched to MPLs when I upgraded to Double Sinks. I might have given up on them a little too quickly.

And yeah, staying out of the furball... I really need to work on my discipline with that, I would bet that the majority of my early deaths can be attributed to just not being patient enough!

Xann

Edited by Xannatharr, 03 June 2015 - 09:43 AM.

[Revis Volek]

Xannatharr, on 03 June 2015 - 09:41 AM, said:

Thanks very much for the reply.

Good teamwork has definitely turned out to be rare so far (I think I am about 50 matches in). I try to help that by being an instigator on voice comms; I'm Mr. "Good luck all, let's stick together and kick some a$$!" "Enemy Heavies at C4" etc.

But yeah, it's a free to play and these are the internets, so we all know how that goes. :-)

I started with 6-8 Medium Lasers and felt like I just wasn't able to hit anything and switched to MPLs when I upgraded to Double Sinks. I might have given up on them a little too quickly.

And yeah, staying out of the furball... I really need to work on my discipline with that, I would bet that the majority of my early deaths can be attributed to just not being patient enough!

Xann

Patients is key, i still die all the time because i exposed myself first.

The nature of the game is big dmg alphas, so minimizing exposure while maximizing DPS is key. Find a mech you like and get good in it. Higher the hard points the better and hunchbacks have all that going for them already. So use your mech to its advantages and learn to only expose that hunch if you are poking.

Learn to use UAV's and Arties when the going gets rough. They aren't great to spam because it will run you 40,000-80,000 cbills a match and cuts into your earnings. Also you can upgrade them via the skill tab and get them to be as good as the MC ones with the improvements.

Speaking of GXP keep those mechs XP on the mechs and your general (GXP) XP to your pilots trees. You will need it later down the road for modules and the like. But getting you mech at least fully elite is very important. But Modules are kinda End Game stuff outside a few key ones. Radar Deprivation and Seismic Sensor are two very clutch modules. One makes the Op for lose lock one they lose LOS immediately and the other is a Wall hack of sorts and shows enemies running around even on the other side of cover via the mini map. So save up the cbills and the GXP for those....later on you can get things like range and Cooldown mods for your builds to maximize DPS.

Also, MPL are great for the short duration but have a shorter range then normal Medium Lasers. Find what you feel comfortable playing with and run with it. But MPLs are more brawl oriented and work better that way. Also take note of the quirks for your chassis, if it does better with Mediums (if it has heavy quirks for it) embrace them. Some IS mechs step up to OP when your "USE THE QUIRKS LUKE!".

[HimseIf]

You are doing just fine. When in doubt, nibble a little more early on, but sounds like you are doing ok. Just don't attack 2 heavies with one hunchback. i had a hunchback and taking on 3 other players at once never ended well.

Edited by HimseIf, 05 June 2015 - 10:57 PM.

[mailin]

Welcome to MWO! It sounds like you have a pretty good handle on things overall. The keys are really, to never stop learning your mech, your weapons and what you can improve.

As mentioned above, in a medium with your current weapons patience really is the key. Don't be too eager to engage the enemy. If one or two assaults are taking damage, wait to see what the rest of your team does. If they move to support those assaults, then you move too. If those assaults back up, DO NOT GO FORWARD. Instead, hang back and wait. The assaults have both the weapons and the armor to put out and absorb damage; you do not.

What you are waiting for in the above scenario is for the enemy to make the mistake and get impatient. If you and your team are patient, it will happen. Usually this take the form of one or two enemies trying to attack your flanks. That's when you move to the flank so the fatties can stay where they are. Take out those two enemies, and suddenly the numbers are 12-10, which means someone on the enemy side will get desperate and try it again. Remember, patience really pays off.

Edited by mailin, 05 June 2015 - 11:29 PM.

[Levi Porphyrogenitus]

I assume you're running a -4P?

With the advent of quirks, overloading on MLs for this particular mech actually works very nicely. Consider this build. With 15% faster cooldowns and 15% shorter burn times, your MLs can put out significant hurt very quickly, at ranges the MPLs simply cannot engage. The 10% lower heat output helps to compensate for the Ghost Heat penalty that firing your 7 ML primary payload generates.

To play this, link the head and torso lasers into two fire groups, one for group fire and one for chain fire. Then, link the arm lasers in a third group, for use against fast-movers or to supplement your alpha potential. Treat it much the same way you would a 4G, in that you want to limit your engagement times and pick your shots. The lack of an ammunition limit frees you to take max-range shots, and the hit-scan behavior of lasers increases the effectiveness of shots against evasive targets, so as long as you are careful of your heat you should be able to murder targets with brisk efficiency.

As for 5 MPL v 7 ML, consider the following:

5 MPL is 30 damage. 7 ML is 35 damage. The ML will reach out farther, while the MPL will concentrate their damage better. The MPL build will likely be superior for sustained combat due to heat management, but if you are able to take a moment to cool down from time to time the ML build should be superior in most situations.

Edit:

FYI, for the linked build, if you drop to a 270 engine you can squeeze in one more DHS, which might well be worth it.

Edited by Levi Porphyrogenitus, 06 June 2015 - 07:00 AM.

[Koniving]

Xannatharr, on 03 June 2015 - 08:49 AM, said:

Thanks for any insights you can share!

Xann

Akin to Battletech/megamek on long range maps with some to little to even no cover, you've got a situation where you're an almost entirely close range mech with no medium to long range capabilities. Great in your element but you never know when you can actually be in it.

For a series of close range weapons you should probably haul at least one longer range one. Back in the day I'd use a chain of 7 SPL alongside twin medium lasers or when the meta became longer range, 6 ML or 7 SPL + twin large lasers and an XL engine.

When speed stopped mattering to me, I shifted to a standard 200 engine, twin PPCs and 6 medium lasers (with 1 tag, because why not?).
Built before your eyes here and then demonstrated with a first time use.

The order of events are jumbled here, but a similar concept using a Jenner is found after a brief segment with the Jagermech here, used in an identical way to what you've described (supports assaults, chase away lights).


But as said Jenner is using my 4P's slower concept with long range and close range firepower.