28 replies to this topic

[ThirtyOughtSix]

Can anyone else explain the suicide streak crow bandwaggon going on?

Its like a kamikaze mission. The guy always gets cored/killed. I mean it usually really F***s my mech up but common....its happened in about 10 games this weekend. Pilot just singles me out and runs straight for me.

[bad arcade kitty]

>Pilot just singles me out and runs straight for me

may be it's a beginning of a big friendship or love?

[Zen Idiot]

dammit.. he's on to us

[Alistair Winter]

Everyone knows Streakcrows are specialized light mech hunters. Which means two things:
1) The Streakcrow pilot has a limited number of targets on the battlefield that he can take out in a straight fight. So when he spots a light mech, it's only logical to attack it.
2) The Streakcrow build is generally going to lose against the majority of mechs. It is indeed a sort of kamikaze tactic. The pilot is basically sacrificing his chances of doing well in the long run for the sake of... killing light mechs. I think it's fairly likely that most Streakcrow pilots are in fact Dire Wolf pilots who have been dominated by Firestarters in hundreds, thousands of matches. I guess playing Streakcrows is a kind of catharsis for them. Every now and again, they play Streakcrows for an hour or two, eat a lot of ice cream and go cry in the shower.

[Zomfear]

Simple....you just need 30 to count as a win...and you can do the damage needed to score 30 in a steakcrow in a very short time...so KAMIKAZE!!!!!!!

[bad arcade kitty]

>The Streakcrow pilot has a limited number of targets on the battlefield that he can take out in a straight fight.

well, it's not really true. skillcrow usually can outbrawl in open (i.e. without using covers etc) most of medium mechs and some heavies, depending on their build and how well you can twist, it loses to dedicated brawlers (ac-20, std engine etc... it's not especially afraid of srm-6), generally heavy armored and armed mechs or abominations like drg-1n

for instance yesterday i straight fought without covers 1v2 at once centurion (thankfully with ac-10, not with ac-20) and mlx (mlx tried to hide btw, cowardly surat) and killed them both

>kamikaze tactic

there is something in piloting a crow that makes you want to chase them all :3
not even lights only, i recall a game when i only recently bought it and there was one sweet sweet cataphract, we both were undamaged, for some reason he was scared of me and fled, he fled into their team, i followed him, he tried to hide behind his teammate, i followed him, he tried to jump, i shot him in the air... he died and then me too/
i had to stop myself so many times since then

[STEF_]

Zomfear, on 14 June 2015 - 08:14 PM, said:

Simple....you just need 30 to count as a win...and you can do the damage needed to score 30 in a steakcrow in a very short time...so KAMIKAZE!!!!!!!

THIS! ^^

Incredible, but it must be this: ppl wants those 0,1$ prizes at all cost, no matter if they die horribly, or the matches become terrible and stupid.

[EgoSlayer]

Hyper99, on 14 June 2015 - 06:48 PM, said:

Can anyone else explain the suicide streak crow bandwaggon going on?

Its like a kamikaze mission. The guy always gets cored/killed. I mean it usually really F***s my mech up but common....its happened in about 10 games this weekend. Pilot just singles me out and runs straight for me.

Are you in a light mech? If so that answers your question.

[Kiiyor]

Hyper99, on 14 June 2015 - 06:48 PM, said:

Can anyone else explain the suicide streak crow bandwaggon going on?

Its like a kamikaze mission. The guy always gets cored/killed. I mean it usually really F***s my mech up but common....its happened in about 10 games this weekend. Pilot just singles me out and runs straight for me.

I think I can explain it.

I have a theorem: that match survivability is mostly correlated with the range of your weapons, and your level of patience.

Longer range mechs survive through virtue of probably not being the first mech targetted. Impatient players (re. EVERYONE IN A PUG) have a buffer between them and doom.

Shorter range mechs either survive through being extremely patient for the first half or so of a match, or by being lucky/skilled in equal measure.

Streak crows are the ultimate evolution of a short range mech. Deadly against the right target, yet utterly impotent outside their max range. They are also the dynamite to the paper and scissors of light mechs.

Most lights, at the start of a fight, don't like to venture too far from the group, yet are usually at the front, scouting and looking for weakness, like JACKALS.

StreakCrows will likely be hunting for lights, placing them at the front of the pack also.

It is therefore extremely likely for mechs like the StreakCrow to be one of the first mechs caught by the main enemy group. Despite being survivable for a medium, it's still a medium, and is in a world of hurt if it's focused. Add to that a sprinkling of PUG bloodlust, and you have the perfect recipe for a feast or famine mech.

Also... it's popular. Many less skilled players won't respect the level of patience required to get the most out of a StreakCrow, yet still want to be on the current FOTM bandwagon. They will have inflated the power of the mech in their minds prior to leaping into it.

But mostly, again, the bloodlust. You have to pick your targets in a StreakCrow. While you may be able to sand blast a heavy or Assault, you'll likely be out pinpointed in a protracted fight. Even knowing this, most PUGGERS still pick the most readily available target to them and fixate on it to the exclusion of all else.

I guess TLDR is bad players gonna bad?

[Black Ivan]

Zomfear, on 14 June 2015 - 08:14 PM, said:

Simple....you just need 30 to count as a win...and you can do the damage needed to score 30 in a steakcrow in a very short time...so KAMIKAZE!!!!!!!

Excatly this. By the kind of the event going on many people will just go Kamikaze to reach the 30 points, rapidly quit the match, jump into their next Kamikaze Mech and repeat the process all over again.

[One Medic Army]

Streaks are an easy way to get a lot of damage, and thus match score.

With a BAP, you can even fire when under ECM, so long as there aren't 2.

Since damage is fairly high per shot, and spread everywhere, you don't have to work about the target dying before you get your damage on them.

Only lights and mediums really fear the streak crow, meaning the only mechs that will primary you are the ones you can slaughter fairly easily.

Or in other words, streak crows are an easy way to get 30 score, while still being a worthless pilot.

Edited by One Medic Army, 14 June 2015 - 10:25 PM.

[bad arcade kitty]

Black Ivan, on 14 June 2015 - 10:19 PM, said:

Excatly this. By the kind of the event going on many people will just go Kamikaze to reach the 30 points, rapidly quit the match, jump into their next Kamikaze Mech and repeat the process all over again.

well going kamikaze you quite possibly won't reach 30 points even if you kill your victim, you may end with like ~25 points if your team lose, and you have a very good chance to die with like 60-120 damage and no kills, possibly even assists which will lead to like ~10-15 points

no, kiiyor decribed it pretty detail, skillcrows are prone to chasing lights, and lights at the beginning of the game in most game modes go pretty close to their main team

p.s. i played 43 games this event, was qualified for 40, all those 3 when i wasn't qualified i couldn't hold myself and chased a light (it's a bit embarassing :3), once i killed it, twice i didn't

going kamikaze on streakcrow is a very bad way to earn points, points are almost guaranteed if you wait for the major skirmish and then shoot several salvos

Edited by bad arcade kitty, 14 June 2015 - 10:30 PM.

[ThirtyOughtSix]

EgoSlayer, on 14 June 2015 - 09:42 PM, said:

Are you in a light mech? If so that answers your question.

Was leveling Enforcers all weekend. Suppose those things are small enough. But for the most part I played only 2-3 matches in my panther and I don't think they chased me in that thing.

It's just really annoying and dumb to get into a match and get either cored before the 12:30 Mark or killed. Meanwhile the guy also gets cored or killed. Just bad tactics...oh well, thank god the weekend is over.

[theta123]

Against OPstarters, streak boats are the only reliable clan way to take them out. But the bigger the target, the less effextive a streak boat becomes. And with such a slow reload, any brawler will take you out. My streak dog lost to an enforcer 4P yesterday. My 60 ton heavy boat got creamed by the ac20 /4ml

[reign]

Don't understand it myself, I have gotten in bad situations before but come on.

Just took my streak crow to puglandia and had a 1047dmg 4 kill match on HPG.

killed 2 Jagers with it as well... Just have to be patient and poke a bit.

I can understand if the crow was chasing a jenner and rounded a corner and saw a dakka wolf... that has happened before.

[Alistair Winter]

theta123, on 15 June 2015 - 05:47 AM, said:

Against OPstarters, streak boats are the only reliable clan way to take them out.

This is only true if your aim is really, really bad. Clan mech laser vomit is perfectly capable of cutting Firestarters legs in half.

[MeiSooHaityu]

The Streak Crows just want your cookies .

Seriously, it's probably tunnel vision combined with a new (and less skilled) pilot. They see a light they know they can kill, or a wounded larger mech and they run after it without any regard for battlefield awareness.

Either the Streak Crow pilot is oblivious to where the fleeing light has led them (into the middle of his/her team for obliteration), or the pilot doesn't care if they die, as long as they get that one kill.

Either way, it is the shortsighted tactics of a less experienced pilot. And when you think of it, mostly poor skilled pilots are going to lean towards a build that requires a click of a fire button and practically no aiming. Keep it simple.

[KODIAK-AU]

I play my streak crow when ive been drinking, makes aiming easier. Sorry to those who I have killed while drunk.

[EgoSlayer]

Hyper99, on 15 June 2015 - 05:38 AM, said:

Was leveling Enforcers all weekend. Suppose those things are small enough. But for the most part I played only 2-3 matches in my panther and I don't think they chased me in that thing.

It's just really annoying and dumb to get into a match and get either cored before the 12:30 Mark or killed. Meanwhile the guy also gets cored or killed. Just bad tactics...oh well, thank god the weekend is over.

The event is running for over a full week with two weekends - it runs until the 21st.

[Gyrok]

Hyper99, on 14 June 2015 - 06:48 PM, said:

Can anyone else explain the suicide streak crow bandwaggon going on?

Its like a kamikaze mission. The guy always gets cored/killed. I mean it usually really F***s my mech up but common....its happened in about 10 games this weekend. Pilot just singles me out and runs straight for me.

Streakcrows have a tendency to do that against lights, because they suck against everything else. So, if you are driving something smaller than a Blackjack/Vindicator...keep your eyes out. If you drive something bigger than a Blackjack/Vindicator...then ignore them, and they will basically ignore you...(or go in for the essentially free kill while they sandpaper all the components on your mech...)