51 replies to this topic

[CoolLew]

Questions guys-
Veterans, when y'all are in the chaos of battle, do you take the time to shoot at arms and such, or do you just shoot for center mass?

[FlipOver]

A few rules of engagement:

Always shoot for the damaged location.

Exceptions for the rule:
- When the enemy has no damaged location.
- In this situation, hit the enemy where it will hurt the most (biggest weapon mount, side torso for IS XL engines, legs for nimble and fast mechs)
- If it has more than one damaged location, find the one where the weapons are still active and shoot at that one. If both locations have all weapons available, just concentrate on the location that has weapons that are the biggest threat to you (or your team) and remove those weapons

Often times (especially with IS mechs) you will find that by removing just one side torso you render the enemy useless (or close to it) as some mechs only have weapon hardpoints on just one side, or one of the sides is more powerfull than the other.

Edit - Also, when in a brawl with little to no time to check the enemies paperdoll, you follow a few rules: <60 tons -> legs; >60 tons biggest threat weaponwise.
If all thinking fails, then yeah, go for the entire mech, hit it where you can and as often as you can on the same spot.
Spread the damage too much and, if the enemy pilot knows how to spread damage, you will find that it's hard to take down even a 50 tonner.

Edited by FlipOver, 29 July 2015 - 06:04 AM.

[VATER]

When in a group, we will always go for CT ot the back. When I roam alone, I will take the time to snipe for certain parts.
In a concentrated rush with members of my star it just does not make sense to take out parts. You just want to focus the target down A.S.A.P.
On certain chassis we will do the XL-Check though.

As my StarCommander always tells us: "STOP PLAYING WITH YOUR FOOD !!!"

Edited by VATER, 29 July 2015 - 06:01 AM.

[-Vompo-]

If you have target information you shoot the location which helps you the most to win the fight. Sometimes it is an arm but most of the time it's a leg or center or one of the side torsos.
If you have no indication which part of the enemy is hurt you go for center torso or leg depending on the target. There are certain mechs which often have a xl engine and against those go for side torso.

[Rushin Roulette]

It is mostly dependant on mech type.

Lights - go for the legs (possible exception Jenners where the Center Torso is a possibility)
Mediums - Side torso with the most weapons as many have XL engines (With the Exception of the Cicada which runs as fast as lights, so their legs are priority)
Heavies - Side torso with the most wepaons. If evenly distributed, then center (Exception Catapults and Dragons go straight for center torso as they are easier to hit)
Assaults - Same as Heavies

If a target of oppertunity comes around, where the weapon arm or a leg is already critically damaged, then taking them off is always a good thing. Going for no critical components which severely reduce the damage potential or maneuverability of a Mech is a secondary target for just as long as needed.

P. S. weapon less mechs are also completely ignored as long as any other opponent with weapons can be shot.

Edited by Rushin Roulette, 29 July 2015 - 06:09 AM.

[TercieI]

Depends on the mech. I know most of the build options for most mechs, so I shoot where I can kill/disarm efficiently. XL-builds, I'll pop a ST (RT usually because most mechs are right-handed), fatties CT usually works, especially in public drops, lights legs... But, as others have said: always shoot wounded components unless you know it's pointless (some mechs deadside and want you to shoot that side/component off).

[InspectorG]

CT cored on a slow mech, sure.
Lights i usually prioritize legs unless CT/ST is cored.

Arms on certain clans and Wolverines/Dragon.

Avoid hitting the deadside.

[Wintersdark]

Almost never arms, because the ST is no harder to destroy and takes the arm with it, also potentially destroying the mech (is xl) or bringing it closer to death (clan xl).

[Wadesin]

Yes ..Yes i do. Unless target info tells me different.

[Discojaddi]

I've gotten pretty good for looking at an IS mech and guessing whether or not they have an XL by their weapon loadout. If I think they got one, its ST all day. If I see a damaged ST, I will also focus that. Other than that, yeah, its usually just CT

[Elizander]

I prefer to shoot first and worry about other things later. If target info pops up before I press the trigger, that's fine, but if I'm popping out for a quick shot or I'm on the move I will default to center mass.

[xeromynd]

No, unless I'm desperate and battling REALLY close in, I'll usually try to focus on components or legs first, especially if the enemy is in a mech where all the firepower is on one side.

Lets say you're facing a Heavy or Assault's rear end, they have no idea you are behind them. You can either alpha into their center rear torso, and spook them into turning around (you usually wont have a huge enough alpha to instakill), or you can possibly take out a side torso from the rear, or seriously damage their legs.

The game, for me, became a lot more fun and interesting when you realize you don't always HAVE to shoot the enemy when you see them, you should usually always wait until you can see their paperdoll and aim for the weakest spot.

[Ascaloth]

InspectorG, on 29 July 2015 - 06:32 AM, said:

Arms on certain clans and Wolverines/Dragon.

I hate you

Losing the right arm on a Dragon 1N/5N or Wolverine is worse than dying straight ahead...

BTW, i like to aim for the legs even against heavier targets, but only if they are ballistic/missile boats (ammo on the legs going boom is nice). Clan mechs can store ammo only on the right leg.

Edited by Ascaloth, 29 July 2015 - 08:48 AM.

[Wintersdark]

Also, look for smoke. Smoke indicates internal damage. Internal damage indicates no armor on a component. If a mech is smoking, I'll aim there if I've no target info telling me otherwise.

If I'm not directly under fire though, I'll wait, hold my fire until I have target info. Knowing his loadouts and damage allows me to kill with way less damage done - kill faster than if I'd started firing earlier.

[Wintersdark]

Ascaloth, on 29 July 2015 - 08:48 AM, said:

BTW, i like to aim for the legs even against heavier targets, but only if they are ballistic/missile boats (ammo on the legs going boom is nice)

Fun, but extremely unlikely.

Quote

Clan mechs can store ammo only on the right leg.

Huh? The dire wolf alone can only store ammo in the right leg.

The VAST majority of clan mechs can't store ammo in their legs at all.

[jss78]

My go-to target location is the ST. I don't know the builds quite well enough to reliably say which mech is running STD and which XL, so I figure with the ST I'll take out one one arm as well, and hopefully a lot of his weapons, even if he turns out to have an STD.

Exceptions:

- I see friendlies shooting some location --> hit the same place
- Paper doll shows some section is about to go --> hit it more
- He's a light, or is otherwise going annoyingly quickly --> hit legs
- He looks to pack a lot of weapons in a given location --> hit that
- he's really far away and/or going too quick --> just go for centre mass
- he's close and immobile (e.g. shut down) --> try for cockpit

Regarding my experience as a "targetee", I'd say that even in the low(ish?) Elos where I play there are quite many people who know what to target. For example, annoyingly many people know to go for the RA when I'm in my Panther...

[TercieI]

jss78, on 29 July 2015 - 09:16 AM, said:

- he's close and immobile (e.g. shut down) --> try for cockpit

Excellent addition. It's worth knowing where those cockpits are. Overheated or AFK mechs can usually be killed in 1-2 alphas if you know those spots.

[Wintersdark]

jss78, on 29 July 2015 - 09:16 AM, said:

My go-to target location is the ST. I don't know the builds quite well enough to reliably say which mech is running STD and which XL, so I figure with the ST I'll take out one one arm as well, and hopefully a lot of his weapons, even if he turns out to have an STD.

Exceptions:

- I see friendlies shooting some location --> hit the same place
- Paper doll shows some section is about to go --> hit it more
- He's a light, or is otherwise going annoyingly quickly --> hit legs
- He looks to pack a lot of weapons in a given location --> hit that
- he's really far away and/or going too quick --> just go for centre mass
- he's close and immobile (e.g. shut down) --> try for cockpit

Regarding my experience as a "targetee", I'd say that even in the low(ish?) Elos where I play there are quite many people who know what to target. For example, annoyingly many people know to go for the RA when I'm in my Panther...

These sorts of things are important, and they are key to progressing beyond being a rookie player.

Despite what people like to say, MWO is a thinking man's shooter. Maybe not as much as some of us would like, but probably more so than any comparable game.

While there are times when you're just throwing damage downrange, more often than not you need to be thinking about where you're firing, where you're moving, what your next steps are going to be so you can plan your next alphas.

Are you just hitting the mech and moving on, or are you staying engaged with it? If you're going to stay engaged, are you going to be able to keep hitting your target component as you're moving? Will cover work with your weapon placement? What about other enemies? Can you keep your target between you and them?

What's his loadout? Will pushing in close and staying engaged give you an advantage? If he's got a hot build, pushing hard is ideal because he'll be unable to sustain fire against you, while peeking and poking is going to play into his gameplan and give him time to cool.

There's much more, of course, and you need to learn to consider all these sorts of things on the fly. It's not easy, but a lot of it becomes instinctive with practice. It's helpful, when you lose a fight with another player, to consider why you lost that fight... and never, ever blame it on him being in a better mech than you. Never.

[Barkem Squirrel]

I assess the mech as I see it.

Leg damage and I am leaving the area, go for leg especially if it is an assault.

Then I use the load out to determine if it has an XL, then I will go for side torso's.

If there is any prior damage exploit it.

Where I aim boils down to a few things. How many enemy mechs are engaging you, how many of you are engaging that mech, if a mech has a majority of it's fire power in one location (arm/side-torso like the wang or 3m griffin) and if you are moving to a different location to vacate that area.

Lights, well go for head shots when they stop.

[Blue Frog]

Also, if you bring a lot of dakka to the fight, and you are head-on to an enemy, aim more towards the head so you can blind him. That gives you more time to strip away at him with less effective return fire and you may also get in a lucky headshot.