15 replies to this topic

[RumpledPigSkin]

I've never used consumables. Is there a way to target them where you want?
I've tried but just always seem to drop them only where I am standing.
This seems to make airstrikes etc useless.
What am I doing wrong?

[The Basilisk]

Airstrikes andArty strikes work much like normal weapons, only they have only one shot. So aim and fire.
You can *fire* them right at a mech ( they will stay where they have hit him not moving with him ) but its next to always more effective to aim them on the ground or on an object near a cluster of enemys.
UAVs are of even more importane and help since they enable you to see enemy concentrations around obstacles and enable friendly missle boats to engage targets. ( you get credit for spotting this way ) UAVs also counter ECM so you get Spotting assists and counter ECM when successfully scouting by UAV.

Edited by The Basilisk, 05 September 2015 - 06:11 AM.

[RumpledPigSkin]

So I have to target an enemy first or how do I target just an area?

[Kira Onime]

RumpledPigSkin, on 05 September 2015 - 06:12 AM, said:

So I have to target an enemy first or how do I target just an area?

For air strike and artilery strikes, just aim with your crosshair where you want it and activate it. Just be sure to aim for the ground when doing so otherwise it will find whatever ground you're aiming at, even if it is 1000m behind your target.

UAVs on the other hand pop above your head as long as nothing would block it otherwise it wont launch.

Coolshots reduces the current amount of heat you currently have built up.

Edited by Kira_Onime, 05 September 2015 - 06:51 AM.

[RumpledPigSkin]

Excellent. Thankyou. I will give it good try. Appreciate the help.

[Elizander]

Also UAVs are great for getting XP. If you can catch the enemy team early with a UAV and spam R for spotting you get a nice chunk. Just don't die in the process.

[mailin]

I feel a clarification is in order. Arty and Air strikes land in the area where your arm reticle is. This is the circle. When aiming your strike, select an enemy by pressing R. Note the distance to the target. Before dropping either strike, make sure that the range by your reticle is close to the distance to the target. If not, it means that there may be an obstacle that your arm reticle sees, in which case it may drop the strike near that obstacle. If that obstacle is the building that you are trying to hide behind, it means the strike will probably hit you.

Note that arty and air strikes have different areas of effect. For arty it's a circular area centered on the smoke. For air strikes it is a strip that starts more or less when the smoke is and goes striaght back from where your mech was facing when you dropped the strike.

Edited by mailin, 05 September 2015 - 11:47 AM.

[Elizander]

Airstrike is great for hitting people behind small walls because it goes in a straight line. I've had a few kills on direwhales that just ducked behind cover and I airstrike the wall in front of me. :3

[RumpledPigSkin]

Excellent advise. Thanks.

[IraqiWalker]

RumpledPigSkin, on 05 September 2015 - 06:31 AM, said:

Excellent. Thankyou. I will give it good try. Appreciate the help.

Strikes land where your arms are aiming, so make sure the circle reticule is aimed correctly, and pay attention to your range finder, to make sure the numbers match. Sometimes, there are invisible walls. I can't tell you how many times I popped out of cover, got my arms aimed at a target mech, and launched an air strike, only to realize that my range finder was saying"9 meters". Meaning my arms were registering the edge of my cover's invisible wall, instead of my target over at 600 meters. Leading to the strike landing on my head. Which seems to be what's happening to you.

I recommend heading into the training grounds, and using the consumables there, since they don't actually count as used in there.

[MechWarrior3671771]

If you are a new player, I would advise avoiding strikes. UAVs are okay because, even though you lose cbills on them, they help you rack up xp faster (which is what you need most right now)

But going with both UAVs and Strikes is too expensive at 80k total. You'll have matches where you WIN and go negative net cbills.... that's a looooooong grind.

[Leone]

As mentioned above, Drop into Training grounds, it's free practice with em. I'll admit I did when I first decided to give em a try. Personally, I like the utility of airstrikes more for dealing damage past walls or ridges, but it's hard to argue with a good arty on a decent cluster.

As for uavs, I know they have their uses, but I have a hard time justifying the cost with the new rewards system, but it's upto you.

~Leone

[jss78]

I tend to use both UAV's and Air Strikes. They take quite a lot of c-bills, with occasional games actually costing you c-bills, so that's something to consider. Personally I don't mind, as I have a few mastered/moduled Mechs which I enjoy playing, so I don't feel any need to "pokémek". But if you do feel c-bill poor, then I'd steer clear of consumables, as they really cut into your earnings.

One thing I haven't seen noted. There are Comsumable Skills you can unlock with GXP. These improve the effectiveness of c-bill purchasable consumables.

I'd be dubious about using c-bills for consumables until the Consumable Skills are unlocked, as if you do burn c-bills for them, you at least want maximum return for that c-bill investment. I'd even hold onto any consumables won from events until you get the Consumable Skills, to get most of those too.

And when it comes to using GXP, I think other modules such as Radar Deprivation, Seismic Sensors, and weapon modules should be a higher priority. So I wouldn't get into consumables at all until you have those.

[IraqiWalker]

Fenrisulvyn, on 06 September 2015 - 04:46 PM, said:

If you are a new player, I would advise avoiding strikes. UAVs are okay because, even though you lose cbills on them, they help you rack up xp faster (which is what you need most right now)

But going with both UAVs and Strikes is too expensive at 80k total. You'll have matches where you WIN and go negative net cbills.... that's a looooooong grind.

This is very important. I've had matches where we win, and my total rewards end up being less than 80K, so technically, I lost C-Bills in that match. If you're new, don't worry about consumables, and if you're piloting fast mechs, then use no more than a UAV, and don't use it every battle. Even now, I have consumables equipped on every mech, but I don't use them every battle.

[Satan n stuff]

Elizander, on 05 September 2015 - 07:21 AM, said:

Airstrike is great for hitting people behind small walls because it goes in a straight line. I've had a few kills on direwhales that just ducked behind cover and I airstrike the wall in front of me. :3

That's my preferred way to use airstrikes too.
My favorite trick is hitting mechs on top of a platform, most commonly the one on Crimson Strait, by dropping a strike directly below them. If you're below your target and have seismic sensor or a UAV you never even have to see them to know where to aim.
Another fun one that's significantly harder to pull off is to use a strike on a UAV if there are mechs directly beneath it, this also allows you to hit without needing line of sight.

If you can get away with it, try lining up an airstrike just right on a mech that isn't currently moving and is unaware of you, you can score multiple direct hits on many of the heavier mechs if you get the angle right and the target doesn't move out of the way. With an accuracy module this is more or less a killer move, but that makes it much harder to do anything under less than optimal conditions. An arty strike with an accuracy module is more random, but also not dependent on getting the right angle so it's easier to reliably do decent damage with it.

[The Flying Gecko]

I generally advise against it. A significant number of matches will net you under 80,000 c-bills. After playing for 3 or so hours and being slapped around by the matchmaker, I realized I'd made a grand total of -10,000 cbills. I pretty much stopped using them after that except for really competitive games