36 replies to this topic

[PAINLESS 42]

So I typically chain-fire to avoid Ghost Heat or as an alternate fire mode when i'm on the verge of overheating, but I see people suggesting weapon setups where they are using chain-fire as the default with when firing weapons like AC/2s which don't have Ghost Heat, so I was wondering in what situations people utilize chain-fire and why, and if some sort of chain-fire might be good for something like my 6X AC/2 KC.

[Otto Cannon]

Chain fire can be useful when using a weapon that causes screen shake. A constant stream of hits can make it very hard for someone to aim accurately and return fire, and tends to panic many less expert players.

[DaZur]

I chain fire when chasing lights in my heavies or assaults ...

Edited by DaZur, 05 October 2015 - 12:30 PM.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

Make sure not to chain fire AC2s, all it does is reduce the dps of 6 AC2s to the dps of 1. I usually chainfire on clan large lasers, for example on an 8 ERLL Dire Wolf.

[Jman5]

If you want to rattle your opponent with screenshake, and lots of noise, chainfire can be good for autocannons and missiles.

Other than the things you mentioned, chainfire is handy to have when an opponent is nearly dead and you don't want to waste ammo, heat, or cooldown time on that final shot. If your target only has 1 hitpoint on his CT and you fire a 48 damage alpha at his CT, the game will only count that as doing 1 damage. This is especially useful if you're in a fight with multiple mechs. You apply just enough firepower to finish one, and then turn the remaining guns on the next guy.

BTW, a tip for chainfire. You don't have to just hold it down and wait for .5 second delay between shots. You can manually press the button for a more rapid chainfire.

Edited by Jman5, 05 October 2015 - 12:34 PM.

[PAINLESS 42]

The screen-shake perspective is interesting. Is Screen-shake additive? if hit with multiple weapons at the same time of the same type, does the screen-shake scale?

[MrJeffers]

Chainfire the 6 LRM5s on the Mad dog. Coupled with the stream nature of the missiles already it makes for a lot of frustration on the receiving end from the screen shake.

Screen shake isn't additive, but it has a duration so doing damage over time with screen shake weapons prolongs the duration.

[Death Proof]

I use chainfire usually only has a backup fire mode when I'm close to overheating but have an enemy in my face and need to keep putting out damage.

[Vellron2005]

I mostly chain fire my lasers, and usually only to avoid overheating. Otherwise, its alpha to the CT for max damage in minimal time..

Chainfire is also usefull for fireing at fast-moving targets when you are trying to hit a light and you wanna keep damageing continuously..

[PAINLESS 42]

MrJeffers, on 05 October 2015 - 12:53 PM, said:

Chainfire the 6 LRM5s on the Mad dog. Coupled with the stream nature of the missiles already it makes for a lot of frustration on the receiving end from the screen shake.

Screen shake isn't additive, but it has a duration so doing damage over time with screen shake weapons prolongs the duration.

I'll give it a shot, see how it works for me. I've generally taken the opposite approach, that by minimizing screen-shake, I'm increasing the odds that someone will hang-tough and try to duel with me and get cored, but I can see utilizing it on my Jagers and Zeuses.

[Amsro]

At about 90% heat I chain fire.

[Apnu]

I chain-fire for heat issues, usually. Especially with energy boating mechs. Although I prefer to fire my lasers in groups such that I don't ghost heat and I can control my heat better. Plus its nice to jack someone for 30 points (6xML), wait a beat, then send 15 more points (3xML) to follow up.

But on my 2+ AC5 builds I often chain-fire to keep the enemy rocking and disorientated, plus conserve ammo. I miss often enough I'id rather waste one round because my lead is bad instead of 3. Also when a mech is cherry read, chain-fire is handy to finish, often only 5 points of damage is enough to get the kill, so why waste the ammo?

I chain fire SRM mechs, like the Huggin because I know it annoys the hell out of the enemy. That thing has godly SRM4 reload time so its: woosh! whoosh! woosh! woosh! Its fun to see heavies and assaults panic when that's going on and try to run away.

I tend not to chain fire my LRM mechs, I think the LRM5 chain-fire is dumb cheese that's easily defeated by anybody's AMS. Having said that, I do chain fire the LRMs on my AS7-S because I'm annoyed by the tubes on it, and so I'm packing LRM25 in a LRM10, and three LRM5s, and heat's an issue when splatting all that out.

[Chuck Jager]

Chainfire on cuacs with a macro can lower the jam chance. Set it at spam speed and it appears that the fire goes through before the jam logic clicks in.

FYI - it also appears that they can not remove it but they seem to change up how the triggers are avoided each patch so the times need to be set in game not testing grounds.

[KuroNyra]

When too hot. I use the Chain Fire.

When I need a suppression fire with somes ballistic, Not destined to hurt but more making them stay where they are I use it.

[SolCrusher]

PAINLESS 42, on 05 October 2015 - 12:19 PM, said:

So I typically chain-fire to avoid Ghost Heat or as an alternate fire mode when i'm on the verge of overheating, but I see people suggesting weapon setups where they are using chain-fire as the default with when firing weapons like AC/2s which don't have Ghost Heat, so I was wondering in what situations people utilize chain-fire and why, and if some sort of chain-fire might be good for something like my 6X AC/2 KC.

I script my chain fired AC2's others don't but here you go. You'll need Autohotkey to run it and it uses the capslock key so you may want to choose another key. I just put each gun in a group.


;These next 2 lines make it so the script is only active within the mechlab and match window
#IfWinActive, ahk_class CryENGINE
#IfWinActive MechWarrior Online

F12::Suspend ;This makes the "F12" key turn the script on and off as needed.

IfWinActive MechWarrior Online ;The actual "macro" is below and only works when our MWO window is active
{

SendMode Input

while GetKeyState("CapsLock","P") ; While Left Shift is being held down physically do.
{

send {1 down}
sleep 57
send {1 up}
if not GetKeyState("CapsLock", "P")
break


send {2 down}
sleep 57
send {2 up}
if not GetKeyState("CapsLock", "P")
break


send {3 down}
sleep 57
send {3 up}
if not GetKeyState("CapsLock", "P")
break


send {4 down}
sleep 57
send {4 up}
if not GetKeyState("CapsLock", "P")
break


send {5 down}
sleep 57
send {5 up}
if not GetKeyState("CapsLock", "P")
break


send {6 down}
sleep 57
send {6 up}
if not GetKeyState("CapsLock", "P")
break

} ;closes while

return

} ;close if

chain fired AC2's sometimes pulls the aggro if you will. People don't like the shake and generally ignore a crab with 6 ac2s group firing. I don't get the difference. I can lay down 700 dmg games when I don't chain fire, but when I do I get focused down more.

[bad arcade kitty]

chain fire your lasers to the light's legs is the best way to deal with them if you are unlucky enough not to have streaks

[BigJim]

Honestly? Never.
The closest I ever came was the short period I levelled up dires & used a macroed dakkawolf for fun, but I can't imagine myself ever using chainfire as it currently works for actual beneficial purposes, other than as the above poster said, for streaks.

Edited by BigJim, 05 October 2015 - 02:54 PM.

[Kiiyor]

I occasionally chain fire autocannons, especially in my Dakka Crabs and Yagermechs.

Other than that, I almost never do. Chain fire gives you fantastic control over your DPS, but also requires face time - and in most mechs, face time exponentially increases the chance some MadCat will smash their way through a building like a giant metal chestburster and flay your limbs with a well aimed rainbow coloured alpha strike.

I remember doing it regularly in closed beta, but the communal alpha strike game back then wasn't nearly as strong as it is now.

[Nightmare1]

When to Chain Fire depends on the following factors:

1) Mech
2) Armament
3) Enemy
4) Situation
5) Heat

1) Some Mechs are more chain-fire friendly than others. Namely, Mechs with a lot of weapons. Mechs with just a few weapons don't really need to chain fire as often, generally speaking.

2) Bullet 1) leads into Bullet 2). If you have a lot of guns, particularly ones that cause screen shake, then it's best to chain fire or to fire them in groups (group chain firing, some might call it). That allows you to maintain a steady stream of rounds that causes screen shake. It also allows you to avoid building up heat too early in a fight. Case in point, I own a Dire Wolf with quad LBX/2s, an LBX/20, and quad MPLs. I fire the MPLs as one group, the LBX/20 as one group, and the chain fire two of the LBX/2s in two different groups. A fifth weapon group is for chain firing the MPLs. When fighting, I always chain-fire the LBX/2s to generate screen shake in my enemy. I fire the MPLs all together until I start to run hot, and then I switch to chain firing them to avoid overheating.

3) You enemy may be something very fast where you want to cycle weapons instead of Alpha Striking with them. If you Alpha and miss, then your target may escape with minimal damage. If you chain fire, then you can walk your shots in on your enemy and hurt it, possibly even killing it in the process. Alternatively, you may face an Assault Mech, wherein it would be better to Alpha Strike (if that doesn't cause you to overheat) and run away to find cover. Unless you're in a similar Mech class, it's generally not a good idea to try slugging it out with a bigger Mech via chain fire.

4) Are you alone? Do you have backup? What's the terrain like? Is this your final moment of defiance, or are you one of the hounds chasing a fox? Situation can dictate whether it's better to chain fire, fire in groups, or Alpha Strike. If you're alone, whether because you're dueling someone or became separated, it's better to avoid building up unnecessary heat by Alpha Striking. However, you probably will need to put out more damage than what you could by chain firing. To that end, I recommend group firing. If you're with a team, then you can Alpha Strike more freely since your teammates will be able to cover you while you cool down. Conversely, you can also chain fire more freely since it is a bit easier to get "lost in the crowd" when facing enemies; in short, there is less risk.

5) Heat is the biggest reason for why someone should chain fire. Even if you're firing in groups, in a pitched fight, your heat will eventually build to the point where shutdown is imminent. I like to test my weapons at the start of a match if I'm piloting something new or that I haven't run in a while to see where an Alpha Strike puts my heat. I then quickly test a group fire for my energy weapons and note that as well. If my Alpha Strike puts me at 40% heat, then I'll stop Alpha Striking at 50% and switch to group firing. When my heat gauge hits about 85%, I switch to chain firing. This allows me to put out a steady rate of damage without shutting down.

There was a time where all I did was chain fire. The current game build, however, rewards Alpha Striking and group firing disproportionately now. Frankly, I'm okay with that since it's really nothing more than a change in gameplay tactics. However, chain firing is still a viable and valuable fighting skill that every MechWarrior should master.

Edited by Nightmare1, 05 October 2015 - 03:08 PM.

[LT. HARDCASE]

I've been noticing the trend, of a lot of players falling in love with chainfire. The problem is that in a lot of situations you're making yourself less effective at actually killing what it is that you're shooting at. Like Mauler and King Crab pilots who love to chain their AC5 builds, or LRM5 boats who just chainfire as their default method.

Breaking News: Screen shake is seriously the most overrated aspect of MWO! You know what will piss someone off more? KILLING THEM more quickly!

Fire your weapons at fast and hard as you can, Mechwarriors.

I've been noticing the trend, of a lot of players falling in love with chainfire. The problem is that in a lot of situations you're making yourself less effective at actually killing what it is that you're shooting at. Like Mauler and King Crab pilots who love to chain their AC5 builds, or LRM5 boats who just chainfire as their default method.

Breaking News: Screen shake is seriously the most overrated aspect of MWO! You know what will piss someone off more? KILLING THEM more quickly!

Fire your weapons at fast and hard as you can, Mechwarriors.