18 replies to this topic

[Ibrandul Mike]

Hi everyone, this is my first MWO Guide, so I hope it will do more good than harm. I will try to break down the elements of the new Scouting Game Mode

Please feel free to comment in this thread. I will try to get all the feedback in, if it fits somewhere.

Game Mode Description
Scouting is a 4v4 Game Mode, where one team tries to steal/gather Intel, while the others try to stop them.

The Scouting Drop Deck

Spoiler

The Faction Play Drop Decks are shared between the Scouting and the Invasion Game Modes. But in the Scouting Game Mode you only have one mech. It is by default the first mech in your Drop Deck.
To be able to enter the scouting queue, your first mech has to be between 20 and 55 tons.

And try to pack short range weapons on your fast mechs. Like m2wester said, most battles are fought on less than 200m. There is room for long range weapons, but mostly you will "brawl".
Depending on your job (gather or defend) you could pick corresponding mechs. For gathering faster mechs are usually better, for defending heavier mechs. You could pick a 55 ton medium for both or a light for both. Just think about your job in the game. Kill the enemies or gather the intel? Some mechs are good at both, some are only good for one job (added for Requiemking )

Intel

Spoiler

Each planet has a total of 600 Intel points. At the start of an attack phase Attackers and Defenders get 300 Intel each.
The Intel points have an impact on the Invasion and Counter Attack Game Mode, but not on the Scouting Game Mode!

minimum Intel % / Points	Effect
55% / 330 Points	In the Drop Preparation Screen and the in-match Scoreboard (TAB key) you can see the currently used chassis and variants of the enemy
70% / 420 Points	A Satellite Sweep icon appears on the HUD and inform you, when the next sweep will approach. After the sweep you receive Sensor Data for all enemy mechs on the field for a duration of 5 seconds. Enemy mechs will receive a brief warning when they have been tracked by a Satellite Sweep
90% / 540 Points	A Long Tom Artillery Strike will commence after the Satellite Sweep and the biggest group of enemy mechs will be targeted. The strike zone is marked with purple smoke and after a brief delay everything in the zone will be annihilated. Probably they will tone that down a little bit

Scouting (Gather Data) and Counter Scouting (Protect Data)

Data Points

Spoiler

The Attackers have to get at least 1 Data Point and escape through the extraction Zone.
The Defenders have to kill all the attackers or prevent their escape.

There are 40 Spawn points for the Data Points on each map. 20 of them will have Data Points so you have a random element and no specific strategy can be given.
After a Data Point is captured (standing near it for 3 seconds) it becomes inactive for the duration of the match and the capturing Team gets one Point.

The Extraction and the Transit Countdown

Spoiler

There are 4 (as opposed to the 3 in the patch notes mentioned) triggers for the arrival of the DropShip.

Trigger	Effect
All Defenders are destroyed	30 Second Transit Timer is triggered, Landing Zone is marked on the Attackers HUD
Attackers capture their 10th Data Point	60 Second Transit Timer is triggered, Landing Zone is marked on the Attackers HUD
Defenders capture their 11th Data Point	60 Second Transit Timer is triggered, Landing Zone is marked on the Attackers HUD
3 Minutes left on the clock	60 Second Timer should be triggered ... didn´t see that in one game

After the Transit Countdown expires the DropShip will arrive at the designated area.
An 1m 15s Timer begins after the DropShip arrives. When that Timer reaches 0 the Game ends, even if there is remaining Time on the Match Timer.
If all Defenders are dead the match will end immediately once a single Attacker mech enters the Extraction Zone and the Attackers have at least 1 Data Point.

For the boarding to be successful if there are Defenders still alive, there must not be any Defenders in the Extraction Zone. Hitting Attackers in den Extraction Zone seems to hold the boarding too.

Strategies:

Spoiler

Intel Gatherer
There are 3 main strategies, with one common element – Get to the DropShip and get away! To escape you have to be in the Extraction Zone, when the Extraction Timer (NOT the Transit Timer) reaches 0

1. Play hide and seek with the Defenders
Split up and get the as much Intel as fast as possible → Escape

2. Destroy the Defenders
Get Intel on the way, destroy all Defenders → Escape
You can have one lance member get to the extraction Zone and the rest tries to get as much Intel in the remaining time as possible. REMEMBER: If there are no defenders and you have at least 1 Data point ... the game ends instantly, when the Extraction Timer is running and you get into the Extraction Zone. So wait as long as possible to give your team the chance to get more Intel.

3. Destroy all Defenders but one (the remaining one should be legged!)
Get Intel on the way → destroy 3 Defenders → Leg the last Defender → Escape
Why leg the last one? If you destroy all Defenders the 30 Second Transit Countdown starts. So you have only 1m 45s to get into the Extraction Zone. If you leave one enemy left that can´t harm you much, you get 30 seconds more to get more Intel.

Intel Protector
There is only one strategy to win and one to not lose too much:

1. Kill all the Attackers (preferable!)

2. Get into the Extraction Zone and hold out there until the timer runs out (be aware you will be shot at from the DropShip!). You can´t stop them by getting into the Extraction Zone. You have to stop them from being in the Extraction Zone, when the Timer reaches 0.

3. If you know you are outclassed by the enemy …
- get killed as fast as possible and leg as many enemies as possible so that the Transit Timer starts and they won´t get to their extraction Zone or get too much Intel.
- get 11 Data Points as fast as possible to trigger the Transit Timer. Then try to stop them before they reach the DropShip.

Win/Lose Consequences

Spoiler

If you lose, as an Attacker, nothing else happens.
If you lose as a Defender , your Factions side loses an amount of Intel equal to the Intel Points stolen by the Attackers and the other side gets that amount of Intel.

For Example:
Before the match started, the planet had Intel Values of 300 (Defenders) / 300 (Attackers)
There is currently only your and your enemies scout team active (for easier math)
The Invaders are the Attackers in this Scouting Game.
1^st case:
You were the Attackers and have won with a total of 10 Data Points.
Now the Planet has Intel Values of 290 (Defenders) / 310 (Attackers)

2^nd case:
You were the Defenders and have won. You had gathered 11 Data Points, the enemy 9.
The new Intel Values of the planet are 300 (Defenders) / 300 (Attackers).

You might ask yourself, why the hell don´t we get Intel if we are the Defenders?
Your task was not to gather Intel. All the Intel in on the map belonged to your Faction. So there is no gain for you in form of Intel. You only stop the theft.

Edit: Please move this post to the correct forum -> Faction Play ... sorry for the inconvenience
Edit 2: Learn to count ... if you say 4 trigger ... there should be 4 and not only 3 ... corrected.
Edit 3: Requiemkings concern included.

Edited by Ibrandul Mike, 20 May 2016 - 12:21 PM.

[Escalus Prime]

Thanks for this!

[White Bear 84]

I just want to shamelessly plug my youtube channel by showing off this fun run I had in a Huggin;



After one night of play it is quite easy to see what the scouting meta is.. ..IS v IS you will see a lot of Griffins, Oxides, Firestarters, Spiders and Cicadas. Sometimes you get players with Ravens and Locust's too. Most other mechs have only made a brief appearance..

IS v CLAN, well all I hear about is the SCR meta.. ..so think that sums that up lol.
SRM's are your friend

[Ibrandul Mike]

One mistake corrected.

Standing in the Extraction Zone alone can´t stop the Attackers from being victorious ... you have to keep them from entering the Extraction Zone at the end of the countdown.

[Audacious Aubergine]

Any thoughts on suggested mechs? I had my first taste of this mode yesterday, took an SRM6 + ML Hunchback SP, rest of the team I think was 2 Cicadas and something else. Enemy had two streak-crows, a Mist Lynx and a Cheetah, and they steamrolled my half of our team then murdered the other two at leisure. Is the answer to the question entirely relative based on the map or are some mechs actually better for this than others?

EDIT: I should really read other peoples' posts before I ask

Edited by Audacious Aubergine, 23 April 2016 - 05:19 PM.

[Ibrandul Mike]

The maps play a role, if you have to gather or defend and of course who you fight against.

IS vs Clan Gathering
Something like 4 fast ECM Mechs, like Spiders or even Cicadas should be good if you don´t want to fight. If you want to fight, 3 to 4 Griffons with ECM and one fast mech (for example the Oxide) could be ok.

IS vs Clan Defending
3 to 4 Griffons with ECM and one fast mech or something like that. But if the clanners run fast mechs, you could have a problem ...

and so on ...
I run with my Oxide most of the time. And if we go against clans, we mostly run like hell (if we are gathering) and then wait near the extraction zone. When the timer is nearly at 0, we run into the zone and hope for the best.
If we have to defend it is more like 3 Griffons and one Oxide ... works quite well ... if the clanners are using their StreakCrows. If they use other builds or mechs, especially faster mechs on Polar Highlands, we have a problem.

So it really depends on your enemy, your role, the map and what you expect them to bring.
Sorry that I can´t be more specific. And if you ask 10 people here on the forums, you would probably get 12 opinions, which mechs to take when, against whom and so on.

Edit:
If someone want´s to suggest mechs on specific maps or against specific factions, I would get them a spot in the OP.

Edited by Ibrandul Mike, 23 April 2016 - 07:03 PM.

[d00mchild]

Does anyone know if the Capture accelerator Module does any good for capping intel?

[Sky Hawk]

What I would like to see, and what would fit perfectly in this nice work.. the 40 possible Spawn Points.. marked clear on every Scouting map..

[p4r4g0n]

Sky Hawk, on 02 May 2016 - 01:49 PM, said:

What I would like to see, and what would fit perfectly in this nice work.. the 40 possible Spawn Points.. marked clear on every Scouting map..

Since some of the intel points spawn randomly, that would be difficult. Showing all possible spawn points would be somewhat meaningless. mwo.smurfy-net.de has a map of river city that shows possible intel points, possible extraction zones and team spawn point. With respect to smurfy, it is useless other than to show where no intel points are likely to be.

Gameplay: Stormcrows are not invincible but you will need teamwork and focus fire to have a decent chance of beating them. Targeting enemies to find weak spots, calling targets to facilitate focus fire are all critical actions. Again, Voip is key.

[Hrett]

Ive had luck with both the Kintaro-18 and the Kintaro-Golden Boy, FYI. 5 SRM Hardpoints...

The HBK SP version isnt bad.

Oxides are op and need to be hit in the face and groin with the nerfbat.

EDIT: And as the above poster said, if you ignore everything else and take all crappy mechs, you can still win if you FOCUS FIRE ONE TARGET.

Really, it is the simpliest way to win and makes up for a lot of other shortcomings...

Edited by Hrett, 05 May 2016 - 01:53 PM.

[LorDGuilhotinA]

As IS ii found out that a fast medium is perfect for scouting, either at 95kmph with heavy punch (ac10/lb10x + srms) or as i prefer, 110kmph with srm+ laser (my favourite mech is an Loup de Guerre 340XL 4xsrm4+2mpl, a shadow hawk 2k with 350xl, 3mpl+3srm4 works well too).

Strategy is getting intel till u find the enemy, group up and grind the legs.

the key to sucess is always stay togheter, dont ever engage the enemy alone.

[m2wester]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned: You should go for short range weapons. Usually everyone is at least around 100kmh fast, so you close in on each other quickly and brawl. SRMs, medium and even small lases are the weapons of choice. Even if you actually manage to poke/snipe successfully, you just make it much easier for the enemy to focus fire on your team mates... in a 12 mech company with mostly heavies, a Raven is not missed from the front line. In a 4 mech scout lance, it is.

I suppose it's possible that there are long range strategies that work, but if so, only in coordinated teams. And I don't think I've seen any yet.

[Ibrandul Mike]

Scouting drop deck was updated with the hint for short range weapons.

[Requiemking]

With respect to the OP, the desirable traits for your Dropdeck depends on which side of the battlefield you stand on. I find that, on Gather missions, speed and size are my best friends, as such I run the Mist Lynx, as it is fairly fast and is quite small.

[Dagonus]

d00mchild, on 30 April 2016 - 03:42 PM, said:

Does anyone know if the Capture accelerator Module does any good for capping intel?

I've been wondering that same thing. Anybody know?

[Ibrandul Mike]

I don´t think they work, but I don´t know for sure ... so anyone should test this perhaps?

[p4r4g0n]

AFAIK, they do not work on intel points but even if they did 15% of 3 seconds is 450 milliseconds which is about as long as it takes you to blink twice.

Just a thought.

[ENOVA]

About conquesting a planets.
Devs says:
Determining the Top Four Units in a Conflict
• Whenever a member of a Unit participates in a victory during a Conflict they earn one victory 'token' for their Unit.
Question: In a faction play do I get tokens for the scout games? I need to know if I need to play scout to get a planet.

Edited by ENOVA, 05 April 2017 - 04:42 AM.

[PantherPage]

If I may, I'd like to add a simple strategy that helps, but only if you are the attackers.
You get to grab and go.
Sadly there is no real way to tell which way you will be playing before you click on the scouting mission button and can no longer make changes in you drop bay.

The strategy is to have one of your garb and go guys be a fast bugger. I would like to give credit for this idea, as I personally saw this played out by the infamous and crafty Backdoor Bandit.

Running at amazing speeds he was able to keep his distance until the final count down kicked in. Waiting until the last 20 seconds was when he sprang into action and like the Flash, zoomed into the drop zone for the victory.

The rest of us were just there to make as much a distraction, and assist with data extraction, but the true star was the super skill and amazing zoominess of the Bandit.

Some thoughts also come to mind.
1. As the speedster you can make it to the drop zone faster than the rest of the team, use this time to position yourself just far enough away to keep an eye on the drop zone, but close enough to run in on the last 15 seconds. Power down to make finding you that much harder useing the rocks, water and trees to camouflage your mech as much as possible. The rest of the team will put up token resistance, and then attempt to lure as many of the defenders away as they can. They will also, as long as they are alive, be giving you (the shut down, speedy mech) a count down so you can power up at the last seconds and like Mercury (Messenger of the Gods) deftly make your supersonic way to the victory.

2. Have your teammates assist in your hiding by positioning themselves in such a manner to draw the defenders attention away from you, especially if you are powered down. If you are sitting on the southern side of the drop zone, they should be north east or north west making the enemy put their backs to you.

3. Find the deep water as this will cover most of your speedy little mech, standing behind or near a rock of other obstruction will make you even less likely to be seen. Ask your team to verify that you are covered or need to adjust your position.

4. Legging is a big key, especially if you are defenders it is vital, but as the infiltrator it works to your advantage and allows you more time to reach the end zone for the game winning touch down.

This is just my crazy ranting. Using a lotus or other light mech, go with the highest speed and 4 med lasers, just so you can assist in the initial legging, make your adjustments from there.

Good luck

"For our honor and for House Steiner"