5 replies to this topic

[Fobhopper]

I recorded a match last night that I thought would be particularly useful for new players to see how it is in a live match, in a mech thats set for sniping (even though I am known for my love of Dual AC20 KGC's), on a sniping map.

I thought I had recorded audio for the match but apparently I didn't (I was using the game DVR built into windows 10, still trying to figure it out, which is funny because the DVR doesn't recognize MWO as being a game thats recordable, even though MS owns the rights to MWO). So apologies for the lack of audio besides a few of my team mates chatter, you will only hear in game sounds.

Here is the loadout I had for this match:
Stalker-M (hero), Guss Rifle w/4 tons of ammo, 3 ERLL, 6 double heatsinks, 300 std engine, near max armor (mostly front loaded) with full Mastery. Advanced zoom, UAV, Arty strike.

Here is the video:


The primary tenants of being a sniper in MWO:

• Keep on the move, fire 1-3 salvos and then reposition, as you see me do multiple times in this match. There was a time or two where I did just sit there and fire away, but thats because the enemy was just letting me take free shots.
  
• Maintain a mental map of your nearby surroundings, drop out of zoom to keep an eye out and make sure that you dont have lights shooting your legs out from under you. Don't be afraid to drop a UAV to let you know if someone is sneaking up on you.
  
• Don't tunnel-vision. This is top priority. Its real easy to try and finish someone off when there's blood in the water and blown off components laying around, but in doing so you might ignore massive changes to the battlefield. Your team might have nascar'd around the map and left you alone, you might have found yourself the new front line after the main firing line broke to a well timed charge.
  
• Do what you can do spread damage away from your primary weapons. This is more common knowledge, but most sniping mechs tend to have their primary weapons in 1 part of their mech (usually the right side torso like the Marauder). So try to make the opposite side your 'shield' side. Considering my Misery has weapons in all sides, I did what I could to spread the damage all over my mech instead of favoring one side.
  
• While sniping, remember that as the distance increases, and the faster the mech is that you are shooting at, the more you will need to 'lead' your target. This is especially true for PPC's and Guass, not so much for lasers.
  
• Try to focus on the torso's of mechs you are sniping. It will do more reliable damage and has a better chance of reducing the danger a mech presents, or even killing them. You will see that I tried to hit a cicada in the legs with my Guass, and I ended up (just barely) missing, when I should have aimed for the torso and I would have scored a positive hit.

If you have any questions about sniping, sniping builds or sniping mechs, feel free to ask.

[Koniving]

Fun notes:
Check "Full Window" or "Fullscreen."
It was one of the two that the windows 10 DVR didn't like.

[Fobhopper]

Koniving, on 27 April 2016 - 01:28 PM, said:

Fun notes:
Check "Full Window" or "Fullscreen."
It was one of the two that the windows 10 DVR didn't like.

I run the game on full screen, but most of the time when MWO launches, it drops the game DVR, I was actually surprised it recorded that time. I was trying last night to also save a vid-cap of me in my dual ac20 kgc to use as a reference for brawling thread that I want to do, but the damn DVR wouldn't work after I saved the sniping video. the DVR is finicky as all hell.

[Karl Streiger]

your tips look ok . but i have a question about your build:
shouldn't you mount the third ER Large into the arms too?

if not :
why do you trigger all 3 large laser on the same button? - The chin laser should really use a extra firegroup

[DJ Mitchell]

FobHopper, just as an idea, pack the ERL from your right arm into the left arm also, since you´re running a STD Engine you can use the whole right side as armor shield, increase your survivability drastically and also corner poke "better" if neccessary.

[Fobhopper]

Karl Streiger, on 28 April 2016 - 12:04 AM, said:

your tips look ok . but i have a question about your build:
shouldn't you mount the third ER Large into the arms too?

if not :
why do you trigger all 3 large laser on the same button? - The chin laser should really use a extra firegroup

The answer is simple, and meta players wont like it. Zombie build.

You are right, under normal circumstances, you would want to group up the lasers into better groupings, but as you see towards the end of the video, I lost my left side and started using my right side to block shots. If that shadowcat had hit my side instead of properly placing that shot as I turned around, I would have lost my right arm and probably my right torso but I would have still kept my core. You know what was in my core? (besides my engine) that last ERLL. I could still takes shots with that laser even if I lost both my arms and sides.

This is more of a personal preference though, I like having my weapons spread out like that (its its possible) that that way if a lose a arm/torso, I dont lose all my weapons. Especially with how cemented the laser alpha meta is in the game, you can literally lose an entire side torso in 1 salvo (especially if you turn the wrong corner and find yourself in the middle of the enemy team).

DJ Mitchell, on 28 April 2016 - 01:11 AM, said:

FobHopper, just as an idea, pack the ERL from your right arm into the left arm also, since you´re running a STD Engine you can use the whole right side as armor shield, increase your survivability drastically and also corner poke "better" if necessary.

The Stalker makes a very terrible corner poker, since the torso and arms are so close to the core (and the core has a really huge hit box) it is a very terrible idea to try and poke corners around with this mech. It is much better 'hull humping' to poke over hills (like you saw me doing) because it has such high mounted weapons. Even the Gauss rifle is just below the cockpit, and so is the 3rd laser.

The Maurader, Jagermech and others are better at corner poking because 1) they are usually faster mechs and can take a shot and move before you get fired on. 2) The mechs are much shorter, and have much smaller hit boxes. The Stalker is as tall as an Atlas, and nearly the same sized hit profile, the difference is the Atlas has arms that make great shields, the Stalker isnt so lucky. 3) From my experience, you put yourself at greater risk trying to corner snipe thanks to its well known profile, as well as weaknesses. If there are several light mechs, or several heavy/assault mechs that see a lone stalker trying to corner snipe them, they have no problem rushing that stalker. They even have a direct path to get to you and kill you. Sticking to hill humping makes it harder for the enemy to trace a path to you (particularly on maps like Canyon and Forest Colony, as well as Polar Highlands). The Stalker has well known weaknesses that are easily exploited in close range (not so great torso twist speed, high mounted weapons make it hard to hit small targets by your feet, etc). Piling all your weapons to one side instantly tells the enemy that if they focus fire that 1 side they can neuter you.

Having your weapons spread entirely around you means they have to decide to focus the core (which twisting spread damage) or to try and systematically blow off all your arms/torso and then try to kill you. Any extra time you by yourself by giving your enemy a harder decision to make can net you the kill. Like you saw when I took out that Black Knight I fought at the end. I saw a lot of his weapons were in his torso, and his center and left torso were exposed and I had an easy decision in what to target. But because after destroying my left torso (maybe hoping I was running an XL, but in the very least taking out my gauss) still had me living, and saw that I still had lasers and armor in my right and center torso showed that I still had a good amount of fight left in me. And as he tried to kill me (with the help of the shadowcat) he went for my side torso, leaving my core ERLL to still fire. Still having a core laser instead of putting both lasers in a arm) allows my to use my entire body to block, instead of replying entirely on one side to be my shield.