260 replies to this topic

[beerandasmoke]

Remember to fire and twist immediately. As soon as you get done firing twist right or left and give them an arm for the retaliation. Preserving your sidetorsos and centertorso is key to surviving and getting good scores in this game. Practice it in the testing grounds if you need too. Many players in the uppertiers run what we call deadside builds where all of our weapons are on one side allowing us to use not only an arm but also a torso to absorb damage while keeping our mech fully functional and fighting. Never expose yourself more than you need too fire your weapons and always keep a piece of hardcover close to duck behind to break locks and line of sight. I always fight around hardcover if i can unless im leading a push. Twist like a madman when under fire and keep an eye on your minimap so you can stay with the group and you will do fine. GL and hope to see you ingame.

I also seen your having trouble with the arrow. I have an arrow as well and here are a few thoughts on builds and gameplay. Forget the machineguns. Just drop them because they will draw you into closerange encounters that the blackjack is not built for. Max engine and 3xLPL with JJs is what you run. Stay close in the second line behind the assualts and blast anyone with an alpha that pops up to shoot at them. Also you can jumpsnipe with it by hugging a ridgeline the enemy is close to then jumpjetting straight up and hit them with an alpha and then drop down behind cover before they can retalitate. We call it poptarting in this game lol.

Edited by beerandasmoke, 04 June 2016 - 01:05 PM.

[Gibson Ibanez]

Mmmmm...now I want some strawberry Poptarts lol. I have seen other guys do that with ppc builds but I have never tried it. I am willing to try anything to get better. I am not good now, but that just means I can only get better. Thanks.

I have been running the Arrow with 6mg, 3mpl and the STD 235. I love it and the 1X I bought recently. I have been trying to hang back and watch for pesky lights. I have taken a few out that try to harrass our lrm boats and assaults. My teammates like that. Once the game thins out, I have been looking for hurt mechs and using the mgs to rip parts of of them . . .IF I am still alive . I have aggressive tendencies.

I will try the LPL setup on the Blackjack. Thanks.

Edited by Jack McKnight, 04 June 2016 - 06:55 PM.

[Koniving]

Twin ppcs and 6 mgs just came to mind. An AC/20 punch with unlimited ammo and 6 mgs to back them up. Will try it today.

Lpls are blatantly better though

Edited by Koniving, 05 June 2016 - 02:47 AM.

[Gibson Ibanez]

Thanks for the ideas. I will try the two ppc setup on the Arrow. I do not want to seem stubborn, but I really want to keep at least four of the mgs on the arrow. I like having them later in the match when opponents armor has been stripped away. It makes it pretty distinct also from the 1X that I now own. I will try the three lpl setup on that one. On the 1X I have been running one erll to peek and the rest spl. I built that because I wanted revenge against Arctic Cheetahs and other pesky lights that have been a pain in my AS7. It also works well in later stages when armor is thin. The only downside for me is the lack of jumpjets.

I may be completely off base with my thinking. I am always open to constructive criticism.

Edited by Jack McKnight, 05 June 2016 - 12:12 PM.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Suit yourself.
MGs require close range and a lot of face time. Blackjacks excell at neither of those things.

[Koniving]

Channel more armor to the front to make up for FaceTime. Even better is to approach from the side.

[Gibson Ibanez]

With the Blackjacks, I have been working on watching the small map and paying close attention to the facing of the enemy before blitzing out of cover. I have been trying run with bigger mechs to help with light flanks and to time my attacks when enemies are focused on them. I then hit them from behind with or the side with 6 mgs and 3 mpls and try to run out of LOS. I have gotten alot of assists that way and a few kills.

You are difinitely right about face time with the Blackjacks. I went to the school of hard knocks, got pimp slapped around, before learning out how to avoid it. All because I played aggressively but not intelligently.

Edited by Jack McKnight, 05 June 2016 - 03:15 PM.

[Gibson Ibanez]

I have very limited experience with light mechs -- unless you count being a victim of them in my Atlas. (ehphing Arctic Cheetahs) I was thinking about building a CW deck and from what I have read it seems I may need a light to have a well rounded set. I own three Battlemasters, three Atlas mechs, two Blackjacks - soon to have a third.

Am I mistaken? Do I have to drop with a light? I did not really like any of the light trial mechs so I need experienced input as to which one may suit me. In all fairness, I did have fun zipping around in the locust but was beyond useless when fighting with it. Too fast, too twitchy for me to hit the broad side of an Atlas. I am comfortable with the 80 something kph my Blackjacks run at but too much faster than that and it just might induce vertigo in my 41 year old brain.

Edited by Jack McKnight, 06 June 2016 - 01:26 PM.

[Koniving]

Don't have to drop with a light.
You do need to make sure your weight fits the limitations, however.
It was something around 240 to 260 tons; they keep changing the limit.
This means 4 assaults probably are not gonna let you pass.

[Gibson Ibanez]

Thanks man. Crud . . . Now I have to do math.

[SteelBruiser]

Jack McKnight, on 04 June 2016 - 06:44 PM, said:

Mmmmm...now I want some strawberry Poptarts lol. I have seen other guys do that with ppc builds but I have never tried it. I am willing to try anything to get better. I am not good now, but that just means I can only get better. Thanks.

I have been running the Arrow with 6mg, 3mpl and the STD 235. I love it and the 1X I bought recently. I have been trying to hang back and watch for pesky lights. I have taken a few out that try to harrass our lrm boats and assaults. My teammates like that. Once the game thins out, I have been looking for hurt mechs and using the mgs to rip parts of of them . . .IF I am still alive . I have aggressive tendencies.

I will try the LPL setup on the Blackjack. Thanks.

Poptarting is fine as long as you don't do it more than twice in the same spot. I usually hit them on the third popup. I try for the legs and hope they receive more damage on the landing. I've had several pop a leg on landing which puts the chase in my favor.

[BaconTWOfourACTUAL]

Welcome to the war.

The learning curve is quite steep. But if you don't care about getting shot or getting shot at, you'll learn fast enough. Just go pilot and have fun.

I'm quite content to play PUG the rest of my career. (Mainly because with 2 kids I can't lock down firm times to play) Just go out there, and blow stuff up.
You'll pick up on how the lance/team is supposed to move, how it should move... And you'll fit in.

[Horse Pryde]

I'm also very new and learning. But so far am loving this game. I purchased to soon but have no buyers remorse as I will always love the DireWolf. I also got the Kodia Set and am not working towards some lighter stuff. The game has been good but I've got a lot to learn. Got schooled last night 1on1 by a riflemen who just ran around behind me faster than I could turn.
Love that the community is so great about helping and teaching.

[Leone]

Backstep whilest circling. Have your armlock toggle handy so you can follow them when they get outta your torso range, but that's not as important. Even with torso only weapons, by reversing and snapping around the other way when they do get past you, you can still defeat a faster opponent with some patience and persistence.

~Leone.

[Gibson Ibanez]

Leone, on 08 June 2016 - 11:30 AM, said:

Backstep whilest circling. Have your armlock toggle handy so you can follow them when they get outta your torso range, but that's not as important. Even with torso only weapons, by reversing and snapping around the other way when they do get past you, you can still defeat a faster opponent with some patience and persistence.

~Leone.

Leone helped me learn that in a match where my Atlas was getting beat trying to dance with a faster mech.

One other tip: When piloting the big slow mechs, try to keep close to a wall that you can back against. Preferably one high enough that lights cannot get behind you and toggling arm lock like Leone said will help you track them with your arm mounted weapons.

Just make sure the actuators allow side to side movement of the arms on your mech. Blackjacks, for example, are not able to get extended range away from the torso sights on the arms going side to side like an Atlas etc... Only up and down.

Also, Welcome to MWO! Horse Pryde. Hope this helps you.

Edited by Jack McKnight, 08 June 2016 - 12:27 PM.

[Gibson Ibanez]

If the calculations of my rusty mental calculator are correct, I COULD build a CW deck with; 1 Battlemaster at 85 tons, 2 Blackjacks at 90 tons total, adding a 60 - 65 ton heavy mech should be safe even if the limit is only 245 tons. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Question: What is the best mech in that tonnage range? I really like all of the mechs I own. My Blackjacks are a freakin blast, so I took a hard look at Jagermechs. The Rifleman is interesting, but that may be due to the "Legend Killer" from the warrior trilogy, which I loved. I also took a hard look at the Catapult. I have worked with quite a few of those. I am probably overlooking some.

When I become a better pilot, I will probably give lights another go.

Thanks.

[Leone]

Do you love acs? Uac 5s? Do you like being one of the biggest/easiest threats to kill out there?

If so Do I have a mech for you. Whilest not the tankiest, the venerable Jaeger has long been on my kill list, often before any other mechs in it's class. The amount of firepower you can bring is so dispoportional to the amount of armour you give it, I general take em out as soon as I can.

I'm actually a bigger fan of piloting the Cataphract, but most folk seem to prefer the hardpoint set up of the Jeagermech.

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 08 June 2016 - 09:33 PM.

[Gibson Ibanez]

Thanks Leone. I have learned the hard way that people looooove to focus down an Atlas when he sticks his skull out at the wrong time. I never thought the Jagermech would be considered that much of a threat and that shows my inexperience. I do like the high hardpoints that allow me to peek over without exposing too much, but I do not really want a glass cannon.

I overlooked the Cataphract with the low slung hardpoints. Again, that shows my inexperience. Is the Ilya Muromets very good? What are your thoughts on the Catapult or the Rifleman?

[Koniving]

Jack McKnight, on 09 June 2016 - 02:18 AM, said:

Thanks Leone. I have learned the hard way that people looooove to focus down an Atlas when he sticks his skull out at the wrong time. I never thought the Jagermech would be considered that much of a threat and that shows my inexperience. I do like the high hardpoints that allow me to peek over without exposing too much, but I do not really want a glass cannon.

I overlooked the Cataphract with the low slung hardpoints. Again, that shows my inexperience. Is the Ilya Muromets very good? What are your thoughts on the Catapult or the Rifleman?

Heh, unlike Battletech where the Jagermech is an anti-air fire support mech (meaning less armor than a light, a 'bunch' of ammo and pretty slow)... MWO's Jagermechs tend to be fully armored, carrying lots more ammo, and quite fast.
Unlike BT where at most an AC/5 might do 10 damage at extreme jam risk in 10 seconds (which is why basic rules don't even include that option), an AC/5 in MWO will deliver 35 damage in 9.48 seconds unquirked (after elites).
Tack in 2 to 4... and that the ACs do instant damage instead of spread damage unlike lasers... yeah.

They are nasty.

2 AC/5s, 2 AC/2s.

[BaconTWOfourACTUAL]

Leone, on 08 June 2016 - 09:30 PM, said:

Do you love acs? Uac 5s? Do you like being one of the biggest/easiest threats to kill out there?

If so Do I have a mech for you. Whilest not the tankiest, the venerable Jaeger has long been on my kill list, often before any other mechs in it's class. The amount of firepower you can bring is so dispoportional to the amount of armour you give it, I general take em out as soon as I can.

I'm actually a bigger fan of piloting the Cataphract, but most folk seem to prefer the hardpoint set up of the Jeagermech.

~Leone.

This.

I own a JM6-S... I run an AC 20 Daka Daka set... So while the 20 is reloading, they're getting pelted with AC deuces.

Edited by BaconTWOfourACTUAL, 09 June 2016 - 11:39 AM.