22 replies to this topic

[AncientRaig]

Simple question. I have a Centurion build that's pretty nice, but I'm running into issues where my SRMs are running out of ammo, and I have no free slots or tonnage to add more. I don't like going defenseless against LRMs so I've been bringing an AMS system, but I recently unlocked radar deprivation, so I'm wondering if it's worth while to still have the AMS, or if radar dep will basically give me the same protection, which would free up two slots and 1.5 tons for more ammo.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

-ditch the ams
-use your radar derp instead
-install extra ammo
-learn to never stray too far from cover
-profit

[Boulangerie]

Radar derp is a great defense against LRMs, but it's also great for denying you opponents the extra targeting time.

If they have a spotter, you'll still get rained on, so the best defense against LRMs is cover. If you know they are running lots of LRMs, stay up against tall structures/cliffs. Even a rock wall just taller than your mech will be pretty effective. The main map this is hard to do with is Polar, but that's a rarity.

What's your CN9 build?

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

As others have said, ditch the ams!

Mechs have finite HP pools... ams has finite ammo pools...

But terrain is indestructable! Use the map as extra armor value for your mech!!!

[762 NATO]

Well, considering the fact that you are probably using the CN9-A with the 3SRM6a and 2 MLAs with a max standard engine. Ditch the AMS. You strip your arm armor off first. Run only 4 points on each section of you back. Strip head down to an even half ton. Maybe shave legs if you have to. Then you will have all the SRMs you should need. If you make it to the end of your match and you are out of ammo, congratulations! Assuming you hit about 66% of the time, you match score will be around 1000 damage! Hopefully you got some good brawling bonuses and solo kills to rake in that cold hard imaginary money! If you still lost, your team did not do enough and you will quickly (if you keep it up) move on to the higher tiers! There, people will appreciate you, be friendly, talk more on comms, not use you for a meat shield, follow pushes, use different parts of the maps you have never seen before, share armor, stop sniping, stop running lurms, and the game will start being fun and less of a grind!!! (Last sentence may contain some salt since it is patentedly false.)

And yeah, use cover and radar derp.

[TooDumbToQuit]

There was some guy saying over and over that he had AMS and we should stay close to him. I did not see a Kit Fox so I'm thinking this guy had...one AMS?

Depending on if I have extra room, I admit, I will add an AMS (or 4 Flamers, lol) but only if If it is totally extra tonnage. Which does happen from time to time mostly with IS Mechs. But I also turn it off unless I'm under attack.

[Kael Posavatz]

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Edited by Kael Posavatz, 22 September 2016 - 09:17 AM.

[Fobhopper]

You only really need an AMS if you are using a heavy or assault, which are too slow to effectively outrun missiles. On medium and light mechs its not worth wasting your time with an AMS unless its a special situation (like the wolverine, which can catch LRM's like a certain female comedian catching phalus's). Near max out your armor (mostly front loaded) and stick to engine sizes on the rule of 25 (225,250,275 etc) and that should free up some tonnage for more missiles. And stick close to cover.

While I maintain that you should put an AMS on your almost anytime it can fit because not only does it benefit you but also your team members around you. But thats not going to be realistic in every situation, and while an AMS mostly works on LRM's, the AMS does shoot down SRM's (but at a much lower rate since srm's have more health than lrm missiles).

[Flak Kannon]

Hi Sidefire.

This is a good question.


AMS to survive longer or SRM ammo to punch longer.

What is more important to you, offensive punch or defensive longevity.



My opinion: ....

I pilot in such a way as to try and avoid LRM rain, so I personally would ditch the AMS and the ammo you packed for it, nad pack more SRM ammo and learn to better navigate the battle field so as to limit incoming LRM rain.


The two most useful tactics... Radar Dep module, and battle field awareness. The latter will cost you 6,000,000 cbills and is worth every penny. Must have it, and learn how to best use it. Having it without knowing how to leverage Radar Dep is a something that drives me crazy as a spectator. I wont go into to all the ways to use it, but first, and foremost, equip it.


Battlefield awareness... whole other thing. Dont over extend, don't be to aggressive early unless you have alot of help from other mechs on your team, use your teams Heavys and Assault ECM mechs early.. they will shield you from alot of incoming LRM.

And finally... use that shield arm on your Cent and torso twist ALWAYS and often..

Enjoi your higher match scores and higher damage numbers, and more kills with your increased ammo. Cents are good killers when piloted well.

[GenghisJr]

762 NATO, on 21 September 2016 - 08:59 PM, said:

Well, considering the fact that you are probably using the CN9-A with the 3SRM6a and 2 MLAs with a max standard engine. Ditch the AMS. You strip your arm armor off first. Run only 4 points on each section of you back. Strip head down to an even half ton. Maybe shave legs if you have to. Then you will have all the SRMs you should need. If you make it to the end of your match and you are out of ammo, congratulations! Assuming you hit about 66% of the time, you match score will be around 1000 damage! Hopefully you got some good brawling bonuses and solo kills to rake in that cold hard imaginary money! If you still lost, your team did not do enough and you will quickly (if you keep it up) move on to the higher tiers! There, people will appreciate you, be friendly, talk more on comms, not use you for a meat shield, follow pushes, use different parts of the maps you have never seen before, share armor, stop sniping, stop running lurms, and the game will start being fun and less of a grind!!! (Last sentence may contain some salt since it is patentedly false.)

And yeah, use cover and radar derp.

Every light and medium that can exceed 130kmh says reduce your back armour to 4 or even less, its quicker when there's less armour to get through. i would suggest 8 is as low as you want to go and only if you know how to stop the enemy getting behind you

[TooDumbToQuit]

Does AMS shoot down Narcs? A Narc has 10 health which is the same as an LRM or SRM. Maybe one difference is the increased speed of a Narc which is 500 (I guess KPH).

I'd heard a rumor/myth that you can shoot one off on a Mech but I'm sure that is BS.

When I was starting out with my Kit Foxes my first module was AMS Overload, it increases the damage from 3.5 to 6. And then AMS range. And I ignored LRMs. In fact, I ran TOWARDS streams of LRMs. The Stormcrows were my first wake up call, hey, need Radar Derp and to learn to hide. All my Hellbringers carry ECM so they were semi-safe.

But as I added Mechs like Thunderbolts etc I found I really had to watch out for open areas. So at times I will have one or even two AMS with AMS Overload. It is the ammo that starts to take space. So I try to turn it off unless someone is shooting at me since I almost ever carry over a ton of Ammo. Unless it is my Kit Fox, The IRON DOME, he carries much more ammo but then that is his job.

[Exard3k]

Radar Deprivation is almost mandatory. But in lots of situations you just can't break line of sight or your teammates can't (e.g. because they have no radar deprivation, are in a brawl, hardlocked by some ECM-Mech, NARCed,etc.), thats where AMS comes into play to reduce missile damage on you and your team. Overload module will boost AMS effectiveness greatly.

Edited by Exard3k, 23 September 2016 - 10:20 AM.

[TooDumbToQuit]

Exard3k, on 23 September 2016 - 10:08 AM, said:

Radar Deprivation is almost mandatory. But in lots of situations you just can't break line of sight or your teammates can't (e.g. because they have no radar deprivation, are in a brawl, hardlocked by some ECM-Mech, NARCed,etc.), thats where AMS comes into play to reduce missile damage on you and your team. Overload module will boost AMS effectiveness greatly.

Yea, so many people say "it is so easy to hide from LRMs. This is not always true considering the situation and map. You would think that Frozen City is safe but last night we had LRMs coming in from 3 angles at one point. And later, on the same map was a Domination where you are at the bottom of the trench with few places to hide.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

LikeUntoGod, on 23 September 2016 - 12:31 PM, said:

Yea, so many people say "it is so easy to hide from LRMs. This is not always true considering the situation and map. You would think that Frozen City is safe but last night we had LRMs coming in from 3 angles at one point. And later, on the same map was a Domination where you are at the bottom of the trench with few places to hide.

You need to look at the totality of the situation.

So lets use your scenario of Frozen City Domination.

Being dead center of the circle is no more effective than being on the edge of it. Also, your team as a whole is no more "in the circle" with all 12 of you within its boarder vs just one of you. Further, none of you in the circle is also fine provided you are shooting the enemy.

There is plenty of cover within that circle. More than enough to break line of sight even for a Kodiak. You still need to keep an eye out for UAVs, but that is generally true no matter what.

Now if you and your team are getting hit from 3 sides that indicates a couple things to me. Worst case: you guys screwed up and allowed yourself to get surrounded. That is bad, regardless of the enemy using LRMs or not. Best case: the enemy has split their forces. Take the majority of your team and overwhelm their weakside, then continue the murderball to victory.

[Poundcake]

Lots of responses here but none telling exactly how to use Rad Dep.

First move with Rad Dep and incoming is to break line of sight. Most times that's going to be with cover but even if youre not right up against cover all you need to do it break line of sight and watch the missiles fly right by.

I run assaults mainly and don't have AMS on any of them, LRMs haven't been hard to avoid, but I avoid the open areas. Some games you do get nailed and there's nothing you can do about it, you just got caught out of position, it happens.

Ditch AMS, there will be very few games where it will bother you once you learn to manage them.

[Kaptain]

What happens when the mech launching LRMs has advanced target decay? Do they just cancel each other out and the normal target lock time is maintained?

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

Kaptain, on 24 September 2016 - 08:54 PM, said:

What happens when the mech launching LRMs has advanced target decay? Do they just cancel each other out and the normal target lock time is maintained?

Advance target decay is a tad bit more powerful then radar derp so it just gets reduced timer but not fully negated...

That being said, the building or rock face that you hid behind should be enough to block the missles if its enough to break line of sight, and if not...

Just make sure to turn a little bit and retreat more

[TooDumbToQuit]

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky, on 24 September 2016 - 09:05 PM, said:

Advance target decay is a tad bit more powerful then radar derp so it just gets reduced timer but not fully negated...

That being said, the building or rock face that you hid behind should be enough to block the missles if its enough to break line of sight, and if not...

Just make sure to turn a little bit and retreat more

100% Adv Target Decay is great and I use it instead of Radar Derp if that Mech has ECM. One of the many reasons I think thatI think that more Mechs should have more Module slots. Yes, I know the reasons why but still a 20-ton mech has one more weapon slot and one more Mech slot then a 100-ton mech is...PGI

[S 0 L E N Y A]

LikeUntoGod, on 25 September 2016 - 12:04 AM, said:

100% Adv Target Decay is great and I use it instead of Radar Derp if that Mech has ECM.

I never bother unless I am using lurms or streaks.
Seismic and radar derp are far more useful for most situations.

[Unnatural Growth]

Boogie138, on 25 September 2016 - 02:32 AM, said:

I never bother unless I am using lurms or streaks.
Seismic and radar derp are far more useful for most situations.

Me too, and only if LRM's or streaks is one of my "primary" weapons on that mech. Also, if I'm running streaks, I run BAP. If I don't have room/tonnage for the BAP, then I don't run streaks at all, and run SRM's instead.

Seismic and radar derp are my 2 primary modules that I run 80-90% of the time.