28 replies to this topic

[Mole]

I've been playing with my Viper lately, and there is a fun tactic that I believe only the Viper is capable of at current. Oftentimes when I have just traded with an enemy and I realize I am about to get flattened I'll just punch the Viper's rocketship power jumpjets as hard as I can and I sail so far up that I leave the firing arc of the mech I was dueling on the ground which gives me enough time for my weapons to cooldown and gather some breathing room before I slam back into the dirt and rejoin the fight. I've won quite a few fights this way. I'm basically using my jumpjets as a sort of emergency 'duck and cover' I guess. Anyone else do this?

[Tibbnak]

Heat doesn't dissipate if you're midair due to Jumpjet nerfs, and you take major leg damage, so I'm not sure how that's really helpful?

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Mole, on 12 October 2016 - 12:29 PM, said:

I've been playing with my Viper lately, and there is a fun tactic that I believe only the Viper is capable of at current. Oftentimes when I have just traded with an enemy and I realize I am about to get flattened I'll just punch the Viper's rocketship power jumpjets as hard as I can and I sail so far up that I leave the firing arc of the mech I was dueling on the ground which gives me enough time for my weapons to cooldown and gather some breathing room before I slam back into the dirt and rejoin the fight. I've won quite a few fights this way. I'm basically using my jumpjets as a sort of emergency 'duck and cover' I guess. Anyone else do this?

Lots of mechs/pilots do this.
Works ok if the enemy does not have arm mounted weapons.

I personally, I counter it by just waiting for you to land.

[Mole]

Tibbnak, on 12 October 2016 - 12:31 PM, said:

Heat doesn't dissipate if you're midair due to Jumpjet nerfs, and you take major leg damage, so I'm not sure how that's really helpful?

If you've still got leg armor and you're not overheating but you know you are about to take a massive alpha to the face but then you suddenly just rocket up into the air and confuse the crap out of the enemy pilot as he tries to track you above his cockpit it's really helpful.

Boogie138, on 12 October 2016 - 12:32 PM, said:

Lots of mechs/pilots do this.
Works ok if the enemy does not have arm mounted weapons.

I personally, I counter it by just waiting for you to land.

Yeah, but see, the Viper is currently the best jumpjet 'mech in the entire game right now. There is no other 'mech that can suddenly take off in an instant like the Viper can. Other 'mechs are just too slow to take off, I'll get wasted in the time it takes me to get high enough to be out of the firing arc.

Edited by Mole, 12 October 2016 - 12:35 PM.

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

Griffin bombers do this i think?

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Mole, on 12 October 2016 - 12:33 PM, said:

If you've still got leg armor and you're not overheating but you know you are about to take a massive alpha to the face but then you suddenly just rocket up into the air and confuse the crap out of the enemy pilot as he tries to track you above his cockpit it's really helpful.





Yeah, but see, the Viper is currently the best jumpjet 'mech in the entire game right now. There is no other 'mech that can suddenly take off in an instant like the Viper can. Other 'mechs are just too slow to take off, I'll get wasted in the time it takes me to get high enough to be out of the firing arc.

Spider 5V and Loyalty Cicada can do it just as well, if not better. Provided you are inclined to waste so much tonnage on hover jets.

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky, on 12 October 2016 - 12:36 PM, said:

Griffin bombers do this i think?

Yep, seems pretty popular with 2N pilots. I guess it helps spread dmg to the legs instead..

Usually also seems a bit of a last dtich effort IMO

[Mole]

Boogie138, on 12 October 2016 - 12:40 PM, said:

Usually also seems a bit of a last dtich effort IMO

It's pretty last-ditch in any of the other 'mechs that I own but not in my Viper. My Viper takes off so fast that I don't even generally run out of fuel before I am high enough to be somewhat safe and I can reserve enough fuel for a less painful landing.

[TLBFestus]

Mole, on 12 October 2016 - 12:33 PM, said:

If you've still got leg armor and you're not overheating but you know you are about to take a massive alpha to the face but then you suddenly just rocket up into the air and confuse the crap out of the enemy pilot as he tries to track you above his cockpit it's really helpful.


Yeah, but see, the Viper is currently the best jumpjet 'mech in the entire game right now. There is no other 'mech that can suddenly take off in an instant like the Viper can. Other 'mechs are just too slow to take off, I'll get wasted in the time it takes me to get high enough to be out of the firing arc.

Better than the Cicada 3F? That sucker flies. Problem is it's made of tinfoil.

[Lostdragon]

Spider pilots have been doing this for years. The problem is you are an easy target for mechs that have a better angle on you when you are in the air and very vulnerable when you land and slow down significantly.

[Felbombling]

If a Mech does this against me, I back up ten paces and wait for the duel to continue. Good day to you, sir!

[Wintersdark]

StaggerCheck, on 12 October 2016 - 01:16 PM, said:

If a Mech does this against me, I back up ten paces and wait for the duel to continue. Good day to you, sir!

... Just wait for him to land and stay motionless on a predictable spot. A guy who just jumps up, not to somewhere I can't see/follow, inevitably gets trashed the moment he lands.

[Quicksilver Aberration]

Wintersdark, on 12 October 2016 - 01:30 PM, said:

... Just wait for him to land and stay motionless on a predictable spot. A guy who just jumps up, not to somewhere I can't see/follow, inevitably gets trashed the moment he lands.

Especially his legs, but all I can say is this is typically a bad idea, making any predictable extended movement is bad for mechs that rely on speed to avoid damage, and that includes skyrocketing yourself up. Not to mention a mech like this wants to avoid as much leg damage as possible since those are key to your speed.

[Mole]

It should be noted that generally when I do this I am moving full speed and my landing spot is usually far behind the enemy 'mech. I also don't tend to engage solo in a Viper so they've got some if not all of my team mates to worry about still on the ground with them. I usually come out of it just fine. They either get confused and get killed or they switch to a better target by the time I've landed and I have now lost aggro.

Edited by Mole, 12 October 2016 - 01:37 PM.

[Lazor Sharp]

I also jump like you describe, if i am blocking my team mates line of fire, so that they can get shots in before I come down......

In various mech's, I will run at them, then jump up and over the mech, twist and then shoot them in the back.......

[Quicksilver Aberration]

Mole, on 12 October 2016 - 01:36 PM, said:

It should be noted that generally when I do this I am moving full speed and my landing spot is usually far behind the enemy 'mech. I also don't tend to engage solo in a Viper so they've got some if not all of my team mates to worry about still on the ground with them. I usually come out of it just fine. They either get confused and get killed or they switch to a better target by the time I've landed and I have now lost aggro.

Sure, in a push sort of scenario it makes sense since they have active pressure in front of them that they can't afford the loss in DPS to wait for you (or they pay the price for taking their eyes off the push), but in most other scenarios it is just not worth it.

Edited by Quicksilver Kalasa, 12 October 2016 - 01:45 PM.

[Mole]

Quicksilver Kalasa, on 12 October 2016 - 01:45 PM, said:

Sure, in a push sort of scenario it makes sense since they have active pressure in front of them that they can't afford the loss in DPS to wait for you (or they pay the price for taking their eyes off the push), but in most other scenarios it is just not worth it.

Usually by the time I've landed I've already worked out a plan of either attack or escape once I hit the dirt. The jump distance on the Viper is so great that oftentimes by the time I come to a landing I've actually landed with a nice piece of terrain or a building in between me and the enemy that I jumped from.

[Quicksilver Aberration]

Mole, on 12 October 2016 - 01:48 PM, said:

Usually by the time I've landed I've already worked out a plan of either attack or escape once I hit the dirt. The jump distance on the Viper is so great that oftentimes by the time I come to a landing I've actually landed with a nice piece of terrain or a building in between me and the enemy that I jumped from.

The problem is the you skyline so that a lot of mechs can hit you, and it isn't just when you land that you are vulnerable, your apex is also vulnerable. Now I'm not saying you can't get away with this in PUGlandia or the underhive, but against higher skilled opponents this is often a bad maneuver.

[Accused]

Protip: Doesn't work so well against skillcrows boating skillissiles with a skill decay perk.

[Mole]

Quicksilver Kalasa, on 12 October 2016 - 01:52 PM, said:

The problem is the you skyline so that a lot of mechs can hit you, and it isn't just when you land that you are vulnerable, your apex is also vulnerable. Now I'm not saying you can't get away with this in PUGlandia or the underhive, but against higher skilled opponents this is often a bad maneuver.

PUGlandia is the only place I would even attempt this maneuver. If I shot up into the air like that against a coordinated team I'd be in pieces by the time I landed.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Accused, on 12 October 2016 - 02:26 PM, said:

Protip: Doesn't work so well against skillcrows boating skillissiles with a skill decay perk.

lulz @ "skill decay"

I guess it is even worse with "advance skill decay"