37 replies to this topic

[Amatsukaze]

I am fairly new at this & wonder what should be my expectations success wise by the end of a match. I typically pilot lights. I dont rack up huge damage numbers mainly because generally speaking I am not shooting anything more powerful then a medium laser. Looking at my stats my accuracy with all my laser weapons is above 80%.

I also rarely seem to get kills. I light up the enemy but another mech with bigger guns inevitably gets the kill. I also don't press the attack knowing how fragile my armor is so I mostly skitter around poking them in the back & sides.

Lately my scores have been 200-300pts damage, 8+ assists & maybe 1 kill. At the end of the match I look at the team score there are always a cpl guys that will have 3-4 kills & I have to wonder do I suck at this more then I think or is my performance pretty average. There are of course the odd match when I round a corner only to find a Warhawk looking at me who promptly smokes me with an Alpha strike netting me nearly no points & the occasional match where I will get 3 kills & 5-600pts but getting no kills & 200-300pts damage is pretty typical.

[Warglbargl]

It really depends on which light robit you are piloting.

Their effectiveness varies quite a bit.

[Metus regem]

What Warglbargl said, the combat effectiveness of a Locust and Arctic Cheetah are vastly different...

Generally speaking, life for Lights is about speed, and assassination from the back of slower mechs, or playing to the objectives.

[Koniving]

When using lasers, try to pick a spot on an enemy's body part and keep the lasers on it. Imagine you're drilling through armor. You will find them to be a lot more effective.

Far as killing something...
Try one of these methods..
Shoot the pelvis until it dies.
Destroy both legs.
Shoot the middle of the chest.
Shoot the left/right side, may have to do this with two sides in some cases.

These will usually result in kills.
If it helps, this is from two days ago.

The last kill was to the chest from a left arm weapon, taking advantage of how convergence works. But the other two kills are the ones to really watch.

Far as "I only have a medium laser."

Skip to 3 minutes in. My first kill is non-moving. Second didn't have a chance... it's the third and fourth kills that are really interesting, and the fifth is non-consequential. Trial Cicada.

Computer voices are edited in but they help tell what is going on by reading my HUD and my actions out to you.

[Amatsukaze]

Looking at my stats most of my drops have been in the Myst Lynx. I just recently purchased the Artic Cheetah & will be using it more moving forward.

My game style I guess you could say is playing to the objectives. I scout & target mechs for our missile boats avoiding a fight until the lines square off then I will charge in & take shots at the sides trying to get them to turn so my team will get a shot at their backs. I see the lights as a harassment mech more then anything & I enjoy that play style.

[Void Angel]

Ah, the Mist Lynx isn't one of the better Lights, though it does have its afficionados. The Arctic Cheetah will return much better results - use it with ECM and all small pulses for best results. You can use any Light to good effect, however:

This was my Ace of Spades achievement. But in order to get the most out of ANY Light, you'll need to understand its capabilities as well as those of your opponents - meaning you should play all weight classes and types of build in order to round out your knowledge.

[MrHail]

Time and patience will get you way better results.
If you play a lot you will learn every mech and their weaknesses.
You will also read the match a lot better and know when and where is time to strike.

As long as you are having fun you will get better and better. If it gets frustrating you will not enjoy or get better (I learned that by doing it).

Starting with lights is way harder than starting any other class though. Making a mistake in a light will cost you the match.

How many matches you have so far?

[AureliusDean]

If you're getting 8 assists, you're ok, I'd roll with you any time.

[Oldbob10025]

Seems your doing fine. Not everyone will get 4-5 kills and over 1000 damage just help your team and thats all is expected of ya

[Metus regem]

Oldbob10025, on 31 January 2017 - 03:24 PM, said:

Seems your doing fine. Not everyone will get 4-5 kills and over 1000 damage just help your team and thats all is expected of ya

I would also add to this, if you are doing 4-5 kills and 1K+ damage on a regular basis, you are doing more than your fair share of work... also 1k+ damage to me, says that are sloppy gunners. I try to aim for around 150 damage/kill most games, so I rarely peak above 600 damage, but average 3-4 kills most damage dealt.

[Roughneck45]

Amatsukaze, on 31 January 2017 - 12:58 PM, said:

Lately my scores have been 200-300pts damage, 8+ assists & maybe 1 kill.

If you are doing this in a Mist Lynx you are doing well for a new player, better than average id say.

Its hard to do well in lights. Takes a high battlefield IQ to really shine in them because one bad mistake and you are wasted.

Just know your maps, effective weapon ranges, and be stealthy. Don't stop moving and find enemy mechs on the outer edges of the battle or lagging behind.

Edited by Roughneck45, 31 January 2017 - 04:31 PM.

[Amatsukaze]

Thanks guys I am feeling better about my performance!

MrHail, on 31 January 2017 - 02:18 PM, said:

How many matches you have so far?

Looks like 129 total drops so far with 83 in lights. In all honesty I would say the 1st 30 or so drops really shouldnt be counted. I dont think I was taking the game seriously enough just blasting away.

[Void Angel]

Blasting away is fun! And taking the game too seriously will lead to frustration and reduce your cognitive abilities - leading to more frustration. Same with yelling at teammates, incidentally, though I doubt you've been doing that.

At the same time, you get more out of things if you put more in, so being a student of the game is always to be desired.

[Amatsukaze]

Void Angel, on 31 January 2017 - 06:12 PM, said:

At the same time, you get more out of things if you put more in, so being a student of the game is always to be desired.

And that is what I really like about this game, the depth of it. Its not just a twitch shooter.

Incidentally I made several drops in the Arctic Cheetah tonight & feeling much better about myself. I seem to be getting 1-2 kills every match now. Ironically the damage amounts I am doing havent gone up much. For example my last match I got 2 solo kills (both lights) as well as 5 assists but only managed 206 damage. I dont know how that worked... maybe my accuracy was better?

[Void Angel]

Yes. If you're using pulse lasers, the burn duration is lower, and your damage will be lower per kill because it's not spread out over the duration of a longer beam on moving targets.

Your damage increase is due to the survivability and firepower of the chassis over your previous options. =)

[MrHail]

Amatsukaze, on 31 January 2017 - 04:56 PM, said:

Looks like 129 total drops so far with 83 in lights. In all honesty I would say the 1st 30 or so drops really shouldnt be counted. I dont think I was taking the game seriously enough just blasting away.

Oh for those amount of drops you are doing great!
I would advice you try out the other classes eventually.
Go for mediums first since they are faster / closer to lights.

You will improve over time also so just play play play .

[General Solo]

Dont worry about damage
Better pilots have low damage per kill.
This happens when you are an accurate shot

[Guile Votoms]

Speed, size and intel are your most valuabe assets. Be patient in the beginning and pick your targets wisely.

Hit R to target your opponent and check for weak points. Sometimes it doesn't take much to take out a tough mech,
because it has an XL and weak side torso, a disarmoured center torso, a weak leg (hopefully carrying ammo for those juicy explosions) or one particular hard-hitting weapon in a specific location.

You can also switch places quickly without getting noticed that easily, so sneak around into the enemy team's back and supply your own team with valuable info on where specific targets can be found or in which direction the enemy moves and take down the occasional missile boat or assault that lags behind.

If you're confident in your dodging ability you can also clear the way for your team by running right into the enemy team to keep them distracted and call for a push.

Light pilots also have to have perfect map awareness. Since you can get killed easily you need to keep moving at all times, know which corners you can cut to get into cover and not run into a dead end, which elevations you can run up easily or where the typical hotspots for enemy activity are.

[TooDumbToQuit]

I think you are doing great. I hate most lights and I suck at playing them. And last night I had about 6-7 Domination and 6-7 Conquest in 20 matches and I was sure the Mechwarrior God hated me. I end up running for points and often do not do enough damage to go up on a win.

The "secret" to getting kills is to survive till the end of the match. Really, that is it. That is when the bigger mechs can get a kill with one shot. You might have to work harder.

And against Lights and anyone really, do like everyone says and shoot the legs. I'm just really starting to do that and it is working well. Take one leg, now they are an easy target for you to take the next one and the kill.

I love that you are getting good at killing other lights because that is an important part of your "job" and to be a pilot that can win one on one battles is a great thing. You would be a plus to any team.

I started out playing my Kit Fox. Which is not even a true light. Even when we won I might have only 200 damage etc.

And as far as the amount of damage vs kills. If you ever see a final page between two good teams the damage is very high because of the twisting and turning and avoiding damage that they can do.

But if you shoot out two legs at 24 damage each, you only did 48 damage for that kill. So better and smarter shooting will lead to less damage.

This is the reason that LRM boats will often do a lot of damage but get few kills. Their damage is being spread over the mech (or hitting a building) while your lasers are right on target.


Sweet Lord of Mechwarriors, please allow me to finish my freaking Ravens and Spiders.......

[Nightshade24]

Metus regem, on 31 January 2017 - 01:19 PM, said:

What Warglbargl said, the combat effectiveness of a Locust and Arctic Cheetah are vastly different...
-snip-

TBH, I find virtually all mechs in MW: O combat effective including the Locust and also including MG spamming Locust 1V's...
The difference is they are better suited for different scenarios and situations... To some out there they would consider the Locust a superior mech to any other light in game and to some it's smaller profile, superior heat management and speed, etc. Make up for any disadvantage that comes with having no jumpjets or the lowest armour available in game.