4 replies to this topic

[Panzerjaeger Yoshi]

In all honesty this might be a dumb question, but I'll ask it any way. How do you counter a light/medium 'Mech that just runs around you shooting? I'm talking about guys that get within hugging distance of your 'Mech then just turn it into a bullet ridden/scorch marked maypole. I pilot heavy and assault mechs, so this is a common problem for me. Having teammates provide cover fire is helpful, but friendly fire hurts (I died from an allied PPC shot and missile barrage a while back) and trying to reposition myself makes the problem worse. Any advice aside from "Don't get caught out of position" would be very helpful.

[Ruccus]

It's normally called the death spiral or circle of death. Simplest way to avoid getting in one is to have a medium mech wingman. Medium mechs are agile enough to target the fast moving mechs, and by keeping you safe from lights they're keeping themselves safer from enemy heavy and assault mechs.

If a light starts circling you in an assault, back yourself into a corner or against a wall to make them come out to your front or side arcs to do damage. Also hold your fire until you have a good shot - spraying off shots in a panic just heats you up and helps them know when they can cross in front of you without getting alpha striked. If a light mech sees you panicking they know to keep up the pressure, but if they see you calmly hold your fire for the right spots and use the environment to guard your backside they'll go find an easier target.

Also, if you have lasers don't go for the center body mass, start sweeping the legs. the aim isn't to kill the light outright, it's to leg him to slow him down, then you can alpha strike the center or take the remaining leg to kill him. For pinpoint damage weapons it's probably easier to go for center body mass.

Edited by Ruccus, 26 July 2017 - 11:05 AM.

[Kaethir]

What Ruccus said.

Seriously, an assault by itself is a juicy target. An assault with a friend is a mistake waiting to happen.

But if you do end up by yourself, the single best thing to do is put your back to a wall. Sometimes there are mechs that can still get under you where you can't shoot (Atlas/Locust, for example) but it means they usually can't hit your lightly armored back, giving you time to get a good shot lined up. Which will vaporize them half the time.

[Leone]

Ruccus, on 26 July 2017 - 11:01 AM, said:

but if they see you calmly hold your fire for the right spots and use the environment to guard your backside they'll go find an easier target.

Or you'll manage enough damage to take a leg. The good pilots leave early, the ones still learning may take awhile to get the hint, but they often just cannot put out the damage needed to win those trades.

Also, always back up whilst turning an then snap around to the other side. Don't try an keep pace unless they're slow enough you can. And when possible, unlock arms to follow with/fire down with arm weaponry.

~Leone.

[The Basilisk]

Panzerjaeger Yoshi, on 26 July 2017 - 10:50 AM, said:

In all honesty this might be a dumb question, but I'll ask it any way. How do you counter a light/medium 'Mech that just runs around you shooting? I'm talking about guys that get within hugging distance of your 'Mech then just turn it into a bullet ridden/scorch marked maypole. I pilot heavy and assault mechs, so this is a common problem for me. Having teammates provide cover fire is helpful, but friendly fire hurts (I died from an allied PPC shot and missile barrage a while back) and trying to reposition myself makes the problem worse. Any advice aside from "Don't get caught out of position" would be very helpful.

There are several strategies you can employ to make it as hard as possible to give you more hurt than they recieve.

-- The first and most obvious one has already been mentioned. Do not get cought without your team.

-- Don't panic and observe what exactly he tries to do. Drive by and poke from the near sourrounding terrain, does he realy want to circle you, is there more than one mech (one may try to turn you the other pops out of cover and goes for your exposed back) ?

-- Next one is backside cover. There are differences between mechs though. Some Assaults and heavies just need to walk reverse into a wall and can't be circled anymore others can be pushed around.
Either way just get an obstacle behind you that blocks the lighter mechs movement path.

-- Arm weapons. Most Assaults got some (not all mind you the Banshe is completely arm weaponless f.e.) so put them on a separate firing circuit and use your unlocked arms to track that little runaround. f.e. one of my Annis got 2LB5X and 3Mlaser in its arms..at below 200m you even do not have to lead them..and a Direwolf or the other clan Assaults got even more. But the most important is unlock your arms to track them, no mech is fast enough to evade that.

-- If you get swarmed do not overfocus on one target. Most of the times at least one of the swarmers is a leech that expects the other lights to do the harassing while he goes for some straight hard hits. Whatch for the slowmoving or standing mech. Activate overheat and fire everything at him...if he dies quickly the other may get spooked.

-- Minor or basic hints are: Do not overturn, that means do not try to turn after him when he leaves your field of view (fov) the moment he leaves the border counter turn. If you get cought in the open with no back cover available inverse movement and counter turn.

f.e. A Direwolf gets left alone by his useless runaround pushpushpush noob team and an enemy jenner spots the large slow mech out in the open. The little runt cowardly uses cover to close in and trys to dash into the hindquarters of the regal Dire Wolf. The wolf dutyfully continued to head towards his team and issues a help signal from his command wheel while using any possibility fo fire on the approaching jenner. The squirrel skitters through the frontal FOV of the Dire expecting the larger mech to turn after him. The dire goes full reverse and turns counter to the jenners circling direction cutting right through his movement path. Additionally the Dire unlocked its arms to have full elevation on his arm weapons so the jenner can't underrun his weapons and gets showered in tonns of hot melting AC ammo.