14 replies to this topic

[Mechwarrior8862442]

I'm a new light mech pilot, but I've reached the point where the written guides out there don't help me much. I know the fundamentals (I hope), but Im not so good at applying them. Guides and gameplay videos by users like BlackhawkSC, Shinvector, and Darian DelFord have helped me learn about piloting, but when it comes to analyzing my own performance, I royally suck. Would you all mind giving feedback? I have some gameplay samples, here's one I prepared with commentary:



I apologize in advance for my poor english and microphone quality.
Here are links to a few other of my firestarter drops. Any help would be appreciated, since the few time's i've dropped in group que out of my tier (thanks clan wolf) i've found myself severely underperforming.

https://youtu.be/kTHRoZgXPvo
In this match I act moronic. These are probably my worst habits out on display, and I'm amazed I wasn't punished for it. The first sighting of that commando should have crippled me, but it looks like he was running LRMS instead of SRMS. Ugh.

https://youtu.be/-6lK-VcxHmQ
I was way too passive with the Highlander IIC in this match, that much is for certain.

https://youtu.be/GVUzZXshsBM
Had no good idea what to do the entire match...

Edited by Wesley Jameson, 30 November 2016 - 05:41 AM.

[epikt]

I don't have time right now but I'll have a look at your clips later this evening (or tomorrow) and comment it. (at first glance you don't seem horribad )

Meanwhile, if you speak French and are interrested in live coaching on teamspeak and dropping together, feel free to send me a friend request and poke me ingame.
(we could try in English but I'll have to be honest, my spoken English is sooo French)

[Mechwarrior8862442]

I think I can deal with french sounding english, but I wouldn't be able to take the offer anytime soon since I can't access the game for a few weeks.

[epikt]

Wesley Jameson, on 30 November 2016 - 05:42 AM, said:

I think I can deal with french sounding english, but I wouldn't be able to take the offer anytime soon since I can't access the game for a few weeks.

There is no hurry, it's not a time-limited offer

[BodakOfSseth]

Caveat 1: I still consider myself a newb since I've been playing less than 6 months.
Caveat 2: I just picked up the Locust, so I'm still feeling it out. My Trial Panther game became fairly strong, but I actually kind of hate the damned thing.
I'm in T3, so I'm seeing T1 players. My shiny new locusts are averaging about 250-300 damage. I expect I'll do more as I get better.

Wesley Jameson, on 30 November 2016 - 04:29 AM, said:

I'm a new light mech pilot, but I've reached the point where the written guides out there don't help me much. I know the fundamentals (I hope), but Im not so good at applying them. Guides and gameplay videos by users like BlackhawkSC, Shinvector, and Darian DelFord have helped me learn about piloting, but when it comes to analyzing my own performance, I royally suck. Would you all mind giving feedback? I have some gameplay samples, here's one I prepared with commentary:


I apologize in advance for my poor english and microphone quality.
Here are links to a few other of my firestarter drops. Any help would be appreciated, since the few time's i've dropped in group que out of my tier (thanks clan wolf) i've found myself severely underperforming.

According to the 4th video, you're T4, so meh. You're not going to see T1 but you will occasionally see T2. Ultimately, don't worry about it too much. Just play, do the best you can, have fun, don't judge yourself too harshly, and forgive yourself when you screw up.
This one got 826 damage, 5 Killing blows, 4 Assists, 3 KMDDs

You mention modules - I still haven't bought any consumables, but I did start buying upgrade modules for my mechs. Seismic is a must-have for lights. Radar Deprivation is good, but slightly less valuable, depending on your goal. If you're short on C-Bills and willing to take the time, just buy a module once and switch it between mechs when you change the one you're using.

Your weapons grouping:
Group all your arm lasers on one - this will be your primary shots.
I would set up all lasers on another group, allowing you to full alpha when you need to.
Put the MGs on a third group, and save it for finishing off opponents.
MGs are crap for taking down armor but great for hitting internal structure to cause crits. This may help you manage heat better - though looking at your performance, you don't seem to have a problem there. Also, this can save you 1T of ammo - since it's a back up, close-only weapon, and you only have 2xMGs to use them on.

Quote

https://youtu.be/kTHRoZgXPvo
In this match I act moronic. These are probably my worst habits out on display, and I'm amazed I wasn't punished for it. The first sighting of that commando should have crippled me, but it looks like he was running LRMS instead of SRMS. Ugh.

So in this one, your final damage is 331, 3 Killing blows, 3 Assists, no KMDDs.
All in all, respectable for running 6xSPLas and 2xMGs

Your issues I see in this:
- You tend to linger too long in the same place, (e.g. 2:24-2:33, then re-exposing at 2:35) allowing people to shoot you down with long range sniping. It works okay since you're T4, but when you hit T3, you certainly won't last. I assume you're spotting, hoping for LRMs, but unless you're hiding under ECM, its too easy to see you and kill you.
- You charge straight in at your targets (bad) (e.g. 2:40-2:50). This gives your opponents an easy target that is just growing larger and easier to hit in their screen. On the up side, you do approach from a blind side of the Marauder, but on the down side, you shoot him outside of optimal range, alerting him to your presence - thus, as soon as you poke over the hill, you're looking down it's guns. At higher tiers, you'd get a face-full of his Alpha strike. You get a shot in, back off (good) circle around left (good) re-approach to poke again... in the exact same spot (e.g. 3:01) (bad).
- Try running perpendicular to them (keep them to your right or left when moving), shoot as you move up over a ridge and duck down behind it.

Quote

https://youtu.be/-6lK-VcxHmQ
I was way too passive with the Highlander IIC in this match, that much is for certain.

789 damage, 4 Killing blows, 5 Assists, 3 KMDDs

Quote

https://youtu.be/GVUzZXshsBM
Had no good idea what to do the entire match...

669 damage, 0 Killing blows, 5 Assists, 1 KMDD, and Bridesmaid. (this means you did the most damage in your team, but didn't get any killing blows)

Your JJ usage is generally bad.
- Don't use jumpjets to escape. (e.g. 1:00, 1:24-1:27, 3:27-3:36 3:53-3:57, your death at 4:26) JJ will kill your velocity if you're not careful. you can see this specifically in the 3:27-3:36; your mech goes something like 130kph, but trying to jump away from the hunchback has you doing only about 60kph. (I'm honestly surprised the Hunchback didn't kill you outright.) Additionally, JJs to escape can give you vertical motion, and give your enemy more time to shoot you (escaping the atlas at 1:24). This can be seen throughout most of your videos.
- I get it - JJs are a quick way to make you feel like you're doing SOMETHING when you're expecting fire coming in. That big, fat spacebar is mighty easy to hit when panicking. It's satisfyingly noisy. But it's usually the worst thing you can do. Stay low, stay fast, stay alive.
- Don't poptart behind friends who are in front of you. (e.g. 2:47-2:52) Poptarting grants forward velocity - which means you're landing on your friends, doing damage to both. You can see your legs take damage. You're not seeing your friend taking damage to their torso or arms.

I'd recommend running mechs without JJ for a while (like a month or two). YES, they're great to help with mobility, getting up in sniping spots, visibility, poptarting... which is not what you're doing, except poptarting... sometimes.
You will be forced to rely on map routes, intervening terrain, and speed. You will miss your ability to get over little obstacles, but it will make you appreciate them much more once you get the JJ back.

Hope this helps.

Edited by ScottAleric, 30 November 2016 - 09:32 AM.

[Leone]

ScottAleric, on 30 November 2016 - 09:24 AM, said:

.....

Hope this helps.

Solid stuff.

Another word on Jump jets. Small controlled bursts. You generally want to use the jets to dodge vertically, but without spending so much time in the air your predictable. Usually I find them used best alongside a cliff to really mess up the targeting. But don't make em so short as to block torso hits with your legs. They are, in short, a tough function to master.

I've also written up a post or two on Light movement and some tactical considerations. It is by no means a comprehensive guide, as the most common light tactics, such as harrassment, assasinate and the 'Boom and Zoom', are covered elsewhere.

@OP. You played the first match like a support medium. You did quite well, but if your unhappy with that match than it's the playstyle your probably looking to work on. Let's look at the second match. You were unhappy with it, which is good, you know you want to work on it. Excellent. Let's do so.

First off, the approach, coming around the back of the mech? Spot on, that is light tactics. Hit em from behind, Pick on the weak and alone. By 0:40 you've a ranged mech, large lasers and lrms in your sights and alone. Then, you warn em early. Alright, not the best place to attack from, but we can recover. Everyone makes mistakes. but then, @1:05, you come to a stop in front of a laser mech (Who'll do little damage if you just blaze past em.) and distance yourself from a ranged mech, putting yourself back into it's effective distance.

....

That, that right there is what I find as the most glaring weakness to work on. Learn to get stuck in, and engage. With a mech like that, even followed by a commando, you could keep moving close to the enemy and take it's legs. Even if you can only get one leg before the other light forces you off, it'll leave that mech as easy pickings for your team.

Now the third match. Well, that mech is built as a medium support, rather'n a light assassin. That extra range you need for your earlier tactics, but no good in a light fight due to the lower heat to damage output. I mean it works, but that one's less about light mech tactics, more about the skirmishing. Even so, if you don't know what to do, as a light, your fast enough to reposition all the time. You want to skirt the enemy line, find their flank and worry it. For one, knowing where you are attacking from allows the rest of your team to extrapolate where the enemy isn't and helps give em an idea of the enemy formation. Also, by continuing to hit them from a direction where your team isn't, you split their attention, allowing your team to win trades, or maybe even pulling mechs away to swing the balance of numbers in your teams favour.

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 01 December 2016 - 12:14 AM.

[BodakOfSseth]

Leone, on 30 November 2016 - 10:14 AM, said:

Solid stuff.

I've also written up a post or two on Light movement and some tactical considerations.

~Leone.

HOORAY!

...hies off to read more.

Edited by ScottAleric, 30 November 2016 - 10:18 AM.

[Leone]

Oh, I also really editted that last post. Kinda trying to tie it together, just sos you know.

~Leone.

[Mechwarrior8862442]

Quote

Your weapons grouping:

If you look at the video, you'll find that is already what I'm doing. The arm lasers for times my torso pitch gets in the way, and lasers split by side s I can alpha by pressing both mouse clicks. My sensitivity is low enough that mapping a seperate alpha button isn't needed in those cases (I find it extremely clunky to do so)

As for the machine guns, they aren't equipped in a significant enough quantity to deplete the ammo pool I gave them, so I just bound them to my half-alpha weapon group. They also have only 1 ton of ammo in those matches, and subsequently running a half ton hasn't led to me running out of ammo. When whaling away at exposed components I'm going to have those mouse buttons pressed anyway, and the extra dps doesn't hurt when poking armour early on. I saw no disadvantage and wanted to reduce the number of weapon groups.

Quote

Your issues I see in this:

Thank you so much for the feedback, I will look to change those habits in the future.

Quote

Your JJ usage is generally bad.

I jump tank because thats what I've done with the trebuchet with great success, although I know it won't work in the higher tiers. Since I found myself consistently dying to torsos without any significant leg damage, I equipped 3 jump jets so the impulse of my jumps would move shots to my leg armour. Combined with torso twisting and planning flights to drop into cover, this has significantly increased my survivability while in the tier. I know how every single one of those points will bite me in the *** if I don't change my habits. The trebuchet can do it because it usually runs more jump jets, is a walking trio of torsos, and is medium (so people rarely aim for the legs). No light can afford to take leg damage when its their lifeline, and i don't do this while piloting other jump appropriate lights like the arctic cheetah, mlx, etc. But looking at that video again made my realize just how often I used it.

Quote

I'd recommend running mechs without JJ for a while (like a month or two)

I have max speed wolfhounds on my other account, but I haven't played them in a while. Thanks for the reccomendation.

Quote

Solid stuff. -etc-

Thanks for the guide!

[Blind Baku]

Wesley Jameson, on 30 November 2016 - 04:29 AM, said:

I'm a new light mech pilot, but I've reached the point where the written guides out there don't help me much. I know the fundamentals (I hope), but Im not so good at applying them. Guides and gameplay videos by users like BlackhawkSC, Shinvector, and Darian DelFord have helped me learn about piloting, but when it comes to analyzing my own performance, I royally suck. Would you all mind giving feedback? I have some gameplay samples, here's one I prepared with commentary:



I apologize in advance for my poor english and microphone quality.
Here are links to a few other of my firestarter drops. Any help would be appreciated, since the few time's i've dropped in group que out of my tier (thanks clan wolf) i've found myself severely underperforming.

https://youtu.be/kTHRoZgXPvo
In this match I act moronic. These are probably my worst habits out on display, and I'm amazed I wasn't punished for it. The first sighting of that commando should have crippled me, but it looks like he was running LRMS instead of SRMS. Ugh.

https://youtu.be/-6lK-VcxHmQ
I was way too passive with the Highlander IIC in this match, that much is for certain.

https://youtu.be/GVUzZXshsBM
Had no good idea what to do the entire match...

Twitch user Modest Mitchell is one of the best Locust Pilots I know, he's also super chill and will go into instructor mode with you if need be.

I skimmed you videos, and I'm no T1 light mecha master or anything. I also don't have firestarters... yet.

That said my knee jerk reaction is that you fight like a med-heavy pilot. Not meaning that to be rude, but you stop moving to line up the shots, etc. Mobility is life and why it isn't true 100% of the time the maxim for a light pilot is "Never stop moving".

Hope that helps some!

[Xiphias]

The main things that stood out to me:

1) You stand still/move slowly way too often for a light
2) You tend to tunnel vision and your situational awareness needs a lot of work
3) You tend to poke corners too widely
4) You're torso twisting (good), but sometimes you're doing it wrong
5) Command wheel is going to get you killed


1) Standing still or moving slowly is a great way to get picked in a light. While you might be safe from the enemy you are looking at you could easily get picked from someone you aren't aware of to your side or behind you. Look at the Commando you killed in the second video. That's what you'll look like from behind when you do this. Personally, I don't use throttle decay and use step up/down throttle (faster than just up/down throttle).

2) As any mech, but particularly as a light you need to be aware of what is going on around you. Where your team is, where the enemy is, and what the terrain is like. When you are pushing towards an area you should be looking left and right to check for enemies. Most of time in those matches it looked like you picked a target and then focused all your attention on that target. That's a good way to get shot in the back or side.

When you push the Hunchback in the second video you run across a wide open area (read potential firing line) but you really don't look around too much. Always be checking your surroundings as positions and situations change quickly. If you'd been looking you might have spotted that LRM Commando that got the jump on you. Also, when pushing in always have an escape route in mind. Know where your team is, how long it will take you to get back to them, and what terrain you will have to cross to get there. Also, unless you know exactly where the other team's lights are, be careful about committing on an isolated mech far from your team by yourself. If the light mechs are close they may be able to cut you off in a 2v1 or 3v1 situation. At that point there isn't much you can do since you can't outrun them once they've engaged.

I can't stress the importance of paying attention to everything around you enough as a light mech.

3) When you go around corners you are exposing more that you need to. The further out you go the longer it takes you to get back to cover and the more time the enemy has to shoot you. A good example of this is in vid 3 @ 1:45 and 1:51 (also, you stand still here for a good 4 seconds with two mechs over-watching in the background, a good way to get killed).

If you start reversing slightly before you pass a corner you can let your momentum carry you just out and then move backwards quickly. It takes some practice, but it will make your peeking much safer. You should peek the minimum distance around a corner that lets you get a shot off onto your target.

4) In the same part you'll notice that you're torso twisting to shield with your left side. On your build that's generally a good thing to do. In this case however your left rear torso is crit out and you keep turning it towards the enemy (for example vid 3 @4:00, 4:52, 5:06). This potentially opens up your back LT and just generally exposes the LT to more fire. Adjust your torso twisting to protect sections that are crit. If the LT starts taking a lot of damage, twist the other way and shield with the right. Better to lose a few guns that to get killed. You aren't always doing this, but it's something to be aware of.

5) You use the command wheel a number of times while the enemy has clear lines of fire one you. You might be able to get away with this now, but as your opponents get better that split second where you aren't maneuvering is all it takes to get picked off. Maneuver to safety first, then use the command wheel if you can do so safely.

The points about the JJs are also solid, you mainly want to feather them for quick turns and the like. When burning JJs your path is extremely predictable which makes you easier to hit.

Those are my main thoughts on your piloting. I'm happy to answer any specific questions if you have them.

[JigglyMoobs]

So a few things stood out to me watching you play:

1. Not enough concealment at round start. I realize that you wanted to get to the circle ASAP, but it only bought your team 3 seconds. A lot of times as a light, how well you can do in the match is dependent on being able to position yourself without being observed, and then surprising people from the back or the flanks. Even if you are going to occupy a piece of ground, it's not good to run out in the open where everyone can see you and then stand behind a lone building. There's a possibility that other people are just waiting to alpha you when you peek.

2. One of the advantages of a light mech is tactical mobility. As a light mech you can cover a lot of ground over the course of a match. Use it to your team's advantage by constantly repositioning to support different teammates, scout for info, do harassment and backstabs. Don't hang around the same area or just go along with NASCAR, don't constantly engage one mech that's already aware of you unless it's heavily damaged and you are going in for the kill.

3. When you are fighting alongside your teammates, it can be good to create a separation between you and your team so that the enemy mech has to deal with two widely varying targets. For example, in the first video when you are fighting that stalker, you could have moved to his flank. This way the enemy pilot has more trouble dealing with you. It's much harder to deal with one attacker on the right, one to the front, or one fast attacker that's very closes and one heavy attacker that's further away, than it is to deal with two people standing roughly in the same position.

4. Also, when you are poking an enemy mech, you have a different role than the heavy mechs. Unlike a heavy mech, you cannot tank, so don't do that unless your buddy is really low on health. Instead, time the enemy's shots. Usually, what an enemy poker will do around a corner, is round the corner, shoot at your team, and then back up when his weapons are cooling. What you can do as a light is wait for him to shoot his alpha at your teammate, and then follow the enemy momentarily as he's trying to back up and alpha him in the face. Then you can backup before his weapons have cycled and let your teammate tank again. This way, the enemy mech is dealing with roughly 1.7x the firepower of a single mech, and because he can't shoot back at you, you will have a better chance to take out his crit components. When you are doing this against a group of mechs, stand close enough so that your opponent acts as a shield for you against his own team.

5. Don't waste your shots depleting frontal armor unless the target is getting focus fired or you just can't leave a teammate for the engagement. Save your shots for stripped mechs and paper thin behinds. If you have to engage a fully armorerd mech and you can't backstab him, go for one of the legs.

6. Fighting: learn to fight without standing still. Don't backup in a light mech. You need to use your speed. Learn to use patterns of maneuver that allow you to fire on the run without stopping. Use the terrain as cover for the rear of your mech as you turn. You want to run tracks that look like figure 8 and snake patterns up and down the terrain roughly perpendicular to the line of the sight from the enemy mech to your mech. Use the JJs to help turning. Against light mechs, if there are not other people around, you can stand still for a second to let your lasers register better.

7. Forget about using your machineguns unless the enemy is crit. They don't do any significant damage on armored mechs, but the worst part is that using them will lock you pshychologically into facing them the whole time even when your primary weapons, the lasers, are cycling. Then you can't break away in an optimal fighting pattern. Not good.

8. Regarding awareness, tunnel vision, etc. Make sure you have the proper body posture and proper distance from the LCD. Your face should be close enough to the monitor so that you can see what you are aiming at well, but not so close that you get "lost" in the fight and stop looking at the tactical map. Ultimately MWO is less about aiming and more about positioning and team coordination. Take a look at Proton's stream. His posture relative to the screen and the controls is probably a good starting point for you. Just be aware that you might need to adjust around that position to get the right distance for yourself where everything "feels" right.

Edited by JigglyMoobs, 01 December 2016 - 04:45 PM.

[GenghisJr]

Lights are the most fun mechs to play in the game, the best game in a light is when you are alive for the end game.
So, dont rush off to find the enemy at the start, no matter how fast your LCT PB is and even with ecm, you will die to multiple grazes with ERL's and there is no limit to how many ppc's will be shot at you. In a light you are much better off waiting for the larger mechs to start fighting, they wont have time for you then.
Now that you have resisted the urge to suicide your LCT at the start, watch the map and look for enemy's that have become isolated, maybe they are damaged too, these are your prime targets, big, slow and most importantly - no help available.
If you like LCT's you will have an additional module slot, Rdep is essential for 40T and less and so is Target Info Gathering, pick the component you will attack and minimise your brawl time and then get away.
Most likely, if you are attracting fire in a light your attack will not be successful, retreat and find a new target that is unaware.
your LCT's are inspired to be JR7's when they grow up.

[Mechwarrior8862442]

thanks for the (somewhat overwhelming) feedback! I'll keep these things in mind when I finally get my hands back on the game.

[Mechwarrior8862442]

This probably isn't the place for it, and it is an old bump, but I'd like to thank you all for your feedback. I was a bit standoffish to your guy's advice at first, but thanks to following it I was able to carry myself up to T1 on a different account and become a good light pilot. I have left the game now due to the engine desync. Its funny, now that I've learned how to actually play lights, the one change that actually encouraged the old way I used to play now pisses me off.

I know you guys are commonly referred to the brown sea, and I know that most of the forums doesn't have a good grasp on the game or its mechanics at all. In spite of all of that, the advice you guys and other dedicated and patient pilots in game have given me the best experience I've ever had in a multiplayer game to date. You guys are awesome, and I hope in spite of the changes PGI are making to the game your cooler heads, persistence, and constructive feedback will win out and bring balance back to the Inner Sphere game. Or if you move on to different games, I hope you bring that same spirit along with you.

Thank you for everything!