41 replies to this topic

[Fattimus Prime]

Pretty much what the topic title says. Mediums, heavies, assaults, if I'm not always consistent with them I can usually tell where I'm messing up/what I should have done differently. I'm 100% lost with a light mech, the required playstyle seems completely counterintuitive to me. Despite numerous attempts, my results are always one of the following:

A: Try and scout ahead, get caught turning the wrong corner and die.

B: Stay bunched up with team, die slowly by peeking my head around trying to line up shots or die trying to take down light(s). Not once have I felt I contributed anywhere near what I would have in a different mech.

I'm using an arctic cheetah, hmlas/hmg right now but I've tried commando and a few trial mechs, only thing I had remote success with was an SRM boat. I literally have no idea WTF I am doing.

pls halp, only interested in clan mechs at the moment.

Edited by Fattimus Prime, 02 December 2017 - 02:13 AM.

[The Lighthouse]

If you really want to be good at light mechs, then start with medium mechs.

So start with mechs like Stormcrow and Bushwacker. Get used to those for a while. Then go for more lighter tonnage mechs.

Then go lighter mediums such as Cicada, Assassin and finally Viper.

If you do well on those light mediums, then you are ready for playing typical non-slow light mechs.


Basically, going straight into light mechs is such a bad idea. You really need good map awareness, how to engage and off, trading, etc.

But playing light mechs right away actually does not help you on these regards, because you will die too fast to learn about them, only experiencing frustration.

So, you grab mediums instead, which can last a lot longer to learn these stuffs, reduce the tonnage, play faster ones.

Mechs like Viper, Assassin and Cicada are played like light mechs, so they are really good mechs to practice.

[Fattimus Prime]

That's good stuff ty, kinda had my eye on a stormcrow anyway

Edited by Fattimus Prime, 02 December 2017 - 02:26 AM.

[The Lighthouse]

Yes. Playing light is not for everyone really.

It's ok if you end up not playing lights. There are tons of people who play heavies and assaults only, not even medium mechs.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

Lights work well as harassers or pokers. You'll want to pick a role first. Since you have a Cheetah I'd recommend 6 ERML for a poker or 6 CSPLs as a harasser.

With a poker you just flank around to an area away from your team that is to the side or behind the enemy lines. From here you will take shots at large enemy mechs, preferably hitting their rear armor and causing them to not peek as often at your allies, reposition, turn around, continue to take damage to the rear and die, or give chase to you. If they give chase to you then you've become a squirrel and your goal is to lead the enemy mech away from his team by baiting him then just lose him and run off and find a new flank to attack on. This will effectively take enemies off of the enemy's firing line and increase the chances of your team winning a match.

If you pick to go with the harasser route then your goal is to find enemies who have strayed from the pack and have little chance of countering you. You hunt down crippled enemies, LRM boats, long range snipers with little frontloaded damage, and preferably you do it sneaky like, jump out from behind cover and shoot them in the back, make them jump off of a position to chase you only for you to jump up and take the high ground, stick behind them as much as possible. It is recommended that you don't go in against multiple enemies at once with this type of build. In some matches the enemies won't split up much, so you'll have to be like a vulture, waiting for enemies to be weakened while just assisting your team, then at end game you hunt down any remaining enemies with your speed.


The Cheetah is a pretty good poker due to its ECM and speed and ability to bring 6 ERMLs, I'd use it for that role. It used to be a good harasser, but the CSPL nerf kinda killed that, now the Wolfhound with 6 MPLs has taken over that role and does it even better.

Generally you don't want to go out ahead and scout too far without any knowledge of where the enemy will be. Most experienced players will have a general idea of where fights happen on the map, so an experienced flanker would move around the area where they know fights occur and setup in a position where they are overlooking it and have good firing lanes.

Also, if you aren't using the Wolfhound, then I wouldn't recommend fighting other light mechs as a light mech. Long duration lasers, especially ones such as the heavy medium lasers, and machine guns, are mostly ineffective against fast moving lights due to damage spreading, you'd be much more effective taking out slower moving targets with such a build. The Wolfhound is a very capable anti-light mech with its 6 MPLs having a duration of around half a second and its huge armor quirks allowing it to spread even more potential damage.

[Fattimus Prime]

Excellent advice, thank you

[theta123]

Also dont be afraid to be a supportive light mech. Upgrade your sensors in skills, and apply this to a Good light mech with lasers, but also a NARC. or one laser less with a tag. When the match begins, go to your assault lance and allow them to safely reach friendly lines

Or one of the most effective ways of being a light mech is by providing ECM coverage and intercepting enemy LRM/ATM's

A solid AMS hunter is the Wolfhound-1B. It carries Dual AMS and a Quirk wich gives it 20% more range. Wich means you can intercept Missiles at 222meters, fully skilled out. (Make sure you use Regular AMS, not laser).

BUT since you are Clan= kit fox! Yes the kit fox! Grab that Triple AMS LRM shredder.

KFX-C

Its the ideal support mech, especially for escorting assaults. You have triple AMS to deal with incoming fire. ECM to provide coverage. And a 30 alpha with lasers and a streak SRM6 to deal with light mechs

[xe N on]

Fattimus Prime, on 02 December 2017 - 02:09 AM, said:

Pretty much what the topic title says. Mediums, heavies, assaults, if I'm not always consistent with them I can usually tell where I'm messing up/what I should have done differently. I'm 100% lost with a light mech, the required playstyle seems completely counterintuitive to me. Despite numerous attempts, my results are always one of the following:

A: Try and scout ahead, get caught turning the wrong corner and die.

B: Stay bunched up with team, die slowly by peeking my head around trying to line up shots or die trying to take down light(s). Not once have I felt I contributed anywhere near what I would have in a different mech.

I'm using an arctic cheetah, hmlas/hmg right now but I've tried commando and a few trial mechs, only thing I had remote success with was an SRM boat. I literally have no idea WTF I am doing.

pls halp, only interested in clan mechs at the moment.

At first: Light mechs as mediums mech are not front combatants. They do best exploiting enemy mistakes or distracted enemies by using their mobility and speed for gaining a superior position.

And second: Sound weird, but as a light mech in QP light you don't scout, since no scouting is necessary. Scouting mean risk to expose your self to enemy fire.

Commonly, you can divide QP games in two halfs. In the first half you have two option as light. Either protect the group from being flanked by staying back and attack other lights or mediums that try to attack from the back. Or you can try to ambush some enemy laggards by your own - preferably with a full light pack. But never risk being attacked by your own. Never find your self in 1on1 situations against anything other than ultra-slow assaults. You always want to be in the superior position. If you are not in a superior position, simply don't attack.

In the second half of the game, if closer combat is engaged you support your group as an harasser. Very important if you go into direct combat is situational awareness. If you are focused by the enemy, you will die. So you need to stay out of the focus of the enemy. Only attack if the enemy is already distracted or in combat with some other mech. If you "taunted" some enemies and draw fire immediately vanish using your superior speed. Never go to far into open field but stay near some cover to vanish if necessary.

Edited by xe N on, 02 December 2017 - 05:44 AM.

[Yosharian]

Fattimus Prime, on 02 December 2017 - 02:09 AM, said:

Pretty much what the topic title says. Mediums, heavies, assaults, if I'm not always consistent with them I can usually tell where I'm messing up/what I should have done differently. I'm 100% lost with a light mech, the required playstyle seems completely counterintuitive to me. Despite numerous attempts, my results are always one of the following:

A: Try and scout ahead, get caught turning the wrong corner and die.

B: Stay bunched up with team, die slowly by peeking my head around trying to line up shots or die trying to take down light(s). Not once have I felt I contributed anywhere near what I would have in a different mech.

I'm using an arctic cheetah, hmlas/hmg right now but I've tried commando and a few trial mechs, only thing I had remote success with was an SRM boat. I literally have no idea WTF I am doing.

pls halp, only interested in clan mechs at the moment.

Cougar with ECM and one Jumpjet Omnipod, 1xHLL in torso, 5xERML. Follow your heavies/assaults around and poke at enemy mechs. Rack up 500+ damage every match.

******* easy.

No-one runs 6ERML Arctic Cheetahs anymore, that's a build from like 1.5 years ago. The Jenner IIC is a good ERML boat but the Cougar is better if you can work with the lower speed, plus it has ECM.

If you find yourself never using the jumpjets.. I mean, you should be using them to traverse obstacles and so on, but you can swap out the jumpjet omnipod for another ERML.

Edit: actually, try using 6MPL instead. Running this build right now and it's better. I miss the jumpjets though, sigh.

Edited by Yosharian, 02 December 2017 - 07:24 AM.

[Inatu Elimor]

Hi,

Speed is life ! For instance, I'm running my locusts and spiders at about 140K. The enemy will have a hard time shooting or catching you. This also means most of the time you are running.

Zero speed often results in sudden death !

Your speed can be so fast that you need to keep an eye on your minimap constantly. Glare up occasionally when you are ready to shoot. Don' t try facing the enemy for too long !



succes

Edited by Inatu Elimor, 02 December 2017 - 06:23 AM.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

Yosharian, on 02 December 2017 - 06:06 AM, said:

Cougar with ECM and one Jumpjet Omnipod, 1xHLL in torso, 5xERML. Follow your heavies/assaults around and poke at enemy mechs. Rack up 500+ damage every match.

******* easy.

No-one runs 6ERML Arctic Cheetahs anymore, that's a build from like 1.5 years ago. The Jenner IIC is a good ERML boat but the Cougar is better if you can work with the lower speed, plus it has ECM.

If you find yourself never using the jumpjets.. I mean, you should be using them to traverse obstacles and so on, but you can swap out the jumpjet omnipod for another ERML.

6 ERML Cheetah does still hold a place in having both ECM and high speed. The Cougar will have a much harder time escaping from enemies that give chase to it. I'll still take the thing out from time to time for an easy 500+ damage.

[Yosharian]

Dakota1000, on 02 December 2017 - 06:24 AM, said:

6 ERML Cheetah does still hold a place in having both ECM and high speed. The Cougar will have a much harder time escaping from enemies that give chase to it. I'll still take the thing out from time to time for an easy 500+ damage.

Absolutely not, the ERML is far too hot to run 6 of them now on a Cheetah

If you insist on running that weapon on the ACH then you take four of them tops

ERML poking doesn't require 140kph at all

[Xetelian]

2 HVY Med Lasers and 6 Machine guns is not the easiest build to do well with no matter how much people want to complain about LMGs and getting critted out. This is an opportunist's build where you target people and check for open spots and then attack as far as I have played it. You'd probably be better off with 5 ERML and 400m range. I've seen a fellow, I've bumped into him a few times, who takes apart entire teams with 5 ERML in a cheetah and have witnessed him kill 5 people on my team and win the match as the last player.


I play lights enough to have a few tips.

If you're going to scout, know the maps. The main idea here is to check where the enemy is going but the best way to do that is by knowing the general layout and spawns, knowing the ways they are likely to go before you arrive. If you have a hard time scouting, don't do it.


There are really only two ways I will play a light:
1. Fast and never stopping, skirt the outer edges of the enemy and never pause for even a second. Occasionally run around enemies and between them when the risk isn't too heavy. If you charge head first into the entire enemy team you risk getting hit with a lucky shot and losing a leg, so I usually minimize this risk by juking from cover to cover until I can make a less suicidal run. Breaking people off from the pack and having them chase you is a thrill and can really hurt the enemy team.

2. As fire support second or third line. The idea here is to hang out with the bigger mechs, and only peek AFTER someone has drawn fire. This is usually in a slow light like a KFX or a ADR. Never be the focus and don't make ANY trades, just poke when you see an ally getting blasted. Never poke from the same spot twice if you can help it.



Maybe there is another way to play a light, I'm not sure.


You can't run through an enemy team and take only grazing fire and tank it all if you're going less than 125 KPH.

Edited by Xetelian, 02 December 2017 - 06:29 AM.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

Yosharian, on 02 December 2017 - 06:28 AM, said:

Absolutely not, the ERML is far too hot to run 6 of them now on a Cheetah

If you insist on running that weapon on the ACH then you take four of them tops

ERML poking doesn't require 140kph at all

Its not really all too different than the 2 HLL+6ERML meta builds I run, just a lighter mech and about the same levels of heat gen to cooling ratios. I'm never one for bringing less than 6 ERML if possible, you survive longer if you trade less often, so I'd like to do as much damage per trade as possible.

[stealthraccoon]

I’m a devoted light pilot - and the sin most people who migrate from bigger stompy robots, is attempting to face-tank and alpha as if the have the armor to spare. If you are a speedy light, you really have to try and nibble the wounded and distract/redirect the attention of the fresh enemies. You really only should unload a few alphas on an enemy if you have their backside exposed and you aren’t in the crosshairs of his buddies.

Now Urbanmechs, Panthers and Wolfhounds have sufficient armor to give you a few mistakes, but a Gauss/PPC hit or two and you’re noticing how great cover is.

[ocular tb]

Keep your head on a swivel and always look around you for enemies. Know what you and your mech can and can't do. Don't run in straight lines and constantly move your torso around so any incoming fire is spread.

A practice I use for the faster lights (Jenner, Commando, Spider) is using the contours of the terrain to ridge peek in a crossing motion instead of going forward and backward the way heavier mechs might. As a fast mech you can use the up-and-down contours to come up out of cover, fire, and duck back down without having to slow down or make any major changes in direction. Think of it as a strafing run while firing off to the side. Learn to use the terrain to your advantage that slower mechs can't.

Know your enemies and how they're built and what their weaknesses are. Weakness could be oversized arms, legs, torso mounted Gauss Rifles (they can explode and will typically take the whole torso off with it, so I always aim for them), all weapons in one location, missiles with minimum ranges, etc. Conversely, know what to avoid up close such as streaks and ATMs (when still within firing range). Lots of things to consider but it's important to know what the enemy mechs can and can't do and how to neutralize them.

Airstrikes: Carry two of them and use two of them. The damage they do is worth the cost and you'll be in a better position to use them more often because of your speed and mobility.

Fill out the survival tree (at least most of it if not all of it). I know some think it's a waste on a light mech, but I disagree. I think it's an absolute must with the amount of damage flying around out there.

And of course the most important thing is to practice. It takes time but it's worth it. Lights are the most rewarding play experience in the game in my opinion. I think a part of that is that lights are the most adaptable and being able to respond to the changing conditions make for more varied and interesting games (fighting other lights, backstabbing assaults, capping, scouting, distracting, sniping, etc...) Stick with it and eventually it'll make sense and it'll become fun.

[LordNothing]

the first rule of light club is you do not talk about light club
the second rule of light club is you do not talk about light club
the third rule of light club is you NEVER STOP MOVING
the fourth rule of light club is do not run between firing lines
the fifth rule of light club is to look for and back shat any lone wolf assault mechs
the sixth rule of light club is to hit r a lot (not to support lerm boats or your team, but to find potential victims
the seventh rule of light club is to wolf pack whenever possible
the eighth rule of light club is to cap all the things
the ninth rule of light club is to steal all the kills
the tenth and final rule of light club, if this is your first time at light club, you have to light.

as for weapons mostly stick to short range stuff. lasers, machine guns and srms up the wazoo. ecm whenever possible. a few lights can handle medium to heavy ballistics, like adders cougars and urban mechs. i have never found light camping loadouts to be effective especially when you consider what a good light pilot is capable of. like those who can take 20 tons and deprive the enemy of 200 tons with it. lights are the true predators of mwo, those assault mechs are just mechwarriors compensating for something. unless you see me in my ultraviolet, in that case you better run. assaults and lights are my specialties and knowing how to run one will help you run the other, so it helps to run both. try to defeat your own tactics. or you can easy mode and run heavies.

Edited by LordNothing, 02 December 2017 - 02:23 PM.

[Fattimus Prime]

Great responses, again ty all.

And yeah despite my previous ill fortune, it just looks like it'd be so much fun when you see those little dudes zipping around and actually wrecking. I actually had almost sold the ACH but there's some solid advice here, a lot of stuff I hadn't really considered so I feel like I have somewhere to start from now. Appreciate it, guys.

[Jonathan8883]

Use voice comms extensively. You don't have time to stop and type.
If you are lucky and have even one other good-communicating light on your team, you can work as a wolf pack (2+) and absolutely shred any isolated enemy mech by circling it; whoever's in its sights dodges/hides/jumps, while the other shoots it in the rear. If the enemy team is spread out, 2-3 lights can chew through triple their tonnage pretty quickly.

Also, different maps = different tactics. It's a lot easier to play as a harasser light on River City than on Polar Highlands.

Always have an escape route in mind - any time you shoot, you should know where you're going to run to. Don't stop to watch for the target's reaction when you shoot it in the rear. You want to be gone before it turns around.

[Snazzy Dragon]

Kind of hard when light mechs are a bit of a liability themselves as the weakest class of MWO