118 replies to this topic

[Koniving]

Really quick: There are Battlemechs and there are Omnimechs (currently Clan exclusive but next year will see IS Omnimechs). Omnimechs can change hardpoints but not engines, heatsink type, armor/structure, etc. Battlemechs can change everything but hardpoints (far as this game goes; the source material is entirely different but we'll just not mention that.)

In order to switch hardpoints, PGI decided that you can switch entire limbs on your Omnimechs. Everything but the center torso can be swapped out.

This is important to mention as you expressed interest in both the Timber Wolf and the Nova, both of which are Omnimechs. As such there are limbs or 'Pods' you can get which can equip missiles if you so wished.

The only way to try mechs before buying them is through the trial mechs.

Using Ferro armor is inadvisable if you are not using maximum armor. The only reason to do so is to save on tonnage, but simply shaving a few insignificant points off of certain places can save just as much weight without having to lose 14 slots over it.

Why does ferro exist at all then since endo-steel structure is so much more effective at weight savings?
Ferro is basically legacy from the source material, its the premiere economical weight saving option due to high availability and relatively low expense compared to endo-steel, which is only made in 8 locations in the IS (2 of which are already under Clan control but they can't use it since its inferior to theirs, 2 are under Comstar which doesn't share ANYTHING`with anyone and hoards technology effectively meaning the IS has only 4 facilities that produce it, two in Marik space [this is why so many M variants have endo stock] and the other two scattered about and fought over. So basically nobody really had access to endo-steel. Even the clans had to wait 6 to 12 months for a shipment of endo-steel to come back so their precious Timber Wolves were an uncommon sight on the battlefields as the invasion dragged on due to endo-steel rationing). Meanwhile, ferro could be found anywhere and any facility could be improved to make Clan-grade ferro. None of which matters in MWO; but it is the way some things are with the stock loadouts and and so much ferro-use in stock when it is the inferior option in mwo.

Beyond that... I agree with the Marauder build assessments, excessive ammo particularly for the LRMs and only 2 LRM-10s. The other build isn't bad but the tonnage spent in Ultra/5s and maybe an additional 2 tons of ammo can be better spent on some additional heatsinks, as 32% heat efficiency is abysmal and the machine is a walking oven waiting to cook your goose.

Another point: Head armor is not that important... They are hard to hit. There's 15 structure in addition to the armor... You won't be instantly headshotted easily even with low head armor. Its 32 points of standard armor to make a ton, so shaving 16 points can free half a ton.

Edited by Koniving, 29 December 2017 - 01:02 PM.

[Dragonporn]

Info on armor types and Omni's is very useful right now, thanks. So, if I understand it correctly, standard is preferred to ferro variants for better protection?

Btw, picked build suggested by Brizna and modified it a little bit into this:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...cce2038f6a09fb0
Played around ~10 matches and I absolutely love this setup so far. On plus sides: this mech is really-really tanky, I can take tons of damage and still manage to back off, but every single round I managed to lose my left arm, lol. LRMs with Beagle Probe works wonderfully in low tiers, unless team is stacked with AMS or smth. 3 Large Lasers pack serious punch and good additional damage to LRMs which allow me to stay in fight and push if necessary. I've set up weapon groups like this:
1. x2 right arm L-Lasers
2 x1 right torso L-Laser
3. x1 LRM
4. x1 LRM
This allows me to control heat better both, with lasers and to avoid simultaneous missile launch.
And surprisingly enough, I manage to fire off full (900) LRM ammo supply pretty often, or at least 75% of it on regular basis. But I I'm not sure if jump jets on this mech are very useful. That may be my inexperience, but I had very rare occasions where these have been of any use, plus ascension is slow and fuel supply is pretty low, so I think better idea would be to have jump jets on mech that requires more mobility or something pre-heavy. If anything, I guess jets would be pretty much mandatory if I get my hands on Nova at some point.

Now on armor topic, would it be better idea to switch to standard? I mean I have enough sturdiness already, but more never hurts, though with the switch, I lose tonnage for jump jets and get free unused slots (around 9). How about removing jets, switching to std armor and packing more points into left hand to use as better shield?... Something like this maybe:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...26acc9c5e17dccf
What other option there are on this setup? Not like it's bad or something, but you can never be too perfect, right?

P.S. Should I buy and invest skillpoints ASAP or better to wait for more exp?

[Brizna]

Dragonporn, on 29 December 2017 - 02:00 PM, said:

So, if I understand it correctly, standard is preferred to ferro variants for better protection?

To clarify, maximum armor a mech has is determined (mostly) by its weight, so all 75 tons mechs have the same armor in their CTs, Arms, Legs.... Using different armor types doesn't change that maximum, it only changes the weight of armor. So Ferro Fibrous will save you some weight to achieve maximum armor in exchange of 14 spaces (7 slots for clan mechs) on your mech's diagram (known as critical slots) but 14 slots is so much you can't usually afford it and endo steel and any time you have to chose between endo and ferro you chose endo because it saves you more weight, you only take ferro if you can take both.

(mostly): In MWO there are armor quirks, these are balancing flat bonuses that add to the armor of certain mech variants on top of base armor.

GOOD HUNT.

Edited by Brizna, 29 December 2017 - 05:34 PM.

[Koniving]

Standard is preferred over Ferro for "free slots" as the weight savings are insignificant unless you're at max armor.
In your Marauder build with the ferro armor, there's no slots left at all to do anything with. If you dropped a ton of ammo you couldn't replace it with a ton in heatsinks due to not having the slots necessary. Meanwhile the savings in weight from using ferro in that build... you're saving 1.32 tons. That's... so insignificant

Endo Steel Structure is preferred over Ferro Armor for "superior weight savings."

As mentioned just above, here's no difference in the protective quality of the armor. (We won't see that unless we see Hardened armor, but as that canonically hampers a mech's mobility significantly, we will probably never see it). The key difference is in the weight. You get a whopping "4" points extra per actual ton of armor. The maximum possible weight savings that ferro could provide an IS mech of 100 tons is supposed to be 2.5 tons, though plugging it into the calculator just now I actually only got a savings of 2.125 tons at best. In Smurfy I'm getting a savings of 2.05 tons for a 100 ton mech with the full 614 points of unquirked armor.

Meanwhile endo-steel structure gives the weight savings (as the same 100 ton mech) of 5 tons. This is flat out, no 'factors" involved., and works in every situation. 5% of the mech's maximum weight is given in savings. A mech of 50 tons gets 2.5 tons saved. A mech of 25 tons will save 1.75

The lore in both cases is the materials and construction.

Spoiler

The reason it is lighter is in both cases they are very different metals that are lighter, thinner and more pliable. The issue comes with that pliability so what they do is they insert it between layers of standard armor to keep a sturdier shape, saving weight from being straight standard armor (or structure). In both cases this adds physical bulk to the mech, consuming slots on the inside as well as making the mech bigger.

That aspect of the lore has never been held in any MechWarrior or Battletech video game as that means making multiple versions of the same mech, and like most MechWarrior games, locking structure and armor types. But it is the reason for why they consume the 'space' you could use for bulkier weapons, and why in mech scales the ones with ferro armor are bigger than mechs without, endo steel mechs are bigger than those without, and why a mech that has both is huge and bulky compared to a nearly identical mech without either.

IS Light Ferro uses a higher standard armor ratio to reduce slot count consumption (bulk).
Clan ferro uses a higher ratio of ferro and less standard plates to have both better protection per ton of armor (approximately 39 points per ton instead of 36 like the IS) at less bulk. The result in repair and rearm, though, is quite a bit more expensive. They can use IS facilities to produce their better version but the resource consumption rate is something like 1.4x faster.

None of the spoiler matters in MWO, but good lore tidbits.

--------

Stealth armor is exclusive to ECM-carrying mechs. Weighs and protects the same as standard armor but consumes something like 2 slots per non-CT/HD body part (and these are fixed slots, they won't move over).

Edited by Koniving, 29 December 2017 - 07:20 PM.

[Dragonporn]

So far so good, but I really need a couple more tips to make things clear.
Did a few changes to mech build, and now it looks like this:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b25461eeb099ced
I really don't miss jump jets, but I'm not sure if AMS was a good idea. Actually it helped me to pull out from pretty nasty situations alive, and overall it seems nice extra umbrella from stuff flying my way, not like I have anything better to slot anyway... Also regarding swap of LRM ammo for Targeting Computer. I'm not entirely sure if it's really effective, but from what I read, it adds some nice little bonuses to weapon systems that I might have some use of, the question is: how negligible they are? Also ammo for missiles currently is spot on, unless I fire them willy-nilly.

And there goes pretty important part I'm a bit confused about - levelling. From everything I read about it, looks like each mech has its own skill tree which isn't shared with any other, and best to use standard exp to buy skills instead of gxp which is better to save up to level up other mechs faster. Please correct me if I got anything wrong.
Now, after some tinkering, I came up with this build for my MAD-5D:
https://kitlaan.gitl...cc12a#s=Weapons

Things I'm unsure about:
- Do I need to get AMS overload in Armor tree? How effective it is?
- I'm not sure how much Missile Rack +1 will add to my ammo count. That another reason I removed LRM ammo, I thought it might compensate a bit.
- Do I really need Seismic Sensor +100? Wouldn't it be better idea to swap it for Enhanced ECM +22,5%?
Overall I'm not too sure about Sensor Tree in general and any correction to skill distribution would be very welcome in any tree. I know that refund isn't exactly cheap, trial and error will cost me pretty big, so I wanna get it as straight as possible.

Edited by Dragonporn, 30 December 2017 - 01:13 PM.

[Horseman]

That thing is going to run HOT. Not recommended. It's also an unholy mishmash that tries to do too many things to do any of them well.

You want lurms, try this (build adapted from my Catapult, skills are a 1:1 copy): Smurfy (LFE) or Smurfy (XL), Skills

Here's an alternative proposal, an MRM brawler: Smurfy Skills

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- Do I need to get AMS overload in Armor tree? How effective it is?

Each node increases the effectiveness of your AMS by about 20%. Can be handy on mechs with 2x or 3x AMS. I only really take it on anything else because it's a gate to getting some of the structure/armor nodes a bit cheaper (I'm heavily into min/maxing the skill tree).

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- I'm not sure how much Missile Rack +1 will add to my ammo count. That another reason I removed LRM ammo, I thought it might compensate a bit.

18 missiles per ton for each node

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- Do I really need Seismic Sensor +100? Wouldn't it be better idea to swap it for Enhanced ECM +22,5%?

Both are useless. Seismic is brawling range only, Enhanced ECM only works for mechs that actually mount an ECM (your Marauder can't do that in the first place).

Edited by Horseman, 30 December 2017 - 04:39 PM.

[Koniving]

Enhanced ECM as stated is only compatible ECM mechs, and the percentage is tacked onto the 90 meter ECM range. With the two nodes you can increase the range to 130.5 meters.

Seismic Sensor 100 provides 100 meters range of Seismic Sensor. Stacking the two will give you 200 meters.
The sensor only works while stationary, but detects within 360 degrees and gives red-colored "Alien motion tracker" blips (no audio sadly) that warn you of people sneaking up on you. Demonstration found here after 3:40. It allowed me to know there was an enemy on the other side and quickly annihilate it.

How valuable that is, is entirely subjective.

Note: Actual percentages coming from nodes vary based on weight class. However all AMS does 0.75 damage/second enhancements, so it actually raises damage by 25% (unless the base damage is now higher than 3.)

The base damage of AMS is 3 damage per second. That's 3 LRMs destroyed per second. 1 and a half SRMs OR Streak SRMs destroyed per second. 3 MRMs destroyed per second. ? ATMs destroyed per second (I do not know ATM missile health).
For it to raise by 20%... that would mean that the base damage is 3.75 now.
According to Smurfy...

The current base damage is 3.50/second.

An addition of 0.75 raises it to 4.25 damage/second and another node raises it to 5 damage/second (so 5 LRMs / MRMs, 2 and a half SRMs, ? ATMs. Oh and NARCs have 3 health, so one NARC.

Naturally a second AMS doubles this. Three AMS triples this. Standing near other AMS carrying mechs also improves your defense against missiles.

AMS has a delay when switching from missiles it is firing on. This used to be quite noticeable. It is far less noticeable now, but still apparent when the missiles are colliding with the AMS user before they are destroyed. As such AMS can be overwhelmed and rendered completely ineffective with enough missile spam. As such do not rely on it to carry you. It is an aide.

[BTGbullseye]

Koniving, on 31 December 2017 - 12:29 AM, said:

(I do not know ATM missile health).

They are the same as LRMs. This has been one of the primary concerns for why ATMs are useless compared to any other missile system in the game unless the enemy has no AMS at all.

[jss78]

About AMS:

Those AMS skill nodes are a no-brainer IF you run AMS anyway. The real investment is in that 1.5 ton and 2 slots of equipment (assuming AMS with 1 ton ammo). The AMS skill nodes are only 2 out or 91 but significantly buff AMS DPS, so you should take them. They're also high up in a generally useful skill tree, so there's no "hidden cost" in taking the nodes.

Opinions vary on usefulness of AMS in general. In short, if you find getting hit by missiles a lot, AMS will help. Especially LRM's can be avoided by other means (smart positioning, radar deprivation, ECM...), but I still like to take AMS when I can fit it in.

[Horseman]

Koniving, on 31 December 2017 - 12:29 AM, said:

Enhanced ECM as stated is only compatible ECM mechs, and the percentage is tacked onto the 90 meter ECM range. With the two nodes you can increase the range to 130.5 meters.

No, that is completely wrong. The size of ECM bubble is unaffected. What is affected is the range at which enemy mechs can detect your mech or allies within your ECM bubble.

Unskilled ECM reduces enemy detection range by 30% - assuming no sensor buffs on enemy mech, this means normal 900m sensor range is reduced by 270m, to 630m.

Each of the Enhanced ECM nodes reduces that by 22.5% for each node (202.5m in our example). With both Enhanced ECM nodes, you reduce enemy detection range by 75% (in our example, that's 675m, meaning they can only detect you if they get within 225m from you)

[Koniving]

Horseman, on 31 December 2017 - 06:47 AM, said:

No, that is completely wrong. The size of ECM bubble is unaffected. What is affected is the range at which enemy mechs can detect your mech or allies within your ECM bubble.

Unskilled ECM reduces enemy detection range by 30% - assuming no sensor buffs on enemy mech, this means normal 900m sensor range is reduced by 270m, to 630m.

Each of the Enhanced ECM nodes reduces that by 22.5% for each node (202.5m in our example). With both Enhanced ECM nodes, you reduce enemy detection range by 75% (in our example, that's 675m, meaning they can only detect you if they get within 225m from you)

Interesting. A completely new mechanic invented for the skill tree. Sounds like something to test.
Just doesn't seem to fit with PGI's practice of barely putting in effort.

[Horseman]

Koniving, on 31 December 2017 - 07:27 AM, said:

Interesting. A completely new mechanic invented for the skill tree. Sounds like something to test.
Just doesn't seem to fit with PGI's practice of barely putting in effort.

It hasn't been invented for the skill tree. The only thing ST changed whas that when it launched, ECM's detection reduction value has been nerfed - effectively, we're using the skill tree to unlock it back to what it was pre-nerf.

Edited by Horseman, 31 December 2017 - 09:07 AM.

[Koniving]

Horseman, on 31 December 2017 - 09:06 AM, said:

It hasn't been invented for the skill tree. The only thing ST changed whas that when it launched, ECM's detection reduction value has been nerfed - effectively, we're using the skill tree to unlock it back to what it was pre-nerf.

Invented as in having the ability to change it. Before the detection range was tied to X distance from the ECM range with a strong and weak layer. The strong layer basically being no detection and the weak layer being a malleable distance which sensor improvements can 'overcome' in the old pilot skill tree with advanced sensors one and two.

Thus before the only ability to separately change that range was as an enemy to the ECM using advanced sensors to overcome the malleable "weak" layer of ECM. This "ECM" thing allows us to change the "Strong" layer's size over the malleable weak layer, growing it back to something close to the original layer.

The old malleable layer was within 200 meters 180. Later advanced sensors was given the ability to affect it, increasing the malleable layer range to 220ish and 250 meters respectively.

When ECM initially got nerfed to 90 meters, the malleable weak layer was still 70 meters beyond the within ECM range, and anything beyond that was still undetectable. Not sure how close to civil war this was changed, but as such... a new mechanic... if you consider duct taping a new variable to a previously hardset number a 'mechanic'.

According to you, we can now increase the strong distance from 600 something meters (which is strange but cool to find out) to 213 meters, meaning the malleable range is then >213 down to 90 meters.

So yeah, that's a pretty new mechanic (being able to mess with it... as before it was not a number that the ECM user could change.)

Edited by Koniving, 31 December 2017 - 10:30 AM.

[Dragonporn]

Thanks for the insight in AMS and ECM skills and mechanics, guess I won't be picking them in that case.

Yes, this build I run is HOT, and that would be good idea to shove in another heat sink. I don't mean to argue, I just don't have enough experience and try to understand stuff:
What's the point in installing jump jets anyway? Mech is heavy, there are no skills in jump capabilities, with what does it help exactly?
And on build itself: by looking at them it is rather obvious that most popular ones are prone to dedicate mech to specific weapon class, LRM boats, Laser vomit, Ballistics, etc, but from PUG gameplay in QM, I can't really rely on teammates. If I don't have support with NARC/TAG and enemy is well stacked with AMS/ECM, heavy LRM boat build gets somewhat useless, your missiles simply don't get through. If I go with large LRM (15), medium lasers would be like tooth picks, I won't be able to do any considerable damage and range is only ~450. With LRM 10 and Large Lasers I have mid-long range capabilities of ~900+ (with skills) meters with both weapons. From what I've seen, x3 Large Lasers deal SERIOUS damage and can melt mechs pretty quickly, but I can't stand and facetank stuff all the time, especially if enemy team is bunched up and covering each other, so I can peek & shoot, get back in cover, chip away with LRM 10 while re-positioning, and fire lasers some more, it gives me some sort of versatility. Basically it lets me keep pressure and deal some damage non-stop even when I can't safely expose part of my mech. Also this asym build proven very useful so far, fire > lock arm > twist > fire - enables me to tank damage, keep my weapon systems intact (especially when I ran out of LRM and can sacrifice my left part entirely) and melt opponent away. What am I getting wrong way here, folks?

[Horseman]

Dragonporn, on 31 December 2017 - 10:43 AM, said:

Yes, this build I run is HOT, and that would be good idea to shove in another heat sink. I don't mean to argue, I just don't have enough experience and try to understand stuff:
What's the point in installing jump jets anyway? Mech is heavy, there are no skills in jump capabilities, with what does it help exactly?

Terrain traversal - you can jump over cliffs about as tall as your mech, making it easier to reposition. Raising yourself just enough to shoot above enemy mechs in cover or get your weapons above cover you're in ("poptarting"), including getting LOS for making your own LRM locks. Using quick jump bursts to increase your turn rate when brawling.

Quote

And on build itself: by looking at them it is rather obvious that most popular ones are prone to dedicate mech to specific weapon class, LRM boats, Laser vomit, Ballistics, etc, but from PUG gameplay in QM, I can't really rely on teammates.

It doesn't matter. What matters is that you can do one thing well or two things decently. Your build tried to do two things half-assedly.

If you know your build and the map well enough, you can take various types of "dedicated" builds - including LRM boats - into QP and not need to rely on teammates (FP group meta and comp meta are a separate matter, mind you!)

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If I don't have support with NARC/TAG and enemy is well stacked with AMS/ECM, heavy LRM boat build gets somewhat useless, your missiles simply don't get through.

Get your own locks! That's why my build proposal includes a TAG! ECM? Just point your TAG at it and it goes away!

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If I go with large LRM (15), medium lasers would be like tooth picks, I won't be able to do any considerable damage and range is only ~450.

4xML deals 20 damage for for 4 tons and 13.6 heat. 3xLL deals 27 damage for 24 tons and 21 heat. Max range on them is 540, or 720 if you take ER Mediums instead. The MLs in the LRM build are mainly as backup if you get rushed or start running low on ammo.

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With LRM 10 and Large Lasers I have mid-long range capabilities of ~900+ (with skills) meters with both weapons.

And you're vulnerable to getting rushed. Your LRMs are useless under 180m and your lasers are not heat-efficient to sustain you in a brawl, especially with your lack of cooling. And you're also forgetting your LLs don't deal their full damage above 450m (at 900m, they barely deal any damage at all).

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From what I've seen, x3 Large Lasers deal SERIOUS damage and can melt mechs pretty quickly,

If they're dumb enough to expose themselves constantly.

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but I can't stand and facetank stuff all the time,

You're not supposed to facetank unless you're in brawling range to begin with.

Quote

especially if enemy team is bunched up and covering each other, so I can peek & shoot, get back in cover, chip away with LRM 10 while re-positioning, and fire lasers some more, it gives me some sort of versatility.
Basically it lets me keep pressure and deal some damage non-stop even when I can't safely expose part of my mech. Also this asym build proven very useful so far, fire > lock arm > twist > fire - enables me to tank damage, keep my weapon systems intact (especially when I ran out of LRM and can sacrifice my left part entirely) and melt opponent away. What am I getting wrong way here, folks?

That build tries to be two different things but the way you did it it's ineffective at BOTH of them. Your cooling is inadequate to sustain DPS with your lasers, your lack of ability to lock your own targets vs enemy ECM makes your LRMs easy to counter and your skill tree doesn't help either.

With my LRM build above, you can use your jump jets to rise above cover, use your TAG to acquire a lock, fire your LRMs, drop back off into cover and reposition to do it all again.

Edited by Horseman, 01 January 2018 - 07:54 AM.

[Koniving]

Dragonporn, on 31 December 2017 - 10:43 AM, said:

Basically it lets me keep pressure and deal some damage non-stop even when I can't safely expose part of my mech. Also this asym build proven very useful so far, fire > lock arm > twist > fire - enables me to tank damage, keep my weapon systems intact (especially when I ran out of LRM and can sacrifice my left part entirely) and melt opponent away. What am I getting wrong way here, folks?

As far as this goes, absolutely nothing.

(Except when it applies to using LRMs, if you lock, fire, then look away, you lose the lock and the missiles are effectively stupid without you holding the lock.)

Far as the weapons, just make sure you stay on target for the beam's duration for full effect; I'm sure you already know that.

Its a good survival technique often done by many.

It has a singular weakness: DPS builds.
A build that doesn't have to stop firing will never let you get another shot in without exposing the side you want to protect.
As such, you will have that side shot any time you return fire, ultimately causing you to lose it or die in the process.
(Ignore the gripes about PGI's bonkers AF heat system; they got reigned in but its still completely bonkers.)

(Keep in mind this is a Single heatsink mech, on what is currently the hottest map in the quickplay lineup [at the time it was as hot as tourmaline currently is which is hot but not like it is now; but you can STILL do this now AND it's easier to do because of the new skill tree)... using large lasers and ER Large Lasers as DPS spammery.

(Also anyone with a brain will stop shooting your shoulders and instead shoot you in the groin.)

Til you meet either DPS builds or someone with a brain, your idea is phenomenally meta and the people at metamechs.com would be proud of you. Competition players all over the world will applaud you for being awesome and the plebs will scorn you.

...Then you'll meet me.
Protect your gonads.

Oh another weakness, predictability, you'll fire, twist away and be helpless for a bit, aim, fire twist away and be helpless...

Do it often enough and people will learn how much of a window they need to aim and hit you while you're aiming.

[Dragonporn]

After some more digging, I found out that Artemis system gets bonuses only if engaged in LOS (that true?), and TAG is pretty mandatory to drag along with it. Also that LRMs 15 and 20 are the ones getting best benefits from Artemis (aside from some SRMs). So, that means shoving jets is quite important, as we can have clear LOS > TAG > fire. But the problem I see that with heavy mech I need loads of jets to have acceptable ascend time. I swear, few time I've seen heavy trying to peek above cover had around 5-6 alphas in his head stat...
Since Nova is in trials, I took it for a spin. Thanks to the fact that it's medium, it has quite impressive speed, is rather small and makes it good for flanking. It also has jets installed, so going around, above and re-position for quick shots without drawing attention of entire enemy team works, while with heavy I have to stay in bunch, because if I stray too far, couple of light can take me apart laughing.

Btw, isn't any LRM boat completely defenseless against rushing, brawlers and DPS builds in general?...

And on gonads, since they are covered with 88 armor, and usually obstructed by legs, while twisting, is it really that vulnerable target? I mean there were much more spectacular results when I got my leg shot off, where I store LRM ammo... Or left/right side of the torso which is less armored and I either lose heatsinks or main weapon systems leaving me completely defenseless.

[Koniving]

Artemis LOS: True. There's some limits to it. But the takeaway is this: You get 25% faster lock if you have line of sight. Rather than 8 corrections to the missile's course, there are 12 corrections (if you lose direct line of sight and it has done more than 8 corrections it will stop correcting course). I've heard rumors of increased missile speed but this is false.

Jumping to keep LOS is...pointless. You can't really keep in the air long enough without running out of thrust, which means falling and damaging your legs. Now if you're using it to get up high say on a building and firing from there, then that's perfectly good.

Far as gonads. Some mechs don't have to worry about it as much as others. Here's yours.


By ignoring your torso twist, I can just aim for your groin and fry your CT. This requires an opponent with the intelligence to ignore your 'shield side' build, which even those with brains may choose to go through the shield side anyway (there's more money in it, a lot more money in it). This body design is also why the shield-side technique is working so well for you.

Results vary; front groin (which is the same as Center Torso) is likely going to have a lot of front-facing armor; in your case 88 frontal armor. But the butt only has 4 armor and you can't twist to protect that, so someone that can keep up with your turn and land in the blow has got you insta-gibbed with a 50-damage alpha. Not counting quirks and skills.

To kill you by side torso they have to go through 60 armor +32 structure per side torso (not counting quirks and skills) in order to kill you, so that's 184 damage to kill you. Or just 50 to 134 damage to kill you by the butt or gonads. Or 184 to kill you by both legs.

CT is the most efficient and practical way to kill you. If your head hitbox was worth hitting, that'd be even faster. Only way that's happening is if I can manage 33 damage to that spot in a single blow. More likely 38 if you max out the armor/structure quirks/skills.

Edited by Koniving, 02 January 2018 - 04:41 AM.

[Koniving]

Skip to 3 minutes. For some I toy with them but for others I go for ruthless efficiency. After finding the King Crab the gloves come off, watch the systematic and rapid snuffing of the many plebs of the battlefield, including buttshots and tearing legs off. Had I gone for the 7th's guys bum instead of his actual torso, I would have had 7 kills. Sadly I went for a larger hitbox and he twisted in time to put his arm in the way, giving me an arm destruction and saving his life. Had I gone for his butt, he'd be dead and I might have still had power, and thus not lost all my weapons, and thus could have had a chance to get yet more kills.

....Then again if all that had happened, I could have kept fighting til I died instead...and be dead instead of very much alive.

The most efficient you can possibly be under normal circumstances is 33 damage per kill. There's 438 damage for 6 kills and 4 assists. Granted some of it was helped.

Edited by Koniving, 02 January 2018 - 04:49 AM.

[Koniving]

(On Artemis: This is unofficial but since the lock system is shared, having Artemis will enhance Streaks. PGI got smart and made sure it would not enhance ATM spread... but in both cases it still enhances LOCK ON TIME. Even though it isn't supposed to enhance either of those systems, period.)

(Artemis in source material enhances the tracking strength of SRMs. If you've used SRMs you know that they do not track in this game. Thus, it doesn't enhance SRM tracking strength. Instead it 'tightens their spread'... and doesn't care about line of sight in this regard.)

(NARC-enabled SRMs are supposed to track NARCs. PGI gave us TAG/NARC-enabled LRMs as "LRMs"... but failed to do so for SRMs for the same reasons as above. So instead, echs built around this entire concept like the Kintaro, are left to make no sense in their stock builds. Just one of those things.)