46 replies to this topic

[copacetic66]

heya pilots, i tried looking this up in search, but nothing ( i mean nothing) i search for shows up same msg. no results.
i would like to chainfire only 1 weapon group on only 1 mech, how do i put it on left mouse for just 1 group on 1 mech?
thx,smokey66.

[TercieI]

Step 1: Don't chainfire.

Step 2: Seriously. Do you like losing?

[Jonathan8883]

In game, using the arrow keys, select the weapon column for that weapon group. Hit Backspace. That weapon group on that mech is now set to Chain Fire. You may press the normal firing key for that group, and it will chain fire.

[Conn Man]

copacetic66, on 09 January 2018 - 06:12 PM, said:

heya pilots, i tried looking this up in search, but nothing ( i mean nothing) i search for shows up same msg. no results.
i would like to chainfire only 1 weapon group on only 1 mech, how do i put it on left mouse for just 1 group on 1 mech?
thx,smokey66.

The backspace key will let you set the currently highlighted weapon group to chainfire. You have to do it in game. The 'mechlab doesn't have the option.

[Void Angel]

Backspace is the chain fire key, but you should never use it. Seriously; using chain fire means spreading damage around - lore purists dislike it (and I enjoy varied weapon loads,) but in a game without a random hit location table, using weapons together to achieve armor strikethrough is the optimal tactic. That's why people are asking you if you like to lose.

As for search, the website's search engine is abysmal; I'm told it sorts things oldest first or something, but I don't have the patience to parse out why it sucks. It does, so use Google - searching for "how do I chainfire MWO" yields This as the second result.

Finally, while we're always happy to help, it would have been quicker for you to open the game options menu and select keybind. This is my first resort when I'm trying to find out how to do something in a game, and it's just normally faster than google searching or waiting for posting replies.

See you on the battlefield!

[copacetic66]

thx guys, i only want to use it for my 4-ac2 build... rate of fire (got quirk) & constant fire should b enough to keep pesky lights off me & should help a lil with heat, got 1.68 rating but still gets hot quick, lol.
asked here because i did'nt want to make any mistakes & did'nt realize how the backspace was connected to the weapon groups in game, knew it worked, just not how, not exactly explained.
thanks again, smokey66

[Void Angel]

No problem, but heat control is exactly the reason people chain fire, and we're telling you it's not worth it. Better to simply let up off the trigger.

Also, realize that because of the way PGI did the formula, cooldown bonuses have increasing returns, which may account for your heat issues. I don't know whether the game accounts for quirks/skills when it calculates that (and the cooling efficiency rating is counter-intuitive anyway; I recommend the weapon lab in Smurfy's MechLab.)

[justcallme A S H]

Void Angel, on 10 January 2018 - 01:12 AM, said:

No problem, but heat control is exactly the reason people chain fire, and we're telling you it's not worth it. Better to simply let up off the trigger.

Also, realize that because of the way PGI did the formula, cooldown bonuses have increasing returns, which may account for your heat issues. I don't know whether the game accounts for quirks/skills when it calculates that (and the cooling efficiency rating is counter-intuitive anyway; I recommend the weapon lab in Smurfy's MechLab.)

Or set 2 weapon groups.

Rather than fire 4, just fire 2. Chainfiring leads to missing targets, a lot.

[Mister Maf]

copacetic66, on 09 January 2018 - 09:29 PM, said:

thx guys, i only want to use it for my 4-ac2 build... rate of fire (got quirk) & constant fire should b enough to keep pesky lights off me & should help a lil with heat, got 1.68 rating but still gets hot quick, lol.
asked here because i did'nt want to make any mistakes & did'nt realize how the backspace was connected to the weapon groups in game, knew it worked, just not how, not exactly explained.
thanks again, smokey66

This is a fine idea, but the way chainfire works in this game, you're not going to get what you're looking for — each AC2 will spend a lot of time sitting idle while the chain sequence cycles back to them. You'll want to set up Fire Control, a PGI-sanctioned macro that lets you set a chain fire with the right timings for the weapon you're using. For four AC2s (without any cooldown bonuses) you want a fire rate of 180ms — far faster than the fire rate of 500ms that the game's chainfire uses. That will have each gun fire off in sequence the instant its cooldown is over without any idle time. It'll look something like this.

That said, if heat's the problem, you might want to take another look at your mech, because the above isn't going to do your thermals any favors, and as others have said, regular chainfire isn't worth it because of the missed shots and spread out damage.

Edited by Mister Maf, 10 January 2018 - 01:57 AM.

[Burning2nd]

you can double click also to speed up the chain fire

[The Basilisk]

copacetic66, on 09 January 2018 - 09:29 PM, said:

thx guys, i only want to use it for my 4-ac2 build... rate of fire (got quirk) & constant fire should b enough to keep pesky lights off me & should help a lil with heat, got 1.68 rating but still gets hot quick, lol.
asked here because i did'nt want to make any mistakes & did'nt realize how the backspace was connected to the weapon groups in game, knew it worked, just not how, not exactly explained.
thanks again, smokey66

No this does not work.
Since you have a hardcoded spacing between each "step" when engaging chainfire (except you pull the trigger on every shoot "clickyclickyclicky....")you will not get a better firing rate or dps out of the weapons compared to groupfiring them.
So the two only remotely viable reasons are either having a scripting system running that requires of you to engage groupfire for a weapongroup (burstfire script for multiple AC10/UAC10/UAC5 to avoid ghostheat or troll highspeed dakka fire of AC2 on anni or KGC) or if you want to keep firing when you have overheated and you are in retreat. And to be honest when this does happen to you you already did a potentially deadly misstake and the either engage override and die firing or stop firing and start torsotwisting till cooled of.

Edited by The Basilisk, 10 January 2018 - 02:18 AM.

[ScreamingSkull]

I have my 3 and 4 weapon groups bound to Q and E. I usually stick alphas or right side weapons on Q and chain fire or left side weapons on E. Chainfire has it's place, but shouldn't be your default firing mode unless you are firing lock on missiles.

[Horseman]

copacetic66, on 09 January 2018 - 09:29 PM, said:

thx guys, i only want to use it for my 4-ac2 build... rate of fire (got quirk) & constant fire should b enough to keep pesky lights off me & should help a lil with heat, got 1.68 rating but still gets hot quick, lol.
asked here because i did'nt want to make any mistakes & did'nt realize how the backspace was connected to the weapon groups in game, knew it worked, just not how, not exactly explained.
thanks again, smokey66

Bloody hell... NO. Never chainfire AC2s.
Chainfire inserts a 0.5s delay between shots. Your chained 4xAC2 battery will shoot at a rate identical to chained 2xAC2, wasting the rest of the tonnage you spent on them. If your 4xAC2 build runs too hot, pop a coolshot, stop firing or trade one of the AC2s for more heat sinks (although you really shouldn't)

Edited by Horseman, 11 January 2018 - 03:08 AM.

[BTGbullseye]

The ONLY AC that should be chainfired is the C-UAC20, and that's only if you don't have enough mouse buttons to put them each in a separate group. (they are the only AC that has ghost heat for more than 1 firing at once, two seperate groups are best) This still severely hampers your damage because the system has trouble moving from your jammed UACs to your not yet jammed UACs. (can take several clicks to make it switch to the next UAC)

Energy seems to work quite well in chainfire if you're wanting to use them as a backup system to prevent overheating, but still be able to put damage downrange. (but only if you're firing more than 16 heat worth of lasers at once otherwise)

[Leone]

Okay, okay, I completely understand the draw of wanting to throw a stream of bullets down field. And I've done it before. I prefer the 8 damage rapid fire punch of all four group fired, but sometime you just wanna try rattling some cages or putting some suppression fire downrange. It does have it's place against green or rattled mechwarriors. Just, know that against vets it's less effective.

Here's how you do it. Group 1, all four weapons, groups 3-6, each one ac2. (I leave group 2 for backups, if the mech has any.) Anyways, you just run down the numbers, choosing your own refire rate, and then hold down primary fire. Each ac2'll refire the moment it's ready, keeping a constant stream of fire as fast as you can. You still lose out on DPS based on the initial shots not being all four, and it'll still be spread more'n all four on target, but it's better'n using chain fire.

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 11 January 2018 - 09:07 AM.

[Cato Phoenix]

With something like AC2s, usually left side/right side to allow me to cornershoot. I fire them a little bit staggered because it keeps a better tempo for me and I like keeping shots on. You don't get ghost heat on them so you can certainly fire them all at once, which I do with just both clicks.

For other weapons like massed SRMs, I will sometimes have chainfire on a tertiary setting incase I I want to chain them, but as above, mostly I prefer alphas and grouped fire.

[Koniving]

copacetic66, on 09 January 2018 - 06:12 PM, said:

heya pilots, i tried looking this up in search, but nothing ( i mean nothing) i search for shows up same msg. no results.
i would like to chainfire only 1 weapon group on only 1 mech, how do i put it on left mouse for just 1 group on 1 mech?
thx,smokey66.

Easy.
Press backspace on group one.

All done.

To chain fire a different group, select it with the arrow keys in game. Press backspace. To turn it off, press backspace.

Chain fire to win -- when the circumstances demand it.
This isn't something to do all the time.

[Insanity09]

Minor point (?), AC/2's (reg or ultra) do not have ghost heat, so there is no benefit to chainfiring them heat-wise. As others have said, it is simply a matter of easing up on the trigger for a little while.

Now, if you want to chain to get a bit of rock & roll (they are just ac2's), have at.

[Metus regem]

TercieI, on 09 January 2018 - 06:16 PM, said:

Step 1: Don't chainfire.

Step 2: Seriously. Do you like losing?

One some mechs, with certain builds it's actually surprisingly viable....

My personal favourites for that method are as follows:

8x UAC/2 Dire Wolf
6x UAC/5 Dire Wolf
6x AC/2 King Crab
6x UAC/2 King Crab
3x UAC/2 Vindy 1X
3x AC/2 Vindy 1X
6x LRM/5 Mad Dog
6x LRM/10 Mad Dog


All UAC mechs have two weapon groups set to chain fire, I start one group one weapon after the other group, so you can put out a near constant screen shake on your target, suppression is a wonderful tool.

[Horseman]

You realize, of course, that chain fire does not double-tap UACs?