123 replies to this topic

[Brain Cancer]

Honestly, lights tend to benefit most from late-game. The longer you can survive with firepower intact, the more exposed sections there are to finish off in hit-and-runs and such.

It's why I have a habit of bullying lights whenever I can. The more I can unbalance the early light vs light stuff in my team's favor, the harder it's going to be on my opponents even if I go down in my Supernova.

[roekenny]

bdotalex, on 02 May 2018 - 04:56 PM, said:

It doesn't matter if your team blows, you can still rock a light 'mech if you've got good game awareness. I do not think the LCT is OP at ALL. It can be one-shot by a lot of things, even if you guard with your arms correctly~ straight through. Despite my great score cards, I've had plenty of rounds where I get popped immediately right off the start either due to lag, or just a great shot by an enemy 'mech. You need to be aware which 'mechs on the field can do this, and steer clear of them. (large caliber ac's, streaks, gauss, rockets, etc.) When you get the chance, gank them first. You need to be patient, and an opportunist, to pilot a light mech well. It requires switching between the most aggressive tactics, to the most passive tactics at the drop of a hat. Requires discipline...

If you want a light 'mech that is just simply strong as hell with zero pilot skill, that would be the MLX-G. 12 damage per second on the heavy machine guns alone, better armor, never has heat issues, HMG's on the arms, so it has much better shot angle, (you can park directly behind someone and shoot up), oh yeah, and it has jumpjets.

The 3 advantages an LCT has on a MLX-G is that an LCT is faster, can equip stealth, and with the LCT-PB, has 2 throw away arms that you can guard with since all weapons are in the CT, all of which are useless to a player with no game awareness/skill.

I prefer the LCT for the challenge, and also because it's the fastest paced combat you can get in the game right now. It also requires fighting in 3rd person (imo) to bring out it's full potential when crashing enemy groups. (therefore you're not trying to hide, but cause chaos) It draws immense aggro because people assume 3rd person pilots don't know what they are doing, and think they are going to get an easy kill. They take the bait every time. Also, I like fighting in 3rd person.

I'd go the 3M over the PB you get more armor and armor quirks so it's neigh on impossible to be one shot if you are moving. Slap 5 medium lasers 4 heat-sinks max armor and max out survival, operations and get all the heat nodes to get laser duration and have a pre scaled jenner (minus 1 medium laser.)

If go er mediums you can poke from flanks and be untouchable as too fast to chase been able to relocate half way across the map in moments with reasonable cooling (1.37) so can poke all night long. Or you can go standard mediums and have enough cooling (1.43) to pretty much never overheat so are an excellent anti light skirmisher with more dps and range than a PB so can be a lot more aggressive (ecm nice but since your attacking their flanks and so small that a minor bump can hide you your not missing much tbh)

[BrunoSSace]

Some times you need to go big or go home.
I present to you.
D-ck punch.
https://www.mechspec...pl-xl180.12434/
Not going to lie, I don't own a locus yet but. When I get one. I'm buying the 1m and one of the energy varietys.
92 alpha on a Locus lol. Troll a lol. Gg

Edited by BrunoSSace, 03 May 2018 - 11:54 AM.

[Akillius]

Locust has lots of use left and are lots of fun!
Imo a great mech to find out if your a crazy light pilot. (*cough* Hey PGI we need Locust II...)

Getting big scores in lights during QP is more of a challenge and means randomly being in the right place at the right time. Sometimes by staying close to assaults (being their seismic and ecm or ams protection), or sometimes by non-stop hit and runs where the enemy doesn't spot you or they don't want to play chase the quick small squirrel, and sometimes getting reds to chasing you into your teams open arms... er yeah something like that.

Anyways seems like commandos usually chase locust-squirrel, imo its a macho speed thing.

[Wil McCullough]

MrMadguy, on 16 February 2018 - 03:23 AM, said:

What is funny about all "Lights are useless" threads - is that guys ask 'Mechs, that cost 1.5M CB or $3 and require 10-15 matches to be bought, to be as viable, as 'Mechs, that cost 15M CB or $30 and require 100-150 matches to be bought.

You just should realize one simple thing - it's cheapest 'Mech in whole game. It just shouldn't be good.

Herein lies rhe problem with most potato assault pilots.

"You bought the cheapest mech so you're not entitled to wins. I, on the other hand, bought the most expensive one so i'm entitled to win everyone else unless they're 5 times better than me as a pilot."

Smh what kind of ridiculous mentality is that?

Edited by Wil McCullough, 03 May 2018 - 04:30 PM.

[roekenny]

Wil McCullough, on 03 May 2018 - 04:15 PM, said:

Herein lies rhe problem with most potato assault pilots.

"You bought the cheapest mech so you're not entitled to wins. I, on the other hand, bought the most expensive one so i'm entitled to win everyone else unless they're 5 times better than me as a pilot."

Smh what kind of ridiculous mentality is that?

Problem with that statement is most lights pilots ARE 5 times better than most assault pilots

[Wil McCullough]

roekenny, on 03 May 2018 - 05:00 PM, said:

Problem with that statement is most lights pilots ARE 5 times better than most assault pilots

Ok 10 times then. Though tbh, i don't think it makes a diff.

Some lights are the size of mediums, some lights are less agile than heavies, some lights go as fast as assaults, or a combination of 2 out of those 3.

And still the potato assault pilots whine about lights.

[ChefJitsu]

It is one of my favorite mechs and I do fairly well with it.
Tips:
1) Stick with the Assaults. Use them as a distraction and help keep them safe from other lights.
2) Don't stop moving. It can't take much damage so you don't want to get caught out standing still.
3) Always have a targeting computer or Beagle equipped. This speeds up targeting so you can go for the most vulnerable and exposed parts of an enemy.
4) Back stab when you can! You are fast and when you learn how to stay behind an enemy even when they know you are there is a valuable skill. The rear is usually the least armored and you can get lots of kills once you master this.
5) Be an assassin. Use your targeting computers speed to lock onto a target, if a center torso is exposed move in and take the kill. Using chain fire or machine guns ups your chance of getting the final strike.
6) Pick your fights. Don't get sucked into a duel with a larger mech. Use your speed to make them chase you back into waiting friendly forces.
7) Don't play with the goal of getting high damage. Use your mech to dart around the battle field in a brawl to tag every enemy hit and run style. You're support at the end of the day and not a front line fighter. Every bit of confusion or damage you can cause will help the team in the long run.
8) Avoid scouting if you are not running the Pirates Bane. It is to easy to be spotted and taken out with long range weapons and LRMs without ECM.

I hope this helps you out. This mech is not about firepower, it's about speed. Use the speed to your advantage.

[Wil McCullough]

ChefJitsu, on 03 May 2018 - 07:39 PM, said:

It is one of my favorite mechs and I do fairly well with it.
Tips:
1) Stick with the Assaults. Use them as a distraction and help keep them safe from other lights.
2) Don't stop moving. It can't take much damage so you don't want to get caught out standing still.
3) Always have a targeting computer or Beagle equipped. This speeds up targeting so you can go for the most vulnerable and exposed parts of an enemy.
4) Back stab when you can! You are fast and when you learn how to stay behind an enemy even when they know you are there is a valuable skill. The rear is usually the least armored and you can get lots of kills once you master this.
5) Be an assassin. Use your targeting computers speed to lock onto a target, if a center torso is exposed move in and take the kill. Using chain fire or machine guns ups your chance of getting the final strike.
6) Pick your fights. Don't get sucked into a duel with a larger mech. Use your speed to make them chase you back into waiting friendly forces.
7) Don't play with the goal of getting high damage. Use your mech to dart around the battle field in a brawl to tag every enemy hit and run style. You're support at the end of the day and not a front line fighter. Every bit of confusion or damage you can cause will help the team in the long run.
8) Avoid scouting if you are not running the Pirates Bane. It is to easy to be spotted and taken out with long range weapons and LRMs without ECM.

I hope this helps you out. This mech is not about firepower, it's about speed. Use the speed to your advantage.

Some of the advice here are quite bad.

1) Never escort your assaults as a locust. You can't take a fight against marauding lights as a locust. It's one of your worst match ups. A more effective thing to do is to focus on what you're great at - big game hunting.

2) Getting sucked into a "duel" with a larger mech is actually one of the main objectives as a locust. You're committing 20 tons. Your opponent is committing much more. The longer you can deny his tonnage from being directed at your team, the better. Not to mention locusts are nimble knife fighters. Isolating an enemy assault is exactly what you should be doing. It's a fight you're supposed to win.

3) Also never stick in beagles or tcs. You're a 20 ton mech starved for tonnage. You need all the weight you can for weapons.

4) You're not a "support" mech. There's no such thing as a "support" mech and build in mwo. Tagging opponents with laser swipes is dumb as heck because you're not contributing. Put focused blasts into backs and legs. You don't need a targeting comp to tell you where to shoot. Those are the weakpoints. Shoot the butt. Every time you can.

5) always play with the goal of dealing high damage. Effective damage is the biggest contributor to a win. The more damage you can dish out, the more effective you are. Take out as many mechs as you can, fire your weapons as many times as you can

[Old-dirty B]

Sir Kyle, on 16 February 2018 - 03:09 AM, said:

I really like the look of the Locust. Ir's like an AT-ST from StarWars. The first one even has a pretty cool weapon arrangement with those 4 machineguns.

But playing games in it, I can't help but feel wholly useless. Even other light mechs have way heavier armaments than 20 tons. I went up against another light mech...he has like 6 beam weapons and two machineguns. Here I am trying to defeat him with 4 heavy machineguns...

I don't have ECM or jump jets or....anything really that the Locust has over any other mechs. It seems wholly inferior.

Am I wrong? Can anyone tell me what the strength or niche of the Locust is? I'd really like to use this mech in a viable manner.

In the end, how useful or useless a Locust is is highly depending on the skill level of the pilot playing one. The variant or build is not so important, how you play it all the more!

The Locust is a mech with a very steep learning curve and also has one of the highest skill caps in this game. Its performance is rather extreme, some do really well, most do really bad.. But even an experienced locust will see jagged performance, as the locust is a very unforgiving mech, a small mistake could mean game over!

I've had many games in Solaris were i won with less then 200 damage done while my own mechs health was well above 90%, sometimes even 100% lol. But on the other side, also lost a few games where i suffered barely 50 damage... ("Don't bring a jojo to a bazooka fight!" is a phrase i hear often )

Anyway, you have to put a lot of effort in this kind of gameplay to get good results and most people dont have the dedication to hold on for that. Study other more experienced Locust pilots and just practise a lot!

Edited by B3R3ND, 03 May 2018 - 11:09 PM.

[Shwinboy]

The 4 hmg locust is not a great build. Fun but not great. To play that build you have to play it like a drone for heavier mechs to supliment their fire power. It’s not a light dog fight build. You need the 6 spl build and again you need to use your mobility to lure other lights to chase you back to your friends where they can support you. The better 1v build is the 1erll and 2 lmg. Play it as a long fans harasser and never stay in the same place 2 long. I’m using the 2 srm variants to great effect in Solaris as well. The locust is hands down my favourite mech and what Le it is hard to play and not meta , it’s not useless. You just need to know how to play it. If you are running a 4 hmg build you really are relying on your team opening up some opponents for you so spend the early match at an escort for the heavier slower mechs chasing off enemy lights and when you see a mech with open components get in and critical everything.

[GabrielSun]

The only thing I hate about the locust is the godawful field of view. It's pretty middling otherwise.

[ChefJitsu]

Wil McCullough, on 03 May 2018 - 08:15 PM, said:

Some of the advice here are quite bad.

1) Never escort your assaults as a locust. You can't take a fight against marauding lights as a locust. It's one of your worst match ups. A more effective thing to do is to focus on what you're great at - big game hunting.

2) Getting sucked into a "duel" with a larger mech is actually one of the main objectives as a locust. You're committing 20 tons. Your opponent is committing much more. The longer you can deny his tonnage from being directed at your team, the better. Not to mention locusts are nimble knife fighters. Isolating an enemy assault is exactly what you should be doing. It's a fight you're supposed to win.

3) Also never stick in beagles or tcs. You're a 20 ton mech starved for tonnage. You need all the weight you can for weapons.

4) You're not a "support" mech. There's no such thing as a "support" mech and build in mwo. Tagging opponents with laser swipes is dumb as heck because you're not contributing. Put focused blasts into backs and legs. You don't need a targeting comp to tell you where to shoot. Those are the weakpoints. Shoot the butt. Every time you can.

5) always play with the goal of dealing high damage. Effective damage is the biggest contributor to a win. The more damage you can dish out, the more effective you are. Take out as many mechs as you can, fire your weapons as many times as you can

It has all worked out very well for me. I'm in the top 200 this season for lights and the Locust is my go to mech. I say to go big game hunting, just use fast targeting to get the job done efficiently. Your not going to strip the armor off an Assault in a timely manner. There is a difference between spam damage and effective damage. If you go in with the mindset of I have to get top 3 damage you will put yourself in bad positions. I did not mean not to play for high damage, I just mean don't focus on that when you can be more effective by helping take down badly damaged mechs swiftly. I have no problem supporting my Assaults, between their fire power and my speed we make quick work of a few lights trying to swarm the back line before we set up the firing line. Once the firing line is set then I make my way deeper onto the battlefield, always keeping tabs on where the enemy lights are. If they dive the assaults I come back to support.

[Joseph Mallan]

Lets be honest. The only way a 20 ton mech is gonna be useful in game where it is the lightest vehicle available is if it is piloted by someone that has totally insane reflexes and never... EVER stops running like the Apocalypse is on his tail! There are weapons that weigh almost as much as a Locust, and other Mechs have armor almost as heavy as the Locust. For a house Military they are cheap disposable scouts for a Merc command they are what you field when you don't have a Jenner!

[Stridercal]

The Locust is literally one of the cheapest mechs in the Battletech universe, which is why it's also one of the most common. But it's built (again, in universe) as a scout, anti-infantry and civilian population policing unit. AS such, it's barely able to stand against any other combat unit, save for hunting light vehicles.

In MWO, keep this in mind. Scout, and hide. Pick off weakened targets when you can, and then hide. Run, constantly, and hide. A dedicated light-killer will eat you in two bites, and another light mech light hunter means you need to run back to your main force for support.

In MWO, the further away you are from mediums and heavies (is, very light or full assault), the smarter you have to play.

[AaronWolf]

As someone whom makes regular use of his PB along with M variant, I can say they have a use as a skirmisher and 'distraction' unit when you REALLY gotta get peoples attention off your assaults for free shots.

Or a great back plate scratcher.

Otherwise, their use was mostly for scouting and quelling infantry/tanks quickly, disposable if you met a greater force. Not meant for Battlemech Vs Battlemech combat like we see in MWO; but they can still pull it off with good pilots-or some that just know how to use Guerilla tactics.

[Brain Cancer]

GabrielSun, on 04 May 2018 - 06:10 AM, said:

The only thing I hate about the locust is the godawful field of view. It's pretty middling otherwise.

Both it and the PIR are extremely narrow cockpit views, it's true. Then again, they're the most cramped rides in the game.

[Alexander of Macedon]

I just wish they'd un-nerf IS SPLas. Don't know why they nailed them when the clan ones were the problem. The 1E runs way too hot with MLas.

[Ace Selin]

No

[Zergling]

Wil McCullough, on 03 May 2018 - 05:09 PM, said:

Ok 10 times then. Though tbh, i don't think it makes a diff.

Some lights are the size of mediums, some lights are less agile than heavies, some lights go as fast as assaults, or a combination of 2 out of those 3.

And still the potato assault pilots whine about lights.

I still wait for the day when a potato Linebacker player complains about the 'totally OP' Cougar.

Wil McCullough, on 03 May 2018 - 08:15 PM, said:

Some of the advice here are quite bad.

That's being overly generous.

ChefJitsu, on 04 May 2018 - 08:50 AM, said:

It has all worked out very well for me. I'm in the top 200 this season for lights and the Locust is my go to mech. I say to go big game hunting, just use fast targeting to get the job done efficiently. Your not going to strip the armor off an Assault in a timely manner. There is a difference between spam damage and effective damage. If you go in with the mindset of I have to get top 3 damage you will put yourself in bad positions. I did not mean not to play for high damage, I just mean don't focus on that when you can be more effective by helping take down badly damaged mechs swiftly. I have no problem supporting my Assaults, between their fire power and my speed we make quick work of a few lights trying to swarm the back line before we set up the firing line. Once the firing line is set then I make my way deeper onto the battlefield, always keeping tabs on where the enemy lights are. If they dive the assaults I come back to support.

First, you are Tier 3; opposition down there is a lot weaker than at Tier 1.

Next, your stats this Season in lights is 0.96 Wins/Losses, 0.74 Kills/Deaths, 0.49 Kills/Battle and 241 average Match Score.
Your average MS is a bit above average, but that's it; the rest of your stats are below average. That indicates that while you are doing slightly above average damage, you aren't doing that damage effectively.

As such, you are not performing 'very well', but below average overall.

Edited by Zergling, 04 May 2018 - 11:45 PM.