25 replies to this topic

[AurioDK]

I suggested in the subforum to have an option for "injuries only" as I don´t seem to be very good at this game, must be taking to long to shoot enemies down.

Anyway, my pilots just keep dying, especially when I have had enough and decide I am satisfied with the current bounty and head for the extraction, been trying to replay a mission and at least one pilot keeps dying.

I am in charge of the Jenna and gave the Centurion to the story pilot, he died pretty fast the first time. The second time he survived but the other pilot died. After a few more tries to also get a feel for the game as I suck at shooters but love the MW universe I just wish there was button in options for "injuries only", I feel I have no control over the friendly co-pilots.

Apart from giving them the best mechs, any advice?

[FRAGTAST1C]

Lance Commands. In the demo, granted that it was easier there, I'd always tell them to focus fire on my current target and we'd kill the enemies quickly, 1-by-1. Also, tell them move to a certain spot and then engage the enemy from relative safety instead of trying to take them all on in an open fight.

[AurioDK]

Fragtastic, I have done exactly that. It doesn´t seem to help a lot when you are fighting multiple mechs, besides in a Jenna against 3 other mechs I do need somebody else to absorb some fire as well or I am toast.

The problem also seems to be other smaller vehicles which appear from out of nowhere and if left unchecked they will destroy you, I always try to take those out first but it´s counter productive to assign every lancemate onto a single tank.

The extraction part is the worst, if I decide to bail due to having completed my bounty the friendly pilots take so much damage during a retreat ... which is obvious, but it usually ends up getting one killed.

There should be an option for "injury only" or "retreat friendlies", the latter meaning that a friendly retreats under a certain damage threshold and no longer participates.

[Dee Eight]

I've yet to have any lance mates die and I'm up to fielding 220 ton lances. Have your lance focus a mech and then you pick off all the vehicles which if left unchecked will plink you to death.

[FRAGTAST1C]

I've played up to the point where I rescue that pilot in the Jenner. I'll have to play further and see how it is 'cause my advise was based purely from the demo and it was easier there. I'm sure someone will help you out here. GL.

[Koniving]

AurioDK, on 12 December 2019 - 01:15 AM, said:

Fragtastic, I have done exactly that. It doesn´t seem to help a lot when you are fighting multiple mechs, besides in a Jenna against 3 other mechs I do need somebody else to absorb some fire as well or I am toast.

The problem also seems to be other smaller vehicles which appear from out of nowhere and if left unchecked they will destroy you, I always try to take those out first but it´s counter productive to assign every lancemate onto a single tank.

The extraction part is the worst, if I decide to bail due to having completed my bounty the friendly pilots take so much damage during a retreat ... which is obvious, but it usually ends up getting one killed.

There should be an option for "injury only" or "retreat friendlies", the latter meaning that a friendly retreats under a certain damage threshold and no longer participates.

From having experienced it myself...
My advice to you is this.
Get AMMO in the AC/10.
I took the Centurion and let him keep his Jenner.
Go to fire the AC/10.
No ammo.

Meet Hunchback.
Jenner down.
No STs, no lasers, one leg...
Abandoned mission.
4 million in debt.

Your AI teammate is getting butchered because if you did like myself, you didn't get new ammo for the Centurion's weapons at the marketplace.

2 ML versus 2 ML, an SL, and a DEATH CANNON... is a recipe for mincemeat.

[AurioDK]

The Centurion I gave him had plenty of ammo, I always check all my mechs before a battle.

Have also already replaced two AC 10s and their ammo.

[WhineyThePoo]

Make sure their mechs are fully repaired and loaded.
Max the armor out, preferably by removing jjs, the ai wont use em anyway.
Bigger is not always better, I swapped the ac10 for a burst ac5 on the ai piloted centurion. Now it runs with max armor and takes out tanks and helicopters much quicker and at longer range.
Use orders to focus targets or order your ai to a safe spot.
During extraction only you need to make it, the mission will end no matter where the ai is.

[Jackal Noble]

FRAGTAST1C, on 12 December 2019 - 01:04 AM, said:

Lance Commands. In the demo, granted that it was easier there, I'd always tell them to focus fire on my current target and we'd kill the enemies quickly, 1-by-1. Also, tell them move to a certain spot and then engage the enemy from relative safety instead of trying to take them all on in an open fight.

Maybe it’s just me but the games lance and enemy si is much better than the demo. I find myself quite impressed with some of the automatic behaviors and pathing. I don’t know if it was an adjustment to the maps or tweaks to the pathing but it definitely seems improved to me.

[FRAGTAST1C]

Jackal Noble, on 12 December 2019 - 02:34 AM, said:

Maybe it’s just me but the games lance and enemy si is much better than the demo. I find myself quite impressed with some of the automatic behaviors and pathing. I don’t know if it was an adjustment to the maps or tweaks to the pathing but it definitely seems improved to me.

I have a hunch that in the demo, our skills were also increased or something.

We have passive skills, right? There's one for ballistic damage, energy damage, etc., and there's also skills for damage reduction and avoiding damage. I wonder if we max these skills out and play easy missions, will it be like the demo missions? 'Cause we had AI there that was not very accurate. Going by the passive skill description, there's also RNG involved. Suppose there's a direct FPS game mixed with some Turn-based RNG game mechanics where AI will have a "Base Chance-to-hit" and "Base Chance-to-miss" affected by our passive skills.

Higher difficulty would mean that they don't suffer the penalties from our passive skills as much 'cause their passive skills would be far greater.

But yeah, the AI enemies seem more accurate than the demo that's for sure. The missions where we first encounter the Spider supported by VTOLs and Tanks for e.g.,. I lost my AC10 arm of the Centurion but managed to kill them all without too much damage. Just my RL cored and nearly red.

[9erRed]

Greeting all,

I've found that if you set the fire groups for your lance mates Mechs, in the Mech lab that helps control their fire. And keeps them alive.
- Use chain fire for multi weapons like 4 Med. lasers. They are normally set up in groups of 2's but that may produce more heat and keep your lance mates from firing at a more consistent rate.
- Don't close on the Enemy too fast, and if needed back off some distance and have your lance 'form on you".
- Take out those helo's and tanks while the lance mates fight the Mech's with "attack my target" commands. And pull them back often to disengage.
- Use your zoom to scan target areas for your selected targets, they are normally standing around waiting and can be plinked at range and will not close to engage if your far enough away.
- Kill those dang locust or spiders for your lance mates or they will stand behind you and melt your back armour.

Just some suggestions,
9erRed

[Odanan]

I'm in the last mission and never lost a pilot. Just put them in heavier all-long range mechs and make lines of fire. If a lancemate is too damaged, just point him out of the fight.

[Ilfi]

Two reasons they could be dying:
1) Are you maxing out your Mechs' armor? Stock Mechs often come nearly completely unarmored. Take off some junk and max out their armor every time, occasionally cutting 10 to 18 points from the head. AI is a little dumb so don't strip too much back armor (typically run 8/6 on lights, 10/8 on mediums, 12/10 on heavies and 14/12 on assaults).

2) Are you using Go To NAV Point? It's the only good lance command in the game. Lancemates are smart enough to target tanks and helicopters first, which is what you want them to do. They are not smart enough to hide their back from tanks if you command them Attack My Target, and they are not smart enough to take the lead if you use Form On Me. Use Go To Location liberally and let the AI kill the flies while you burn down priority targets.

[LordNothing]

anyone else having a problem getting their pilots to actually follow orders? they can wander off even if you order them to stay put. was trying to do a raid and there were 5 bases, 2 in close proximity, so after destroying the first objective i order them to hold position about a klick from the clustered bases, while i take the long way around and run through all the targets. my plan was to order them to form up right before i attack the clustered base from the other side. of course by that time i was in position one wandered off and got killed another was way across the map, and only one held position. i barely managed to complete the mission with 2 brutally damaged mechs and a dead pilot.

Edited by LordNothing, 07 January 2020 - 06:28 PM.

[FRAGTAST1C]

^ That happens on rare occasions. I usually tell them to hold position over the ridge and one follows the order perfectly while the other two are like kittens with a ball. Most of the time, they do what I tell them though.

[Xaat Xuun]

Sometimes I think I'm in MWO, when they just start doing the opposite of what I ordered them to do, and they wander off. was on a defense, I said hold, stubborn one decides hold meant to walk into the city and start walking through buildings, they weren't even in the city, and went there anyways, then just stood there
that one that would not move or would just go do it's own thing, I had order them to move here, 2 did, but the stubborn one just stay standing there, really pissed me off, said **** it, I pay to repair, and shot it's arm off, . . . they moved and stayed where they were told after that.
so I had to slap my own guy, to make them listen . . okay that part may not be true, but it sure did looked like it was.

not always happen like that, but every now and then, it does, just out of the blue, they act like *******.

there was one time I'm glad one didn't listen, Kuz because they ignored my command, they saved my butt.

[John McClintock]

WhineyThePoo, on 12 December 2019 - 02:02 AM, said:

Make sure their mechs are fully repaired and loaded.
Max the armor out, preferably by removing jjs, the ai wont use em anyway.
Bigger is not always better, I swapped the ac10 for a burst ac5 on the ai piloted centurion. Now it runs with max armor and takes out tanks and helicopters much quicker and at longer range.
Use orders to focus targets or order your ai to a safe spot.
During extraction only you need to make it, the mission will end no matter where the ai is.

I actually saw one of my lance mates using jump jets, once.

It was a catapult, fwiw, but yeah, other that ONE TIME I've never seen the AI (red or blue team) use JJ...

[FRAGTAST1C]

Lance-mates use JJs to navigate tricky areas if you've taken shortcuts to match your nav-path. They won't use it to gain tactical advantage over the enemies.

[Vellron2005]

In the later game I had a few missions where I had to go to great lengths for none of my pilots to die.. And even later, I had to go to the same lengths for my pilots to now wreck my best equipment (gauss riffles)..

The first story pilot I got died on his very first mission with me, and he's to date the only pilot that I let die (I did not know of the autosave function back then)..

[Dee Eight]

If you continually stay in fights far too long you're going to end up with blown up lance mates mechs and killed pilots. All those missions where "stay longer and earn bonus cbills" are diminishing returns