6 replies to this topic

[Jeff on a Buffalo]

Something that I have always struggled with in FW was trying to make mid range Dakka work. I find that any combination of Dakka or Dakka + Laser builds that I have tried will usually ultimately loose in Skirmish weapon fire trades with properly built Laser vomit mechs.
With respect to Dakka I am referring to AC, uAC, or even the LBX versions of the 5s and 10s and not the meme-y AC2s or the more brawly AC20s.
Is there a place for the 5 and 10s in the FW battlefield that works?
Example wise, here is a deck that I have given up on that I could not ultimately make work well. It is 3 X 70 tonners (I take either 2 X 6Rs or 2 X BWs) and a 4th wave 55 tonner brawly mech.
WHM-6R, 2 X uAC10, 2 X light PPC: https://mwo.nav-alph...dec0a9f5_WHM-6R
WHM-BW: 2 X uAC10, 4 X ER ML, https://mech.nav-alp...f213b698_WHM-BW
SHD-2D, uC20, 3 X MPL, https://mech.nav-alp...824bfc66_SHD-2D
I want to like Dakka, but I cannot seem to make it work. I am currently using mostly laser vomit (LPL, ER ML, HLL) drop decks for FW since that is what seems to works best in skirmish style play and to my more favoured play-style. Is there a play-style within FW that best takes advantage of what these weapons provides? Or should I just think of these dakka mechs as more of a "cleaner-up-crew" mechs that goes after mechs with low/no armour on em?
Cheers!

Edited by Jeff on a Buffalo, 13 May 2022 - 10:41 AM.

[Hobbles v]

Dakka isn't good for skirmishing. Especially solo.

It's very good at putting a lot more damage down field quicker than laser vomit.

On seige maps I only bring Dakka on defense, if I know the enemy team is pushy/brawly or is likely to gen rush.

Dakka can be more useful on the qp maps where it's easier to find an exposed flank to DPS into without having to hide so fast..

One thing about using Dakka is it needs more teamwork to work than vomit.

One on one you will lose trades to laser vomit.
If you charge a laser vomit mech 1v1 is more of a 50/50 toss up
If 2 Dakka charge 2 vomit mechs I think the Dakka win with a casualty

[Sjorpha]

All exposed firing line, maximum DPS. Good on siege maps for defense, or for a coordinated push.

Dakka is all about critical mass, you need enough people to do it so you can expose together and spread out the incoming damage while dealing more yourself. If you have too few dakka mechs they will be focused down because the other mechs on your team are poking from cover.

You ARE dealing more sustained damage than laser vomit mechs, so it's all about creating any kind of situation where you can stay engaged and don't have to take cover or pause from shooting too often. If your heat ever goes to 0 while there is a fight going on it means you failed.

Some dakka mechs can actually poke with a decent burst as well though, so it's not like you're useless in a midrange pokefest, it just isn't optimal.

Edited by Sjorpha, 25 May 2022 - 12:21 PM.

[Jeff on a Buffalo]

Hobbles, Sjorpha; your replies makes sense to me. As I continue Pug'ing it in FW I will be staying away from dakka for now....and switch to LRM builds I guess ((kappa)/bad-joke, sorry)
Cheers!

[Sjorpha]

Jeff on a Buffalo, on 25 May 2022 - 02:38 PM, said:

Hobbles, Sjorpha; your replies makes sense to me. As I continue Pug'ing it in FW I will be staying away from dakka for now....and switch to LRM builds I guess ((kappa)/bad-joke, sorry)
Cheers!

Yeah, poking builds are definitely easier solo. If you want to practice dakka builds though I would say start with one of the more poke-friendly ones such as Blood asp with 3UAC5+1UAC10 or 2UAC10+1UAC20. You can play those reasonably similar to how you'd play a laser vomit and then gradually push your playstyle towards relying more on positioning and sustained exposure. Once you get comfortable you can move on to the more all-in dakka boats like Annihilator etc that can't poke.

I also think it makes most sense to play the dakka mechs as your 1st and 2nd drop, with the intention of quickly using up your ammo to do your target damage/mech and die. Follow up with more evasive mechs to stay alive and play the longer game. Basically dakka is a pretty front-loaded strategy and should be played as such with damage output being a higher priority than survival.

Edited by Sjorpha, 27 May 2022 - 04:37 AM.

[Jeff on a Buffalo]

Sjorpha, I've tried dakka drop decks for a few months. My play-style used to be alot more aggressive that I thought would compliment a dakka drop deck but I could not make it work well (low damage output, low kill count). Admittedly my positioning was not the greatest at that time and I exposed myself too much to sustained enemy laser fire that tore me apart very quickly. An example of a drop deck build I could not make work:
BAS-A,3 X uAC5, 1 X uAC10, JJ : https://mech.nav-alp...#f7bf802c_BAS-A
NTG-B, 3 X uAC5, 1 X uAC10, JJ : https://mech.nav-alp...#cbb6f26f_NTG-B
SMN-M 2 X uAC10, JJ : https://mech.nav-alp...#fb5f1ab3_SMN-M
PIR-2, 5 X SPL, 10 X uL : https://mwo.nav-alph...=730827fc_PIR-2
oddly, I think I normally get more damage output from my pirahna than the other mechs. But this is a deck that I have not used for several months so something I'll probably be revisiting at some point in the future.

Edited by Jeff on a Buffalo, 28 May 2022 - 08:03 AM.

[Sjorpha]

I understand.

The deck itself looks fine, though I would personally replace the summoner in most games to have one mech that isn't ammo based.

I'm not sure what else I can add, I personally do well in dakka mechs especially assaults but I would have to see you play to understand why it's not working out for you.