19 replies to this topic

[BLACKR0SE]

Does this skill only protect jets, or does it protect the entire mach?

[TheCaptainJZ]

BLACKR0SE, on 03 July 2023 - 02:41 PM, said:

Does this skill only protect jets, or does it protect the entire mach?

I didn't realize they moved it. It reduces the amount of damage your legs take if you fall from a high height. Not just from jumping, but falling as well (unless they changed it which I doubt).

Fall damage is actually based off of your falling velocity when you hit the ground. So jump jets let you land smoothly if you reserve some fuel.

Edited by TheCaptainJZ, 03 July 2023 - 02:47 PM.

[BLACKR0SE]

TheCaptainJZ, on 03 July 2023 - 02:46 PM, said:

I didn't realize they moved it. It reduces the amount of damage your legs take if you fall from a high height. Not just from jumping, but falling as well (unless they changed it which I doubt).

Fall damage is actually based off of your falling velocity when you hit the ground. So jump jets let you land smoothly if you reserve some fuel.

Thank you. Legs are the last thing I think about as a weak point in the game. I suppose the skill for flies.

I compromise on leg armor in favor of extra ammunition and tonnage advantage.

Edited by BLACKR0SE, 03 July 2023 - 02:57 PM.

[RockmachinE]

BLACKR0SE, on 03 July 2023 - 02:51 PM, said:

Thank you. Legs are the last thing I think about as a weak point in the game. I suppose the skill for flies.

I compromise on leg armor in favor of extra ammunition and tonnage advantage.

It helps mechs that jump a lot, that way you can get more height since you can use all the fuel. Not very useful on non jump capable mechs.

I keep my leg armor low too. There was a period where everyone went for legs, so people started uparmoring the legs. Then everyone stopped going for legs - and it kinda stayed that way. People stupidly still max out leg armor, but people rarely go for legs anymore other than on light mechs or in situations where one leg is already damaged from random combat.

[BLACKR0SE]

Here comes the parsley again.
We have never seen LRMs. Tell us about LRMs.

[John McClintock]

RockmachinE, on 03 July 2023 - 05:57 PM, said:

It helps mechs that jump a lot, that way you can get more height since you can use all the fuel. Not very useful on non jump capable mechs.

I keep my leg armor low too. There was a period where everyone went for legs, so people started uparmoring the legs. Then everyone stopped going for legs - and it kinda stayed that way. People stupidly still max out leg armor, but people rarely go for legs anymore other than on light mechs or in situations where one leg is already damaged from random combat.

I max leg armor on lights.

Arms and legs on assaults usually get trimmed down to around 60 points.

Basically just keep trimming until you start to lose arms and legs before torso then add a bit back to the arms and legs.

[Marcel Leander]

I love aiming for legs. Especially if I'm attacking from behind - if I aim for a rear CT and can't make the kill before they turn around, all the armor I stripped off the rear was for nothing and I have to start over on the front CT armor. Legs don't have front and rear armor. I can attach those from any angle and it all pools together. And once I get one leg off, their turn rate is slowed down enough I can usually circle faster than they can spin and keep them from hitting me while I remove the other leg.

As far as shock absorbance - I do use it sometimes. It's actually kind of useful in big slow mechs if you get caught under fire and can't run away quickly, sometimes you have a quick escape route over a cliff or something. In lights, I do tend to keep it on my fastest mechs, even the ones without JJ's. On my Flea and PB I love to coming screaming in guns blazing and then run right over the edge of a hill or cliff into a depression where they can't hit me and make my escape.

[RockmachinE]

Marcel Leander, on 03 July 2023 - 07:57 PM, said:

I love aiming for legs. Especially if I'm attacking from behind - if I aim for a rear CT and can't make the kill before they turn around, all the armor I stripped off the rear was for nothing and I have to start over on the front CT armor. Legs don't have front and rear armor. I can attach those from any angle and it all pools together. And once I get one leg off, their turn rate is slowed down enough I can usually circle faster than they can spin and keep them from hitting me while I remove the other leg.

People will go for legs, it does happen. It's infrequent enough though that its worth the tonnage saved*. I also strip my head armor for the same reason. Headshots happen, but its too rare to matter. Combine shaved off leg armor and head armor and that's almost 1-2 tonnes worth of free weight to use for other equipment which is used regularly, like ammo or heatsinks.

So like do you pay the price of 1-2 tonnes to mitigate something that happens 5% of the time? Or do you use this spare tonnage for something that's used regularly and then pay the price by dying once every 20 or 30 rounds because of it.

To me the equation is on the side of stripped leg/head armor, but obviously everyone has their priorities and theories.

*lights not included

Edited by RockmachinE, 04 July 2023 - 04:19 AM.

[RockmachinE]

the check engine light, on 03 July 2023 - 07:06 PM, said:

In T3-4-5 and lately even in T2 I've been running into a ton of LRM lances and LRMs have a really nasty habit of taking legs for some reason.

That's true, LRMs do have a habit of hitting legs and sometimes twisting and exposing the other leg is just not a viable option. In T1 the LRMs have been silent more or less, there's often someone that runs them, but its usually not very effective and gets shut down quickly enough that it doesn't have much impact on the games and its not very noticable.

Edited by RockmachinE, 04 July 2023 - 04:27 AM.

[BLACKR0SE]

When designing any build, people consider its pros and cons. If I remove armor from the legs and add ammunition, it is to enable easier firing.

[RockmachinE]

BLACKR0SE, on 04 July 2023 - 04:25 AM, said:

When designing any build, people consider its pros and cons. If I remove armor from the legs and add ammunition, it is to enable easier firing.

I tend to prioritize ammo, cooling and speed at the expense of armor. Generally I like to go in fast and hard and my goal is to sustain damage for as long as possible to maximize the fun factor. I don't like downtime too much.

Obviously torsos are at 100%, but arms/legs/head tends to get shaven off or completely stripped unless critical to the build to achieve this logic.

[Storky]

Seems most people use 18 armor on head and almost 100% on legs, therefore almost nobody going for legs in heavy division.

You can always go greedy on legs, cockpit and even arms with weapons by next exceptions:
Cockpit in the center (Archer, Marauder) must have some armor, likely 16
"Long legged" mechs (Stormcrow, Marauder) need almost max armor on legs, it is often being damaged when fleeing from lurms.
Some mechs may afford low armor on arms (Orion, King Crab)
In all cases left side needs more love than left.

[TheCaptainJZ]

I'd actually propose to the Cauldron, if they're listening, to make these nodes more enticing, make each one -20% reduction. It would be ok if fall damage was entirely negated with all these skill points unlocked because that wouldn't really affect balance too much.

[sycocys]

Marcel Leander, on 03 July 2023 - 07:57 PM, said:

I love aiming for legs. Especially if I'm attacking from behind - if I aim for a rear CT and can't make the kill before they turn around, all the armor I stripped off the rear was for nothing and I have to start over on the front CT armor.

How much rear armor are people in your drops using? 50-60 damage should put you close to or clear through any ST and most CTs.
Most people I see are single digit on each of the back.

[KursedVixen]

BLACKR0SE, on 03 July 2023 - 02:51 PM, said:

Thank you. Legs are the last thing I think about as a weak point in the game. I suppose the skill for flies.

I compromise on leg armor in favor of extra ammunition and tonnage advantage.

that's totally oppsite what I do I compromise head armor only...

[BLACKR0SE]

When I first saw this knot, I thought ERPPC, PPC, and LPPC had a certain slowing effect on every mech. And for a long time, I believed that this knot prevented that. It is present in many of my mechs.

When I saw the shock headline, I thought it was that way.

Edited by BLACKR0SE, 05 July 2023 - 04:49 PM.

[LordNothing]

TheCaptainJZ, on 03 July 2023 - 02:46 PM, said:

I didn't realize they moved it. It reduces the amount of damage your legs take if you fall from a high height. Not just from jumping, but falling as well (unless they changed it which I doubt).

Fall damage is actually based off of your falling velocity when you hit the ground. So jump jets let you land smoothly if you reserve some fuel.

yea, the nodes that used to be for this are now for overheat damage, use it on all your vomit mechs and hit the override.

25 nodes just to make jjs useful seemed excessive. 20 is better.

Edited by LordNothing, 05 July 2023 - 10:32 PM.