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Let's break down the mechanics and how 90% of the community should be playing.
- WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING -
[Light Mechs]
A light mech is designed with extreme mobility and low armor. Light mechs can't really stand toe to toe with any mech in the game. A skilled pilot in any medium will kill a light mech in a straight up fight. Your job as a light pilot is never to engage enemy mechs directly or fight as a first- or second-line damage dealer. Even a 20-ton mech can turn the tide of a battle IF they're using their strengths the right way.
Here is a description of what a light mechs roles are.
- Scout
- Distraction
- Stealth
- Situation creator
- Ambusher (situational)
A light being used as a distraction is an amazing start of round tactic. Ever seen what your teammates do when they see a light mech? They ALWAYS chase it. If you can bait a few mechs away from the firing line, your first and second line will nearly always crush the opposition. Simply run to the other side, take a quick shot as 3 or 4 mechs, wait for them to leave the group and lure them away. Once they're gone, simply tell your teammates to push. Having 2 or even half the team out of position will give a tonnage advantage to your team. The same exact scenario as it they were dead. Similar to real life, any gun that's not in the fight may as well not exist at all. Baiting a light mech away can be easily dealt with by narcing the little sucker and letting the lrms on your team wipe him off the face of the earth. Similarly, it's better to narc an enemy you lured away and escape, then try to battle it out. Your job isn't to fight fair. Your job is to be a pain in the *** for the whole round.
Stealth is probably the single most annoying thing to witness in newer players. There's a very good reason to use stealth but it's not so you can survive to be the last man on your team and draw out a loss for an extra 15 minutes. If your packing stealth, you use it to enhance your job as a light mech. If you're going to run stealth and hide the whole match, what's even the point?
Creating a situation is a tactic where you force the enemy to split its forces to deal with an event. In the real world, this would be like attacking an enemy's HQ while you're under attack yourself to swing the advantage in your favor. This is great if you're facing a superior enemy as splitting them up allows their advantage to count for nothing. Let's say you're down by 3 on any game mode other than skirmish, at this point, it would behoove your team to stop pushing and for the light lance to run out OBJ capping. For example, if one light goes to the enemy base, and 4 mechs on the opposing side venture off to attempt to stop them, your main forces are now in an equal fight. By creating a situation, you've single handedly swung the whole match in your favor without ever firing a shot.
Ambushing is great for an experienced lance. This is really only for group play. Essentially you have two mechs kitted out as backstabbers and you lure and kill. This takes extreme coordination and isn't for public drops.
At the end of the day any light mech pilot should be familiar with these playstyles and should never be out front taking hits. If you're dropping alone, you shouldn't even use your weapons unless it's to accomplish one of the above scenarios. The only time you go in for the kill is if your already in a losing fight, you're 100% sure you can get the kill and escape or you're with 3 other lance mates and have trained to be proficient at bait and ambush. A 4-man light lance is honestly one of the most fun experiences in the entire game.
[Medium Mechs]
Medium mechs are support mechs. They're meant to supplement the other classes in the game. They neither have the armor to duke it out with other mechs, the speed to compete with lights or the armament to dish out serious damage. Where they shine the most is in the utility they bring to the game. Obviously, many can kit out their mediums to do pretty much anything, but this isn't really an argument that they're designed for it. There's almost always a mech in another class that's better for it. Where mediums shine is in their ability to be viewed as unthreatening.
Here is a description of what a medium mechs roles are.
- 3rd line support, light killer/third line ambush guard
- 2nd line off tank support/dps
- Light support (situational)
- Sniper
- The TRUE LRM mech
Second line off tanking is the idea that your small mech won't be viewed as a threat and can supplement the tanks dps whilst not being targeted. It's a risky position that involves careful movement and trust. You play a hybrid between first- and second-line position that is directly with an assault mech. They're the distraction, your job is to poke at damaged components. Stick close to the assault and never linger out in view without him being visible. Your job is to shoot between the assault and cover. Never overextend beyond that.
Light support is niche. If your team has enough tonnage and you're speedy enough, you can play with light mechs doing similar tasks. The problem with this is you'll likely get left behind and die. So this is really not a strategy to consider for pubs.
Sniper. Mediums are the best snipers and imho the only class that should. You aren't heavy enough to waste the tonnage for your team by being useless in the back, but you're heavy enough to pack a decent punch from afar. You can reposition and you're agile enough to stay out of harm's way while maintaining good dps. This really takes good map awareness. Snipers really aren't effective for brand new players. You really need to be able to hit components to get the most out a sniper build. Just shooting at silhouettes will likely do next to no damage.
Ahhh the most debatable topic in MWO. I'll just come out and say it. If you're LRMing in an Assault, you're wrong. To take 100 tons and sit it in back doing nothing is a crime against humanity. People that do this single handedly throw the game every time. Medium mechs are fantastic LRM mechs. They can support from the 3rd line and not take away from armor sharing. This is the way to LRM effectively. It may not be as flashy, but it's a million times more helpful than wasting all that tonnage on a heavy or assault.
[Heavy Mechs]
Heavy mechs are the most important class in the entire game. They make up the entire 2nd line. They're the primary damage dealers, the primary killers and the primary playmakers. There aren't any strange rules for playing heavies. Your job is literally only to play behind the assaults and kill the bad guys as their components become vulnerable. The only rule for heavies is to STAY BEHIND THE ASSUALTS. Rarely if ever does this rule fail in early and mid-game. If you're alone somewhere as a heavy, you're dead. If you're capping points midgame, you're dead. If you're chasing lights, you're dead. If you're sniping or lrm boating, you're dead. Your job is to be a second line killer. If you aren't in the second line, you're hurting your team. Period.
[Assault Mechs]
This is the easiest class to grasp but the hardest class to play. Let me make this really clear. You have ONE job. Be a giant distraction on the frontline and soak up all the damage. If you're literally anywhere else, you are throwing the whole game. 100 tons is a massive amount of your team's valuable armor. If you want to play out back, don't play assault. Unless it's for memes of course. Just be prepared for people to get mad. You need to get REALLY good at knowing when to push, telling your team to follow you, and capturing the enemy's attention. You want attention, you just don't want to run out into the middle and have everyone's attention at once. Be smart, play slow and once you commit die with dignity if you have to. Your whole teams counting on you, if you mess up, you'll likely lose the whole game. This class is supremely frustrating and rewarding. People will get you killed. But when it all works, it's just glorious.
At the end of the day, I understand a lot of you think just want to have fun. It makes sense. Trust me when I say having fun is amplified by winning and organizing within matches. It isn't really a mindless shooter. The difference between being poor and great at this game is an enormous skill gap and communication barrier. This isn't a game where on mech will likely be able to win it for the team. Thus, you have to pay it accordingly.
Good luck, have fun.
