27 replies to this topic

[LordNothing]

Dr Wubs, on 09 March 2024 - 06:10 PM, said:

1) When you die, look at the clock. If you're dying early in the match, you're playing too aggressive and your positioning is poor.

2) Move constantly unless you are in a position where you are 100% safe. Even when you're shooting people, keep moving.

3) Choose a role. Scouting is a bad place to start piloting lights because you're going out alone. Don't. Play bodyguard. Play anti-light patrol.

4) Carry UAVs. The Help button gets ignored. If you see enemies within UAV range, then putting up a UAV is going to help draw your teams attention. Ignore anyone who says consumables are too expensive.

5) Be patient. The number of people who do stupid things because the match begins with the two teams maneuver instead of charging into each other is high. Some people will go on suicide missions because the fight isn't happening fast enough. Don't be those people.

6) Know how to take cover. Lights have the most cover in the game because they can hide behind small things. Stay hidden so randos don''t just take a potshot at you.

7) Press R to get the silhouette of the enemy mech and see where they're damaged. Don't just shoot at any ol' spot on a mech. Know where people are weak and where you can blow off weapons and neuter people.

8) Your legs are fragile, and it's easy for you to shoot other people's legs. Sometimes people won't notice you down their chewing their leg off until it's too late. Sometimes none of a mechs weapons can target you while you are destroying their ankles.

all good advice, but definitely 4. people wont help if there is nothing in it for them and showing them a cookie on radar helps get them interested. in order: drop uav. lock target. target spotted. then ask for help.

Edited by LordNothing, 09 March 2024 - 07:21 PM.

[lastchanceforaslowdance]

Help calls do not get ignored unless you spam them. If a dire wolf in the back of a formation uses the help call wheel, I know exactly why and how to deal with it.

I know most people here are accustomed to blaming teammates for failures, but you'd be surprised how useful your command wheel can be

[caravann]

You spot a mech then you run home and then you try to spot that mech again and keep running away.

There's now 4-8 mechs after you by now and which is why alone you not going to advance any further.

[Ttly]

ECM is a crutch, and you can definitely scout just fine without it.
Just don't stick your head out of cover for too long so you don't get zapped by ERLLs.
Or you know, pray the other team doesn't have aimbotters.

Anyway that aside lights are the closest thing to a mech that can be any side of the map once both teams starts brawling. Nothing's forcing you to stay in your flank where you're unable to do anything, just relocate and find some distracted guy or something.
Well I said that but if the enemy team are absolutely all bunched up in one spot then you can't really do much in this 12v12 format.

Edited by Ttly, 10 March 2024 - 08:06 AM.

[1453 R]

GreyNovember, on 08 March 2024 - 05:42 PM, said:

THAT'S WHAT THAT IS?

In Retrospect, I do better with Novas, which are much slower, and still fragile. I suppose the reason for that is because, by the time the Nova gets into range to wreak havoc after going around, everyone else is already occupied.

Still, this feels like going really fast is a detriment, and I shouldn't bother with mechs that don't also have ECM and go 140. I have to sit around and take a coffee break before moving out, else I'll be spotted and that entire general area is on the watch for me.

Late, I know. But it felt important.

The point of being able to go wicked fast like that isn't necessarily to get to the fight first. It's to be able to get into and out of fights freely, to pick and take angles nobody else is quick enough to take. Take a shot - and it is indeed often A shot - then skedaddle before the target can properly retaliate.

You gotta be really on point with small skirmishers like these. Make sure you're never somewhere with only one exit, make sure forces are already engaged. You have to watch the enemy 'Mechs you're attacking carefully - if you see them starting to turn your way to point guns at you, you should already be mid-disengage. I only ever do (reasonably) well on these things when I'm ridiculously strict with my engagements. Getting greedy and lingering in a fight longer than you should is the number one cause of light 'Mech death in MWO.

Also I highly recommend the MRM-10 LCT-1M as an excellent example of a non-ECM skirmisher. The agility on Locusts is hellacious fun, and the sheer fragility of the 'Mech alongside its prodigious movement actually really helped me get into the right mindset for these critters. Plus the 'Mech has way, way better engagement range than the red-laser or SRM dagger-fighters, it massively opens up your skirmishing options. The velocity on the MRMs means you can actually engage pretty accurately out to the weapons' nominal range rather than having to treat them like weird fat SRMs. It's honestly become one of my favorite little nimbly-bimbly rocket caddies, hueh.

If you're looking for something that has the option of longer-ranged pokes while still being able to do red-laser nonsense when given a chance, I've had some success with an SL/MRM OSR-3D. It's not as focused which tends to mean it's not as good, plus it doesn't get unholy metric shiploads of ghost ammo the way the Lawlcust does, but it does have jump capacity and moderately better instant backstab damage in close.

[1Exitar1]

Sneaky Snek, on 08 March 2024 - 05:02 PM, said:

Take radar deprivation nodes and keep an eye out for the beep/cockpit flash to alert you that someone just lost a lock on you. It's a really handy early alarm that you got spotted on approach and should probably pull back and come from a different angle.

Other than that, it mostly comes down to learning the maps and figuring out which flanks are typically the safest.
You're a light mech, you fight on your own terms, not the enemies.

You know, in the years that I have played this, I have never noticed it. Even when it was pointed out in a video that I rewatched, I STILL didn't notice it! I think I need an audio prompt like "Hey! Someone saw you!" or "They lost lock on you."

[HenryFA]

Understand that you're piloting a light mech, speed is your friend.
And please, dont charge in first, one well placed shot from a decent Assault and *pop* you are back to the lobby

[GreyNovember]

Ttly, on 10 March 2024 - 07:08 AM, said:

ECM is a crutch, and you can definitely scout just fine without it.
Just don't stick your head out of cover for too long so you don't get zapped by ERLLs.
Or you know, pray the other team doesn't have aimbotters.

Anyway that aside lights are the closest thing to a mech that can be any side of the map once both teams starts brawling. Nothing's forcing you to stay in your flank where you're unable to do anything, just relocate and find some distracted guy or something.
Well I said that but if the enemy team are absolutely all bunched up in one spot then you can't really do much in this 12v12 format.

I'm sure you definitely can "succeed" without ECM, but I'm not here to "Scout". I'd like to get a kill, or deal significant damage to a heavier chassis and render it basically inoperable before I go down.

Let's not dismissively pretend that it doesn't significantly help when your mech isn't instantly lit up on sensors the moment it comes into visual range.