9 replies to this topic

[Iceheart Star]

Hello all,

I'm a rather new player (less than 25 matches) and for the last four battles or so I've been running a stealth Raven as my main 'Mech. It's fun to play, but I have yet to survive a match in it or even kill anything. I attribute some of this to my inexperience, some to being a light, and some to bad luck, but it feels like it has so much potential I'm not using. Flanking for a base cap or to blow up a reactor with the stealth running seems to work pretty well, and it's great fun to walk behind someone and remove their back armor without them knowing, but I want to be able to really contribute to my team and maximize my 'Mech's potential.

So, with that being said, does anyone have good tips for playing a light with Stealth Armor? I was thinking about running with my team's assaults/heavies as an escort.

[Void Angel]

Iceheart Star, on 27 June 2025 - 04:33 AM, said:

Hello all,

I'm a rather new player (less than 25 matches) and for the last four battles or so I've been running a stealth Raven as my main 'Mech. It's fun to play, but I have yet to survive a match in it or even kill anything. I attribute some of this to my inexperience, some to being a light, and some to bad luck, but it feels like it has so much potential I'm not using. Flanking for a base cap or to blow up a reactor with the stealth running seems to work pretty well, and it's great fun to walk behind someone and remove their back armor without them knowing, but I want to be able to really contribute to my team and maximize my 'Mech's potential.

So, with that being said, does anyone have good tips for playing a light with Stealth Armor? I was thinking about running with my team's assaults/heavies as an escort.

Stealth Armor isn't an automatic pick - it comes with drawbacks which can be annoying to manage for some builds. However, its ability to make you very difficult to target can be worth it, particularly if you get used to toggling it on and off when you need to cool faster. So Stealth Armor is optional, and you should bear that in mind as you play and learn your Raven.

Now, since you're new, you don't seem to have customized your Raven much yet - but kudos on shifting your torso armor forward - so a word of caution: most stock builds suck in MWO. This is because they're lore-accurate reproductions of the original builds from the tabletop game. So you want to set up your 'mech with a streamlined build as soon as possible. A few rules of thumb:

• Do one thing well. Sometimes people try to build their 'mech so that they have some sort of weapon to fire at any given range - but trying to have a gun for all seasons often causes you to be under-armed at any range.
  
• When selecting weapons, you don't have to just "boat" all one type; go for what I call weapon agreement. Try to select guns with similar ranges, projectile velocities, and even cooldowns if you can.
  
• Don't shave leg armor on Light 'mechs. The legs are a Light's most significant weakness, and experienced players will target them whenever they can.
  
• And finally, start with the GrimMechs Database for build ideas. These builds aren't all something you'd take into a competitive match, but they are top-tier builds for whatever they're doing with those chassis.

So, for the Raven, you're using Light PPCs as your primary damage source, so I'd try This Build from GrimMechs for that kind of combat. The NARC is useful even if nobody has any LRMs, because hitting a 'mech equipped with ECM will hard-counter that ECM system for the duration of the NARC. It's super annoying. If you're looking for more of a close-range build, Ye Olde Standby is a close-in option, but it's risker because of the range, and lacks stealth armor.

Edited by Void Angel, 27 June 2025 - 05:48 AM.

[Iceheart Star]

Void Angel, on 27 June 2025 - 05:45 AM, said:

Stealth Armor isn't an automatic pick - it comes with drawbacks which can be annoying to manage for some builds. However, its ability to make you very difficult to target can be worth it, particularly if you get used to toggling it on and off when you need to cool faster. So Stealth Armor is optional, and you should bear that in mind as you play and learn your Raven.

Now, since you're new, you don't seem to have customized your Raven much yet - but kudos on shifting your torso armor forward - so a word of caution: most stock builds suck in MWO. This is because they're lore-accurate reproductions of the original builds from the tabletop game. So you want to set up your 'mech with a streamlined build as soon as possible. A few rules of thumb:

• Do one thing well. Sometimes people try to build their 'mech so that they have some sort of weapon to fire at any given range - but trying to have a gun for all seasons often causes you to be under-armed at any range.
  
• When selecting weapons, you don't have to just "boat" all one type; go for what I call weapon agreement. Try to select guns with similar ranges, projectile velocities, and even cooldowns if you can.
  
• Don't shave leg armor on Light 'mechs. The legs are a Light's most significant weakness, and experienced players will target them whenever they can.
  
• And finally, start with the GrimMechs Database for build ideas. These builds aren't all something you'd take into a competitive match, but they are top-tier builds for whatever they're doing with those chassis.

So, for the Raven, you're using Light PPCs as your primary damage source, so I'd try This Build from GrimMechs for that kind of combat. The NARC is useful even if nobody has any LRMs, because hitting a 'mech equipped with ECM will hard-counter that ECM system for the duration of the NARC. It's super annoying. If you're looking for more of a close-range build, Ye Olde Standby is a close-in option, but it's risker because of the range, and lacks stealth armor.

Thanks for the advice! However, it appears that I did not properly word my original post, and for that I apologize. I wasn't asking how to use Stealth Armor on a 'Mech, but how to use Stealth Armor (specifically in the context of my Raven) on the battlefield. When do I turn it on/off? Should I snipe or flank? Close range or long range? I'm also confused about my role: advice says go with the team and don't solo it, but I live longer when I go alone and poke from the flanks. If I go with the team, I end up fighting a heavy head-on with another light as my only support, and he promply dies on me and then I have to run for my life.

Edited by Iceheart Star, 27 June 2025 - 11:26 AM.

[CFC Conky]

Welcome to MWO Iceheart Star,

Stealth armour does a few things besides make you harder to detect. With it on, you can't cap detect other mechs until you are very close, and it interferes with heat dissipation.

I don't run stealth armour very often but when I do, unless I already know where the enemy is, I keep it off until I start detecting mechs, then turn it on. Once the fight starts, and more enemies are visible on your radar, I turn it back on, pick a suitable target, then let fly. You still have to move around a lot lest you get shot, but by turning stealth on and off you get better situational awareness.

As for your build, I would ditch the LRM 5 and ammo and shave off the armour from the left arm, then use the available weight to armour up your legs and right arm. It's also fairly safe to shave armour off the head with fast light mechs for extra savings. The beagle active could also go, allowing you to take a bigger engine since speed is life with light mechs and you'll want to go at least 100km/hr, perferably faster since the Raven is pretty big for a light mech. Use you LPPCs to temporarily neutralize ECM on an enemy mech. The SRM6 is useful when the fight gets close. Alternatively, you could swap out the SRM6 launcher for a SRM4 and SRM2, the cooldowns don't sink but both are of shorter duration to the SRM6, increasing your damage per second (DPS).

Void Angel's advice is good, Grimmechs is your friend.

Good hunting,
CFC Conky

Edited by CFC Conky, 27 June 2025 - 12:31 PM.

[KursedVixen]

Iceheart Star, on 27 June 2025 - 04:33 AM, said:

Hello all,

I'm a rather new player (less than 25 matches) and for the last four battles or so I've been running a stealth Raven as my main 'Mech. It's fun to play, but I have yet to survive a match in it or even kill anything. I attribute some of this to my inexperience, some to being a light, and some to bad luck, but it feels like it has so much potential I'm not using. Flanking for a base cap or to blow up a reactor with the stealth running seems to work pretty well, and it's great fun to walk behind someone and remove their back armor without them knowing, but I want to be able to really contribute to my team and maximize my 'Mech's potential.

So, with that being said, does anyone have good tips for playing a light with Stealth Armor? I was thinking about running with my team's assaults/heavies as an escort.

havn't used stealth armor much so i'll just give some tips that i know of probably obvious but

1. PPCs will cancel your stealth so be prepared to run away to turn it back on and maybe if possible spend some points in the skill tree to reduce the cooldown time fore re-engaging the stealth.

2. You cannot cap points while in stealth, this makes it great for assault if you want to walk near the enemy base because it won't tip them off that your there but if your going for a base cap or domination point you'll have to turn it off

3. Don't quote me on this but i think your heat disspation drops a little while in stealth mode so keep that in mind when you fire weapons other than Machine guns, carry a coolshot maybe?

4. the biggest downside to me for stealth is once engaged you will not recieve targeting data from allies you'll have to rely on your own sensors only for damage readout and such....

Edited by KursedVixen, 27 June 2025 - 03:19 PM.

[Void Angel]

KursedVixen, on 27 June 2025 - 03:17 PM, said:

3. Don't quote me on this but i think your heat disspation drops a little while in stealth mode so keep that in mind when you fire weapons other than Machine guns, carry a coolshot maybe?

No, you're correct - it drops by a lot, actually; I'll try to look up the number, but it's a significant limiting factor built into the system. [Edit: nope! We're both wrong! It used to turn heat dissipation off, but they changed it to generate 1.5hps in December 2018.] That's [still] why most Stealth Armor builds you run into are rocking red lasers and machine guns - the heat cost of running the system makes heat-efficient weapons attractive. The situational awareness reduction you mentioned is also a pain (it limits your sensor range, too.)

TAG will also penetrate stealth armor for as long as it is held on target - one of many reasons that Stealth Armor is only truly useful for small, fast platforms.

Edited by Void Angel, 27 June 2025 - 10:32 PM.

[Void Angel]

Iceheart Star, on 27 June 2025 - 11:24 AM, said:

Thanks for the advice! However, it appears that I did not properly word my original post, and for that I apologize. I wasn't asking how to use Stealth Armor on a 'Mech, but how to use Stealth Armor (specifically in the context of my Raven) on the battlefield. When do I turn it on/off? Should I snipe or flank? Close range or long range? I'm also confused about my role: advice says go with the team and don't solo it, but I live longer when I go alone and poke from the flanks. If I go with the team, I end up fighting a heavy head-on with another light as my only support, and he promply dies on me and then I have to run for my life.

Ah, now I'm tracking. Let me see...

First, you're not an escort - you're the guy the escorts are for. Stealth Armor (or ECM) Lights excel at working the field, either cutting in to strike and fade on the flanks, harassing from cover with long-range weapons, or keeping back-rank snipers occupied so they can't focus on hitting the team.

A Stealth Armor Raven is one of the exceptions to the general rule that it's usually better to stay together, focus fire, and follow the fracking Atlas.^tm Your mobility and potential firepower allow you to give situational awareness to your team, and to pull the enemy's attention away from your teammates by harassment and squirreling. If I was running it, I'd use This Build. For skill nodes, ignore cooldown and use those points to buy Seismic Sensor, both Enhanced ECM nodes (mandatory for ECM) and all of the UAV and Strategic Strike improvements (except improved salvos.)

This will give you a harasser that can harass people from middle ranges under ECM, dive in close to pop a UAV over their heads from stealth, and use stealth armor to escape when they inevitably chase after you to remove the thorn from their side. As with all slow-firing weapons, try to keep firing as much as you can - you need to sustain fire on the enemy team, and any time you spend with your heat not redlined is lost damage potential. However, your primary focus should be to survive, so that you can continue to harass the enemy and pull his attention away from your team.

You already the basics of how to use Stealth armor, but I may be able to provide a trick or two that will help you. These will work with general ECM as well. First, remember that your ECM has two modes; you'll want to be in Disrupt most of the time (in fact you have to be in order to activate Stealth Armor,) but Counter has uses beyond its intended function. If you've gotten behind someone in Stealth (and you're sure no one else is behind you, you can turn off your Stealth Armor from outside ECM's range (90m) and then switch it to Counter before closing in. You'll counteract the nearest ECM within range of your system, share your target information with the team, ANDavoid Stealth Armor's heat cost - all without causing that HUD static effect that warns them there's an ECM 'mech standing next to them. Just remember to change it back

But tips and tricks aside, the basics of running a Stealth Armor Light are pretty simple - harass whenever you can, and try to shoot people who are already being shot by your team (the trick from the last paragraph pairs well with this.) Once the fight starts, try to work your way in close to drop one of those enhanced UAVs overhead (preferably just behind them as well,) then take whatever shots seem best to you, prioritizing either people who are already being shot and those who are being left alone. You want to both take advantage of and cause as much disruption and chaos as you can - all while primarily staying alive to keep on harassing.

PS: Do you know how ECM actually works, regarding the range other players can target you when you're not under Stealth?

Edited by Void Angel, 27 June 2025 - 11:24 PM.

[Iceheart Star]

CFC Conky, on 27 June 2025 - 12:28 PM, said:

Welcome to MWO Iceheart Star,

Stealth armour does a few things besides make you harder to detect. With it on, you can't cap detect other mechs until you are very close, and it interferes with heat dissipation.

I don't run stealth armour very often but when I do, unless I already know where the enemy is, I keep it off until I start detecting mechs, then turn it on. Once the fight starts, and more enemies are visible on your radar, I turn it back on, pick a suitable target, then let fly. You still have to move around a lot lest you get shot, but by turning stealth on and off you get better situational awareness.

As for your build, I would ditch the LRM 5 and ammo and shave off the armour from the left arm, then use the available weight to armour up your legs and right arm. It's also fairly safe to shave armour off the head with fast light mechs for extra savings. The beagle active could also go, allowing you to take a bigger engine since speed is life with light mechs and you'll want to go at least 100km/hr, perferably faster since the Raven is pretty big for a light mech. Use you LPPCs to temporarily neutralize ECM on an enemy mech. The SRM6 is useful when the fight gets close. Alternatively, you could swap out the SRM6 launcher for a SRM4 and SRM2, the cooldowns don't sink but both are of shorter duration to the SRM6, increasing your damage per second (DPS).

Void Angel's advice is good, Grimmechs is your friend.

Good hunting,
CFC Conky

KursedVixen, on 27 June 2025 - 03:17 PM, said:

havn't used stealth armor much so i'll just give some tips that i know of probably obvious but

1. PPCs will cancel your stealth so be prepared to run away to turn it back on and maybe if possible spend some points in the skill tree to reduce the cooldown time fore re-engaging the stealth.

2. You cannot cap points while in stealth, this makes it great for assault if you want to walk near the enemy base because it won't tip them off that your there but if your going for a base cap or domination point you'll have to turn it off

3. Don't quote me on this but i think your heat disspation drops a little while in stealth mode so keep that in mind when you fire weapons other than Machine guns, carry a coolshot maybe?

4. the biggest downside to me for stealth is once engaged you will not recieve targeting data from allies you'll have to rely on your own sensors only for damage readout and such....

Void Angel, on 27 June 2025 - 11:25 PM, said:

Ah, now I'm tracking. Let me see...

First, you're not an escort - you're the guy the escorts are for. Stealth Armor (or ECM) Lights excel at working the field, either cutting in to strike and fade on the flanks, harassing from cover with long-range weapons, or keeping back-rank snipers occupied so they can't focus on hitting the team.

A Stealth Armor Raven is one of the exceptions to the general rule that it's usually better to stay together, focus fire, and follow the fracking Atlas.^tm Your mobility and potential firepower allow you to give situational awareness to your team, and to pull the enemy's attention away from your teammates by harassment and squirreling. If I was running it, I'd use This Build. For skill nodes, ignore cooldown and use those points to buy Seismic Sensor, both Enhanced ECM nodes (mandatory for ECM) and all of the UAV and Strategic Strike improvements (except improved salvos.)

This will give you a harasser that can harass people from middle ranges under ECM, dive in close to pop a UAV over their heads from stealth, and use stealth armor to escape when they inevitably chase after you to remove the thorn from their side. As with all slow-firing weapons, try to keep firing as much as you can - you need to sustain fire on the enemy team, and any time you spend with your heat not redlined is lost damage potential. However, your primary focus should be to survive, so that you can continue to harass the enemy and pull his attention away from your team.

You already the basics of how to use Stealth armor, but I may be able to provide a trick or two that will help you. These will work with general ECM as well. First, remember that your ECM has two modes; you'll want to be in Disrupt most of the time (in fact you have to be in order to activate Stealth Armor,) but Counter has uses beyond its intended function. If you've gotten behind someone in Stealth (and you're sure no one else is behind you, you can turn off your Stealth Armor from outside ECM's range (90m) and then switch it to Counter before closing in. You'll counteract the nearest ECM within range of your system, share your target information with the team, ANDavoid Stealth Armor's heat cost - all without causing that HUD static effect that warns them there's an ECM 'mech standing next to them. Just remember to change it back

But tips and tricks aside, the basics of running a Stealth Armor Light are pretty simple - harass whenever you can, and try to shoot people who are already being shot by your team (the trick from the last paragraph pairs well with this.) Once the fight starts, try to work your way in close to drop one of those enhanced UAVs overhead (preferably just behind them as well,) then take whatever shots seem best to you, prioritizing either people who are already being shot and those who are being left alone. You want to both take advantage of and cause as much disruption and chaos as you can - all while primarily staying alive to keep on harassing.

PS: Do you know how ECM actually works, regarding the range other players can target you when you're not under Stealth?

Thank you for all the advice! I will certainly take these into account next time I play.

In response to your question, Angel, I do have a general idea. It reduces their lock/spotting range to half or so and stops locks, correct?

[Void Angel]

Iceheart Star, on 28 June 2025 - 04:25 AM, said:

Thank you for all the advice! I will certainly take these into account next time I play.

In response to your question, Angel, I do have a general idea. It reduces their lock/spotting range to half or so and stops locks, correct?

That's generally correct; the most affectable game mechanic is sensor range. Any enemy 'mech in range of an active ECM system has information sharing disabled, cannot acquire locks. Friendlies have the enemy's sensor range reduced for the purposes of being able to target them. There's bugs, too... it seems only skill nodes and possibly quirks count against ECM detection range.

However, it's actually only 30% without skills - with skills, your Raven will reduce enemy targeting range by 70%. This means that with a standard sensor range of 799m, any enemy could detect you at 559m - someone with sensor range nodes will detect you at 755m. In both cases, you will start to wonder if the dang thing is even on. With the ECM skill nodes, your detection range is 239m and 323m, respectively. So when you're skilling up an ECM 'mech, always go for those nodes first.

This is part of the game's information warfare subsystem - MechDB has a wiki that was accurate relatively recently, but doesn't include newer developments, like the Advanced Skill Package.

Additionally, Clan ECM nodes have a smaller reduction than the Inner Sphere's - likely because Clan ECM is smaller and lighter, and Clan Lights can engage at significantly longer ranges, or bring a lot more laser firepower close-in.

Edited by Void Angel, 28 June 2025 - 08:37 AM.

[Void Angel]

PS: If you're looking for more speed than the linked build, Try This One, which strips out the NARC for max engine speed for more survivability, and an ASP for scouting and situational awareness.

Edited by Void Angel, 28 June 2025 - 08:42 AM.