19 replies to this topic

[Tashi Drako]

As a scout my kill/death ratio is pretty sad 0.06 , I hope to remedy that with time and effort.
some encouragment for those of us with less direct action roles within our units would be nice.
Kepping track of kill assits may help.

If tied matches where tracked an accurate total games played would be possible as well
without an addtional field.

[nungunz]

What are you driving by chance? I routinely get 1-3 kills a game in my scout mech. I've even pulled a couple of 5-kill matches.

Granted it doesn't happen that often and I often don't get kills....but for the most part I survive and stay in the top 4 damage dealers on my team.

[Xenok]

Fast moving mechs take a particular love of the play style, and ability, to run. I have learned they are not for me. I love a great Jenner player on my team and nearly always see those guys as the last survivor on a loosing team. You may be like me though and find that targeting other mechs when your moving 130kph is just not so great a thing to do. My damage is not so good when playing one and the same can be said of my kills. I do not blame that on the game; its my targeting ability at high speed that is to blame. If you find that is a problem for you, you may want to try a slightly slower mech.

[Egomane]

I am running a jenner, that is not completly optimized, as a scout for my team. I still run on the default engine, no Endo, no DHS, no Ferro (except on the Jenner-K).

I die a lot due to important information not passed along to me. Like the mech I am circling, to keep a lock on, moving out of range of my LRM comrades and they switch the target without telling me or even coordinating with each other (which I would recognize). I keep circling, wondering why no LRM impact on my target and miss the point to get the hell out of there.

I still manage to keep a K/D of 1.00 or above.

• You die a lot of you hold still, while locking a target. Don't do it! Always stay in motion!
  
• Never run straight up to a target. Circle it, from the moment you notice him, until he dies. Even if that means to circle him at 500 meters or more.
  
• Better yet: Never run in a straight line!
  
• Don't use your jumpjets to much. A jumping mech is easy prey for incoming LRM and SSRM.
  
• Don't be predictable! If you run around a building, alternate randomly if you run straight around it, or break and come back from the side you vanished, or maybe even jump over it.
  
• Try to find targets that move alone first. Only engage multiple targets at once, if you have no other choice left. The other teams scouts are a nice choice.
  
• If you can't find a lone target, try to break up the opponents group by running through them. Maybe you can get one or two, to follow you on a squirrel chase.
  
• Don't let yourself get lured into the opponents defense, while following your pray. Break off before it's to late.

[Cest7]

get endo

[TigaShark]

Egomane, on 01 November 2012 - 02:09 AM, said:

I am running a jenner, that is not completly optimized, as a scout for my team. I still run on the default engine, no Endo, no DHS, no Ferro (except on the Jenner-K).

I die a lot due to important information not passed along to me. Like the mech I am circling, to keep a lock on, moving out of range of my LRM comrades and they switch the target without telling me or even coordinating with each other (which I would recognize). I keep circling, wondering why no LRM impact on my target and miss the point to get the hell out of there.

I still manage to keep a K/D of 1.00 or above.

• You die a lot of you hold still, while locking a target. Don't do it! Always stay in motion!
  
• Never run straight up to a target. Circle it, from the moment you notice him, until he dies. Even if that means to circle him at 500 meters or more.
  
• Better yet: Never run in a straight line!
  
• Don't use your jumpjets to much. A jumping mech is easy prey for incoming LRM and SSRM.
  
• Don't be predictable! If you run around a building, alternate randomly if you run straight around it, or break and come back from the side you vanished, or maybe even jump over it.
  
• Try to find targets that move alone first. Only engage multiple targets at once, if you have no other choice left. The other teams scouts are a nice choice.
  
• If you can't find a lone target, try to break up the opponents group by running through them. Maybe you can get one or two, to follow you on a squirrel chase.
  
• Don't let yourself get lured into the opponents defense, while following your pray. Break off before it's to late.

All of this...

Ive been running Commando's in PUG's exclusively and Im a little above 1.0 KDR... so even with the smallest mech in the game, its currently possible to dish out as good as you get. MY KDR also factors in that Im working on 3 commandos, 1 of which I hate (the 1b and me dont get along) and the other 2 which are much better (3a and 2D)

Keep in mind i also dont run and hide and shutdown on a loss... I always go in guns blazing and try to pull out a miracle win...and Im often near the top of the damage charts and assists (300-600 dmg is about my usual in the 3a and 2d)

Heres my advice, some of which is echoed above.

• KEEP MOVING
  
• Dont be predictable (change speed, change direction, break off randomly into cover and come back from a different direction)
  
• When outnumbered.. FIND FRIENDS (look for a cluster of blue markers and zig zag your way to safety, with luck someone will chase you to THEIR death)
  
• Keep your eyes open for the "BASE UNDER ATTACK" notice... if you see it, assess the situation, but be ready to haul a$$ back to you cap and zig zag/dodge/hidebehind enemy mechs etc etc untill help arrives or you delay their capping long enough to let your team cap. THIS WINS MATCHES.
  
• Pay particular attention to "Jenner,Commando,Raven and Cicada", engaging these mech types should be priority as your heavier team mates will have a hard time keeping them off their tails.
  
• Catapaults require you to pay attention to their loadouts, if you see one with 6"Streak SRM's" dont ever engage it solo in a light mech.
  
• Always keep track of the scorecard, try to keep a mental picture of how many "lights/mediums/heavies/assaults" the enemy has...and where they are... sometimes you can steal a win by realising the enemy has 4 atlas' left and they are 1500m away and unlikely to get back to base in time to stop YOU capping... if you see the opportunity...go for it!!

Finally, I do agree that tracking "Assists" would be a nice thing to add to the statistics tracker, pure scouting is really a thankless business currently, but hopefully piranha continues adding features that add depth to the scouting game.

Edited by TigaShark, 01 November 2012 - 06:04 AM.

[iminbagdad]

Are you scouting with a trial raven? Unfortunately that piece of garbage is not a scout. Right now with the netcode and hit detection your KD should be great. Get a jenner, huge xl engine, TAG, and never stop running.

Scouting as a pure role isnt really implemented correctly, think more harrasser and find out which direction they are going initially.

[Timelordwho]

iminbagdad, on 01 November 2012 - 06:40 AM, said:

Scouting as a pure role isnt really implemented correctly, think more harrasser and find out which direction they are going initially.

That's exactly what a scout is

[Zyllos]

Actually, he is right, the scout role is not implemented, completely.

Information Warfare is not in yet.

[Timelordwho]

That's more of a counter-scout role, but it is something lights will do in organized play.

[Exilyth]

The way stuff works at the moment... "replace SRM with SSRM".

[TigaShark]

Zyllos, on 01 November 2012 - 09:10 AM, said:

Actually, he is right, the scout role is not implemented, completely.

Information Warfare is not in yet.

Cant wait till it is... one of the 1st things i thought a few days after getting the beta when i was running my commando as a tag/narc "Scout/Spotter".

"Errm ok so im behind these guys...but if i can see/lock them at 1000m and they can do the same to me at the exact same range... then... whats the point?"

hopefully they add some depth to this *soon*, Stealth, ECM ,ECCM are all things which have a place in this game but the required gear is missing for a "Scout" to properly perform the role of "Spotter"....

Risk/reward swings heavily in the favor of "Risk" right now for the "scout"...the reward goes to the LRM boat sitting 2000m away lobbing missiles at your targets.

[MarauderDeuce]

One small point - just because you can see them does not mean that they can see you.

They usually will as what 1 mech can see all can see but it is more than possible to be completely invisible to an enemy mech.

I'm not going to go into fine details right now but here's my list of scout roles in the game as it stands:
1(a). Scouting - Initial scouting - finding the enemy.
1(b ). Scouting 2 - Where's that mech gone?
2. Spotting for LRMs
3. Counter scout
4. General harasser

Different builds have different benefits/problems and different enemies pose different dangers.
And a gauss or AC20 shell to the back will always ruin your day in a scout.

Oh, and I love my jumpjets - they take some learning and yes - the weakness against missiles is correct but when used tactically they can also be awesome!

Edited by MarauderDeuce, 01 November 2012 - 03:21 PM.

[Tashi Drako]

I wasn't exactly asking for advice on either jenner loadout or how to scout. I have some well skilled instructers within House liao that will no doubt put there best effort in turning me into someting other than a move target, but thanks anyway. My point in general was a kill assit stat to encourage players a little more. And tie stats to keep an accurate total games played figure.

[MarauderDeuce]

Yes - I think all of us who scout would like a little more data to show us that we're making a difference.

Best bet so far is the assist count. I may rarely kill anything but I usually have at least 5 to 7 assists.

[Hayashi]

Hopefully when the game reaches release, they'll track stats for individual Mechs piloted.

Having an overall KDR of 4, for example, doesn't mean much if your KDR in a Jenner is 12 and your KDR in an Atlas is 0.5 - and you're piloting an Atlas in that mission.

By the way, OP, I've changed your title a bit, because the original title is really just asking for players to come and tell you how not to die - which you've already indicated was not the point of the topic.

[RazorFace]

Xenok, on 01 November 2012 - 12:17 AM, said:

Fast moving mechs take a particular love of the play style, and ability, to run. I have learned they are not for me. I love a great Jenner player on my team and nearly always see those guys as the last survivor on a loosing team. You may be like me though and find that targeting other mechs when your moving 130kph is just not so great a thing to do. My damage is not so good when playing one and the same can be said of my kills. I do not blame that on the game; its my targeting ability at high speed that is to blame. If you find that is a problem for you, you may want to try a slightly slower mech.

A suggestion from me to you, lower your DPI setting on your mouse to like 400 or 500, this will give you extreme control over your targetting abilities.

[Zen Hachetaki]

The posts from Tigashark and Egomane should be required reading for anyone wanting to be a scout - well summarized and all accurate. The rush of being a scout is awesome, kills can come or go but we have so much flexibility as to what we do in game - stats are nice but wins matter most. A good scout can do many things that are nearly impossible to measure well - ie my favorite tactic is somewhat suicidal but also seems effective - tying up missile boats. I try to get as many as i can and running around their legs and causing fits - doing damage is not my concern - moving fast, bobbing and weaving, getting them to waste their time on me (and ammunition), rather than my team mates advancing much slower.

Most boats have secondary weapons but usually only a few meds which are hard to hit us with, boats have maxed LRMs not Streak SRMs (the death of us with their current CT only flaw), the only other thing able to hit effectively are arms mounted pulse lasers. I really love watching the shoot each other as they chase me around and/or run into each other, I have seen at least 3 friendly fire deaths from them shooting through their owns lines of sight at me.

Short answer - scouting has much more to it than any stat can convey short of wins and losses. If anyone gives you grief over your kill totals they do not know much about the game (assuming you are in a light).

Side note: Cheesy tip of the day - if you are worried about kill totals, make note if there are enemy "disconnected", scouts can get to their base fast - position directly behind - 2 barrages to CT ® and bingo (Atlases take more...). If you go fast enough most people cannot stop you...

And lol about the trial Raven - too true! NOT a scout mech... just lunch for the rest of us nomnomnom...

[Corvus Antaka]

KDr wouldnt be the end all be all if we got a really good stat system with tons of stats, ribbons 7 medals.

[Hayashi]

TigaShark, on 01 November 2012 - 05:25 AM, said:

All of this... Ive been running Commando's in PUG's exclusively and Im a little above 1.0 KDR... so even with the smallest mech in the game, its currently possible to dish out as good as you get. MY KDR also factors in that Im working on 3 commandos, 1 of which I hate (the 1b and me dont get along) and the other 2 which are much better (3a and 2D) Keep in mind i also dont run and hide and shutdown on a loss... I always go in guns blazing and try to pull out a miracle win...and Im often near the top of the damage charts and assists (300-600 dmg is about my usual in the 3a and 2d) Heres my advice, some of which is echoed above.

• KEEP MOVING
• Dont be predictable (change speed, change direction, break off randomly into cover and come back from a different direction)
• When outnumbered.. FIND FRIENDS (look for a cluster of blue markers and zig zag your way to safety, with luck someone will chase you to THEIR death)
• Keep your eyes open for the "BASE UNDER ATTACK" notice... if you see it, assess the situation, but be ready to haul a$$ back to you cap and zig zag/dodge/hidebehind enemy mechs etc etc untill help arrives or you delay their capping long enough to let your team cap. THIS WINS MATCHES.
• Pay particular attention to "Jenner,Commando,Raven and Cicada", engaging these mech types should be priority as your heavier team mates will have a hard time keeping them off their tails.
• Catapaults require you to pay attention to their loadouts, if you see one with 6"Streak SRM's" dont ever engage it solo in a light mech.
• Always keep track of the scorecard, try to keep a mental picture of how many "lights/mediums/heavies/assaults" the enemy has...and where they are... sometimes you can steal a win by realising the enemy has 4 atlas' left and they are 1500m away and unlikely to get back to base in time to stop YOU capping... if you see the opportunity...go for it!!

Finally, I do agree that tracking "Assists" would be a nice thing to add to the statistics tracker, pure scouting is really a thankless business currently, but hopefully piranha continues adding features that add depth to the scouting game.

If we're on the topic of light Mech advice, I'd add a few more.

• Never engage someone when you're outnumbered. Move away using zigzagging and cover.
  
• Run behind cover when you see LRMs falling from the sky.
  
• Never engage someone one on one if there's anyone within 400 metres also engaging one on one. Move over and gang up on him, supporting your teammate. When that one falls, move back to your original target.
  
• Never fight someone head on. Always backstab.
  
• Always find the LRM boats as soon as possible and if they're unguarded, assassinate them. They can't defend themselves at close range, and distracting them means your teammates don't get killed.
  
• Never engage a Catapult one-on-one, their torso turn radius is too large to attack effectively from behind.
  
• Use your jumpjets while turning, it improves your turn radius tremendously.
  
• Wherever possible when there are multiple targets in the same area, use hit and run tactics. If you can distract 3 of them to shoot you, all 3 of your teammates will have an easier time fighting.

And lastly, who says light mechs can't have a good kill/death ratio?



This was in my Jenner. I haven't piloted anything else since open beta started, really, I love it too much.