54 replies to this topic

[Narcissistic Martyr]

1. Speed is life. I don't care how big you are, keep moving. If you don't I'll chew you up with focused fire on your CT.

2. Don't fire unless you have a good shot. Wasting ammo and heat is good way to end up dead.

3. For the love of all that is good in this world, don't chase light mechs they are not candy. They are not an easy kill. We are trying to draw you out for ungodly levels of hurt delivered by our bigger friends. Basically chase me and be prepared to bite it in under 30 seconds.

[Discordantone]

Narcissistic Martyr, on 04 November 2012 - 10:14 AM, said:

1. Speed is life. I don't care how big you are, keep moving. If you don't I'll chew you up with focused fire on your CT.

2. Don't fire unless you have a good shot. Wasting ammo and heat is good way to end up dead.

3. For the love of all that is good in this world, don't chase light mechs they are not candy. They are not an easy kill. We are trying to draw you out for ungodly levels of hurt delivered by our bigger friends. Basically chase me and be prepared to bite it in under 30 seconds.

And that, but that brings my total to six, so I'm just going to let him toss it in there.

[Adrienne Vorton]

1. don´t be the first one to be spotted by the enemy: stay a bit behind at first...ideally, let the enemy be the first one to be spotted...
2. don´t go straight towards the first enemy spotted... (unless you are close to him, and can stay in cover while attacking him)... wait if someone spots the rest...
3. make survival your #1 priority, without letting your teammates down...

BONUS: SCOUTS! do your freakin jobs and show your team early on where the enemies are, and where they are heading!... you don´t need to get close to them...just try to have a look on them w/o being spotted, and tell your guys the grids where they are going... not easy, but worth to practice...

A:if you have multiple targets spotable...spam the R key to light up as many as possible...
B:if you are more or less safe, chose an easy target for your LRM´s and keep it spotted..if not, return to A and run ^^

ASSAULTS: Never walk alone! you are not immortal... a dead Assault is no help for the team

ALL others: support your Assaults... a dead Assault is no help for you... they are not a 1 man army...they NEED your help, even if they don´t realize it

general advice for everyone: if you are in a fight with someone, light him up ®...not only you get his info and damage displayed...ppl in your team might not see the target, and thus noone might join you... R is your best friend...use it everytime you face a new target...

Edited by Adrienne Vorton, 04 November 2012 - 11:31 AM.

[Trinton]

1) Stick together
2) Keep moving
3) Press R

[Ammoguy]

1. Never travel alone. Unless you are a scout and even then it is good to have a wingman.
2. Press R when fighting a target. Not only does it light em up for your missile mechs it also shows you where they are damaged and where your fire should be focused.
3. As a team always try to focus your fire on a single Mech. They drop so much faster that way, making the job of cleaning up the rest easier.

I know you said top 3 but here is a freebie you may not see elsewhere:

4. Know the different weapons, thier ranges, heat, and capabilities. Realize that LRMs and regular PPCs have a minimum effective range and if you can get inside it they can't use them against you. (even though many of them TRY). Know that Streaks and SRMs have a maximum range that even if they do hit you... cause no damage. Lasers however do cause damage outside thier effective range but it is reduced.

I have plenty of other advice but if I listed it all I may as well write a guide and I am sure you can find most of it in the forums already. Good luck and have fun!!

[Violette]

1. Stick close to your team unless you are a scout or directed to do otherwise.
2. Remember your role, and customize your mech for it if you can; for example, scouts scout, long-range fire support mechs stay back and try not to get in close with the enemy, and brawlers seek cover, move up, and then devastate once they can get in close.
3. AMS for everyone.

Also, get on a teamspeak server. Game's more fun that way, anyway.

[AlphaPiAlpha]

1) Never walk alone!

2) Never stand still! Even the LRM boats can move around while shooting avoiding beeing hit by Gaus Cats or other long range snipers!

3) Watch your sides, if you see no enemy, move view from extrem left to extrem right while walking.

4) Seeing a single enemy does not mean he is alone! Don't rush in!

5) Falling back is no shame! Had a match where 2 Assaults fell back to our base and defended it cause the rest of the team rushed in and died. We won due to some serious shooting of the 2 and the enemies rushing in headless and one after one...

[Ewigan]

Well, 3 is a close call, but i would go for:

1) Stick together and focus fire
2) If you are a light (as i am), keep frigging running and try to cause some mayhem!
3) again if you are in a light: still keep with your group!

[Minos Murdoc]

• Communication - This is a team game so communication is key. If in a pug group talk to each other. work out a plan, are there any boats, spotters, brawlers etc... when everything kicks of talk, focus fire on a target. When you need help ask and respond. Fast mechs run to base or ally when asked.
  
• Stick together and work as a team - Dont wonder off solo (unless your a scout but tell them where your going). You can support each other and do more damage as a team than trying to rambo the game yourself.
  
• Keep an eye on your heat - its not just the other 8 mechs out there that are your enemy its also heat and heat management. Keep an eye of your heat levels, adjust your weapon grouping if needed. Or find a safe-ish place to powerdown for a few seconds if needed.

[Hoshi Toranaga]

1. Weapons not to use: PPCs, Large Pulse, Small Pulse, LB/X, SRM and after next patch medium pulse.
2. Weapons to use: Gauss, Medium Laser, Small Laser, LRMs, SSRM
3. Always stay mobile

[Ewigan]

@Terry Ward: Care to explain why SRMs are bad? I do prefer those over Streaks, it takes more skill though.

[Tehtos]

My top 3 tips for non-experienced players. (This is what I try to tell people after telling them they should join a group.)

1. Focus fire on a main target. (Unless you know what you are doing, do not assist the skirmisher or scout hunter.)

2. If you are taking fire, head to cover, while firing back. (Cover can be a building, a large hill, or a friendly atlas. Once behind cover, the enemy will probably switch targets. You can come back out and continue firing at the main target.)

3. Hold your fire, or chain your fire until you get a good shot. (Heat is an extremely valuable resource. Save the alpha for those good shots.)

[LilPieces]

Since no one has posted these two, do not stare at your target. I almost always watch 2 mechs just staring at each other pounding eachs other center torso til one goes down. While your weapons are cycling twist your torso away giving them your shoulders/arms to shoot at. This primarily applies to mech using slow cycling .weapons but also applies to other mechs that have damaged armor.

Next do not slowly peek over a ridge. Your are basically giving any snipers on the other side free head shots since typically most mech shoulders pop up first giving the sniper a cue, then your head, then your weapons.

[Karasumaru]

1. Create loadouts according to your play style. You do not need to cover 90-1000m all in a single loadout.

2. Know your weapons and how they factor into your play style. You've got a Jenner circling around you and 3 of your mates? Don't use your SRMs; you'll poke someone's eye out.

3. Don't get too fixed on a single role. I pilot a Commando. This doesn't mean I should do nothing but scout ahead; hanging back to support an Atlas or an Awesome can really ruin a Jenner/Raven/Cicada's day.

[Silra]

1) We evaluate others based on their actions, but evaluate ourselves based on our intentions. Accept that everyone has a reason for their actions, so throwing harsh words at someone for making (seemingly) a mistake is not the way to go. You do not know what they planned to do, nor do they know what you planned to do.

2) As already mentioned by others, this is a team game where TTK (time to kill) changes dramatically from 1 versus 1 to multiple combatants. So do not be caught alone unless the enemy is also alone. Simple concept but sometimes hard to do.

3) There is nothing honorable about going out in a blaze of glory by charging alone into the remaining 7 enemy battlemechs waiting in a firing line for you to appear. When facing certain defeat it's wise to power down in a safe place to save on repair bills. However if you think you can still win, then by all means go for it!

[Radbane]

1. Improvise
2. Adapt
3. Overcome

Seems like all other tips are covered already =)

[Flapdrol]

Lower mouse sensitivity

run a cheesy build (gausscat, streakcat, lrm atlas)

dont run in front of the rest of your team

[Booran]

1.) If you're smaller than the guy next to you, you stick to him and give him support (unless you're a scout).

2.) Situational awareness, keep an eye on targets, mini-map, chat and switch vision modes when sight is poor. It's not a twitch game, but taking initiative in a battle can be key.

3.) Be careful. Don't shoot all weapons at once, let yourself get caught up in a hopeless light-chase with four other teammates, don't go at full speed constantly, hug close to cover all the time etc.

[Ran]

1) Find a friend and play with him or her. Synergize your mechs to work well together, and reap the rewards of a symbiotic relationship. You don't need to have a full group to do well.

2) Operate optimally. Your goal is to stay within effective combat ranges as long as possible. Every cycle you aren't doing damage in combat, is a cycle where your team is losing out. The Jenner that can attack only at 90m with Small Lasers, or the LRM boat may seem like a great idea, but when they aren't in their ranges, they are worthless.

3) Shift your torso to take hits to prevent damage from hitting weaker areas.

[Cthulhufish]

1. Learn how to play the game. There is no official manual or guide or anything, so do what you can. Read the forum posts about how to play, memorize the control list in the option menu, watch Youtube guides, whatever it takes. If you don't know how to play the game... you can't play it. There is so much information that you need to know, that this is the only way to fit it into three tips. Learn how heat works, learn how each weapon type works, know the min, effective, and maximum ranges for all weapons (max is 2x range for energy, 3x range for ballistics, roughly), learn learn learn. And don't run straight to Battletech rules; they will lead you astray.

2. If you are a newcomer, experiment experiment experiment. Experience weapons and builds for yourself. Stay away from the threads about weapon balance and stuff if you haven't done this. I know your CBills probably never feel like enough, but your weapons do stay in inventory, so you will slowly accumulate a large collection. If you keep dying the same way, focus all your effort on stopping that. If it's build-based (e.g. you are an LRM magnet), try playing as that "killer build". It will teach you its strengths and more importantly its weaknesses.

3. Join a team that uses VOIP. It really is the best way to play. You can use the unofficial Teamspeak3 server, or you can look through the Merc Corp Recruitment thread to join up with a team. Ideally you want a group that will teach you how to play, and that you enjoy playing with.