256 replies to this topic

[DarkBazerker]

Vassago Rain, on 13 November 2012 - 03:48 PM, said:

I get nuked by people when I bring out my own commandos. The best way to avoid this, I've found, is to work really, really hard, or use the PC gamer skin, so when they see that I'm in their game, they don't go 'oh boy, a commando eating our jenner slots...'

In many ways, I don't blame them. I don't want obvious gimps on my team, either.

And here I been keeping names of those that shoot me no matter what im driving. Lesson to be learned (never shoot a friendly)

[Enigmos]

The master craftsman does not blame his tools.

The optimized Commando is a very fun mech to pilot in any casual match.

I would not use it for a competitive match.

[Terror Teddy]

Stormur Herra, on 12 November 2012 - 05:48 PM, said:

So, what does a commando do that other lights and some mediums don't do better?

Being bloody cheap for borderworlds militia to have ANY scouts or mechs for that matter.

[Djarid]

I run 2 commando variants, nearly stock COM-2D which eats Jenners for breakfast, I can circle strafe SRMs into them while they just run in circles trying to hit me

A COM-3A with an ER PPC, again Cicada's and Jenner's are not especially hard (lower arm and wrist actuators FTW).

Normally running as a pack of 2-4 similarly specced commando's we have very little trouble taking out Catapults and even the odd assault mech.

Yeah, it's a glass cannon but as many people have already said, it has the the smallest hitbox and having an engagement range of 810m and a TTOH of ~16 seconds makes it extremely effective at hit and fade tactics.

[Gargoth]

Crunk Prime, on 12 November 2012 - 05:52 PM, said:

Its the worst mech in the game,, dies almost instantly and is completely useless. Everything it does, can be done better by other mechs.

I dont even know why they chose to put it into the game. In table top it was only useful because you could field a handful of commandos instead of 1 good mech because of its low battle value.

Dont even buy it, and save up for a jenner.

you sir, are wrong.



That was with commando.

Edited by Gargoth, 14 November 2012 - 07:39 AM.

[Djarid]

I've just read the later posts in this thread and frankly I'm surprised at the attitude of many here. Yes on paper the Jenner appears the better Mech and lets be honest it has it merits (Jump Jets) but even though it out masses the Commando it simply doesn't out class it, at least not in the hands of a competent pilot.

I'm not claiming to beat every Jenner or Cicada I come across and sure and equally competent Jenner Pilot with an equally tricked out mech might beat me, but only if he doesn't try to take me the way he takes out bigger mechs.

I love fighting Jenners, too often, once they realise they aren't going to win the circle fight, they try to run and get burned in the rear torso

Also to those extolling the superior firepower of the Jenner, the commando doesn't have to out damage you, we just have to remove enough armour to core you, while ensuring you keep missing us.

I hindsight, the contempt on here for Commandos is actually heartening, it means you will under estimate us

[Cpt Grunge]

Grizley, on 13 November 2012 - 11:01 PM, said:

If you don't think JJs are good, then you're just a new player.

Drop a couple times in a mech with JJs. You don't use them to try to fly, you use them for instant turning. I run a Cat with 3 Large Lasers and a pair of SRM 6s. I can't count the number of times a light has run behind me and died shocked when I do a 180 hop faster than they can move and unload on them.

JJs are borderline overpowered right now. If you know how to use them.

I have been playing since MW2, and an experienced pilot can do any JJ's can do for a beginner (most definitely like yourself) without them.

I'm done arguing with you stop commenting, neither of us R going to change our opinion, no point in arguing.

[Aidan Malchor]

Commando is good for players who like a challenge. A good Commando pilot will be able to take on most of the failtastic Jenner and Raven pilots. Jenners are just easy mode which is fine if you don't want much in the way of challenging gameplay.

Someone who knows how to use a Commando can do alot of damage to people. Certainly not a perfect mech but it does have it uses and it's fun factor.

[Lanessar]

They're sort of the stimpy of the "Ren and Stimpy Show"...

[Sweetlovin]

My finest match with a commando was boasting over 300 damage, with 3 kills and 4 assists.

I use a 3A. 2 dumb-fire missle launchers w/ 200 spare missiles, 2 light energys, and ams.

Step 1- Scout
Step 2- Latch onto the enemy Jenners running in the middle of your forces. Shoot them in the ***. Repeatedly.
Step 3- Get sneaky and start shooting limbs off from behind. Dumbfire missiles into the back of a heavy/assault do great damage.

I'm pretty inexperienced, but that was my best game. I'm probably 50/50 between doing well and getting rapidly eaten up.

[Derpernova]

Still learning the ropes, definitely a rookie, but I'm starting to love my Crapmando. It's cheap to repair, and if you run energy even cheaper to rearm. Fast enough to improve navigating skill, but slow enough to have to struggle against sup'd up Ravens/Jenners/Mediums. Currently running endo with ferro to add some heat sinks and armor, had some good success with both ERLL and Large Pulse, doing poke shots here and there. Makes a good AMS support for the heavies too if you load that way.

Don't get me wrong, I'm saving up for a strong medium/heavy, I'd rather be spamming ER PPCs than anything else (Supernova from MW3, nom nom), but it's fun nonetheless.

[Mercules]

Dakkath, on 13 November 2012 - 02:28 PM, said:

Light mechs are for recon work, finding out where the main enemy force is, relaying that info to the friendly heavier mechs, etc.

This is not true. The traditional role for Commando and Jenner mechs is "Light Striker". While they can be used in a Scout role they are just as often harassment and flankers. They are used to move in, strike a vulnerable position or unit and then fade away. Think "Base Capping" and killing a Heavy/Assault that has no backup. It translates very well into game play and probably why the put those two mechs out in preference to those that are more traditionally "Scouts".

Vassago Rain, on 13 November 2012 - 03:29 PM, said:

No, it has nothing to do with playstyle, or 'it works for me.'
i got 3 commandos. It's a terrible mech, and inferior to the other lights. Less guns, less tons, less hardpoints total. It doesn't even get jets. While it's true it should be competing against other ancient gundams, like the stinger and wasp, they're not in the game, and probably won't be.

By the time the firebee rolled out, commando was lorewise horrible. The one thing it had, the massive firepower, was copied by a heavier mech, with jets, that sets enemies on fire.

All I hear is, "I suck in a Commando... therefore it must be bad." Yes it looks better on paper and for some players it will be worse to play as well. I can do okay in a Jenner but even with it's torso twist I find I run into the edge of my aiming much faster than I do with a Commando and it's much more generous arms. This means I am often finding myself needing to hop and get my aiming back or slow down and turn in more. It doesn't feel right.

I literally play much better in a Commando than in a Jenner or Raven. I also prefer the Dragon to the Catapult, and Centurion to the Hunchback. You can see what the common theme here is, right? Arms. Some pilots don't need them but I prefer arm mounted weapons and full movement arms. The Commando has that, the Jenner does not.

Grizley, on 13 November 2012 - 04:09 PM, said:

You really are sort of being a **** when you drop with a Commando.

Your chances of contributing as much to your team as the Jenner that drops opposite you is effectively zero. That means you are choosing your personal fun over your teams fun. Now I get that when you're pugging you can do all sorts of stupid crap. I laughed the same as anyone else at the 4 ERPPC Cicada.

Just realize that you're barely better than the guy who alpha strikes himself to death and quits.

Not at all true. I function better in a Commando and some people just are not bright enough to get that. I kill Jenners all the time.

Back in closed beta when we still had bugs where you would not always end up on the proper side as your team, in fact back before the pseudo weight balancing even I got comments from a TS group I dropped with much the same as yours. Till they played with me for a while. I even got a "Merc dropped on the other side, easy kill." I wasn't that easy and the next time it happened and I came racing into my "teammates" area after flanking and letting the others engage I heard them say, "Damn it... It's Merc. Take him out first. Focus fire Charlie." They wanted me gone because they knew what a little backstabber I could be. I even got a begrudged, "So what do you run in your Commando?" from one of the Jenner pilots.


Stats are a very good measure of things, but do NOT tell the whole tale. There are more stats than you see in Mechlab and those that ignore that fact will never understand why someone would pilot a Commando... or Dragon.

[John F Kerensky]

Try as you might, Battletech was never a game of equals. Some mechs were just plainly superior to other, off the top of my head I can think of the Charger (80 ton mech with 5 small lasers), the Banshee, and the urban mech as three truly awful designs.

The commando is a mech that is great for the bean counter but no so much the soldier.

These suboptimal mechs are what makes the battlefield interesting, the snowflakes glittering like little gems between the bland optimized builds.

[Donalbain]

So my main is a Com-2d. I agree that in general Jenners outclass us and in a straight up 1v1 and with equal pilot skills they will usually win, but then again anything but maybe a Streak Cat will lose 1v1 to a Jenner. There is one play style where I believe Commandos are slightly superior though and I've personally had a lot of success with it.

My set up is the standard 3 streak with 1 medium laser. I run the fastest XL engine which gets me to 146kph matching or exceeding the speed of any mech in the game. I've got near max armor as well thanks to weight savings from the XL, endo steel and the relatively low weight of the weapon set up.

The play style boils down to enemy light defense and general flexible assistance to ensure other important 1v1s are won by my team. Because I can move quickly I can shift to assisting multiple confrontations to swing them in our favor and quickly disengage without taking too much damage. The anti light duty is defensive, and it's always a bad idea for me to chase other lights, but much more effective and safer to intercept them as they move closer to my team's lines.

I agree that a Jenner could do this job nearly as well as the Commando, but I find the 3 streaks are the most effective way of maintaining high damage on targets at the ranges I'm talking about while focusing most efforts on dodging enemy focus and constantly using terrain for protection. The fact that you can get a missile lock behind a hill and only expose yourself for the second it takes to launch a volley before returning to cover is a the main advantage of the 3 streak setup.

I've also seen some utility in Com-1B builds using 3x medium pulse lasers with enough DHS to go after medium & heavy weak points, but again the idea is to never expose yourself for long. Unfortunately this leaves you much more open to attacks by other lights and Jenners can definitely do this job better.

In general though it seems to me Commando pilots are by and large really bad at keeping themselves out of harms way. Whenever I see enemy Commandos, I instantly think free kill because they tend to not be nearly fast enough nor good enough at basic maneuverability like cover hopping to break los, and quick break turning to keep up with 1v1 strafing. Most don't even bother trying to zig zag to dodge me as they run back to their team.

Edited by Donalbain, 14 November 2012 - 11:17 AM.

[Vassago Rain]

Mercules, on 14 November 2012 - 10:16 AM, said:

This is not true. The traditional role for Commando and Jenner mechs is "Light Striker". While they can be used in a Scout role they are just as often harassment and flankers. They are used to move in, strike a vulnerable position or unit and then fade away. Think "Base Capping" and killing a Heavy/Assault that has no backup. It translates very well into game play and probably why the put those two mechs out in preference to those that are more traditionally "Scouts".





All I hear is, "I suck in a Commando... therefore it must be bad." Yes it looks better on paper and for some players it will be worse to play as well. I can do okay in a Jenner but even with it's torso twist I find I run into the edge of my aiming much faster than I do with a Commando and it's much more generous arms. This means I am often finding myself needing to hop and get my aiming back or slow down and turn in more. It doesn't feel right.

I literally play much better in a Commando than in a Jenner or Raven. I also prefer the Dragon to the Catapult, and Centurion to the Hunchback. You can see what the common theme here is, right? Arms. Some pilots don't need them but I prefer arm mounted weapons and full movement arms. The Commando has that, the Jenner does not.




Not at all true. I function better in a Commando and some people just are not bright enough to get that. I kill Jenners all the time.

Back in closed beta when we still had bugs where you would not always end up on the proper side as your team, in fact back before the pseudo weight balancing even I got comments from a TS group I dropped with much the same as yours. Till they played with me for a while. I even got a "Merc dropped on the other side, easy kill." I wasn't that easy and the next time it happened and I came racing into my "teammates" area after flanking and letting the others engage I heard them say, "Damn it... It's Merc. Take him out first. Focus fire Charlie." They wanted me gone because they knew what a little backstabber I could be. I even got a begrudged, "So what do you run in your Commando?" from one of the Jenner pilots.


Stats are a very good measure of things, but do NOT tell the whole tale. There are more stats than you see in Mechlab and those that ignore that fact will never understand why someone would pilot a Commando... or Dragon.

Would you like me to post my amazing damage ratings and kill streaks in the commandos? Then I can post a bad run in any other mech of your choice.

[Joseph Mallan]

Gargoth, on 14 November 2012 - 07:38 AM, said:

That was with commando.

So what you are showing is that a Commando is a pretty good kill stealer? You did the 3rd highest damage on your team, but racked the most kills. In fact two members on your OpSide out scored(damage) you without a kill. Don't get me wrong it's good that you made sure the enemy died, but don't brag about your achievements until you earned them.

[Col Forbin]

Vassago Rain, on 13 November 2012 - 03:38 PM, said:

Okay.
Do you remember when tonnage mattered even more, and people would leg commandos once the game started, because they DARED bring a useless gundam that takes slots away from their side?

I do.

More entitled child syndrome. People should run whatever they LIKE to run.

[Mercules]

Vassago Rain, on 14 November 2012 - 11:12 AM, said:

Would you like me to post my amazing damage ratings and kill streaks in the commandos? Then I can post a bad run in any other mech of your choice.

So you are agreeing with me? You suck in a Commando? K'thanks.

[LynxFury]

It's the best bang for the buck in terms of scouting and capturing bases. It also does a remarkable job at distracting undisciplined teams who waste ammo, time and battle space trying to kill them.

Edited by LynxFury, 14 November 2012 - 11:29 AM.

[Donalbain]

Joseph Mallan, on 14 November 2012 - 11:16 AM, said:

So what you are showing is that a Commando is a pretty good kill stealer? You did the 3rd highest damage on your team, but racked the most kills. In fact two members on your OpSide out scored(damage) you without a kill. Don't get me wrong it's good that you made sure the enemy died, but don't brag about your achievements until you earned them.

That's kind of the point though. The mech's superior speed and precision are ideal for quickly going after stragglers and finishing them much more quickly than they would if you were not there. That's a big contribution to the team. Total damage done is not nearly as important as K/D, especially when you can get 'kill steals' consistently. The point is, if you are trying to take down a full health Atlas with a Commando without any support you are probably wasting your time. You will probably win that match up by the way and might even rack up more damage done, but you'll waste 15 minutes and miss the opportunity to take down several other mechs who tried to disengage from other fights and succeeded since you weren't there to stop them.