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.