23 replies to this topic

[Halan HR]

Hey, just found this game and having a blast so far. One thing that is annoying me is getting missle locked by 3 mechs and getting destroyed before I can even turn around. So basically I'm looking for ideas for a missle killer, maybe a fast mech that can run in and ruin their day. Short list so far I think would be Cicada 3m, Centurion 9-D, or maybe a Dragon with say an xl300 engine.

[MadPanda]

The fast ecm mechs are: com-2d, rvn-3L, cda-3m

[Valrock]

ECM is really what you're looking for here. It prevents LRM locks, unless they have a mech near you who's using a counter ECM.

[Halan HR]

k, I'll look into those, thanks.

[superteds]

Or learn how to cope with LRMs without just defaulting to ECM. otherwise when you're not in an ECM mech, you're still going to get pounded.

Take AMS
Sit near teammmates with AMS
use cover
don't stand in the open

etc etc

[Daggett]

The most important thing to deal with LRMs is cover, cover cover.

I don't need ECM (and my favorite mechs can't wield it) and none of my mechs is equipped with AMS because AMS does not help you much when 80 missiles are on their way

Always have a building/hill near you where you can hide from LRMs. This is totally doable in every map, even in Caustic.
And don't chase enemy mechs into areas where you have no cover and can be missiled to death. I see this mistake in nearly every pug-game.

Simply by using cover i will get hit by LRMs very rarely and they can only deal significant damage when i made a mistake.

Or when my team already died from those LRMs and the enemy is now swarming me from all directions of cause.

Edited by Daggett, 29 December 2012 - 05:28 AM.

[The Basilisk]

Take cover. That means stand behind a very steep obstacle at least 2 times as tall as your mech.
Never stand still while missles incoming. The dmg you are taking while standing rock still will be FAR greater than that you are taking when moving slowy.
Use AMS. Stand within 200m of teammates with ams to benefit from theirs.
ECM will slow down the lock on of LRMs on you and prevent effects of TAG and/or Artemis IVFCS.
ECM WILL NOT PREVENT LOCK ON ON A GENERAL BASIS.
For further info please read the ECM guide.

[StraferX]

Standing behind a tall building sounds great however most of the time they travel through and pound you to death anyways. Seems teh best idea is to power down, take the beating and like it because shortly after the LRM barrage 3 ECM lights show up that are impossible to hit will strip off your armor and kill you and not even offer a moist towelette.

[p00k]

as people have said, cover > ecm

more and more lrm boats are taking tag now. the biggest mistake i see people make against lrm is pretend they're invulnerable thanks to ecm. then they get tag'd, and die.

whereas even in a stock engine atlas i rarely take beyond yellow/light orange armor damage from lrm's. no ecm, no ams. you peek out, shoot with direct fire, then back away. even going 48kph, lrm's take so long to get from them to you (plus lockon time) that you should have plenty of time to take cover

[Daggett]

StraferX, on 29 December 2012 - 05:54 AM, said:

Standing behind a tall building sounds great however most of the time they travel through and pound you to death anyways.

In many cases this is just a graphical glitch. When this happens, try to watch your damage panel if there is anything flashing or changing colors to indicate real damage.
And even if some missiles should damage you behind a building, most others of that volley will not.

Taking some LRM hits is not a problem, i often ignore single LRM5/10 coming at me when i can dish out way more damage by taking it. Therefore some missiles going trough buildings are not that bad.

The dangerous things are pure LRM boats spamming 30-70 missiles per shot. If you don't cover up against those, they will kill you in 2-3 shots even with 2 AMS equipped.

Edited by Daggett, 29 December 2012 - 07:56 AM.

[Wrenchfarm]

The inverse to all this advice is true as well, if you like to sling LRMs, please do it in an intelligent manner.

Take TAG. Actually LOOK at what you are shooting at unless you have a teammate that is telling you an indirect shot is good. Don't fire off 40 LRMs at a guy peeking two inches of his torso out from behind a 10 story building. The ideal LRM shot is within 500m at a guy flagged with TAG and standing in the open. Preferably he is already fighting and now has to make Sophie's Choice of whether to get out of the way of your screaming eagles while getting chewed up by his honourable opponent, or continue the manly act of brawling in the (explosive) rain.

It irks me to no end when I see big ol' Catapults or AWE-8Rs on my team sit back at 999m and fire entire volleys the very second they get a lock, only to send 90% of their load careening into buildings or spinning off to the stars. Do these people never look at their damage at the end of the game? Do they not realize that 1000 missiles for 150 damage is probably some bad math?

Oh, and super pro-tip I'm almost hesitant to share? LRMs can be dumb fired. Effectively. They dutifully travel to wherever you have the crosshairs pointed when you click the button. What does this mean? Next time you see a gaggle of Stalkers all hugging at Atlas-DDC under the cover of that sweet ECM, laughing at you and your lack of targeting potency, send a few eye aimed volleys their way. A cloud of missiles is an awful surprise when you don't get a lock warning and you think you're safe under ECM.

[Hammerfinn]

Wrenchfarm, on 29 December 2012 - 03:12 PM, said:

Oh, and super pro-tip I'm almost hesitant to share? LRMs can be dumb fired. Effectively. They dutifully travel to wherever you have the crosshairs pointed when you click the button. What does this mean? Next time you see a gaggle of Stalkers all hugging at Atlas-DDC under the cover of that sweet ECM, laughing at you and your lack of targeting potency, send a few eye aimed volleys their way. A cloud of missiles is an awful surprise when you don't get a lock warning and you think you're safe under ECM.

^^ This. It makes me laugh when they start cussing at me in allchat.

[Dirus Nigh]

Wrenchfarm, on 29 December 2012 - 03:12 PM, said:

Oh, and super pro-tip I'm almost hesitant to share? LRMs can be dumb fired. Effectively. They dutifully travel to wherever you have the crosshairs pointed when you click the button. What does this mean? Next time you see a gaggle of Stalkers all hugging at Atlas-DDC under the cover of that sweet ECM, laughing at you and your lack of targeting potency, send a few eye aimed volleys their way. A cloud of missiles is an awful surprise when you don't get a lock warning and you think you're safe under ECM.

Oh dear lord I feel like such a noob. I totally did not even try this. I'm going to be kicking my dumb, I've played mechwarrior sense the first one and MWLL, *** for a few days because I did not even think of trying this.

Back to the killing LRM advice.

You do not need to be in a fast mech to kill them but it helps. Use that cover to flank the LRM boat. Get in short range. That is under 180m, LRMs do NO damage under 180m. Then stomp them. Be mindful of teammates comming to help that LRM boat. This will work for PPC boats too. Not ER PPCs. PPCs have a min range of 90m. I ripped apart an awesome with a commando because I charged him, got in his face and ripped his CT out.

Always flank a stalker.

[NRP]

I've been annoyed too as of late by all the LRM boats. So I said "Screw it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Gonna try to build an LRM Stalker (Based on a 5S). 4 LRM20s, TAG, and as much ammo as I can stuff on it.

I will block out the sun.

[Hammerfinn]

NRP, on 29 December 2012 - 07:44 PM, said:

I will block out the sun.

Then I will fight in the shade!

[NRP]

Well, I built an LRM stalker with 4 LRM20s and I've noticed a few things:

It does indeed block out the sun
It doesn't take the enemy lights long to come after you
It seems like overkill because the enemy is showered (many can't even hit because the volley diameter is larger than the mech)
Can't carry enough ammo

Therefore, I think LRM whoring is just a fad that will eventually fade. At least I hope so.

Edited by NRP, 30 December 2012 - 09:12 AM.

[Stingz]

NRP, on 29 December 2012 - 07:44 PM, said:

I've been annoyed too as of late by all the LRM boats. So I said "Screw it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em". Gonna try to build an LRM Stalker (Based on a 5S). 4 LRM20s, TAG, and as much ammo as I can stuff on it.

I will block out the sun.

Remember backup lasers, met a Stalker with that setup in my RVN-3L. Did nothing for the rest of the match due to my ECM.

[HiplyRustic]

Stingz, on 30 December 2012 - 10:24 AM, said:

Remember backup lasers, met a Stalker with that setup in my RVN-3L. Did nothing for the rest of the match due to my ECM.

That can't be true. ECM doesn't negate LRMs, haven't you listened on the forums?

[Wrenchfarm]

Dirus Nigh, on 29 December 2012 - 06:56 PM, said:

Oh dear lord I feel like such a noob. I totally did not even try this. I'm going to be kicking my dumb, I've played mechwarrior sense the first one and MWLL, *** for a few days because I did not even think of trying this.

Don't feel bad, It's surprisingly uncommon knowledge!

[Stingz]

HiplyRustic, on 30 December 2012 - 11:56 AM, said:

That can't be true. ECM doesn't negate LRMs, haven't you listened on the forums?

LRMs have 180m Min range, meaning 0 damage sub-180m. It must feel awful being unable to deal with a light mech coring your backside.

Edited by Stingz, 30 December 2012 - 12:31 PM.