343 replies to this topic

[JokerVictor]

So in one fell swoop, we now have a new terror on the battlefield. With jump jets not sucking anymore, and PPC's finally being viable, I've seen a couple teams taking advantage and building a major powerhouse CTF-3D build. (you know who you are)

This is my best guess of it: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...914a66e722b3e00

Obviously, there's going to be some variance between engine/armor/# of JJ's and the like but this is the basic idea. Point to note, I wasn't able to make what I would consider a viable build out of this loadout without an XL.

Now, to the point: in the hands of a skilled pilot, this thing is an absolute terror. Particularly if it's used by several skilled pilots. These things sitting on a ridgeline, poptarting with the JJ's, are damn near unapproachable. You may be able to close up front, but you'll likely take too much damage on the approach to win the fight up-close. Me and and my group went up against 2 teams using this in the past couple days (faced one of them twice), and we lost all three matches. Comes down to us being tactically unprepared for the most part, and that's the point of this thread. How do you beat a team of poptart snipers, tactically?

I have some suggestions, but beating a good crew running this is A LOT easier said than done. We got caught flatfooted everytime we faced this... either caught in the open, or in a poor position that we couldn't do any kind of maneuvering without them seeing it. And that, I think, is going to be the key here. Your team is going to have do something creative to knock them off their game, going shot for shot (unless you're running the same loadouts) is going to get you killed. I didn't realize they were likely all running XL's at the time, so I guess keep that in mind. I'm absolutely open to suggestions from anyone who's managed to beat them.

[JokerVictor]

What, has nobody beaten them?

[DrBlue62]

XL 280
PPC's in side torsos.
3-4 tons of gauss. Nearly full armor.

I have 300k In the 3D. This other guy I know has 600k.

[Congzilla]

They look awesome crashing to the ground when you shoot them out of the sky.

[JokerVictor]

DrBlue62, on 07 February 2013 - 09:30 AM, said:

XL 280
PPC's in side torsos.
3-4 tons of gauss. Nearly full armor.

I have 300k In the 3D. This other guy I know has 600k.

How many jump jets you use?

Edited by JokerVictor, 07 February 2013 - 09:33 AM.

[Bilbo]

Sounds like you had no idea where the were until they started plinking you. I'd start there.

[JokerVictor]

Bilbo, on 07 February 2013 - 09:31 AM, said:

Sounds like you had no idea where the were until they started plinking you. I'd start there.

I'll be the first to admit we had no idea what we were up against. By the time we did we were already screwed. In the last match we did manage to drop one of them, and killed most of their pugs. But, they had won the damage race while we were getting our sh*t together.

[Death Weasel]

My team ran into this as well over the last few days.
Two victories and two defeats.
Movement and tactics were the key. (We were running a majority of brawler mechs and all were close matches.)
Flanking, cover, and focus fire.

[Vassago Rain]

They're not a problem.

[DrBlue62]

JokerVictor, on 07 February 2013 - 09:31 AM, said:

How many jump jets you use?

Four.

[Lusankya]

I started using the CTF-3D over the weekend just to try out the jumping mechanics of the game and see if I would have as much fun as I did while playing MW4 and driving a jumping Thanatos. It came close but the jumping felt kind of sluggish and having the PPC's in the arms takes a little time to get used to.

Then the patch came out and now I am loving the jumpjets with the CTF-3D . The only real downside to using one though is that it is pretty weak using the XL engine. So you do have to be careful while using it because if your opponents are smart and know what to look for and see your jumping Cataphract then you could be in trouble.

[chiXnhawk]

It's not hard to counter. Finding them first is the biggest start.

[JokerVictor]

Vassago Rain, on 07 February 2013 - 09:38 AM, said:

They're not a problem.

Well that's great to say, any suggestions? Like, what was your team running at the time?

[Apnu]

I saw them last night, didn't bother me. I did the same thing I did in MW4 with poptarts.

1) Battlefield awareness. Know where they are.

2) use cover to get close and put them down hard. Terrain is your friend.

[Greyfyl]

MW4 says hello. I would suggest PGI do something quickly, it should be VERY difficult to aim accurately while using jump jets. If this game devolves into the pop-tarting contests that were prevelant in MW4 I won't be hanging around much longer.

And yes, I saw this tactic being used by 'teams' for the first time last night as well.

[MischiefSC]

Only a few positions on any map are good for this. It also requires them to be in areas more exposed (open from behind) than what an LRM boat can park at.

I rather like it. It starts to open up wider tactical options like sending scouts to harass. These mech designs are not as strong for fighting lights as more missile heavy or laser heavy builds.

It also adds more value to scouting ahead of time. You need to know, more than ever, what the location and makeup of the enemy is. Missile boating/ECM is all rather passive. You've either got it or you don't. Have it? You're fine. Don't? You're screwed. most other tactics just comprise some form of rush or another.

What I hope we're seeing is the start of more complicated tactics. Sniper builds built around more than just boating.

My hope is that in the long run better game balance will make min/max builds less appealing, blob rushing less effective and boating less valuable.

[INSEkT L0GIC]

Ran into some last night. I was in my light running circles around them. Heavier brawlers then closed in while I had them distracted.

No ECM on their side so they didn't see the approach. They wasted all their alpha strikes trying to hit me so they were wiped fairly quickly.

Edit: Both maps were Forest.

Edited by INSEkT L0GIC, 07 February 2013 - 09:57 AM.

[JokerVictor]

Greyfyl, on 07 February 2013 - 09:48 AM, said:

MW4 says hello. I would suggest PGI do something quickly, it should be VERY difficult to aim accurately while using jump jets. If this game devolves into the pop-tarting contests that were prevelant in MW4 I won't be hanging around much longer.

And yes, I saw this tactic being used by 'teams' for the first time last night as well.

I never said nerf it. Every strategy has a counter, we were just unprepared. We won't be the next time.

Oh and, thanks for the suggestions everyone.

[SpiralRazor]

Greyfyl, on 07 February 2013 - 09:48 AM, said:

MW4 says hello. I would suggest PGI do something quickly, it should be VERY difficult to aim accurately while using jump jets. If this game devolves into the pop-tarting contests that were prevelant in MW4 I won't be hanging around much longer.

And yes, I saw this tactic being used by 'teams' for the first time last night as well.

I would suggest you practice on how to cope quickly. If you think they are OP, you need to learn to play better.

[chiXnhawk]

KaoS has been using 3D's like this since they came out. We wrote the offence book and the counter book.