One of the most difficult vehicles to pilot in the game is the light mech. Sure they move fast and are hard to hit but when they do get hit things can go very very wrong, especially when running up against the bigger mechs in the game. One of the MWO Community, Sandpit, put together a pretty good introduction guide on how to pilot a light mech! We've included it below for new players to look at and gain ideas from. I just wanted to put in some basic info about the light mech piloting and tactics. Piloting a light mech: Generally your speed is your savior in these mechs. I have taken on an Atlas 1v1 and come out victorious more often than I've lost that duel. Circle and stay in tight and the slow moving assault simply can't keep up and track you with their weapon systems. So generally you want to keep moving and use that agility to keep you out of trouble. You have tighter a much tighter turning radius and can keep from getting shot. EDITORS NOTE: While this tactic of cricle strafe can work, almost without fail, it is highly recommended that against larger mechs you simply use your speed to stay in their rear quarter and attack the back armor. Currently it is impossible for a battlemech to tell what is behind it, nor can they fire any rear arc weapons. Each time you cricle a mech you place yourself almost directly within his field of fire, even if just for a second. Stay out of sight! Live through the fight! Scouting: One of the most common mistakes made by scouts is thinking they need to run right in and over commit in order to obtain target information for their team. This is not a good tactic in general. You will quickly get hammered if you run headlong into the entire enemy team quickly getting picked off and leaving your team a man down. Think of scouting as being a ninja and sneaking up to see which direction the main force is coming from. Once you've made contact your job is done for the most part. Your goal here is to just determine where they are attacking and/or making sure your team doesn't get flanked while setting up in a certain spot on the map Skirmishing: There are several hats that a light wears if you're skirmishing. One of the most important is making sure enemy lights don't get in behind your heavy hitters. When one of your big boys starts calling for help you should peel off and start making that enemy light concentrate on you instead of shredding rear armor and freeing up your support and brawlers to concentrate on enemy big guns. Remember, you are the best defense for your bigger counterparts. If you've taken out the enemy scouts or their scouts are pulling back this is your chance to shine. Remember what I said about shredding that rear armor? This is your chance to turn the tables. Once the main engagement has started and their big mechs are concentrating fire on your teammates you can slip in behind their snipers and LRM boats. Now if they continue firing on your teammates you'll bring down just about any mech within a few seconds concentrating fire on their rear armor. If they swing around to fire on you then start the circling until you start getting hammered (this is when you use your speed to find cover and get to safety) This pulls heavy gun fire away from your teammates (Who are still pounding away on them) and gives them a chance to take down those big guns. Just don't over commit and be smart about pulling back because a dead pilot isn't going to help your team at all. Spotting: If you are set on being a target finder I'd recommend using a TAG (at least until NARCs are fixed) and calling out targets for your support mechs. A TAG will increase the accuracy of friendly LRMs and as long as you keep it centered on the enemy mech you'll be surprised at how fast the enemy gets cored. Even if you don't have TAG you can spot enemies and keep them in LOS so your support mechs can target and bring the rain Base Defense: This is one of your most important functions on the field. As a light pilot you are one of the few that are fast enough to return to base if someone slips in and starts capping. As long as your toes are in that magical red box it stops the capture timer from counting down. Force the enemy to move around and slow down that cap and give someone time to move back and help you out (if they are capping with a bigger mech) Base Capture: A lot of times you can ninja your way into the enemy cap point. This causes a few things to happen. Obviously it will start the capture countdown allowing you to win the game. It also causes them to pull mechs back from the fight to push you off of their base. This splits their forces allowing your team a numerical advantage in the main battle. This is by no means an end all be all of tactics or strategies but in general I think it's a good guide and starting off points for those learning to use light mechs. With XL engines and custom builds there are other weight classes that will match lights for speed in the heavier mechs and everyone will have their own playstyle but this should give a good idea of how to utilize a light in battle and hope you guys enjoy! There's a pretty limited amount of tips and strategies so I thought I would do a few as I have time. Feedback (constructive) is always appreciated! Original Article Author: Sandpit Discussion Thread: HERE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuSEx14KUGM
Solid guide, the Editor's notes especially. First thing I think about when building a Light 'Mech is: "Will it kill my opposing counterpart?" If you can't kill the opposing light, he will likely kill you or cockblock your efforts to gather intel/support your team.
Only if they come after you. However, yeah, great write up for newer pilots that haven't messed with lights much before. Well done sir.
On the subject of base capture: this is a great idea if the brawl is already occuring or immenant; it is a terrible idea if the teams are just exchanging PPC fire and wasting LRM ammo into buildings and hills. In the later scenario, the enemy team will all fall back, kill the lights, and then go into the brawl with an advantage. One trick I've learned is to use quick hops with jets while in a skirmish to allow me to suddenly turn at an odd angle or at least slow my speed real fast to increase my turn rate. Lazn, your post makes a lot of sense. I've played with different builds while levelling spiders, and come to the conclusion that there really isn't much reason to go with these outlandish wannabe-brawler or wannabe-sniper builds on a light. Doing so just makes you chum for when the other lights come after you. Building a light mech, I like to use the biggest XL engine I can and make sure the legs are fully armored. Generally some combination of SLs, MLs, or MPLs mixed in with SSRMs for armament. ECM mandatory if the chassis can fit it. While it is really a Medium mech, the Cicada can be considered a light with respect to this guide due to it's size and speed.
What are some tactics that are usefull against other lights. Better still, what is your favorite tactic in a light vs light engagement.
My favorite tactic is to goad the enemy just enough to ensure he follows me...into my lance's brawlers! Or to work with another light 'mech and attack them from two different directions, making constant passes....the frustration is almost tangible. Myth.
I've mainly played the Spider, but I'm looking at branching out soon to the other lights (probably going Commando-Jenner-Raven). When I buy an engine, here is my basic template: 1) If light, buy biggest XL engine that will fit. 2) If medium or heavy, and not putting AC/20 in side torso, buy an XL engine either 255, 280, or 300+ (in multiples of 25) which will let me place the equipment I want. 3) If putting an AC/20 in side torso, or on an assault, grab a STD engine rated a multiple of 25 that will let me place the equipment I want. Applying specifically to Lights, I'm wondering if I should ammend this a bit; take out rule 1, and make Rule 2 "If light, medium, or heavy..." Looking at Jenner builds I can make them work easy with a 300 XL, Raven would be iffy but doable with a 295, but Commando is where I start to run into problems... The reason for multiples of 25 is because it gives me nice points that I can use the same engine on multiple chassis, just swap out between fights.
I've also noticed Grimm and Wispsy use this tactic when they have someone chasing them. They will run for or around cover and once they have a little seperation, they will duck behind a hill or building and wait for the enemy to pass them by and get on the enemies six. If in the open try to bob and weave, do a quick half circle and suddenly stop, the enemy will either be in front of you and or run past you and you can be the chaser. Hehehe
Yes, these are also excellent tactics. If you are a good pilot and able to remain glued to your enemies backside, the frustration they experience usually leads to mistakes on their part; the kill is almost garaunteed. Myth.h34r: Post Script: If you are an unlucky sod with the likes of me glued to your back, and you are piloting a jump capable 'mech; you may want to try this: Hit your engine stop key ("X" in most cases), followed immediately by your Jump Jets (Short tap, enough to clear persuits head), then accelerate back up to speed behind the enemy 'mech, Alpha, Alpha, Alpha! Too Easy!
You guys are talking about dueling tactics and yes those work great but when you are in a circle jerk pitched battle things like this get thrown at the window. If you are 1v1 and you KNOW your enemy, you know how he moves, you know where he is positioned at all times then you can pull this kind of stuff but if you are in a 2v1 or 3v1 or even in the middle of an 8v8 free for all you better keep moving and you better be fluid because if you get tunnel vision and remain glued to your enemy you will be toast. Things to remember. COMMUNICATION: You are not the only one who has TeamSpeak. He can call in reinforcements to work you over while you attempt to work him over. In fact chances are you should just learn to accept this and plan accordingly. Tunnel vision or "one track mind" type chasing can get you killed. Know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. MOVEMENT: In 1v1 combat you can pull all kinds of shake and bake, stop and drop type moves and they work great. Pull that in a free for all and you will be dead dead dead. Speed is life and if you have stopped moving someone is gonna drop a dime on you before you can blink. Usually it's that sniper from 1200 meters out that you didn't know was there and he is toting 2x Gauss or ERPPC; just waiting for you to slow down long enough that he doesn't have to worry about your lateral velocity. PLANNING: You can plan little traps if you know a map well enough; In one of the MechSpecsTV videos I show a trap I set out on Caustic Valley in my JR7-F. The thing about plans is they rarely survive contact with the enemy so always have a backup and you better learn to be automatic when switching from one to the other. This takes a little mental training; if you are a cop, military, firefighter (like me) or paramedic or whatever and are used to switching gears at a moments notice this comes easy but if you don't have that kind of training sometimes you will get so fixated on your plan that when it fails you wonder WTF happened. Analyze, Adapt, Overcome (and do all of this while running at 152kph).
If you lack discipline and or situational awareness then I would have to agree; that being said, if you are aware of your surroundings, the mini map, the locations of your team mates and the number of 'mechs you are actually engaged with then 1v1 tactics work as well as any other, 3v1 etc... (They are one and the same.) It should also be said that not all tactics will work all of the time, you need to have a great many weapons at your disposal. Remember, your mind is the most important weapon available to you. You are absolutely correct when you say that no plan survives the first shot down range; without a plan however, you have lost before you start your engines. There are still very few of us with access to organized units etc... where we have the benefit of 8 man drops and dedicated teammates, unless we are willing or able to devote a great deal of time and energy to them. The expectations for training and commitment seem to outweigh the want or need for fun, in most cases. Because of this, I believe it is important to arm yourself with all of the skills and ideas you can and then you rely on what you have learned to pull you through the many PUG matches you have to play. When you are wrong, thank God it is only a game.
