Hey guys. I recently came back to MWO (can't keep me away) and I noticed a huge difference in the amount of damage Strikes are doing. Whereas they used to be 35 damage per shell, now they are 165 damage per shell, which seems rather extreme. So I decided to conduct a test/challenge. THE CHALLENGE: To use no damaging weapons in a match, and instead to drop only 2 strikes (can be either Artillery, or Air, or both). The idea is to see how much damage can be achieved with well-placed strikes alone. Of course, finding the most opportune locations for strikes often requires unique positioning, so I decided the best way to achieve this goal would be to use Stealth Armor/ECM. And, to still be of use to my team, I figured I'd bring a couple NARCs along as well, and maybe a TAG. A similar result can be achieved on a Commando-2D, but with only 1 NARC, and no TAG. The builds can be adjusted to suit individual preferences, in the end this challenge is merely about doing damage with only 2 Strikes, and to see how much damage can actually be achieved. (As such, keep in mind that the Small Lasers in these builds are only there because the game won't let you drop into a match unless you have some sort of damage on your 'Mech.) For myself, I'll be field-testing this concept using the Raven, mostly because I don't own the Commando. Obviously the latter will be more efficient for Stealth Armor, as it is so much smaller; but for this challenge, it doesn't really matter how long you survive, so long as you manage to drop 2 well-placed Strikes. Final note concerning skills: you can use whatever skills you like concerning Strikes, including "Enhanced Spotting", if you so choose. (I understand there are varying arguments on the pros and cons of that skill anyway.) The only rule is that you only use 2 strikes for damage.
I’m at work, but this is exactly the kind of self-loathing that I can enjoy. I’ll post results as soon as I get them.
Interesting! I hadn't even considered that, and although they technically do "damage" (ahem, cough cough, yeah right) I think they'd be allowed.
Something looks funky with the C-bill rewards. Does PGI not reward strike damage with C-bills? 35,651 seems really low for a winning match with 877 damage and it doesn't match the total.
Assuming he hit all 8 rock huggers each time, it comes out to about 55 damage per mech hit. "Learn 2 strike noobz!" - Ruludos probably
That's not the total. He probably hit the screenshot while the numbers were still counting up. You can see the total cbills is 305632.
Well, I have a feeling the challenge is over. On a tangent, how scary is it that it's possible to deal near 900 damage from 2 airstrikes?
I'm seeing this in my mind and thinking, "But what about air strikes?" If 8 assists = 877... I think there is the potential for 1,000+. I wish I had numbers on the max damage Long Tom did in a Faction Play match.
I think it's possible as well. I was only off by about 70 damage per strike; one more assault in the blast could have pushed it over the mark. I didn't expect this to be so legitimately entertaining; I'll keep going and see if I can get a better game.
Ok, I did NOT expect such amazing results so soon! My best after 10ish rounds is still the 199 I posted earlier. But then again, I honestly really suck at strike-positioning. (Life goals . . .) Anyway, M-A-S-S-I-V-E shoutout and show of hands to Ruludos, that is amazing, dude!!! I'm both impressed and thrilled! The hype is real. This is EXACTLY the reason I came up with this challenge, because I wanted to see how ridiculous it could possibly be. My goal was to hit something in the range of 600-800, and the fact @Ruludos has already cleared that is immensely satisfying to me. Also, by no means do I consider the challenge over, as the new goal is now to hit 1k. In fact, I'll give 10 bucks to the first person to show me a video of them doing 1k damage with only 2 strikes. (And yes, I mean 10.00 USD, not Canadian dollars. Cuz let's be real, nobody wants those, right?) Same rules apply as before, but for the video I will need to see the match from start ('Mech drop/startup is fine) to finish (when the music plays), simply to verify the origin of the damage. The transfer would be by Paypal. Also, if I somehow manage to accomplish this before anyone else does, the offer would be off the table. (I do think that is very unlikely though; I need alot of practice with strikes.)
I haven't had a lot of success over the past couple of days, with no games over 500 damage. I've abandoned the idea of a no-damage build, mostly because it is obvious within the first couple of minutes whether a 1K strike is possible or not. If the enemy team is spreading out to any extent then it's simply not worth dropping the airstrikes and I move into a more traditional role (i.e. I stop fishing for strike targets and start actually fighting the enemy). For everyone else trying, I think that Domination is the gamemode where high damage strikes will be most likely. It's the only gamemode that pushes the two teams together, and terrain will often limit viable positioning even more. Vote for Domination as often as you can (with Frozen Domination and Crimson Domination being the only exceptions off the top of my head). Good hunting!
It's a good point about finding matches where it's actually possible, I've noticed the same alot of mine. Unless you get lucky with the enemy's positioning at the get-go, it's usually pretty obvious the match isn't gonna work. In which case it is probably best to have a decent build, so you can at that point continue to function for your team in a normal capacity. Still dedicated to trying for that 1k match though.
Best I was able to do in 4 tries was 64 damage with 128 team damage. Damn airstrike hit an invisible wall and came down right on top of us. Team did win 3 out of 4 matches though.
