Light Mech Combat Tactics and Gameplay

[@Hephaestus5032]

I enjoy the extra firepower that comes from having 6 lasers. I have a unique fire/cycle system that allows me to average 450 dmg per game and doesn't cause me to overheat. The three lasers in the left arm are in cycle mode and are fired with the left mouse button. The other three lasers, which are in the right arm, are also in cycle mode and are fired with the right mouse button. When I engage an enemy, I fire both of my weapon groups at the same time. This effectivly gives me 3 weapon groups.

[@zink1701]

Fantastic tutorial thanks, I enjoy the light Mech's the most and i have tried all the tactics you have shown. My score has gone way up and my deaths have dropped a hell of a lot :D

[@jedirevan7593]

One thing I have done is use the TAG to call in targets. It doesn't get as much credit as is due because of the low amount of damage but if you hang out by a fire fight making it easier for the LRMs to hit enemy mechs or (only did this twice since the opportunity is highly circumstantial) stumble across the enemy LRM mechs and stand there targeting without giving away your position. Both of these are support roles that could help to change the course of a battle.

[@danieldyer8280]

I've been playing on my locust for a few days, I use mostly guerilla tactics and the camper. I also use the power down tactic for when I'm being chased, I go around a corner and power down in the corner and pray they don't see me xD

[@zameliz]

You should also use a trick called the "X turn", once you hit X (default button) your mech decelerates fast and allows you to do sharp turn, then you just accelerate fast and get back to your top speed. This works well on light mechs due to their weight so they can accelerate fast, ofc having those skills mastered helps lot in this too. This manouver takes about 1sec to perform.

[@hot2warm]

I'm new to the current generation of Mechwarrior and the one thing I have noticed is the gross over-power and potential of the light mechs. In the old Mechwarrior 2 days, it was extremely difficult for a light mech to take on anything other than another light mech. Nowadays, light mechs are usually the last ones standing, with single light mechs taking out heavier mechs fairly easily and absorbing a lot of non-alpha strike hits in the meantime. I find this ludicrous compared to the old game. I've seen ravens sporting ER PPCs and huge lasers and not getting over heat warnings/shut down each time it fires. That's crazy! And no apparent loss of speed due to damage either? Those are my two biggest gripes about Mechwarrior Online.

[@c0nstantin86]

MechWarrior 2? wasn't that an old game? I played MechWarrior 4 in campaign mode and 5 in Demo. Am i missing on a new streak of games? I know that 5 was last and then i found MWO...

[@MechSpecsTV]

c0nstantin86 Mechwarrior Online is the latest iteration of the MechWarrior series. As far as I know there is no other Mechwarrior games out there.

[@hot2warm]

c0nstantin86 MechWarrior 2 was around 1995. There was an expansion Pack in 1995 called Ghost Bear's Legacy, but you needed to have MechWarrior 2 in order to use the expansion pack.

[@hot2warm]

I hear ya. I watched a Raven with 2 Large Pulse lasers firing simultaneously not overheat in 3 minutes of combat action. I have used dual LPLs in several other weight classes and can hardly keep it from overheating after 3 or 4 bursts. That's with weapon cooling modules, and more double heat sinks than a light can carry.

[@c0nstantin86]

MechSpecsTV​ hot2warm​ thanks fellow warriors >:d< I played "Lore" on "InstantAction" website untill they went bankrupt :3 that was so fun. Now i've migrated to Android since my pc burnt up. Tried Linux before. Hope I can find some mech games on Google Market. I have Ardeno 330 gpu on my Xperia Z ultra tablet and I want to stress it a bit xD

[@Hephaestus5032]

The Pros of this set up are: -More lasers = more damage -3 weapon groups = less heat -Only using the left and right mouse button = improved accuracy (I find that clicking a 3rd or 4th mouse button, normaly located on the side of a mouse, destroys my accuracy)

[@VanBurenPhilips]

Hey I found this video so interesting I nearly burned my crumpets.

[@Keh0ol]

one important addition i'd make concerning light mech combat: do not use your jump jets excessively.. being on a ballistic flightpath high up in the air turns any light mech into a big red bullseye use em in short bursts to change direction mid run or to get behind cover quickly.. never to try and dodge enemy fire it does exactly the opposite.. in order to do that it's best to run up and down sloped terrain... very irritating that for anyone trying to anticipate the movement of your mech

[@timwest4505]

Keh0ol Engine size, affects both speed and torso twist speed... This is the same whether in the air or on the ground (watch your minimap...) the only difference being that when in the air you continue heading the same direction as you turn, instead of making a small circle (when on ground). Chain firing lasers is EXCELLENT when chasing a spider or similar as it keeps hitting them and adds to the panic... Also really useful on Therma and Caustic as you can fire for much longer before overheating... ( I do generally keep em off chain though)

[@Skochtape]

If you have 4 medium lasers, set to cycle, the firing time is just a tad bit shorter than the recharge time. So, in essence, you can fire continuously with no pauses in between the last and first laser in the cycle. Now I don't know about Light or Heavy lasers, but I'm sure about mediums. Plus, if you're running a Jenner with no jump jets and without an AMS, you can fit in enough heat sinks to fire continuously for a very long period of time without overheating.

[@Oberon117]

I really enjoyed this vid, as a current gen Mechwarrior noob this video has helped me regain a slight bit of skill when it comes to light mechs :P And would you say that the spider is a good mech to use as a light pilot?

[@zameliz]

I fins JJ's useful when you are running straigt towards an enemy mech and jump suddenly and fly over them, it mostly makes enemy miss you completely.

[@seiyachan]

where did this map go? they should keep all the maps available for choosing.

[@silverhawk7324]

I can consistently hit 500+ damage in a Arctic Cheetah with 6 Small lasers, 800+ if I really try and get a little lucky. The key is not to go in the front lines and play as an assassin. I ditched the small pulse lasers for some more sustained damage since my tracking skills have improved.

[@jimb5246]

Blast from the past

[@MythicalCrusaders]

Im currently playing mechwarrior in 2015. and honestly i think there UI has took many steps back words. this UI looks way more streamed line and being new to the game it felt like a lot of data and stuff was thrown at you when using the UI. what happened mech warrior

[@Keh0ol]

that's only useful if other mechs aren't focusing on you however because otherwise it turns you into that big red bullseye again but yeah it works especially in one on one situations against very big mechs

[@Skochtape]

You don't need 6 medium lasers on a Jenner. Sure it's nice if you want to fire everything, but if you're just dishing out sustained fire with cycled weapons, 4 medium lasers is all you need to never stop to recharge. Which means more armor, or an AMS, every bit counts on a light.

[@possumridgeentertainment4614]

Legging isn't as common? When I'm in my Firestarter 98% of my losses come from opponents focusing strictly on my legs.

[@kwkrnu72]

And you'd be smart, to pick up similar strategy against heavier mechs, you have left leg armor thin, to fit more ammo and guns. Your first shots against an enemy mech, regardless of size, should be toward the legs, to gauge how much armor they have. If it's thin, stay on the legs. If it's not, get in the back.

[@Keh0ol]

turn rate is not influenced by mech speed all that does is leave you completely vulnerable while you turn... rather use jumpjets for sudden turns while being in motion

[@blueonblack83]

Nice! Thanks.

[@lumpy1space2princess]

Re: hot2warm Yeah, those guys must've jad alot of heat sinks.

[@jamesparsley5796]

thanks

[@Keh0ol]

staying behind an enemy is not really a tactic that's just a standard mechwarrior combat exercise.. you'll always want to be behind your enemy rather than in front :P

[@Keh0ol]

there really is no point in sequence firing lasers unless you're very close to overheating x_x sequence firing lasers just means you have to lead your target all the time in order to hit it with all the lasers whereas firing all lasers at once will result in you only having to lead your target for a fraction of the time.. as an added bonus all the fired lasers converge on the same spot thus damaging the same component.. when sequence firing you'll spread your damage much more evenly

[@yoanrivallain2977]

The Mechwarior's series was very good game's... Now in enter in MWO, what's the best mech ? light's ?

[@elorrambasdo5233]

Heavy/medium is current meta

[@MechSpecsTV]

You are welcome to run your Spider or Commando into my Centurion head on and see what your status will be ;) Before the current (and temporary) nerf, the 3x SRM6 of my CN9-A would implode Commando and Spiders in single attack using 2x MLas + 3x SRM6.

[@rhadiem]

A 116kph light mech (like the Jenner shown) is a slow light mech in 2014 standards. You can get 150kph with speed tweak on a Jenner F and 6 ML. I know this video is last year, and changes happen, just fwiw for new viewers. A Death Knell Commando can do 171kph that will run circles around this jenner and still have 4 ML.

[@MechSpecsTV]

Indeed. Would love to go back and update this video just haven't had the time.

[@kwkrnu72]

The Commando is a crap mech...always has been, and always will be, even with the extra speed, they get eaten alive by Jenners and Firestarters alike. And yes...anything less than 145 kph in a light, and you're cannon fodder. May as well not even log on, because you aren't doing your team any good.

[@rhadiem]

kwkrnu72 The commando is a great mech for what it does. It's extremely fast, agile and good for scouting and skirmishing and hard to hit. It just takes a lot of practice with this ultra-light 25 ton mech that plays pretty differently than the heaviest 35 ton mechs.

[@kwkrnu72]

It's outmatched by Jenners and Firestarters. There's a reason they don't get used in competitive play. Even Spiders have been used in the past. But I have yet, in 2 1/2 years of playing competitively, seen a commando take the field during a match. In public queue matches, it may have a place as a fast scout...just hope you don't run into another light pilot with any skill. = )

[@rhadiem]

kwkrnu72 171kph vs 149 ;) But if you mean literally running into the face of a SPL FS9a, then yes that's bad news. Commandos aren't meant to fight other lights as much as harass Assaults. A 140s Commando is dead meat though, I agree.

[@thebaumfaeller1477]

I would say never circle an Atlas or rather never circle anyting that is armed with srm

[@Skochtape]

But I guess you should take that with a grain of salt, as I haven't been online in almost a month, and they might have tweaked the firing and recharge duration.

[@MechSpecsTV]

I would say that you should try a variety of mechs and then utilize what YOU are most comfortable in! Work around your strengths and not that of others ;)

[@Hephaestus5032]

I respectfuly disagree. I find that I need 6 lasers to keep firing on the enemy

[@Leonhardt04]

Are you Paladin Danse

[@TheHelix123]

not a commando a spider.

[@Uatemysoul]

stupid midget mechs always getting a jump on me.