This is where we teach you cadets how to use your Battlemech to its fullest potential... These are the tricks the true Mech Aces use to take down their opponents. Above all the other lessons, heed this one the most, because no matter what the situation, no matter what the opposition, these tactics and information WILL save your life.
Weapons
Machine guns can do hella damage if you have alot of them, and they are linked. Look at this: Say you have 10 machine guns on your mech. Each does 2 damage points. If you put them all in the same group, then group fire them, every .5 seconds the target of the attack gets *20* points of damage. This is as much as one hit from an AC/20, and the machine guns, while having a MUCH shorter range, the ammo is much lighter. (One ton of MG ammo is 200 shots, 1 ton of AC/20 is 5 shots.)
Flamers, on their own, are not a very effective weapon. They overheat your mech quickly. BUT, as a last line of defence, they are an INCREDIBLE offensive weapon. A Flamer in the head of a battlemech will stay with your mech until you die. If you are getting cut up, and you are down to just the flamer, begin to approach the enemy. When in range, let fly. Most Mechwarriors don't notice right away and almost IMMEDIATELY overheat their Mech. Then, slowly but surely keep the heat on. I've beaten completely fresh mechs using this tactic, even when down to no weapons but the Flamer. Also, the flamer is one of the few weapons that can be used effectively after you've lost a leg. Change the camera to external view, rotate your torso all the way left or right, then use mech chassis turn to get the enemy more or less in front of your flamer. Then just spray in the general direction. The nice thing about the flamer is if you just nick him, he still catches flame.
Lasers come in 2 flavors and 3 sizes. If you are a good shot, linked, group fired standard lasers (any size) are the lasers for you. If your aim is a little less than perfect, or you plan on doing alot of running (ligher mechs) your best bet is pulse weapons chain-fired. 3 Medium Lasers group fired do ALOT of damage. A good shot can occasionally take an arm right off... and it will usually reduce their armor to yellow. Pulse lasers fired quickly can REALLY take a mech apart... even a light mech, with 3 small pulse lasers (for instance, the Dart) can take out an Atlas if the pilot keeps the fire button firing and the mech moving. Note: Large lasers, while producing alot of heat, are better than PPCs most of the time. Large Lasers group fired can REALLY ventilate a mech, in fact, a light (and even some medium) mechs will fall from one group fire of 2 large lasers.
Autocannons are pretty strong weapons, but don't think your gonna take on the iLKhan with one. You have to have a crack shot to use one effectively, and any mech that mounts one (excluding small 2 and 5 models) won't have much else in the way of weapons, so be cautioned when taking a mech with one. You can't count on them in a pinch.
These are powerful, heat producing, and are a toss-up. If you have the heat-sinks, and have 2 or more linked, you can inflict jumpshipload of damage to a mech. They distribute damage oddly though, and they arn't very good for precise targeting. Also remember that they are one of the few weapons that travel slowly, so you really have to lead your target to use them effectively.
Long Range Missiles in ANY salvo size are the perfect weapon for beginners, novice mech pilots, and defender mechs. This is for one very important reason. They almost NEVER miss their targets, as long as you wait for the lock to fire. Linking a couple of LRM20's won't only damage an enemy target, but will disorent him because when you fire LRMs, alot of alarms go off, the mech rocks in all directions, and generally messes him up.
SRMs are good weapons if you can fire them at the right time, and the right time is hard to determine. Once they are in range, just spread the missiles towards the enemy. It is hard to hit the mech with ALL the missiles, but because they do splash damage, as long as they hit close, you're doing damage.
** Inferno SRMs... If you can hit with these, they have the same effect as Flamers, and they don't cause you the heat that flamers do. If you have a few launchers (read: 4 or more) you can blow mechs easily, if you have a steady shot (or are using Streaks). Don't link them though, the heat doesn't accumulate right... just fire one after another, and the enemy will be fryed.
** Streak SRMs... These fall under the same general rules as LRMs, but don't have the range. Otherwise, the same rules apply as LRMs.
These are a real challenge to use, but used effectively, can do alot of damage. Don't rely on them to get you out of a battle fast, and DON'T count on them close range. They do no damage when you're at 250m or less. The ammo cost is tremendous, (7 shots a ton) and the weapon is huge, but a capable Mechwarrior can use it to good effect. My suggestion: Train yourself in its use in a simulator before you use it on the battlefield.
This is a great weapon for the first minute or so of battle. But DO NOT DOUBT that you WILL lose this weapon right when the real combat starts. The weapon is extremely large (takes up slots in both the arm AND in the torso) and therefore the first shot through your armor will more than likely take it out. Also, if the enemy has AMS, it becomes a useless hindrance. Most likely should only be used by a defender mech or a mech that isn't going to get into close range battle very often.
AMS is a great system for any mech. If you are on teams, the best mechs to have carry it are the Defender and Attacker mechs. The flanker shouldn't need it because he usually won't be a primary target of enemy fire until he is at close range, and at close range AMS isn't as effective as it is at long range. AMS is VERY important if you think you may be facing an enemy with Arrow IV.
Ok in the simultator, but not worth the effort in real combat. Supposed to make locking of weapons easier by having missiles *home in* on the NARC beacon, but it is too much of a hassle in real combat. Recommended only for mechs who's only weapons are NARC-compatible missiles.
Lag
When fighting your battles over a network, what you see might not exactly represent what is going on. Because of lag (a fact of life on the Internet) you may be firing behind your opponent and not even know it.
Depending on when and where you play, you may need to aim anywhere frorm 1 to *10* Mech-Lengths ahead of your opponent to hit him. It all depend on the number of players and the speed of your connection. If you are firing on target and showing no damage against the enemy, it is most likely that you are expericing lag.
Now, this is all well and good, but it gets worse from here. Sometimes you WILL be hitting your enemy, and it will look as if you arn't from your viewscreen, but you can tell he's taking damage. This is good, it means your on target.
And Finally, it gets even WORSE. Sometimes, it will appear that you arn't hitting your target, and it WON'T show damage on the enemy mech... and you ARE hitting him. This is enough to drive the best Mechwarriors to the brink, but if you wanna stay alive, you'll have to get used to it.
Now remember, if you are firing at a mech walking TOWARDS you, you don't need to do much of anything, because a mech even 10 lengths ahead of one walking forward is still directly in front of you.
We will be holding LIVE weapons training specifically to train Mechwarriors in lag, and how to deal with it. This is THE hardest part of truely becoming more than just a average mechwarrior. Once you can handle lag in all its forms, you transend to the ranks of the elite.
A Word from the Clans
This message was forwarded to us via ComStar - the sender being Elias Crichell from the Clans.
I doubt that we would have ever received this message message if Waterly was still Primus, but here it is in its entirety:
Origin: <classified>
Sender: Crichell, E. <SID: Adept Winston>
HPG Protocol: Type MESSAGE/TXT
Priority: High
So far, the Inner Sphere, despite doing an admirable job of showing the depths to which honorless craven curs will descend to protect their mangy hides, has shown little or no combat ability. General advice is well and good, but we tend to assume the skills are already present in anyone worthy of the warrior mantle. The true test of mettle comes in their utilization. There are three things a warrior cannot afford to bid away in any given battle: His intelligence, his courage, and his skill. Other than that, be flexible. But above all, do not underbid. The batchall is of utmost importance. I have watched many far more skilled warriors than any the Inner Sphere has ever produced die in Solahma units, or languish as Dezgra, because they bid poorly. In the open, observe carefully the conditions. Do you fight on a desert world? Is the locale a plateau, or are there merely arctic wastelands? These are just as important as observing the tonnages of the participating mechs. A Nova, while the Nova Cats display untoward loyalty to the design, are a poor choice on tropical or desert worlds. Similarly, your Surturr special Summoner mod will have undue difficulty building its opponent's heat levels to critical levels when the temperature approaches the low kelvins. Perhaps you are loyal to one mech. This is an avowed Inner Sphere weakness, one we clans, with no true personal ownership of our Omnis, avoid. You must release these unwarrior-like attachments. Choose your weapons with care, or choose your burial plot thusly. In the end, it matters not to me which you decide.....
Though some of the terms may be foreign to you, the point of the message is that you should decide what type of Mech to pilot based on what type of environment you will be using it in. Most of you House Regulars should be able to make this choice, so long as your House has the Mechs in the same regiment to which you are assigned. You mercenaries, on the other hand, may not have this same option, but you may be able to afford customization that will allow your Mech to operate well within its desigated environs.
Personal Strategies
If your in a smaller mech 25 tons to about 35 what I like to do is remove all the weapons from the arms and put 2 medium lasers in the torso...2 in the left torso 2 in the right and one in the head. It is VERY effective when group fired all at once. I usually use the Commando mech with that exact setup and rarely lose a battle. Next tip is..Rotate your torso all the way to the left and circle the enemy mechs while lending them some of your excess Medium lasers. It seems to work very well.
Shawn Ghost
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If you can get inferno SSRM-2's do so. Launching off 4 packs of them quickly change a Flee or Fight position to a Flee or Fry. As most mechwarrior players tend to run at near critical heat in a melee, this can explode mechs fast!
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I like to take along at least two AC/2 or UAC/2s, and 3 tons of ammo. With a steady trigger finger and patience, I can take the arms off of most 'Mechs before they come into range with their own weapons. Although I have notice you don't always get their weapons (most folks have moved those to the torso) you get heat sinks, which is just as good in most cases. Switch to SPLas and Mach Guns for close in work, and !viola!, the kills add up.
LongRifle
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Got an Autocannon/20? Get rid of it! Now your saying, "Why would I do that? It's an awesome weapon!" HAH! Awesome weapon my ass! Load an Autocannon/10 and load up on ammo! Then load a SPLas-MedLas or a MPLas-SmallLas in the center. Rack up on Heat Sinks and maybe two LRM 10's and a few more lasers or SRMS. Got more tonnage left? Do you have max armor? LOAD UP!! If the enemy is far from you, wound him with the LRM10's. Getting close to him? Drop him with the Autocannon 10 and the SPLas-MedLas/MPlas-SmallLasers! The Autocannon 10 can hold almost twice the ammount the AC/20 can and takes less crits!! This will drop him/them in seconds! Remember to group the AC/10 and two combo lasers and group fire them!
-Landros "DarkWolf" Radick
Clan Wolf
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No matter what anyone says I've relied on LRMs and later Arrow VIs. Why, you ask? Sure AMS can shoot 'em down, but Arrows...they kick some major butt when they do hit. Lots of pilots like to arc their missiles over, give 'em a chance at a head hit. With an Arrow, maybe, but a good place (easy place!) to load an AMS is in the head, so nice try. Where to shoot them to? The legs! Blow the frigging legs off and your opponent is gone, and an Arrow can sometimes do that in one shot (I swear, the 45 meter blast radius assures damage...I'm not sure if its changed too much, however...). Don't have the space for arrows? Want to make sure you don't die? Load a light 'mech with LRM-5s, maybe LRM-10s. They don't carry tonnage much but their fast, and specialized "fire support" warriors, like myself, can dash in range, and dash out without much chance of any damage. BUT WATCH IT!
Seether
Do you have some personal strategies that you use to defeat your opponents? Send them to Kommandant Lake and he'll post them here!
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