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Battletech

Deuce said:
The ammo crate mission is a trap. DONT TRUST IT. DONT LISTEN TO THEIR LIES.

Also, I think the devs screwed up the calculation when they defined vehicle speeds. Tanks on roads moving faster than a sprinting Jenner.
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I eventually won that mission by sprinting down the road with a heavily armed light mech and taking them head on. She nearly died though since killing the trucks made her popular.

Well... really the reason I won was because the 4 biggest mechs on the enemy team decided to huddle at an ammo crate pretty early on. That really helped me sail to a victory on only my millionth try.

In other news, base defense missions can go to hell.
 
jmotivator said:
I eventually won that mission by sprinting down the road with a heavily armed light mech and taking them head on. She nearly died though since killing the trucks made her popular.

Well... really the reason I won was because the 4 biggest mechs on the enemy team decided to huddle at an ammo crate pretty early on. That really helped me sail to a victory on only my millionth try.

In other news, base defense missions can go to hell.
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When I was on that mission the AI very deliberately avoided the ammo crates. They'd park one hex outside the range, constantly. Two lances plus all the turret support was just too much to handle.

So I said forget the trucks, and retreated all the way back to the edge of the map and let them come to me.

Base garrisons are broken. The AI kamikaze rushed the one I did. Two mech lances and a vehicle lance were engaging by turn 5. Never once fired on my mechs. Mission failed. "Good faith" payout was peanuts. Mission just ended there despite the fact that I'm surrounded by hostiles, so didn't even get decent salvage.
'
What can go right to hell is SRM carriers. It's a clown car, except with missiles.
 
Deuce said:
When I was on that mission the AI very deliberately avoided the ammo crates. They'd park one hex outside the range, constantly. Two lances plus all the turret support was just too much to handle.

So I said forget the trucks, and retreated all the way back to the edge of the map and let them come to me.

Base garrisons are broken. The AI kamikaze rushed the one I did. Two mech lances and a vehicle lance were engaging by turn 5. Never once fired on my mechs. Mission failed. "Good faith" payout was peanuts. Mission just ended there despite the fact that I'm surrounded by hostiles, so didn't even get decent salvage.
'
What can go right to hell is SRM carriers. It's a clown car, except with missiles.
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I think the secret to base garrisons is to lose once so you figure out where the reinforcements will be landing and then make sure to aggro the reinforcements and beat them with fists. But yeah, it is pretty broken when you need to know in advance where everything is coming from in order to have a chance. I will choose any mission type other than defense if I have the option.

I did have a pretty funny defense mission though where one mech stood on the approach road for a column of Strikers and just stomped on them as they went scurrying by.

I'm sure everyone knows by now, but the 3 spots that are an insta-kill if you destroy them are Head, Center Torso or both legs. I have found Center Torso to be the best target for morale-based attacks as it is easier to hit than the head... though if you are shooting in the 90+% range might as well shoot for the head. That being said, knowing the opposing mechs is super useful as most become pushovers when you take out their primary attack... like the Hunchback, essentially destroy either right or left torso to take them out of the fight as one has teh majority of their weapons, and the other has the heat sinks or ammo for the weapons.

Also, when I use LRMs now I use +Stability Damage because, as it turns out, knockdown becomes pretty important in higher tonnage fights since the one real penalty for a knockdown is that you go last that turn and every attack on you that turn is a targeted attack. So for that reason I put +Stability Damage rockets on my lighter mechs so they can get first crack, knock down the biggest threat, and then everyone targets their head of CT for a hopeful 1 turn KO.
 
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I just had an insane mission where my lance of 1 Dragon, 1 Quickdraw, 1 Thunderbolt and a Hunchback entered a battle against 6 mechs of 50-55 tons along with 1 Dragon and a 70 ton Grasshopper. The Hunchback was the hero of the whole engagement. The bastard Grasshopper charged to a butte in the middle of the map and jumped on top and spotted the whole fight for all the other mechs with LRMs. At one point the main contingent had amassed in a tight group of 5 near my Hunchback, and since it was a hot world she was very limited in her M Laser use, so she ran down the hill and started meleeing. She nearly single-handedly dropped 3 of the 5 with melee, and another with an alpha strike to the CT.

When it was all over my Quickdraw was weaponless and hiding in a far corner of the map, the Dragon was nearly dead, the Thunderbolt was nearly out of ammo, and the Hunchback was standing in a pile of dead mechs she had killed with her bare hands, shaking her oil stained fists and giving her best war scream.

... well, that is how I pictured her, anyway.
 
My first ever bad faith withdrawal caused by a run in with my first Devastator tank. Little bastard cored two mechs out in two rounds.
 
Deuce said:
My first ever bad faith withdrawal caused by a run in with my first Devastator tank. Little bastard cored two mechs out in two rounds.
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Devastators suck. I've learned to check the tonnage of tanks before making eye contact since every 80 ton tank sucks and deserve my utmost attention.
 
Spoilery follows...







The Highlander Mech feels like cheating. In the first mission where you get to use one I OTKed an Awesome with a called shot on the CT.... and no heat build up.
 
PoS said:
I never get a game on release day- the rule is its always full of bugs. I wait a few months because I dont want to be a glorified beta tester who paid for it.
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join us a /r/patientgamers

Why pay $60 when you're not going to play it until its $30 anyways? My backlog of steam games to play is insane.
 
jmotivator said:
I eventually won that mission by sprinting down the road with a heavily armed light mech and taking them head on. She nearly died though since killing the trucks made her popular.

Well... really the reason I won was because the 4 biggest mechs on the enemy team decided to huddle at an ammo crate pretty early on. That really helped me sail to a victory on only my millionth try.

In other news, base defense missions can go to hell.
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I just finally got to that mission(I am slow, like to restart from the beginning of the game when I learn new things, and run lots of the random missions), and holy hell that sucks. Note: some LRMs are good, but don't send a dedicated LRM mech(which I did cuz it said LRMs where important). I just reduces your DPS too much. Never did see any of the mediums/heavies go in range of one of the crates....
 
Spartacus FPV said:
join us a /r/patientgamers

Why pay $60 when you're not going to play it until its $30 anyways? My backlog of steam games to play is insane.
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Battletech was 40, and easily worth it. Tons and tons of fun. Only game I have spent more on from Steam is Gary Grigsby's War in the East.
 
Redress said:
I just finally got to that mission(I am slow, like to restart from the beginning of the game when I learn new things, and run lots of the random missions), and holy hell that sucks. Note: some LRMs are good, but don't send a dedicated LRM mech(which I did cuz it said LRMs where important). I just reduces your DPS too much. Never did see any of the mediums/heavies go in range of one of the crates....
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It definitely was a stroke of luck. I just barely was able o get a mech in range to exploit the enemy's mistake.

Also I misspoke, the mech I sent to stop the trucks was a 50 tons with a PPC and some medium lasers.

It's pretty handy to save the 2 crate buffer for mech destruction.
 
jmotivator said:
It definitely was a stroke of luck. I just barely was able o get a mech in range to exploit the enemy's mistake.

Also I misspoke, the mech I sent to stop the trucks was a 50 tons with a PPC and some medium lasers.

It's pretty handy to save the 2 crate buffer for mech destruction.
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I ignored the trucks after the first couple tries. Not needed to win, and I needed the firepower elsewhere. I took a godawful beating in the win, and lost my best pilot, but getting a dragon made it worthwhile.

Unrelated question: have you gotten any missions with a tonnage limit? That is, where you can only take so much tonnage and so light mechs are actually worth taking once you got a bunch of 50 + ton mechs?
 
Redress said:
I ignored the trucks after the first couple tries. Not needed to win, and I needed the firepower elsewhere. I took a godawful beating in the win, and lost my best pilot, but getting a dragon made it worthwhile.

Unrelated question: have you gotten any missions with a tonnage limit? That is, where you can only take so much tonnage and so light mechs are actually worth taking once you got a bunch of 50 + ton mechs?
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No. Tonnage is more a strategic decision. A light, fast, dodgey mech and pilot kind of works as a forward spotter for missile boats... but a single lucky shot usually ends their day.

But I don't use that style anymore. I load up on armor and direct-fire alpha damage and heat sinks and focus on morale options on ship upgrades so that the first encounter with the enemy results in at least 1 dead enemy mech. I don't have any dead pilots yet (knock on wood) because I make use of that second morale skill a lot that allows me to break coverage, dump stability damage, and lose LOS when I see trouble brewing.

My style prioritizes 2 to 3 high damage weapons of medium to Long range per mech and enough heat sinks to allow a full strike with no more than 50 net heat. If you alpha damage a mech's CT and destroy it you usually get a morale boost tat allows you to do it all over again.

I only use missiles that are +Stb or +Dam since knockdowns become so important, and a missile damage bonus is per missile, making for HUGE damage boosts with LRM10, LRM15 and LRM20 weapons. I tend to collect them and then build a mech that is nothing but ++ or better missile racks. They make a great "OH ****!" button in a lot of missions.

Edit: OH, also, all of my pilots take targeting, and my missile pilots take tactics. I have one dedicated brawler (guts2/pilot1), but she spends most of the time in the hospital. ;)

Here are my favorite mechwarrior builds:

Guts2/Pilot1 is super fun if you can get in to a fist fight.

Target2/Pilot1 Run and gun is the master class. Standing your ground for a round and just shooting will get you killed. Try to always move as much as possible every round to build evasion chits.

Tactics2/Pilot1 Great for a situational missile-boat pilot as they get really good target bonuses on indirect fire.

As you can see, I find Pilot1 to be almost essential
 
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jmotivator said:
Devastators suck. I've learned to check the tonnage of tanks before making eye contact since every 80 ton tank sucks and deserve my utmost attention.
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I played the heck out of the original board game and I remember the heavy tanks being as powerful as mechs- though less versatile.
 
jmotivator said:
No. Tonnage is more a strategic decision. A light, fast, dodgey mech and pilot kind of works as a forward spotter for missile boats... but a single lucky shot usually ends their day.

But I don't use that style anymore. I load up on armor and direct-fire alpha damage and heat sinks and focus on morale options on ship upgrades so that the first encounter with the enemy results in at least 1 dead enemy mech. I don't have any dead pilots yet (knock on wood) because I make use of that second morale skill a lot that allows me to break coverage, dump stability damage, and lose LOS when I see trouble brewing.

My style prioritizes 2 to 3 high damage weapons of medium to Long range per mech and enough heat sinks to allow a full strike with no more than 50 net heat. If you alpha damage a mech's CT and destroy it you usually get a morale boost tat allows you to do it all over again.

I only use missiles that are +Stb or +Dam since knockdowns become so important, and a missile damage bonus is per missile, making for HUGE damage boosts with LRM10, LRM15 and LRM20 weapons. I tend to collect them and then build a mech that is nothing but ++ or better missile racks. They make a great "OH ****!" button in a lot of missions.

Edit: OH, also, all of my pilots take targeting, and my missile pilots take tactics. I have one dedicated brawler (guts2/pilot1), but she spends most of the time in the hospital. ;)

Here are my favorite mechwarrior builds:

Guts2/Pilot1 is super fun if you can get in to a fist fight.

Target2/Pilot1 Run and gun is the master class. Standing your ground for a round and just shooting will get you killed. Try to always move as much as possible every round to build evasion chits.

Tactics2/Pilot1 Great for a situational missile-boat pilot as they get really good target bonuses on indirect fire.

As you can see, I find Pilot1 to be almost essential
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I think pilot 1 and target 1 are easily the best, multi-target makes putting a rack of LRMs on most tanks worthwhile, especially when facing a swarm of lights. Everything but LRMs on one target, precision strike at CT, LRm's on next potential target, taking off n evasion pip. Rinse, repeat. Even with my now 60 to 50 ton mechs, I can take out 2 or 3 lights in a turn that way.
 
PoS said:
I played the heck out of the original board game and I remember the heavy tanks being as powerful as mechs- though less versatile.
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They are, but they are limited. They are essentially light mechs with heavy weapons. The devastator has two AC20s, so a good shot will ruin any mech of any tonnage.

Their weakness is stomp damage. They are destroyed when you melee them. It's a brave mechwarrior that runs at a devastator, though.

Also, possibly more awful is the LRM tank that fires TWO LRM20 salvos. They can ruin your day before you even see them.
 
Spartacus FPV said:
join us a /r/patientgamers

Why pay $60 when you're not going to play it until its $30 anyways? My backlog of steam games to play is insane.
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Yup, I cant stop playing Subnautica right now. I've built sea bases all over the map- plus finding a new wreck in the depths while a whole bunch of creatures are out to get you is addicting. I'll play BT later this year.
 
So, here is something I should have known, but it really hasn't "hurt" me yet... and explains why my attack scheme seems too "easy"....

Salavge parts depends on how you kill the mech. Here are the very important things to know when you see those big mechs:

If you kill the mech by... you get.

Killing/Disabling the pilot ... 3 parts

Taking out both legs ... 2 parts

Center Torso ... 1 part

Now I realize why you can't target the mech's head on heavy mechs.

Damn. Now I feel like I need to go back and run one particular pain-in-the-ass mission solely for salvage... I CTed a lot of good mechs...

So head shots from here on out!
 
Redress said:
I ignored the trucks after the first couple tries. Not needed to win, and I needed the firepower elsewhere. I took a godawful beating in the win, and lost my best pilot, but getting a dragon made it worthwhile.

Unrelated question: have you gotten any missions with a tonnage limit? That is, where you can only take so much tonnage and so light mechs are actually worth taking once you got a bunch of 50 + ton mechs?
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There isn’t a tonnage limit. Which is really a bad design decision, end game is absolutely going to be “drop four assault mechs, slug it out” mission after mission. Drop weights make it useful to actually use more than four or five mech slots. I have all three mech bays, two are completely empty. Why bother? That’s one thing I loved about MechCommander, some of the missions would have tight drop restrictions so you’d have to figure out alternative ways to complete the mission beyond brute force.

Dragons are terrible. Use any of the 55 ton mechs over them. Dragons suffer from the tabletop Battletech engine mechanics, getting the same speed as the medium mechs requires too heavy of an engine and they end up with less weapon space. Made worse in this game because they lose an initiative phase and are easier to hit. (Weight class affects targeting difficulty)

Although if you’re replacing a light mech, then yeah. Tonnage wins in the end.
 
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jmotivator said:
So, here is something I should have known, but it really hasn't "hurt" me yet... and explains why my attack scheme seems too "easy"....

Salavge parts depends on how you kill the mech. Here are the very important things to know when you see those big mechs:

If you kill the mech by... you get.

Killing/Disabling the pilot ... 3 parts

Taking out both legs ... 2 parts

Center Torso ... 1 part

Now I realize why you can't target the mech's head on heavy mechs.

Damn. Now I feel like I need to go back and run one particular pain-in-the-ass mission solely for salvage... I CTed a lot of good mechs...

So head shots from here on out!
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I find myself going for the leg kills more often. Headshots whiff a lot and end up as... torso hits. Leg shots are much easier to make. Leg destruction causes automatic knockdown, so further shots are free called shots. I occasionally end up with incapacitation kills this way anyway since the knockdown is injuring the pilot.
 
Deuce said:
I find myself going for the leg kills more often. Headshots whiff a lot and end up as... torso hits. Leg shots are much easier to make. Leg destruction causes automatic knockdown, so further shots are free called shots. I occasionally end up with incapacitation kills this way anyway since the knockdown is injuring the pilot.
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Yeah, I just need to get over the lure of a full mech salvage. I'm approaching my max tonnage at this point with 3 assault mechs and a Catapult for knock down support, but as soon as I get another assault mech I'm no longer playing the salvage game. I don't tend to be a Pokemon type player. There are the best mechs, and then a bunch of stuff I don't want. So pretty soon it will be back to CT all the time.

I think the only mech that I don't need but want anyway is the Grasshopper. I've come across two so far and both were CTed... the second time by accident.
 
It probably isn't worth the time invested, but I really want them to add a whole bunch of melee animations for the various attack outcomes.

I want to see how my armless, nearly-dead Vindicator managed to successfully destroy the cockpit of a Thunderbolt in melee. :lamo
 
I think my only critique of the game at this point is the bizarre choices made in the user interface.

Every singe screen on the ship interface has a different location for the back button and, 70 hours in to the game, I'm still finding myself search for the back button when I want to back out of a page.

It's made worse by the fact that the graphic for the back button looks a lot like the rest of the artistic embellishments.
 
As iconic the mech is in Battletech, I can't really figure out how to make the Battlemaster all that useful on the majority of missions.

There seem to be a few missions where the terrain forces a close up fight, and even then I can't unload on of the target for fear of over heating. I can't seem to settle it into a role that another assault mech doesn't already do better. I guess the issue is that I only seem to encounter the beam weapon variant... if I find an AC variant I might be able to make it more useful.
 
jmotivator said:
As iconic the mech is in Battletech, I can't really figure out how to make the Battlemaster all that useful on the majority of missions.

There seem to be a few missions where the terrain forces a close up fight, and even then I can't unload on of the target for fear of over heating. I can't seem to settle it into a role that another assault mech doesn't already do better. I guess the issue is that I only seem to encounter the beam weapon variant... if I find an AC variant I might be able to make it more useful.
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In Mechcommander, the larger ACs kinda sucked, since with real time and longer encounters, they would burn up their ammo in a hurry. I am finding more and more that in Battletech, ACs rule since they generate no heat and ammo is much less an issue.
 
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