How are you supposed to win the 5 skull missions?

[Ketamarine]

I did a base killer one where there was an entire lance of assault mechs. Took care of the first three with relative ease, but took some damage... when... an entire second lance landed right behind me and nearly destroyed my atlas in one set of volleys from the flank.

Do you just have to play super cheesy? Save scum so that you know where they are coming from?

I could understand if I had a turn to prepare for them or at least face them, but they appear 10 tiles away and just start blasting?

Seems broken AF to me. Or just lazy level design.

Anyone else experienced this at high difficulties?

Edit - few more details on y lance - wll take any more comments!
My setup:
- Atlas w JJs short range brawler with AC 20, SRM 6 x 2 and 3 MLs (one is pulse) - ii could lose the 2 ton arm mod for more heat sinks perhaps

- 2 highlander - the campaign one with JJs, the gauss cannon, LRM 20, one SRM 6 and 3 MLs - this thing is an absolute terror....

- One with 45 LRMs (20, 20, 5) and a ppc + 10 damage - heat efficiency on the ppc sucks, i could maybe throw on an ac 5 instead? or just more lrms?

- Battlemaster melee and laser brawler 6 mls, 2 sls one is ER (arm mod ++ 2 ton one) - this guy runs in annd either cores the mechs i knock down with the LRMs, AC 20 and gauss or kicks little mechs in the face. Seems like the fastest way to get rid of lights and meds. I actually have leg mod as well for DFA. Could lose arm and leg mod for maybe some SRMs. I would replace this guy next. I could easily get a banshee and am going to buy another atlas for last mission. Dual AC20 king crab would be badass...

[pete]

This is all just a personal preference - plus not knowing your moves on the map and not being an expert.

Tactics matter. Use the terrain. Don't start the mission by moving from the start to first probable location in a straight line.

Personally - I think the Battlemaster is overated. and again personally - I don't like to get that close that the arm mods are necessary - but that's me.

[Gorok Delvedeep]

save scumming.

[Sentient_Toaster]

Heavy armor, skilled pilots, hit defense gyros, precision strike.

I wouldn't bother mixing up 60-damage arm mods on a mostly not-melee mech, because I'd rather put the tonnage into something more likely to be used a lot (e.g. heat sinks, armor, more medium lasers, JJs, w/e). The 5- and 10-damage arm mods are fine for non-melee-focused mechs, because they're weightless, but arm mods that weigh a lot I'd rather go on a melee specialist (e.g. I've built Banshees punching for 270 damage + small lasers, a Hatchetman for 240...).

Regular PPCs are generally inefficient for their weight / heat and are mostly useful if you want to snipe turrets from long range (so as to be better able to only be within range of one turret, since where there's one there's usually four) without caring about wasting ammo. Gauss rifles... really call for a precision shot specialist, ideally a Marauder, and are distinctly better against some targets (e.g. any stock TDR-5S/5SE/5SS) than others (like a BL-6-KNT or HBK-4P). In vanilla, MLAS + SRM6 spam tends to be brutally efficient at coring.

[Macdallan]

I find that some of the long range weapons and some of the bigger weapons are not worth it for the damage to weight ratio, or damage to weight to heat ratio. Medium lasers pack a decent punch, are light, and have decent range. If you build some mechs properly they absolutely wreck enemies with medium laser spam, and they can often sport near max armour so they can take a few hits. Rotate out the lead mech so the damage is spread around and unless things really go sideways you should rarely lose any components or have to repair structure damage.

I find PPCs are fine for some mechs but I generally don't use 'em. They're just too heavy and heat up too much for the damage output. Yeah, it's nice to see big hits, like you get with an AC/20, but I can do more damage with less heat buildup using other weapons. I like to be able to alpha strike repeatedly with little to no worry about heat. If you play a hit-and-run game, though, PPCs can be great. Move into range, hit 'em and get out.

I also like to field one LRM boat with a *LOT* of ammo. I had one mech with four LRM-15s but had to strip the armour off almost completely. It had to hang way back, and usually worked just fine, but I've changed tactics a bit. I put some armour back on it and switched to a pair of LRM-20s. That thing can fire every round for a very long time and not run out of ammo. I stay back, use sensor lock with one mech and indirect fire with the LRM boat to soften targets before I move in with my mid-range mechs and mop up. I also put a pilot in there that can multi-target, so I can finish off weak mechs with one rocket pod, and start working on the next victim with the other.

Melee and short range can work, but it's probably the one that gets me into the most trouble no matter how I build or play. I'm a mid to long range fan most of the time, but I do have a Black Knight that's got a decent melee mod since it's my medium to close range mech at the moment.

As for the situation you described? Well, if an assault lance drops in behind you I don't think there's much you can do other than take the hits until you can re-position in such a way that you have an advantage. Beyond that you gotta focus fire and pay attention to what weapons a mech has remaining. I sometimes skip shooting a mech that's nearly dead if it's not much of a threat in order to start shooting the armour off my next target, like something that's out of melee range and only has one working medium laser. I agree that the situation is cheap and cheesy. I wish the game was a bit more polished and didn't resort to that kind of thing. I haven't seen it happen too often, but I have had a few matches where both waves spawned at the same time instead of a few rounds apart like they were supposed to.

In any case, good luck with it.

[Ketamarine]

Thanks for tips. Seems like it was just a weird rng spawn. It was the map where you are on a tiny shore of a big lake and hve a bit of tree cover. My atlas and battlemaster were wading in to vent heat and smoke the last banshee when the other lance ganked my atlas. I was three jumps from shore / cover and got so beat up that i ended up getting cored to a turret after killing both lances. Lost some dual heat sinks and srm+++s... save scumming that loss....

[Ichthyic]

it's weird you got attacked the same turn as a drop. every time I have seen a drop in a mission, the enemies take one turn to move and brace first. if I know where the drop is going to be (when you see a red hex area marking an incoming drop), I can even ambush them before they get a chance to move and catch them flatfooted.

so kinda curious that you got wiped by a drop that shot you as soon as they appeared.

[Itchies500]

i've found with my setup that i can get everything fairly quickly. but - it's just the way i play. i use tactics, and a mix of long range LRM, AC and medium lasers, sm lasers on all of my mechs with max armor and heat sinks. all set for only overheat by +6 to +10 at most

My go to Heavy/Assault Lances (depending on availability) are usually:

Stalker, Atlas,Atlas HT, King Crab, Highlander, Orion V, Awesome 8T

My load outs are normally:

LRM 5/10's, AC 2/5's, Med Lsr & Sm Lsr with Lg Lsr on Awesome, Stalker, Atlas

Upgraded to Ultra and/or LBX with Heavy Metal and ER on Med Sm whenever possible.

Always use Double Heat Sinks, 20% Exchanger's, and -30% stabilizer dmg reduction or +3 Defense

My lowest Mech firepower is pushing output of 485 and my highest is pushing 765.

[danko9696]

As I see it that's a mistake of yours, but one from which you can learn. Before engaging the first lance you should be prepared for surprise reinforcements, and that means being very aware of the map borders, so they can appear in front or at a side, but not behind, like for example going for a ten turn detour around the map edges before attacking the first target.

[Ichthyic]

all the Ultra ACs are totally OP in HM. also the snubnosePPC++. those things are killers if you jump into someone's back and hit them with a couple.

the UAC2s have such good range and damage for the weight, they make good sniper weapons, loading up an annhilator with nothing but UAC2s is actually pretty damn powerful.

if you have a fast heavy mech, putting a couple of UAC20++ on it is terrifying.

even without HM, the new gauss rifles have structure damage attached, meaning you can crit internals potentially on every hit. kinda the way I always thought they should be (armor piercing damage), so those are useful again.

but yeah, stalker/733 missile boats, atlas/crab gunners, and heavies with energy weapons (black knight 6b, orion) were the way I always went before HM. often also had a medium with lots of JJ to use as a scout, usually with a probe for multi sensor lock.

[aevansjr35]

or when they throw 8 assault mechs at you right when the mission starts...

[wesnef]

Originally posted by Itchies500:

My lowest Mech firepower is pushing output of 485 and my highest is pushing 765.

. . . how?

I mean, my mechs in 1.8/HM are crazy good, slaughter everything that comes their way, etc. . . but the best of them are at most 450. And my Heavies are 220-250.

Originally posted by aevansjr35:

or when they throw 8 assault mechs at you right when the mission starts...

That's when I'm perfectly happy to do some judicious Marauder headshots. :)

[Zloth]

I don't think I've ever had any just suddenly show up behind me and start shooting except in escort missions. I've certainly had them come up behind me plenty but I see them coming - or they announce it by firing off LRMs and AC/2s before I even see them.

Counters: rear armor and making sure you're in the trees when you can get in them.

[danko9696]

Originally posted by Zloth:

I don't think I've ever had any just suddenly show up behind me and start shooting except in escort missions. I've certainly had them come up behind me plenty but I see them coming - or they announce it by firing off LRMs and AC/2s before I even see them.

Counters: rear armor and making sure you're in the trees when you can get in them.

That's not a real counter but mitigation. A counter is positioning carefully your mechs before you fire your first salvo so you can't be backstabbed. I've done hundreds of solo missions (just one mech) between the ASN up to 3.5 skulls, and heavy/assault mechs in five skull missions, in almost all cases with no rear armor at all and no casualties. Just don't attack a base or some group of foes from the middle of the map when you can choose not to, have your back against the edge of the map or at the very least hard cover, so if they actually fire at you it will be with a few LRMs and not heavier weapons.

[JC]

You can beat 5 skull missions with Light, Medium, Heavy, assault lance... I don't wanna use the term git gud, but really that is the deal


Back stab fire starter 2 ML+6SL
Brawler griffin 2 ML+2SRM6
Laser boat thunderbolt 5ss. Larger laser with ML's
Stalker, 2LRM15s+ MLs

could beat 5 stars with that lance. But really you could use many combo's, commando+hbk 4p+catpult+awesome is another.. I could list tons of combo's if you'd like a list just say the word

[Ketamarine]

Originally posted by Ichthyic:

it's weird you got attacked the same turn as a drop. every time I have seen a drop in a mission, the enemies take one turn to move and brace first. if I know where the drop is going to be (when you see a red hex area marking an incoming drop), I can even ambush them before they get a chance to move and catch them flatfooted.

so kinda curious that you got wiped by a drop that shot you as soon as they appeared.

I did not wipe. I killed everything, but took so many part losses that it wasn't worth continuing.
Clearly some ♥♥♥♥ level design that they dropped 10 hexes away...