Using Light Mechs on Raid and/or Demo missions. Help please?

[owen8964]

Ok, I've tried this a bit but with very mixed results and thought I'd ask for some tips. This might help not just myself but anyone else thinking of having a go at this method of doing some missions, which so many experienced players vouch for.

People have mentioned Spiders and Firestarters. I can see the FS and have used it successfully a very few times but the Spider??? With TWO weapons only? If the Airstrikes don't kill everything you end up running around trying to destroy a small town with 2 Med Lasers while a positive cloud of VTOLs pick you apart from above and a lance or two of heavies turn up and shoot at you as well. Not to mention turrets and tanks.

I suppose that describes my issues in a nutshell. How do you deal with the VTOLS which you can't outrun? I have a suspicion these more experienced players are going to say you should shoot them, at which point I'm stuffed because I'm just simply not good enough to do that with a few MLs while avoiding the Mechs and calling down airstrikes.

Why does the Locust never get mentioned? 127 KM/hr, fastest thing out there?

Oh and I've just realised that I may have been misusing Airstrikes. Do they have a max range you can't call them in above, or is it entirely LOS over ANY range?

Anyway, useful comments and tips appreciated.

[pRaX]

They were propably using the Hero Spider SPD-A or the SPD-K.
I certainly wouldn't use a Spider if it wasn't one of the two for the job you're suggesting.
Firestarter definitely. Lot more options with that.
You also gotta beware of the overenthusiastic TT/Lorehounds who are Larping across the battlefields.
Take some of the things they say with a grain of salt and alot of bias

And I know it's easier said than done but I just use the speed, agility and terrain to maximum advantage when doing it the way you are trying to do it.
But I'm used to that stuff from my milsims and milpvp games.

Airstrikes I use up before I go in. Not while I'm going in or after.
Until recently, I didn't use them at all though.
Now I'm just using them for convenience's sake.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15fQCjkxjECs3Jvhv-YA1ZP147SuEP2olkPzLJCLAFmQ/edit#gid=500529225

Use it!
(Weight/Mech classes are at the bottom)

[Cyzxxikz]

The hero spider is really good for it, with a srm4 2mgs 2ml, can't say I've tried other spiders. An assassin with 2xsrm4 may be a great pick for you, good enough speed, more armor and fairly good firepower
MGs are really really nice for demo though, blast bigger buildings with them while running over/through anything small enough to do so
Some demo ops will have annoying bases, but many can be decimated very quickly by just walking through stuff, plus diving into buildings can shield you if you keep undestroyed parts between you and threats.
Imo anything 100ish kph + will do, bonus points for MGs and/or srms, more armor and weapons in torsos make it easier to take less problematic dmg
I shoot srm carriers, and if enough of the base is stuff I can walk through or step on I'll blast other tanks, turrets, and vtols

[boris.glevrk]

How about don't?
The loading screen tips should tell you that medium and below cannot simply crash through walls. This means that even medium is ill-fitted for anti-building missions, let alone lights.

[owen8964]

pRaX: Well, that's a useful resource. Thanks :) Will take a while for me to work it out (what is this T much of the chart is listing % of, with or without armour?) but anything like that is very handy :)

On the Spider, I've certainly seen someone saying they regularly use one. Could be just bullspit but no-one has called him on it.

And how do you deal with the VTOLs? Rakka-dakka high skillz shootin' or what?

[pRaX]

Originally posted by owen8964:

Well, that's a useful resource. Thanks :) Will take a while for me to work it out (what is this T much of the chart is listing % of, with or without armour?) but anything like that is very handy :)

On the Spider, I've certainly seen someone saying they regularly use one. Could be just bullspit but no-one has called him on it.

And how do you deal with the VTOLs? Rakka-dakka high skillz shootin' or what?

The T should be Tonnage.

Free T(No Armor) should be Tonnage available with all armor stripped.

Free T(Max Armor) should be how much Tonnage is available with full armor.

When I'm going in I either let my lance follow, basicly ignoring them, or I send them in ahead on the opposite side of where I'm going in or I give them a direct attack order on an enemy Mech.
I rush towards the closest cover near the ojective.
Aka buildings, rocks, whatever and just zip and zoom from cover to cover, through the street and Rakka-Dakka high skillz shooting like a squirrel on crack at enemies and the objectives.

I'd just not do it if it isn't your style and more hassle than fun. You don't have to prove anything to anyone and should play how you want
Unless you want to prove it to yourself ofc

[boris.glevrk]

Originally posted by owen8964:

And how do you deal with the VTOLs? Rakka-dakka high skillz shootin' or what?

Most ballistics and non-lock-on missiles should be fast enough to hit them.
or you can just use lasers.

As a last resort you can also tell lancemates to deal with them.

[Cyzxxikz]

Originally posted by boris.glevrk:

How about don't?
The loading screen tips should tell you that medium and below cannot simply crash through walls. This means that even medium is ill-fitted for anti-building missions, let alone lights.

The walls typically are not worth destroying, but if you need to don't take much firepower, speed is far far more valuable for demo than walking through the perimeter walls. That is ofc if you just want to smash and leave, nothing wrong with just killing everything, but that's not what was asked

Originally posted by owen8964:

Well, that's a useful resource. Thanks :) Will take a while for me to work it out (what is this T much of the chart is listing % of, with or without armour?) but anything like that is very handy :)

On the Spider, I've certainly seen someone saying they regularly use one. Could be just bullspit but no-one has called him on it.

And how do you deal with the VTOLs? Rakka-dakka high skillz shootin' or what?

Lasers are the easiest, but with practice I've been swatting them with srms too
But really whatever you can hit them with, if it's difficult for you to do while on the move I'd ignore them in this situation and practice on them during other ops

[owen8964]

Ahah! Topic is back after the mods checked pRax's link for nastiness :)

pRaX: Well, there's a big mistake from me! LOLOL I thought people were taking the small mech ALONE!

Is the rest of the lance also in Lights or max tonnage available is higher because YOU are in a Light, which is (guessing) the point?

Cyzzikz: HERO Spider. Makes more sense. Thanks. Also for other tips which I have read and appreciate.

boris: I think the biggest thing I'm picking up is that you shouldn't try this as a solo mission. Chuckle. I'm feeling quite smug that I did and it worked for me a couple of times :) though not reliably enough for it to become a stock method.

[Cyzxxikz]

Originally posted by owen8964:

Ahah! Topic is back after the mods checked pRax's link for nastiness :)

pRaX: Well, there's a big mistake from me! LOLOL I thought people were taking the small mech ALONE!

Is the rest of the lance also in Lights or max tonnage available is higher because YOU are in a Light, which is (guessing) the point?

Cyzzikz: HERO Spider. Makes more sense. Thanks. Also for other tips which I have read and appreciate.

boris: I think the biggest thing I'm picking up is that you shouldn't try this as a solo mission. Chuckle. I'm feeling quite smug that I did and it worked for me a couple of times :) though not reliably enough for it to become a stock method.

Tbh if I'm going to smash and run I absolutely do NOT take lancemates, they too often run up a repair bill if I run them smack into the center of a mass of hostiles

[owen8964]

pRaX: ...squirrel on crack. Ok. :)

[pRaX]

Oh, don't sweat it.
When I read up about stuff... the amount of times people put alot of detail in tooting their own horn but not putting any detail whatsoever on the details itself... staggering.
You can't work with information that's not given / available to you.

[owen8964]

Cyzxx: "But really whatever you can hit them with, if it's difficult for you to do while on the move I'd ignore them in this situation and practice on them during other ops"

I generally hit VTOLs at low angles and long range with PPCs or LLs...high angle stuff has me kissing canyon or running off a cliff too often...:(

[Cyzxxikz]

Originally posted by owen8964:

Cyzxx: "But really whatever you can hit them with, if it's difficult for you to do while on the move I'd ignore them in this situation and practice on them during other ops"

I generally hit VTOLs at low angles and long range with PPCs or LLs...high angle stuff has me kissing canyon or running off a cliff too often...:(

then for smash n run on a demo, i wouldn't really bother with them, just keep moving and twisting that torso.
if you've got a good shot to down any sure, but i wouldnt worry too much about them in this case.
it would, however, be good to work on getting better at being able to look up/away from where you're going without running in to too much, if you care to, you'll get better at it and be able to run around looking up and downing one, reorienting yourself between weapon cycles

[owen8964]

pRaX: No sweat :) I'm old and gnarled enough now - and mistakes are how we learn fastest.

Cyzxx: I think I need to be better at pinging VTOLs before I can do these missions reliably solo. Will, as you suggest, practise more in other missions.

[owen8964]

Thank you all for the very useful replies :)

I'm off to put these tips into practice (superhero pose)