On The Tactics Of Mech Combat...

In this section, I’ll try to show you a few of the tactical nuances you’ll need to make the step up from novice to intermediate MechWarrior, and hopefully keep you from getting blown to smithereens time in and time out.

Speed

Never move slow; a slow (or worse yet, unmoving) mech is an easy target, and pretty soon it’ll be nothing but fragments. Get used to moving at top speed, and varying speeds only to throw off someone’s lock on your lag point (a slightly more advanced topic that I’ll get to later on this page).

Angle

One way to tell a novice play is to watch them approach you; most newbies will just run straight at you. Never ever do this; the only easier target is a mech that’s standing still. As soon as you have an enemy mech spotted and target-locked, twist your mech’s torso and approach at an oblique angle. This makes you a tougher target for lasers, PPCs, autocannon and machine gun fire, and puts you in a better position to engage in the ‘circle of death’ maneuver.

Jetting

As was mentioned on my custom-mech page, always use mechs with jump-jets; this of course means USE THEM when in combat. Whether making an aerial approach to elude enemy mechs searching for you, jetting backward or forward briefly to throw off an enemy’s lag-point lock, or disengaging to let your mech cool down, jump-jets are indispensable for online Mech2 warfare. Never launch into a game without them.

The Scenarios

Learn them all; play every scenario that the game offers. Learn where the regen points (places where players re-spawn after dying, and where they initially appear when the game is launched) are. Learn where any cover is to be had, for any/all scenarios that have them (all except the Yamarovka plains), and learn how to get to them quickly when you need to. Change the temperature and gravity settings as well, to see how well your customs play in these conditions, and what enhancements are needed for them to perform better.

Unpredictability

Unless the scenario dictates against it, never be predictable in your tactics, movement or approach. Some, like Graus or Yamarovka, offer few options for stealth or tactical diversity, but for those that do, use the terrain to your advantage (and your opponent’s disadvantage). For example, rather than always trying to take the hill between cities at Derf, swing wide and flank occasionally; if you catch your opponent scanning your empty town for you, you can fire off 2-3 missile volleys at him before he can even target you, bringing you that much closer to a satisfying kill.

Playing Different Classes

Once you learn the MNL/PWL mech class system, don’t fall for that tired crap that "c1 is the true mark of a MechWarrior"; that drivel is older than the continental shelf! If you think it takes no skill to evade missile fire, or, for that matter, to build a mech that can withstand missile fire without falling apart, then think again. It takes at least a nodding acquaintance with most classes to even start to become a well-rounded MechWarrior, NOT just being good at lag-shooting with lasers. If you think c1 is the be-all and end-all of mech combat, take your c1 Jenner against my c4 Timber Wolf; I’ll meet you at Hainfield, and we’ll see who’s the better pilot.

Evasion

It takes a while to learn, and it's largely a matter of timing, but incoming missile fire CAN be evaded; put simply, you have to change direction quickly and severely enough to make the missiles fly past their effective range. It takes quite a bit of experience and practice to become effective at this, so get in the field of battle and get started.

Evading laser fire is most a matter of varying speed and position, so that once an opponent finds your lag point, you manuever to change it. Put on a burst of speed, do a jet-hop backward, jet upward, sprint into reverse (NEVER WALK BACKWARD; a mech in reverse has no lag at all!!!) in 'moonwalk' style, torso-twist and change angle; all of these can keep the enemy searching and guessing where your lag point actually is.

Ultimately, the only way to improve your piloting and combat skills in Mech2 online is to play, watch and learn. It can be a tough road to hoe, but if you really love the game it'll be worthwhile!