Guide to Elemental/BA

[^sPikE-]

Davids vs. Goliaths:
The Essential guide to Elemental/BA in MWLL 0.4.x

*beginner note*: BA (Battle Armor) or Elemental is the "infantry" of MWLL. It is what you first start with when entering a game. You can then choose and buy a vehicle, but you can also choose to play the role of Dedicated Battle Armor, which means you will buy certain gear you cannot when you choose to go with vehicles (except for the APC).


While Mechwarrior Living Legends is a game based mainly on vehicle combat, many players might overlook the advantages playing as plain infantry brings. I have been using lots of BA since 0.1.0 and it has come to be my favourite way to play the game. In this guide i will break down why playing as BA can many a time be just as effective as manning a vehicle, can bring great advantage to your team, and how to properly play the role of BA to succeed in MWLL.


1. THE GEAR

So, you decided to go BA. Now enter the buy menu. The only buy options we will be looking at for dedicated BA are under the WEAPONS tab, and the APC under the VEHICLES tab. As you can see, there are the following items available to you:

-Bear AutoCannon (http://wiki.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php?title=BearAC)
-AC2 (http://wiki.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php?title=BA_AC2)
-Manpack PPC (http://wiki.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php?title=BA_PPC)
-Small Beam Laser (default weapon) (http://wiki.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php?title=BA_SBL)
-Heavy Beam Laser (http://wiki.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php?title=BA_MHL)
-TAG Laser (http://wiki.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php?title=BA_TAG)
-C8 grenades (http://wiki.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php?title=C8
-Flamer (http://wiki.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php?title=BA_Flamer)
-Inferno grenades (http://wiki.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php?title=Inferno_Charge)
-NARC grenades (http://wiki.mechlivinglegends.net/index.php?title=NARC)

Additionally, every BA has 2 mounted SRM launchers that cannot be dropped/exchanged for other weapons.

Now, im sure many people have their own preffered configurations, but there is only one that is truly optimal in terms of damage output and flexibility. MpPPC, Heavy Laser, and as many C8 grenades as you can afford. If you dont have enough cbills for this setup, i would rather reccommend that you ask teammates for money to buy it, then buying another one. Why this is so:

The PPC is the most versatile of BA weapons. It has a rather high damage output, does splash damage, triggers an EMP that fries enemy electronics for a brief time (great in night combat, enemy loses infrared vision), shakes the enemy's view when hit, increases the enemy's heat when hit, and finally it boosts you in the opposite direction of firing. The latter prevents you from campsniping, but can be extremely useful when avoiding enemy shots, and when travelling long distances.

The Heavy Laser is the strongest of the BA weapons. When used right it will provide you with many kills and much score. It is a danger to anything that is within 175m of you. Its pinpoint accuracy and high damage output make it a must for any dedicated BA.

The C8 grenades are best simply because they do most damage. NARC and Inferno are also good for certain situations, but due to the buggy nature of grenades i believe its best to go for highest damage output.

We will cover specific tactics with these weapons later on.

You can buy your setup in the base, but it is usually better to wait and deploy the APC first, as you can gain additional cbills from teammates buying/spawning at your APC as you travel to the field. You can then purchase any additional gear, like grenades, when you deploy your APC.

2. THE APC

The Armored Personell Carrier, or APC, is the BA's best friend. It is currently the only vehicle in the game that permits you to enter with your full dedicated BA gear, so it will be your transport of choice when starting off. The main advantages of the APC are:

-it allows you to spawn as BA on its location, wherever it is on the map
-it allows you, and all your teammates, including those in vehicles, to buy gear and ammo near its location.
-it provides you with score whenever a teammate spawns at it or buys  gear/ammo at it
-it allows the transport of additional BA, aside from the driver (6 iirc)

When driving the APC to the front, much like in real estate, one thing must be kept in mind. Location, location, location. Where you place your APC will be vital to its effectivness. It needs to be close enough to the battlefield so you dont travel for too long, but far or hidden enough not to be spotted and destroyed by the enemy. It is also useful if the APC is parked at a relativley accessible spot so your teammates dont spend too long reloading, but this also makes it more accessible to the enemy. 

Many maps have rocks that make great camo for the APC, try ramming straight at them and park it at a unusual angle, as this will make it harder to spot. You can also park it at a high location like a mountain or even a pyramid, thus enabling friendly aeros to refill closer to the field. If the map you are playing on has one of those bases with a wall surrounding them, parking the APC right behind the wall will allow teammates to buy from beyond the wall, thus keeping the APC hidden (you must however inform them it is there).

Wherever you park it, make sure you tell your teammates that it is deployed.

3. MANEUVERING AND TACTICS

So now youve deployed your APC, bought your gear, and are ready to fight. So lets look at some advantages you have as BA over enemy vehicles:

-The ability to very quickly take cover. Remember, along with your small profile, this is your greatest advantage. Always try to make sure you have some cover nearby, and it will save your life many times. Use crouching when necessary, and make sure your not hiding in such a place where splash damage from rockets or PPC hitting a nearby wall might damage you.

-Aiming. Unlike vehicle drivers whose view turning rates are slowed down depending on the type of vehicle, you have the perfect action FPS view and aim. Use this to your advantage and try to always move and shoot at the same time.

-Distraction. It works both ways. When you are near an enemy and there are friendlies on the way, engage the target and keep evading it so you make a distraction while your allies get into position and open fire. Your target will usually engage them back, allowing you freely engage its back torso armor. But also, when you see an enemy dueling with an ally, feel free to engage. As long as the ally lives you will not concern your enemy much, but be prepared to quickly zip into cover if your ally is destroyed.

Some general tips:

It is essential that you learn to use your jumpjets properly. Only use your whole charge when you need to snipe something from high up, otherwise use short bursts and try to never be completely without. Combine sprint and short bursts for travelling horizontally.

When attacking as BA, you have to pay attention to your weapon reload times. SRMs take longest to reload, so the correct firing order for maximum damage is: PPC, HL, PPC, SRM, HL, and repeat. Dont wait for weapon to reload, learn to switch weapons in this order and you will maximize your damage output.

BA are most effective in a team. If there is another BA near you make sure you two stick together (while keeping a little distance so they dont doublekill you), as you provide cover fire and a distraction for each other.

Radar. Remember to allways select your target on the radar and read his armor status (defaults: E-nearest enemy; T-next enemy). Use your accuracy and maneuverability advantage to attack the part of the enemy that is the most damaged. When multiple targets are in range, cycle through them and check if any of them are badly damaged. Sometimes mech pilots eject from their mech, destroying their cockpit armor. If you see such a target move in at once, and spam Everything youve got on the cockpit. A single well placed PPC should kill the pilot and leave you with a mech to comandeer/destroy.

Grenades. They are very buggy at the moment. 90% you will not be able to make them stick to an enemy, but there are specific cases when you can, and it those cases C8 gives you such a damage boost you need to take that opportunity. Whenever the enemy vehicle is still, moving in the same direction with the same speed as you, or charging directly towards you, the grenades will usually stick. Also, if you manage to land on an enemy vehicle, all the grenades will stick, but careful to gtfo before they go off.

Your PPC. Use it wisely and it will save your life many a time.when you see an enemy aiming at you, splash it in the face with the PPC and its view will rock so hard it will give you the extra 2-3 seconds to get to cover. When you need to get somewhere quickly and have nothing specific to shoot at, fire the PPC in the opposite direction and enjoy a slight but important speed boost (also good when evading without jumpjets). The PPC is also the weapon with the longest range you have. If there is heavily damaged enemy running away from you, jumpjet up and keep shooting him, in many cases you will land a kill. When engaging other BA with it wait for the Enemy to come to a still point (peak of the jump or the moment when he hits the ground). This will make him a lot easier to hit.



Im hoping this will help some of the newer players and those who claim they suck at BA

[DFDelta]

Gameplay tipps:

Keep moving. A BA standing in the open is a dead BA, even if you are behind the only enemy in sight and he is facing into the other direction. You don't have to jump around like a maniac, but even small movements in a 10m diameter will keep enemies outside your radar range from oneshotting you with Gauss, Lasers and even PPCs if you are lucky.

Infernos vs BA. Infernos are one of the best BA vs BA weapons. If you see a enemy BA exhausting all his JJ, throw a Inferno where you think he will land. If your calculations are good he will have no time to get out of the huge blast radius before getting blown up. It takes practice, but it is worth it.

Lern what enemy units generally have C3 and stay away from them. Any unit that carries a C3 is a BAs worst nightmare. Getting into radar range of one of those (and since they often have BHP, their range is huge) is like shouting "hey here I am, snipe me with large lasers please". Lerning from this, we know that you should generally stay away from Owens and Ravens.

You are one of the best scouts out there, use cover, sneakieness and the team chat to report enemy positions and units to your friends, and once they engage join the battle.

For the same reason you are the perfect guy taking care of that LT harrassing your team. A well played BA can get behind the enemy lines, behind the LT and destroy it with a quick MPPC/mHL/C8 combo to the rear before anyone can react.

Lern to snipe with your AC2. Especially on maps like Kagoshima, where you find plenty of steep hills that protect you from most enemy return fire, a BA standing outside of radar range and plinking on enemy armor with an AC2 can bind and distract a lot of people, and everyone who is searching you is one less enemy for your team to fight.

[=KoS= Saber15]

-If you're piloting a vehicle, a Flamer or AC/2 is the weapon you should buy. The PPC and HML are stripped when entering a vehicle.

-Battlearmor combat is basically an extremely slow version of Starsiege: Tribes or Tribes 2 combat. If you learn to play either of those (they're free fyi), you'll wipe the floor with 90% of the other BA players.

- The Bear Autocannon is useless, never take it. It's not a terrible gun but the AC/2 and HML work so much better 90% of the time.

-Inferno grenades are amazingly effective at killing BA, as they have a huge splash radius that instantly kills BA. However, the explosion distance is bigger than the throwing distance, so jump as soon as you throw it 

-Always try to jump on the enemy mech's head. They won't be able to shoot you (unless both of you have lag spikes) and you can kill them at your leisure. Aim for the guns, then the torso if you're feeling evil. Pumas are basically BA landing pads on legs.

-NEVER EVER NEVER get near a tank's front or rear end. They'll just plow you down. Seriously I keep mowing down BA because they think hiding infront of me is a good idea.

-NEVER EVER NEVER jump up to shoot at aerospace or VTOLs coming towards you. They'll just plow you down in midair, or blast you to bits with their anti-air weaponry.

-Flamers are powerful on certain maps, like Extremity and Inferno. Keeping a Flamer and a HML allows you to heat up enemy mechs to shut down, then cut off their weapons.

-Battlearmor can fit in hard to reach spots on mechs. For example, if you land on an enemy vulture, crouch down next to the cockpit on top of the missile pods. His teammates will only be able to shoot you from the side or front, and they'll risk hitting their buddy.

-C8 thrown onto a mech's hip (NOT THE LEG) will severely damage the leg. If you toss a C8 onto an Owen's lower side torso, it will explosively leg them when it goes off.

-Do NOT attempt to engage a Harasser when you have no teammates. They'll just blast you to bits, and/or run you over. Their extremely unpredictable (the only predictable thing about the Harasser is that there is a 302958% chance of it flipping) handling means that they can whip around in a second, drive backwards straight up a mountain, then do a backflip and crush you.

-Do NOT attempt to engage anti-air units when you have no teammates.

-Two battlearmor players working together are very hard to kill.

[^sPikE-]

-NEVER EVER NEVER jump up to shoot at aerospace or VTOLs coming towards you. They'll just plow you down in midair, or blast you to bits with their anti-air weaponry.

I strongly disagree. I killed dozens of low flying aeros and vtols by jumping up to a height where my heavy laser can fry them. Especially aeors tend to avoid fire by flying low, those make great target when they fly by you.

[dsi1]

The AC2 is the the most flexible Anti-BA weapon, pack it if you're a pilot and pack it if you're facing large amounts of enemy BA. Infernos are always a good idea to have as well.

[=KoS= Saber15]

I strongly disagree. I killed dozens of low flying aeros and vtols by jumping up to a height where my heavy laser can fry them. Especially aeors tend to avoid fire by flying low, those make great target when they fly by you.

Whenever I see a battlearmor player jumping up to take potshots at my plane, I just zip in at the apex of his jump, run him over and turn him into a fine paste on my aero's fuselage. I've killed a dozen BAs doing this.
Shooting 'em is fine if they aren't paying attention or ignoring you. Once they notice you, then you duck down.

[Cloudburst]

If you manage to land on an enemy vehicle that doesn't have MASC and have an AC2, that vehicle is fapping toast if someone doesn't snipe you off of it real quick. Don't throw C8's in any situation in which you can safely stay on an enemy mech for more than 10 seconds.

[DFDelta]

The AC2 is the the most flexible Anti-BA weapon, pack it if you're a pilot and pack it if you're facing large amounts of enemy BA. Infernos are always a good idea to have as well.

The AC2 is also a good AA weapon. It can deal about 70% of a RAC5 (!!!) to any plane that is foolish enough to pass you at under 150m. Especially Shivas are hard to miss, a Sulla takes a little more then a single full reload if it is undamaged (tough this is unrealistic to archive in live combat, due to the spread). I have used this to severely damage ASF that passed me.
2 BA that have learned the rythm to shot the AC2 with 100% accuracy each shot can make a plane retreat.

[Askis]

Never underestimate the basic Small Beam Laser.
It doesn't do much damage compared to the HML or the PPC, but it has a quick refire rate, a decent range (~300m) and is pinpoint accurate.
If you can keep it on target it is more than enough to kill enemy BA and is also quite useful against vehicles.

The PPC is also the weapon with the longest range you have.

Untrue.
The AC2 has more than double the range (~500m for the PPC, ~1200m for the AC2), although you'll have to fire single shots with a slight pause between each one to be accurate and therefore won't do much damage.

Also, two hits from an AC2 will kill a BA, which makes it a nice sniper weapon if you've spotted an enemy BA who isn't moving too much.

- The Bear Autocannon is useless, never take it. It's not a terrible gun but the AC/2 and HML work so much better 90% of the time.

The BearAC is a small MG and only effective at 55m or less, it doesn't do much damage even to BA and none at all to any vehicles with heavy armor (Mechs, Tanks). A pilot is better off with an AC2, Flamer or the basic SBL and a dedicated BA with the HML or PPC.

[SquareSphere }12thVR{]

Good guide, put it up in the Wiki

I agree, out in the open the mPPC/HML +C8 is the best load out, BUT with the introduction of TC I actually pack the class mPPC/AC2 +C8 loadout when defending points.  AC2 allows you to keep pumping damage while not giving away position away with the huge yellow beam, at the same time it actually deals more burst damage and if you have to dodge back into cover quickly, where as the HML leaves you exposed if you want to deal full damage.

[AlfalphaCat]

OOOOOhhh, looky wut I found, A Treasure trove of wisdom!!! [(no sarcasm font, because i give you all +1(karmafairystrikesfirst!!!!XD)]

[Mekabuser=12thVR=]

OOOOOhhh, looky wut I found, A Treasure trove of wisdom!!! [(no sarcasm font, because i give you all +1(karmafairystrikesfirst!!!!XD)]

same

[Dragonzord]

with the PPC trick of using it to move...

I generally use it when fighting enemy mechs. like if i come in above them, or if i see them aiming at me, i fire it directly upwards and they always miss, then you can sprint/jump jet to their legs before they can aim and generally thats giving you a huge advantage.

[Brainwright]

The only safe place when dealing with a mech is about 30 to 50 degrees above its field of view.  Most people aren't accurate enough due to lag when you drop back down after a good jet, but many people are, and if they have splash weapons, lag doesn't matter.

When jetting toward a moving mech, pull out ahead of it rather than try approaching directly or from behind.  They're a lot faster than you, and a few seconds under power can open a lot of space after you've expended jump juice.  That's a mighty fine firing range.

Don't make any move toward a mech or any other asset that doesn't plant you in cover or directly at its feet/head/tracks.

Oh, and that guy who mentioned battle armor as superior scouts?  He's on crack.  Nine times out of ten, you'll be detected and hounded as a mark of pride on the K/D ratio.  The only valid methods of combat as battle armor are long range or with distraction from your teammates.  You're just a squishy little berry amidst a world of ravenous, berry-eating hordes.

[Warhammer WHM-6R]

Great tips. Now some cool screenshots with some nice big green arrows to clarify (not really necessary but always looks professional) and you have a first rate tutorial for the wiki.
Karma for all BA pros. I hope to see you all at the pointy end of my 85 ton clan assault tank 

Seriously awesome initiative Spike