Pro Tips Thread

[Ghiest]

Scary Madcat gunning you down? Try for a back shot! Destroying the back armor both ruins the Engine of the Mech and causes 3X more damage to the CT with anything you hit it with!

This is the best option for BA, use superior jump abilty to get behind and put that PPC/SRMS into his back.  I've taken down both mk2's and atlas with just BA's so far.

[Masakari]

Typing "quit" in console will close your game

Remember to buy ammo in your mechs.

BA PPC instantly gibs any other BA if you land a direct hit.

Lead your shots when taking down Aero with ballistic weapons.

BA Bear Autocannon is strictly an anti BA weapon, it doesn't deal out much damage to anything else besides aero.

[shadowkiller]

Running too hot? Slow down! You cool at a much faster rate when not at full throttle.

[HOUND]

Tired of being named "Nomad(5)?"  Open your console using the ` key and then type       name Callsign with a space between name and your callsign.

name? is that GamespyID?

[Cujo]

no, in game name, for some reason my Gamespy ID doesn't come up as my in game name.  That quick console command will let you change your name in game.

[CHHš Sturmadler]

Tired of getting blown to bits by Spyro and the other Aerojockies?

1. Try moving laterally to their attack run.  This will make it much more difficult for them to line up a shot.

2. Use hills and buildings to hide from them.

3. Missiles track them much better when they are traveling away from you.  Try getting a lock as soon as they've passed you.

[Cujo]

Avoid Spyro, all he does is fly and kill things.  seriously.

[KingLeerUK]

Did you know there is another gamemode than Solaris Arena?  Ask your server admin to look into Test of Strength!

Test of Strength starts all players with a large (200,000) number of C-Bills, but you are unable to earn any additional funds throughout the game.   You can buy any 'Mech/vehicle from the start, even assaults, but if you run out of C-Bills before the end of the game you will be limited to running around as a BA.  Manage your money wisely!

[xKamikazex]

Ejecting by Pressing "F" can save your life, but it will not save your Mech. If left exposed with the cockpit blown out, enemies can steal it and turn it against you! Watch out for enemy BA stealing what you left behind and turning it against you!

[xKamikazex]

I've actually found alot of our weapons very effective at killing BA...

Lasers - Sweeping motion lets you catch the BA if you're correcting your shots (even better the larger the laser). Tip: Chain fire if you have more than one laser
Pulse Lasers - High refire is really handy if you need to spray a bit to hit the BA. Again even better with the larger classes but beware of heat
Mguns - High refire and best spray and pray weapons against BA
RACs - much the same as MGuns, doing more dmg per hit
LBX - Who doesn't like shotguns?
Flamers - Flood the area with flames and I'm sure you'll take them out
PPCs - High splash area makes it really good at hitting the landed targets
Gauss - Kind of over kill against a BA, but with their high velocity you can find a blood splatter at what ever you precisely aim at
SRMs - Explosive Frag damage allows for flushing BA out of hide spots, unless they're already dead
AC2 and AC5 - High refire rate makes them really efficient much like the RACs and Mguns. Since they're higher damage, think of them like rapid fire 20mm or 50mm cannons
AC10 and AC20 - High Splash radius also makes these effective at killing the grounded BA from exhausted JJs. Again over kill, but it does the job. Much like a Broadsword to cut cheese .

My main tip when fighting BA is that there's three major factors to consider - Speed, Accuracy, Friends.

Speed - Light and Medium Mechs should have little trouble when faced off against BA since you have the speed to get the range on the BA and then be able to shoot them as they try and close the distance. It's harder with Heavy Mechs, but still possible. Assaults have the worst time since they are slower and far less maneuverable.

Accuracy - Since BA thrive when zipping around with their JJ, don't bother to shoot them when you see the BA blast their Jets. Wait until their reach their apex of their Jump or when they get grounded from exhausting their fuel. You have about 1-2 seconds before they can thrust again which makes them vulnerable to your shot.

Friends - If neither of the upper two work for you, then your last resort (short of bailing out) is asking a team mate to get these pesky BA off you. Most often they will be able to have a clear shot on them and take them out for you .

[KingLeerUK]

Hawkmoth Tips

Want to move forward?  Hold "SHIFT" and "W" at the same time, it vectors your thrust to allow for foward movement.  Release to resume normal upward thrust.

Having trouble tapping "W" to stay on target?  Switch to hold throttle using "K" and then set your throttle appropriately.  Hit "K" again followed by either "W" or "S" to switch back to regular throttle control.

Using the LtGauss Prime variant?  Set your radar to passive and lurk on the edges of the battle field.  Use quick toggle radar to locate enemies and then snipe them with annonymity.

Having trouble getting a lock?  I like to let me aim "drift" onto a target instead of trying to directly influence it with adjustments.  Make sure to hold your lock throughout the entire LRM salvo, it increases your hit percentage.

Taking out the LRM/NARC variant?  NARCs do not track very well, even with a positive lock, do your best to track your target as closely as possible to get a postive NARC attachment, then rain down LRM hell with impunity.

Is your team having trouble with enemy Hawkmoths camping their positions?  Get the PPC variant and go hunting...

The [ B ] armour indicator is your body durability.
The [ E ] indicator is your engine.  The engine can only be shot from the sides, so put your best face forward in mid-air engagements.

If you get your tail shot off you can either ride the Hawkmoth down and jump out at the last second or bail immediately.  Knowing when to do so is based on your remaining durability and how good a shot your AA opponent is.

You can rearm/repair a VTOL on either the aerospace tarmac or on the VTOL pads.

When spawning a VTOL, wait until the platform has come to full height before boarding the Hawkmoth to avoid getting "stuck" to the pad (it's a random bug).

[Seraph]

Pro Tip #024 : For a good performance boost go to your advanced graphics settings and disable shadows (set the to Low). They like to drain your hardware big time! Might give you the edge when fighting BA.

[miniboss]

okay, i'm not exactly a ba pro, and  just started yesterday, but i want to share my findings.
its by no means a complete guide; this is how i play ba, and i'd be happy if someone has ideas to improve.



if you have trouble fighting other elementals, try to get above them.
if they are in the air, tap space to jump a little, and shoot at them with the laser or try a onehit with the ppc.
once they are decending, swich to srm, fly up until you have ca 50% jetpack fuel, and blast them from above when they touch the ground.
dont wait for lock (if you are able to lock ba anyway, idk), the time in air is too short.
keep the rest of the fuel to jump more if you miss and they start counterattacking.

in general, dont waste all jetpack fuel at once, try to preserve some for evasive maneuvers.
also, try not to run around jetpacking/with guns blasting, it gives away your position from a great distance.
better move fast (shift) on the ground and in cover, that way you stay hidden much longer.
if a mech or tank follows you, get away low behind hills, trees, stones, and look for friendly big guys they will be happy to help you finish them off.
in that one big swamp map, the water is a great hinding place. i have stood between 5 enemy mechs looking for me and they didnt see me.

keep an ear out for the distictive hissing of other ba jetpacks.
most ppl like to jet around for no reason and give themselves away easily.
try to ambush them if you can.

if you try to laserpaint someone, come from the side rather than from the front for obvious reasons.
i did it from the front and had 2 ppc coming my way, just to the origin of my laserbeam... bad news.
painting mechs gives you good xp if they are blown to bits by friendly LRM you helped locking on.


i hope these tips helps people have more fun in ba and live much longer.

[Seraph]

Related to the post above:

Pro Tip #101 : TAG lasers are only visible in normal vision to you and your team! The opposing team has to switch to Nightvision to see that beam. So use them often but not at night

[=KH=Dimachaerus]

Pro-Tip #69: When playing as a BA -ALWAYS- stock up on C8 explosives. Strap a few to that big bad mech's leg to cripple it and move on so your teammates can get the easy kill. A mech on it's back can't fire back so well.

Pro-Tip #70: NEVER eject from your mech unless absolutely necessary. Ejecting destroys the head armor and -ANY- AoE effect even remotely close to the cockpit will result in an insta-gib. (I love it when nubs do it though, slap a brick of C8 next to the cockpit and move on... a few seconds later you get a kill and a nice infusion of C-bills.)