as so far i been thinking that where crosshare is, is where your shots go, this this false?
It's not entirely false, let me explain:
For one, most weapons don't hit instantly so if you have a moving target you do have to lead ahead to hit the desired spot. Another thing is that the weapons are not fired from your viewing point, the actual weapon can for example be a few meters to the left, located at your mecharm. This can be problematic when you lead ahead of an small target (so that you're targeting thin air when leading). Because of this, the weapon will focus on its maximum range instead of the distance where the target is.
Thats usually not a problem when fighting mechs but it can be problematic when trying to hit BAs. For example i tried to hit an BA midair with the two UAC10 of an Atlast yesterday. I aimed well and had no doubt i would hit him... thanks to the issue stated above however, the two AC10 salvos flew past the BA on both sides. The ACs focussed on 550 meters while the BA was pretty damn close... so.
Only thing that really hits instantly are lasers but then again, lasers do not apply their whole damage potential at once. Pulse lasers fire several short beams and beamlasers fire an beam that lasts for an second or so... therefor if your target is moving you'll have to follow that movement with your crosshair while firing the laser in order to do maximal damage to a certain part of the mech. Same goes for shooting BAs, grazing over them with a laser wont do that much damage and isn't likely to kill them, try to keep the beam on the target and they'll get fried.
Oh right about your first question: Hell yeah ofcourse you aim for parts.
However if you have problems with aiming at the moment I'd recommend you to start with the easier to hit parts. Center torso is easiest but it can also withstand the most damage. Left/Right torso can be a good target at times as they catch some bullets pretty often and mostly are already damaged when you encounter an enemy mech, also the armor there is a bit weaker than at the main torso (but still quite good).
Another good call is aiming for the legs, atleast unless you're fighting against an very fast, small mech. Heavily damaging a leg will also slow the enemy down, making it easier for you to land more shots.
Once you're a bit more experienced, have suitable weapons for it or the situation allows it, go either for the rear armor or the cockpit. These two are by far the weakest spots a mech has.
Rear armor is especially interesting when you're fighting in a fast mech that can outmaneuver the enemy. Or... which is particulary mean but an bit dangerous... you can hide behind cover and power your mech down. Then you wait for an enemy to walk past, power up your mech and fire an full salvo at the back of the poor bastard.
Last but not least, once you know enough about the mechtypes roaming the field and can recognize their equipmentloadout visually you can also try to unarm them or if you know that this specific mech has alot of heat-problems you can try your luck using flamers on him. (quite effective in the inferno map)
I think thats an good deal of information to get you started. See you on the field.
