It's Getting Better All the Time

[Jonttu]

I don't know how good i am but i tend to be in the top 2 or so almost every game. I don't get any ridiculously high k/d ratios or anything. My best scores so far would be approx 30 kills to 10 deaths which i have reached probably twice so far. But I also reach high ranks almost every game. I get to pilot assaults almost every game aswell.
I don't know what improves a player the best but I pretty much just leave the hangar and go brawl...??
These days I don't get gunned down maybe as easily or as often as before when I rushed the enemy alone.

[TheDrgnRbrn]

Lots of good tidbits in here. About the partisan question snowball threw out, I was gonna say put all your shots into his right side while moving to the right yourself, that way he will automatically circle you with his already damaged right armor. But I did not know that the CERLBLs would one shot him..

So, we have examples of Aiming and Survivability, what about Piloting? Know where all the mech-tripping rocks are on Sandblasted and Extremity? Do you weave through killer trees on Clearcut?

[Bowrrl]

Pretty much that and knowing little tricks that help you in dogfights. Like abruptly stopping and hitting reverse in a circle o' death so you can get a shot at your opponent's rear armor, or if you are piloting a fast jumper using the JJs to get a small acceleration boost to dodge high damage low RoF weapons (Gauss/AC20 ect) and missiles and getting behind some slower Mechs.

In my opinion the most useful skill I've seen in MWLL is the ability to target specific parts of an opponent's vehicle and being quick enough on your damage-triage (for lack of a better term coming to mind) to decide what the highest priority parts are as quick as possible. An easy example might be if you're going up against the HGauss Thanatos to quickly target and rip the HGauss arm off as fast as you can.

[SquareSphere }12thVR{]

I agree the use of JJ, MASC, and throttle control for dodging are all examples of improved piloting.  I'd also add knowing when to quick crouch to maximum it's reduced lrm/arrow4 lock time.

[TheDrgnRbrn]

Square, that last part made no sense, lol. I know what you are saying, so no worries though.

Here is a quick question I just thought of: How do you break away from a Circle of Death^tm? I mean completely and totally remove yourself from it, say to go for repairs or what have you.

[SquareSphere }12thVR{]

Depends on the mech and terrain.  Ideally a pilot would need to maneuver in a way that places and object between themselves and their pursuer.  This gives the pilot time to create space and hopefully be far enough away they can go passive.

On my other comment, it's part of the move and shoot lrm use.

[Redvan]

1.  Be fast on the BA pick.  Not only do you get more kills which look good on paper, but being able to quickly acquire and hit a BA is good practice.  If u can hit the little things, big mechs will be no problem at all.

2.  Know the best parts to hit to neutralize your opponent.  No point in absorbing tons of dammage as you aim for their CT or head if you can be knocking out the very weaponry that's damaging you.

3.  Be able to hit at range.  It's easy with lasers, but with projectile weaponry it may take some getting used to

4.  Know how much damage your weaponry does.  You may be able to take a pot shot off at a more damaged opponent off in the distance and eliminate him before focusing all your attention on the brand spanking new mech right in front of you.  In other words:  Choose your targets wisely.

5.  Avoid using missiles.  They're easy to use, and take no practice.  Early in game, they're generally used more close range.  Not only do they do adequate damage, not only are they easy, but the give significant knock around on your opponent, thus screwing up their aim.  Tactically a grand idea, but not so much if you really want to get better.

Infinity and beyond (for now):  But let's be honest, to get those 30-1  "above average"kdr's and scores, grab a missile boat and sit in the back.  That's generally the "key" to high score/kd.  I do not endorse this as it is skilless.  So you're not really getting better at the game, you're just using an easy tactic to win big.  But that's just imho.

[~SJ~ Xarg Talasko]

Play variants you've never used before, broaden your gameplay resume.

[TheDrgnRbrn]

Play variants you've never used before, broaden your gameplay resume.

I will admit that practice is useful, and will help you learn more about the ins and outs of every mech on the field, but its not as directly related to personal skill level. Someone in another thread suggest the idea to get ten kills with every mech, vehicle, and aero, and that is the approach I think every player should take to learning the game.

2.  Know the best parts to hit to neutralize your opponent.  No point in absorbing tons of dammage as you aim for their CT or head if you can be knocking out the very weaponry that's damaging you.

This is a very important skill to learn, and it is one that combines pretty much all three of the MWLL Tenants of Piloting that Snowball put forward. This is also a catch 22 type situation. While yes, you can shoot their arms and weapons off, and that will reduce the damage coming at you, letting you survive longer, but they wont die. On the other hand, if you pound into their CT (Like I do) you can take them down, but you will take heavy damage in return.

My current approach to this situation is to quickly evaluate the match-up. If I am carrying high-damage weapons (LBX20, AC20, Gauss) I tend to drill straight through the CT, figuring that it would be quicker to just drop them. If I have a little more varied weapon selection, I might carve up their arms and stuff first, then take them down. This all assumes that I am having good luck with aiming that night

[Redvan]

My current approach to this situation is to quickly evaluate the match-up. If I am carrying high-damage weapons (LBX20, AC20, Gauss) I tend to drill straight through the CT, figuring that it would be quicker to just drop them. If I have a little more varied weapon selection, I might carve up their arms and stuff first, then take them down. This all assumes that I am having good luck with aiming that night

yeah, that kinda goes along with my point #4:  Knowing how much damage you are capable of handing out.  But that really depends on what you're fighting.  Even when in a MKII Prime, I still go for the arms on a novacat first, even though I have 4 MBLs and 2 Gauss.  No point in me taking more damage than I need.  This situation generally ends in novacat with no arms, ejected pilot (easy kill), and then an empty mech to pick apart and get $$$ off of 

Dont forget, the more damage you take, the quicker you're gonna die or have to waste time walkin back to base

[-AAA-]

Lots of good tips in here.  One thing I'd mention that Snowball briefly touched on with the partisan, but applies to all units: present the enemy with your strongest armor and hide your vulnerable spots.  If you've ever had the Gauss arm blown off an Uller A, you've probably learned to turn your torso around to hide that arm from damage while it reloads.  Same deal with any mech that has a particularly vulnerable body part; like the Holly II's main gun, Nova Cat arms, Atlas cockpit, and even the Mk II's CT at the moment.  Anybody that wants to even attempt tank piloting has to be aware of this. 

[BlueT]

Don't play on a server where you lag!
Every time I think I suck I play on a low lag server and wow!
Not so bad after all.....

[TheDrgnRbrn]

Don't play on a server where you lag!
Every time I think I suck I play on a low lag server and wow!
Not so bad after all.....

QFT. I have had this happen several times as well. But sometimes the low ping servers are empty