Combat Guide

Welcome to the MechWarrior: Living Legends Combat Guide!

This tutorial will lead you through the many aspects of combat in MWLL, as here you will find essential information and various hints regarding combat. This guide is intended to be a relatively general overview and will not go too deep into details of specific match-ups.

Sooner or later, you will get into a battle of some kind. As a new player, your first few battles are likely to be chaotic, with all sorts of things happening at once. (?)

--> have some sort of actual opener of some kind. points is far better off as an article unto itself, given its prominence as a gameplay concept. a couple sentences wouldn't hurt though. --> otherwise, talk more about _how_ to fight: IDing targets, the importance of checking paperdolls for damage/weak areas, arm/torso blocking, "can I win this fight", when to run, general areas to shoot at

Know Thy Enemy

Knowing what your potential opponents are capable of is necessary to figuring out how to beat them. Most 'Mechs and some vehicles have visually distinct variants, so a visual identification of the exact variant a player has is often possible with some exposure to the particular silhouettes of common variants. This lets you do two things: first, it lets you understand the precise capabilities of the target. Second, you can then determine whether the target is a threat or not.

Checking the opponent's current armor status is also very helpful, when possible. This will reveal whether they have already suffered damage and which locations you should target to secure a quick victory.

From here, you can make an informed decision whether to engage or take another course of action, depending on the specific circumstances.

Armor, Accuracy, Damage

A Shadowcat loses its arm

Nearly every target (exception being BAs and base defense turrets) have multiple components, each with separate armor. To destroy a unit at least one critical component needs to be destroyed. The critical components are:

• For Mech:
  • Center Torso and Back Torso
• For Vehicle:
  • Hull (which can only be destroyed by first destroying the armor plating protecting a specific hitbox)
• For VTOL:
  • Body, Engine
• For Aerospace:
  • Body, Engine

All the other components play an additional role. Destroying them will weaken but not destroy the vehicle in question. Tanks can drive without a turret, though any more damage to the turret will be redirected to all its other components. Aerospace with a wing shot off will remain in the air for as long as it takes for gravity to pull it down to the ground, though the pilot loses control over it. A Mech missing one of its legs will tumble to the ground, making it an easy target. A legged Mech can still rotate its torso, use Jump Jets, and - should it still be facing them - shoot at its opponents.

The fastest way to destroy your target is to deal as much damage as possible to one of its key components. This allows quick removal of opponents and high score rewards. If possible aim for a Mech's back torso, as there is next to no armor in that area. A single well-placed Heavy Gauss round is often enough to do the job. Spreading damage around can be useful too, as a disarmed or legged Mech is effectively removed from combat and indeed these parts have little armor, but this is often riskier. For instace, destroying the right torso of an HGauss-equipped Hollander renders it entirely defenseless, while removing either arm of a Novacat can cut its firepower in half. Legging is generally looked down upon, however, as it is seen as a dishonorable tactic. Finally, the coveted headshot. A single hit of any kind to a destroyed cockpit kills the pilot, leaving the Mech intact (assuming the Mech was intact when the pilot was killed). It can then be used by anyone willing to use it, but they will be a walking instant kill for their enemy.

Weapons

--> likely stick a note here to look at the weapon table/pages for more info -- this stuff is fairly unnecessary and not terribly relevant on how to fight.

The important thing when buying a unit is knowing its weapons' advantages and disadvantages (or at least its optimal range) and using it toward victory. An opponent, especially an experienced one, will try to use the disadvantages of your unit - if your main weapons are LRMs, they will try to come as close as possible, while if your weapons are best at short range, he will stay as far as his weapons allow- so knowing what area your unit is best will be essential for its survival.

Weapon Grouping & Fire Modes

The importance of configuring your weapons properly cannot be understated, especially since the default weapon groupings often put a lot of different weapons on one trigger, causing unnecessary heat buildup or a loss of potential damage. You can configure your own weapon groupings using the arrow keys to select a weapon and group, then pressing Enter to assign/unassign that weapon from the selected group.

Most of the time, you will want to group weapons with similar range profiles and properties together. Let's use the Mad Cat Prime as an example:

• On your first trigger, group both your ERLBLs on their own. They are your main precision long-range weapons and will often be used to fire on anything you see when you can handle the heat output.
• Next, consider grouping both your LRM20 packs together. Being missile weapons, you will want to fire these only when you have lock and a clear view of your opponent.
• For the third group, place both your ERMBLs. You can also put the MPL on this trigger if you want, although you will be generating a fair bit of excess heat for no reason when firing at targets beyond 500m. Otherwise, leave the MPL on its own group.
• Last, place your two MGs on the fourth trigger. Since these weapons produce almost no heat and have a very long range, you can bind them with your first trigger if you choose. Keeping one group of MGs-only is rarely a bad idea, as it gives you a low-heat way of firing on Battle Armor.

Some 'Mechs with a large number of identical energy weapons, such as the Puma C or Masakari C will often require two separate groups containing half of their total laser array in order to mitigate heat buildup.

With your weapons set up, we'll take a look at fire modes next.

chainfire volley fire Gameplay Tactics#Alpha Strike

Heat Management

add stuff about how to try and avoid overheating...

For more information, see the Heat Management page.

Movement

Movement and maneuvering on the battlefield is essential to survival on the battlefield. Staying still allows considerably better aim, but gives your opponent control of the situation. They will have an easier time hitting you as well, and can decide from where to approach you.

While under fire try to move as fast as possible, if your Mech is equipped with MASC (activated with [left shift]) you can use it for quick bursts of speed, which is useful for throwing off your enemies' aim. If possible, do not turn your back to your enemy. A Mech's back torso has a fraction of the armor of its front. That said, attempt to shoot your enemies in their back armor whenever possible. Use terrain to your advantage - hills or rocks will cover a retreat should it be necessary. Remember that it is often beneficial to return to your base and repair rather than give your enemy extra Cbills from your death. Unless your weaponry is purely short range, your opponent's weapons are disadvantaged at short range (i.e. LRMs), or terrain necessitates it try not to move in a straight line toward your enemies. Keep in mind the optimal range of your own weaponry, as well.

Gameplay Tactics#Circle Lock is relevant here.

Radar Management

With the [R] key any unit (with exception of Battle Armor) can switch to and from Passive Radar. In this mode its visibility on enemy radar is reduced by half, while the unit's own radar range is reduced to 300 meters. This has a multitude of uses, such as flanking maneuvers, ambushes, and avoiding artillery fire, and easy approach towards missile campers. Proper use of passive radar can greatly increase your longevity in battle. Perhaps the most important use of passive radar is hiding from Aerospace and Long Toms. Long Toms in particular usually don't visually acquire targets, so running on passive makes you nigh impossible to hit, save by luck or standing near an ally in Active Radar mode. Aerospace Fighters have BHP or BAP which allows them to detect passive targets from distance. Despite this, while flying at a safe distance they would have to be directly above a passive unit and thus would have a hard time safely attacking it without risking a crash.

Camo

Many players, including veterans, often forget to buy camouflage before buying their asset. On some maps, this causes them to stick out like sore thumbs from their surroundings. Make it a habit to buy camo before every asset you ever purchase, unless you are pressed for time as it can be the difference-maker in being fired upon and slipping past the opposing team unseen. After all, it is 100% free!

Pillars of Victory

To sum everything up, there are three pillars of victory. The three most important things you should remember after this guide.

• Aiming - Shoot your enemy's critical components to destroy them, or others to disarm or disable them.
• Weapons - Know how to use them and base your tactics around the ranges your weapons and your enemy's weapons function best at.
• Mobility - When under fire, never stand still. Take advantage of a stationary enemy.