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[Guide] Essential Optimizations


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#1 h0B0

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Posted December 14 2012 - 07:30 AM

This topic is to show what the most important optimizations are in early OB according to me.

Considering maxing anything in the optimization only yield 3-4% increase i have come to the conclusion that extra mobility more often than not will make a bigger impact on the battlefield. Furthermore, with careful usage of fuel i find myself rarely running out. The increased in move speed is barely noticeable and in most cases if you are in a position where you need to run away more often than not you will die. Even when piloting an A-class with full mobility.

For these reasons i have come to the conclusion that the following 5 optimizations are by far the best.

1. Increased dodge speed and Reduced dodge cooldown: With a little bit of practice we all get a hang of the dodging mechanic. This dodging mechanic will help you avoid incoming damage and possibly increase your own damage by dodging corners and getting your first shot off sooner. The reduced dodge cooldown means you can do this more often and therefore is essential. The increased dodge speed makes your dodge maneuvers more efficient and can be a deciding factor considering it will take you less time to get further away from the AoE blast you are trying to avoid.

2. Decreased repair startup time and Increase repair rate: Repairing is an essential part of gameplay. When repairing you are left vulnerable and you are not dealing damage to enemy mech. For those reasons i like to lower my time spend repairing and choose these optimizations.

3. Increased acceleration rate: Although i have said most mobility optimization feel lackluster i believe this one is essential because it allows your mech to achieve its maximum walking speed faster. Even if the difference is marginal there is nothing more vulnerable than a mech standing still or moving at slow speeds. One could argue that a quick tap of the boost helps you reach max walking speed but i have to point out that boosting will get you noticed on the radar and stealth is a great advantage that you want to utilize.


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It is important to note that explosive damage optimization affects the damage of the HEcharge.

Edited by h0B0, July 07 2013 - 02:19 PM.

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View Post[HWK]HUGHES, on March 15 2013 - 08:35 PM, said:

Oh don't always listen to h0B0. Lol.


#2 CyanideFuse

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Posted December 14 2012 - 07:43 AM

In all the other tests I hardly put any points into the movement tree but this time round I have and I am seeing a large different (placebo or actual I do not know).

I am definitely seeing results going that way than all-out offense like before. It didn't seem to make any difference (or at least very small difference) putting points into that area.

#3 Tezkat

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:04 AM

 h0B0, on December 14 2012 - 07:30 AM, said:

For these reasons i have come to the conclusion that the following 5 optimizations are by far the best.

Yeah, that's the setup I've been using on all my mechs for the last few betas. The other % based improvements are now ridiculously puny and don't really do anything.
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#4 ReachH

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:05 AM

You can also get the final +1m/s mobility optimization and the +10% Fuel internal to compensate not getting the fuel upgrades. I have yet to test it, but its on my list :)

And in defense of the offense tree, if you have all the offense internals, the difference was noticeable in CB3. I know this because the SS needed the offense tree just to be able to kill things. Without it was impossible to get anything more than a vulture kill because people would get away. I haven't tested offense in OB, but its supposed to be better than it was in CB3 isn't it?

Edited by ReachH, December 14 2012 - 08:08 AM.

View Post[HWK]HUGHES, on October 23 2013 - 06:01 PM, said:

Development happens.


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#5 Aims

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:05 AM

Thankyou for this, I have been tossing up whether to make a topic asking some related questions all night. This is exactly what I wanted to know.

Two other things though - once you have chosen your optimizations, can you re-spec? And do they only apply to one mech?

#6 Tezkat

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:06 AM

 Aims, on December 14 2012 - 08:05 AM, said:

Thankyou for this, I have been tossing up whether to make a topic asking some related questions all night. This is exactly what I wanted to know.

Two other things though - once you have chosen your optimizations, can you re-spec? And do they only apply to one mech?

You can change your optimizations at any time for free. They're mech specific.
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#7 h0B0

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:06 AM

 ReachH, on December 14 2012 - 08:05 AM, said:

You can also get the final +1m/s mobility optimization and the +10% Fuel internal to compensate not getting the fuel upgrades. I have yet to test it, but its on my list :)

Oh yeah definitively. But i think these are the basics for most mechs in the current state of the game. Notice how i only spend 18 points, i still have 7 points left to spend on what ever i care for.

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View Post[HWK]HUGHES, on March 15 2013 - 08:35 PM, said:

Oh don't always listen to h0B0. Lol.


#8 h0B0

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:08 AM

 Aims, on December 14 2012 - 08:05 AM, said:

Two other things though - once you have chosen your optimizations, can you re-spec? And do they only apply to one mech?
You need to set them for each mech.

I used to have offensive on infil and def on berserker back in CBE2.

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View Post[HWK]HUGHES, on March 15 2013 - 08:35 PM, said:

Oh don't always listen to h0B0. Lol.


#9 Ollie

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:08 AM

 Tezkat, on December 14 2012 - 08:04 AM, said:

 h0B0, on December 14 2012 - 07:30 AM, said:

For these reasons i have come to the conclusion that the following 5 optimizations are by far the best.

Yeah, that's the setup I've been using on all my mechs for the last few betas. The other % based improvements are now ridiculously puny and don't really do anything.
Agreed.  I've been using this since CBE3 on both my grenadier and my infiltrator.  Sort of a bummer.

edit:  But should they decide to change this, don't nerf movement -- buff offensive, and consider making moving further up the defensive latter an actual choice.  It would make people *rage*, but I suspect that swapping the position of repair rate and armor would make it a decision.  Then again, a lot of people would be forced to dip for armor.  Hrm.

Edited by Ollie, December 14 2012 - 08:11 AM.

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#10 ReachH

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:14 AM

 h0B0, on December 14 2012 - 08:06 AM, said:

 ReachH, on December 14 2012 - 08:05 AM, said:

You can also get the final +1m/s mobility optimization and the +10% Fuel internal to compensate not getting the fuel upgrades. I have yet to test it, but its on my list :)

Oh yeah definitively. But i think these are the basics for most mechs in the current state of the game. Notice how i only spend 18 points, i still have 7 points left to spend on what ever i care for.
Yeh I noticed, you could either get the entire fuel series of upgrades, or get the final by going through the armor upgrade (which is next to useless isn't it?).

View Post[HWK]HUGHES, on October 23 2013 - 06:01 PM, said:

Development happens.


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#11 ANALYST

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:16 AM

How do you all think this relates to the Sharpshooter?  I've been playing one mainly because everyone goes assault and I have to be different...  I like the style of the Sharpshooter (although some of the maps make it difficult) and spend Much of my time perched and fairly immobile with a radar scrambler and a turret.  

Just curious.

#12 Aims

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:19 AM

Thanks for the help guys, for some reason the game isn't letting me allocate any of my points to the skills though when I click on them. I know I must be missing something obvious...

EDIT: restarted the program, seems to be working now. Odd.

Edited by Aims, December 14 2012 - 08:28 AM.


#13 h0B0

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:31 AM

 ANALYST, on December 14 2012 - 08:16 AM, said:

How do you all think this relates to the Sharpshooter?  I've been playing one mainly because everyone goes assault and I have to be different...  I like the style of the Sharpshooter (although some of the maps make it difficult) and spend Much of my time perched and fairly immobile with a radar scrambler and a turret.  

Just curious.

If you intended to camp behind your teammates might as well go "full offensive".
But i don't play SS.


 Aims, on December 14 2012 - 08:19 AM, said:

Thanks for the help guys, for some reason the game isn't letting me allocate any of my points to the skills though when I click on them. I know I must be missing something obvious...

EDIT: restarted the program, seems to be working now. Odd.

They were patching.

 ReachH, on December 14 2012 - 08:14 AM, said:

 h0B0, on December 14 2012 - 08:06 AM, said:

 ReachH, on December 14 2012 - 08:05 AM, said:

You can also get the final +1m/s mobility optimization and the +10% Fuel internal to compensate not getting the fuel upgrades. I have yet to test it, but its on my list :)

Oh yeah definitively. But i think these are the basics for most mechs in the current state of the game. Notice how i only spend 18 points, i still have 7 points left to spend on what ever i care for.
Yeh I noticed, you could either get the entire fuel series of upgrades, or get the final by going through the armor upgrade (which is next to useless isn't it?).

Are you refering to the +33% movement speed from defensive?
You need to take into account that the movement trees max optimization increases all movement by 1m/s including dodging and boosting. Defensive only increases you walking speed.

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View Post[HWK]HUGHES, on March 15 2013 - 08:35 PM, said:

Oh don't always listen to h0B0. Lol.


#14 Coldrew

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:38 AM

It's worked for me in the pasted and still seems to work. Stack explody damage on mechs that only have explody weapons. Grenadier/Rocketeer.
I agree that most mechs are just better with improved dodge, I always throw a new mech's point into faster dodge speed (but that's just me).
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#15 Talesin

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:44 AM

Really, movement is the only viable spec... or at least the only one that DOES anything. Armor? That point that could have gone toward faster boost speed will get you TWO extra hit points on a Class B.

Damage? Three points won't even get you HALF A PERCENT INCREASE (3 * 0.16 = 0.48) where you could drop that into faster boost recharge time and actually have it do SOMETHING.


Really, the 'optimizations' are fairly worthless at this point. It's just a game of 'find the optimization that actually DOES SOMETHING' and build up through the worthless optimization prerequisites to get to it. Disappointing as in the Alpha and Closed Betas, optimizations actually gave you a small but noticeable ability to customize toward your personal playstyle with weapon and armor values that changed more than THREE HIT POINTS. Which *might* save you once in a million times, if you've just been hit by lightning three times within two days at different locations in different states while winning a lottery grand prize.
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#16 h0B0

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:48 AM

 Coldrew, on December 14 2012 - 08:38 AM, said:

It's worked for me in the pasted and still seems to work. Stack explody damage on mechs that only have explody weapons. Grenadier/Rocketeer.
I agree that most mechs are just better with improved dodge, I always throw a new mech's point into faster dodge speed (but that's just me).

Don't forget the heat infil ;)

Also important to note, if you go full offensive with the SS don't put any points in explosive damage i did not mention it in my previous reply becaus i thought it was obvious but this is the internet and who knows who might be browsing.


 Talesin, on December 14 2012 - 08:44 AM, said:

"rant"

I was hoping to provide newcommers with some helpfull advice. I understand your point of view but would rather we discuss this in a more appropriate thread.

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View Post[HWK]HUGHES, on March 15 2013 - 08:35 PM, said:

Oh don't always listen to h0B0. Lol.


#17 Conquistador

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Posted December 14 2012 - 08:56 AM

Have you considered the movement bonuses are much more beneficial to A-class light mechs than C-class mechs? The heavy mech is so ponderously slow that even getting to max speed is a tiny incremental bonus, at best. This means movement bonuses scale much more drastically for A-classes than C-classes.

The reverse seems to be true for the buffs to repair favouring C-classes, particularly, seeing as you can technically pop one-healing orb and practically heal your light mech to full (just because it has so little HP). It takes a ridiculously long time to get a heavy mech up to speed with the default repair settings, so the repair tree optimizations you recommended are exponentially better for the C-class than the A-class. The time spent by a heavy mech in repair from the "in the red" status is drastically longer than an A-class with similar relative hitpoints.


If you're a heavy class, you probably want to pour all your points into repair first.

In short: Both optimization types can be useful to either class, but are MORE useful to certain classes. Repair tree buffs favour Heavy mechs more than Light mechs. Movement tree buffs favour Light mechs more than Heavy mechs.
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#18 h0B0

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Posted December 14 2012 - 12:29 PM

 Conquistador, on December 14 2012 - 08:56 AM, said:

Smarty pants ;)
I had not thought about it the way you have.
But after further fact checking i have noticed movement and repair buffs are a flat bonus, they are not % based. So giving +1m/s to a slow mech is relatively bigger than giving +1m/s to a fast mech.
Finally this was not meant to be the end all be all of optimizing. It is only my opinion on the most effective all round optimization considering the current state of the game.
Thank you for your input conquistador.

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View Post[HWK]HUGHES, on March 15 2013 - 08:35 PM, said:

Oh don't always listen to h0B0. Lol.


#19 Conquistador

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Posted December 14 2012 - 12:43 PM

 h0B0, on December 14 2012 - 12:29 PM, said:

You're something of a smarty pants, too! Take it as a compliment, haha.

While that may be true, what I was referring to was the fact the Heavy mech's top speed is much lower than the Light mech's top speed. Thus, accelerating from 0 to the top speed of a Heavy mech is not as drastic as accelerating from 0 to the top speed of an A class. Regardless of how quickly you bring yourself up to speed, the speed limit on either mech is capped differently, ergo the effects of accelerating to the top speed of a light mech are drastically larger simply because the speed limit is capped much higher. Hence why I mentioned it's good for A-class mechs to prioritize the acceleration.

I agree the repair buffs are a flat bonus, but the fact that light mechs have much less hp means they're in repair for much shorter durations on average than extremely damaged heavy mechs. It gets better when you consider that repair time doesn't really matter all that much to a light mech because of its speed: light mechs can outrun other mechs, retreat to a safe distance, and THEN repair. When you're out of range, an extra second or so of reduced repair time isn't all that important to an A-class.

Heavy mechs, being slower, are not usually capable of the same feat, so the ability to repair extremely quickly mere feet from a battle is super-critical. In short: Light mechs can run away and repair, heavy mechs usually need to repair nearer to the battlefield, so giving repair boosting optimizations to a heavy mech makes perfect sense. The less time a heavy mech spends in repair mode is more time it's in the thick of battle killing things, after all.
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#20 SirCannonFodder

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Posted December 15 2012 - 08:30 AM

I'd say the max health increase on the defense tree is pretty damn good. Only 1 point, and you get an extra 3% health (which on a C-class, is an extra 30HP).

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