13 replies to this topic

[DEHYDE]

I wrote down a bunch of tips for Technicians. Hope you'll find it useful

Scan your HUD:
Injured team mates will not call out for help, It's up to you to find out who needs saving and reach them. You have the benefit of seeing all your team mates and their health on your HUD, so a quick look around should give you a pretty good idea as to where you are most needed.

Stick to the front line, or right behind it:
You are most effective when you save a team mate from dying in battle, and help him live long enough to destroy an enemy mech or two. Try looking for those in danger of dying and help them, especially during combat.

Go for the injured, not the dieing:
Sometimes it's a lost battle. Don't try reaching someone who's health-bar is barely visible during combat, unless you are completely positive you can save him in time. You might end up finding yourself alone against the foe that just killed your brother-in-arms.

Calculate:
Try to get a gut-feeling of how your team-mates are doing. The health bar above you friends' target reticles can show you information about their health trends. If their outlines are red it means they are losing armor, if they are yellow it means they are repairing. This helps you understand what the situation in battle is, and how it should look like by the time you reach them.

The only joy bigger than saving lives is taking them:
A quick click on the middle mouse button will turn your Repair Helix into a Deconstructor. Using it on enemies drains their armor and repairs yours. When used properly along with your primary weapon, you can easily finish off nearly-dead or unprepared foes.

You are a support mech, remember that:
Don't try going head-to-head against a well-repaired enemy mech by yourself. You will probably die. Remember that your mission is to keep the K/D ratio in your team's favor.

Repair turrets:
They might not be significant in the overhaul body-count, but if you have a couple of seconds of spare time it's not a bad idea to keep them up and running.

Help the self-repairing:
If you see a mech that repairs itself, you can cut it's repair time in nearly half by aiding him. It will cost you just a few seconds, and will make him combat effective much quicker. Do so wisely, if you see another team mate in combat quickly losing armor, you might have to make a quick judgement call.

Learn your maps:
Hawken maps are quite large. By the time you'll reach a distant mech in need, he would probably be either dead or already fixed. Because the HUD alone doesn't tell you much about the distance to your fellow mechs, try figuring it out by understanding the map.

Learn to use other mechs:
After playing tech for too long, your battles skills are weakening. So just to keep you in shape, try switching to an offensive mech every once and awhile. It is also a good idea to recall how the it looks like from your team mates' point of view.

Don't be afraid to get hit, but stay alive:
During battle, I have jumped quite a few times in front of dying mechs just to shield them from incoming fire. As long as your health bar is full and you have a reasonable amount of enemies in combat, it's OK to get a few hits. Remember that using your Helix regains your armor, but Hellfire Missiles can reduce it much faster.

Use your Amplifier wisely:
Your most powerful tool is your Amplifier. It can do the impossible and save both you and a nearly-dying friend in the tightest of situations. Don't be afraid to use it if it can save lives. In intense combat there are high chances you will die soon anyway so cool down time wouldn't be relevant.

Stay closer to larger groups:
The closer you are to your team mates, the faster your response will be when they are in need. Large groups of team members are the best scenarios for any technician - they have better chances of staying alive, there are more mechs to heal and you don't have to run around finding them so you spend more time healing. Some impatient players sometimes leave the group into lost-battles. It is often best to leave those lone wolves alone, the rest of your team would need you alive and close.

Finally - your teammates won't make it easy on you:
Most battles I've been to, have been played without Technicians. That being said, it's easy to understand why experienced players learn to survive on their own by quick maneuvers in battles or boosting out of them. This makes your life as a tech much harder. When trying to repair mechs that jump around like cats on acid, take a step back - your Helix has a larger effective distance than you usually think, and that should compensate for your low turn speeds when standing too close to the frenzied mech. When running after injured mechs, try to avoid boosting as much as possible. Boosting costs precious time you can spend healing them, so stay just as close as you need to.

[ChubaMecha]

Good tips may I add that a shield is really useful to a tech too

[AsianJoyKiller]

AJK's tips on how to play Tech effectively.

- Max Cooling Units so you don't have to manage your heat.
- Don't get shot a lot. Staying behind your teammates makes this much easier.
- Aim somewhere within 180 degrees of a damage ally and fire the Helix. Don't worry, it's sticky and autoaims, so as long as you're close enough, you don't have to worry too much about aiming.

Tada.
You are now performing with average effectiveness without putting in half the effort any other mech would have to put in.

[EliteShooter]

EliteShooter's guide : Don't play tech

[defekt]

AsianJoyKiller, on September 22 2013 - 01:10 AM, said:

AJK's tips on how to play Tech effectively.

- Max Cooling Units so you don't have to manage your heat.
- Don't get shot a lot. Staying behind your teammates makes this much easier.
- Aim somewhere within 180 degrees of a damage ally and fire the Helix. Don't worry, it's sticky and autoaims, so as long as you're close enough, you don't have to worry too much about aiming.
Tada.
You are now performing with average effectiveness without putting in half the effort any other mech would have to put in.

“Average Tech Player, First Place On Your Team, by the power vested in me by the State of Illal, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

[davek1979]

Just keep the button pressed down.

[AsianJoyKiller]

defekt, on September 23 2013 - 01:26 AM, said:

AsianJoyKiller, on September 22 2013 - 01:10 AM, said:

AJK's tips on how to play Tech effectively.

- Max Cooling Units so you don't have to manage your heat.
- Don't get shot a lot. Staying behind your teammates makes this much easier.
- Aim somewhere within 180 degrees of a damage ally and fire the Helix. Don't worry, it's sticky and autoaims, so as long as you're close enough, you don't have to worry too much about aiming.
Tada.
You are now performing with average effectiveness without putting in half the effort any other mech would have to put in.

“Average Tech Player, First Place On Your Team, by the power vested in me by the State of Illal, I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

They actually fixed it so being a mindless healbot doesn't automatically get you first place anymore.
...
You'll come in second if there's a decent tryhard on your team.

[Leonhardt]

AsianJoyKiller, on September 23 2013 - 08:56 AM, said:

You'll come in second if there's a decent tryhard on your team.

Well that explains why I had 30 more points than 7r1p when he followed me around for a game. lol

[havoc5]

Title of this thread should be: How to ruin a good match.

[Dackstrus]

Scan your HUD:
Injured team mates will not call out for help, It's up to you to find out who needs saving and reach them. You have the benefit of seeing all your team mates and their health on your HUD, so a quick look around should give you a pretty good idea as to where you are most needed


Scan your HUD:
Injured team mates will not call out for help, It's up to you to find out who needs saving and reach them. You have the benefit of seeing all your team mates and their health on your HUD, so a quick look around should give you a pretty good idea as to where you are most needed



Why would'nt you_ You have the assistance required button.. I use it often.

[Flagge69]

Dackstrus, on September 23 2013 - 09:06 AM, said:

Why would'nt you_ You have the assistance required button.. I use it often.

isnt it for telling Help, swarmed by enemys, save me !

[Conquistador]

davek1979, on September 23 2013 - 01:37 AM, said:

Just keep the button pressed down.

...W+M2!_!

Oh God, I'm having TF2 pyro flashbacks now. D:

[angryhampster]

Here's how I play my technician..  thanks for the guide btw

find the best player on ur team, GLUE urself onto him the whole time.

and don't die in the process.  let him die first before you die.  a ninja must always dodge.  tsunade 101..

when ur ACE is top life and there's someone next to him, you can heal him, but wherever the ace goes, you follow.

in summary..

1.  find best player
2.  heal him and stay with him as if he's ur son
3.  and if you kn ow he will die, just run away.  make sure you always die last, or dont die at all.

[skatlan]

Nice guide, thank you !