52 replies to this topic

[TwentyFirstPilot]

BlindFireBarry, on August 21 2014 - 08:11 AM, said:

TwentyFirstPilot, on August 20 2014 - 01:40 PM, said:

Dump that Recruit. It'll teach you bad habits, and it's straight up boring to pilot.

You take that back good sir or madam. Fred is a fine mech and if you do not take back this slight against the Mightiest of Microwaves than I will be forced to demand satisfaction.

I'm not denying that the Recruit is effective. Actually, I believe it's too effective, as it's too forgiving and too easy to use.

I'm not calling for nerfs. I simply advise against using it because it will teach you many bad habits. Thus, it will hold you back and make becoming a better pilot hard, as you don't need to be excellent to do well in it.

[BlindFireBarry]

TwentyFirstPilot, on August 21 2014 - 08:31 AM, said:

I'm not denying that the Recruit is effective. Actually, I believe it's too effective, as it's too forgiving and too easy to use.

I'm not calling for nerfs. I simply advise against using it because it will teach you many bad habits. Thus, it will hold you back and make becoming a better pilot hard, as you don't need to be excellent to do well in it.

I retract my previous declaration. However I would like to know what bad habits you speak of.

[TwentyFirstPilot]

BlindFireBarry, on August 21 2014 - 10:46 AM, said:

TwentyFirstPilot, on August 21 2014 - 08:31 AM, said:

I'm not denying that the Recruit is effective. Actually, I believe it's too effective, as it's too forgiving and too easy to use.

I'm not calling for nerfs. I simply advise against using it because it will teach you many bad habits. Thus, it will hold you back and make becoming a better pilot hard, as you don't need to be excellent to do well in it.

I retract my previous declaration. However I would like to know what bad habits you speak of.

1. The Recruit's coolant ability: It's (generally) bad all around, for several reasons.

A1. It encourages bad heat management skills.

B1. It's mostly useless once you learn to manage your heat.

C1. Mechs are defined by their ability, and the Recruit's ability is one a player should quickly grow out of. Because of that, coolant makes the Recruit is the single most generic mech on the battlefield, to the point where it has no defined role.


2. The Recruit's TOW rocket.

A2. It's a rocket that you can detonate midair for decent damage. Too simple, very little utility. However, is is not to say it's a bad weapon.


3. The Recruit's primary weapons.

A3. Generic as heck, boring to use. The single exception to this is the Vulcan, and even then, it's only interesting because of its spin up and moderately high heat generation.

B3. They're sustained weapons. They don't teach the importance of dodging.


4. Looks.

A4. Until you unlock its elite parts, the Recruit is astonishing ugly. For me, that's a big deal.


I'm bashing the Recruit, because I think it's an awful mech. WhenI was new to the game, that stupid microwave thing almost made me uninstall, simply because it's so boring to pilot.

HOWEVER. Most players like the Recruit. Most players call it reliable and fine. Technically speaking, it is a fine mech. It is not overpowered, nor is it underpowered. It is simply not my cup of tea, and I've given you my reasons why.

The Recruit is easy to use, and it can give you a good overview of the game's mechanics. It doesn't force you to specialize with a certain playstyle. And that is why, despite what I've said, I have no problem with it being the starter mech.

Edited by TwentyFirstPilot, August 21 2014 - 11:27 AM.

[Weezl3]

TwentyFirstPilot, on August 21 2014 - 11:26 AM, said:

BlindFireBarry, on August 21 2014 - 10:46 AM, said:

TwentyFirstPilot, on August 21 2014 - 08:31 AM, said:

I'm not denying that the Recruit is effective. Actually, I believe it's too effective, as it's too forgiving and too easy to use.

I'm not calling for nerfs. I simply advise against using it because it will teach you many bad habits. Thus, it will hold you back and make becoming a better pilot hard, as you don't need to be excellent to do well in it.

I retract my previous declaration. However I would like to know what bad habits you speak of.

1. The Recruit's coolant ability: It's (generally) bad all around, for several reasons.

A1. It encourages bad heat management skills.

B1. It's mostly useless once you learn to manage your heat.

C1. Mechs are defined by their ability, and the Recruit's ability is one a player should quickly grow out of. Because of that, coolant makes the Recruit is the single most generic mech on the battlefield, to the point where it has no defined role.


2. The Recruit's TOW rocket.

A2. It's a rocket that you can detonate midair for decent damage. Too simple, very little utility. However, is is not to say it's a bad weapon.


3. The Recruit's primary weapons.

A3. Generic as heck, boring to use. The single exception to this is the Vulcan, and even then, it's only interesting because of its spin up and moderately high heat generation.

B3. They're sustained weapons. They don't teach the importance of dodging.


4. Looks.

A4. Until you unlock its elite parts, the Recruit is astonishing ugly. For me, that's a big deal.


I'm bashing the Recruit, because I think it's an awful mech. WhenI was new to the game, that stupid microwave thing almost made me uninstall, simply because it's so boring to pilot.

HOWEVER. Most players like the Recruit. Most players call it reliable and fine. Technically speaking, it is a fine mech. It is not overpowered, nor is it underpowered. It is simply not my cup of tea, and I've given you my reasons why.

The Recruit is easy to use, and it can give you a good overview of the game's mechanics. It doesn't force you to specialize with a certain playstyle. And that is why, despite what I've said, I have no problem with it being the starter mech.

While I agree with a lot of this, and personally refused to play with the CRT recruit for most or my time in Hawken, I can see the utility that can come from playing it.

That said, I greatly prefer my raider and pretty much any other mech besides CRT and assault. I think both are too easy to do well with and create incentives for poor movement and positioning. I have only come across one or two pilots who really push the envelope in an assault. The one that comes to mind is Peacecraft. That guy can really do some incredible things in that mech.

Otherwise I have seen most pilots using the easiness of the mech as a crutch of sorts. This allows them to build up their ego without actually building up their skills.

That said, if anybody needs help learning how to properly pilot a raider, just shoot me a PM. I love to help out players that feel they would like help.

[MechFighter5e3bf9]

everytime i glance at this thread title i feel like i havent read or posted in it before cause of rage deluding my memory and i want to reiterate how elite a raider is but im tired

[CounterlogicMan]

marshrover, on August 18 2014 - 04:14 AM, said:

There's a reason the TOW is on the starter mech - It's easy. The KLA is harder to use but if you learn how to use it it can be very powerful. The grenade mode  allows you to have long range abilities aswell and the MIRV is both very powerful and will not do splash damage so it wont hurt you if you are right in your targets face.

KLA will cause self damage in both slug grenade mode and MIRV mode. MIRV can actually really do a lot of self damage if you are point blanking with it. This is because the pellets that fly out (8 total I think) explode when they hit something.

---------------------------------

The raider is a high risk high reward axe. You have 3 different playstyles depending on the weapon you use. The most important resource to consider, hit points, is difficult to get used to when considering a B-Chassis's characteristics. Good knowledge of all basic and intermediate of game mechanics is necessary.

The raider pilot that wants to live through his contract and prove his abilities needs a wide range of game experience. Aim must be precise and well timed; dodging of an A-chassis,the positioning of a C-chassis, and the awareness of a sharpshooter. LoC and weezl3 are good resources to tap when you decend into the rabbit hole of raider gameplay.


Tl:Dr - You have to put in the hours to get a good understanding of this mech. It is very helpful to know how to effectively pilot a wide range of axes

Edited by CounterlogicMan, September 05 2014 - 06:59 PM.

[IareDave]

In my rookie days of hawken the raider was the mech I went to whenever I was against skilled players. It's secondary lacks the consistenty and easy use of the tow/gl, but makes up for it with the best burst potential of any mech. If you're more into open fights and pushes then the reflak is the perfect sustained weapon and can melt A class mechs or any mech that exposes themselves for too long. The t-32 bolt is a personal favorite and is right choice if you prefer utilizing cover and peek-a-boo tactics. The KLA is good against air targets but you should stick with MIRV a majority of the time. As soon as you master its travel speed and arc, you'll be a serious threat. Loc_Tr and weezl3 are great raider pilots that come to mind and any advice they have should be noted.

[DerMax]

IareDave, on September 05 2014 - 07:54 PM, said:

The t-32 bolt is a personal favorite and is right choice if you prefer utilizing cover and peek-a-boo tactics.

I had played around 200 hours with Bolt when Ker4u (arguably the best EU raider) explained to me that overall, with all its pros and cons, reflak is better in most situations. Then I decided to try it out, and after 20 to 30 hours of gameplay I figured that he was right.

Now, bear in mind that I'm a natural peek-a-boo hit-and-runner (500+ hours on EOC infil), and I still performed better with reflak. Yes, with T-32 you have a crazy burst potential, but in the open you become an easy target because of Bolt's terrible falloff.

[IareDave]

DerMax, on September 06 2014 - 09:56 AM, said:

I had played around 200 hours with Bolt when Ker4u (arguably the best EU raider) explained to me that overall, with all its pros and cons, reflak is better in most situations. Then I decided to try it out, and after 20 to 30 hours of gameplay I figured that he was right.

Now, bear in mind that I'm a natural peek-a-boo hit-and-runner (500+ hours on EOC infil), and I still performed better with reflak. Yes, with T-32 you have a crazy burst potential, but in the open you become an easy target because of Bolt's terrible falloff.

I'm not denying the effectiveness of the reflak, and in fact, I agree the reflak is better in most situations. I'm not a fan of sustained weapons so the bolt was an obvious choice for me.

[DerMax]

IareDave, on September 06 2014 - 10:33 AM, said:

I'm not a fan of sustained weapons so the bolt was an obvious choice for me.

If you're still playing the game, I invite you to give reflak another go. You can actually (and I'm pretty sure you know this) use it as a fast-shooting burst weapon by clicking lmb instead of holding it.

[IronClamp]

Two things:
1). The G-2 series exists for a reason, and the G-2 Raider was given a health bar that made the KLA (and the Raider itself) more dangerous.

2). I rarely use MIRV mode, only using it when I have to hit a target I would otherwise waste a Blitz on. The scatter mode is excellent when you're really trying to get in and make every moment the enemy is in the AA painful. (Most of my affinity with the scatter mode is because I'm, despite my mouse sensitivity, no front line marksman).

Edited by IronClamp, September 06 2014 - 03:45 PM.

[Source_Mystic]

I take it back raider is a solid mech . The kla with both functions mirv and single shot. Takes some getting used to this awkward weapapon ... I started playing raider like a faster pred with alot of sucess. I can not wait to get the eoc. I love me some burst dammage. Scout and raider are quicky Becoming my favorite mech in the game next to my pred.

[GT500dude]

As a rank 6 raider pilot, I can say that the Corsair does NOT need a cooldown buff. If youre using the airburst mode, it is an insane amount of damage with a relative low heat output paired with the T32. As long as you're on point with your tracking and distance monitoring, you will kill everything in your path. A cooldown buff to the launcher mode of the Corsair would not be a bad idea it is a very hard weapon to use and can be very unforgiving. This would lead to a glitch where somebody would figure out how to reduce the cooldown on the airbust through switching modes somehow so it is not that viable.