I don't have much time logged in a technician, but I have plenty of time logged being both the ward and victim of technicians. I have thoughts on the topic of technicians, but I think it's worthwhile to establish how I view the battlefield before I get into how I believe technicians fit into it.
Mind you, many other players won't see Hawken the way I do, so (as always) take this all with a grain of salt.
1.) Every mech exerts a zone of control ("ZoC"). Some people call that "control", "combat presence", or "force". I visually represent that as a cone being projected from a mech outwards in the direction of where that mech is looking.
2.) If you are doing your job as a player, you will use that ZoC cone to affect presence on the battlefield. If I am in a Vulcan Gren, then my ZoC doesn't extend nearly as far as a Sharpshooter's cone would (which could be across the map), but the intensity of control my Vulcan Gren will exert within that smaller cone will be much higher than the intensity of control that a SS will from a distance. A SS at a distance is a nuisance. A Vulcan Gren up close is a problem.
3.) Zone of Control is a probability field (edit: a probability field of how likely it is that I can apply my loadout's optimal DPS) with variables such as the damage dropoff of my weapons, my burst damage, DPS, how the enemy is moving relative to me, all that stuff. When I swivel my mech (and thus my ZoC) and begin firing on enemies, I am exerting that ZoC. The intensity of that ZoC increases the more likely it is that I can apply my loadout's optimal DPS. I can steer enemies out of a combat zone just by applying pressure on them (making them damaged enough to find cover).
4.) If I have a buddy flanking and firing on an enemy - or applying their ZoC on an enemy - that I am already firing / exerting ZoC on, then that enemy now has two overlapping ZoCs on him/her. That means that the enemy is now experiencing a higher level of DPS being brought to bear on him/her, and he/she will die more quickly than before.
It can get much more nuanced than that, but when you start to think of mechs like spotlights running around a map and how you can "snuff out" enemies by overlapping your spotlight with your allies without you being snuffed out first, then tactically the game begins to make much more sense.
Now that I've set that all up, here's how I view the tech. A tech outfitted for DPS is a waste of ZoC. You can take any other mech and do a better job of projecting ZoC than you can with a Tech. But where a tech shines is by acting as a ZoC multiplier (or "force multiplier"). For example, an Incinerator exerts a certain ZoC in an area, but it only has so much durability before it has to exit the combat zone and repair (or die). However, a tech can enable that Incinerator to project it's impressive ZoC for a much longer time, thereby creating safe zones for freshly repaired allies to move up to cover and begin projecting their own ZoCs without being caught in overlapping ZoCs themselves and dying (because all of the enemies are running and have no opportunity to form a battleline and hold off the enemy advance). Typically most people know this phenomenon as a "deathball".
Okay. So now on to your comments.
1.- Piloting a Technician mostly implies sacrifice (not slavery)
Sacrificing what? Your job is to act as a ZoC multiplier. If you don't do that job, then your entire team is being sacrificed because you are using that mech for the wrong job. Assuming a 6v6, your team now has 5 ZoCs being projected and a very weak 6th if the tech isn't healing. If the tech is healing effectively, then you have four ZoCs and one really durable fifth ZoC that can be used to punch holes in an enemy battle formation.
3.- When you respawn in compromised map spots and/or you get surrounded by several opponents while being at your own (alone)..:
Don't run away and/or don't panik nor don't worry too much about it. You can put a good fight while piloting your Techie. You have maneuverability <-! You also have decent primary weapon/s, items and a wonderful&lethal red beam by switching your secondary's weapon mode.
Unless the situation is utterly hopeless and you are 100% guaranteed to die - and many people overestimate that percentage when they are flat-out running - do not sit around and dish out DPS. Run your ass off to your nearest ally and get behind the battle line. Find out where you are most effective and start healing your frienz.
Every time you decide to shoot something instead of (1) healing or (2) positioning yourself to heal someone, you are making a tradeoff. Very rarely will that tradeoff be effective. If you are the only guy with a ZoC over a weak enemy, and you are sure you can kill that enemy in 2 seconds, fine, do it. But if you think that adding 5 seconds of your own ZoC to the battle is going to help more than acting as a force multiplier (healing your buddy who is low and wants to keep pushing), you are likely wrong.
Don't let team mate/s to put you in some sort of slavery frame just to benefit his/their performance on the field:
This is an issue? Mute the person(s) complaining. Rarely will someone say something concise and accurate enough in a public match to be of any use to you - and that's assuming that you are enough of a cool cucumber to take the advice without getting butthurt. Instead focus your efforts on watching your radar and panning around to look at your teammates health. Sometimes I look at an ally with my HUD, but who is beyond my radar, to see if they are taking damage. If they are, then chances are there's an enemy near them. If I was busy reading what someone said I would have missed that 5 second period of important info.
If you are doing your job right as a technician, then you don't need to be reading chat. Having someone in TS giving you pointers is entirely different, but that's not the topic here.
Try helping your team as a whole and as much as possible:
Don't ignore team mates because of their rank, Class mech nor given that their score during the match. Feel the magic of HAWKEN. It's gonna be fun; well.. at least most of the times.
NO. DO NOT HEAL EVERYONE BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL SPECIAL. You heal who needs healing for the benefit of the battle formation. You apply your ZoC multiplier where it is going to help the most. Do not leave the battle formation to apply your ZoC multiplicative effect to the ass-end of the battlefield to apply it to someone who isn't exerting ZoC themselves. Unless you are running by and can apply some healing while you continue to move to the battle formation, then don't go out of your way to heal someone. Stick close to your advancing force and be in a position to start healing when the enemy returns fire.
If I ever see a technician leave the battle formation to go heal a SS up a hill in the distance, then that is when I want to suffocate the technician.
They ignore you or give no support to you. Ok, you can do that - at least, upon a time- too!
Piloting a technician does not necessarily mean to perform on the field as if you were their mom nor some sort of a nurse overdrive. Running here and there like crazy... well, at least not all the time.
However.. what happens when you're putting all that effort at keeping your team mates alive and you realize on that no one gives you any support back when you need it?
As a combat pilot, I am too big, too slow, too focused on mech positions, and too pissed to be "supporting" a technician that should be behind the allied battle line already. There are nearly no scenarios where any other pilot should be actively supporting a technician in any manner other than "exert your ZoC towards the incoming enemy". If a technician is out of position and taking fire, there is no way in hell that I am going to go move out and try to protect that silly technician. You know why? Because that means breaking the battle formation, that's why. I might somehow entice other people on my team to follow me, and now the battle formation is all thrown to hell because I decided to pull the formation apart following a space cadet tech.
Keep in mind that a tech has such a weak ZoC that the moment they separate from the battle line, they are already out of position. As a Brawler I could separate a little bit from my allies and still exert enough ZoC to maintain a battle formation, but if I did that as a tech then I've only given the enemy numerous opportunities to capitalize on. "There's a tech alone? AND he's not healing his buddies? Perfect!". Then they rush in, kill a few allies, and the battle formation is broken. It will take my team somewhere between 3 and 6 allied deaths to reform that battle line.
Technicians are fast. They are already equipped to take care of themselves in nearly every scenario. They shouldn't be getting out of position, especially with the nearly OP radar we all have. Conversely, I would rather have a technician get the hell out of dodge and not die (thereby preventing the other team points and kills) rather than sit around and try to help me in a hopeless situation.
Your job as a tech is first to not die, and second to help me (a member of the battle formation) not die.
Edited by TheButtSatisfier, 07 April 2016 - 09:39 AM.