So someone requested newcomer feedback? I've been playing for 5 weeks now and I have something to say, even though I wouldn't call anything "insight" coming from a newbie.
The Rocketeer is the first mech I spent credits on. I liked the idea of assisted weapons (yeah, cut me some slack will ya). Also loved the way it looked! So it took me a few days to figure out you can actually target-lock enemies WITHOUT switching to Turret mode. #JustNoobThings. After several games I realised that I was frequently getting the "Most assists" award. (However my kills/deaths ratio has always been bad.) Not long ago I discovered you could retain target lock WHILE looking away from the target. This only made me love the mech even more. I'm already used to the trick and I'm now able to fire while taking cover.
Recently I found out that good players completely counter locked-on Hellfires. I found one specific way to counter-the-counter, which is dry-firing an enemy who has timed the targeted shots and is expecting me to target again, i.e. when they're shooting around a corner. They don't see the missiles coming until it's late. But it's an uncommon scenario.
I don't know if the Hellfires are UP or not. I do know lock-on is worthless face to face, especially against lighter mechs, and it's also worthless in long-range when the enemy can fire around a corner. But Hellfires are really effective when the enemy is not paying attention to me, and instead is focused in a skirmish with another mech. This, I think, is the main reason why I get lots of assists with the Rocketeer.