Ok, so you are new to the game and need to learn the basics or you just want to review and brush up on a few points. There are some basic piloting techniques that should be used by all mechwarriors who wish to win on the field of battle.

Key Config

Everyone has a different preference of keys. I personally think that some configs work better. I strongly recommend against using a joystick at all. I've only found a few good pilots who use a stick in the around 4 years I've been playing. Using just the keyboard isn't too bad. I've seen some really good pilots that use just keys. Usually the best people I've seen use a mouse or trackball, which I think works the best. Here I will list my key config. I only use keys on the keypad and 2 arrow keys next to it. Use the right arrow key to zoom and and the up arrow key to zoom out. Here is an illustration of my key config.





Mech Choice and Construction


In the game of netmech there are some mechs that you will want to avoid taking at all costs. No matter what rank weight you have avoid taking these mechs.
  • firemoth
  • kitfox
  • maddog
  • summoner
Each of these mechs has a reason not to take it. Usually weak armor or such. The gargoyle, marauder, and warhawk are also very rarely used for various reasons but are in general good mechs. Now that we know what mechs not to take we can concentrate on what to do with the remaining mechs we should use.
  1. Strip down the mech of every weapon
  2. Add endo steel or ferro armor
  3. Max out the armor on the mech in a 2:1 front:back ratio
  4. Make sure your engine is at least good enough to add 4 jj's
  5. Max out your jj's
  6. Add your weapons making sure you put a laser in the head and keeping weapons in the torso and legs
  7. Use whatever criticals and tonnage you have left for double heat sinks
  8. Keep your last ton of ammo for a certain weapon right below it
  9. Make sure you seperate ammo with heat sinks or endo steel if possible
Now you are set. You have a new mech to try out.



Movement Basics


If you are like any other pilot out there you want to win your game. To do this you have to be able to move correctly and be able to take advantage of the capabilities of your mech. Here are some basic ideas of things you can do to help you win.
  • Always twist 90 degrees
  • Never run head on at your enemy with out jetting up or to a side
  • Vary your speed to make you harder to hit
  • Stop and just sit in the same spot for a moment
  • Use your jj key along with a turn direction to spin to a good position
  • Always keep your enemy facing you
  • Change directions often
  • Try to conserve on jj usage




Jump Jet Usage


What can I really say about them? They are the key to your survival. Use them wisely and you will win. Use them poorly and you have ensured yourself a quick defeat. Never use them more than you have to. Here are some basic movements for evasion and position in the air. After mastering these you will come up with some ways to gain position and surprise your enemy.
  • When running parallel or circling someone jump up about 15 meters in the air. When you start to come down quickly dart either forward or backward.
  • To jump a great distance, jump around 10-15 meters in the air and press the jj forward key until you see your speed stay constant. After releasing the jj forward key just press the jj up key whenever you begin to lose altitude. Stay low around 10-15 meters for maximum distance.
  • When fighting, jet sideways on the ground a little to help evade enemy lasers.
  • To gain a good firing position jet up in the air and go over your enemy's head. Instead of landing on the other side jet in the opposite way and land where he was previously facing. Your enemy will be twisting to the other side where you were appearing to land. Thus you have an open shot.




Evasion


Evasion is the key to your success. For more info on evasion go to my class 1 page. There will be some more info on evading lasers. Missles are a little different however. To evade missles you must try to get behind cover when they are fired at you. If you are in the open jump up in the air and forward when they get near you. Continue to do this for a few seconds until they have dissappeared. There is also another way of circling in the air with your jets that you can try. Just flying a circle type pattern.



Cover Usage


Cover is your friend. You should really use it. Anything that will block a weapon from hitting you is cover. You can use cover for both defense and offense. Defensive cover can be used by doing the following.
  • Stay behind a building or mountain when the missles are fired in.
  • In planets like ramsau where the buildings are destroyable try to use lots of different ones so that your cover lasts longer.
  • Is there an enemy mech near by? USE IT AS COVER! This can cause friendly kills for them even. Whats better than getting some help killing your enemy while you stay alive?
  • Use remains of buildings as cover like in hainfield. The pillars will be destroyed, but indestructable rock is left behind.
  • Don't just use cover to hide from missles though, use it to stay out of the way of all weapons while you recharge your jets.
Offensive cover is just as useful as defensive. The best thing to do is use cover to stay alive while killing your enemy. Some offensive ways to use cover are listed.
  • When behind cover, get a lock on your enemy then fire and quickly swing your torso to the side so that your missles fly around the corner of the building or mountain.
  • When an enemy mech walks around a corner, you can hit it without it hitting you due to lag. Use this to your advantage. Keep moving around the building so that the mech must be put in these vulnerable situations.




Mirroring


Mirroring is the term used when you are shot with lasers or ac's while you are looking at your enemy, but the damage you take is to your back armor. This is a bad thing, but can be used to your advantage. Mirroring usually occurs when you have twisted your mech and are running parallel to your enemy. I've also noticed that it occurs when the enemy twists their torso to their right(when they are running to the right of your screen if they are facing you when twisted) and you attack head on. Remember this happens to you too when you are twisted. You'll get a feel of it after a while. As bad as this can be, you can use it to your advantage by quickly unloading on your enemy when he is in this position. It won't take too many shots to kill a mech by hitting its back armor.



Honor


Honor is a very important part in playing online. It is not a good thing to be known as a dirty player because a lot of people will avoid you. Cheating is considered to be the most dishonorable thing you can do. Clans and leagues will not tolerate such behavior. Here are the basic rules of honor on somewhat questionable topics.
  1. Tapping is dishonorable and is illegal
  2. Firing through walls is dishonorable and is illegal
  3. Legging and leaving is dishonorable
  4. Hulling and leaving is dishonorable
  5. Dfa'ing a hulled or legged mech is dishonorable
  6. Firing on a recently regened mech is dishonorable
  7. Firing on a shutdown mech due to poor heat management is honorable
  8. DFA'ing is honorable
  9. Using cover is honorable
  10. Legging in a c1 game is dishonorable