Operation Gitgud - help me sharpen my game!

[Hellraiser]

- Unify your movement rates; don't run lances that have variable rates. That's how individual units get isolated and killed piecemeal.  Unless of course its a smaller lance on lance game & then you can mix up an assault anchor/light spotter, etc etc
- Don't jump if running will work, don't run if walking will work. Relatedly, always try to make sure a unit's TMM is higher than, or at least even with, its AMM.   This will be very difficult to do in slow heavy/assault designs so with them just focus on getting into a good range to unload/alphstrike.
- Always think at least one move ahead with any given movement. When you move a unit, make sure you're moving it in a way that exploits the previous rule, and simultaneously sets it up to do so on the next turn (ideally in more than one direction for more potential options).    For example, it might be that a walk/run can get you to the trees, but, then your facing wrong direction for next move out to further trees, so maybe a jump was needed to position for 2nd.  So know when to break your own rule.
- Concentrate fire (if you're not running a Clan force). Eventually you'll start to get a feel for the amount of firepower you have to throw at something to take it out of play, so you waste fewer shots on already-killed units, but on the whole it's better to err on the side of too much than too little.   No one wants to be known as the "Under-kill Guy"
-  Move your slowest units, and units furthest from the fighting, first; move your most mobile and most engaged units last. This seems obvious but you'd be surprised how often people fail to grasp this.    So true, but also think about the enemies moves & know when to move or hold in order to avoid having 2+ near you move after you.
- Fire your weapons in order from highest damage clump to lowest damage clump in order to maximize crit chances. Again, seemingly obvious but it's not always immediately clear to players.   Very true 90% of the time then things are mostly whole still, that said, be aware of the other 10% when you actually WANT to crit seek FIRST because of open locations & not just hit w/ the AC20 in that open side torso & removes it & the arm w/o giving you multiple chances to hit the ammo.

These are all really very good, that said, I'm going to add/tweak them & point out exceptions to them.

[Hellraiser]

My go-to example of this is the Pheonix Hawk 7K.

It goes 6/9/9 with a Snub-nosed PPC and 1 ER Medium Laser.

This is a mosquito. It will jump for a +4 modifier every turn, and is basically a gummy bear. But! It pays that +3 to hit. How do you fix this?  You target the slow heavies and assaults, and watch your range like a hawk. Jump to 9 hexes out and shoot at their +1 modifier assault mech. You have 4 (gunnery) + 3 (Jump) + 1 (Their movement) for a total of 8 (40%) on the to-hit for your snub-PPC. They shooting back have 4 (Gunner) + 1 (walk) + 4 (your movement) + range (at least medium, so +2) = 11.

You plink them for 10 damage all day long. Will it kill them outright? No. Will they want to smack that mosquito? Yes. It distracts them, and they waste their shots against something hard as heck to hit.  This is using the range of your weapons and theirs to be in your favor.  Yes, I could have run the PHX, but it would max out at +3, and any turns or terrain would reduce that further, so I elect to pay the Jumping penalty, and use the long short range of the snub-PPC to its advantage.

Throw in better gunners (say 3 gunner) on both, and suddenly I have 7s (60% chance) and they have 10s (~16%). So I gained 20% to hit, and they gained 8%. Still in my favor.  know the dice, know the odds.

OP:  When someone is doing this TO you, you ignore the Pixie,  let it have its 10 points.

Kill the remainder of its force & then when you out number it 3 to 1 at the end, then kill it, because he invested boatload of BV into a unit that only does 10 damage your "Line" units will probably be bigger more powerful than his.

Also, this brings up another that you don't often see, but is good to recognize when it happens.

If something like this suddenly stops for a turn & is only a +1,  KILL IT,  ignore the +0 Heavy next to it, because that Hvy/Aslt mech will always be 0-1 (maybe 2),  but that +4 & finding woods every turn to be +5/+6 pest won't stay at +1 for long, so KILL it that turn.
If you try & fail then no sweat, go back to ignore its +4/5/6 arse & refocus on the Heavy at +1

To give an example of this....
I was trading fire with a Warhawk-C on a hill at +1/2 (partial cover) all day & ignoring the Firefalcon-B? that was constantly +4 at long range w/ its twin ERLLs
Then one turn it runs up the hill and is next to the Warhawk & is only a +2 that turn instead of 4 & was also at 14 hexes from my Gargoyle-A.
So only a +4 (with range) v/s the +8 it had been all day.
I stopped shooting at the Hawk which was still +1 & easier to hit & slammed the ERPPC/LPL into the Falcon, why? .... I wasn't going to get that shot again.
It removed a side torso, XL, TC, & ERLL & left him as a single ERLL + 10 Heat from engine hits which made finishing him off later a LOT easier.

[Nastyogre]

Hellraiser has a great example. Situational awareness is something that is very important but develops over time. Similar situation.

I was losing to an enemy lance that was tough but not impossibly so. My opponent had two ridges that I was having a hard time pushing up on. My "ace in the hole" was a Marauder II. Tough as nails, nasty bit of damage, but they aren't invincible. I remember facing at least 2 Orions. It was going to be a long slog.

My opponent pushed down on me and I was considering a fighting withdrawal.

Then my opponent came all the way down the hill with one Orion. He moved the other to optimal range against my Mad II.

What he didn't consider, was that his Orion that had advanced stood next to a lvl 1 hill. Mad II's have jump jets. While I wouldn't shoot as well and I was not able to walk (or even run) to the little hill. I could jump there. I did.

What happens when a Marauder II stands on a hill one level above you and is now 6 Hexes away from your other "Brick  poophouse?"  That's right, he unloads on your mech 6 hexes away (and rides the heat curve) and then he kicks your other Orion.

When that happens, you die. Orion is savaged (though not destroyed but combat ineffective) and the other Orion takes a 20 point kick to the head. Even a Chest or Arm hit was going to do tremendous damage (and force 2 PSR's one for 20 points 1 for the Kick)

My opponent didn't think I'd brawl with the Mad II and didn't think I'd expose my lynchpin to his entire lance. MAd II has no Armor. His shooting wasn't going to be THAT good. (Orion's really are better mid range fighters, the heat up in Brawls)

He lost situational awareness. I had it. I changed my plan because he made such a huge mistake. ( I didn't have a good answer to his LRMS, he had a Trebby too that was just hammering me) After that it was just desperation plays by him. Needless to say, it didn't work out well.   If he had thought about it, he never would have done what he did. His plan was working. He got impatient and...  >:D

[RoundTop]

Applying pressure to an opponent is a great way to break situational awareness.

one of my favorite tactics is to use a No-dachi (a TSM beast) to dislodge an enemy. But what I do is circle around with it. It leaves them with a choice, pull back from the close range monster, or stay there to reduce my main forces firing and take the hit.

I find many times they will push forward into my main force rather than stand and fight. This means my main force can stand still in good positions and break them open.  The next turn, they are so worries about the main force, they forget the No-Dachi can move 9 hexes, and someone gets their back cored out.

[Hellraiser]

No-dachi (a TSM beast)

I may not be a Kurita fan but my god the 2KO is a BEAUTIFUL SEXY BEAST, and unlike something Hunchbackish, you can't just kill a No-Dachi with a round or 2 of fire before it gets in range.   It has the speed & armor to get in close with you before its dead.  Especially on any sort of Terrain heavy map.

[RoundTop]

And the beauty of it is that you can't use fast movers to take it out. Those pulse lasers work great against them.

[Kovax]

So, we've narrowed it down to about 850 basic rules to use, plus the understanding that all of them are situational and interactive.  Ultimately, the best way to "Gitgud" is to play a lot of games against different opponents with different playing styles and units.  Eventually it all starts to make sense.  That's why fighter pilots run dozens of combat simulations and training missions before facing any real opponent, and why the Veteran pilots tend to stay alive while the rookies have a high rate of turnover.  Situational awareness and familiarity are a huge part of it, and you can't grasp the "big picture" until you intuitively understand the details that form it.  The best way to do so is by experience.

As a young tech, I was able to learn how to use an oscilloscope, and hunt around blindly for something that looked amiss.  Eventually, I was able to trace problems back to find the cause.  Now, with a few decades of experience, I can look at the symptoms and already have a pretty good idea of where to start looking, if I don't recall seeing the same thing before and know exactly what's causing it.  The same applies to any complex task, where you begin with the individual basic concepts, learn enough about them to understand WHY things are happening, and only then will you be able to view the "big picture" and apply your knowledge to resolve it.

The other point I should stress is that people learn best from their own mistakes, so if you don't play or if you repeat the same moves over and over in the same situations because they work in that case, you don't make many mistakes, and you don't learn.  Push the envelope, do things differently, learn the lessons, and when you've gotten a grasp on it, push further.  In theory, making as many mistakes as possible should be a shortcut to perfection, and therefore a good thing, but for some odd reason my employer doesn't see it that way.

[Simon Landmine]

In theory, making as many mistakes as possible should be a shortcut to perfection, and therefore a good thing

That makes me feel better about my games! Although playing MM I often see the mistake I've made just after the opponent's following move, which at least means I'm starting to recognise them.

[Trailblazer]

move your conventional forces dead last.  It's counterintuitive, but it can actually make the fluff about 'combined arms' work.

Interesting advice... curious about the rationale here.  Does this hold even for slow tanks or sniper tanks far from the enemy?

[Colt Ward]

It is interesting but . . .

Generally I move my fire support first unless its important I get to or old Terrain X.  Basically move equipment furthest from the Forward Edge of Battle first working my way closer.  The exclusion being something like a Gauss Rifle or cERLL armed mech where I can get into medium range or like the cERLL exploit the mid range vs everything else's long range.

[Trailblazer]

A strategy I like against combined arms forces including ground vehicles, especially when you're the defender:

Choose a firing position that is forward of a second firing position you can back up to, out of LOS from the first position.  Focus enough fire on each vehicle to immobilize them with motive crits (should be much less than it takes to kill them). Then back up to your second firing position. Your enemy's vees are now out of the fight.

[Nastyogre]

Great idea. Works well. Unless its a small map and you are facing Rhino's or Steurmfurs, or Partisan LRM variants (or things with Gauss if you play that era) If they get just a few turns of movement they may be covering the whole board.

When facing LRM vehicles, I've faced a whole lot of indirect fire with infantry spotters. 3 or 4 stands makes for a long slog to kill them. Granted, that is "tactics that will make your opponent quit or not play you again" Sure it's a winning approach. but everybody is supposed to have a good time, not win at all costs.

[Phobos101]

A strategy I like against combined arms forces including ground vehicles, especially when you're the defender:

Choose a firing position that is forward of a second firing position you can back up to, out of LOS from the first position.  Focus enough fire on each vehicle to immobilize them with motive crits (should be much less than it takes to kill them). Then back up to your second firing position. Your enemy's vees are now out of the fight.

I think giving myself room to pull back ranged units is something I could be better at in any scenario where you outrange the opponent. This ones going on the list...