Interesting marchup. Definitely boosted the PXH as it has the most JJs.
Oh you'd THINK. But remember, I didn't even know HOW to jump with the wonky Megamek user interface. I managed it ONCE, but really couldn't figure it out, and eventually gave up on it because my Pixie was about to melt like an otter pop on a hot August day.
Princess had the advantage here because she KNOWS how to jump within the game, so even though the Shad only has 3 jumpers, she could always move him to her best advantage.
I've gotten a bit better at learning the Megamek controls, but there's still a lot that I'm not good at.
Sounds like you had a good time, and you drew some correct conclusions about some of the things you could change.
One thing to consider: it reads as if the Commando was on its own for several turns. Keeping both Mechs involved on the same target is huge. In that situation, you may have been better off either retreating the Commando, or getting the PXH in to contribute MGs, kicks or punches while it cools down slowly. Especially once you got the gyro hit, being able to get 2 kicks in per turn would've really helped because the target would need to keep applying the 3 penalty whenever a kick lands. (And he'd have a reason to not risk kicks of his own, in case he missed).
Much of the maneuvering was complicated by the fact that the user interface is NOT intuitive, and the fact that there's no tutorial to kind of help you along like you get in a more refined console or PC game.
I made many HUGE mistakes in the early game just because I was struggling with the interface.
There were turns where I couldn't get my guys faced around the right way or where I skipped movement entirely because I couldn't make it do what I wanted to and hit the wrong key.
I got better toward the very end, but even then, I was still making mistakes because there's a high learning curve with the interface.
It wasn't so much that the Commando was on his own, but rather both mechs were sort of darting in and out of the fight, trying to avoid fisticuffs with the Shad. Likewise, the Shad would split fire between both mechs from time to time.
Unfortunately, the terrain wasn't very favorable to a mech without JJs, and he got stuck in an awkward part of the map that really restricted his movement, wheras the Pixie had more freedom of movement in their part of the map.
Another thing to consider: with your PXH, you should be able to get behind the SHD most any turn where you win init. Even when only throwing punches, eventually that rear armor can't hold. (2 punches to the same spot should start causing critical hits). That can be another way to rapidly degrade it, vs having to shoot through allll that armor.
Well yes, that would have been
perfect. If I had any idea of what I was doing, lol.
If you remember the original Robotech cartoon in the 80s, it was a lot like the first episode where Rick steals a Valkyrie and then stumbles around the city smashing things up because he doesn't know how to drive the damned thing.
After the first initial (disastrous) attempt at jumping, I realized I'd need to rely on running instead, unless it was to escape a bad situation. There were times where I'd have to run in, shoot a salvo, and then back out of the fight to cool off. The Pixie's weapons run HOT, and there were turns I couldn't fire anything but the MGs because she was running too hot.
Honestly, I think the P-Hawk needs a partner who is tanky enough to stand on their own for a bit while the Pixie runs off to cool down. The Commando is not that guy! He's kind of in the same bubble where he needs to be able to run in, fire everything, and run away because he can't go toe to toe with a heavier mech with good close range punch.
But he didn't have the speed to easily break away from the Shadowhawk (who is only a bit slower), and the Shad's long-ranged weaponry could still reach out and hit him if he did get some distance.
This wasn't my ideal mech selection, but a lot of the mechs I
wanted to use weren't in the mech list. I don't know WHY, but there's tons of common mechs missing from the roster that I'd EXPECT to see on the 3025 list.
So I was using mechs I was less familiar with and made some dumb mistakes where I forgot certain details (like the fact that the Pixie has no leg heat sinks).
I also think that the Pixie and Commando are subobtimal tag-team for a 2x2 game. Both are fragile and have to disengage after a strike because they don't have the armor to trade blows with something heavier (unless it's a rare mech that SUCKS at close range). The Shad was fast enough to maintain contact with the Commando and outranged both of my guys. He also ran super-cool, so he had a huge advantage in terms of volume of fire.
This, combined with all of the heat penalties the Pixie was suffering for the first few turns, made it hard for me to use the mechs to their best, despite having two mechs against one, and despite having a more powerful alpha strike on both mechs.
Princess's initiative dice were HOT for the early game, but they went cold as the game went on and eventually, I got a hot streak that really helped me outmaneuver her and get some nasty hits on the Shad.
