The Old Stupid Questions Topic™

LANS · Post by **LANS** » Tue Feb 08, 2011 5:38 am

Mista Cow wrote:QUOTE (Mista Cow @ Feb 7 2011, 09:08 PM) So if I see a enemy pod about to enter their base should I kill it?
It seems logical to me...

The only time you should worry about this is if you are camping a base, and killing KBs makes it easier for you to maintain the camp.

Otherwise you're probably doing something else more important, or should be running home to reload and do something else important as you finished your previous task.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 3:10 am

Having perused the available custom reticules, I have to ask: What is so much better about a custom reticule over the default?

LANS · Post by **LANS** » Wed Feb 16, 2011 3:20 am

Wanderer wrote:QUOTE (Wanderer @ Feb 15 2011, 10:10 PM) Having perused the available custom reticules, I have to ask: What is so much better about a custom reticule over the default?

Depends on which one. Some custom reticles look cooler and offer no advantage.

First, you need to understand that the reticle isn't always accurate. Your reticle can be green and your shots will still miss. Watch your bullets, and it will be a lot easier to aim accurately.

The default reticle gets in the way a lot when trying to watch your bullets instead of the reticle. A custom reticle lets you use something minimalist, like The Man, Teh Box, or Mesial #3. They give you a general indicator of when you are in range, but stay out of the way of your bullets. I swear by "Teh Box" personally.

http://www.mesialonline.com/Allegiance/tar.../targetOld.html
http://www.mesialonline.com/Allegiance/targetNew/target.html

Of course, some of the ones on those pages are worse than the default.

A custom reticle isn't mandatory, and many good players play with the default one. It just makes it easier to get the hang of aiming accurately.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 7:37 am

so on the midnight-ish CDT game, I found myself being ordered to take a giga lux int against a bomber and a lone nan.

Experience of that game suggests that I should have been targeting the bbr first, rather than the nan. Is that correct? If so, whats the nan break point for targeting a bomber? That is, what number of nans does there need to be for me to target the nans first?

cashto · Post by **cashto** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 5:57 pm

Wanderer wrote:QUOTE (Wanderer @ Feb 16 2011, 11:37 PM) so on the midnight-ish CDT game, I found myself being ordered to take a giga lux int against a bomber and a lone nan.

Experience of that game suggests that I should have been targeting the bbr first, rather than the nan. Is that correct? If so, whats the nan break point for targeting a bomber? That is, what number of nans does there need to be for me to target the nans first?

Chances are in your situation, if you had mini3, you probably were outdamaging the nan by a small margin ... up until the point you had to reload, in which case the nan would have opportunity to repair the rest of the damage, leaving you 15 seconds in to the engagement and essentially right where you started, less one rack of ammo.

Usually you need more ints than nans before you can consider outdamaging the bomber. A margin of two or three more ints just to be safe.

When in doubt, attack nans.

If you have mini1, forget it. Attack nans.

In your situation it sounds like you REALLY had no reason to try and take a chance on targeting the bomber first. It's one thing when the bomber is literally at your base and there's still a cloud of nans you'll never have time to kill. It's another thing when there is just one nan and you have all the time in the world to kill it.

LANS · Post by **LANS** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 6:22 pm

Wanderer wrote:QUOTE (Wanderer @ Feb 17 2011, 02:37 AM) so on the midnight-ish CDT game, I found myself being ordered to take a giga lux int against a bomber and a lone nan.

Experience of that game suggests that I should have been targeting the bbr first, rather than the nan. Is that correct? If so, whats the nan break point for targeting a bomber? That is, what number of nans does there need to be for me to target the nans first?

You also need to take KB into account. If you have a lot more KB than the nan, and mini3, you are more likely to spike successfully. If you can ram the bomber without dying, you can push it sideways and make the nan scout miss long enough to kill the bomber.

Generally, unless its a small game situation (in which bombers are stronger than usual) or the comm calls to spike, shoot the nans first.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 8:25 pm

cashto wrote:QUOTE (cashto @ Feb 17 2011, 11:57 AM) It's one thing when the bomber is literally at your base and there's still a cloud of nans you'll never have time to kill. It's another thing when there is just one nan and you have all the time in the world to kill it.

Actually, the bomber was right at the base, I was targeting the nan, and there was one other lux int there with me. My confusion stems from the fact that I cannot shoot worth a damn, and when it was all over

The base survived
the bomber was dead
the nan I was shooting at survived

It was a little chaotic there, so the possibilities I can imagine include:
my firing at the nan disrupted the nanning to the point that the other int was able to distroy the bomber
my wild fire added enough damage to the bbr that the other guy's fire was able to out pace the nanning

The new question, given that there were two ints there and we were within 2K of the base, is if both the other guy and I were competent, should we still have taken the nan down first, then the bbr, or should we have gone straight for the bbr?

Thanks for the patience in answering my questions!

LANS · Post by **LANS** » Thu Feb 17, 2011 8:57 pm

Wanderer wrote:QUOTE (Wanderer @ Feb 17 2011, 03:25 PM) Actually, the bomber was right at the base, I was targeting the nan, and there was one other lux int there with me. My confusion stems from the fact that I cannot shoot worth a damn, and when it was all over

You are aiming with a mouse or joystick, right? Watch your bullets, and you'll figure out how to aim reasonably quick.

QUOTE It was a little chaotic there, so the possibilities I can imagine include:
my firing at the nan disrupted the nanning to the point that the other int was able to distroy the bomber
my wild fire added enough damage to the bbr that the other guy's fire was able to out pace the nanning[/quote]
A good nan never stops nanning even when under fire. You dodge and keep in nan range. The longer you can draw fire from what you are nanning, the better.

QUOTE The new question, given that there were two ints there and we were within 2K of the base, is if both the other guy and I were competent, should we still have taken the nan down first, then the bbr, or should we have gone straight for the bbr?[/quote]

One of us takes the nan, one takes the bomber. Although if the bomber isn't turreted a decent int pilot can take out 3-4 nans and the bomber. Its not a situation you'll run into often in a real game. Either the base can be saved, in which case everyone possible launches to save it, or the base is being traded to kill something else, in which case nobody should launch from the base at all.

Lutra · Post by **Lutra** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 3:57 am

Is it just me, or can missiles be shot down/ intercepted?
During a PuG, I got podded by a SRM AB, then instantly PK'd

LANS · Post by **LANS** » Fri Feb 18, 2011 4:45 am

Lutra wrote:QUOTE (Lutra @ Feb 17 2011, 10:57 PM) Is it just me, or can missiles be shot down/ intercepted?
During a PuG, I got podded by a SRM AB, then instantly PK'd

Yes, you can shoot down any missile, but it requires good aim, fast reflexes, and good ping. Getting in front of a bomber and eating AB missiles with any ship is usually worth it to save the base, although its tough to do. Its a common tactic to try and shoot down XRM Cruise or SRM Nuke missiles.