I was tired of getting my a$$ handed to me virtually every time I played LIVE by the guys with the Ragnarok's. So I played the game through so I could unlock it, but after last night of playing with the Rag I found out that it overheats way too quick.

I haven't had time to experiment with all the Mechs, but I've been more successful with the Mad Cat.

Which ones do you prefer?

OK, im going to share hours of my trial and error with you.

Firstly, the Mad Cat is the most popular mech. People sit back and PPC you to pieces. The PPC is my least favorite weapon. To depend on this weapon is like the dark side of the force. Go that route if you like, everyone is the same in a Mad Cat. This mech makes anyone look good and requires little skill.

Ive been in a Ragnarok and got CHEWED TO PIECES by some little guy (puma?) with a machine gun. I COULDNT get an angle on him. Little guys can KICK BUT if they run in close on the big guys and circle them like crazy. Being big, your only defense is to get out of the open and use bulidings or cover to keep a little guy from circling you.

a powerful weapon that takes skill because its hard to use is the WARHAMMER MISSLES. i like mechs equipped with them like the Summoner and Bowman. the skill is not always to HIT your opponent with them but time them so they blow up NEAR your opponent. The splash damage is awesome on them. Perhaps more than the lava gun without so much heat.

A valuable tool for you is the Multiplayer on a local Xbox. I played the multiplayer alot in grinder mode with the summoner and bowman. The computer sends mechs to gang up on you. This way you can practice and see what mechs youre better at. Once i learned how to use the warhammer missles effectively i went with a bigger mech (prometheus) and i just make sure i dont get circled by a small guy.

Excellent analysis Ferris. I'd love to play more light mechs but too often you get your butt kicked by someone in a Madcat. I get tired of joining games that have six Mad Cats playing. I'd like to see people vary their tactics more so that different mechs saw playing time. When (or if) they get a capture the flag mode, I think we'll see more strategy come into play and smaller faster mechs will be more important.

Personally, I'm still trying to find a preferred mech. I don't like the Atlas/Prometheus since thier slow and tend to get ganged up on. I like the Mad Dog/Vulture or a heavier Mech with jumpjets like the Thor/Summoner. Gotta have my jump jets!

One more thing, I like the building destruction graphics, but I wish that they left some rubble behind. As it stands now, people blow up the bulidings and we're left with a wide open field to battle on. Not much fun.

Try this for more gameplay variety:

I played with a group last nite where one guy had a Ragnarok and the rest of us had elementals. We all ganged up on him it was awesome! Then we took turns playing the ragnarok.

Thanks Ferris

I'll try playing Grinder mode more often to try out all the mechs and you're right about everybody choosing the Madcat.

I played the multiplayer with my 6yr old Daughter last night, she absolutely loves this game. When she gets better at playing I'll let her play as my guest on LIVE. No need in everyone hearing a 6yr old fall on the floor and bust out crying because she got killed.

I've tried about half the standard mechs.

I tend to favor the Puma, Mad Cat and Belial most.

I've been doing a pretty good job in a Vulture, but my favorite of the bunch is the Catapult. With this, I can level a Ragnarok in seconds and avoid a fair amount of damage with the jump jets.

By the way, for some reason when playing grinder by myself in the "Coluseum" map i only get 1 mech at a time facing me, but when i play on the "River City" map i get multiple mechs ganging up on me (which is great practice!). Anyone know why?

Also, for your benefit here is a chart that someone drew up. It has mech specs on it, pretty handy...

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/peeweejd/mech_qr.html

I really like the big mechs with jump jets like Thor and Summoner. I would play with the Rag and the Atlas more but every time I do its "lets take out the big guy". This game really needs better team based game types. Bombing run in mechs anyone?

A lot of people don't like playing the Timber Wolf, but I like it. Base form, it's pretty weak vs other mech. Once fully powered up, it's just as deadly as your Mad Cats. Plus the twin Gauss Cannons will knock mechs down. Most other mechs don't last long against a barrage of 12 missiles and level 3 Gauss bullets. I still get my butt handed to me against a Rag though.

This mech is best used in maps where it's pretty flat. I've gotten stuck in the icy water on that one map before b/c I don't have jump jets to get myself out.

Thong
Xbox LIVE: S8 Spook
Socom: S8_Spook soon to be [DVD]Spook

I was playing LIVE "Team Distruction" in a Ymir and waited on a hill for the enemy to walk onto the thin ice. 2 of them did just that while trying to find me. I left them swimming with one good blast of Lava. Then I strolled down the hill and went for the kill.

It was funny as hell! They were screaming "No Maggot, Noooo!!"

The key to avoiding a Rag is keep moving sideways...the lava blasts don't target, andthe Rag moves too slow to get a bead on you. They're stil hard to beat, but if you take them straight on, you're going to fell the effects of those lava blasts...

Or just suggest that everyone gang up on the big guy

FS