« What Classic Battletech battlemechs should Wizids add to Mechwarrior? | Main | Mechwarrior: Age of Destruction Factions: Comstar in the Contemporary Era »
August 10, 2007
Tips for New Mechwarrior Tournament Players
Calvin Lin has a strategy paper up over at Wizkids full of tips for new Mechwarrior tournament players. He lists five major considerations for those new to competitive Mechwarrior play:
- He advises new players to build their Mechwarrior battleforce before arriving at the tournament. Before the day of the tournament, they should read the specific rules and scenarios for the event. They should then construct one or two Mechwarrior battleforces which will work well within those rules.
- Players should use every build point allotted them in making their battleforces. After all, by ceding points to their opponents they’re giving them an advantage for Victory Condition 2.
- Measure your opponent’s firing ranges before moving your units. “Here is a good way to visualize your opponent’s ranges. Imagine a halo surrounding all opposing units. If the halos overlap, that area becomes darker. The darker the area, the more dangerous it is. If you are forced to move into range of your opponent, look for the “lighter” areas. If you can, overlap those dark areas with halos of your own. By bringing more units to bear on your opponent’s units, you’re making him or her choose to fire and be counterattacked or retreat out of danger.”
- Figure out what you’re going to do with your orders before declaring your first one. This will keep you from making tactical mistakes. For example, declaring an assault move to base an opposing ‘mech, only to decide to fire at him with a ranged attack instead. I would add that it’s also very important to decide what order you’re going to give your units orders. For example, a lot of newbies will give a vent order to an out of danger mech, giving their opponent a chance to get the first shot over in the thick of the fight. Mechwarrior battles go by too quickly for such mistakes; they’ll cost you a tournament in a heartbeat.
- Grab Victory Condition 3 – a lot of players overlook victory condition three, thinking only of shooting up the enemy. In a close match, the points gained by VC3 can be decisive. Even if you’re winning a particular mech battle, running up the score is still valid. The final rankings in a Mechwarrior tournament depend on Victory Condition points. Like Lin says, the difference of a few points might mean either going home empty handed, or with bragging rights and a shiny new battlemech
Posted by Discoshaman at August 10, 2007 04:47 AM