BATTLETECH CHALLENGES #3 - Cooking with Flamers

[JimJ4m]

Time for another Challenge stream for you all!

We are back in the stream spotlight as of now! (16.00 CET / 7 AM PT)
Link to stream here.

This time things are heating up for us, controlling the awesome Stalker STK-3F, armed to the TEETH with guns, against two Firestarter FS9-H... trying to punish us if we use to much of that firepower!
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The outline of the scenario:


Name: Cooking with Flamers

Specifics: Stalkers are powerful, but a little toasty. So let’s add some heat to that fire, with a desert biome, and a few flamers. See if you can stay cool enough to survive.

Goal: Positioning, Heat Management, Melee, Damage Facing

Map: Arena - Death Valley

Player's Lance:

Stalker - STK-3F - Sumo


Opponents' Lance:

Firestarter - FS9-H - Showboat

Firestarter - FS9-H - Blockade
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Hopefully we will handle it just fine, more probably it will be us getting beaten yet again. And you know the drill, even if we make it, we want your battle reports on this challenge here in this thread. It can be in picture, video and/or text form!

Power up your 'Mechs and show us how it's done!

 

[Dogfisc]

Uh-oh. The only mech I’ve ever had shut down by OpFor flamers was a Stalker. Here’s hoping Sumo can handle it better than Medusa did.

 

[kiraiakuma]

Well, this depends a lot on luck... and abusing the map limits. For me at least

On the right of the map is a forest, that allows you to have 40% damage reduction while having your back to the map limit saving you from attacks from the rear. Meaning the firestarters have to come to you. It also allows you to fire twice before they reach you, meaning you can whittle one down a bit. Once they are in flamer reach you really need some luck with the melee hits. But if you use cooling vent you can still move after they both flame you and have a second melee attack. If you manage to take one of them down you have won. If not... ehhh...

Also, on the images it looks as if one of them is still intact. But both of them lost both legs.

 

[Revan Katarn]

Funny enough, last week I tried to create a very similar challenge. It was with a Battlemaster (don't remember which pilot I chose, but it wasn't Sumo) against 2 FS9 (Paradise and Sumo) and 2 Locust (don't remember variant or pilots), in the Red City map. After 3 epic fails I decided it was too much. I will try this set up, seems more reasonable xD

 

[mjbroekman]

Did this one. Pretty straight forward, in my opinion. While the forests are a natural attactor due to the damage reduction, they don't work well enough to keep the Firestarters from overheating you and picking your back apart. On the other hand, the mineral fields immediately to the left of the spawn point provide a good spot to help keep the hits (including the flamers) down. I tried this four times and in three of them, the firestarters were able to shut down Sumo and core him out quickly. The fourth time, I stayed in the small mineral field along the edge of the map and waited for them to come into range. This was fortuitous as they didn't have the movement to get into flamer range on the first round of combat and I was able to seriously damage one Firestarter. The next round, I didn't get shut down thanks to the mineral field lowering their accuracy and I was able to take off one torso of a firestarter with a melee attack. And then it was a matter of holding out with my back to the map edge while they exhausted flamer fuel. It was still close, but I had enough Fury to p-shot the CT out of the healthier Firestarter before it took another two or three rounds to kill off the last one. Even "slightly" better RNG results on their side would've killed me, while "slightly" better RNG results on my side would've cut the battle short by 3 or 4 rounds.

 

[Demoyn]

When I was watching the live stream I thought it would easily be a matter of shooting the medium lasers instead of the larges. I was sorely mistaken. I did, however, end up getting a victory on my seventh attempt in round 16. I did pretty much the same as the poster above by staying in the mineral field. I also spent a turn or two in full defense to make sure that I could maneuver without giving them my back more than once or twice.

Honestly, though, I think this challenge takes more luck than strategy. It's all about the hitting and grouping on your 40% hit chance weapons. If you get a lucky group once you'll probably win, and if you don't you'll probably lose.

 

[Amechwarrior]

I took a different route, my goal was to throw melee strikes until the FS9's had exhausted their fuel and then pick them apart before I was.

I went far right in the large crystal field near the trees on the OPFOR side and we met inside the field. I sprinted to close and whiffed a couple melee attempts while they heated me up. I used my Coolant Vent to prevent them from shutting me down and then made a melee move that put my back to the cliff. This made a FS9 jump up on to the cliff to get the rear angle. I then sprinted to cool off after the C.Vent and final flamer shots from the FS9 on the ground. This FS9 followed me to the other edge of the field, and his buddy was left on the rocks. This let me only take 2 MLs from the high up FS9 while I picked apart the now flamer-less enemy at my feet. I suffered an ammo explosion, but once the first one was dealt with I then picked apart the other at range. It never thought to come back down, it still had one or maybe two flamer shots left.

 

[Colonel Flamestalker]

On my third go at this challenge: As @Amechwarrior did above, I also went right towards the far right mineral field, stopping behind the rocky hill to await contact. They moved into range and fired, thankfully missing most of their shots, when I stepped out behind them, using a coolant flush first and then an alpha-strike which stripped away lots of armour. Showboat jumps me to put some shots in the back whilst blockade runs into the mineral field to do the same. RNG is running in my favour. the MG’s miss, and only some of the flamers hit home. So, I charge, taking off one of showboats legs. Blockade stands still and pot-shots. Minimal damage. They attack again, Showboat again tries to get in behind. Blockade again stands his ground in the mineral field. My heat is still manageable, I Charge again and take off Showboats other leg, and down she goes. Blockade still stands there, puts a few rounds into my rear torso, negligible damage. I have enough range to walk round behind him took a precision shot, and obliterate Blockade from behind.

 

[Windschreiter]

The real threat IMHO is the FS mobility combined with the MGs. You can weather the flamers by being careful, but those FS will get shots at your back where the MGs blow your ammo in no time.

Did it in the second attempt by edge hugging. Almost died to Pilot hits thanks to those MGs (again)

 

[Dark Khaos]

First off, have to thank the veterans who posted with pro-tips on this, as it allowed me to actually win with only one attempt.

I did opt opt to go west up the hill to the mineral patch there... was hoping it'd give me better visibility for the approaching Firestarters. It didn't. They were on me quickly, and the whole irony here is I never once fired off the LRMs which I was hoping to use. First salvo I only used LLasers and SRMs. Once they closed to melee, I moved in for quick headbutt.

Now that one FS was crippled, I was able to reposition and hopefully start taking them out. I did take a fair bit of damage and heat until I was able to remove half the weapons off the crippled FS (Just couldn't seem to hit that other leg!)

They were then able to gang up on me and I suffered 3 Head shots in a row which also caused me to miss a melee attack on the other FS.

By now, the first FS was down to only 1 ML and the other had full weapons and a nearly cored CT. Time for another headbutt.

Bye Bye thorn in my face! The mangled first FS now limped further away, so i was able to put distance between us and start trying to either hit its CT or last leg.

Fury was 100% so a PS ended the FS's pain.

Final outcome for my Stalker. Forgot to screen the OpFor. Was too excited for actually getting done on my first try!


Thanks for the challenge HBS!

 

[Revan Katarn]

Oh well, first of all, thanks for the advice to go to the mineral fields, I agree that it's a very good technique. Even though, my first two attempts developed in the small mineral field on the left of the road, close to a small forest between the field and the road. First attempt, RNG was totally against me, missed 2 or 3 melee attacks, and ended cored from behind. In the second attempt had a similar luck but I've managed to destroy one of the FS9, and I killed myself in a blaze of glory trying to core out the other one (too many fails and overheated my CT, which had 4 points left xD)

So, in the third attempt (the good one), I decided to sprint non-stop to the big mineral field on the right (same place as the succesful attempt on stream). One of the FS9, Showboat, decided to follow me there and tried to cook me. Blockade decided to jump to the top of the hill between the mineral field and the road and just shoot me with his lasers. As I just received the heat of 2 flamers, I moved my 'Mech to the edge of the mineral field (so if someone wants to backstab me, will have to move out of the field), used coolant vent and shot everything to Blockade except for a Large laser and a Medium laser, keeping my heat still quite low. Managed to expose the right leg but nothing else. Then Showboat decided to cook me a little more, but from the side. Blockade, I guess a bit dizzy after so many LRMs and SRMs, just walked on top of the hill and kept shooting me with the lasers. As my cockpit was getting a bit to sauna-ish for my taste, I meleed Showboat on her back... and exposed the CT! Next turn, Blockade did the same, and Showboat jumped to my back, but failed with the lasers and everything else went mostly to legs and arms. I moved behind her again, and shot the SRMs and a few Medium lasers to her back. RNG this time was on my side, I cored her out. Blockade, seeing his partner fall, just panicked and kept shooting with only the lasers. Then I decided to back a little out of the mineral field, slowly going to the trees nearby, while shooting LRMs and, few lasers and an occasional SRM. Used coolant vent again, and knocked him down by destroying his previously exposed leg, but also exposing almost every other 'Mech part.



Next turn, he stand up... just to receive the definitive volley that destroyed his right side and CT. So, in my third attempt, I have to admit that I got very lucky (with a strange behaviour of Blockade and a lucky melee to the CT), and managed to win in 10 turns with only my left arm exposed =D

In the spoiler the Mission Summary screenshots of the lance status:

Spoiler

Thanks for the challenge, it's been fun!!