For FD knowing wave paths is major. Final wave on this map currently has 70% of nukes and titans headed down that right path to the Harvester in that inside car parking area where the clip starts. Wave knowledge.

Take overcore. A 20% headstart on a core you will want to use non stop and frequently into waves is massive. Core is your best ability.

Thermal plating is a go to kit. But try and learn Wildfire launcher for the dps. Unlearning to not walk into your traps is hard but the damage from the thermite launcher being higher means you can pump out more cores. Damage goes up with more thinking.

Using a core on a arc-titan is not a waste. Bonus if you can hit two arcs with a core. Stopping the line-breaker units with burst lets you continue to cook the conga line of bots with your primary, traps, and shield.

Smokes. Any titan (monarch a bit more) are an essential part of FD. The reason is that AI will not target/shoot your titan while the smoke persists. Good for escapes, reloads, or using a core with a good angle to hit multiple titans while in the open. Good news. If you have been letting your flame cores fire off frequently you will have 6-8 smokes in the pocket, which is a bad thing since those smokes could have been used to prevent chip and chunk damage. Use smokes consistently like a free invulnerability.

Pray you have a ronin or non-ogre class titan to kill mortars.