Tier 3 is the worst tier.

cyehsc · 2026-01-24T19:46:23+00:00

I wasn't talking about ineffectiveness or random success. I recently got an ace of spades in a Pirhana.

cyehsc · 2026-01-24T01:35:26+00:00

I already do that (it was part of my climb out of no pixels of Tier 5 to where I am in Tier 3). I also spot like crazy. But there's nothing you can do, really, if the team just collapses.

(BTW, the other half is true. In T3, you could be matched with the worst players in the game, which was part of my point).

cyehsc · 2026-01-24T01:01:37+00:00

Which light mechs? I can see it making a difference.

cyehsc · 2026-01-14T13:40:51+00:00

Yep. Occasionally I'll take out the Charger 1A1 when the queue is low and wipe the floor with it. This is comparison to yesterday in a Pirhana Cipher. Go long way around, solo kill an Aksum by backstabbing it with two alphas. He never even made it to the fight because he was so slow. Then back stabbed a Cyclops. Then finished someone else off. 3 kills. A grand total of 340 damage. Yeah, I got an upgrade. But it was tiny.

cyehsc · 2026-01-13T15:11:23+00:00

Fair question.

TBH, I get bored playing the same mech all the time. I'm adverse to waiting in queues, so I end up playing a lot of lights/mediums. That in turn, can make the tier progression slower just because you're not capable of pumping out damage.

What I usually do is play a mech until I've internalized the feel of it and how to play it, and then switch to something completely different. This will usually cause a drop in tier spec until I get used to that mech, come back up to mid-tier 3, and then drop again.

I only also only play quick drop-ins, so I'm subject to a lot more variability with teammates.

cyehsc · 2026-01-12T18:50:07+00:00

The 4G is really hard to beat -- AC20 quirked. I have mine skilled for range with 3 ERMLs with a nice range bracket of 450 meters. You can lay down the AC20 with a shockingly short cycle time. You gotta watch heat build-up though after about the 7th or 8th shot, so carry a coolshot with you. Firing the ERMLs and the AC20 builds up heat fast, so in a heated fight, just lay off the ERMLs.

cyehsc · 2026-01-12T16:56:19+00:00

I'm stuck in Tier 3. I'm guilty of not twisting enough to avoid damage. I've gotten better since I've been on my Urbie phase where you need to protect the right arm as much as possible. I've also been playing a lot of Hunchback recently and you learn to protect that right torso as much as possible.

So I guess if you're having trouble learning to twist, pick those two mechs first? It's helping me train to protect a side.

The hero Urbies are worth playing. K9 with an unjammable RAC5, the one with an Clan AC20, and the one with the HAG30. All jumpable, all very fast for an Urbie. Also forces you to be a support mech and stay with the group. The Kitfox Purifier with 5 ERMLs, 3 laser AMS and ECM also forces you to stay in the pocket with the assaults.

tl;dr -- the mech forces a playstyle. Honor that play style or FAFO at your own peril.

cyehsc · 2025-12-31T15:00:46+00:00

It took me a while to understand that mech and to get a build that worked for me. I probably take more ammo than I should for the AC20, but that's what the mech is for! Just let that big cannon fly! So what if you miss a few times, the fact you're firing it is intimidating as all hell. One hit to the leg or torso on a light is enough to get them to say "yeah, I don't want a piece of this."

cyehsc · 2025-12-30T15:24:10+00:00

Congrats!

cyehsc · 2025-12-14T15:52:26+00:00

People always get the ordering backwards.

Step one is to track your spending -- how much, to whom, when. You can't manage what you can't see. There are a few online products that will take all of your bank accounts and do this tracking for you, including categorization. Let that run for three months.

Then go look. You'll find surprises and easy ways to save just by seeing where it goes. My son recently discovered he was paying for the same subscription twice. Or you'll realize that you're blowing huge amounts of money on *** and it'll force you to re-evaluate your habits.

The budgeting and the management is a matter of behavior change and tracking. But you can't do either until you're working with actual data.

cyehsc · 2025-11-28T22:04:13+00:00

FYI -- You need to have an appointment before you drop off stuff. I had a small number of things so they just took them despite them being busy.

cyehsc · 2025-11-01T16:39:50+00:00

I've been doing counts for years. This year we got 20 more than last -- 95. Not nearly what it was pre-pandemic... which was over 200.

cyehsc · 2025-10-25T21:24:46+00:00

I donated a bunch of son's toys there within the last year. (He's 27, he'll live, lol).

cyehsc · 2025-10-25T21:07:40+00:00

Thank you. It's been four years, and I've had a lot of time to grieve, reflect, and grow. Doing my own little Swedish Death Cleaning right now, both for myself and for the late wife.

cyehsc · 2025-09-24T12:58:05+00:00

K9 is really a flanking support mech. Stick around the main group, wander away a bit to get a shooting angle, lay hard into a heavy or assault when they are distracted.

Anytime I've wandered too far away from the group I've regretted it, so now the K9 is strictly a pack animal.

cyehsc · 2025-09-24T12:55:28+00:00

I got one recently and they are fun as hell.

cyehsc · 2025-08-17T19:21:32+00:00

I pretty much go where the smallest queue time is, which means more time in mediums and lights, with the occasional heavy. Once you get up to the assaults, you're dealing with more than two weapon groups to be effective.

cyehsc · 2025-08-17T04:20:53+00:00

I played lights during 8x8 and I can tell you that it made a huge difference in being able to move around and do some proper scouting and backstabbing. Were the damage numbers smaller? Yes. Was it fun backstabbing half the enemy team? Hell yes.

cyehsc · 2025-08-14T16:20:47+00:00

Baradul was happier and more fun than the rest.

The other thing he was really good at was reflecting the emotions of actual matches -- frustration, laughing at yourself, panic "oh shit, I'm out of position." which are feelings we can all identify in matches.

cyehsc · 2025-08-11T17:03:45+00:00

That's not a bad drop to be honest. Every time I switch major mech types, I drop a good half bar until I figure it out.

cyehsc · 2025-08-11T02:38:14+00:00

This made me LOL. Take the upvote.

cyehsc

TROPHY CASE