BATTLETECH – Manipulating Hit Locations; Also Vehicles & Turrets

Manipulating hit location using positioning

When you attack an enemy, your chances for the shot to hit a particular location are influenced by where your ‘Mech is in relation to their facing. If you are on their right-hand side, you are more likely to hit their right arm, right leg and right torso. Even if you select a Precision Strike, it adds to your chances, but if you are not on the correct side of a target, you may not be able to aim for the component location you want.

Part of a target threat assessment is to identify where the enemy has their “big gun.” Take, for example, a Panther light ‘Mech. It’s slow for a light ‘Mech and the torso-mounted SRM4 might not be scary. However, the Panther has a PPC which can be intimidating. It is mounted in the Right Arm. If you can attack a Panther consistently from the right-hand side, the chances are – even if you are not using Precise Shot, that the right arm will catch much of the damage.

In some cases, the arm is just as heavily armored as the associated torso – and the torso may have the additional benefit of housing ammunition and causing damage to the pilot if it is destroyed. So it is often the case that Precision Shots are best employed when aiming at a side torso, preferably from the rear straight on, or at an angle from the front. If you can take the torso out, the arm drops off as well. Take a look at the next Griffin GRF-1N you come across. It has all of its weapons attached to its Right Torso.

It seems clear that the AI knows about this technique because I have observed several times where an enemy has targeted the arm with the heaviest weapon mounted in it.

Other ways of manipulating hit location

If a ‘Mech has fallen over, you can call shots for free if you only target that ‘Mech. Also if a ‘Mech shuts down because of heat you can call shots for free. This is a great way of permanently destroying or hobbling bigger ‘Mechs – and also the most likely way one of your pilots will die – knocked over by someone followed by many enemy shots aimed at the center torso.

Hit locations, vehicles and turrets

‘Mechs are not the only target on the battlefield, there are turrets and vehicles too. Vehicles are like side torsos, in that they have a single internal structure, but several different armor facings. The armor is typically much, much greater than the internal structure. This makes it imperative to focus fire on one location, rather than spreading it out, and preferably hitting it in the back. Given that a lot of vehicles are incredibly dangerous for their size (Demolishers have twin AC20s, SRM and LRM carriers have many, many weapons, Shrecks mount triple PPCs and don’t suffer from heat), hitting vehicles early and focusing them down might be a good idea. Remember that melee damage causes double damage to vehicles.

Turrets have a single armor rating and single structure rating, but can also pack some serious firepower – quad AC2s, multiple LRM10s and 15s, AC20s and multi-PPC turrets can all cause bad problems. If you cannot see a convenient turret generator to kill, then clearing out turrets can be a vital priority. They can’t evade, so can usually be sniped or pummeled from long range.

You May Also Like

BATTLETECH – An Introduction to Hit Locations & Crits BATTLETECH – Brawlers BATTLETECH – Cavalry BATTLETECH – Contracts BATTLETECH – Effects BATTLETECH – Gameplay Tips BATTLETECH – Heat BATTLETECH – Scouts BATTLETECH – Strikers BATTLETECH – Terminology BATTLETECH – The MechLab BATTLETECH – Tips & Tricks