========================================== MechAssault (Xbox) - Loki Guide Author: Frank Provo (frank@frankprovo.com) GameFAQs Username: mosaic Version: 1.1 Date: September 19, 2003 ========================================== Table of Contents [1] Introduction [2] Basic Specs [3] Loki Psychology 101 [4] Weapons In-Depth [5] Vs. Other Mechs [6] Game Type Tactics [7] FAQs [8] Acknowledgments --------------- 1. Introduction --------------- My favorite game type on MechAssault is "Not It!" In that mode, your sole objective is to score the final hit on the person who is it, and then destroy as many other mechs as possible until someone takes the "it" status from you. Once, I don't know when, I was on Xbox Live and saw RNBVOICE playing a Loki in Not It! -- she didn't win, but she had a decent amount of kills and few deaths. I was intrigued by a mech that could frustrate other players by moving around so unpredictably, and yet could also deal a lot of damage thanks to its high rate of fire. I've since learned to play the Loki and seem to do better with it than in an Atlas or Promee (what can I say? I can't time hammers for ---t). I don't mind if other sites reprint this guide, provided my name stays with it and none of the text is altered. If you care to disagree with anything I've put in the guide or have changes to recommend, feel free to e-mail me and I'll do my best to incorporate them. For instance, I don't really have a map-specific section, which many CTF players find useful. I play the Not It and Destruction modes mostly, which don't really force players to learn the locations of power-ups. If you have strategies for CTF in a Loki, I'd love to add them to this guide. -------------- 2. Basic Specs -------------- Mech Name: Loki Class: Assault Weight: 70 tons Armor: 3929 Size: Large Speed: 31 mph (woo!) Cooldown: 9 seconds Offense: (energy) Pulse Laser x2 (ballistic) Autocannon x2 (missile) Crossbow Missile x3 Defense: Null Signature (aka "Cloaking") After a core breach, the Loki leaves behind 1290 units of armor, as well as Energy and Ballistic power-ups. ---------------------- 3. Loki Psychology 101 ---------------------- The Loki is all about speed and maneuverability, and does its best work at short-mid to close range. If you want to play the Loki right, pretend you're a crack addict with attention deficit disorder and stay near to the battle (but not in the middle!). A typical strategy involves finding a missile power up, activating Null Signature, and circling around the battle area while launching volley after volley of Crossbows. Keep moving erratically in order to make it difficult for your opponent to aim and use your rapid-fire Crossbows and Pulse Lasers to wear them down. Thanks to its speed, the Loki is one of the toughest bots in MechAssault to kill. Many opponents just won't bother after you've made them queasy by moving around so much. If your hands don't hurt after a couple battles, you're not playing the Loki right. Although there are five other mechs that move faster, none of them have the insane fire rate that the Loki seems blessed with. In Destruction and Not It! matches, you'll be surprised how many kills you'll get just by throwing missiles at an opponent. Five other mechs can wear someone else down, but you can fire your weapons so fast that the odds are in your favor of earning the "kill" shot. At LVL 3, you can fire 6 missiles per volley! Best of all, you really have to try hard to overheat in a Loki. Again, just keep moving. Move while dodging, move while firing, and move as unpredictably as possible while still keeping enemy mechs in your targeting sight. Move in figure eights. Move in small circles. Activate your Null Signature, which will make it more difficult for opponents to see you. The flurry of weapons you can unleash will create even more distraction for opponents. The biggest problem with the Loki is that it can be knocked over so easily -- which means you need to watch out for any mech with a Gauss or Autocannon. That includes other Lokis. ------------------- 4. Weapons In-Depth ------------------- The Loki's best weapon, due to its damage over time and fire rate, is its Crossbow x3. Nonetheless, you need to mix in Autocannon shots to really wear down an opponent -- and maybe Pulse Lasers if you're in close or they're laying on the ground. One thing to watch out for, even though it's difficult to overheat in a Loki, is that its missile launchers can actually temporarily "run out" of missiles. Whether this is a bug or feature, I can't tell you, but to avoid it, switch off to the Autocannons every five or six volleys. That's a good idea anyway in order to maximize damage. ** PULSE LASER X2 - Energy Weapon Pros: High Rate of Fire, Very Low Heat Cons: Close Range, Low Damage per Shot, Low Accuracy LVL 1 - Amount: ---, Damage: 30 , Damage Per Second: approx. 114 LVL 2 - Amount: 200, Damage: 34 , Damage Per Second: approx. 150 LVL 3 - Amount: 134, Damage: 32 , Damage Per Second: approx. 198 Use the Loki's Pulse Lasers primarily when an opponent throws down Chaff, or when you want to lead an opponent in order to take a shot with the Autocannons. At LVL 3, the Pulse Lasers are useful to finish off an opponent, especially if it's laying down -- but again, both of the Loki's other weapons are more efficient for this. The only really nice thing to say about the Pulse Laser x2 is that it generates just one bar of heat per TEN shots. You won't ever overheat by using it. ** AUTOCANNON X2 - Ballistic Weapon Pros: OK Damage, High Knockdown Rate Cons: Sluggish Fire Rate, Damage Decreases as Range Increases LVL 1 - Amount: --, Damage: 200 , Knockdown Odds: 10% LVL 2 - Amount: 40, Damage: 273 , Knockdown Odds: 20% LVL 3 - Amount: 30, Damage: 333 , Knockdown Odds: 35% Shot for shot, the Autocannon x2 is the Loki's "strongest" weapon, and it has a good chance of knocking down light and medium mechs. It will generate 1.5 bars of heat per use, but the long recharge period pretty much balances that out. Since the rate of fire is so low, however, you want to use the Autocannons as a "finisher" after a volley of Crossbows. Fire off five or six volleys of crossbows and then quicly switch to the Autocannon with Y to cap off your attack with 200-333 points worth of damage. Then switch back to the Crossbows and repeat. The dual Autocannons are also the only weapon the Loki has that works from mid to long range -- but with diminishing results. The further away you are, the greater the odds one of the shells will miss. ** CROSSBOW X3 - Missile Weapon Pros: Above Average Accuracy Close to Mid-Range, Modest Heat Cons: Modest Damage per Shot LVL 1 - Amount: ---, Damage: 132 , Damage Per Second: approx. 172 LVL 2 - Amount: 150, Damage: 186 , Damage Per Second: approx. 205 LVL 3 - Amount: 117, Damage: 240 , Damage Per Second: approx. 216 While the Autocannon x2 is the Loki's strongest weapon, the Crossbow x3 is its best weapon. The rate of fire gives it a higher damage per second than the Autocannon x2, and the increased accuracy pretty much ensures that all three missiles will land -- whereas you'll often miss with one of the Autocannons' shells. Since each shot fires three projectiles, the effective rate of fire with the Crossbow x3 is nearly 6 missiles per second. If you play a lot of Not It! games, you know that it's the person who gets in the "kill" shot that scores the point and becomes "it." At 5 to 6 shots per second, the Loki gives you a high probability of scoring the kill shot on a weak mech. The Crossbow x3 also has a disorientation effect. Opponents may be confused by the three missiles and the smoke trails they produce. You can take this further by activating the Loki's Null Signature -- which makes it tough for an opponent to figure out where an attack is coming from. A Loki will have trouble in a room full of Promees or other mechs that have Chaff. Just one or two chaff flares can really ruin your ability to use the Crossbows -- forcing you to switch to Pulse Lasers until the chaff wears off. Another drawback to the Crossbow x3, which I'm not sure is a feature or a bug, is that they sometimes temporarily "run out." After ten volleys or so, you can hold down the trigger and nothing will happen. To reset the missile packs, switch to another weapon and then switch back to the Crossbows. If anything, it's a good hint to cap off an attack with your Autocannons from time to time. ** Null Signature - Defensive Weapon Null Signature allows the Loki to go "invisible" for 30 seconds. It takes 15 seconds to recharge. You'll only go completely invisible, however, if you stand still and don't fire any weapons. Since the Loki basically needs to keep firing in order to be effective, you won't be able to remain as "invisible" as other mechs. Nonetheless, the Loki is a pain to hit with Null Signature active, because you're already moving around like a jackrabbit and sending projectiles every which way. Activate it anytime you're going into battle. ------------------ 5. Vs. Other Mechs ------------------ ** Atlas Even though the Atlas doesn't have Warhammers or a Lava Gun, it has many things that can baffle a Loki. It's armor is the highest in the game, at 6000 units. It has Chaff, which will divert your missiles for a good five seconds. And it has quad Autocannons, which can knock you down even at LVL 1. Take this battle in close, so you can use your Pulse Lasers and Autocannons when the Chaff is distracting your missiles. Keep moving so that you won't be knocked down by the Autocannon. For as strong as an Atlas is, it's slow speed combined with the slow fire rate of the Autocannons makes it a reasonably safe mech to challenge. ** Bowman The Bowman has dual Warhammers and Chaff, which makes it quite effective against a Loki. A good Bowman pilot will use its jump jets to find an elevated spot to attack from. All in all, your best strategy against a Bowman is to sit mid-range and keep moving while you fire with your Crossbows and Autocannons. The Chaff will shut you down for a few seconds, but at that distance, you have a good shot of dodging the Warhammers or confusing their predictive targeting. ** Catapult Normally, Target Jamming isn't as bad as Chaff, since you can still manually aim your missiles -- but the fact that the Catapult has quad Javelins makes for a special case. Imagine you're facing off in an open area and the battle will last ten seconds. For about 5 seconds, you'll be aiming manually while the Catapult fires volley after volley of Javelin missiles. By the time the battle is half over, nearly half of your health is gone. Move in close and stay close while the Target Jamming is active, and then back up a little bit when it isn't. ** Loki Loki vs. Loki is a battle of wills. You'll be cloaked and your opponent will be cloaked. You'll be moving left and right, back and forth, and in circles -- and so will your opponent. You'll both be launching dozens of Crossbow missiles. The two best ways to sway this battle are to try for a knockdown with your Autocannons, or to find some scenery to absorb a little of the opponent's attack. ** Mad Cat Try and move in circles around the opponent. Launch continual volleys of Crossbow missiles, and swap to a shot with the Autocannons every five volleys or so. When you see the PPCs start charging, move in close and try and stay to the side or behind the opponent. The Mad Cat's PPCs are deadly, but they can't match your speed or rate of fire. Unfortunately, a Mad Cat has the upper hand at longer ranges, so if you can't cut the distance, hide behind something. ** Prometheus (aka Loki's Worst Nightmare) Dual Warhammers and Chaff are not a Loki's best day. The Chaff significantly cuts the effectiveness of your missiles. If you're lucky, the Promee will be overheating and have to stick to its Gauss rifles to hit you. The only saving grace here is that with the Loki's speed, you might actually trick the predictive targeting on the Warhammers and make them fire wide. Move in figure-8 motions and try not to stick to the same direction for more than a few seconds. To be honest, I'd avoid this battle if possible -- the Promee's 5500 points of armor, combined with the Chaff and Hammers are just too great. ** Ragnarok Ugh. The Rag has 5000 armor points, and its shield can absorb all of the damage from any of your attacks. This makes fighting close tough, especially since that also puts you in range of a full Lava Gun burst. And if you back up to a good distance, you can dodge the Rag's Lava Gun, but leave yourself open to its Gauss and Javelins. I'd risk the close fight in the hope that the Rag overheats. Otherwise, you may end up knocked down by the Gauss. Compared to the Promee, a Rag is an easier opponent -- but not by much, especially since most Rag pilots covet the Ballistic power-up you'll leave behind after a core breach. ** Summoner The Summoner's lack of a defensive weapon (other than jump jets) makes it a decent opponent to go up against -- but watch out for its Warhammers. Like its twin, the Loki, the Summoner is difficult to overheat. That means you're going to face an endless stream of 'Hammers. For this battle, you want to fight at far mid-range to make it tough for the splash damage of the Warhammers to get you. Keep pouring on the missiles, because a Summoner can't avoid too many of them. Keep moving! Unpredictably! -------------------- 6. Game Type Tactics -------------------- ** Destruction Since much of this guide applies just fine to both the Destruction and Team Destruction modes, there isn't much else to add. Don't get yourself into a heavy mech sandwich and always, always keep moving. If you're in a room full of Promees and Bowmans, don't play the Loki -- there will be so much Chaff that your missiles will be going everywhere but their intended target. As long as there are only two or three mechs with Chaff in the room, you're good to go. ** Team Destruction In Team Destruction, the Loki's role is to keep the enemy off balance. Go for kills on smokers if you want, but in all likelihood, the enemy team has two or three Promees on it. Damn Promees. ** Last Man Standing Frankly, I don't think mech choice matters here. A smart person stays out of the way until at least a couple opponents are eliminated. And regardless of the mech you choose, you're toast if two or three people choose to gang up on you. ** Team Last Man Depending on the composition of the enemy team. Against a bunch of Promees, forget it. Otherwise, the Loki is great for confusing the enemy team and keeping them off balance. Often, you provide the cover for your teammates to line up their Gauss and Warhammer shots. ** Not It! The Loki is a JOY to play in Not It! matches. If you're not familiar with this mode, it's basically like a reverse game of tag. One player is it and tries to score as many kills as possible. Everyone else tries to kill the mech that's it. Whoever lands the kill-shot scores a point, becomes it, and then tries to earn more points by destroying everyone else. Also, when you become it, your weapons are automatically powered-up to LVL 3. Thanks to the Loki's rate of fire, the odds are good of landing the "kill" shot on the person that's it. And when your missiles are at LVL 3, you have a good chance to take out any light or medium mechs nearby -- and certainly any smokers. Stay near, but not in the middle of the main battle area, and keep your target sight on the "it" mech while launching Crossbows and Autocannon shots. Watch out for Atlases, other Lokis, and mechs with weapons that have knock-down ability. Keep an eye on them and stay really close or really far away from them. ** Capture the Flag I don't play much CTF, but it seems to me that the Loki would be a good mid-range defender or runner. CTF maps tend to have plenty of hills to hide behind, which can work in a Loki's favor. Unfortunately, you know the other team will have a Rag or Promee somewhere, which means you're open to knockdowns. All in All, in CTF, the Loki is probably an accident waiting to happen for beginners, but a breath of fresh air for players with experience. ** Giant Killers The Loki is average for this mode -- mainly because it still takes two or three volleys of missiles (and maybe an Autocannon burst) to take out an Elemental. Then again, if you keep moving, you'll make everyone else so frustrated that you may find satisfaction in that -- along with 3 to 5 kills per "it" period. ------- 7. FAQs ------- Q. You often use the phrases "close-range," "mid-range," and "long- range." What do they mean in human terms? A. To me, close-range is a mech length or two and mid-range is anywhere from 10 to 20 steps away from your target. Long-range is even further away. A good way to measure this yourself is to go into the Colosseum and position yourself at the corner of the hill -- standing next to it on the side closest to the entry portals. From where you're standing, any point from the middle of the hill to a short distance past the other corner is mid-range. Long-range is further than that. Q. What maps is the Loki good on? A. No map really poses a big problem for the Loki, although it works best on wide open maps, such as River City, Stone Cold, and Colosseum. I've found that Demolition Town, Icepack, and the Junkyard can be hit or miss, mainly if there are a few Promees around. Q. I just played a Destruction (or Not It, or etc.) match against a room full of Promees and Rags and got owned, WTF? A. They have chaff, shields, and Gauss Rifles. You have speed and a lot of missiles. Say "uncle" and try to stick to rooms with a varied mix of mechs, or where there are only one or two Chaff bearing heavies. ------------------ 8. Acknowledgments ------------------ Thank you FASA Studio, Day 1 Studios, and Microsoft Game Studios for making this game. I'll add contributors names / emails / whatevers here once I get a few emails. FAQ Copyright (c) 2003 Frank Provo. All Rights Reserved.