Meson guns stink. Discuss:

[KDog]

I've been lurking here on this board for a while and it's been quiet ... a little TOO quiet. So, I thought I'd throw this out there.

One of the first Titans I used (Zealot) had a Heavy Meson gun on it and that thing never seemed to do jack squat. Then, it would promptly run out of ammo thank you very much. What am I missing with these things?

[Thorgrim]

They may seem they're doing nothing, but they may actually be building your victory
Notice that mesons not only have a huge chance to cause internal system damage, but they also damage internal armor as well as external armor. They are more effective when used in multiples, as not only it increases the chance for important crits but also because by calling shots you can disable bodyparts of heavily armored titans much faster.
They don't stink

[tarendelcymir]

They are more effective when used in multiples, as not only it increases the chance for important crits but also because by calling shots you can disable bodyparts of heavily armored titans much faster.
They don't stink

That's the key to the mesons, I think. If your titan only has a single HMG/LMG, it may occasionally give you a decent critical that hinders your foe, but with the low ammo count, it's a toss-up. As soon as you add even one more, however, you've doubled your chances at getting those nasty criticals. Plus, a single ammo explosion or damaged engine can really, really turn the tide of a battle. Not to mention damaged gyros so your enemy flops like a drunken fish, or damaged life support so any hit with decent power tends to beat the bejeezus out of the enemy jock. In my own opinion, mesons are great secondary weapons. I personally don't like them so much as the main weapon, a little too chancy, but that's just me. I still like them.

[Thorgrim]

Crit to the cockpit for jock damage, crits to the leg actuators to decrease opponent's speed, crits to the engine, heat reg or PGs to hinder his heat dissipation ability, crits to the arm acts, battle computer or weapons for to-hit penalties, and much more.

[CSchack]

Sounds nice, now if I could only use them ... maybe I'll try disabling things in BIOS, it MIGHT get the installer to work...

[KDog]

Am I always told that the weapon has caused internal damage and/or criticals or would I need a better scan? All that could have easily been lost on a newby like me.

Still, I like the comfy feeling of blasting a nice big hole in the belly of the beast with an AC 20.

[Thorgrim]

It depends on your message detail settings (F4).
A green scan will tell you the damage too, sure - if the opponent hasn't repaired it already.

[Coyote27]

KDog: Yeah... <<blatant plug alert>> check out my Mantis then

I'd take meson guns over the smaller autocannons any day.