Lance Tactics: Fire Support

Welcome back to the tactica, mechwarriors.  Today's topic is Fire Support lances, and how they are best utilized by the company.  The Fire Support lance is one of the mainstays of the Gatekeeper's order of battle, and this is one of the first types of lance we began to field.  We've gained a lot of wisdom and practical experience over the past year or so, and herein we examine how these sorts of lances fit into Mechwarrior Online at the company level.

Each lance type has it's own conditions and variables.  We've seen how recon lances can be grouped, and Fire Support is not very different.  However, the actual configuration / weight types are more important to create an effective Fire Support group.  The weapon types and lance class must be more clearly defined, and in general this type of lance will operate in much closer order.

Three lance types will be fielded most commonly in the L.C.C.  These are Missile Artillery lances, Direct Fire lances, and Mixed Artillery lances.  With the exception of the Mixed lances, all members of these units should be the same weight class or speed band.  These builds are discussed further here.

Lance Types

• Missile Artillery
• Consists of 4 dedicated Long-Range Missile batteries. 
• Direct Fire
• Consists of 4 Direct Fire Support mechs.
• Mixed Artillery Lance
• Consists of 1 Close Support mech (battery defense), 1 Support Platform (scout) and 2 dedicated Long-Range Missile batteries.

Mission Types

• Defensive (Battlemech Designation:  Guardians)
• This is the most common mission designation.  The objective is simple:  defend either the base, or a salient across conquest territories.  Even Missile Artillery Guardians are great base defense units if properly supported.
1. Fire Support lance moves into position around base or prepares to follow initial thrust to create defensive salient.
2. Lance acts in coordination with other lances (especially Recon lance) and / or their own scout in the case of Mixed Artillery.
3. Lance holds postion until objective reached or officer orders maneuver (i.e. to capture the enemy base when all other team mates are destroyed).
• Offensive (Battlemech Designation:  Oppressors)
• This mission is employed during Skirmish maps, or Assault maps when destroying turret defenses.  This mission may also be issued if other plans have been made regarding base / salient defenses.  The objective is to utterly crush the enemy line, suppressing enemy mechs and their ability to return fire the entire time.
1. Fire Support lance moves into position behind Engagement / Front Line lance(s).
2. Lance acts in coordination with these lances to focus fire on enemy Front Line and Engagement formations from behind our own line.
3. Lance holds position until all targets destroyed / repelled.
4. Lance advances with Engagement / Front Line lance(s).  Optimum trailing distance is ~200 meters.

This sort of formation is fairly simple to deploy, with clear mission parameters and well-defined roles.  It's not really much different playing in the public servers than it is at the company level, except that in the pubs it might be best to always field a Mixed Artillery or Direct Fire lance.  A Missile Artillery Battery without a dedicated spotter (Recon lance at company level) is blind, and without some sort of protection (Close Support) will be easy pickings for enemy units with more conventional weapons.

Gatekeepers make great use of all three types of lance.  A lot of our guys out there know the value of a long-range missile, and I'm sure have plenty of tips and tactics to share.  Leave your comments below, and drop us a line on Facebook as well!