Tips and Tricks

General Tips[]

You can do decent damage to the enemy fort using just your AirMech shooting the corners.
You can use islands to store infantry on maps like Sandrim
Fortresses are NOT damaged by Area of Effect Attacks.
Defensive infantry spam is one of the most efficient ways to keep an outpost. Just keep building infantry and dropping them at the outpost that is being attacked. Remember that if the enemy takes the outpost they can pull units out of their build queue and fortify the outpost while depriving you of that advantage, so be sure not to let that happen. Naturally this doesn't work for tank pushes or masses of units (unless you have brutes in the fort and bunkered, which no one does).
Placing mines on creep paths that run near other expensive units is a good way to get rid of clumped units.
When you're AirMech hunting, carry seekers with you for backup.
When you're building units, don't wait for them to finish (Go out and harass and kill enemy tanks, creeps, money makers, etc.). To quote the Zerg from Starcraft:"Evolve, change, and survive. Stand still and die."(awesome accent not included)
If you buy abilities don't forget to use them.
Try to put your enemy in lose-lose situations. Put down tanks rolling from one side and start capping outposts from the other.
Watch the minimap as much as possible. The minimap is your friend. If you watch it, you will never be surprised by a tank column knocking down your front door or those pesky ninja drops.
Put HAATs and other AA behind trees. When you're going fast can't see them all that well.
Use unique drop positions - Platforms on Nesthorn, round the sides on Twin Peaks, on top of the bunkers on Simple or on the platforms on Thar for attacking units to circumvent defenses.
Spread and hide artillery to break defenses, don't mass it. As it will be easier for bombers to destroy it all at once.
Tanks take 2X damage when attacked from the rear.
When near your team's Fortress, don't waste time building infantry, just take the creeps. Remember that creeps are free.
When pressing Ctrl + Unit number you can make units build faster. When flying over an outpost, if you build some unit on autodeploy, it be separated from other outpost's production. For example, building 1 goliath on your fortress, then you fly overan outpost building on autodeploy (Ctrl) getting it to the same time, but being produced in that outpost. Its useful when you have a lot of credits and want to buy Devastators.

Combat Tips[]

When you chase someone and they land, land in the direction you think they will go next if they take off again to put you in a better chasing position.
When piloting Helix, your missiles will seek out grounded Airmechs. Use them instead of landing to fight other Airmechs.
Jump in front of teammates that are low on health. Auto-fire will target you while your teammate gets away.
Rushing in and capping the enemy's close outpost (i.e. nearest outpost to enemy's main base), and then fortifying it, gives you an immense advantage over your opponent when they realize they can't take it back.
Sometimes when sniping it's better to stand still so you only hit one unit at a time, so that only one HAAT ends up shooting you instead of the entire group of five.
When you get caught ferrying units in enemy territory and you can't make it back to your post back in time, drop the units and run. Always better to lose the units than to lose both your mech and the units especially if your unit can kill something before it dies.
Use yourself to distract T99s so your units can kill them without dying.
T99 missiles follow different rules than most projectiles or missiles, they shoot up first, and then towards their target. They are not stopped by cliffs or objects, unlike seekers or HAATs.
You can block enemy units from attacking your fortress by placing units in front of them, this way they will attack the units and not your fortress shield.
Heal damaged units by carrying them and hovering over an outpost (grey smoking units have lost half of their health, black smoking ones lost almost three-fourth of its health)
Try to capture as many posts as possible. Don't just spam multiple tanks at one base, thinking that the enemy will continuously try to capture it, just leave 3 or 4 tanks there and go off to capture another base, preferably many at a time.
A good "quick death" tactic is the Tank Train/Rush, frequently used by all different types of players, in which you capture an important base, (such as the middle base of the map,"Dust", or a base relatively close to your enemy's fortress), and then building large amounts of (Name of tank here) in front of the base to seal off the capture positions. The Longhorns would then act as a defense while you build more tanks. Build enough tanks that you think will be suitable to breach your enemy's defenses (10-15 should do), and then set them all to "Attack Base", and they will all do so. The tanks paths will cause them to all go in the same direction, (depending on the spot you place the tank), and should create a sort-of train-like death.
When youre losing a dogfight, try to land on extense areas, and then transform to ground mode and jump away from your enemy, and when it transform into ground mode immediately transform in air mode and get away. Also, heal your mech with Q (Ground mode only) to extend your survivability.

Teamwork Tips[]

General[]

Don't wait till your teammate asks for help, go ahead and help him.
If you see a shiny tag with a teammates name on it, then it is a teammate asking for help, if you aren't doing anything important then go there (To make one for yourself press Z, if you want to place a marker, double press Z).
If a teammate asks you to build a unit it's nice to do it, and would probably help with his plan. A teammate often also asks for a speciality unit that they do not have in their loadout but you do(eg:artillery for mid fights, jammer for secret unit clusters...).
Build just what you need, if a unit is not anymore useful recycle it (hold space-bar over an outpost/fortress) it's always ~~nice~~ essential (with the new upkeep system) to have extra upkeep and credits.
Try to avoid having similar units in your team's loadout, especially socket units like MoneyMakers/Bot Spawners/Lunchbox. You can share your units.
It's not YOUR unit. It's the TEAM's unit, don't freak out if your teammates are messing with your unit, most of the time its for the benefit of the whole team(unless you really need the unit for some obscure strategy).
Two people can capture an outpost better than one, don't solo.
Put ! before your message for it to be visible only to teammates, or change your game settings to default to team chat.
Don't leave at the beginning of a match or you'll put your teammates at a big disadvantage.
Don't leave when the game is going to end soon, you still get kudos and experience even if you lose, and your elo drops more if you quit than if you lose.
Try to cover your teammate from a missile cloud when he comes back to heal over the outpost. Healing isn't instant when they fly over the outpost, and your teammate would probably die to the massive damage.
When rushing, send two rushes at different outposts. This splits the enemy's attention and increases your level of success. You can split with your teammate, him supporting the first rush and you supporting the second.
Pay attention to the radar, if you guess what your teammate is doing, you can work more efficiently, and help him as well.

CTF-Specific[]

Try to go for the core at the same time with your mate, the one who didn't get the core can be a meat shield for the other, this is very helpful.
It doesn't matter how many times you grab the core, you have to bring it to your base to score, so don't go alone, or you will be chased down and defeated. If you are being blown up; tag the place, drop the core, and try to bring the enemy far from it hoping that your team will take it (once dead tell them to take it even on chat if it's still there).
Don't focus only with anti air, without outposts you won't be able to bring the core safely to your base (of course it's not safe anyway, with the core you are more vulnerable but you also get healed slowly).
Don't recharge over an outpost while holding the core, you heal less, instead, drop the core near the outpost then heal, after that make sure you pick it up before your opponent.

AirMech-specific Tips[]

Striker[]

With Striker, it's free you can hit and go, with striker be sure to store longhorns for beginners
The Striker is a great Class/Mech for new players.
Striker is amazing. It can do a lot of things other mechs can't.
Generally good at anything. A good combination is the Gabe pilot, with it's Air Speed da hi and da stuff and Attack Power boosts, this makes it a viable Airmech hunter.
Use the sword for attacking unit clusters, it is the Striker's AoE attack.
Try timing missiles right as you only get one shot at an enemy mech and then the cooldown kicks in.
Blaster guardians are a very nice addition to the striker as they add extra firepower and shoot while you use your sword melee skill.
Use Striker's afterburner ability to get to places, respond to harass and escape faster.
The strikers melee attack is more powerful than you think
If you want to go support striker, make sure you max out the builder ability first.

Helix[]

If you get air missiles, don't land to shoot grounded AirMechs.
If you need to keep an outpost or fort from the enemy, nothing says get out like some missile spam.
When using Helix, place tanks in random spots to get an enemy AirMech shooting it, then come in with your missiles blazing and go for the kill. Tank Trap.
When using ground missiles, remember you can shoot around obstacles. Fire around a corner to kill enemies without taking any damage.
At level 4 with 2 points in the carry ability you are able to carry 2 Longhorns or 2 Gemini.
Annarchy/Lilith and Hawk are good pilots that go well with the Helix's build speed bonus.
If you want to go support helix, make sure to alternate between buying the carry capacity and build speed ability.
If an AirMech is in the air, use your guns not rockets.
When you're out of energy don't run away, use your primary weapon. When you get at least the amount of energy you need to get away then go.

Bomber[]

Bomber is a defensive AirMech, play it as one.
A good strategy for destroying moderately defended outposts is by capping it for a brief moment and then using the Bombs to attack the units, make sure you attack the AA first, then go for a heal at the outpost.
When Tanks are clumped to each other with less AA defense, transform to ground mode and melee the tanks from the hind, the Area of Effect attack along with the increased damage can destroy them quickly.
If you chase an enemy Airmech and force it to transform into Ground Mode, do not try to attack and transform into ground mode with it, because the Bomber has a melee attack in ground mode. Instead of transforming, use bombs to force them back into Air Mode and continue shooting.
The Whirlwind ability is amazing on large clumps of units, get it as soon as you hit level 7.
While charging up mantis strike, you have extra armor, use this to get out of a sticky situation.
Mantis strike passes through 3 units and also hits flying targets.
Mako is a good pilot that goes well with the bomber. He has no ground speed nerfing stats so you get the damage resistance and the normal bomber ground speed.He also has the 33% air efficiency which helps the bomber fly further and bomb more. Parts can negate the airspeed nerf.
Bomber is a great counter to Goliath and Devastator when they are alone. Just attack and move around the tank, and he will unable to aim you. This strategy is possible to with others AirMechs. Other tanks aim faster, so Bomber can't avoid damage. You should counter more Goliaths and Devastators if they are alone and are in small groups.

Saucer[]

Blink is amazing. It will let you get away from most sticky situations you find yourself in.
Blink lets you transport things faster.
Blink makes you the fastest AirMech by far.
If you drop bombs while blinking, they will go much farther than just dropping them normally. Makes aiming a lot harder though.
You're not invincible while blinking - you just move faster and still can be hit by any projectile.
Blinking does however wear down your energy like crazy, but its still useful.
Abducting units is fun; harassing with abduct can really annoy your opponents.
Death ray damage scales up the longer it's used.
Only use the blast wave ability when there's a unit engagement. Since the blast wave has a relatively long cooldown time, it's best to save it for when you really need it.
Raven is a good co-pilot because of the speed boost and the rest. You dont really need the carry capacity, so raven is only for attack saucers

Neo[]

With boosters and cloak you can carry 2 bombs and kill any turret you want in one trip.
Use the high air damage of the Neo to take out enemy AirMechs easily.
A good strategy to harass is to cloak while holding a tank (or any other unit with decent damage and/or health), go to an undefended location in your enemy's base (the back), and order the unit to, "Attack Base".
You can cloak, hold a Jammer, place it at a discrete location, then smuggle tanks to that place and create a surprise push.
Neo's stasis blast can slow down units and lock mechs down into ground form. Use the former to buy time and the latter to finish off escaping mechs or open an escape route for yourself in a pinch.
While trying to kill a mech on low health, pretend as though you've given up by going away, cloak, and then when the enemy transforms in the air to escape, finish it off.
If you don't have Jammers, you can make your push go unnoticed by using the Radar Disrupt ability.

Warthog[]

Since the warthog has the most powerful attack, it is ideal to defend an unprotected base.
Get up close to enemy unit, your attack will increase.
If you're new to Warthog, upgrade the spin-up ability first, this makes the warthog more like other normal mechs.
Don't think you're invincible if you have your overshield ability. Odds are that if you land in a heavily fortified area you will die nearly instantaneously after the shield runs out.
Try upgrading the spray ability to improve the Warthog's capability to kill an escaping AirMech from the ground.
The damage increase ability and the piercing increase ability make you an absolute beast versus tanks.

Osprey[]

Osprey is the healer mech. It heals instead of doing damage.
Don't bother with Osprey's guns, they're miserable.
In most cases, Osprey can heal faster than a mech can damage a unit, use that to your advantage when countering harass.
If you're running a bulky osprey build, make sure to grab the auto heal upgrade so you can stay away from an outpost for longer periods.
If you have a lot of units with black smoke, its a good time to activate the Heal nova ability.
You can heal a unit with your heal beam as well as carry units and heal them, do this to maximize your healing capacity.

Paladin[]

This mech is great for supporting units.
When taking fire from a unit, make sure you face your shield towards it, this reduces the damage taken by 50%.
It's high carry capacity and amazing supporting abilities makes it great for PvE games, though it's aura abilities are also quite helpful in PvP (especially for players who enjoy playing mainly as an army commander).
Speed Aura is for when you're pushing, but usually not worth the credits.
Defense Aura is for when your push has arrived at an enemy outpost and is taking fire.
Attack Aura is for when you're defending against a push (since your units will most likely live due to defender's advantage, it is better for them to destroy as much of the push as possible)

Angel[]

The Angel is a hit and run mech. It hits hard with the snipe ability and has a wonderful escape mechanism in the form of the loop ability.
Sniper ability is best used from behind enemy tanks to double the damage.
Use the glide ability to chase enemy mechs on ground mode.
Use Energy Guardians with Angel to maximize Sniping ability and Quick shot for faster (and more) shots.
Angel is quite fragile, so if you see a Helix nearby while sniping, it's time to run.
Get the rail gun as soon as you hit Lvl 7. It makes a HUGE difference.
Your main tactic as an Angel is harassment. Take a couple jackals, throw them down near the enemy outpost or unit cluster, land just behind them, and start sniping.
Try to stay near friendly AA as your pistols couldn't kill another Airmech easily, and your sniper has a minimum distance.

Map Tips[]

Dust[]

An easy-to-win map. Just Longhorn Train from the middle base.
In the early stages of the game, pick up 4 infantry units and have as many tanks or turrets as you can queued up. Get a few tanks, capture close and then immediately start attacking mid. Try taking enemy close (in a team game) just to distract them from the mid fight. When you get mid, mass up tanks and send them all together.
You have to be careful with this strategy though, because if you leave your home base undefended your enemy can turn all their attention to attacking your home base, its hard to take someone who is intent on destroying your base away from doing so.

Chasm[]

Make sure you populate sockets with preferably MoneyMakers, Generators, or BotSpawners.
Be careful about the outposts on the sides, make sure you fortify them or at least keep an eye on them via the minimap.
It is crucial to not allow your enemy to capture the outposts on your side in the beginning of the game, or else they will use that base as a foothold on your side and then attack from there.

Thar[]

There are small pieces of land on the top right left and bottom mid parts of the map, at the edges of the map. These look like perfect arty positions, if the enemy is turtle-ing at those posts. Be sure to protect the artillery with AA, and keep attention away from them.

Twin Peaks[]

Cap the bottom post first and shoot the neutrals units during the pregame to get a head start.
Once in a good position with both top and bottom outposts, sneak in some tanks and AA. Once you have enough in position, rush them in. Best done with an Osprey/Helix.
Be sure to make use of Shooters and Buckys on this map, for if you place them in the right spot, they can damage the outposts that have gaps in the ground without taking damage. Useful for capturing the northern bases(the ones without the Gatties.)
Creep paths are very easy to predict as they go on one single lane in the streets and only change lanes depending on which outpost they are taking. Useful for placing mines.

Sandrim[]

You can sneak in infantry to the small islands near the middle outpost during pre-game. Keep a bunch of infantry there instead of running back to your fortress to get more infantry.
The middle outpost only holds economical value as it is not connected to the mainland.

Nesthorn[]

When you send units toward mid, there is a place where you can gap jump units across one of the chasms to the enemy close. Do so if mid is fortified.
If you use MoneyMakers, make sure you guard the farm of 3 pads with an AA unit.

Vale[]

It's a big map. Make sure your team splits up into the different lanes to get a tactical advantage.
If you use a Saucer, make sure you abduct, the neutrals are a good way to protect your tank rushes.

Crater[]

The middle base is dangerous. Between you, the enemy, and the grays, this place is a huge fight.
Instead of taking the middle base, break the gray T99 line and use it to get to the enemy base

For more strategies about maps and such, go to Strategies!

PvE tips[]

Last Stand[]

Load out

Osprey & Samson [ultimate preferred] & Red Charm Bracelet [or Colored Egg] for each teammate. Recommended units - T99, Goliath, Ratchet, Stasis Mine, Gatty, Generator [ultimate preferred], Lunchbox.

Not all teammates have to have all of these units in each of their loadouts, but a teammate disconnection really hurts in Last Stand, so it's best to have multiple backups. No, there is no moneymaker listed, but you really don't need them; salvage is awesome, and you should hit max credits pretty quickly anyway, then stay there till the end.

Play tips

T99 spam until you hit 30-40 upkeep, by wave 15-20. Put them in a short line in front of the socket closest to the spawn corner[s], but do not block the roads - this may cause the AI route to shift around the hill [bad times], also put a few elsewhere to help deal with the minor side waves & air units.
After that, start putting Goliaths on the hills, to hit side armor and for the height damage bonus, and put 1 stasis mine where the AI units start getting shot by your defense line, just as they round the hill, and another in the direct line they travel towards your HQ.
Try to keep the numbers of defense units each side even, and swap out some T99 for more Goliaths, put the T99 behind to take advantage of their longer range and still deal with the AI abduct mini-saucers.
Focus your units to create kill zones, where most will fire at once, often taking out the enemy unit with a single barrage over the first stasis.
A few small 2x T99 & 1x Gatty clusters should be enough to deal with the minor side wave units, so keep your main focus on the 4 BIG waves from the corners.
Ratchets, ratchets, ratchets: 4 each side works well supporting the Goliath/T99 clusters, and 1 each near the side clusters helps keep them alive past wave 100.
Artillery units fail sometime after wave 50-80, depending on your build layouts, so don't even bother with them. Seriously, even massed Berthas. T99/Goliaths will stand a chance if the enemy get too close or even past them [rear x2 damage].
Salvage with your Osprey as much as you can in the early waves and go on repair flights between the waves to keep the defenses optimal.
Build up the defenses slowly, just as much as you need. If you hit max unit cap before wave 50, you're probably building defenses far too fast.
Credits and maximum unit cap are your only limiting factors on LS, hence in the recommended load out above you only find the better unit cap/power to dps ratio units, (T99, Goliath, Ratchet). Try to optimize your defenses accordingly.

Thanks go to all those who's efforts helped get us this tactical info.

Spiral[]

Airmechs: 2 Paladins, 2 Ospreys (Warthogs work too). Pilot: Samson (ultimate if possible)

Load out: Stasis Mine, T99, Seeker/HAAT(optional) , Goliaths/Devastators, Generators, Artillery (preferrably Bertha), Ratchets, Bucky (optional).

Just mass up units at the 2 entry points on either side, drop a couple seekers at the fort for the gliders that come later. The clusters should have golis/devs at the front, then a mix of T99's and ratchets. Put 3-4 stasis mines before each cluster and artillery in the back. They should have the back 3 Stasis Mines in their killbox.
Don't bother with slowly increasing defenses. If the tanks break through your defenses, you are screwed.
Be sure to divide defenses equally.