Rock = Sentinel
Paper = Scout
Scissors = Assault

Scissors are dull right now, which is throwing off the balance a bit. Assault suits are supposed to be the hard counter to Scout suits, but that part needs some adjustment.

Rock vs Paper:

When an HMG Sentinel fights a Scout in a head to head fight the Sentinel is fighting for his life. Scouts die fast if you can hit them, but even standing still a Scout is a small target, and a Scout should never be standing still. When a Scout gets into rage with a Shotgun or Nova Knives and orbits around the Heavy then reverses direction jumping over the stream of HMG bullets, they have the edge over the Sentinel. Even a Scout with an Assault Riffle has an edge in CQC if they play it right.

Of course Scouts try to avoid head to head fights. Like paper they rap around the rock and attack from behind. If they approach from behind the Sentinel will likely be down before they know what happened. Even in Head to Head combat Scouts often seem to be able to get past and behind the Heavy.

Now, Scouts warring Armour Plate are just trying to be Scissors, and in doing so they are giving up some of their advantage against Sentinels.

Rock vs Scissors:

HMG Sentinels have the advantage against Assault suits within their range. The Assault suit is not going to be able to out DPS an HMG at less than 30m. For an Assault suit to beat an HMG Sentinel they either need to act like a Scout, out range the HMG, or work as a team.

An Assault suit that is not slowed by too much Armor Plate can greatly reduce the damage they take from an HMG by using large strafes, orbiting faster than the HMG can turn, doubling back causing the Heavy to over turn, and using Cover effectively. I have seen good players in Starter fits solo Proto HMGGÇÖs, but it is more challenging in an Assault suit than in a Scout suit due to slower movement and a larger hit box. The Sentinel does have a significant advantage over an Assault suit inside of 30m.

Beyond 30m the DPS of the HMG falls way off (unless it is an Assault HMG which works best at 30m and falls off around 40m). Across an open field, or even when firing from cover on either side of a street in an urban socket, any of the Infantry Rifles will do more DPS than a HMG. At that point the SentinelGÇÖs only advantage is greater Health. However, the Sentinel can not move around and strafe as effectively as an Assault suit, so the Assault suit is able to reduce their damage taken even further, tipping the scale in their favour even at 40m. At 60m most Rifles will kill an HMG Heavy even if the Assault suit stands still and takes all the HMG damage.

HMG Sentinels die most often to getting hit from multiple directions. They can only lay down suppression fire in one direction, so when fighting two or three Assault suits who are coming from different directions, only the Assault suit the Sentinel is shooting at needs to use cover and strafe to survive. The other Assault suits can concentrate on aiming. Yes it requires 3 against 1, but doing this you can take down the HMG Sentinel very quickly and easily, then take down another, and another without any of your fire-team dying.


So Why Do HMG Sentinels get so many kills?

1) Most players do not strafe. They just stand there like sitting ducks and try to out dps the HMG. A rifle is not going to out dps an HMG at less than 30m, so the suit with less dps and less health is going to die. This should be obvious, but a lot of people donGÇÖt seem to get it.

Beyond just noobish ignorance, the Myth of Aim Assist has convinced many long time players that there is no point in strafing. The Myth is that there is no point in strafing because aim-bot will track you regardless. This is not true. Aim Assist has a tolerance, and all you have to do to break the Aim Assist lock is move beyond the distance tolerance and the lock is broken. This just means slightly larger strafes than the jitter stepping that worked before.

2) Too many people packed in a tight corridor will block each other and interfere with their teammates ability to strafe effectively. When fighting three or more people I will often strafe sideways enough so that the guy I am shooting at is blocking the guys behind him from being able to fire on me. Essentially I will use my enemy as cover so that I only have to fight them one at a time. (Like Andre The Giant in PrinceGÇÖs Bride, I find it easier to fight a crowd of people than fighting one man solo.)

When fighting in confined spaces you will be much more effective as a team if you pay as much attention to where your teammates are and what they are doing as you do the Sentinel shooting at you. When shooting into a hallway with 4 or 5 people all bumping into each other trying to shoot at me at the same time it is like shooting fish in a barrel. In contrast when there are 4 or 5 people in a hallway, and the guy getting shot is allowed to back up when they get into armour, and someone else steps out to take his place, then they can provide continuous fire without the HMG getting a single kill.


Finally, if they have Logi, always kill the Logi first! Half the time the Sentinel will not even notice and will over extend themselves expecting reps that arenGÇÖt there.