Hawken Siege Mode Basic Guide

Hawken Siege Mode Basic Guide by Alastor_Crow

With the sudden increase in available mechs and items to purchase, more people are drawn to Siege because of the higher earnings and EXP gain. However, a lot of new players find themselves either fretting on how to play the game mode and some just wander off on their own. This is a common occurrence which can be easily remedied by reading up on the objectives. However, even after some players have learned the basic objectives of Siege, a lot of them still end up being completely dominated and that’s where the Dos and Don’ts come to play. Ever been annoyed by that one team mate telling you to head to the Anti-Air (AA) when all you want to do is fire your guns and pilot your awesome mech? No idea what Siege entails? Are you constantly being annoyed by players telling you what to do and where to go when all you really want to do is collect some Energy Units (EU) instead of defending the AA? Do you find shooting the ship down with your rifle and TOW rockets to be a better option than going to the AA? If so, you’re most likely someone who could benefit from reading basic siege strategy.

Siege games depend as much on teamwork and coordination as it does on individual player skills. Yes, we all know collecting EXP by delivering EU is pretty neat but so is defending the Anti-Air..you know, that thing that shoots down battleships in no time? Not only will your team mates love you for it, you’ll also earn exp much faster by defending it – much faster than simply delivering EU or going on solo skirmish missions into enemy territory (these are also important of course but you have to learn to prioritize your actions if you want to do better). Sometimes you just have to pay more attention to what your team and the opponent’s team is doing instead of just your own; Siege is not played the same way as Team Death Match and it certainly is far from Death Match.

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(Glorious and apparently very expensive Battleship of Hawken)

Goal of Siege:
The main goal of siege is to get your battleship to the enemy’s base and destroy it. Each base starts with 3000 HP and this number can only be brought down by your battleship. Killing your opponents alone won’t affect it at all.To launch your ship, you have to collect EU from the EU Tree (AKA E1/E2)  or dead opponents who drop their EU load upon exploding into bits. You can find info about the amount of EU you have on the lower left side of your dashboard. You will also see a “pop-up” display on your screen whenever you collect EU.

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(EU collection in progress)

After collecting EU, you can drop off it off into 1 of the pods in your base by pressing the “Utilize” button while standing next to it (It’s usually bound to “E”). You will receive EXP based directly on the amount of EU you delivered so if you give 150 EU, you get 150 EXP. Once your ship launches, it’s your team’s job to ensure that it reaches enemy base in one piece and if possible, in top condition. To do this, you have to make sure you have control of the anti-air. This is the circular bunker in the middle of the map. Once in control of it, the AA will launch missiles to attack your opponent’s ship as long as it’s in the air so you definitely don’t want the enemies to have it for 2 mail reasons, you want to destroy their ship and you don’t want the AA to shoot down yours. Players can also shoot down the ship using their own weapons but this is much less efficient and more time-consuming than simply firing Anti-Air rockets so it’s a last-resort option. Whichever team gets their opponent’s base HP to 0 first, wins the match.

How and When to collect EU:
EU is generated from two points in Siege (E1 and E2). Having more people stand around it means EU gets distributed much slower. Every mech has a different default EU capacity and it’s very helpful to know a little bit of math when doing this to prevent wasting manpower. Class A mechs generally carry 150, B carries 200, and C has 250 limit by default. These can be increased via mech customization but that’s a topic for another time. The bar on the top area of your screen shows a handful of things regarding Siege gameplay. The white number shows the amount of EU needed to launch your ship and the red shows your enemy’s. If you see the number at 130 and the Class A mech next to you starts to dash back to your base to deliver EU, that’s your cue to dash to the AA and if no one says it yet, remind your team mates to head there since the ship will be launching soon. This would prevent your opponents from easily taking over the area and laying waste to the precious battleship you just launched.

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(Green glow is EU dropped by fallen mech both from enemies and allies)

Taking/Defending the AA:
When people type in AA or “go to the AA”, it usually means you have to start taking control of the area to either defend your own ship or destroy your opponent’s. To “take AA”, you have to be standing within the bunker’s proximity to be included in the Team count (this can be found on the right side of the screen once AA occupation battle begins). You can stand outside of the AA, next to the wall and still be counted as long as you’re inside that blue circle around it. Your presence there will not only increase the count but it also serves as a way to deter your enemies from entering it. Being 300 meters away shooting at your opponents only means they get to play peekaboo with you while their ship heads towards your base and your’s gets blown off the sky.  Why is that? Because if you engage in this type of long-range crossfire, chances are you and your opponents can negate the damage by simply hiding behind cover and hence, no one dies. The only problem is while you’re standing on a pretty but useless patch of soil, they’re standing inside the AA circle. Get it?

Now imagine if the sides were reversed. What if you have control of the AA and your opponents are playing the invaders: your priority is to 1) keep enemies from getting inside the AA zone by use of area denial weapons and tactics and 2) eliminate any opponent inside or trying to get inside the AA. What you don’t do is leave your post and go after individual enemies, leaving the AA defenseless or with less defenders. Get your opponents to play peekaboo with you while you have control of the AA rather than risk dying and getting run over.

Other tactics your team can use to invade or defend AA:
-Flanking: SNEAKING (keyword) behind the enemy’s defense line to break their ranks and give your team an opening for a rush attack.
-Sniper posts: Good SS players come in very handy during siege battles. They keep people from going into vital areas and punish them severely if they do. They can take out the deadliest player on the other team, kill fat turret mechs inside the AA, get rid of mechs guarding AA entrances and so on. The key isn’t just accuracy, it’s also positioning. That and the psychological strain it puts on your opponent (“Can’t go there! There’s a sniper guarding it!”)

Now that you’re armed with the basic knowledge in Siege warfare, use it well in battle and you shall move closer to VICTORY!

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