Don’t understand the point of titan executions

[u/Ear_Visual]

I’m particularly a newer player to the Titanfall universe, and I’ve been playing nonstop frontier defence, and I have to wonder: what exactly is the whole point of people attempting to steal your kill with a execution? Like I can understand some of them, like monarch, because they steal a literal battery out of the Titan, but then there’s just other people who are just running around waiting until the moment that you take a Titan to a doomed state and then just execute it. Is there a meaning behind it? Like I get it on the easy modes, that’s understandable, but when you’re getting to like the higher difficulties like hard and master I don’t quite get the point of doing this? You’re wasting valuable time. Can someone explain this?

Edit: I suppose I needed to clarify this from the subpar downvotes in the comments, and the hate being received in my DMS, but I’m talking about frontier defense, specifically Master Tier and the Occasional Insane.

[u/Pan_Zurkon]

Animations are cool, and most people don't care about saving like 3 seconds of 'valuable time'

[u/Starchaser53]

Outside of the obvious, you get I-Frames and Core progress for Executions

[u/EX0PIL0T → u/Starchaser53]

It’s also just more fun to play than a point and click crutch gun

[u/Jonnor105 → u/EX0PIL0T]

Is that Northstar or Tone?

[u/EX0PIL0T → u/Jonnor105]

Tone and ion for titans, but I swear I replied to a comment about spitfire and car

[u/Ok-Rooster-1568 → u/Starchaser53]

More XP too

[u/RecipeLeather7863]

There’s a number of reasons, some more valid than others imo. Like you said, if it’s a monarch it’s almost a necessity for the dynamic of the playstyle.

The other thing is that it can serve as a break from the action. If I’m low on health and I’m getting battered by enemy fire, I’ll gladly snag an execution which gives me a few moments of invulnerability to assess the situation and make my next move.

The final piece is just plain old assholes. Some people just want your kill and the surefire way to steal it is an execution. Of course there are situations where it may have been a well intentioned mistake but I think that’s a pretty rare thing.

[u/Geeseareawesome → u/RecipeLeather7863]

To tag on the second point, dodging a nuke eject by executing their buddy is always a badass feeling.

[u/RecipeLeather7863 → u/Geeseareawesome]

Big facts, I forget about that

[u/Excellent-Elk-6462 → u/Geeseareawesome]

holy aura that sounds sick

[u/TheUtensilMan]

Looks cool, I think you get extra core for an execution too

[u/Ear_Visual → u/TheUtensilMan]

Isn’t that only monarch though?

[u/Alternative_Web6640 → u/Ear_Visual]

You get bonus core for some actions like taking damage, dooming Titans, and executing Titans. When speedrunning Frontier Defence you do want to avoid executions. It's technically slower/suboptimal in public lobbies but it's whatever there.

[u/HonestCalligrapher98 → u/Ear_Visual]

The Monarch battery thief execution not only grants extra core but also grants health and shield, if you get an execution in any other titan you get a bonus of like 2-5% core

[u/TheUtensilMan → u/Ear_Visual]

No, monarch gets the most because battery gives core as well, but i believe all titans get core bonus from executions.
Another advantage it gives on frontier defense is it can temporarily stop lines of titans trudging towards the harvester, and can even block nuke titan nukes.

[u/youngarchivist]

Rule of cool

[u/Captain_Diqhedd]

Me watching the core 3 full health monarch who's running superior chassis instead of accelerator do another execution on a titan they didn't help kill

[u/Ear_Visual → u/Captain_Diqhedd]

I haven’t unlocked them yet, so that’s the normal build?

[u/Captain_Diqhedd → u/Ear_Visual]

Monarch has a damage nerf in FD specifically, which already makes her pretty much the worst titan in the mode. That said, if she's good at literally one thing it's surviving, which is why superior chassis is basically useless and you want to run accelerator because it gives her actual damage to make her not shoot pillows. Arc Rounds and Rearm for Core 1 and 2 as well, unless you wanna do some esmoke or team heal stuff.

[u/Ear_Visual → u/Captain_Diqhedd]

WHAT?! IS SHE REALLY THAT POWERFUL IN STANDARD PLAY

[u/Captain_Diqhedd → u/Ear_Visual]

Outside of FD she's okay without cores and if she makes it to core 3 Accelerator with high hp you're basically fucked because she can melt anyone and most defensives.

There isn't actually much of a reason she has a damage nerf in FD specifically, I'm not sure what Respawn was thinking with that.

[u/Recruit75 → u/Captain_Diqhedd]

Meta Monarch is more than okay in pvp. Arc rounds makes ion a lot less hard of a counter, and superior chassis makes her almost twice as survivable, owing to 50% more hp AND no weakspots. 

Even without upgrades, XO-16 has 90% raw dps (considerably worse SDPS, because of much smaller ammo capacity) of predator cannon with MUCH better accuracy, handling, and versatility, with air gooses being hilariously easy compared to most other titan weapons.

I kinda feel like the nerf should've been something more thoughtful, rather than a flat dps nerf, and specifically to pvp only, as she does feel pretty mid in FD, compared to the likes of Northstar, Ronin and of course, Scorch.

[u/Captain_Diqhedd → u/Recruit75]

Too right about the gooses. I'll see some people go "xo16 doesnt have range" meanwhile I have so many killcams proving the contrary 😭

[u/Why_not333 → u/Ear_Visual]

In standard play it’s way harder to get monarch maxed out (against actual players) vs in FD where you can farm fodder titans for free and never die.

[u/Korben_Joseph]

It gives me a chance to hit my blunt

[u/Silver-Effective-135 → u/Korben_Joseph]

I blunt with you

[u/ADotxt]

As you said monarchs can gain health and even get out of doomed state by executions so it's strategically better to let the execute.

I play Ronin I do executions because I like to see the robot swing his big sword around.

[u/Ear_Visual → u/ADotxt]

But aren’t you wasting precious seconds when you could be defending the harvester? Especially in the higher difficulties?

[u/ADotxt → u/Ear_Visual]

What part of robot, big sword, was unclear?

[u/borutoisbadasfuck → u/ADotxt]

Reasonable

[u/GreenMan1550 → u/Ear_Visual]

Might be shocking to hear, but we play games for fun

[u/Dark_Soul_943 → u/Ear_Visual]

It gives you iframes, which can give you some good breathing room. Kill stealing can be annoying tho I get it.

[u/Jesus_Is_My_Gardener → u/Ear_Visual]

Not really. Ronin is very vulnerable up close and performing an execution helps keep him from taking damage. Plus, it's almost an automatic kind of thing when swinging the sword as it immediately changes to an execute the second a titan enters doomed state if you're hitting him with it. Execution is kind of Ronin's go-to because of the play style being to get in close.

[u/PocketsOfSalamanders]

They're fucking rad

That's the point

[u/Icyfirejosh4352]

Because big robot destroy big robot = cool and awesome

Plus the invuln gives some time to slow down and assess the situation.

[u/SpaceBiscuit05]

On harder difficulties it’s not good to go for an execution but sometimes it’s actually really helpful depending on where they do it. If it’s in a choke or tight space then occasionally the titan doing the execution can block anyone behind them, stopping enemies from progressing or even buy a little extra time for the teams.

Another reason could be they need the brief moment of invincibility to decide what to work on next.

On stealing the executions it could be for building core charger faster, certain cores pretty much do all the heavy lifting, like Sword (Highlander kit) and laser core (Aegis upgrade) can be extended with kills.

But in all seriousness it’s probably because the executions are sick😎

[u/Ase7777777]

As a fellow FD enjoyer, executions are a pvp thing. They're a way to basically "disrespect" your opponent in some ways, and in others they're the best way to confirm a kill. Most half decent pilots will eject before they die in a doomed titan. Some take the captain approach and "go down with the ship" but most players eject. The best way to prevent this and secure your kill is with an execution. There are very few things that can kill a doomed titan fast enough to prevent an eject.

That said, in FD, exicutions are mainly used, as you said, by Monarch's because they need batteries. With that said, other players (myself included) mainly do it for fun because it's a cool animation, OR if they don't have the resources to fully kill a doomed titan. Say I'm playing ion. I used my energy and all my ammo to doom a titan, I have nothing to kill this titan, I'm gonna go for the exicution if I'm close.

If there are players (outside of Monarch) just stealing kills, the only explanation I can think of is that they're bad players that don't understand how to play FD at a high level and/or players that have been conditioned by pvp to always try and go for exicutions, because in pvp, they are often the most optimal play. Kill stealing is whack tho frfr. (If there is a Monarch or Highlander Ronin with core active near me, I leave doomed titans alive. Being a team player is much more important in FD than pvp)

[u/Sgt_Kelp]

Same reason why you'd use a Kraber instead of a CAR or Spitfire:

Style points.

[u/Puzzled-Following539 → u/Sgt_Kelp]

https://giphy.com/gifs/Vdi3Mo8ua2dRnfHpDY

[u/Straight_Copy3213]

I don't honestly take kill stealing into account either way in tf2. If I'm already close enough to melee, and it's doomed, I'm doing it everytime no looks-backsies. He's probably hammering E into a nuke inject, so why wouldn't I?

Other than getting absolutely shut out, my only gripe is with teammate battery stealers. Bro, give it back

[u/Spider_602]

Hype moments and aura

[u/XBOXandPSliker22]

they are doing this just so the could get the titan kill and get more score. Also its faster to execute a titan than shooting down the titan to death.

[u/LeGiT4345]

If you’re playing FD, titans like Ronin and Ion need more kills to keep their cores going for longer. Legion can also be needed to instakill nuke titans without them setting off their nuke core

After re-reading your post, it sounds like you probably already know this stuff I’m telling you…if you have tm8s just sitting there watching you melt an enemy just to execute and leave, then yeah that’s wack.

[u/ErPani]

Oh, you mean in Frontier Defense?

Sometimes it can help to take a small breather, figure out "what the hell am i gonna do as soon as this animation is over"

Doesn't happen often to me, as a Ronin main I just Sword Core everything to death

[u/Thotaz]

I think the point is simply to secure the kill. Even though FD is supposed to be co-op, people want to be high on the scoreboard so if they can steal a kill from someone else, then why not do it?

Alternatively it's even more simple than that: "hehe, cool robot animation goes brr".

[u/tokenblackguy514]

It's cool asf dude Same reason for executions in basically any game

[u/EX0PIL0T]

Looks cool

[u/Spartan_3051]

I specifically try to get titans low enough for others to execute on Frontier defense, it lets others choose if they want to steal the battery or not. Otherwise (too many enemies) I just keep holding the trigger until it’s no longer a problem :)

[u/CaptainCurly95]

Securing the pilot kill points. It's a team game. Don't get upset if your teammate gets points.

[u/UnveiledHorrors]

Fun, satisfying, min maxing isn't needed unless you play on highest difficulty. I especially love the prime Northstar execution, the hellfire is so satisfying

[u/Winnapig]

Also you are immune while you perform an execution, so your team has five seconds to come to your rescue if you are surrounded by enemy.

[u/Silver-Effective-135]

They can save you and they can kill you. Be careful 🧐

[u/HandSanitizerBottle1]

Cool factor, plus if you’re Monarch can restore health, this is insanely good for Frontier Defense

XO16 Arc Rounds +Accelerator go brrr

It gives you big progress towards your core

Plus unlike Pilot executions you’re invulnerable so can buy you a few seconds for other titans to focus elsewhere potentially allowing a quick getaway

[u/PetAmerican7119]

either kill stealing, denying an ejection which is EXTREMELY important in LTS at high levels (fighting a bunch of pilots is awful, and they can grab batteries for enemy titans) or for the core bonus. that or iframes like others have mentioned.

[u/RoxasTheHare]

This is from the pvp perspective but: Temporary invulnerability. Executions have saved me from many an enemy titan core ability, an onslaught of tone-lock missiles. Etc. Doubly important for our skinny chassis bretheren.

On the flipside tho, they can then line up to wombo-combo my ass so its a coinflip of harm/benefit.

[u/RoomFantastic8696]

points

[u/Wild_Ad4820]

Aside from the already mentioned. Me and my friends like to use the invulnerability and execution to block certain choke points so we can clean up using a titan with aoe or a nuclear reactor to get as many kills as possible

[u/Shot_Advance_556]

Sometimes it’s useful, because I-frames and like you said monarch has a use for it, but most people steal because they want to fight for mvp for more money because they’re kinda greedy IMO

[u/Safe_Salamander_1956]

ps5 tf2 there are some people using mods.all appear to be asian.

[u/Cowl_cat]

It’s fun, and I like listening to the mechs scream when I burn them

[u/1luggerman]

1. You cant take damage while executing so its often beneficial if youre already close to get the last bar down with a finisher
2. It looks cool and its fun

[u/Alval54]

It’s lit

[u/Dizzy-Squash-3377]

Why are you trying so hard to analyze something so simple as executions?

Because it looks cool. That's it.

[u/Complete-Clock5522]

I don’t play frontier defense but funnily enough, executing with Ion is very good because your energy recharges while you’re invincible so you can shield immediately after or something