14 replies to this topic

[Xeno Phalcon]

QuickDraw



Having almost fully Elited up all the Quickdraw's (Only Pinpoint on the 4H left) and done hours of combat ( 6 for the 4G, 6 for the 4H and 5 for the 5K) and untold time spent in the mech lap tinkering I have returned to rework the builds I posted here with the results of my blood, sweat and a kung-fu style installed dent in my desk for future masochists that care to try their hand at this battlemech. Firstly I found that for speed the 305 Standard and the 340XL gave me the best movement to available tonnage ratio and all builds including the Dry Loadouts will reflect this.
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QKD-4G Dry Loadout XL Optimized
QKD-4G Dry Loadout Standard Optimized

- QKD-4G 3LL/XL
- QKD-4G MPL/SSRM/XL
- QKD-4G Standard300 3xLL <---good for a budget build. (about 8.6M compared to about 13M for a XL version)

QKD-4H Dry Loadout XL Optimized
QKD-4H Dry Loadout Standard Optimized

- All 4G Builds work on the 4H
- QKD-4H ML/MPL/SSRM XL
- QKD-4H LRM15ART/ML/XL <--my Current 4H, works on the 4G also. You can drop a ML for Tag. Due to the way LRMs are sputtered out of the QKD it suffers heavily against AMS but has the ammo to still harass and its far more mobile than most mechs while packing enough ML to drive off lighter mechs allowing it to to traverse the battlefield and shower lrms onto enemies before quickly changing position to avoid counter attacks.

QKD-5K Dry Loadout XL optimized
QKD-5K Dry Loadout Standard Optimized

- QKD-5K 6MPLl/XL
-QKD-5K 4ML/2LL/XL
-QKD-5K 6ML/Standard <--A straight up solid machine thats cheap to field, runs cool has a respectable punch and lacks the vulnerability of a XL engine.


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Special Notes
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Dry Loadouts take the basic formula iv used for armor and engines then strips everything allowing you to have a template to create your own builds from there.

Jump Jets for the quickdraw are insanely heavy weighing a ton a piece, initially I thought they were too heavy to warrant the sacrifice in this mechs already meager free tonnage. However I found that the added maneuverability they afforded (both for covering terrain and making quick turns on lighter mechs) to be invaluable but three jump jets seem to be sufficient (One in each leg and one in the CT for me) allowing the quickdraw to traverse most terrain. This is especially important with the upcoming changes to how mechs move along inclines.

Quickdraw itself is a pretty solid machine, though it tends to lack firepower unless you tank the engine down to something like a 240 or 250 then its very close to a broken catapult. This mech is fantastic early on, able to rip apart or outrun most mechs on the field however players entering the mid-high ELO bracket will run into teams using voicechat programs plus seismic sensors and tend to make quickdraws a priority target due to its bulky size its a easy quick kill for them - this makes it difficult to play later and requires you to have quick access to cover and allied support. (Though I have on a couple of occasions used this against my enemies, much like how lights will harass and draw away attention of bloodthirsty pilots from their team, but due to the sheer size of the QKD its much easier to run out of luck)

Frankly I will likely abandon the Quickdraw for a Thunderbolt or Orion later on down the road, it just takes too much effort for me to do well in this mech I feel like im running on 110% just to be on par with other mechs on the field. However if your a veteran light pilot looking for something beefier to play, the things you learned with the smaller machines will do you well in a Quickdraw.

Edited by Xeno Phalcon, 28 June 2013 - 09:25 AM.

[juxstapo]

(liked because fellow parent)

I instantly maxed the engine in the thing without a second thought (which for me was just a 340xl until some cbills are earned), then maxed armor. 4Bbut haven't yet learned how to drive the thing.. keep rushing for the firing line and getting cored. Guess I'm going to have to spring for soem long range weapons to make this plausible

[juxstapo]

Finally got my damage rating out of the dregs,
5K
300xl
eased back from full armor unfortunately.
(lost the jets too, decided to try just running this thing as a no-frills heavy)

Started with 6x LL, but you know exactly how that went
trimmed to 2x mlas, 4x large. Working great.

[Xeno Phalcon]

Hehe yeah the QD kinda feels like a medium instead of a heavy. The 4H can nearly do some respectable LRM work but for the most part you either treat it like any other heavy or like a fat medium it seems.

[Jay Z]

Try this. QKD-5K

[Goldhawk]

Jay Z, on 18 June 2013 - 06:09 PM, said:

Try this. QKD-5K

Dude.... Why? Do you wish the world to burn?

[ManDaisy]

That build is viable if you just remove 1 ppc and use that tonnage for armor. I know.


http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bcd03197089b8de

<a href="http://mwo.smurfy-net.de/mechlab#i=84&l=2b14e9ba5105a82961c4ca1bbbcd03197089b8de">QKD-5K</a>

Edited by ManDaisy, 18 June 2013 - 08:35 PM.

[ZeProme]

I have this build in mind for the QKD-4H. Nothing too special, just almost like the original with some tweaks.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...35d5d61d0ebdfc9

What do you think of this mech for brawler/flanking role? Maybe it might not work, but I really don't want to make it a PPC boat, or use XL cause the side torsos are big.

Edited by ZeProme, 18 June 2013 - 08:35 PM.

[ivr56]

5K fast laser boat (XL340, 2LLAS, 2MLAS, 19DHS 1 JJ) I reccomend.
Great bruiser and can dictate range easily with speed
Averaging 450-500 a game high so far is 736

[TheChris54]

ZeProme, on 18 June 2013 - 08:34 PM, said:

Maybe it might not work, but I really don't want to make it a PPC boat, or use XL cause the side torsos are big.

Let me address two things.

First... /hug. Thats for not wanting to PPC boat.

Second, I was pretty apprehensive about running an XL myself. However, I found through playtesting my 3 QKDs (XL340s in them – 91.8/101.0 KpH) that if you play to their archetypical style (fast striker) you die to center core or legging more than anything else. Granted, I pilot Commandos (COMs) so I'm used to the playstyle of running around like a bat out of hades. You just have to know when to start flying around like a five-year-old on a sugar rush.

If you've got some scouting Modules, feel free to run ahead to grab a peek – especially if your team is a slow drop. Go ahead and grab that first Resource Node in a Conquest game. But always run back to the pack 'cause you may be nimble, but you aren't 150KpH nimble and you are a big honking target.

On that note, don't try to speed up to their lines and be the first one in either – at least not without imminent support. Go ahead and jog along with the pack, and once a fight emerges you latch on to the most threatening filled-in triangle and start some strafing runs.

There are, of course, always occasions where you may have to do some craziness for the betterment of the team. If you've done a few runs and notice a flanking LRMer or sniper, you can disengage and swing out to harrass, spot, and generally become a nuisance to said flanker.

Point is, QKDs can effectively run an XL and play the flanker/striker role well. One caveat being personal playstyle. If you are used to a slower heavy, then feel free to run a STD in it and play it like a traditional heavy. For me, the QKD really comes into its own as a fast harassment Mech.

[ZeProme]

/blushes

I don't see how pop tarting is any fun and because of my experience in brawling I decided to try QKDs. Going to use STD engines like Centurions

[zztophat]

I was a hunchback pilot until the Quickdraws came along. Being able to mount additional tons of weapons and perhaps more importantly; armor while moving at similar or greater speeds... well it made me sell the last of my hunches. The large profile of the mech non-withstanding it has proven to be very survivable, more so than the other heavies I have owned (dragons, catapults and yagers) perhaps because it is not all CT like the catapults and dragons and not made of paper like the yager.

This is my brawler:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...2506ae661515888
I use this primarily to melee, it's proven to be very good at staying alive and continuing to fight despite extreme damage. I originally had the larger lasers in the arms for the better range of motion but I moved them because the torso is higher and... I kept getting my arms shot off.


This is my quick, Quickdraw:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ba6e6f592c13f8f
I have a lot of fun with this one. I use it a lot in conquest, chasing lights off caps and such or as a flanker in assault. I do tend to get in trouble with this one, as I often outpace my team and get caught alone (a habit I am trying to break) lucky for me I do tend to be fast enough to get out of trouble as easily as I get in to it.

Here are a few games I recorded in the QKD-5K

Edited by zztophat, 24 June 2013 - 12:32 AM.

[Xeno Phalcon]

Take a note of the A 6ML/9DHS QKD-5K added to the first post its been a pretty solid cheap ride all around with no XL engine either, something iv taken advantage of alot over the past two days. (Sooooo many other quickdraws , jagermechs and the occasional cataphract iv killed in a 'who can XL sidecore the other first' only for them to find out im running a standard )

Edited by Xeno Phalcon, 28 June 2013 - 09:47 AM.

[Xeno Phalcon]

Okay I burnt my eyeballs out but I fixed up the initial post for prospective Quickdraw Pilots or ones looking for some ideas and deleted/edited a few of my posts in this thread to clear up out of date information. This will likely be the last time I update the initial builds unless new tech is introduced into the game.

For those wondering what stats were produced from playing around with the Quickdraws including the amount of time I put into each variant and how I fared:

Spoiler

Note that the 4G's stats are a bit skewed as I couldnt afford to upgrade to DHS for a good dozen matches and generally was too hot to battle well. Conversely the 5K has the best stats because it came out of the box with DHS and generally installing 6 medium lasers let it pretty much be a beast right from the get go.

[Byzan]

decided to go for the QD got 2 of them 5k is 8/8 4G is 7/8

5k was easy to get used too I mostly just stuck 6ml on it and an XL 320 with other standard kit and with some practice I ended up 1st or 2nd on the scoreboard after the vast majority of PUG games. It's also a good mech because your still effective even when you have lost both arms. use the arms to block damage, lose them and in the later part of battles you can still do good damage from those 4 energy mounts.

the med laser is surely the single best weapon in the game in terms of the overall balance between damage, weight, range, heat, and slots it takes, having 6 energy hard points just means load it with meds and win.

there needs some serious balancing done in this area, sure the med pulse laser is not totally gimp a LOT but less range, twice the weight, more heat just for 1 extra point of damage? Med Pulse should be 1.5 tons & 200-220 range or even the same range. Basically all other lasers need a bit of an adjustment. Either that or add a point of damage, make it 7 damage all other stats same then the ML will still be the king of Medium range and the MPL would be a good option for up close.

4G i've had to stuff around a lot more with and am now doing ok with a XL 295 2x LL and 2x ML

I find xl engines are really not an issue and give more benefit than problems. QD is mostly arms and legs and I find by the time i've lost a side and died I've already lost an arm or a leg already and lets face it as soon as you lose a leg you are not going to live much longer anyway. target zones are basically the oposite of a JM which is all Torso and basically never loses it's legs.

it is tricky fitting JJ's and AMS as well as weapons, if you have 4/5+ JJ and AMS fitted then your damage is going to be cut down a bit.

really want the elite bonuses though, speed in particular.

my reservations about the QD are that there are only 3 variants and no Hero mech. Plus I look at the Victor which seems like the Assalt option which is similar to the QD in terms of how it's built and plays and wonder if I should have gone for that instead. It's only a bit bigger if at all and maybe 20-26kph slower but can take/deal a lot more damage and it gets some Balistic points.

Overall it seems a bit big for what it is. I mean compared to the other mechs in this style going smallest to biggest you have the Commando, trebuchet, QuickDraw then Victor. The QD is basically the same size maybe only slightly smaller than the Vic even though the Vic is 20tons heavier. And the Treb is a heck of a lot smaller target even though it;s only 10 tons lighter.

The QD should be slightly bigger than the Treb not slightly smaller than the Victor. Makes me wonder if the Treb would have been a better option.