31 replies to this topic

[Roachbugg]

So I cant seem to get this mech to do any thing for me its big cumbersome and kinda slow it has a build that should work wonders but i cant break 200 damage with it what am I doing wrong in this thing? it seems the second i engage an enemy mech i'm lying on the ground as a smoking slag heap.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...40d43f3d2baab4c

[Wintersdark]

I go XL in BLR's. Yeah, yeah, XL's in assaults, but honestly I find you need to pick up the speed a bit, but don't have tonnage to spare to make it work nicely.

BLR-1G

A 325 at the minimum, ideally a 350.

[The Great Unwashed]

Alternatively BLR-1G (XL375 with Endo) and BLR-1G, STD and roughly the same loadout and slightly slower. I also run with the XL engine but in this BLR-3M; the 3M is better suited for using a Gauss with 2E slots in the other arm. When using the XL I try keeping endo or the weight advantage of the XL is much diminished...

Edited by The Great Unwashed, 30 April 2014 - 12:10 AM.

[Escef]

Your long range weapons are slung low in the arms. You are also using a Stalker appropriate engine in a BLR. I run my 1G with a 400XL and it's fast enough to creep people out. Something like THIS will give you ranged hole punchers, plenty of MLs up close, and mid-range on in you have a LPL. Just avoid doing the whole Alpha Strike thing, it's bad for your heat sinks.

I run the Light Show, it's a blast to play and more effective than it has any right to be.

[Spawnsalot]

Disregard arms. Acquire LASERS!

Ol' Laser Nips

80kp/h, 6LLas, full armour. Group lasers into a pair of 3s, chain fire both groups for damage or one group to ease off the heat. Try stay at mid range and if anyone gets in your face, melt theirs. If things get dicey you have two fully armoured arms for shields. A steady hand coupled with a bit of restraint makes this far more dangerous than you would think.

Edited by Spawnsalot, 30 April 2014 - 01:07 AM.

[Toxik]

Been running him with a standard 340, 2xAC5 and 7 ML laser, usually get around 400-500 dmg but can break 700 to 800 on a good game. Just have 1 group with the 2xAC5 and then 3 and 4 ML laser, anything coming close to you is usually toast. The AC5 give you long range capability.

[Ultimax]

I can't comment on XL vs. STD for Battle masters because I don't own any.

However, for the rest of the build I can comment:


I don't like Gauss in this build. You have a lot of short range firepower, and once you get close ACs will serve you better than a single Gauss due to better snapshot ability, higher recycle, etc. (Also 5 tons of Gauss ammo for 1 Gauss rifle is extreme).

So here's your build with 2x AC 5s

STD Engine: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d25aa48d16950ab
XL Engine: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...290c4a88f1359da


You still have good range, and AC 5 / PPC ranges are very similar.

AC 5s also aren't as easily destroyed as Gauss.


You have a huge mix of energy and ballistics, so 5 tons of ammo should be plenty with good fire control.

Edited by Ultimatum X, 30 April 2014 - 08:49 PM.

[Roachbugg]

I think i will stick to a standard engine I'm not willing to invest for an xl in a mech I hate. Only xl engine i have right now that would be suitable is an xl360 but every build i try around that i run out of slots before i fill the tonnage

[LauLiao]

I actually run mine pretty close to stock and it works out pretty well. I agree with the people who said to keep the speed up. The Battlemaster is actually very nimble for an Assault if you get the right engine in it. I personally just use the 6 medium lasers and SRM-6 it comes with stock, then replace the PPC with an AC/10 to stay cooler. The trick with the Battlemaster Brawler is to play "Peek-a-boo" over hilltops. The torso mounted energy slots are REALLY high on the thing so you can basically just stick your head up over a ridge, fire off your mediums, and drop back to cover.

[The Great Unwashed]

Roachbugg, on 30 April 2014 - 07:28 AM, said:

Only xl engine i have right now that would be suitable is an xl360 but every build i try around that i run out of slots before i fill the tonnage

BLR-1G?

Edited by The Great Unwashed, 30 April 2014 - 07:39 AM.

[Ultimax]

Roachbugg, on 30 April 2014 - 07:28 AM, said:

I think i will stick to a standard engine I'm not willing to invest for an xl in a mech I hate. Only xl engine i have right now that would be suitable is an xl360 but every build i try around that i run out of slots before i fill the tonnage

I posted a build that used a 365 XL, so you could drop the 360 right in there.

It has all of the weapons you had except it grabbed 2x AC 5s instead of the Gauss and it also has more heatsinks than yours.

Once you get to 350 engines, you can put 4 heatsinks inside them, so you are gaining 6 slots over a 300 engine (2 heatsinks).


Here's the build using the 360 XL you have, with

1x PPC
2x AC 5 and 5 Tons ammo
6x MLAS
16 Total Dual Heatsinks

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...99c150a9c124486

[Roachbugg]

I will try that when i get off work thanks .5 tons light is gonna kill my ocd though

[Ultimax]

Roachbugg, on 30 April 2014 - 05:40 PM, said:

I will try that when i get off work thanks .5 tons light is gonna kill my ocd though

I know how you feel.

Although I did have it at a perfect 85 tons with the 365 XL engine.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...421a2be30345883

Now it's just a question if your OCD is worth 6 million cbills.

Edited by Ultimatum X, 30 April 2014 - 08:30 PM.

[Trystan Thorne]

I'm having trouble with the Battlemaster too, but would like to use my Phoenix variant a bit more often.

Does this build make any sense? Or do I lose too much firepower here:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...314fcb7aac12b45

[Takashi Uchida]

The 1G presents a particular challenge because it's torso twist is crippled. This is very annoying because you want to take full advantage of those torso lasers. And of course, the problem is magnified if you use a small engine. I would stick at least a 350XL in this mech.

I have owned the 1G, 1D, and 1S. I no longer have the 1G, but the 1D can be made into a DPS monster if you put multiple autocannons in the arm. The 1S can be made into a very capable missile boat that offers a good balance of LRM payload, speed, armor. and backup weapons. The only engines that I have used in these mechs are the stock STD340 and an XL360 (which you have) I bought specifically for the Battlemaster (it's fun to mess around in Shadowhawks as the max engine too!).

Can't say much about the two new variants because I haven't tried them, I just know that the 3M suffers from the same torso twist limtiation.

[Takashi Uchida]

Maybe give this a try. It's kind of based off of a popular 1D type of build off mechspecs, and would probably do better on it, but you may find it usable.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...70d280020a7f5c8

Right arm has UAC and an AC2 for long range DPS. You have a decent amount of ammo so fire at opportunte targets to soften them up. The two large lasers in the right torso give a decent additional option at mid-range. The 3 medium lasers in the left torso can be used if targets get too close for comfort and to help finish off wounded enemies.
The left arm has nothing in it so you can use it as a shield in close quarters or if you need to retreat. However, since your primary weapon is sustained fire, it may be of limited use. If you get into trouble, try to protect your gun arm. You may find it runs fairly hot as it is, but if you're willing to go hotter, make the LL into ERLL for more pop at long range. You can also play with the number of backup medium lasers. I also recommend front-loading your armor a bit more than it is in the link. I try to get away with around 10 rear armor or less.

[The Great Unwashed]

I'm currently grinding this BLR-1G into mastery. Works fairly well and no XL.

I really like the BLR-3M in this config (posted earlier), the reason I started grinding my Overlord mechs... (and my first assault).

@ Takashi Uchida: interesting to see people do well with a build so far meta removed... (which is not a bad thing per se... )

Edited by The Great Unwashed, 02 May 2014 - 12:47 AM.

[Escef]

Takashi Uchida, on 01 May 2014 - 04:28 PM, said:

The 1G presents a particular challenge because it's torso twist is crippled. This is very annoying because you want to take full advantage of those torso lasers. And of course, the problem is magnified if you use a small engine. I would stick at least a 350XL in this mech.

Same torso twist as most of the Stalkers, but you also have articulated arms and a better engine cap. It's a trade off. I recommend at least a 340, and preferably a 350, 375, or 400 rated XL.

Takashi Uchida, on 01 May 2014 - 04:28 PM, said:

The 1S can be made into a very capable missile boat that offers a good balance of LRM payload, speed, armor. and backup weapons. The only engines that I have used in these mechs are the stock STD340 and an XL360 (which you have) I bought specifically for the Battlemaster (it's fun to mess around in Shadowhawks as the max engine too!).

The 1S can also be used to boat LLs and Streaks quite capably, seen folks get a lot of mileage out of that. As for the 360XL, it is also the max engine in the Orion, those suckers make good heavy skirmishers if you load them out right.

Trystan Thorne, on 01 May 2014 - 03:56 PM, said:

I'm having trouble with the Battlemaster too, but would like to use my Phoenix variant a bit more often.

Does this build make any sense? Or do I lose too much firepower here:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...314fcb7aac12b45

If you get results, it's fine. I usually ignore the missile hardpoint, as I don't see much sense in a single LRM slot with a 10-tube restriction, nor in a single SRM launcher.

The Great Unwashed, on 02 May 2014 - 12:39 AM, said:

I'm currently grinding this BLR-1G into mastery. Works fairly well and no XL.

I really like the BLR-3M in this config (posted earlier), the reason I started grinding my Overlord mechs... (and my first assault).

The 1G I'd think about replacing the PPC with a LPL, simply because of the poor ground clearance for arm mounted weapons. On the 3M I'd move those PPCs to the torsos (just a great place to put long range energy weapons on this mech) and swap a couple mediums into the arm for anti-light duty.

[The Great Unwashed]

Yes, this BLR-3M would fit that bill. The high PPCs are an advantage using hills and you cannot hit lights at close range anyway. I think I'll give this variant a try.

For the original variant, tracking a target with your arms compensates for the slowness of the mech itself and you can quickly hit a target (or when running away).

I use three weapon groups: Gauss / PPCs+Gauss / MLs+Gauss. It took some practicing, but now I always have the Gauss charged when firing another group.

[Trystan Thorne]

Escef, on 02 May 2014 - 02:27 AM, said:

If you get results, it's fine. I usually ignore the missile hardpoint, as I don't see much sense in a single LRM slot with a 10-tube restriction, nor in a single SRM launcher.

Thanks, it's going okay. Most matches so far always over 200 damage with a few close to 400. I'm sure that's not much for an assault, but at least it's much more than any damage I did before in a Battlemaster and I'm still improving.
I do like the 350 engine. The extra speed helps really.
I like to keep the SRM for aesthetic reasons. Old time BattleTech fan here with quite a few odd quircks now I would say.

@Takashi: I do own the 1D as well, so I might try the build for it one day.

Edited by Trystan Thorne, 02 May 2014 - 07:04 PM.