68 replies to this topic

[FupDup]

Panther:
PNT-10K: 2 AMS, 2E, 2M, 8 JJs
PNT-8Z: 1 AMS, 3E, 2M, 4 JJs
PNT-9R: 1 AMS, 4E, 1M, 4 JJs
Engine cap: 250 (all variants)

So overall they have fewer hardpoints than most other 35 tonners, and less speed. There better be some hefty quirks for them.


Enforcer:
ENF-5D: 1 AMS, 3E, 2B, 325 engine cap, 5 JJs
ENF-4R: 1 AMS, 5E, 1B, 260 engine cap, 4 JJs
ENF-5P: 1 AMS, 4B, 1E, 325 engine cap, 2 JJs

So, the 5D and 5P will have fewer hardpoints than all other 50 tonners, and the 5P appears that it might be the crap variant of the bunch. The 4R is also somewhat slow for its size.

Still, the 5D and 4R seem to have at least decent potential, but they won't be taking on their 55 ton overlords by any stretch.


Grasshopper:
GHR-5J: 2 AMS, 6E, 1M, 6 JJs, 365 engine cap
GHR-5H: 1 AMS, 7E, 1M, 4 JJs, 340 engine cap
GHR-5N: 1 AMS, 8E, 4 JJs, 340 engine cap

In terms of hardpoints, I think the 5N is the clear winner because having an ML in your head is infinitely better than using an unpaired small missile launcher. The 5J will be the faster skirmisher/brawler of the bunch.


Zeus:
ZEU-9S: 1 AMS, 6E, 1M
ZEU-6S: 1 AMS, 2B, 4E, 1M
ZEU-6T: 1 AMS, 4E, 3M
Engine cap: 390 (all variants)
My first thought is WHERE'S THE 6Y? No Binary Laser Cannon, no fun allowed.

In terms of what we're getting, all of them will be able to go fast, but the real question is if they'll be darn-doors like the AWS is. If they aren't XL-viable, then they would probably be bad because XL is what saves the Victor and other 80 tonners.

In terms of hardpoints, each of them seems to be good in their own way, but the 6S will probably be the overall best. The 6T will be the missile boat of the bunch. 9S can boat pewpew but probably won't be quite as effective as the rest. Missiles will be pointless to equip on both the 9S and 6S due to having only 1 hardpoint (rule of thumb = don't use missile unless you have at least 2 hardpoints, excluding the Narc Bacon).

Edited by FupDup, 22 October 2014 - 03:37 PM.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

GHR-5J looks cool,6 medium wubs,SRM4 or 6,max engine and jump jets + lots of heatsinks

[KamikazeRat]

Cookiemonter669, on 22 October 2014 - 03:23 PM, said:

GHR-5J looks cool,6 medium wubs,SRM4 or 6,max engine and jump jets + lots of heatsinks

missle slot is in the head...no srm6 for you

SSRM2 would honestly be your best bet for almost all the grasshoppering you plan on doing

Edited by KamikazeRat, 22 October 2014 - 03:30 PM.

[Alistair Winter]

Interesting stuff, thanks for posting it.

I imagine the PPC / LL quirks for the Panther will make it an interesting light mech sniper. Probably better than the PPC Spider due to some cooldown / heat / projectile speed / laser duration bonus. On the other hand, it's going to be a lot easier to hit, most likely. Do not want this mech, at all.

The Enforcer is interesting because it's a Centurion with jump jets. So what kind of quirks can they give it, without stepping on the Centurion's toes? The Centurion will probably already have AC10 + LBX10 quirks. Hopefully they go with mobility over the brawler ability of the Centurion.
What's the 5P variant anyway? PGI special? "P" as in PGI? I was hoping they'd do a gauss rifle variant, like the 4R Daniel. A jump jetting medium mech with gauss rifle quirks would be awesomesauce.

Grasshopper... I think the 5J is the winner, actually. I don't think you can make use of 8 energy hardpoints with ghost heat. And 2AMS and the XL365 engine sounds like a lot of fun. 90 kph, jump jets... my cup of tea.

Zeus could be fun. Looks like the AWS-9M laserboat with XL engine was just made obsolete. Well, more obsolete. But yeah, it's too early to tell. I will make a sig bet and say this won't be a meta-game changer though.

[ShadowWolf Kell]

Kind of like the PNT-10K as an alternative to the FSR-9S with a bit more punch. Would have to check to see if I could squeeze in 2 ERLLs. I run my 9S with some MLs and a LPL. It's a bit hot, but workable for hit and fade and still effective for legging lights.

ENF-5D looks like basically a BJ-1 setup imo, or something similar. Not sure I'd even use the 4R though boating MPLs could be interesting.

GHR-5N = Wubhopper. The 5J would work too and more speed with pulse is always a nice thing.

All of the Zeuses look good. Good mix of energy, ballistics and SRMs and a decent speed. Like ya said though, hitboxes will be my primary concern. The Zeus is notorious for having HUGE arms. Lets hope it doesn't have HUGE torsos too.

[Alistair Winter]

Just noticed, the Panther's cockpit actually looks like a Panther's head.

That's pretty cool. Now do the same for the Wolfhound, or else! <shakes fist>

Spoiler

Also noticed, the Grasshopper is slim as hell. Unless that thing is as tall as an Atlas, it's probably going to be a lot harder to hit than other heavy mechs.

Edited by Alistair Winter, 22 October 2014 - 03:40 PM.

[FupDup]

In Smurfy I'm dorking around with a "Ghetto Panther" build right now. For a slower build, I'm experimenting with an XL225, 2 ERLL, and trying to use up my last 5.5 tons on something worthwhile (2 SSRMs, BAP, and ammo? 2 SRM2 and some DHS?).

Edited by FupDup, 22 October 2014 - 03:44 PM.

[ShadowWolf Kell]

Alistair Winter, on 22 October 2014 - 03:38 PM, said:

Just noticed, the Panther's cockpit actually looks like a Panther's head.

That's pretty cool. Now do the same for the Wolfhound, or else! <shakes fist>

Spoiler

Also noticed, the Grasshopper is slim as hell. Unless that thing is as tall as an Atlas, it's probably going to be a lot harder to hit than other heavy mechs.

Yeah I thought that was a nice addition and paves the way for the Wolfhound. As for the Grasshopper, all the old TRO and boxed set artwork implied it was a thin but tall mech.

[AntharPrime]

KamikazeRat, on 22 October 2014 - 03:29 PM, said:

missle slot is in the head...no srm6 for you

SSRM2 would honestly be your best bet for almost all the grasshoppering you plan on doing

What have you been smoking? SSRM2 is the worse weapon in the game behind the flamers. They are only useful if you boat them and equip your mech as a light hunter.

[ShinobiHunter]

Looking forward to a Wubhopper

[LordKnightFandragon]

ShadowWolf Kell, on 22 October 2014 - 03:32 PM, said:

All of the Zeuses look good. Good mix of energy, ballistics and SRMs and a decent speed. Like ya said though, hitboxes will be my primary concern. The Zeus is notorious for having HUGE arms. Lets hope it doesn't have HUGE torsos too.

All IS Assaults have huge ass CTs.....atleast from what I can tell. Ive driven the orion, highlander and victor, every single one of them gets thier CT shot out effortlessly and quick....

Warhawk, it totally takes lot of other torso and arm damages....Last match in the victor, entire mech was yellow, CT? Gone.

[Angel of Annihilation]

Panther looks very weak in my opinion. The max 245 engine limits it speed to 127 kph and it doesn't really have all that great of hard point selection especially since all is laser firepower will be tied up in one arm. Best loadout is probably 4 ML and 1 SRM6. Still it is a much better option than the Locust that came with the Phoenix pack.

Enforcer looks like it might be somewhat interesting. Especially the 4R with is 5 energy hardpoints. Doing an AC/10 with 5 MLs would offer a good punch. The 5D might also be good with a PPC, AC/10 and 2 MLs. 5P is DOA though because there isn't anything you can build out of it. All you can do really is add endo which is only going to give you enough space for a couple more tons of ammo for the UAC/5s and it still won't have enough ammo. If the in game model matches the concept, then its narrow profile will be a bonus.

Grasshopper actually is looking a hell of alot better than I expected, maybe even enough to get me to consider it Ala Carte. 2 LPL, 4 ML, 4 JJ, Max armor, 18 DHS and a 340-365 XL engine that is going to get it up to 85-90 kph. That isn't bad at all. Also again if the in game model matches up with the concept art, that mech is going to have a very thin profile likely with amazing hit boxes.

Zeus is looking ok. It is going to be able to move pretty quickly, up to around 86 kph with max engine and it has a decent loadout. However it kind of looks like it is going to have barn door syndrome just like the Awesome so that is very worrisome.

All in all, a nice IS package though, probably much better overall that the original Phoenix package and also probably worth the investment if you have the extra cash.

Also worth noting is that this pack is going to narrow the speed gap between IS and Clans in the heavy and assault category since both of the can reach in excess of 80 kph while still maintaining excellent loadouts.

Edited by Viktor Drake, 22 October 2014 - 04:10 PM.

[Golden Vulf]

Yeah what the hell, Zeus has 14 more tons of pod space than the Gargoyle, and similar hard points, which it can use to take the superior inner sphere auto cannons and missiles.

Gargoyle really needs upgrades unlocked so it can take Endo Steel. It really has no business showing up to the party nearly 2 tons light on armor and with only 30 shots for each of its LBX-5s.

In a world where armor wasn't twice what it was on tabble top, only having 2 tons of ammo might be sufficient.

Edited by Golden Vulf, 22 October 2014 - 04:49 PM.

[KamikazeRat]

AntharPrime, on 22 October 2014 - 03:51 PM, said:

What have you been smoking? SSRM2 is the worse weapon in the game behind the flamers. They are only useful if you boat them and equip your mech as a light hunter.

and a single SRM4 is better?....i'd rather have the anti-light tracking on it, even if it is just throwing rocks, they're well aimed rocks.

Edited by KamikazeRat, 22 October 2014 - 04:45 PM.

[Vassago Rain]

Would have al a carte'd the black knight. These mechs are dead to me.

[Macksheen]

The ENF-5P is going to run like a fat spider but likely with unkind hit boxes.

[1453 R]

The GHR-5J looks sexeh as hizzell, actually. 6E, with FaceMissile Trollsaucery for lulz if you want it, six jets, dual AMS, excellent engine capacity...Clan pilot or no, I'm somewhat tempted to kick out for a Hopper pack now just because that thing looks like exactly what I'd always hoped the Quickdraw would be except it totally wasn't.

Now if only Spheroid beams weren't so bad...T_T

[ShinobiHunter]

1453 R, on 22 October 2014 - 04:53 PM, said:

The GHR-5J looks sexeh as hizzell, actually. 6E, with FaceMissile Trollsaucery for lulz if you want it, six jets, dual AMS, excellent engine capacity...Clan pilot or no, I'm somewhat tempted to kick out for a Hopper pack now just because that thing looks like exactly what I'd always hoped the Quickdraw would be except it totally wasn't.

Now if only Spheroid beams weren't so bad...T_T

Pulse lasers are actually pretty good IMO.

[Alaskan Nobody]

ShinobiHunter, on 22 October 2014 - 05:55 PM, said:

Pulse lasers are actually pretty good IMO.

That little bit shorter burn time makes a huge difference for the shoot-and-twist style that keeps IS chassis alive

[1453 R]

ShinobiHunter, on 22 October 2014 - 05:55 PM, said:

Pulse lasers are actually pretty good IMO.

I play Clans, largely for this very reason of Spheroid beam lameness. S'far as I'm concerned, your lasers all need, like, a universal -1 heat and the pulsebeams should be based on a 0.4s burn time rather than a 0.6s. To start If you're going to have lasers with anemic damage and range, then by Gum you'd best be able to fire them for weeks on end without overheating, and they'd best be done firing in a blazing hurry.