23 replies to this topic

[NephyrisX]

In anticipation of the upcoming Hero Mech Sale and Black Friday MC deals, I was planning on purchasing a single Hero Mech with the MC I will probably buy.

The question is, which one?

As of now, I am Mastering my Catapults and have a nice Victor Champion Mech that I got as the prize from the last challenge.
I also have a preference for Heavy mechs since they are the most reliable and easiest mechs to excel in.

Currently, the Jester and the Protector looks to be ideal mechs for me at the moment. Any other hero mechs I should consider, or are my considered Hero mechs scrappy to begin with?

[The Boz]

Jester is OK. Wouldn't you rather buy a Mastery Bundle that almost pays for itself with the premium time?

[NephyrisX]

The Boz, on 28 November 2014 - 06:51 AM, said:

Jester is OK. Wouldn't you rather buy a Mastery Bundle that almost pays for itself with the premium time?

Unlikely since I am going for one of the cheaper MC options.

[Jam the Bam]

Dragon slayer is a pretty solid hero, although the number of effective build is fairly limited and you take up an assault slot. Personally I enjoy Sparky as a laser vomit build. Ilya muromets can be good if you can get over the low slung arms and like dakka builds. Jesters are pretty good, will play almost identical to the K2 but without the ballistic option, plus some JJ's.

[Gauvan]

I've currently got 12 Heroes so I've tried quite a few. I can highly recommend the Misery and Ember without reservations. The Ilya, Huggin, Oxide, and Firebrand are also quite good.

[kazlaton]

I like ballistics, so the Ilya is my favorite. The Firebrand is pretty good too. If you think you will be ok with an all energy build, then you might want to try the jester. Personally, I regretted getting it, but I'm not a big fan of all energy mechs.

[Sjorpha]

I recommend the pirate's bane.

It's cheap to buy and master, because it comes fully upgraded and you can use the xl190 in the other locusts when grinding them.

With 3 weapon and 3 mech module slots mastered + ECM it is the most "high tech" mech in the game, which is fun to play around with.

It is very easy to rack up high profits in both wins and losses, because a big part of your earnings comes from scouting, flanking, component destruction and hit and runs which are independent of winning.

It hones your piloting reflexes, situational awareness and is a thrill to drive because you can be killed in an instant.

And it looks really good too.

My second recomendation would be the Misery, because it's a beast.

Edited by Sjorpha, 28 November 2014 - 07:42 AM.

[R Razor]

I own the Boars Head, Illya, Firebrand, Oxide, Ember, Wang, Misery, and all of the Overlord (can't recall if they are Champ or Hero though) as well as the free Atlas they just gave away.

All have their positives and negatives, but if I were only going to grab one it would be the Firebrand, I think it gives the most flexibility in terms of making use of Ballistics or Energy due to the high mount hard points. I also think that the Misery is probably one of the best as well, just not quite as versatile insofar as load out variations and the low mounted ballistic hard point means you have to expose yourself a lot more than in the Brand. It can however take one heck of a beating and the FB isn't so durable in comparison.

Edited by R Razor, 28 November 2014 - 07:15 AM.

[Porcorosso101]

I think the 3 latest heros/champions are not reduced in cost as they are too new: locust, shadow and thunderwub.... and I actually need the shadow and web hero ones!

[Brody319]

I played the Ilya and Jester heros.
Jester is pretty much as good as the K2 as long as your build didn't use heavy ballistics in that chassis. (my build was 2 ERLLs, 2 LLs, and 2 machine guns). The Jester can also run 6 MPLs which isn't too shabby for damage.
Ilya is still a beast. I run mine with 3 UAC5s and 3 MLs, thing can kill so fast, I can face tank an atlas and kill it before my CT turns orange.
Misery Is really good I've seen people do some real damage, and I plan on buy it myself during this event.
Ember is one of the best lights still in the game and if I have enough extra MC I'm probably gonna pick this guy up.
Firebrand is a solid hero mech, and the Jaeger are a solid reliable mech. I imagine CW will have a lot of Jaegers.
Yen-Lo-Wang is still good if you are into centurions its probably one of the best.

Huginn is useful because of quirks, this guy can run 2 srm 4s and fire faster than an ultra auto cannon, if the enemy doesn't turn fast you can rip through their back and kill them in a few seconds. (Problem is its an entirely ammo reliant mech)

Boar's head requires a major overhaul before its useful. Gotta put in a standard engine and double heat sinks at least. but it can be a good atlas.

Arrow is great, The Blackjacks not only look like a baby Jeager, they also play like one.

Not sure how good the "grey death" is but the shadowhawks are one of the better mechs right now.

Pirates bane i hear is the best locust so..I guess that pretty much sums up itself.

If i didn't mention it, its probably not worth buying since it either requires a ton of space cash to get working properly, just isn't good at all and can't be fixed, Or I just don't care/forgot.

Edited by Brody319, 28 November 2014 - 09:47 AM.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

always liked the Jester,its a solid laserboat

Shadow Hawk hero is good too,AC20 + 3ML + 2JJ makes a nice jumping hunchback,or you can use gauss + ppc metabuilds in it.

[Ted Wayz]

Own and have played every hero mech. Some are impressive (Misery, Ilya, Pirates Bane, Ember), but most are just slightly above average. I would avoid the canon mechs, Sparky and St Ives, as you will have to throw a lot of c-bills into them to make them competitive.

Mastery packs are the way to go though. Incredible value.

[STEF_]

Ilya.
If you are a heavy pilot, Ilya for sure.
Dakka.
You are going to love it

[Cygone]

I own the lots of H Mechs, but of the main ones being discussed (FB / M / IM / J) I own all but the FB.

Of the other 3, the M is just in a different class. The Stalker can already take more damage than any other chassis on the IS side, the high mounted 4xE slots do a huge amount of work, and the B + CT/E slot pack a huge punch when in closer.

The new quirks did it wonders as well, makes it quite "nimble" for an 85t Assault Mech.

Of the other 2, the J is almost the opposite of the M, the J being a CPLT chassis uses a high rated XL engine and you defiantly need to play 2nd line defence. It will get cored very fast. However if you area already good with the CPLTs then the J is also a very good chassis. Think 3LL + 2MPL is the current "go-to" build.

IM, is even easier to kill than the J, as you cant realistically hide the STs. Please be VERY careful when considering buying this chassis, the arms are SUPER LOW, and you have to expose your entire Mech' to get guns on target, Running with 3xUAC5 also means LOTS and LOTS of face time, which again is really bad due to the above. And also please note that the arms are not just low, they are SUPER WIDE!

M > J/FB > IM

Edited by Cygone, 28 November 2014 - 10:07 AM.

[Onmyoudo]

Ilya Muromets Dakka is best Dakka.

[Vandul]

Uh hello? Yen Lo?

Rock solid medium that is an absolute blast to pilot when quirked up.

[SilentWolff]

If you already got the victor from the challenge, then its a NO brainer to get the Dragon Slayer. Otherwise if you want to spend money, disregard the other hero mechs and do yourself a favor and A la Carte the Timberwolf.

[Jeb]

For Heavy Heros I own: (since you say you prefer Heavy mechs)
Ilya, Jester, Firebrand.


Pre JJ nerfs, the Jester with 2x PPC and 4x ML was a very fun to play mech... I havn't gotten into it as much with the Lasers after the perks... it can still fit a huge engine though, so you can move fast and hover It's pure energy though so heat can be an issue.


Ilya was the mech I went to when I wanted to dish out as much destruction to the other team as I could... 3x UAC5 and MLs..


But then I found the Firebrand... and I love it... 2xUAC5 and a bunch of med lasers... it's a beast... now it does not survive as well as the Ilya as it's a lighter mech, but I love it... I play it more then the Timberwolf or Mad Dog, or any of my other IS heavies... It does lack JJs though...

So it really depends on how ya want to play... I dont think you can go wrong with Ilya or Firebrand though... Jester used to be a mech I would recommend over every other mech for fun factor... but with the JJs being meh now... and a max of 2 of the meh JJs it's jumping is a lot more limited.



If you want to look outside of Heavies, there are other good ones too... I am not an Assault fan, so I won't give any advice there...
For mediums, I love "The Arrow" it's what got me to get the Firebrand actually... I own the Grid Iron, but with it's current quirks I wouldn't advise it.. the other non hero hunchbacks are fun though...
The Ember of course is good for a light... the Yen is a popular medium, but you really have to use that shield arm so that effects play style a lot.

(I am ignoring non hero and clan mechs as it sounded like ya wanted a hero mech)



So to sum up, if I had to buy just one Hero in the Heavy class, it would be the Firebrand, and then the Ilya if I didn't like the Firebrand.

Edited by Jeb, 28 November 2014 - 10:50 AM.

[Y E O N N E]

My first recommendation is the Firebrand. High-mounted energy hardpoints with working quirks, decently quick, decently durable if you don't go XL. Load it up with PPCs and MedLas with some MG backup and call it a day.

My second recommendation would be the Jester. Two large pulse lasers with four medium lasers, a STD 300, and as many heatsinks as you can fit makes for a potent, fast hitter that shouldn't be underestimated. Leave the jump-jets, you don't need them.

My final recommendation is the Arrow. Ignore the quirks on this one, they are worthless. Instead, load it up with a STD 225, a large pulse, two medium pulse, six machine guns, three tons of ammo, and the rest heat-sinks. Again, leave the jump-jets at home. Despite quirks making some other 'Mechs into DPS monsters, this thing can still DPS enough that an Atlas will be dead inside of 10 seconds of straight firing. It's also probably the best 'Mech I've ever used for getting component destruction bonuses.

[Brody319]

Yeonne Greene, on 28 November 2014 - 11:20 AM, said:

My first recommendation is the Firebrand. High-mounted energy hardpoints with working quirks, decently quick, decently durable if you don't go XL. Load it up with PPCs and MedLas with some MG backup and call it a day.

My second recommendation would be the Jester. Two large pulse lasers with four medium lasers, a STD 300, and as many heatsinks as you can fit makes for a potent, fast hitter that shouldn't be underestimated. Leave the jump-jets, you don't need them.

My final recommendation is the Arrow. Ignore the quirks on this one, they are worthless. Instead, load it up with a STD 225, a large pulse, two medium pulse, six machine guns, three tons of ammo, and the rest heat-sinks. Again, leave the jump-jets at home. Despite quirks making some other 'Mechs into DPS monsters, this thing can still DPS enough that an Atlas will be dead inside of 10 seconds of straight firing. It's also probably the best 'Mech I've ever used for getting component destruction bonuses.

Why would you ever run a Standard engine in a Catapult? Those side torsos are so tiny. I mean you can equip an XL 355 for 2 less tons than the STD 300 you got in it now. That means you can have 2 LPL, and 4 MPLs if you want, or running the same weapons gives you 6 heat sinks.