22 replies to this topic

[wintersborn]

Hello, I might be interested in playing again if I can have fun with a mech that can be competitive in solo play with the specific LRM support role.

I have not played since the newer mechs and clan mechs came out so at the time the Catapult and Stalker were the top LRM mechs.

Has there been newer mechs that don't cost real money that are better suited to the specific role of a pure LRM support mech?

Any info or links to builds would be great, thanks.

[process]

At the moment, I would say the Hunchback 4J is the best due to its ridiculous LRM 10 quirks, specifically the 50% faster LRM 10 cooldown. The Trebuchet 7M is nearly as good, with the benefit of extra mobility. I would also recommend the Orion VA for its quirks and hardpoints, though I don't think it's a particularly fun chassis to pilot.

Catapults and Stalkers are still good due to the sheer number of missiles they can boat. The Catapult C1 and C4, and the Stalker 3H should be the best variants to run, also due to their quirks.

[Inkarnus]

i still play lovingly my artemis cat c1(f) with 2 lrm 15 3meds and 1tag and XL engine + jj and sensor range and additional lockon time.
Its mostly fast enough to reposition, durable enough to chase off lights or doesnt fear short brawls and can spot for itself.
Its a lovely keeper

[Barkem Squirrel]

Were to begin, clan, IS, lights, mediums, heavies, assaults.

The Jenner Oxide is a little bugger with 4 LRM 5, but you have to run slower to have more ammo and no jump jets. Raven Huggin with two LRM 5's due to the increased rate of fire. Both of these I will use on days that I feel the need to troll people.

Mediums, Hunch 4J can fire LRM 10's like the cat A1 can fire LRM 5's. trebuchet 7M the 3# and 5# all can fire at increased LRM 15 rates. Enough that direwolves will back off. Both of these chassis are great close range LRM support. Griffins Kintaro's, shadow hawks and wolverines all have some minor quirks that can make them decent LRM support and being 5 tons heavier allows for more ammo or speed.

Heavies. I do not have an orion, but it does have some interesting quirks. Catapults all have LRM buffs, so they are good. Jagermech A also has some buffs for LRM 15's and can compete with catapults. I think one of the thunderbolts has some good missile buffs, but other buffs to Lasers and PPC's out-shadow them. Quick draws have missile buffs, but they are quickdraws.

Assualts. Awesome 8R hands down with 4 LRM 15's is great. The rest are also good for LRMs, but have ridiculous LL or PPC buffs. Battlemaster 1S or 3S. The 1S is better, but the 3S I mastered in 27 matches! I was testing the command cousule. Atlas, Humm... Maybe the DDC or S variants. King Crabs can have a lot of missiles, but again use other weapons. Stalkers can just be evil with chain fired LRM5 and LRM 10 mix. There are some buffs that make other uses of stalkers more advantageous.

Now clan v IS missiles. I still like the IS missiles better. Clans fire in a ripple effect and IS in volley. IF you can fire clan missiles in chain fire it is a solid stream of missiles over and over and over. IS still seam to hit the CT more, but not as much as they use to.

They changed the ghost heat on LRMs so if you fire more than two LRM launchers of any size you will get ghost heat. This has forces chain firing on mechs like the Battlemaster 1S, CAT A1, Stalkers and like the 3M Griffin.

[Tahribator]

Just don't do assaults. That armor is needed at the frontline, not somewhere in a ditch shooting LRMs. I'd say a Hunchie 4J and a Treb are one of the best choices. 4J is especially a beast.

[wintersborn]

The problem I have found with lighter than Heavy or Assault mechs is they can not carry enough ammo + Art + TAG etc.

I don't know anything about the new "Perks". Were are they listed at or how are they acquired etc.

I cant stand the looks of the Treb so can anyone link a good Hunch 4J build ?

[Tahribator]

wintersborn, on 01 March 2015 - 12:24 PM, said:

The problem I have found with lighter than Heavy or Assault mechs is they can not carry enough ammo + Art + TAG etc.

I don't know anything about the new "Perks". Were are they listed at or how are they acquired etc.

I cant stand the looks of the Treb so can anyone link a good Hunch 4J build ?

Take a look here: http://mwomercs.com/...e-hunchback-4j/

[STEF_]

Stormcrow.

Because it has speed and can stay at distance without any problem, and changing location fast.

3c-lrm15 + 3ml + tag + ammo.

Don't stay cover all the time, but search for enemies: use tag and artemis for good dmg bonus.
Use target decay + radar depr: so you can lock and avoid enemy lrm in the same time.

edit: you specified "solo" play; that's why my advice is to avoid slow mechs. Good teamplay is rare in puglandia.

Edited by Stefka Kerensky, 01 March 2015 - 01:45 PM.

[BUDFORCE]

Mad dog!

[Inkarnus]

yeah the maddog is nice in comparison to an catapult but it is kinda a medium in a heavy slot
so its more of a cw thing than a que mech.
I would urge anybody thats into LRMs not to take anything higher then a heavy mech.
Since in my pov mobillity to change your position and to change the position to rain effectly a target
is very important on most maps.
Its what drags your team down if your in a slow mech and get split off and cant reach the main group in time.

here are some old builds of mine
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...527ca4970cd3358
an old untest 12v12 / 8v8 built for the Shadowhawk mobillity built thats not adapted to quirks and can be optimized
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...8246e17212df9f9

[Bigbacon]

maddog:
5xLRM10s
Narc
2xML

kintaros are decent also.

if you want to be annoying you can do a Myst Lynx with 2xLRM5s + ML (or MPL)

Edited by Bigbacon, 02 March 2015 - 07:51 AM.

[NUJRSYDEVIL]

Mad Dog - A

4xLRM15
4xERSL
Additional DHS
Radar Decay

If you chain fire the LRMs there's no ghost heat and it's pretty much the same firing time as going alpha.

20 point damage on the lasers too, good defensive weapon.

[Enigmos]

Which is best depend on your objective.

If you wish to get kills you want to put as many missiles in the air as possible. Awesome 8T has nice missile quirks but fires each LRM 20 in a ten missile salvo. Catapult C1 will put all 40 missiles in the air in each salvo.
Most of the Stalkers are very good missile boats but they are usually almost helpless if they get swarmed by lights. This is often because they are underpowered in the engine in order to fit in more missiles, which leaves them about as nimble as an obese senior citizen fallen from his wheelchair.

Beware (as in: go ahead, but be mindful) of IS mechs that only throw LRM because IS LRMs are useless until they arm, which takes 180m of flight. Clan LRMs arm immediately out of he tube: no minimum range. As a missile boat pilot you should realize you are a prime target for lights so you should have some kind of point defenses so you aren't completely reliant on your team for bodyguards.

The clan LRMs fire in a stream of missiles. They are just as effective over time as IS missiles between the ranges of 180 and 1000 meters, but they are also effective under 180 meters. Even there, clan LRM at point blank range are significantly less effective than they would be at 70m, and less effective at 70m than they become between 180m and 1000m.

If your objective is to induce screen shake and virtual blindness on your target is a different objective than killing the opposition. For that you want as many LRM5s as possible using chain fire. For this kind o LRM support consider too the KTO line of mediums. The Mad Dog is excellent for this tactic and the timber wolf can be quite effective using it as well.

One other thing: the Awesome Pretty Boy is okay as a missile boat but realize the missile hard point on it's arm will only fire a maximum of five missiles I a volley. If you mount an LRM 20 in that arm yu wll get four volleys of five missiles (in rapid succession). IIRC it was intended for a NARC mount.

Edited by OriginalTibs, 02 March 2015 - 08:26 AM.

[SnagaDance]

I've always loved my Awesome 8R 4 ALRM15 + back-up energy weapons mech.

But lately I've really been enjoying the BattleMaster 1S with dual Lrm15 and dual Lrm10 (no Artemis) + back-up energy weapons. Both mech use an XL 300 and have full armour
Just this weekend I had a 1600+ damage game with 5 kills and 6 assists, the only enemy that I didn't hit was a disco that was killed by one of our Lights at their spawn.

Just make sure you move with the team, you shouldn't be further away than 500 meters tops. Fire at targets that you can see yourself and don't be afraid to get hit yourself. As an Assault it's your duty to absorb fire, together with dishing it out. I make a quick judgement about the enemy that faces me and decide to either open up while twisting to spread damage or if I should duck into cover. As you stand there taking the damage you'll find teammates quickly joining in, helping to reduce your target to scrap.

The Advanced Targeting Decay module is almost mandatory IMO. Especially with the prevalence of Radar Deprivation.

Please not that Lrms are a poor weapon in higher level play. It (together with Streaks) being the only weapon system that the opponent can actively influence through ECM, Radar Derp and good use of terrain.

[SnagaDance]

OriginalTibs, on 02 March 2015 - 08:13 AM, said:

If you wish to get kills you want to put as many missiles in the air as possible. Awesome 8T has nice missile quirks but fires each LRM 20 in a ten missile salvo. Catapult C1 will put all 40 missiles in the air in each salvo.

Actually the 8R has even better missile quirks and 15 tubes for each of its launchers. In addition I personally find that Lrm20's are just too heavy for what they bring. I use Lrm15's on Heavies and Assaults, Lrm10's on Mediums and 5's on any mech that I want to vomit missiles non-stop. IMO the difference in tonnage between an Lrm 20 and 15 should just be used for extra tons of ammo for the 15. But hey, your mileage may vary.

[Enigmos]

Interestingly when I compared the number of missiles fired with the number of missiles that hit (Profile-> weapon stats) I too noticed that the IS LRM 15 has the best hit ratio of all four IS LRM missile batteries. The question I think comes down to which is really more useful: a drawn out sprinkle, a heavy rain, or a sudden deluge (with thunder).

Edited by OriginalTibs, 02 March 2015 - 08:58 AM.

[Smedlee]

I like running the Kit Fox with C-LRMs and C-ECM. It is definitely not a LRM deathstar. It is quick enough to relocate when needed, has ECM to cover your team and can do significant damage. Try to keep it with the assaults to lend them ECM cover and LRM support.

[Brother MEX]

process, on 28 February 2015 - 01:57 PM, said:

... I would also recommend the Orion VA for its quirks and hardpoints, though I don't think it's a particularly fun chassis to pilot.

Catapults and Stalkers are still good due to the sheer number of missiles they can boat. The Catapult C1 and C4, and the Stalker 3H should be the best variants to run, also due to their quirks.

I love the 3H with 2x20 and 2x5 LRM as a LRM support mech too ( mine has TAG & 3mL as backup ) !
The VA has the problem that it has its launchers in the arms, which are at waist level ... that means you have troubles to get the LRM above cover in front of you for indirect LRM support. On the other hand it is perfect for using Arthemis and shoot with only one arm out of cover ( either left or right, depending on cover and where your mech is damaged )

Edited by Brother MEX, 07 March 2015 - 06:28 AM.

[DrSlamastika]

wintersborn, on 28 February 2015 - 01:43 PM, said:

Hello, I might be interested in playing again if I can have fun with a mech that can be competitive in solo play with the specific LRM support role.

I have not played since the newer mechs and clan mechs came out so at the time the Catapult and Stalker were the top LRM mechs.

Has there been newer mechs that don't cost real money that are better suited to the specific role of a pure LRM support mech?

Any info or links to builds would be great, thanks.

Hmmm . . . Dont tell him anything, we dont need another LRM spaming lazy noob without skill.

But Warhawk can be good, also Catapuls . . .if you really want go this way.

Edited by DrSlamastika, 07 March 2015 - 07:15 AM.

[Kal Solar]

Trebuchet-7M is king of LRM