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Good Is Mech?


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#1 Striker2237

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 12:29 AM

So I looking to get back to playing IS mechs, I used to drive victors and cataphracts primarily untill the glorious MadCat was released. I'm bored of driving it and my other clan mechs though, too easy and mindless at this point! 700 damage is my normal game........so anyways whats a good IS mech to play? I was looking at the orion as well as my old two favorites. Thanks

#2 Nightshade24

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 01:05 AM

Grasshopper, that thing makes the timberwolf obsolete and with more jumpjets.

#3 Lily from animove

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 01:06 AM

FS9
Dragons
Stalkers
Thunderbolts

they are all fun to paly and strong. and probably goign to bore you out faster than your mad kitten.

#4 Striker2237

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 01:12 AM

View PostLily from animove, on 19 March 2015 - 01:06 AM, said:

FS9
Dragons
Stalkers
Thunderbolts

they are all fun to paly and strong. and probably goign to bore you out faster than your mad kitten.


Really? I didn't consider those as the firepower is kinda low as was the speed. I happen to have a Thunderbolt already so I guess I'll drag it out of the hanger, recommended builds?

View PostNightshade24, on 19 March 2015 - 01:05 AM, said:

Grasshopper, that thing makes the timberwolf obsolete and with more jumpjets.


How so? They have been out en-masse recently and seem easy as hell to kill in a MadCat.....

#5 Wintersdark

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 01:29 AM

View PostStriker2237, on 19 March 2015 - 01:12 AM, said:


How so? They have been out en-masse recently and seem easy as hell to kill in a MadCat.....


With no pilot skills, of course.

They're a very solid mech, though.

#6 The Basilisk

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 01:56 AM

You say you are bored driving cheese clan mechs.
Thats good. You are a sports man ! :)

But now you' re asking for a *good* IS mech :huh:

Why don't you just take a mech that appeals to you and make it work ?
If you're looking for a challange why not considering a non mainstream non meta mech ?

While the Victor still seems to be a decent mech in the hands of many jumping pilots I did't like it anymore since it was nerfed ( a long time ago ) its just to fragile, don't carrys enough weapons for its bulk and clumsiness. Armor of a heavy, bulk and moveability of an assault, weaponry of a medium mech. meh :mellow:
The Cataphract is still a very cool mech, fast for its weight and can carry a lot of front load dmg weaponry.
But still it has more problems with its low mounted arm weapons than any clan mech.
An other problem is ... its a heavy and depending on daytime you will have to wait quite a while till you get an open heavy spot. So getting quick games could be an issue.

If you realy like the challange and you want a swift agile Mech that is not mainstream but still can stand his ground try a Griffin. The Sparky Griffin is something for ppl with a PPC fetish or for ppl with a med laser fixation. The 3M can carry 4 SRM6, 2 med lasers and is still jumpcapable and more than 100kph fast.

Or if you like a big an uggly challange try a Banshee 3E. Tripple AC5 and dual PPC still isn't funny to face.

One of the...*good* heavy mechs would most likely be a T-bold 9SE.
Fast, jumpcapable, 5 med lasers and 2 ASRM6, decent armor weapons not to low mounted compact sihouette.

#7 Striker2237

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 02:01 AM

View PostThe Basilisk, on 19 March 2015 - 01:56 AM, said:

You say you are bored driving cheese clan mechs.
Thats good. You are a sports man ! :)

But now you' re asking for a *good* IS mech :huh:

Why don't you just take a mech that appeals to you and make it work ?
If you're looking for a challange why not considering a non mainstream non meta mech ?

While the Victor still seems to be a decent mech in the hands of many jumping pilots I did't like it anymore since it was nerfed ( a long time ago ) its just to fragile, don't carrys enough weapons for its bulk and clumsiness. Armor of a heavy, bulk and moveability of an assault, weaponry of a medium mech. meh :mellow:
The Cataphract is still a very cool mech, fast for its weight and can carry a lot of front load dmg weaponry.
But still it has more problems with its low mounted arm weapons than any clan mech.
An other problem is ... its a heavy and depending on daytime you will have to wait quite a while till you get an open heavy spot. So getting quick games could be an issue.

If you realy like the challange and you want a swift agile Mech that is not mainstream but still can stand his ground try a Griffin. The Sparky Griffin is something for ppl with a PPC fetish or for ppl with a med laser fixation. The 3M can carry 4 SRM6, 2 med lasers and is still jumpcapable and more than 100kph fast.

Or if you like a big an uggly challange try a Banshee 3E. Tripple AC5 and dual PPC still isn't funny to face.

One of the...*good* heavy mechs would most likely be a T-bold 9SE.
Fast, jumpcapable, 5 med lasers and 2 ASRM6, decent armor weapons not to low mounted compact sihouette.


Yep, that's why I stopped playing the victor. No firepower or instant death with XL. This griffin you speak of is interesting.....I LOVE med lasers.....almost to a fault in some of my mechs lol!

I'll just go and build that Tbolt right now, I'm assuming to just use a normal engine on it? Nice to hear the CF is still good!

Now about the orion......should I bother? I looks really cool to me and I'm kinda thinking SRM and LL spam......

#8 Virgil Greyson

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 02:11 AM

Huncback!

#9 Xione87

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 03:02 AM

Depends on what your preferred playstyle is of course. I will recommend a few mechs that I personally own and have mastered:

The venerable Hunchback: Lots of variants and a great hero mech. There is a hunchback for every playstyle. Quirks really make it shine.

Centurions: Nice brawlers, good survivability and some can zombie pretty well.

Shadowhawk: Slimmer but taller hunchbacks with 5 tons more to play with and JJ capable, what's not to love? Make for nice harassers/skirmishers.

Jagermech: Dakka dakka. Triple UAC5, Twin Gauss or the classic; the AC40 boomstick. If you like ballistics you're in the right place.

Thunderbolts: Took me a while to make them work before quirks but they're pretty good now. The 5SS with 7 MPL is a beast.

King Crab: Ok I only have the loyalty variant so it isn't mastered but it is still one of the few mechs where I have a K/D ratio of over 2.5 And that's just basic'ed! But again; you have to be a ballistics fan.

I generally don't play lights (much) or LRM boats so I can't help you there :)

Edited by Xione87, 19 March 2015 - 03:03 AM.


#10 The Basilisk

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 03:06 AM

Can't say much about the Orion, never bothered to try.
From his looks he has the old low weapons, high cockpit problem.

You need endosteel and standart reaktor for that T-bolt.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...c6e6ece4b4c2f68
~ something like this its some time since I piloted one myself.
But again....its a pretty boring mainstream, run, jump, gun, mech.

An unusual Mech for M-Laser fans is the BLR-3M but you will need loads of cash and modules and a lot of patience to master this thing.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d7a58601762e100

The Sparky is something of its own....not a DPS Mech for sure
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b32e2691754c20a

Edit: imagine the facemelting quality of the Battlemaster alpha

Edited by The Basilisk, 19 March 2015 - 03:08 AM.


#11 Striker2237

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 03:20 AM

Vindicator any good? I like it's speed and firepower but how does it do armor wise?

#12 Sputty

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 04:15 AM

View PostNightshade24, on 19 March 2015 - 01:05 AM, said:

Grasshopper, that thing makes the timberwolf obsolete and with more jumpjets.

this is what clanners actually believe




just bring a bunch of thunderbolts, the best medium is the wolverine right now, the 50 tonners are all ****
lights the FS9-S is the best but A and H are good, too
heavies are fairly weak for IS but thunderbolts are still the best bet and the only thing that can compete if you're going IS vs clan
best assault is the stalker and is probably the best heavier laser vomit IS has right now
atlas and crabs are too slow and waste tonnage for low range firepower generally

View PostStriker2237, on 19 March 2015 - 03:20 AM, said:

Vindicator any good? I like it's speed and firepower but how does it do armor wise?


it's probably the worst mech in the game
it's a panther but slower and heavier and the panther is already a niche mech for messing in solo queue

also, you mention the Orion but the problem with the Orion, even the Protector which approaches decent, is that it has really low waist hardpoints and it's tall and big. It's easy to hit and you have to expose so much of your mech to shoot back. It's able to fit 3 large lasers and a gauss which is a lot of firepower for an IS heavy but it has a terribly huge hitbox and bad hardpoints

Edited by Sputty, 19 March 2015 - 04:42 AM.


#13 Coordinator Toxic Kerensky

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 05:15 AM

I got the module slot for the Protector. Don't even bother with any of the Orions.

View PostNightshade24, on 19 March 2015 - 01:05 AM, said:

Grasshopper, that thing makes the timberwolf obsolete and with more jumpjets.


Color me extremely surprised that the clanner who, according to his signature, "Has quit Invasion (CW) mode until Clans get detailed quirks" thinks that a 70 ton IS mech that's the size of an assault, with very average hardpoint locations at absolute best, is better than a Timber Wolf.

View PostThe Basilisk, on 19 March 2015 - 01:56 AM, said:

Thunderbolt 9SE with 5 med lasers and 2 ASRM6


*sees you recommend this loadout for an LPL-quirked mech and makes horrified face*

Edited by Coordinator Aigis Kurita, 19 March 2015 - 05:45 AM.


#14 Averen

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 05:35 AM

Cataphracts and Victors are a pretty old meta. Former is still a solid mech, and the latter can do well if you're a good enough pilot. Especially the latter suffers under a meta of insanely fast clan mechs and the inflation of DPS and Alpha alike. Todays meta is generally more based on the former, even for IS mechs. I'd say:

- Firestarter for unrealistic firepower in a light and slightly magical hitboxes.
- For meds, the srm griffin is supposed to be pretty devastating.
- Personally I found hunchies to be fun again after quirks. Not strong mechs by itself, but you'll never see a better AC20 or more medium laser on a mech. If you like missiles, the 50% faster LRM/SRM variants could be interesting (and make everyone else sad in the formers case).
- Thunderbolt for brawling/erppc sniping. One of the best IS mechs after quirks, but little variety of builds. Quirks for 5SS and 9S basically tell you what to do with the mech.
- Jagermech for firesupport. Still as fragile as it's dangerous. The DD with 3xUAC and the lower jamchance wrecks face.
- Stalker for brawling and supporting fun. 4N is insane in CW, but the 6LL-variant is also pretty nice otherwise. Only drawback is maneuvrability and facetime. 5M, aka the 30ASRM variant is wonderful. Misery still wrecks face, too.
- King Crab. Can't personally recommend the AC40s, but the quad-uac is kinda insane. Got a lot of diversity going on over the 3 variants.

Edited by Averen, 19 March 2015 - 05:45 AM.


#15 Striker2237

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 06:36 AM

Okay! Based on what you guys said and my addiction to Madcats I think I am going to buy a fleet of thunderbolts and perhaps a few hunchbacks. Kinda sad that the "cool" mechs are mostly useless and I cant drive a light to same my life......always try to dual with people that one shot me.......

Edited by Striker2237, 19 March 2015 - 06:40 AM.


#16 Tasker

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 07:33 AM

Grasshopper is ******* terrible. This guy trying to troll you. Have Resistance pack, like Grasshopper mech, want to be good. But it is garbage.

Grasshopper have: terrible hitboxes, bad quirks and not very good hard points.

If want 70 ton IS mech, Cataphract 3D have jump jets and also much better mech with better hard point, better quirk, and not 500 feet tall.

Orion is bad mech also. Of course, all of these mechs bad compared to Timber Wolf, but imagine that all honest clan player know this already.

Edited by Tasker, 19 March 2015 - 07:34 AM.


#17 Shalune

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 08:23 AM

View PostTasker, on 19 March 2015 - 07:33 AM, said:

Of course, all of these mechs bad compared to Timber Wolf, but imagine that all honest clan player know this already.

Mostly true, IS heavies are generally terrible which contrasts to clan having some of the best mechs in the game from this weight class. The one caveat I'd put out is the TDR-5SS. The TBR can still out-poke it of course, but this mech is flat out better at close range. It can keep firing longer before over heating while putting more of its damage on CT.

As for other recommendations:
- Firestarter - probably the best mech IS has
- Griffins - just a solid chassis for close range durability
- HBK-4J and SP - LRM hose on 4J or both can make good assassins with their quirks, just don't try to brawl
- Banshee - pretty solid if you're good at assault mechs, but if not avoid this weight class altogether it's a nightmare in pugs where no one watches your back

- maybe Zeus? I don't have one, but on paper the 9S looks amazing. You can practically run the wubshee build but faster and with a disposable half of your mech for twisting

Otherwise just look for mechs with huge quirk bonuses. Since brawling is largely dead in this meta (hitboxes not as important as they once were) this is what keeps most good IS mechs relevant along with more precise weapons.

#18 Striker2237

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 08:29 AM

View PostShalune, on 19 March 2015 - 08:23 AM, said:

Mostly true, IS heavies are generally terrible which contrasts to clan having some of the best mechs in the game from this weight class. The one caveat I'd put out is the TDR-5SS. The TBR can still out-poke it of course, but this mech is flat out better at close range. It can keep firing longer before over heating while putting more of its damage on CT.

As for other recommendations:
- Firestarter - probably the best mech IS has
- Griffins - just a solid chassis for close range durability
- HBK-4J and SP - LRM hose on 4J or both can make good assassins with their quirks, just don't try to brawl
- Banshee - pretty solid if you're good at assault mechs, but if not avoid this weight class altogether it's a nightmare in pugs where no one watches your back

- maybe Zeus? I don't have one, but on paper the 9S looks amazing. You can practically run the wubshee build but faster and with a disposable half of your mech for twisting

Otherwise just look for mechs with huge quirk bonuses. Since brawling is largely dead in this meta (hitboxes not as important as they once were) this is what keeps most good IS mechs relevant along with more precise weapons.


Yeah.....I kinda suck at playing assault, too slow and the team never comes with me when its time to kill things. I'm cheap in my timber when it comes to up close brawling, I use the 9x9 and 6 shot with maxxed out cooling perks to go from 90% heat to 20.....lets me get another full round into their face and even assault mechs lose if I use this tactic to keep damage output at full

#19 Voivode

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 08:41 AM

If you're looking for mechs that are fun to pilot and will (bonus) make you better at the game by not covering up for your mistakes, I have a few suggestions for you.

Commando - Fly by the seat of your pants gameplay with stupid speed and manueverability. Crazy, but not Locust crazy.

Cicada - High mounted hard points and good speed for long range hit and run.

Orion - Hardpoints make it look like a mini-Atlas but don't equip it like one. With the Orion a little less on the firepower can net you a lot more damage.

Awesome - Bad hitboxes, stupid good quirks. Grab an 8Q and show a Warhawk how to fire 4PPCs at once without shutting down.

#20 Hayashi

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Posted 19 March 2015 - 08:46 AM

Map dependent. If you can get close enough, a SRM+AC20 Centurion AH can breach 800 damage before it runs out of ammo. STK-4N is one of the best assaults there are, as is the quad uAC/5 KGC. Huginn is a strong light, and Locusts are very underrated if speed-tweaked. AS7-S has the dubious honour of having the highest alpha strike possible in the game at close range, and can kill heavies in one hit.

More important than the differences between Mechs (there are some, yes) is knowing how to use your given mech properly. Running a Centurion like a Hunchback leads to a dead centurion. Trying to make your cicada a Honorary Light Mech makes it inferior to a Jenner. Trying to run your SRM locust like a Huginn makes your results suck.

Pic related, because people won't stop hating on the Locust.

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