15 replies to this topic

[Raso]

So I've looked around and all of the threads about the supposed best hero mechs are quite dated. I'm thinking of trying to take advantage of the sale so I can have a decent hero mech to help me get the C-bills I don't make while I'm busy being a productive membernof society.

I'm thinking it would be great if the hero mech's standard variants don't cost an arm and a leg so I can elite it at some point. I'm also really leaning towards a heavy or assault, though I'll entertain a medium or light with a compelling argument.

As background I already have the Jager hero and I do enjoy it. I like a balance of speed and durability. I was looking intonthe Hellraiser, since it has high energy mounts, but it wants to be a PPC boatnso bad and I'm really loving the Llas meta atm So I'd like to stick close to that. The Misery seema too slow for my taste and while I'm currently working on getting elite on my awesomes I don't likenthe load out options on the Pretty Baby. I do already have 2 Victors that I use to love but I don't have the same joy (or luck) piloting them I use to. If the Dragon Slayer is any better I'll be down for entertaining the idea.

I am very much in love with the Protector but I have reservations about it's the positions Of its weapons.

Any advice would be welcome.

[Elizander]

Aside from the Jager not a lot of others have good high hard points. Arrow, Grey Death, Grid Iron have some decent high mounts and you can always look at Misery (the 4N is still good to accompany it). Hugin is great for DPS due to its rate of fire but I am not sure if you'll have fun in a light if you are used to bigger mechs.

[Raso]

What about the Battlemaster's Hero? Is the overall chassis any good these days?

I've only been back in the swing of things for the past 2 weeks and the battlefield is a lot more cluttered with mechs than it use to be.

[Elizander]

Raso, on 24 April 2015 - 06:48 AM, said:

What about the Battlemaster's Hero? Is the overall chassis any good these days?

I've only been back in the swing of things for the past 2 weeks and the battlefield is a lot more cluttered with mechs than it use to be.

Nah, I've never heard any raving reviews about it to be honest. It looks cool as hell though.

[Voivode]

I own quite a few but not all of the heroes in game, so take whatever I say with a grain of salt.

For lights, all of the hero mechs are pretty good. I'd say the Commando TDK, Locust Pirate's Bane, and Jenner Oxide are probably better than the others, but none of them are bad.

For mediums, the Centurion YLW is a great knife fighter/brawler. The Vindicator and Blackjack heroes are OK, not incredible, same for the Cicada X5. Hunchback GI gets some pretty stupid good Gauss buffs if you like using Gauss rifle. Trebuchet LG is a capable SRM brawler. I've seen peeple do well in the Griffin Sparky. Kintaro GB and Shadowhawk GD are both a bit limited in what they can do.

For heavies, the Dragon heroes are OK, I've seen people do OK but they aren't very popular and that's because most anything you can do with them is done better by other Dragon variants. Quickdraw IV-4 is decent, but tonnage makes it a little hard to work with the ballistic slots. Catapult Jester does LL spam well. Jagermech Firebrand is a very nice hero, I enjoy mine a lot. Cataphract ILM is pretty good, though the low slung hardpoints hurt it a bit in the current game state. Protector is OK, not great.

For assaults, I'm one of those rare people that enjoys success with the Awesome PB, but I'll freely admit it isn't for everyone. The Stalker Misery offers a unique hardpoint setup for the chassis that works well. Victor Dragon Slayer is decent, not great. Battlemaster Hellslinger can be surprising in the right hands. Highlander Heavy Metal offers a more robust (harder to neuter) layout for its hardpoints than other Highlanders, plus it plays a little song when you get a kill (like a free warhorn unique to that variant). Banshee La Malinche I do not own and don't see very often, but the quirks are good enough to pique my curiosity. Atlas Boar's Head is a fast Atlas, which can be good if you do it right but that takes some thought and skill.

Hope this helps!

[Raso]

I'm leaning towards the Hellslinger at the moment. I could boat 4 llas if I find I don't like the PPCs. The other versions also seem rather nice And there aren't a lot of variants that break the bank.

The La Malinche does seem interesting but I'm not really a fan of the stock variants.

[Raso]

Ok. I think these are my finalists.

The Hellslinger is my current favorite. I like the ST energy mounts a lot and if I really wanted to I could run it as an LRM Platform with the missile range bonus.

I like the simplicity of the Protector but I have reservations about it's weapon's mounting height.

I feel like I should be capable of mounting more firepower on an assault, so La Malinche is me runner up.

[Shadey99]

Personally I'd make the 4LL HELLSLINGER instead of yours (Or 4xERLL if you want the range)... Dropping the MPLs, slotting the massive XL400 to make it super fast for an assault, and upping it's sustained DPS by packing it full of HS. Though that build can be done by any of the Battlemasters, so I'm not tempted to buy the hellslinger. It's also not the best BM for a missile boat (the 1S with it's 4 launcher slots is better).

[Raso]

Well I went with the Hellslinger. I LOVE it! And thanks to it's thermal insulation trait I have great heat management on Terra Therma.

[Mad Ox]

With the sale this weekend now have them all ugh but half off with discounted gold even cheaper and so far have enjoyed each one.

Assaults my take:
Pretty Baby - Its an Awesome which people already discount and consider ANYTHING BUT AWESOME but the Quirks have helped the awesome alot but need to TWIST!!! also 30% off energy Cooldown and 25% less heat to LL and 25% LL range is mighty nice. Its a mix bag mech little bit of everything.

Dragon Slayer - Victors still low on Quirk totem pole so have not played much waiting for them to get a look over before I really start in but its still a good mech but lagging behind now that quirks are hit and well most weaponry lower so prob not what you want.

Hellsinger - I have but dont think I have taken it out yet but its quirks and ton of energy slots makes for a hard hitter. and has some high up slots.

Misery - nothing much quirk wise but still one heck of a taking trash out mech. Everything is high up Stalker its a Corn Cob on legs LOL For high up probably your best bet along with Hellsinger

Heavy Metal - One of the few with JJ's and decent weaponry slots only problem is well to me is everything but 2 missile launchers are in arms... I settled into mine before quirks but don't think I would change much even now. 3 LL, a LRM15 and 10, and 2 Machine Guns sure there are better builds but enjoy it this way. I debate upgrading the Ballistics but not being able to put AC20 in it and not liking gauss I go back and forth on it 2 slots is alot of potential tonnage eaten up by AC's

La Malinche - Little light on Weapon Slots but still pretty mean setup and quirks benefit a few weapon types so kinder to mixed setup. Only played a few times but once skilled up can see it being pretty good. Working on geting another Banshee before i start on it mainly. But got a ton others in the way first.

Boars Head - 3 Energy in each arm sounds amazing but hard to pull in practice. Left torso has 1 Missile slot and Right Torso has 1 Ballistic Slot.... But with a 400 xl the thing can move pretty well Keep it heat efficent and can brawl pretty well. I personally found it best to concentrate on 1 range with this mech otherwise your going to leave yourself unable to really threaten most other mechs. I ended up going AC20, SRM6, and 6 MPL gives me a heck of a right hook up close, have even shredded the dreaded King Crabs and Dire Whales 1 on 1. Weapons not very high well technically its an Atlas everything about it is big.

[Tim East]

Pirate's Bane. It's cheap and amazing. 3rd best Locust. Maybe even 2nd. Best hero mech money I've ever spent.

[Bloodweaver]

Raso, on 24 April 2015 - 05:29 AM, said:

I'm thinking it would be great:

1) ...if the hero mech's standard variants don't cost an arm and a leg so I can elite it at some point.

2) I'm also really leaning towards a heavy or assault...

3) I like a balance of speed and durability.

4) ...I'm really loving the Llas meta atm So I'd like to stick close to that.

My friend, you want a JESTER. Checks off every item on the above list.

[xMintaka]

Bloodweaver, on 28 April 2015 - 02:43 PM, said:

My friend, you want a JESTER. Checks off every item on the above list.

Except durability.

[Bloodweaver]

Catapults are not nearly as fragile as they used to be. Also, you can "Timber Wolf" the torsos for added TTK.

[Johny Rocket]

You want speed and Laser meta

Gray Death, 3xll 2xlrm5 3 tons of lrm ammo. Xl275 81 kph(basic tier) jump 0f 20m (27.9 max) The shadow Hawk has 5 other variants to choose from. Decent mech. The SDH 2D2 can run 2xERLL and 4xLRM5 and JJs, I like this build across a variety of mechs.

Sparky can swing 4xerll with an xl300 and a Jump of 48.9m. I have mine running 1xLPL 3xMPL XL360, only had it a couple of days but have tried a few loadouts and it plays well even at basic tier level. The bonus here is the new 2N variant that carries ecm. I already had the 1N, wanted another ecm mech so I picked up the 2N and the Sparky. The 1N can cary 3xERLL and 1xSRM6 (3x energy 3x missile points)

Golden Boy, not keen on the engine cap at 290 but only run xl300s in all of the others I have. 3 laser and 5 missile points make it potential more potent than the KTO 18. The KTO 19 has 3 laser points and 4 missile I run 4xlrm5 and 2xERLL and average 400-600 damage a game with a couple of kills. The KTO 20 has 4 laser 3 missile though 2 of the laser points are in the CT and are a slot each. Nice build is 3xERLL and 3xSRM4 (2xSRM6). I run mine with the xl300 2xLL (quirks) and 2xMPL nice fast backshooter at 97.2kph.
On the GB You could run 3xER/LL and 5xSRM2 and destroy stuff. I swap my KTO 18 back and forth between 1xERLL 5xLRM5 or 2xMPL 5xSRM4.
Out of the 55 ton mediums I run (my fav class and size as of late) the KTO is the toughest but no JJs,

Honestly I saw 50% and bought 3 Heroes for less than $29, considering the 30% cbill bonus they come with, the more you can afford the further you will get faster.

Edited by Tractor Joe, 28 April 2015 - 05:02 PM.

[NUJRSYDEVIL]

Got two on the sale. I'll post my opinions.

Misery - Good, but underwhelming considering the 4N is the new IS king of CW. The ballistic hardpoint for a gauss is fun, but that's about it.

Loupe de Guerre - excellent brawler with speed and mobility. Went with a smaller engine to make a 24 SRM setup. It can take a beating for a medium. Not as fun as the (L) Centurion when it comes to brawling, but close.