8 replies to this topic

[Epydemic2020]

Hello Kuritans,
The following lists my best mechs for CW, I hope you find them useful. The higher a mech is on the list, within its weight class, the more useful I personally find that particular mech to be. Feel free to tell me about your favorite mechs that didn't make the list.

----Light Mechs

FS9-S “The Pocket Thunderbolt” (7MPL, XL265)
https://www.mechspec...mpl-xl265.8877/
This mech has an amazing 42 damage alpha, after the recent quirk nerf it still generates a ridiculously low 22.4 heat per alpha, and moves at 136KPH. With mediocre hardpoints and an effective range of 250m it plays best as an assassin. Keep in mind that your alpha can headshot a mech. If they give you the opportunity, take it. Keep in mind it lacks jump jets.

FS9-A (8xSPL, XL295, 1JJ 3DHS)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...608194786d1b503
This mech delivers a 32 damage alpha at an extremely low 16.65 heat per alpha strike. It suffers from extremely low range, but it has unbeatable DPS for heat management and has extremely small burntimes. This might be the most consistent anti-light light mech.

FS9-S “Streak Immunity” (5MPL, XL280, 1JJ)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...840667080d3c889
This has a very low 16 heat per alpha, but is not as cool as the FS9-A due to lacking DHS. This doesn’t have the same bite as the 7mpl build and cannot insta-kill via headshots, but maintain the same dps over time. It does come equipped with a shield arm and in packs can negate the effectiveness of streak boats. If your team is organized, a swarm of these mechs is devastating.

--Medium Mechs

BJ-1X (6xML, 2xMPL, XL295)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...2b901f8c0ac1f80
This mech is surprisingly good. It has the same alpha strike of 42 damage like the 7mpl builds. It generates 26.4 heat per alpha, but has 18DHS to compensate. The range is good at 351m for the high-mounted mediums and 264m for the MPL. This is the best bang for your buck in the medium category IMO. It also runs at 116.8kph.

Cicada 2B (5MPL, XL300, 15DHS)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...dbf7d2122a2e636
This is very similar to a Firestarter without AMS and lacking Jumpjets. The alpha also generates slightly more heat at 17 heat per shot as opposed to 16. However, it has 4 high mounted hardpoints, 15 dhs for sustained fire, more armor than the Firstarter, and quirks to cooldown, range, and duration of your mpls. In short, it doesn’t have AMS or JJ, and it runs 9KPH slower but it outdoes the 5MPL Firestarter in every other way.

Grid Iron (1x Gauss Rifle, 2xMPL, XL275)
https://www.mechspec...5-6t-ammo.9439/
Rapid fire Gauss rifles. It does the job of a dual gauss build with more speed and no worry about weapon convergence.

Hunchback 4J “Armless Freak” (2xLRM10, Tag, XL275, 23400 LRM ammo)
https://www.mechspec...0-a-xl245.8859/
If you must bring a missile boat, make it this one. This is possibly the easiest mech in the game to break 1k damage with.

Yen Lo Wang
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...dad482b824cfd75
This might be the most fun mech in the game to play. It has always been a solid mech and is great for ending lights.

Wolverines: They should be on here, but I don’t own them. Feel free to suggest your own favorite builds that may be missing from this list.

----Heavy Mechs

TDR-5SS (7xMPL , STD300, 20DHS)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b72f23847f11e16
Best STD engine heavy brawler.
50% range buff to the MPL makes them reach out to 352m. This is the major selling point of this mech. and 15% buff to cooldown and heat reduction are the icing on the cake. The mech runs at 82.2kph. It generates only 23.8 heat per alpha and hits for 42 damage per alpha strike. That is fantastic for an energy boat. Great range, great heat, great speed, mediocre hardpoints.

Quickdraw 5k (3xLPL, 2xML, XL300, 17DHS)
https://www.mechspec...300-17dhs.9436/
This mech has an apha strike that generates 24.375 heat and does 43 damage. That turns out to be the exact same damager per heat as the thunderbolt. It runs at 89kph and has amazing quirks to duration and cooldown. All weapons reach beyond 350 kph and this performs very similarly to the thunderbolt. Only one weapon is low mounted, and that is a medium laser in your arm. This, or the blackjack, is perhaps the most underrated mech on the list.

Quickdraw 5k “Speedy Version” (2xLPL, 3xML, XL325 19DHS)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...349b68456623863
This mech generates 24.25 heat and does 42 damage per shot. It runs at 96kph and has 2 more heatsinks than the Quickdraw just mentioned above. It also has less armor, and two of its medium laser hardpoints are mounted in the low-slung arms.

Jagermech DD (3xUAC5, XL255)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...cd4ef66398995e7
After quirks this mech has essentially a 10% chance of jamming. Unlike the dragons all of these weapons are high-mounted.

----Assault Mechs

Banshee 3M “The People’s Champion” (5xLPL, 2xSL, XL375)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...5fb28ef06d45851
The small lasers only occupy the lowest hardpoints. The remaining 5 hardpoints filled with 5x LPL are all so high mounted that you can hit whatever you see. Play this mech just like the stalker 4N. You have an Xl engine, but you are faster, have more armor, hit harder than 6LL, can torso twist better, have shield arms, have less duration, have significantly less heat, and you can alpha strike if you needed to. LPL have amazing damage per heat. Quite frankly, this mech is a monster.

Battlemaster 1G “Epy’s Alphamaster Version 2” (3xLPL, 4xML, XL90)
https://www.mechspec...x-ml-xl390.8878
This mech has a ferocious 53 point alpha. The medium lasers and the large pulses sync up nicely after the range quirks. It moves at an impressive 81KPH for a mech that hits this hard. All of the hardpoints are mounted extremely high except for 1 medium laser. At the end of the page is a standard engine variant if you insist on that kind of thing.

Battlemaster 3S “Stalker Wannabe” (6xLL, XL375, 20DHS)
https://www.mechspec...las-xl375.9129/
I won’t be going back to the stalker after discovering this guy. He has the same heat quirks. The XL engine grants you better speed, but the main selling point is that all 6 energy spots are extremely high mounted.

Battlemaster 1G “The Tank” (2xLPL, 5XML, STD 340, 21DHS)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7c3e39673283af9
Keeps the 71KPH, but still hits for 48 damage and has great cooling. Firing the top 6 lasers only yields you a 42 damage alpha (much like the thunderbolt). Firing those 6 high-mounted lasers would also generate 24.25 heat per alpha. Combine that wit the higher heatsink count in the Battlemaster and it becomes almost a perfect tie with the thunderbolt in terms of damage and cooling, but the Battlemaster has that one additional medium laser and a lot more armor to bring to the table.

BLR-1S “The NS Sniper” (4xERLL, XL400, 22DHS)
https://www.mechspec...rll-xl400.8882/
25% range + a range module brings the ERLL effective range to 911. This mech is oversized for the job, but if you have the tonnage why not make it happen. Frontload you armor, only peak your amazingly high torso weapons and win any long-ranged battle due to the combo of range and impenetrable armor. If you need a sniper, this mech can do it well. The Battlemasters are an overlooked chassis.


To demonstrate these mech's potential:

Edited by Epydemic2020, 03 June 2015 - 01:18 PM.

[Epydemic2020]

I have been finding lately that clan lasers with their high damage and long burntimes are very effective against slow mechs that can't twist or make it to cover quickly. Avoiding this clanner advantage explains why you will see most of these builds are fast with XL Engines and not many standard engine mechs can be found on my list.

Another thing I have noticed is that mechs with high hardpoints seem to have a significant advantage over the clans. That is a large reason why many of the mechs that show up on this list made the cut.

[Spheroid]

I think a BJ-1X with 6 mlas + 1 Lplas would synergize better, especially if the Lplas was arm mounted. You end up with more effective damage at range. Your build is still faster though. I run a 36 alpha, but the heat endurance is much improved in a brawl.

Also you can build a Banshee with a triple Lplas high mounted if you mix in some mlas and a 350 STD. Using just the triple, you avoid the increased exposure risk if firing with a ghost heat avoidance delay.

Edited by Spheroid, 02 June 2015 - 06:00 PM.

[Epydemic2020]

Spheroid, on 02 June 2015 - 05:54 PM, said:

I think a BJ-1X with 6 mlas + 1 Lplas would synergize better, especially if the Lplas was arm mounted. You end up with more effective damage at range. Your build is still faster though. I run a 36 alpha, but the heat endurance is much improved in a brawl.

Now that is a cool build. I like the way you build mechs, I've seen you on mechspecs with some good ideas a few times too. Very interesting mech. I'm guessing it looks like this:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...9415a829dc34420

It loses 12 kph, but it has a better strike if you hill hump and it has better range. The heat is not noticeably better. It has the same DHS count and does 1.6 damage per heat while the alternate build does 1.59 damage per heat. That should feel identical.


As to the Banshee build, I thought about that one while I was making the list. The only reason I didn't include it is because I think the Battlemaster does it slightly better IMO. It has a bit better energy quirks, 3kph faster, and the range boost creates more synergy between the ML and LPL. They both have 3 LPL and 3ML in a high mounted location, but the low mount on the Battlemaster gets to be arm mounted and potentially hit UAVs. Still, these builds are close enough that I think you could be competitive in either.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ccd27bd8a4490ef

[YGSLlewLP]

I haven't postet much yet, but I'd like to share opinions with you^^

Unfortunately I don't own any of these mechs so far (except for one version of the Cicada), but your builds sound pretty solid in theory. I also like, how you put the high hardpoints into consideration, especially given the fact, that our IS mechs lack the ability to hold up against the long range clan builds.

However, I found, that speed and mobility is the key to win 1vs.1 battles, in which your fairly high alpha strikes really should come in handy.

Since you also asked for our builds, here are mine (I don't have smurfy links at hand, but I could provide them if wanted)

RVN-2x

XL-255 (118kph without speed tweak)
2x ML
2x MPL
1 SRM6+Artemis

This one really packs a punch. With about 35 Dmg alpha it's fairly strong in terms of damage and the Lasers allow for nice pinpoint damage while on the run, which is the most important aspect. I choose the XL255 because it can still outrun most clan-lights due to their fixed engines. The only issue is, that it can run hot very fast, so I always take a cool shot with me, just to make sure.

CDA-2B

300XL
1LL
4ML
AMS

I call it my little lady bug. Again, thank's to it's mobility and the solid weapon loadout, it can hit were it hurts. Torso movement makes it a great mech for small brawlings while on the move and the weaponless arms contribute a good shield when trying to avoid fatal hits.It runs really cool thanks to DHS and allows for long-time firering, even with the Large Laser. Downside is the low hardpoint in CT as well as the lack of JJs.

CLPT-J

XL300
2 LPL
2 MPL
2 ML
2 AMS
2 JJs

I love this kitten. While running with about 70kph and being pretty agile, the 44 Damage Alpha can really hurt your foes. I mainly use it for Hit-and Run tactics, which is awesome for a 65 ton heavy-mech. It runs cool enough to be save during small brawls, has nice hill climbing abilities thanks to the JJs and if you watch the downside, namely the XL-Engine in your side torsos, you can support your brawlers on the frontlines with some clever flanking tactics, before retreating and reorganizing your attack.

Last comes my STK-M

STD300
4 ML
2 LL
1 Gauss Rifle

So this is a tough one, due to my inexperience with piloting slow assaults. It's meant to provide some medium distance support fire, due to the lack of proper alpha damage thanks to the gauss-charge time. It holds up okay in brawls, but on medium distance, you become a nuisance to every foe with continous hits from your gauss. In my case, I hold 3 tons of ammo, which is sufficient most of the time.

Well, that's it for me now^^ Keep up your work in CW!

[Kdogg788]

I love Blackjacks but when it comes to CW, Shawdowhawks in particular the ERL 2K and the PPC/2AC are my main performers. I will have to try some of your other builds but lately I've been forgoing the light in order to take just mediums and heavies for a more consistent and hard hitting deck. What are your actual drop combinations?

-k

[Epydemic2020]

Kdogg788, on 05 June 2015 - 10:44 AM, said:

What are your actual drop combinations?

-k

Light mechs are probably my best mech, so I like to include one in most of my decks.

A really solid deck for most maps is:
Banshee, Thunderbolt, Blackjack, firestarter.

I don't own two blackjacks, but I am positive that if you did and don't like lights that this deck would rock:
Battlemaster, Thunderbolt, Blackjack, Blackjack.

I'm just now starting to think about bringing certain drop decks for certain maps. I might test out drop deck combinations and turn that into a new post one day.

For one example, Forge, the map that is hotter than Terra therma, it might be a good idea to bring ballistic boats and the two coolest energy boats (I don't own multiple's of the same mechs or the dragon 1N):
Thunderbolt (7xmpl), Jager (3xuac), grid iron, Quickdraw.


These decks aren't too bad IMO:
Banshee, quickdraw, blackjack, cicada.
Battlemaster, quickdraw, blackjack, grid iron
Battlemaster, Battlemaster, Firestarter, Firestarter.

[Spheroid]

I have been trying the Battlemaster builds in the solo que. The limited torso twist really cuts down on survivability. I think both the Awesome and Banshee last longer in a fight.

However I may put one in my deck if and when I get that ECM Griffin.

Current deck

FS-9S, BJ-1X, TDR-5SS, BNC-3M

Edited by Spheroid, 07 June 2015 - 09:11 PM.

[PerfectDuck]

If you like STD engines go Stalker; if you like XL go Battlemaster. Plenty of torso twist and survivability on the former, although the BLR *does* have some pretty groovy shield arms.

My deck is 100/85/35/20

AS7-D-DC
STD350 Atlas D-DC, 2LL 3SRM4 AC/20
I *never* drop solo. I am always grouped with fantastic Kuritan heroes like my partners in ]NS[ who know how to back an atlas and push with. I do not mind at all sacrificing my meatshield in the name of seeing plenty of blue-kills-red tick on my screen after this Atlas falls. Most 62kph Atlas have 2ML 3SRM6 AC/20 but I found that every now and then mine survives and the re-usability of the large lasers is handy, especially against stationary targets like UAV and O-GEN.

BLR-1G
XL 395 Battlemaster 1G 6ML 2AC/5
All the other assault builds listed above are good, but this one deserves a mention for hot maps; it's what I swap out to on Sulfurous Rift and Vitric Forge. It's faster than a lot of heavies and the 1G's quirked-out Medium Lasers are not only extra heat efficient but reach out to 350m. Although the AC/5 aren't boosted in much capacity, they still deliver heat-efficient damage. Watch out for the AC/5's low weapon placement and the unusual left-handedness of them (don't get that arm shot off if you're used to twisting right).

RVN-3L
XL280 Raven 3L 3ML 2SRM4
For when you want to carry ECM and still do damage to legs. I prefer FS9 myself but I stand by this build too.

PIRATES' BANE
XL190 Locust PB 2MPL 2SL
Pirate's Bane, the necessary evil when you want to run a double-assault deck like mine. It doesn't work too bad with my unit's philosophy of 3 major waves with the third wave reinforced by trickle-in. My locust rarely gets any action but has been known to be thrown away early on to gather positional intel in Skirmish-mode games. It is bad and I know it; my only hint about using it is that when your mech goes 170kph and only has 10 heat sinks, your movement actually affects your cooling significantly enough that you may want to find somewhere safe to halt movement and cool off quicker.