16 replies to this topic

[Breidr]

I just wanted to pop into the forums, introduce myself and ask some questions.

I started MWO shortly before the Battle of Tukayid and fought as bravely as I could with my Hunchback bundle.

First time on TeamSpeak I received a very warm welcome and a lot of friend invites. I really enjoyed my time in both CW and Public games. Me and my Hunchbacks had a blast sending Clan scum to the scrap heap, and I look forward to doing it over and over again in future drops.

With that said, I feel as though my Dropship could be a little bit better and I could bring more to the FRR. I like the Hunchback chassis and have been a medium pilot for my entire career. I just wanted to get some advice on what to bring on a drop.

I'm not a very experienced brawler and tend to play fire support or "Orbit the assault" during a push. I've managed to steal my fair share of kill during a push with my AC/20.

Edited by Breidr Breidsson, 19 June 2015 - 12:51 AM.

[Tom Sawyer]

Bring Bacon, always Bacon

If you want to meta : http://metamechs.com...ists/comp-list/

Otherwise what ever you feel good driving. We are an autonomous collective out to have fun for the most part.

[nehebkau]

If ya' got the aiming skills, point damage weapons are always in demand. ECM is good, more ECM is better, ALL THE ECM is the best.

BTW, TOM SAWYER is like a Diablo 3 treasure goblin -- if you shoot him in the back he drops little bags of MC.

Edited by nehebkau, 19 June 2015 - 06:20 AM.

[Ulfgar Snorrison]

Welcome Breidr Breidsson Let me assure you that our beloved FRR needs every mech and every warrior we can field. Why shoot. They even take an old broken down, half blind, cantankerous, old mech driver who's 'glory days' (or what passed for them) was many, many winters....aahh...what were talking about? Well, no matter. Welcome!

[Breidr]

Ulfgar Snorrison, on 19 June 2015 - 01:30 PM, said:

Welcome Breidr Breidsson Let me assure you that our beloved FRR needs every mech and every warrior we can field. Why shoot. They even take an old broken down, half blind, cantankerous, old mech driver who's 'glory days' (or what passed for them) was many, many winters....aahh...what were talking about? Well, no matter. Welcome!

Don't temp me to break out my Trashcans.

On a serious note, I've fallen in love with my Hunchbacks. They have a variant for everything and I own and play them all.

It does feel wasteful, however, as four of them only make for 200 tons. I'm leave 50 on deck, and being a novice pilot, I don't know what to buy or how to play any other 'mechs.

Edited by Breidr Breidsson, 20 June 2015 - 02:32 AM.

[Ulfgar Snorrison]

I understand your concern. At the moment the Trial Mech's is listing a 95ton Banshee that should fit your bill. I was just playing around with it out in the testing grounds and 6 larger pulse lasers can really bring some punch to any fight. I still amazed how 'dead' our forum has been since Tukayyid. T'was not so long ago a post like this would have gotten many helpful responses and maybe even have started a couple of flame....hey! Is that mead you have there, shieldbrother? Well my drinking horn leaks...aye, that large opening in the top. Aahh...what were we talking about? Well, no matter.Welcome!

Edited by Ulfgar Snorrison, 20 June 2015 - 09:08 AM.

[Mr Hunter]

Welcome to the Kungs Arme! Great to see more medium pilots! my suggestion is if you enjoy the hbk gear your play style towards mobility and firepower.
Also remember to turn voip and use it, this goes for all rookies.
Marauderpract

Try this its a Marauder clone with ecm armor and its got max xl engine for that mobility and if you stay moving its also fairly survivable.
Marauderpract standard

This one is just a modification with a standard engine that's even more survivable, but slightly less mobility.

Also if you want to stay medium theres this
SHD-B8

Edited by B8hunter, 20 June 2015 - 10:42 AM.

[-Vompo-]

Welcome son of Breid. Serve the FRR with honour.

[KMCA]

Hunchbacks are one of those lovely mechs to get your feet wet in. Catapults are much the same for heavies. Not the best mech (not anymore) but still a good mid line mech that will help you learn what you want in a heavy.

Personally I recommend the K2 and the C1 for beginners. Between them you will learn exactly what style suits you best. Plus it's often looked over in combat for other mechs.

Lights... Well I'm partial to the Pirates Bane for CW but it's only purchasable for MC and a hard mech to get solid results with for a new player. I'm also not very good with lights aside from it so you'd be better off getting advice elsewhere on them.

Assaults I suggest playing around with the trials a bit before you decide on buying one. They're very expensive to build and outfit for a new player and consume a large amount of tonnage in CW matches. I know of many players that will not bring a single assault into CW just to free up more tonnage for other mechs.

[Ace Selin]

Id rather a player with 4 Hunchies who knows how to play them, than a guy with an assault who doesn't know how to play it.
Play what you are good in and have fun. Occasionally a leader may ask for a specific type of mech for a drop so its good to have 1 light and one assault/heavy you know how to pilot. A jumping light of your choice is often a good choice.
Jump on FRR comms and see who is there, people always happy to drop with fellow FRR guys when on.

Edited by Ace Selin, 21 June 2015 - 12:31 AM.

[vipershark0]

Try out the Thunderbolts, not too heavy, and you can run 3 and a hunchback against clans. you should start with the 5SS, it is the strongest one, and might give you some tips on brawling, but has enough range to still be useful outside of brawling.

TDR-5SS build:TDR-5SS MPLS God

Next would be the old god of the TDRs, the TDR-9S. Not quite as good as it used to be, is still an alright mech that can be used as a sniper. double AMS is useful.

TDR-9S Build: TDR-9S

Honestly, I just use those two (I drop 2 TDR-9S's, but if it were now when i bought them, i might use two 5SS's), and I do alright, you won't be gimping your team dropping these. I rounded out the third TDR for eliteing for a tdr 5s with large lasers, but the tdr-9se is just about is good.

[Lugin]

vipershark0, on 22 June 2015 - 04:14 PM, said:

you can run 3 and a hunchback against clans.

You can do 2 TDRs and 2 HBKs.
IS decks got dropped back to 240, remember?

[vipershark0]

Lugin, on 22 June 2015 - 08:52 PM, said:

You can do 2 TDRs and 2 HBKs.
IS decks got dropped back to 240, remember?

Well then its a good thing neither of us bothered to calculate 65*3 + 45 = 240. I just went off the fact that it was 5 pounds heavier than my drop deck with a cicada in it instead of a hunchie.

[EldenLance]

If you're looking into picking up a new chassis be sure to check its quirks first. Hunchies are good allrounders, true, very much like shadowhawks or wolverines, but if you're looking into something more specialized, then there are some good mechs to try:

Lights:

Jenner JR7-D - with 4mls, 2srm4s and xl300. - good at chasing down damaged mechs, harrasing LRMboats, and general hit-and-run tactics. Can outmaneuver almost anything and kill the rest.

ECM-capable spider and raven - because more ECM is always good. no specific quirks so feel free to equip them as you like.

Mediums:

Centurion CN9-AH - with AC-20, 3srm2s and xl-something. - very much like your hunchie, but benefits from arm-mounted cannon that allows you to put an XL engine, has better damage destribution, and is equipped with a shield-arm(with boosted armor on it), that actually covers your entire mech but legs when turned against enemy fire properly.
CN9-YLW - with AC-20, 2mls and xl300. - same as above, but a bit faster, more agile, and MC-only.

Shadowhawk 2D2 / Wolverine 7k - with srms and a big XL engine - hit and run CQB mech(s). good at flanking and crippling bigger mechs. but be careful not to run too deep into enemy formation.

Heavies:

Dragon DRG-1N - dual AC-5 mayhem with -40% cooldown (almost double ROF). XL275-300. If you're not a ninja - use it as a support mech only and deliver enormeous amount of damage, but if you are... well, its a very capable machine. And its 60t, so you can take 4 of them to CW.
Dragon DRG-5N - with UAC5 and 2 LPLs. XL300. Requires more skill, but can outperform even the 1N. Tends to like cooler maps.
Dragon DRG-FANG - the next step in eating rice with two fishing poles instead of sticks. has the fastest AC-10 in whole IS.

All the dragons fell more like mediums then heavies. Now for the real heavies:

Thunderbolt TDR-5SS. - well, its been said enough. A tough, easy to pilot, hard hitting mech with 7 medium pulse scalpels. Much fun.
Thunderbolt TDR-9SE. - a variant for larger lasers.

Jaggermech JGR-DD. - 3 UAC-5s (or four if you're a maniac like myself). - A mech that all the ballistics fans should try. Arm hardpoints are located at cockpit level, which is good.

Jaggermech JGR-S - with 4 AC-5s or 4 AC-2s. Similar to DD. Because its a jaggermech, you know.

Assaults:

Banshee BNC-3E. - 3 AC-5s and 3 large lasers. Tough as Atlas, Slim as Shadowhawk, Armed like a battleship, Slow as F***.
The only assault that I really enjoy piloting. It kills things.
(that one with lasers is a nice Banshee too.)

Stalker STK-4N.(or other stalkers) - I personally do not pilot those, but they are real killer mechs on CW.


Thats it for now. There are more good mechs out there, but I dont think you need all of them right away. The above ones do have a very distinct feel to them. Especially the Dragon.

Edited by EldenLance, 23 June 2015 - 03:44 AM.

[Gaussfather]

Howdy and welcome!

The nice thing about Hunchies is that they work well with STD engines. In CW that is a must for Heavies and Assaults if you want longevity during the battle. In my experience you can get away with running XLs in lights and some mediums like the Shadowhawk.

Since you like running 3 Hunchbacks you have 90 tons left with a 240 dropdeck... the only IS 90 tonner right now is the Highlander, which is a great mech for normal play (in the right hands) but I can't seem to get to work well in CW. So I would stay away from it.

Normally I would highly recommend a Banshee 3M like this one:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1448188930fd859

I call it the "Suicide King" because, yes, even with 19 double heatsinks you can overheat if you aren't careful. And when you run hot you can chain fire the pulse lasers to good effect... similar to the Thunderbolt 5SS... but with 3 hunchbacks you don't have enough spare tonnage... unless they bring back the 250 ton dropdeck limit.

Someone else recommended the Thunderbolt and I think that's a good choice for your next CW mech. When elited the 5SS runs cool enough you can still use it on the Sulfur map. It would give you two good Heavies (9SE or 9S) and 2 Hunchies in your drop deck.

Alot of people are really happy with the Zeus because of the armor bonuses, I don't have much experience playing them in CW... also the Awesome has a new life and the 8Q in particular is like a smaller Banshee 9M with 3 or 4 Large pulse lasers on it. Run all of them with STD engines though.

Probably the main "meta" assault mech for CW is the 85 ton Stalker... but choose them wisely because they are not fun until they are elited... they are slow, overheat alot, and have bad torso turn which makes them seem like a sloth compared to your Hunchback. BUT at half-price the Misery and then the 4N could be a good assault in your deck. Alot of people swear by the 4N and Misery (for hot maps and AC20) for CW.

So its really about how many C-Bills or MC you want to spend.

So thinking some more... I would go with Thunderbolt or Stalker as my next mech purchase. Because they have two great variants for CW, and you have a couple others that are fun for normal play... you can play with a ballistics variant, laser vomit, LurmBoat, and balanced variant with either mech chassis.

So best 3 starters for each chassis:

Thunderbolt: 5ss, 9s, 9se

Stalker: Misery, 4N, 3H (the new Lurmboat assault)... used to be the 3F was the best Stalker but with quirks its not anymore

Edited by Jman88, 23 June 2015 - 04:18 AM.

[Toaster Repair Pony]

I wouldn't sweat dropdeck tonnage. When we're Inner Sphere, my drop deck is 160. I'm a rather exprienced Light and Medium pilot. So I stick to what I'm good at.

Good Luck FRR pilots, we'll be back soon enough.

[JaegerDjinn]

EldenLance, on 23 June 2015 - 03:37 AM, said:

If you're looking into picking up a new chassis be sure to check its quirks first. Hunchies are good allrounders, true, very much like shadowhawks or wolverines, but if you're looking into something more specialized, then there are some good mechs to try:

Lights:

Jenner JR7-D - with 4mls, 2srm4s and xl300. - good at chasing down damaged mechs, harrasing LRMboats, and general hit-and-run tactics. Can outmaneuver almost anything and kill the rest.

ECM-capable spider and raven - because more ECM is always good. no specific quirks so feel free to equip them as you like.

Mediums:

Centurion CN9-AH - with AC-20, 3srm2s and xl-something. - very much like your hunchie, but benefits from arm-mounted cannon that allows you to put an XL engine, has better damage destribution, and is equipped with a shield-arm(with boosted armor on it), that actually covers your entire mech but legs when turned against enemy fire properly.
CN9-YLW - with AC-20, 2mls and xl300. - same as above, but a bit faster, more agile, and MC-only.

Shadowhawk 2D2 / Wolverine 7k - with srms and a big XL engine - hit and run CQB mech(s). good at flanking and crippling bigger mechs. but be careful not to run too deep into enemy formation.

Heavies:

Dragon DRG-1N - dual AC-5 mayhem with -40% cooldown (almost double ROF). XL275-300. If you're not a ninja - use it as a support mech only and deliver enormeous amount of damage, but if you are... well, its a very capable machine. And its 60t, so you can take 4 of them to CW.
Dragon DRG-5N - with UAC5 and 2 LPLs. XL300. Requires more skill, but can outperform even the 1N. Tends to like cooler maps.
Dragon DRG-FANG - the next step in eating rice with two fishing poles instead of sticks. has the fastest AC-10 in whole IS.

All the dragons fell more like mediums then heavies. Now for the real heavies:

Thunderbolt TDR-5SS. - well, its been said enough. A tough, easy to pilot, hard hitting mech with 7 medium pulse scalpels. Much fun.
Thunderbolt TDR-9SE. - a variant for larger lasers.

Jaggermech JGR-DD. - 3 UAC-5s (or four if you're a maniac like myself). - A mech that all the ballistics fans should try. Arm hardpoints are located at cockpit level, which is good.

Jaggermech JGR-S - with 4 AC-5s or 4 AC-2s. Similar to DD. Because its a jaggermech, you know.

Assaults:

Banshee BNC-3E. - 3 AC-5s and 3 large lasers. Tough as Atlas, Slim as Shadowhawk, Armed like a battleship, Slow as F***.
The only assault that I really enjoy piloting. It kills things.
(that one with lasers is a nice Banshee too.)

Stalker STK-4N.(or other stalkers) - I personally do not pilot those, but they are real killer mechs on CW.


Thats it for now. There are more good mechs out there, but I dont think you need all of them right away. The above ones do have a very distinct feel to them. Especially the Dragon.

You have mentioned so many that you cant forget the Enforcers. The 4R and 5P are great mechs themselves.The 4R with ac10 and 3 med lasers and the 5P with the 2 ultra5 cannons. Also when it gets released for c-bills the 4P Enforcer with 2ac5 and 4 med lasers. Many high damage games in those mechs. Also welcome and enjoy your time with FRR. FIGHT WITH VALOR,DIE WITH HONOR.

Edited by jjyn, 23 June 2015 - 01:17 PM.