22 replies to this topic

[mechatucker]

hey guys i just got a wolf hound can u giveme ideas for good roles for it so i don't feel left out when the arctic cheetah and jenner shows up. thank u and FOR THE REPUBLIC !

[Phobic Wraith]

I don't own a wolfhound, but I'd play it as a mid to long range flanker. The Jenner, Firestarter, and Arctic Cheetah seem to do really well short range, but I haven't seen too many wolfhounds doing the same. Throw on one heavy longer range weapon, like an LPL, LL, ERLL - anything like that and fill the rest of the hardpoints with medium lasers or something lighter weight to your taste. The "2" variant has an ERLL quirk, some have duration quirks which favor short and long range weapons, The "1" variant has a bigger engine cap, not a huge difference, but it would let you re-position a bit easier after some sniping.

The real question is how do you want to play?

[DrRedCoat]

My first reaction to these mechs when they came out was to cram the biggest XL in them with as many medium (pulse depending the # of hardpoints) lasers as possible and for the most part, it worked. That being said, I'm pretty laser vomited out so I've been looking for more nuanced builds. The only one that really makes sense is an ERLL with ML on the -2 due to its quirks.
All of that done, the Wolfhound becomes mostly a harasser and skirmisher. Skim the edges of the battle looking for stragglers. Flank and try distracting a few guys. When the two teams collide, run figure eights around enemy mechs just dishing out damage in the chaos. More likely than not, you will be the lowest priority for enemy fire.

[AlmightyAeng]

In my experience, wolfhounds make excellent lapdogs and snuggle companions.

[WrathOfDeadguy]

Squirrel Chaser. The only light in the game with five torso-mounted energy hardpoints... so I turned mine into a dedicated platform for fighting and killing other lights. Two shield arms, each of which can eat an ACH alpha; a nice, tight group of MPL for ultra-precise leg popping with the same firepower as a meta FS9-S. With the current structure buffs on the 1A, it's a beast of a duelist. The only thing it can't do is shoot down UAVs.

Destroyer Escort. Hang out with your assaults; poke what they poke with your LPL and spam small wubs at anything that dares threaten their posteriors. Complete with CD player, power windows, cupholders, and enough AMS ammo to keep your Lurmbrella active through even the worst downpours. The LPL is also handy for popping UAVs. Put support configs back on the map.

Flanker/harasser. Clean, simple, fun. Runs cool for an all-energy light, but still has firepower comparable to the FS9, ACH, and JR7.

Greyhound. You have a variant that can fit a gigantic engine; it would be criminal not to do something with it. Swap to ERLL if you want more range; I prefer the stock LL because there's no room for extra sinks with max engine.

Wolfhounds are far more versatile than their all-energy hardpoints would suggest.

[Ukos]

I run my wolfhounds as aggressive scouts and harassers, if im playing well and not getting tunnel vision I can usually score around 5/600 damage

This is my current 'hound

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...424d348d16ac25b

I have not had much luck with the slow long wolfhounds but for me I like to keep moving at high speeds ymmv

[WrathOfDeadguy]

One that I just remembered... I don't run any of my Wolfies this way, but I feel obligated to point out that it is also entirely possible to run STD engines on them. They have great hitboxes, and you can leverage that for shielding and absorb disproportionate amounts of damage for your size. Here's a WLF-2 example. WLF-1A would also be good for this thanks to structure quirks. STD builds will run slower and hotter, but nobody really expects an IS light to survive side torso destruction (and the WLF is pretty tanky for its size to begin with) so you can get away with quite a lot more than you'd expect to.

[Leone]

Personally, have already mastered the Firestarter, I turned my Wolfhounds inna standard engine Small pulse builds for brawly tanking. This may not be your thing, but I find it hilarious.

~Leone.

[Steel Raven]

I pilot all three of my 'Hounds with a STD Engine, It's great when a Atlas or King Crab hit you with a AC/20 and you just smile and keep circling him while firing.

[Bluttrunken]

Wolfhounds are astonishingly tough ******** atm and their main role is being a *****. I don't see many good Wolfhound pilots, though.

Edit: It seems this board has problems with certain colloquial terms. <.<

Edited by k05h3lk1n, 16 January 2016 - 11:05 PM.

[Dagada Moor]

Hill climb module BAP 5 med lasers hunt cheetahs.........

[VirtualSmitty]

I run most with pulse lasers and std engines. Extremely boring laser vomit but effective and tanky as hell.

[juxstapo]

Favorite role for my Wolfies is Pug hunting Meta-Lights..

...this doesn't work against good pilots
But most average pilots in flavored mechs ('Starters and Cheetahs primarily) seem rather taken aback at sudden aggression from a "lesser" chassis. Less a Wolfhound and more a Bulldog, latch onto an invading light and stick with it until it falls or scampers back to it's mates.
Like I said, proper light pilots (such as those encountered while grouped with the other Corsairs), will put up a gnarly fight, then you have to Not Miss and use the innate durability of the Wolf to advantage, (or better yet, don't pursue them period); however, Pug'n down here in the Derp Tier, you get this amusing "Omg! WHut!" reaction when you barrel into a mech driven by someone accustomed to being considered "dangerous".

[Karl the Plumber]

I have a 1-A and a 2, and I use them completely differently. I have 6 ML and a maxed-out standard engine in the 1-A and I use it to circle and harass heavies in the open, or as a hit-and-run guerrilla in urban maps. I left the 2 stock with weapons and put a larger STD engine in it, and I use it as a long range scout that can close in after a few enemies go down. I stick with STD engines because I lose my torsos all the time and zombie my way to the end of the match.

I completely agree with juxtapo also: a good pilot in a cheetah will rip your hound up. You can't split from your pack and go chasing cats.

[stealthraccoon]

Load up on medium or small pulses, and stick with the fatties: focus fire and keep the bugs off of the big guns.

Edited by stealthraccoon, 22 March 2016 - 07:16 AM.

[Virlutris]

I run them in two flavors: Green Poke and Blue Poke.

So the role I find works best is short-to-mid-ranged poking. Then again, I trend toward that in general.

WLF-1: 5MPL (range quirks)
1A: 6ML (duration)
1B: XL280, 2LPL, "breezy" armor stripping (cooldown)
2: XL265, 3LL, armor stripping (heat gen ftw)

The Greens are stone cold-killers, and the blues aren't far behind though the 1B is more surgical and 2 is more mobile-sniper-y.

[Redwo1f]

Opinions wanted...working on a tanky build (std engine). All weapons in torso on this one.

Everything else being equal, keep arms at full armor shield (24) for torso twisting goodness, or shave 1/2 ton armor (15,16 pts remaining for the arms then) for a 1/2 ton engine upgrade (slight speed increase)???

Thoughts?

[TercieI]

Redwo1f, on 04 May 2016 - 07:10 AM, said:

Opinions wanted...working on a tanky build (std engine). All weapons in torso on this one.

Everything else being equal, keep arms at full armor shield (24) for torso twisting goodness, or shave 1/2 ton armor (15,16 pts remaining for the arms then) for a 1/2 ton engine upgrade (slight speed increase)???

Thoughts?

Thought is it's tanky enough with an XL.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

WLF-1A (my favorite): 5x SPL in the torsos, LL or LPL in the RA. Strip LA to 1 point, full armor everywhere else. Endo, Ferro, DHS, and the biggest XL you can cram in there. BEHOLD what even MY scrub self can accomplish in one of these. Might have done even BETTER if I had resisted the urge to YOLO on that TBR and SHD at the end there.

WLF-2: XL 245, 3x ERLL (1 each RA, RT, and CT). Now, M4J3ST1C (I think?) has a light sniper tutorial video that runs this with 2x RA and 1x RT. I like having ONE in an arm, for counter-UAV. Otherwise, go torsos to make 'em last longer. ALSO, the highest hard point on the WLF-2 is the first CT point (WLF CT fills top-to-bottom). Still below cockpit level, but not nearly as low as the CT points on a Firestarter. That's a kinda slow engine for a 35-tonner, but it's serviceable. The mech gets decent acceleration/deceleration buffs, for peeks & pokes. And it's quirked -10% energy heat, and -5% ERLL heat. If you're gonna run ERLLs on any WLF, do it on THIS one.

Haven't really found anything that blows up my skirt on the WLF-1, and don't have a WLF-1B yet. For the WLF-1, I might say grab the STD 280 and a bunch of SPLs since it gets the 10% energy range buff. Add a SPL range and cooldown module, and that's decent DPS on a mech that matches the ACH's speed and out-tanks it with the structure quirks. Toss a ML, SPL, or Flamer in the RA. Lots of folks like the Flamer for brawly builds, to minimize the return fire by keeping the enemy riding the top of the heat cap, so that may be a good option. Or the ML for a little more range. But really, being fast and having a STD engine is the shtick for this thing, I think. The -1B gets the 10% cooldown quirk, so that's more likely the one to get the ML/LL combos to poke at a little better range before closing. But again, haven't done anything with the -1B yet. Might be a good weekend project!

Despite the lack of ECM or Jump Jets, I dig the WLF. I've had a better time with it than with the FS9-A so far, and at least as much fun as on my best days with the ACH (though that mech still holds my personal record for highest single-match damage, and tied for #2 in most kills in a match). Having no M hard points on any variant kinda limits it, as even a single M in the CT would be useful for NARC. Or for brawly builds with an SRM of some sort (Artemis 4, or non-arty 6).

WLF is really at its best when it's using that speed to reposition to the ends of the friendly firing line, probing forward from there, taking ANY and EVERY opportunity to get free damage in or to get in a bigger mech's blind spots. It also supplements bigger friendlies really well when they're getting up close with an enemy, who prioritizes the big guy over the WLF. You can get all kinds of free damage in. It proves, better than many, that ECM isn't at all NECESSARY for ambush tactics.

And those little doggy ears on the mech's head are just TOTES ADORBS!

[Ironwolf67]

WrathOfDeadguy, on 15 January 2016 - 03:02 PM, said:

Squirrel Chaser. The only light in the game with five torso-mounted energy hardpoints... so I turned mine into a dedicated platform for fighting and killing other lights. Two shield arms, each of which can eat an ACH alpha; a nice, tight group of MPL for ultra-precise leg popping with the same firepower as a meta FS9-S. With the current structure buffs on the 1A, it's a beast of a duelist. The only thing it can't do is shoot down UAVs.

Destroyer Escort. Hang out with your assaults; poke what they poke with your LPL and spam small wubs at anything that dares threaten their posteriors. Complete with CD player, power windows, cupholders, and enough AMS ammo to keep your Lurmbrella active through even the worst downpours. The LPL is also handy for popping UAVs. Put support configs back on the map.

Flanker/harasser. Clean, simple, fun. Runs cool for an all-energy light, but still has firepower comparable to the FS9, ACH, and JR7.

Greyhound. You have a variant that can fit a gigantic engine; it would be criminal not to do something with it. Swap to ERLL if you want more range; I prefer the stock LL because there's no room for extra sinks with max engine.

Wolfhounds are far more versatile than their all-energy hardpoints would suggest.

I actually ran some variants similar to these this weekend and had a blast! I hadn't really done anything with my Wolfhound up to this point because I typically don't do well in light mechs. I was pleasantly surprised at how tough and effective they actually were. Plus, they really annoy the hell out of Arctic Cheetah and Spider Pilots!