11 replies to this topic

[icthulu]

After playing around with laser exclusive mechs, I wanted to add a ballistic mech to my bays. Since these weapons are absurdly heavy, I narrowed it down to 2 builds I think work, but I've never used ballistics before so I was hoping that more experienced players could offer insight and suggestions.

Currently I was looking at a 4 gun 1 lrg laser Dire Wolf
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b9db2e9958ec6ed

vs a 2 gun x3 6SRM Atlas (For the ECM and AIMS)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d868cd8e62777f3

Any advice, suggestions? I would rather the ballistic only, but ECM and AIMS is really useful.

Thanks.

[Spheroid]

Dire needs more ammo and the Atlas can remove the BAP and AMS. DDCs often run Artemis but this is not a hard rule. I would also revert to an AC-20 although people do like dual LBX-10 on some builds.

[icthulu]

What's a DDC?

The reason I put aside the 20 for x2 10's was the cooldown rate was a little more conducive to brawling with a bit more range. Though having no experience, I will definitely try the 20 out.

I wanted x2 20's but lord, these things take up way too much tonage and space. Not sure why the game seems to penalize the ballistics so much. The lower heat gain almost doesn't seem worth it.

The Atlas was scrounging for every ton I could find, so that's why I didn't choose Artemis, though if BAP is irrelevant at that range, I'll give it a go and see what the balance works out to.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Any chassis that I might also look at? Running through them all felt like they were all geared to energy weapons, and only these two stood out as viable ballistic chassis.

[Arianrhod]

icthulu, on 17 January 2016 - 01:23 PM, said:

What's a DDC?

The reason I put aside the 20 for x2 10's was the cooldown rate was a little more conducive to brawling with a bit more range. Though having no experience, I will definitely try the 20 out.

I wanted x2 20's but lord, these things take up way too much tonage and space. Not sure why the game seems to penalize the ballistics so much. The lower heat gain almost doesn't seem worth it.

The Atlas was scrounging for every ton I could find, so that's why I didn't choose Artemis, though if BAP is irrelevant at that range, I'll give it a go and see what the balance works out to.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Any chassis that I might also look at? Running through them all felt like they were all geared to energy weapons, and only these two stood out as viable ballistic chassis.

The AC/20 is more popular for brawling because it applies damage with precision, where the LB/10x is a spread. One AC/20 is also lighter than two LB/10xs. In a brawl, you also don't need the range of the LB/10x (a range which is deceptive because the spread makes it less accurate).

The King Crab can mount dual AC/20s. Note that the heat created by firing two AC/20s at the same time is roughly equivalent to that of the sun. You may have noticed from the trial version that it can also mount four UAC/5s. The King Crab is essentially the most ballistically-oriented assault mech available.

BAP is pretty well pointless for an Atlas. You don't have guided missiles, so you don't really need it. The tonnage would be better spent on ammunition/heat sinks.

Also note that Clan ballistics are inherently more gimmicky than Inner Sphere ballistics. You've probably noticed that all clan ACs have a UAC version (more shooty); however, Clan ballistics apply damage as a series of smaller pellets rather than a single high explosive shell, making it harder to deal the full damage to a single component or whatever. It plays into this whole "damage over time" motif they've got going on. IMO, IS ballistics are the only ballistics but the improved fire rate of the Clans might be more important to you. Just keep in mind that this difference in fire rate should be reflected in the ammount of ammunition you bring.

[Void Angel]

icthulu, on 17 January 2016 - 01:23 PM, said:

What's a DDC?

The reason I put aside the 20 for x2 10's was the cooldown rate was a little more conducive to brawling with a bit more range. Though having no experience, I will definitely try the 20 out.

I wanted x2 20's but lord, these things take up way too much tonage and space. Not sure why the game seems to penalize the ballistics so much. The lower heat gain almost doesn't seem worth it.

The Atlas was scrounging for every ton I could find, so that's why I didn't choose Artemis, though if BAP is irrelevant at that range, I'll give it a go and see what the balance works out to.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Any chassis that I might also look at? Running through them all felt like they were all geared to energy weapons, and only these two stood out as viable ballistic chassis.

The heat reduction is definitely worth it, particularly on the hotter maps. Additionally, while ballistics may look bad in terms of damage per ton, even without the heat advantage you should usually view them in terms of damage per hardpoint, particularly when dealing with Assault weight classes. The "Hillbilly Shotgun" Atlas with the 2 LB-10X ACs is a great damage dealer for the knife-range brawling at which the chassis excels, particularly within the range of its SRMs. Its raw damage output at close ranges is exceptional compared to other brawlers, and its ability to cripple enemies whose armor has been breached makes it a scary opponent. It is, however, slower - and less adept at opening enemy armor - than the AC/20 alternative, which makes the AC/20 preferable for PuG and small-group tactics. The LB-10X stack requires a team to work with the Atlas in order to capitalize on its greater damage dealing capacity.

However, more on-topic, I cannot believe no one has yet recommended to you the DakkaCrab! While the linked version there is a UAC/5 version, the 'chassis has quirks specifically to support the BoomCrab as well. Much more versatile than the Atlas (which is severely space limited; all of its missile and ballistic hardpoints being in single locations,) the King Crab is one of the better ballistic 'mechs out there (the Banshee 3E is another favorite,) in the Assault weight class. The chassis does suffer from convergence issues at extremely close ranges, and should be used similarly to a Dire Wolf - fighting close-in, but not so close as to become surrounded by enemies.

[icthulu]

Ah, the Crab does look good. I like the 20's w/ srms and a couple med lasers.

Thank you all for your suggestions and advice, I am very grateful. Especially the 20 v 10 clarity. I have seen the combat different between lasers and PPC to understand the play change, and think that the 20's might suit this build goal better.

[Tehspiff]

icthulu, on 17 January 2016 - 06:41 AM, said:

After playing around with laser exclusive mechs, I wanted to add a ballistic mech to my bays. Since these weapons are absurdly heavy, I narrowed it down to 2 builds I think work, but I've never used ballistics before so I was hoping that more experienced players could offer insight and suggestions.

Currently I was looking at a 4 gun 1 lrg laser Dire Wolf
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b9db2e9958ec6ed

vs a 2 gun x3 6SRM Atlas (For the ECM and AIMS)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d868cd8e62777f3

Any advice, suggestions? I would rather the ballistic only, but ECM and AIMS is really useful.

Thanks.

This is what I drive for ballistic assaults lately. Mostly because it works at range, as well as close up. Granted your AC5x3 only gives you 15 dmg vs the dual ac20 of a crab or something like that, but coupled with weapon modules and mech masteries the fire rate and pin point of 15 damage will scare the living hell out of whatever you are shooting at.

You carry enough ammo that even if you miss a lot you are still going to do a fair bit of hurting to the other team.

Switch to chain fire and watch them duck.

[hordes1ayer2]

if you want a ballistic assault go king crab and go 4 uac5 or 6 ac2. that or a dire weather you are a clan or IS person

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

Taken staight from Metamechs.com

If for lookin for a ballistic boat that rains dakka onto your opponents

Mauler mx90
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bb55191611aed52

Kodiak kdk-3 (currently not available for cbills yet)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a1dd02b12ac23dc

Both these mechs have no arm armor, so If you need armor, you can always alter the builds to suit your needs.

Please keep in mind- due to projectile speed, ballistics are not the easiest mechs to pilot, and can have a hard time with fast moving targets that dodge in a non-linear path.

Edited by Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky, 29 June 2016 - 08:49 PM.

[Steel Raven]

The King Crab and Mauler are the two best dedicated 4X AC Dakka platforms for the IS.

The Banshee BNC-3E was the 3x AC/5 machine prior to the Marauder 3R. There is a old 2X AC/2, 2X Ultra AC/5 build on Meta Mech though I never seen in in action.

Think the Atlas D and Zeus 6S get a honorable mention for for effective Duel AC brawler builds. Though you hardly see any 2X Ultra AC/5 Atlases or Duel AC/5 Zeus' on drops these days, they seemed to be effective builds whenever I dropped with one.

What to look out for in the future: The Devastator!
PGI was teasing us about this mech way back in the Beta, It should more or less play like a 100 ton Mauler/Warhammer.

Clan
The Dakka Wolf and Dakka Bear. By Kerensky, I love my Dakka Bear and the Dakka Wolf is the Ed 209 of MWO.

What to look for in the future: The Bane/Kraken
Just look up the states from the table top, 10X Ultra AC/2 and then 4 Machine Guns just as a screw you. This will be ether hilariously awful or amazing.

Edited by Steel Raven, 30 June 2016 - 01:13 PM.

[Audacious Aubergine]

King Crab for sure. The current champion build is excellent, but if you don't want to spend real money on things then it's still possible to make the same loadout with just c-bills. One of my current builds looks like this KGC-000

Otherwise, you can try a Dire Wolf - this is one I use at the moment DWF-B. Word of warning, these are actually much less friendly to players that are new to assault mechs. The King Crab has literally double the torso twist range, which makes aiming at moving targets actually possible given how slowly these 100t behemoths turn their legs.

Edited by Audacious Aubergine, 02 July 2016 - 09:21 PM.

[Mad Dog Morgan]

IS Ballistic Assault Boats
-Mauler (all variants, but the MX90 is king)
-King Crab

Clan Ballistic Assault Boats
-Dire Wolf
-Kodiak 3

Edited by Vaskadar, 06 July 2016 - 07:57 PM.