epikt, on 08 February 2016 - 06:28 AM, said:
And they're right.
On a Mauler-1R you can mount 4 UAC/5s with a 15% cooldown quirk, it is a freaking monster expected to be on the front line. (but, well, with 20% cooldown quirk at least it's probably the less worst assault LRM boat)
Also, from what I can deduct from your post, your build is ridiculous. 2790 rounds makes no sense at all (except maybe in CW, I don't play CW) and if you say "a pair of med lasers" I understand you have no TAG.
An LRM boat without a TAG is a bad build, period.
Lower the ammo count, boost up the engine and cooling.
In my opinion there is only one legitimate assault LRM-boat: the Awesome-8R. 10 tons lighter, -30% cooldown and -15% heat gen. And since LRM is the only reasonable build on the mech there is no confusion possible. If you want to be the best lurmer you can, please try this mech (
like this, or
like this).
I am not sure we are talking about the same Mal-1R with the LRM 15 cool down module it has a cooldown of 32% opposed to the 15% for ACs. It also features a -15% heat generation and a 10% velocity buff. Being that the MAL is 10 tons heavier then the the AWS-8R has nearly the same launch rate with modules installed and has the +10% missile velocity buff that makes the MAL the better platform IMO.
Use of TAG and BAP. I used to LOVE BAP and had it on anything that mounted a LRM. Now that ECM is only 90m though it is not nearly as important and once an enemy 'Mech passes beyond the 180m mark he's going to get a buncha face fulls of Lurms for his trouble unless he gets under cover FAST.
TAG. TAG is fun especially when some ECMer is sniping me and I don't have cover handy, rare occurrence but it happens. One of the few shortcomings IMO of the MAL-1R is the lack of energy hard points and if it had a third or fourth energy hard point then I would drop a ton of ammo for a TAG just for the fun factor. However, since the MAL-1R only has the two E hard points I will stick with what I have.
Adding heat sinks? The only 'Mech I have that has zero heat problems is my KGC-000L with 4 UAC-5s, I can stand in a pool of lava and alpha all day with no heat issues. Problem for me is that even if my target is standing still most times my ping is so bad that I don't get much hit registry. So ya, I could use more heats sinks then the 20 doubles that comes with the engine and its 1.2/2 cooling rate. Problem there is that I have only one slot open and a double uses three slots. Drop a ton of ammo, still short a slot, no go.
It comes down to heat management. The first 30 seconds of my attack cycle I will fire as fast as I can if I am sure of the lock. Each of my 4 LRM 15s launches every .5 seconds with an extra .5 second after the 4 have fired before I can start the cycle again. After that 30 seconds of rage and destruction I have to slow down to one launch per 1.5 seconds to maintain my heat at 95% or 3 seconds if I want to cool off for another 30 seconds of rage. Or, as I do most times I will simply stop firing, cool off while looking for another team mate that is in trouble and look for someone else to peel.
Depending on the range I can have 20 or more salvos in the air at the SAME TIME. What that does to a KGC, DWF or any 'Mech with a wide top is amazing. That kind of fire tends to shake enemy pilots a bit and make them look for cover rather then shoot at more important targets like the Brawlers. Defending the Brawlers is the reason I exist on the battlefield. Peeling the armor off of the red team and destroying their ability deal damage is defending the Brawlers.
Bigger engine? Nope. A few tons of engine on a 'Mech that tops out at 52.2 is not enough of a boost to make it worth my while. XL? Are you frigging kidding me?!? No way in heck will I put an XL in an Assault let alone a heavy unless it comes from the factory that way and even then I tend to pull them and slap a standard in. The six extra slots and instakill when you lose a side torso drops survivablity way below what I consider acceptable.
Ammo. Ah Ammo. There is no such thing as too much ammo especially since I refuse to use ACs on this 'Mech when I can use the 32% LRM 15 cool down and since I don't want to drop 8 tons of ammo to fit a pair of Lg Lasers. I considered med pls lasers and again discarded the idea since a Lurm boat with no ammo is no Lurm boat at all and I happened to have a bunch of med lasers in inventory. Since I carry such ridiculous amounts of ammo (Ya, even I laugh about how much explody ammo I tote about the battlefield) I tend to try low probability shots and I have ZERO issue with dumb fire salvos on choke points to keep the red team from rushing the doors. This works GOOD on Mt Doom in Mordor, I keep fire on the door and only the really brave or really stupid will rush it, then the rest of the team focuses him down.
Dumb Fire. I am getting pretty good at that. It is FUNNY to watch some guy sniping at my team mates sitting there all fat, dumb and happy thinking he's safe under his ECM blasting away when four LRM 15 salvos land on his head. Sometimes I will stick around looking at him just to see him freak out and run for cover. Gives me the giggles it does..
Amazingly enough I almost never die from an ammo explosions even with all that ammo that you seem to feel is so ridiculous. Also I rarely run out of ammo, in fact I have only done that twice in 108 matches both times I pulled ~1800 damage which is not bad at all. I HATE HATE HATE running out of ammo.
So, in conclusion, I have to disagree with nearly every point you make Epikt though I would be the first to admit that your methods and builds likely work very well for you. I used to own the AWS-8R you mentioned, I sold it off after I leveled it so I could level my Pretty Baby to free up a 'Mech bay. That however was WAY before quirks were added to the game and I have had other things to spend my Cbills on. Perhaps I will give the AWS another look after they run some decently fast internet out to my particular corner of the boonies and I don't have ping rates that look very much like the page count on a GoT novel.
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