21 replies to this topic

[Ceryph]

What do you think of the Marauder vs maybe a Timberwolf? Just curious of what everyone thinks of the pros and cons. I like the hardpoints on the MAD, but the top speed is definitely a negative.

[visionGT4]

MAD's are cool. Take a beating and have reasonable fire power with good high dakka hardpoints.

But lets wind this up to level 10,yo What if we compared a Marauder vs a Catapult

The maurader has its strong points, as does the Catapult. *SIGH* which one to choose? Having to make such a hard choice between the two has been one of my greatest struggles with the BT hobby. Im worried that one day ill actually find out the answer to this question. And it will be one of those questions that once you know the truth your mind will totally blown and what you once new as BT would never be the same again.

[Anunknownlurker]

The Marauder is the only IS heavy actually enjoy playing (although I am starting to like a mixed missile build on the Archer 5W!).

The current structure quirks and relatively narrow front profile give the MAD great survivability. However, Clan technology; 2 crit slot heat sinks, Clan XL engine and omnipod flexibility probably give Clan heavies the edge in a one vs one situation (yeah, right and how often does that happen in MWO?)

Marauder hardpoint locations are decent but limited e.g. a single high-mounted energy slot on only one variant, 3 ballistic slots but, to be honest, if you do use all three the bottom slot is not well located and the arms, whilst not knuckle dragging like some IS heavies, are still pretty low-slung.

To get a similar speed/firepower balance in the Marauder as you get with the Timberwolf or Ebon Jaguar means running XL and that gives Clan heavies a massive advantage.

Personally, I'd say given pilots of similar skill, it is only the structure buffs that keep the Marauder competitive.

[aaykeem]

The Marauder is a powerhouse, but due to Clan tech it does not compare to a Mad Cat. It doesn't get much in terms of quirks either. I disagree with the above poster on the usefulness of it's structure quirks, especially considering that its side profile is absolutely terrible. Running an XL in it is very tricky, hence the low speed.

What I like a lot about the MAD is the ballistic builds you can pull off. I experimented with the following, but you can try some AC10 or AC20 combos as well:
The 3R can do 3AC5s + 2/4ML on a STD300. Or 3AC2 with bigger lasers or more heatsinks (but you should shoot for the 3AC5, it's a lot better).
The 5M can do 2UAC5 or 2LB10X + 2/4 ML on a STD300. The LB10X build is more fun than a barrel of monkeys, but not exactly efficient.
The 5D can do some interesting LL or LPL builds, but nothing that a Black Knight wouldn't do better.
I don't have the hero so I can't say anything about it.

I still drop my Marauders in CW on hot maps. They feel well when they're part of a firing line or tight formation, because the enemy can't exploit those huge side torsos.

[Ceryph]

I ended up buying the Marauder since I was dying to have a new heavy with good Energy hardpoints and good firepower that could also take a beating. I've had the Timberwolf for a while now and comparing the two, seems like the Timberwolf is more balanced in terms of Firepower, Speed, and being able to fight at any distance. The MAD being slow, well armored, and narrow at the front with all those energy and ballistic hardpoints seems to excel at being a brawler, while the Mad Cat seems to do better at a distance due to the speed and Clan Weapon Range advantage, though this just might be my playstyle. It was pretty hard to really compare the two being one was IS and the other Clan. The high-mounted hardpoints on the MAD are pretty awesome. I ended up having to switch out the dual ER-PPCs for LPLs, despite how much I love the stock canon builds I could barely do anything with the heat generated from those.

While I'm still warming up to the MAD, it's a pretty awesome Mech. The only real cons I would say is the speed and the basically huge hitboxes that are its sides. I love how customizable it is as there's plenty of space to change things up. Overall, I think it's a pretty balanced Mech as I've observed so far.

[Tordin]

The Marauders are some powerful beasts. The arms were more low slung in its concept stages and even the old clasic one got way lower arms. This new Marauder got its arms just below the cockpit which is totally fine by me,

They all can give you some great builds, an option for anybody. Ballistics and energy especially. But you can get some nice results with srms and lurms with that ONE variant, 5D.

The only gripe I have is why it dosent have the high mounted cannons on the Center torso? Would it become to similar to the old one in which Harmony Gold could sue PGI *** for?

If not, that would be most prefrable since the Centrl Torso have narrow hitboxes and its meant to storm head on in a fight. That gun atop of CT would be safer. Also it could get armor and structure boosts to compensate.

Another idea is why not mount top mounted hardpoint above both side torsos? Heck add hardpoint above each torso? Less convergence but it would give some interesting loadouts.

Edited by Tordin, 02 April 2016 - 08:28 AM.

[Ceryph]

Tordin, on 02 April 2016 - 08:27 AM, said:

The only gripe I have is why it dosent have the high mounted cannons on the Center torso? Would it become to similar to the old one in which Harmony Gold could sue PGI *** for?

If not, that would be most prefrable since the Centrl Torso have narrow hitboxes and its meant to storm head on in a fight. That gun atop of CT would be safer. Also it could get armor and structure boosts to compensate.

Another idea is why not mount top mounted hardpoint above both side torsos? Heck add hardpoint above each torso? Less convergence but it would give some interesting loadouts.

I'm guessing because PGI bases all the Mechs and their variants on canon lore. I don't recall the MAD having a variant with 2 high-mounted hardpoints on both STs.

I just dislike the speed, it feels like I'm in an Assault.

[Pineapple Salad]

Marauder's biggest strength is it's small frontal profile, combined with high mounted ballistic hardpoints. With standard engine it can tank incredibly well, although too much torso twisting is actually counterproductive, because the side profile is huge.

The standard engine requirement is also it's biggest weakness. If you want to carry heavy armament that utilizes the ballistic mounts, you will be slow. And to be honest, sub-70kph heavies belong in a bygone era, clan heavies have shifted the balance towards much faster mechs.

It's by no means perfect mech, but it does have it's own niche, if you want banshee level firepower (and mobility) in 20 tons lighter package. And even at the lower tonnage the tanking ability is not that much worse because of the excellent profile.

[Moebius Pi]

Mini-Stalker.

Slow for the weight, tanky, long, though with some high and some lowish hardpoints,some JJ capability differences, and does best without twisting 90 degrees vs 20 degrees or so to spread.

Pretty much what they remind me of every time I play them. They just scream "baby stalker" to me. They have a niche all their own in my mind, You -can- do XL on them if you're careful about what loadout you're running, but overall I see them as a STD machine, an Assault-lite. You just have to be much more confident about where you're setting your position, firing lines and when you're committing, vs a nimble heavy making them a more niche pick compared to some of the more common powerhouses, but I wouldn't say they're by any means crappy.

Timberwolves on the otherhand are swiss-army knives, solid in many areas including the speed department. You'll find them being preferable picks in more situations as a result. When it comes to purchases (if not filling out a Drop Deck for CW) priority, I'd honestly snag Timbers first specifically because of their overall versatility. The Marauders tank better, and their are some advantages to lower burn times etc. for Energy, less spreading ACs and the like, but I'd still say the Timber trumps it overall as far as workhorses go.

Edited by Moebius Pi, 04 April 2016 - 12:42 AM.

[Void Angel]

The Marauder is like the Stalker and the King Crab had a kid who got most of their best characteristics. It also shares some of their weaknesses, notably the sail-like side torsos that make the Stalker so hard to kill from the front - and painfully easy to cripple from the side.

The overall package is a superb Heavy 'mech that can perform a variety of roles.

[Void Angel]

Tordin, on 02 April 2016 - 08:27 AM, said:

The only gripe I have is why it dosent have the high mounted cannons on the Center torso? Would it become to similar to the old one in which Harmony Gold could sue PGI *** for?

If not, that would be most prefrable since the Centrl Torso have narrow hitboxes and its meant to storm head on in a fight. That gun atop of CT would be safer. Also it could get armor and structure boosts to compensate.

The Marauder has never had its Autocannon in the Center Torso, despite the appearances of its model. This is because while the images were originally licensed from other products, no Battlemech has more than two free slots on its center toso in Classic Battletech after engines, gyros and the like. This would limit the Marauder to a couple of AC/2s, rather than the AC/5 (I think) in its primary canon configuration. Trust me, you don't want to waste two ballistic slots on the center torso - just ask the Timber Wolf.

[Narcissistic Martyr]

Jimmy DiGriz, on 01 April 2016 - 12:19 AM, said:

Marauder hardpoint locations are decent but limited e.g. a single high-mounted energy slot on only one variant, 3 ballistic slots but, to be honest, if you do use all three the bottom slot is not well located and the arms, whilst not knuckle dragging like some IS heavies, are still pretty low-slung.

Just put the top 2 AC5 on a different button for the early poking game and your medium lasers or MPL are for brawling anyways.

[Destlin]

I can reliably do 800-1100 per match with the MAD-5D. Just put 2 lrm 10's and 4 med lazorz on it. launch lrm's while blasting your target with the medium lazorz at anywhere from 200-400 meters and not even an assault will live through it. Salted earth tactics.

[Brandarr Gunnarson]

My experience with the MAD (especially the 3R) is that it is tankier than the TBR, even with XL. Getting hit from the side will be your biggest problem; in which case it will feel ridiculously glassy.

TBR, on the other hand, can definitely load up more firepower. Energy builds will be most successful, but it can do a variety of ballistic/missile builds, too.

You wanns be an alpha-warrior? Go TBR.

You want to be a tanky DPSer? Go MAD.

Edited by Brandarr Gunnarson, 05 April 2016 - 11:50 PM.

[Mole]

The Marauder is a good 'mech. So good, in fact, that when I got mine and leveled it, it replaced my Thunderbolt in my FW drop deck. I run mine with 5 Medium Lasers and 2 AC/5s. The medium lasers give me an instant punch of 25 damage at close ranges and the AC/5s give me good sustained DPS with me putting 10 damage worth of lead downrange every like, two seconds or something I think is the recycle rate on an AC/5? And they can touch targets at good range as well. Oddly enough the Marauder variant that I did the worst in was the all energy one. But that's possibly because I insisted on making my Marauder look like a Marauder by having a big gun sticking out of it's side torso and tried to build around a single ERPPC instead of doing what I know I should have done and just boated lasers.

[Tamagoci]

I just bought my MADs for the Alpha lance event, as I wanted to compare all classics back to back, and the event made for a good excuse.

I must admit that although I like WHM more and I consider it better, I was surprised at how good the MAD performs. It's a solid DPS machine and in my best match I got 3 solo kills, HBK-4P, EBJ and BLR. It can pull of XL engine with no problem as I am a more of a fire&maneuver sort of pilot. If I were to rate it against the other classics I would put it just behind WHM and solidly in front of both the RFL and ARC.

MAD vs TBR a good match, victory coming down to pilot skill.

Edited by Tamagoci, 14 April 2016 - 04:51 AM.

[Bud Crue]

Ceryph, on 31 March 2016 - 11:44 PM, said:

What do you think of the Marauder vs maybe a Timberwolf? Just curious of what everyone thinks of the pros and cons. I like the hardpoints on the MAD, but the top speed is definitely a negative.

I like the Mad, but I don't think it is in the Timberwolf's league. If you run with the ACs you lose most of your firepower when your RT goes; and EVERYONE focuses that RT.

None the less, I really enjoy my Mads. Just something about em. Given my low skill at this game, the fact that I have had numerous 900+ damage games in my various Mad's tells me the mech is pretty darn good.
.

[Scynter]

I love my Marauders. One thing people kind of forget about is the 3R has a lot of quirks: +23 to CT, +16 to LT/RT/LL/RL, +12 to LA/RA. That's a lot of extra hit points (Black Knights and Orions also get them). The slim profile plus those structural quirks make the 3R very durable. The 3R also gets 50% acceleration/deceleration, more than all the other MAD variants. All MAD variants also get bonuses to turn rate and torso turn rate.

So the TBR has a higher top speed and can carry a more varied armament, but the MAD can take more hits and might be more nimble and turn responsive. Although they're not yet out for C-Bills, I am pretty sure MADs are cheaper than TBRs also. The MC costs of Marauders are less than TBRs and they're much cheaper if you're paying cash.

The 3R is the "ballistic build", but I have had incredible success using an XL340 and 4 LPLs and 18 heat sinks. With Speed Tweak that gets the 3R to nearly 80 kph, which makes me feel quite mobile. Also, for amusement, I swap the 4 LPL for 4 PPC. That is a lot of fun too, with the quirks.

The other variants I use are:
5D: STD300, 5 MPLs, and 2 SRM6s.
5M: STD300, 2 LBx10, 5 ML or 2 UAC5, 5 ML

[Exterminan]

IMO Marauder is just a more combat effective timberwolf while giving up some of the versatility and speed. I tend to think of the MAD as a light assault mech due to its durability. MAD has structure quirks and the hitboxes make it easier for me to spread damage around. TBRs and MADs are my favorite and most used mechs - and I hate running into a MAD while piloting a TBR. Likewise, I am not afraid to solo-brawl a TBR when I am in either of my most used Marauder builds (BH with ac/20, 7x medium lasers / 5D with 4x medium Pulse Laser, Large Laser, 2x LRM15s/SRM6 (depends on mood))

Aside from some dedicated builds it is possible to build pretty similar loadouts - both JJ capable, both dual energy hardpoints in arms, both offer 2x missile or multiple ballistics slots in torsos, both can equip AMS. The TBR is better at boating stuff because it can pick and choose its omnipods, but pretty much any mixed build can be paralleled.

The speed hurts it somewhat, but that can be said of many heavy mechs - I've never had a problem keeping up with the pack and getting to the front line.

Now take that with a grain of salt,as I am only tier 4, but thats my thoughts having piloted them both extensively.

[invernomuto]

The problem with TBR (and other Clan mechs) is that their C-Bills cost is huge and when I'm approaching the 7-8 mln threshold I usually end buying another IS mech