Starbomber109, on 01 May 2016 - 10:31 PM, said:
A solid all-round deck: 2x WHM, 2x HBK (4SP and 4G)
More consistent, can replace an hbk with the 4J if you want lrms. It's more consistent than the alternative.
Alternate deck: 3x WHM, trial locust. The locust can't really do much, so I recommend dropping it 2nd. If you had any 65 ton heavies, you could run 2x WHM and that then a Raven.
For scouting, the hunchback SP is pretty solid for both modes, the ravens are only really good for gather Intel. There's not much use for a large Las sniper and ravens tend to evaporate in a brawl. Only the 2x or Huggin can hack it at close range.
Pretty much what I was gonna say. HBK-4SP in the first slot, and use it for scouting. WHM-6D in the second, with 5 LLs and arms stripped of armor and the biggest engine you can fit. Third and fourth, doesn't matter which order. Take the HBK-4G and WHM-6R. -4G should be pretty obvious--take the AC/20! And the WHM-6R, go with dual AC/10 and 4x ML, all in the torsos (strip the arms again) and a big engine. OR get daring and dual-Gauss that thing, but be CAREFUL. OR stuff some PPCs into the side torsos. A pair of PPCs and a pair of AC/5s will mach up pretty well for velocity and range.The cooldowns don't sync up well, but that's okay.
NOW, the temptation may be to take the RVN-3L for recon. THIS IS WRONG AND WILL END IN TEARS. Not a BAD mech, per se, but between the challenge event and just how a lot of people play Scouting, it more often than not devolves into 4v4 Skirmish. Your RVN-3L is not equipped for that. It's simply not a DPS machine. If you DO decide to take it, though, do not run the Champion build (twin ERLL). Try to get an Artemis SRM-6 in the RT, and 3x MPL (1x RT, 2x RA), ECM, and the biggest engine you can still fit.
Now, here comes the challenging part. You want to take ammo along in Invasion like for Quick Play--enough to kill all 8 mechs in Testing Grounds. But in Scouting, that's a BIG waste of tonnage and space. If nothing else, I'd rebuild when switching between Scouting and Invasion, taking less ammo and more heat sinks in the former. You'll only have, AT MOST, four targets to engage, and all will be 55 tons or lighter (with the armor and structure of mechs weighing 55 tons or less). Enough ammo to kill three TBRs, really. Go to Testing Grounds, find the three heaviest mechs in there, and core them with just your ammo-dependent weapons. How much ammo did that take? That's all you need in Scouting, AT MOST, rounding DOWN to the half-ton. Plus or minus a half-ton.
For example, in the JR7-O Oxide hero mech, I'll usually run 4.5-5.0 tons of SRM ammo for its four SRM-4s. That's in Quick Play or Invasion. In Scouting, that's easily two more tons than I need. I can swap up to a heavier engine and/or more double heat sinks. And when transitioning from Scouting to Invasion, switch back to the 12v12 build with more ammo, and with a little less speed and heat efficiency.
EXAMPLE:
HBK-4SP for 12v12 Invasion
HBK-4SP for 4v4 Scouting
Small change. OR, you can forego the extra DHS and bump up the engine by a ton for a little more speed.
In case you DO roll RVN-3L, try
THIS. The ol' Champion build works fine (as Ravens go) in 12v12, but in Scouting you almost never have to deal with those sorts of ranges. Take something ALMOST brawl-worth instead, and be sure to switch-up which leg you show your enemy frequently--RVN legs are pretty easy to pop nowadays. That left arm is pretty much useless to you, so no point wasting armor on it. If you have to shield, give 'em the LEFT side and preserve the weapons on the right even at the expense of that Guardian ECM.
2
