13 replies to this topic

[NeoCodex]

As per currently active "worst mechs" thread I felt the urge to make the most underrated mechs because there were quite some arguments starting to rise over some mechs being far from bad.


There have been many of these in the past, but it's been a while so let's make one for this month, or to say, this will probably be the last one before the big rebalance which will change everything, so what are currently the most underrated mechs in your opinion? For me, it is:

Lights: Adder. I see this as a popular choice of a "bad mech" and it's far from that. I used mine (and still would) as the exclusive light srm splat boat. Hitboxes and size are better than than on cute fox, but I have to agree I could not do well with the ppc build. I think that for anyone that still didn't try, splat srm4+srm6 adder with artemis is the best build to go for. How I learned to play it is very patiently wait for your moment, with a knife in a dark corner, until the time is right. Try not to be spotted before, it has to be a surprise attack, because this is not a skirmisher or a harasser, it's an brawling champion. It's very rare to see one these days, but I still get ******* scared when I see one close, more scared than from a streakcrow and a Huggin, because I know the amount of burst damage and component destruction this thing can do in good hands.

Mediums: Shadow Cat. I love this mech. I think that anyone that says it's bad he doesn't play it right. I only use two builds, double peeps and triple large, long range harasser and poptart sniper.If it could just move a little faster it would be even better, the masc bonus feels to small and overall if it could be just a little more faster, I think it would go up a tier for me. Somehow it almost feels like a light. This is a very lightweight medium. Still, a lot of fun and certainly in the better half of mediums in the game for me. Some people also undervalue Nova. I've seen it do good things. Never piloted one tough.

Heavies: wow, I don't think there's any that are really undervalued here. I'm really not sure if I could give extra praise to any chassis or variant. Everybody seems to be mostly on the same page with these. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Assaults: Highlander. I know I can do good with it. It's miles better than any Atlas. Most variants can run triple large gauss meta with really strong defensive quirks and some mobility buffs, hoverjets are nice to have too, overall it's far from being the worst. But the argument here is that you can do the same with a smaller hitboxed and more agile Zeus. Well, to be honest, I think I really felt those armor buffs on the Highlander. This thing can trade shots, kill and survive. Of course you will still die quickly if you happen to face half of the enemy team, but in trading equal fire you have almost double the endurance with a good converged meta punch. It really surprised me. Just saying.

[Xetelian]

I love the the single erPPC SDR 5D. I've done some pretty crazy damage sniping with this monster.

The IFR is one of my favorites, 5 erMeds for the non prime variants and 4MPL for the prime variant. I blitz around taking legs off lights and torsos of mediums as fast as I can then running off out of battle to cool.

CTF OXP is a fun heavy, Gauss shoulder and 4 MPL does some work on anything that gets in brawl range.

AS7 Boars Head with a 360 STD and 6MPL and an AC20 but otherwise a HGN heavy metal with gauss and 3xLarge

Edited by Xetelian, 25 September 2015 - 12:16 AM.

[Moldur]

The Orion chassis is neglected for good reason.

I've pulled some 700+ damage games in them. It's mostly fun to imagine what people are thinking when one of the hands down worst mechs in the game just wrecked their entire team, or when somebody who is cocky and tries to face tank ends up having to retreat/dies from you. I guess it's given with the thread title, but you pilot them at your own risk. They're not good compared to virtually every other option.

[TheNef]

Xetelian, on 25 September 2015 - 12:14 AM, said:

I love the the single erPPC SDR 5D. I've done some pretty crazy damage sniping with this monster.

This used to be my favourite up until about three months ago now I use 1 erll and 2 mpl, dropped engine size a little but I tend to do even better now. Still love the erPPC though great as a finisher mech as long as you get to keep the distance.

[Vellron2005]

Underrated mechs?

Ok, for a clan dropdeck:

Light - Myst Lynx (its got terrible hitboxes, yes, but it can snipe and harras with LRM's, and can be VERY usefull, especially if disregarded)

Medium - Nova - Somehow, the Splatcrow pushed out the Nova from the medium dropdeck spot, but the nova ahs much more to offer.. if you know how to menage the heat, it can be extremely effective.. and the added jump jets are a big help.

Heavy - Mad Dog - The mad dog can be set-up in so many ways that its not even funny.. but it regulrarly gets pushed out by the Timberwolf and Ebon Jaguar.. shure, its lighter.. but 6 missle slots.. perfect LRM pr SRM boat... and you can back those up with enough lasers to be deadly.

Assault - Gargoyle - Its an 80 ton nova. Its probably the fastest assault mech that was designed to be able to keep up with a timberwolf. It has its drawbacks, but still a great laservomit... it's biggest drawback is the lack of jumpjets, which is why it is regularly pushed back in favor of the executioner.

As for IS... I dont play IS mechs enough to be competent to answer this..

[MeiSooHaityu]

More IS-centric, but...

Light: Panther 10K. It gets discounted because it isn't as fast or hard hitting up close as a Firestarter, but it still does 127kph, and the 10K with an ERPPC and 2 SRM4s can wreck if you can dive in an "secure" that kill. Great fire support, deadly, I think it is underrated.

Medium: Hunchback 4P (Swayback). True that the 4G, 4J, and Grid Iron tend to get some praise, but the lonely 4P is almost never talked about and you never really see them. I still love the 4P. It is the original laser vomit mech (before it was cool ), and with good heat management, still very dangerous. Some have added LLasers and the such to their 4P, but I still run the tried and true 9MLasers.

Heavy: Catapult Jester. High mount energy, cool running, 93kph top speed, JJs and even dual AMS if you wish. In a world of laser vomit it fits in. It's CT is still soft, but not as bad as many believe (post quirks). I now have a Ebon Jaguar and their CTs almost seem the same durability. Overall overlooked, but a good solid performer IMO.

I'm not an Assault pilot, so...

Assault: ??? Probably a Highlander or Victor or something. I'll say that I like my Mauler despite it getting a lot of flack. Maybe Mauler then?? Idk assaults much lol.

[Lyoto Machida]

Moldur, on 25 September 2015 - 12:25 AM, said:

The Orion chassis is neglected for good reason.

I've pulled some 700+ damage games in them. It's mostly fun to imagine what people are thinking when one of the hands down worst mechs in the game just wrecked their entire team, or when somebody who is cocky and tries to face tank ends up having to retreat/dies from you. I guess it's given with the thread title, but you pilot them at your own risk. They're not good compared to virtually every other option.

It's extra salt in the wounds when you do it to them in an LRM Orion...

[NeoCodex]

Yeah, I always liked the Jester. I still think it's a pretty decent mech. I used to run mine with the biggest XL and several jump jets, to make it steroid super fast and jumpy. Certainly one of the more fun mechs to play. It just got the short end of the stick with the quirks.

[MeiSooHaityu]

NeoCodex, on 25 September 2015 - 04:31 AM, said:

Yeah, I always liked the Jester. I still think it's a pretty decent mech. I used to run mine with the biggest XL and several jump jets, to make it steroid super fast and jumpy. Certainly one of the more fun mechs to play. It just got the short end of the stick with the quirks.

I still run mine with the biggest XL engine and JJs.

2 LLaser (up high) and 4 MLasers still does some work.

The Jester is basically why I never pilot my Grasshoppers and probably won't pilot my BKs much either once elites. The Jester just does it so much better....if it just had a bit more stronger nose (or just better hitboxes).

[Foxfire kadrpg]

Heavies: Dragons. Players dismiss them because of the enormous center torso, but Dragons have a number of things that make them deadly in the right hands. 360 engine cap, XL friendly, and with a MEDIUM archtype. There are many steep cliffs that a Dragon can scale quickly and effortlessly, and being 60 tons, the amount of direct firepower you can load on them is potent for their maneuverability.

Never top tier, making a dragon work involves keeping out of the enemy's focus, traveling back and forth along your team's firing line, offering great suppressive fire until the enemy is worn enough to pursue. Dragons also use a "reverse torso twisting" in which the +24 structure CT is used to shield the side torsos, instead of using the arms.

[MechWarrior5152251]

Victors. You don't see them that often anymore but I am usually surprised by my score after matches where I drop in one.

[Cion]

Novas. You can do insane amounts of pinpoint damage if piloted correctly.

The AWS is not underrated, but even though it's in a terrible place now, it is "over hammered" by players. You can get some good games in that $&#* and almost never get horrible games in it.

[Y E O N N E]

Light: Locust (IS) and Adder(Clan)

Locust is a better 'Mech than the Jenner, full stop. It is faster, it is more agile, it is smaller, and it carries the same firepower with better quirks. All it lacks are Jump Jets and some armor, but you don't need the former when you can run straight up sheer cliffs and the latter is sort of moot when Jenners take all damage to one section anyway. It's easier to roll damage with a Locust.

You can stuff an XL180, 11 DHS, and 6x ML onto a Locust and just rack up huge damage scores, easily. It's even better than the BJ-1X at this, because it's faster, harder to see, and has longer range. It's gross.

The Adder...can pack the firepower of a 60 ton 'Mech into something half the weight. Gauss and MedLas, MedPulse, and UAC builds can be pretty damn gnarly. It's not really a light so much as an autonomous slave-gun to a Dire Wolf, and in that capacity it excels. Like the Locust, it is harder to notice. But a Wub Adder will f*ck you up if you don't pay attention.

Medium: Blackjack (IS) and Shadow Cat (Clan)

I remember when everybody thought the Blackjack was crap. I was always on the other side of the fence, I thought they were hidden gems, and not just the BJ-1X. 45 tons is an amazing weight because it lets you go 89.1 kph with a Standard and all your armor while also letting you mount some ferocious, cool firepower. A BJ-1DC with 2x LL and 4x ML is quite fantastic, even more so with some insane laser quirks. It's every bit as good as the BJ-1X. The BJ-3 is a very competent PPC 'Mech, one of the few remaining pop-tarts. The BJ-1 with an AC/10 and four MedLas can brawl rather well, much better than the AC/20 XL build that, for whatever reason, everybody seems to think is the best. I can only assume those people don't play the BJ-1 enough to know better.

The ShadowCat...is like the Blackjack. Its hardpoints are in the same place relative to the cockpit, it can mount similar firepower, and it can roll the damage just as well. I don't understand people calling it underwhelming; these are the same people who also play the BJ-1X and call it great. For my part, I run a BJ-1X on a STD 280 with 6x ML and 2x SL. I am firing those ML between 0 and 420-ish meters, and I do phenomenal with it. Now, I can slap on 2x C-MPL and a C-LPL to get 29 damage at 363 meters with fantastic sustain and a better range profile than my BJ-1X. I will move just as fast, have great hard-point positioning, have MASC agility, and have JJs. It works, it does.

Then there's the C-UAC/10 + 3x C-ERML build, which is 40 damage at 441 meters with the double-tap. It's also very good. This is currently my favorite build. Runs cold and dishes a decent strike at long range. What more could anyone want out of a 45 ton Medium? Just because it can't face-blast with a 50 point laser burn doesn't mean it isn't serviceable.

And finally, 3x SRM4+2x C-MPL (though I prefer 2x SRM2 + 1x SRM4 + 2x C-MPL). Will eat Shadow Hawks for breakfast, and will give a Griffin a run for its money.

The only real pitfall to a 45 ton 'Mech is that it's still on the more fragile side, enough so that a Streak Boat will win against it 1v1 every time.


Heavy: Eeeeeeh...Catapult?

I dunno. Catapult K2 and Jester are pretty awesome when piloted correctly, but they remain squishy due to their size. Clans, probably the Mad Dog. A Streak Dog is worse for Lights than a Streak Crow, and it can mount significant other weapons all for a 16 kph deficit. Totally worth that trade, in my opinion.

Assault: Battlemaster (IS) and Gargoyle (Clan)

Battlemaster's only problem is that PGI won't let it twist. That's it. If it could twist, it would be bloody amazing. There is no other IS assault that has its combination of speed, agility, armor, and firepower. The BLR-3M, with an 80 degree base twist angle instead of f*ckin' 60, would be terrifying. A STD 340 lets it run with a WHK. Now it has 30 points of damage in 351 meter Medium lasers plus another 20-22 in PPCs or LPL. And it has 20 DHS: love it.

Gargoyle: Small pulse build, more armor than a TBR, and good hit-boxes for rolling damage is a scary thing. This thing, along with the EXE and other C-SPL-based brawling builds on the HBR, TBR, EBJ, and SCR, pretty much disprove the theory that Clans suck at brawling. They f*ckin' don't, and anybody who thinks they do is playing a completely different game.

[Christof Romulus]

Light: Urbanmech. Thought not to be competitive, it has an array of hardpoints on every variant that makes it a viable light brawler / skirmisher.

Medium: Wolverine. This mech never needed the insane quirks that it was granted to bring it to the same level of the Griffin and the Shadowhawk. That said, it has the same equipment as those two other mechs, with different hardpoints which simply made it unpopular.

Heavy: Black Knight. It's receiving a lot of flack, despite it boating the meta weapon of choice. She's fast, responsive, and durable. You just can't peek over hills.

Assault: Atlas. Former king of the battlefield has come a long way from the top of Mt. Olympus. A mech capable of carrying an 8 man team that has fallen far behind with each mech released with superior hardpoint inflation. Despite this, every Atlas variant has an assortment of hardpoints and the highest tonnage available to fill them making these machines guaranteed to be packing the heavier weapons in the Inner Sphere. You may never play one, but turn a corner too fast into a fresh Atlas and you're in for a world of hurt - meta or not.