19 replies to this topic

[NRP]

How are they? I feel like messing around with a new mech, and I've been thinking about them. I very rarely see then in game, so I'm wondering if they are any good.

I searched for a thread, but the latest I found was from 2015 which might have been before the rescale. Looking at them in the mech lab, they seem huge compared to other lights.

[Lupis Volk]

Video to help.

Wolfhounds are an oversized light but they can do something other lights can't.....tank and that's about it.

Edited by Lupis Volk, 17 February 2017 - 12:55 PM.

[TercieI]

They're big but have good hitboxes and quirks. Since the last quirk changes, the 2 is the runaway best. 6ML/5MPL. One of my current favorite rides.

[NRP]

Thanks guys.

Edited by NRP, 17 February 2017 - 01:33 PM.

[Athom83]

Honestly, the stock loadout of 4ML+(ER)LL does pretty well. Alternatively, swaping out the (ER)LL with 2 MPL and an extra heatsink/slightly larger engine is also pretty fun.

[Alcibiades]

You honestly have two options with the Wolfhound.

One is to be the ultimate pain in the rear sniper with an XL and 3 ERL.

The other is to go either med pulse or small pulse and get in close.

They're quite solid, but I'm inordinately biased in favour of the Wolfhounds going back to the MW 4 days.

[Jay Leon Hart]

I've always tended towards 1 (or 2) large® weapon(s) in the right arm, then fill the torsos with smaller ones. The exception is running a 6x MPL build, but I find that much less effective overall. I'm looking forward to trying the Grinner with ECM, a(n) (ER)PPC and 4 SPLs.

Wow, Jay, that is a mess with all those parentheses...

[Erronius]

I picked up a -1A, and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. With the max 295XL, I've tried a number of ML/MPL builds and they seem to run really hot. I lose torsos a lot (with XL), but maybe I'm not torso twisting as well or as often as I should be. It feels similar to how the Oxide feels to me: fast but not fast enough to GTFO if I mess up, strong armor, but also not strong enough if I mess up. It's also possible that I'm moving forward and engaging too early in this mech.

Maybe longer range weapons would work, I dunno. I think that I can fit 2 LL/ERLL on the -1A while keeping the max sized XL, though with the speed, maybe it's better to sacrifice speed to drop down to 3 LL/ERLL. Or another option might be to go the Commander Lemming route and run a standard in it. Either way, though, it doesn't seem like a bad mech (probably an issue with having a bad pilot, LOL) but whenever I start messing around in the mechlab, I find myself thinking "I could do this loadout in a Crab with better armor and still have decent speed..."

Another thought that occurred to me recently in a game: no one seems to be afraid of a Wolfhound. Most lights seem willing to stand and trade, as is pretty much everyone else.

I might still pick up the Grinner though...if for no other reason than the ECM

Edited by Erronius, 17 March 2017 - 06:17 AM.

[NRP]

I've been pretty disappointed by the Wolfhounds. I regret purchasing them. They're just far too big.

The ECM hero might help, but it will take valuable tonnage away from weapons. Being less visible isn't much help if all you can do is scratch enemies at close range.

[TercieI]

NRP, on 17 March 2017 - 07:09 AM, said:

I've been pretty disappointed by the Wolfhounds. I regret purchasing them. They're just far too big.

The ECM hero might help, but it will take valuable tonnage away from weapons. Being less visible isn't much help if all you can do is scratch enemies at close range.

Sorry they're not working for you. I still dig 'em (well, the 2).

[Tordin]

They are though, great hitboxes works very well with both STD, XL and propably LFE too when those will be included.
They are also as big as they should be. In MW 4 they were tall, in the Battletech cartoon they were tall as well.







Remember, the tallness isnt an issue (except when bad hitboxes) unless the mech got resized wider as well, which it barely didnt. Still slim, still deadly.

Bonus, I found this concept pic of what the one we have in-game looked like. Glade they changed it, looks good still though.




The in-game Special resistance model



The standard variant.

Edited by Tordin, 17 March 2017 - 08:04 AM.

[Athom83]

Erronius, on 17 March 2017 - 06:16 AM, said:

I picked up a -1A, and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. With the max 295XL, I've tried a number of ML/MPL builds and they seem to run really hot. I lose torsos a lot (with XL), but maybe I'm not torso twisting as well or as often as I should be. It feels similar to how the Oxide feels to me: fast but not fast enough to GTFO if I mess up, strong armor, but also not strong enough if I mess up. It's also possible that I'm moving forward and engaging too early in this mech.

With an XL engine its best to use a mix of Small lasers and Small pulse lasers (Or even ERSLs when they come out with the new tech). But with a Std Engine you can really crank up the firepower and survivability if you don't mind only going 100kph. Builds with 4 ML + (ER)LL, 6 ML/MPL (4ML + 2MPL), and LPL + 4 SL are all pretty decent if you have enough DHS. There were games in the 2 where I essentially ran around as a stick with only 2-3 mediums left. Its a really good zombie mech.

Erronius, on 17 March 2017 - 06:16 AM, said:

Maybe longer range weapons would work, I dunno. I think that I can fit 2 LL/ERLL on the -1A while keeping the max sized XL, though with the speed, maybe it's better to sacrifice speed to drop down to 3 LL/ERLL. Or another option might be to go the Commander Lemming route and run a standard in it.

Unlike other Lights, it isn't a good sniper. You can skirmish at range with a single ERLL, but most of your weapons should be the smaller lasers (smalls or mediums).

Erronius, on 17 March 2017 - 06:16 AM, said:

Another thought that occurred to me recently in a game: no one seems to be afraid of a Wolfhound. Most lights seem willing to stand and trade, as is pretty much everyone else.

I noticed that too in a lot of my games in it. I made them all regret it though XD. When they're damaged and just stop in front of you with an open component, just alpha strike with all the lazors and they quickly become unhappy. My highest damage game is only 500 something (not the 1000 damage some other lights can do) but I seem to have a lot of fun in it. But you shouldn't really stop to trade even if the enemy stop. Just set CC to 100% and weave around cover when needed.

[ocular tb]

I run my -1 with XL 315 and 5ML and the -2 with XL 275 and 5MPL. The -1A and -1B I own but don't use since their quirks aren't as good and they don't offer anything unique as far as hardpoints; Wolfhounds are all kind of the same. But the two that I do use are among my favorite lights right now. Not because they're great but they just click with my play style for some reason. The re-scale hasn't been very kind to them but I don't think it hurt them as much as others such as the Jenners. Those poor things are just a mere shadow of their former selves and it makes me sad.

I guess it just comes down to personal preference. I usually do well in Wolfhounds and will do better in them than if I were in a Firestarter, which most people think are better.

Edited by ocular tb, 23 April 2017 - 04:36 PM.

[KS Highlander]

I picked up the Grinner,and have a few comments.
First thing, it was slow as anything, awkward and overheated like mad. I relegated it to a back mechbay and left it alone. A week ago, I broke it out again. Swapped out engines, added a few skill points.... All of a sudden its not so bad. Engine swap make it move faster, skill points make it tankier. And as several have said, it is fun to play. Slowly spilling it up and enjoying.
The basic mech needs help to be fun. Don't give up on it. Build it up.

[Koniving]

Tordin, on 17 March 2017 - 08:01 AM, said:

They are though, great hitboxes works very well with both STD, XL and propably LFE too when those will be included.
They are also as big as they should be. In MW 4 they were tall, in the Battletech cartoon they were tall as well.

Should probably note...
The Wolf Hound in the cartoon is appropriately sized with your picture of the wolfhound and the guy.

However... the Thor (Summoner) in that cartoon and the canon is 12.4 meters tall.

The Wolfhound in MWO is...
13 meters tall.
o.O;
Here's a comparison after making the guy approximately the same height throughout.
Summoner was a little trickier since in truth, the guy depicted is not standing straight. I scaled on getting the launcher height at approximately 12.4 meters on the scale lines.

(Edit realized the scale of the Thor wasn't where it was intended, adjusted a little more.)
Lights and lighter mediums usually range between 6 (for particularly squat chicken leggers) and 11 meters tall in BT. The exceptionally tall (or thick) ones have endo steel or endo + ferro while those without tend to be quite a bit more compact.

Then again... The tallest mech in up til 3065 is 14.4 meters tall. That grand monster is the Executioner, and it towers over the Atlas at (depending on the source) 13 to 14 meters tall (and if you count the exaggerations of panicked narrators/pilots, taking into account the information bias/unreliable narrator factors that FASA said is prevalent in many of their stories [such as how Steiners believe Steiners are good, and Kurita believes Steiners are evil, etc.]... then you could say a giant Atlas is 15 meters with several exclamation points.

(MWO's Atlas is 17.6 meters.)

Edited by Koniving, 13 October 2017 - 10:38 AM.

[jss78]

To me Wolfhounds are one of the standout beneficiaries of LFE introduction.

I always liked them with STD engines, but if you wanted LL/LPL calibre weapon you were stuck with <250 engine ratings. Now you can go faster, get those 10 "tru-dubs", and remain very tanky.

They play like really sturdy ultralight mediums. You can support your team where needed with the speed and put in a good amount of damage before going down. Very comfortable to take in the pug queue.

[iofhua]

What are your thoughts on this?
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...307b6c199fb1f33

My thoughts:

The champion wolfhound gets a quirk for 10% bonus energy range. This could stack with the range bonuses from the weapon skill tree for a 25% range bonus on the ERLL's.

Personally I like beagle probes. Not only do they give bonus sensor range, but you earn extra money for every ECM user you target. This would stack with the bonus from a champion mech.

I wanted an AMS, but didn't want to strip off any more armor to make room for ammo. I know a half-ton is less than ideal, but it's a tight fit so I work with what I have.

I'm not too concerned about the 78 kph speed. That's enough to hang close to the mediums and heavies on your team. I see this as more of a artillery platform than a scout.

The important parts are armored and you can survive loss of one torso. It should be fairly durable.

It has drawbacks. It's slow for a light, it overheats pretty quick, but I like large lasers and I think there's a shock factor to a light mech being able to reach out and touch you with a decent alpha a kilometer away.

This might be my next one. Not sure yet. I haven't been able to play lately because I'm in the middle of a move.

* Made a skill plan for it:
https://tarogato-mwo...ae-f51d8cc478f3

Has all the Range, Heat Gen, and Laser Duration nodes on the weapon tree.
Has both AMS Overload nodes in survival tree.
Has some of the Torso Pitch and Torso Yaw nodes in mobility tree (good because no weapons on arms)
Has all Heat Containment and some Cool Run on operations tree
Has all Sensor Range and Advanced Zoom on sensors tree

Edited by iofhua, 27 October 2017 - 08:01 AM.

[iofhua]

I'm trying out that build and it's a blast. Most fun I've had in MWO so far. I'm doing a lot better with it, partly because 3 LL's on a light lets it punch above it's weight class, and partly because the light engine gives it more survivability than an XL. I survived a round today with half my mech blown off. No left arm, no left torso, and no left leg.

I've been using XL's up until now to get more tonnage to work with, but the light engine is completely worth the couple extra tons to fit it.

So I'm loving it. I got the halloween camo on it too. Looks really cool.

Can't wait to get enough skill points to fill out the tree like I want.

[Rayden Wolf]

Bought a Grinner yesterday.
Equiped 5 Medpls and a 280(or260, not sure about that)XL in it, skilled Speedtweak and Survival. Its a tough knifefighter but its also pretty hot. Fire to or 3 alphas and and use your 140kph to **** off and cool down.
Thr firepower is pretty meh but the speed and mobility is awesome. And you choose hou fights, noone else.

Edited by Rayden Wolf, 26 November 2017 - 03:11 AM.

[LittleGrim]

Rayden Wolf, on 26 November 2017 - 03:10 AM, said:

Bought a Grinner yesterday.
Equiped 5 Medpls and a 280(or260, not sure about that)XL in it, skilled Speedtweak and Survival. Its a tough knifefighter but its also pretty hot. Fire to or 3 alphas and and use your 140kph to **** off and cool down.
Thr firepower is pretty meh but the speed and mobility is awesome. And you choose hou fights, noone else.

Been running mine with a LFE and 5MPL. You are not a fast mech, do not get too far away from your team and pick on mechs who are separated from the main blob either killing them or kiting them into the firepower of your team. Once a team brawl starts you have enough survivability to do quick dives into the team and enough firepower to make the bigger mechs turn away from your advancing team.

I cannot overstate that you need to stay closish to your team though as @115KPH you will not outrun the faster meds/lights and getting double teamed is generally death. The bugger is tough, play to its strengths. Also very hot, but again promotes picking your targets and a looping style of engagement IE: come in dump, run away to your team to cool off, if they follow you've hopefully opened up a side torso at the very least.

Actual Build: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ec2c28944e9050d
With skill tree it brings your side torso to 43 armour(front), CT to 56 and legs to 47. Missing 2 hardening nodes. As I said runs hot so I take firepower + operations trees over mobility, as well as the ECM nodes.

Edited by LittleGrim, 06 December 2017 - 07:43 PM.