52 replies to this topic

[Alopias]

Hi all,

I justed got myself a CPLT 2K and I like to know what config you are running on this Mech? What is working very well for you?

Looking forward to your feedback.

[Firesteel]

I've stuck by ER PPCs since closed beta.

I run 2 ER PPCs and 2 ML with standard armor loadout and a std 305 engine with 18 heatsinks.

This fast sniper is great once you figure out PPCs and is amazing on alpine.

[Danish Fury]

I've been loving dual ac10's and 4x ml with an xl300. Has the feel of the 20's without being gimped on speed, ammo, reload time, heat, etc.

@ Firesteel: I like the look of that build. Haven't considered running without an xl engine, since they work so well in 'pults. Can't wait to try it out!

K-2 is by far my favorite mech to tinker with, in the month or so since I started playing

[Escef]

My favorite.

What I've run lately.

There's also the 20Cat and GaussCat, both known for packing twin heavy ballistics. I've heard of quad Large Lasers and quad PPCs. The K2 is just a very flexible machine. I advise keeping away from XL engines if you can, the myth of the Catapults near invisible side torsos is just not true.

[Firesteel]

If you have exceedingly good aim, nothing beats the PPC in my book since you can fight indefinitely and don't need to worry about your ammo being destroyed. However, you must make every shot count since they generate tons of heat (still). Plus, who doesn't love firing a bolt of lighting?

In all seriousness though, brawling with them in your arms is a nightmare. I run my Flame as a grand dragon and it has some of the poorest accuracy of any weapon in the arms since I can hit the paper doll and deal no damage or have a well aimed shot inexplicably miss.

[pesco]

2 PPCs in the arms.
2 LLs in the torso.
2 MGs.
255 XL Engine.
18 DHSs.
Standard Structure.
Standard Armor.

Works like a charm; my only gripe being the occasional death by XL.

Edited by pesco, 04 March 2013 - 12:12 PM.

[Phoenix Gray]

Small lasers. They'll never see it coming. And talk about heat efficient...!

[Ceesa]

Another vote for 4 ML, 2 AC/10, 300 XL. Keep 200m away from your targets though.

[EmperorMyrf]

Escef, on 04 March 2013 - 11:33 AM, said:

My favorite.

What I've run lately.

There's also the 20Cat and GaussCat, both known for packing twin heavy ballistics. I've heard of quad Large Lasers and quad PPCs. The K2 is just a very flexible machine. I advise keeping away from XL engines if you can, the myth of the Catapults near invisible side torsos is just not true.

Just built your first build and I'm really enjoying it so far, thanks

[Escef]

EmperorMyrf, on 04 March 2013 - 12:29 PM, said:

Just built your first build and I'm really enjoying it so far, thanks

No, thank you. It's a good, solid, unexceptional machine. But it gets the job done. Treat it well and it will be good to you.

EDIT: This is what I'm talkin' bout.

Spoiler

Edited by Escef, 04 March 2013 - 04:12 PM.

[Eisenhorne]

Firesteel, on 04 March 2013 - 11:12 AM, said:

I've stuck by ER PPCs since closed beta.

I run 2 ER PPCs and 2 ML with standard armor loadout and a std 305 engine with 18 heatsinks.

This fast sniper is great once you figure out PPCs and is amazing on alpine.

Thats basically the exact loadout I run on my dragon, but because you have 5 more tons to play with I need to go with an XL engine.

[Zervziel]

I've always been a fan of the dreaded KC20. Basically a K2 with Twin AC20s. Not something you want to turn a corner and find yourself face to face with. Hang back and support your heavier friends and when you see an opening in an enemies armor, you can put 40+ damage on that location.

[Abulafia]

Danish Fury, on 04 March 2013 - 11:25 AM, said:

I've been loving dual ac10's and 4x ml with an xl300. Has the feel of the 20's without being gimped on speed, ammo, reload time, heat, etc.

I also love this one. Another variant I've tried is dual UAC/5s with 2xLL and an XL300. It puts out good consistent damage without jamming if you wait for the UAC cooldown, and if you're willing to take your chances on the jamming, it can chew through anything in a pinch.

[Fitzbattleaxe]

My favorite is the dual UAC/5s with 4xML and XL300. I've recently been trying out 2xERPPC and 2xLL with an XL300, and it seems to work pretty well despite running a little hot. Might drop down to the regular PPCs or MLs at some point and see how that affects things. I've avoided the "cheese" builds so far because I find anything with only one weapon type to be a bit boring.

[p00k]

the k2's strength is still double ballistics with good convergence. yeah you can ppc boat it up, but you don't have the versatility of the poptart 3d phract

to that end, ac20 or gausscat is still the best use for a k2 imo

[RLBell]

My build is a little odd, as it is cobbled together from what I had lying around:

A 255XL engine from a Stalker-5S (Really, given how often they lose a side torso, who puts an XL in a Stalker [ok, I do, but its a 300XL to make it go faster and fit two DHS in the engine]).

Two ERPPC's left lying around when I stole the -K2's PPC's to make a 6PPC Stalker (a guilty pleasure that requires more skill than I expected. PPC Stalkers are probably better with four PPC's, more armor [had to take a ton off each leg], SRM's, and AMS).

Two ML's

As many more single heat sinks as I could fit after pulling the MG's and ammo, for a total of 29.

Its even more fun than the stock -K2 (thanks to the trial mech, I had over 3000 mech XP when I bought-- they are that much fun!)

[Lynx7725]

I ran a GunCat build recently and is quite happy with it. I run it as a Ballistic platform, as I have an Awesome-8Q for the energy boating. Here's how it evolved:

• Bought a stock K2, and stripped the loadout out. Near max armour on it, with the stock 260 STD engine. Experimented a bit but eventually settled for twin AC10s, and 30 rounds. For both guns. I recommend this build for newbies because it really teaches you to conserve your shots and AIM, STUPID.
  
• Next, I trimmed the armour back a bit. This thread shows that the rear side torso armour could be a little less armoured than ideal... don't go overboard though. Legs also got pruned a bit. This gave me a ton to up the ammo to a more confortable 22 per gun.
  
• After that, worked up to replace the stock 260 STD with a 300 XL. That didn't work out. The slower 260 forces me to close slower, which meant I get more shots out of the AC10s before I close to brawling range. The more powerful 300XL meant I closed faster and the GunCat is not the best brawler for me. So eventually I stripped the 300XL out...
  
• ... for a 250 STD. Why? Because the 250 drops a ton compared to the 260, and that gave me 30 rounds per gun. A lot more comfortable.

So now my K2 has settled into a stable state. It can move at 68KPH or so, and has 28 tons for loadout, and 51 slots -- the maximum. There are no applied upgrades, so this Cat is quite cheap -- about 9 mil with armour and engine, but no weapons. Moving on, the future for my K2 includes:

• UltraCat. Twin Ultra AC 5s, with up to 5 tons of ammo for each. That's 10 tons of AC ammo and probably way overkill.
  
• Alternatively, an Ultra/ Boom Cat build with an Ultra AC5 and a AC20 is possible. Better with ES upgrade, but still have decent ammo load.
  
• An Endo-Steel Upgrade. This ups the loadout weight to 31 tons, and the slots available to 37 slots. Still plenty. What this allows for is:
  
• BoomCat: Twin AC20 with 3 tons of ammo. A bit slow though, so it might not be ideal.
  
• Combined with a 300 XL upgrade, this allows for a GaussCat built, twin Gauss and 4 tons of ammo.
  
• Of course if you like shotgunning, twin LB-10x with lots of ammo is possible.

So that pretty much is what I considered to be the my most flexible GunCat build. Of course this maximizes on Ballistics, not Energy, but I presume there's a lot the EnergyCat fiends can do with 28/31 tons and 51/37 slots.

Edited by Lynx7725, 04 March 2013 - 11:06 PM.

[Abulafia]

Lynx7725, on 04 March 2013 - 11:01 PM, said:

• UltraCat. Twin Ultra AC 5s, with up to 5 tons of ammo for each. That's 10 tons of AC ammo and probably way overkill.

I find that five tons of ammo total is enough that I never (or hardly ever) run out with dual UAC/5s. You might find that 6 or 7 tons is a more reasonable overkill.

[Lynx7725]

Abulafia, on 05 March 2013 - 05:07 AM, said:

I find that five tons of ammo total is enough that I never (or hardly ever) run out with dual UAC/5s. You might find that 6 or 7 tons is a more reasonable overkill.

I just got my EndoSteel upgrade so I gave the Ultra/ BoomCat a try. It didn't work out. Just jams too often and I was hung out to dry.

So I tried something else.. in the process of taking out the AC10, there was a horrifying realisation -- you can actually fit both an AC10 AND an AC20 into my GunCat. And have 2 tons of ammo for the AC20, 3 for the AC10. That's 14 and 45 rounds respectively. The idea behind it is to use the AC10 as your spotter round and long range gun, and the AC20 as a follow through at range once you are fairly sure you hit. And it runs fairly cool too, even with 10 single heat sinks.

I hereby christian this short-and-long combination the DaishoCat.

EDIT: For additional flavour, you can swap the AC10 for an LB-10X, and use the extra ton for more AC20 ammo. That's really an assault gun though...

Edited by Lynx7725, 05 March 2013 - 08:29 AM.

[Tesunie]

I eventually intend to get a cat and fit it up with 2 large lasers and 2 LBXAC10s. It will take a lot of expense to do, but I think it could be nice. Lasers for range and some pin point damage, and LBXAC10s for fast pests, general armor breach, less accuracy snap shots.

Haven't tried it yet, but it sounds promising in my head. If anyone wished to try it out, message me the results.