7 replies to this topic

[Skulldish]

I was playing around in the mechlab, and I ended up building this. Short story, 2 LBx's, 1 Large Pulse laser, and 65 kph with jump jets and about max armor. Do you think this would be a good build?
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...41f3abcf785862a

[Phoenix Gray]

The LBX's are terrific at stripping armor and scaring off light mechs, but lack the concentrated killing power of other AC's. They also have a shorter effective range. Look damn cool though. Either write off ranged fire and act solely as a brawler, or consider swapping out the LPL for an ER Large Laser or ERPPC. Alternatively, scrap the energy weapon entirely for an equivalent weight of SRM's for close-in murder if your chassis version will support them, or a mix of medium/medium pulse/srms.

[Gigastrike]

It needs all sorts of cleaning up, and even then there's a ton of inherent problems with it. It's too slow for the range it works at, it's not deadly enough of a brawler to justify the XL engine, it has no real ranged option, LBX 10s aren't that great in general...

I normally try to suggest ways to build off of what you have, but this is at the point where I'd tell you to just start again from scratch. It could be made instantly better by switching to AC/10s and a large laser or ER PPC, but even then it would need more work.

Edited by Gigastrike, 13 March 2013 - 05:31 PM.

[Sug]

Phoenix Gray, on 13 March 2013 - 05:08 PM, said:

The LBX's are terrific at stripping armor and scaring off light mechs

No.

Gigastrike, on 13 March 2013 - 05:22 PM, said:

LBX 10s aren't that great in general...

Yes.

[Tremendous Upside]

Few things on that build stick out to me... First off, you're running an XL engine with a load out where 2/3s of you're weapons are in your arms. You have nothing to shield yourself with to deflect damage from the side/center torsos that won't hurt you badly if you lose them. Stick the LPL into the torso if you're sold on running like this. Second, you've got your ammo packed in the side torso and 4 jump jets in the legs. One good hit to the LT and you could pop like a Roman candle... Between these two factors, it's a very "fragile" build for a 70-ton heavy.

Aside from that, to echo what the others have said - you're going to have a LOT of problems stripping mechs down on your own between just 1 LPL and 2 LB-10Xs. It's low on alpha damage and very little focused damage. You don't have a lot of ammo, and unless you're walking "escort" for something that can strip armor or soften things up - it's gonna be tough. You'd be better off cutting to one LB-10X and filling all three energy hardpoints. That is IF you just have to use the 10X... I've used 3xLLs and 1 AC10 and it worked well - but that's because all of the damage was pinpoint and you could cut through components quickly that way. The 10X isn't going to be much help till you get under the armor... You need more weapons on this that'll get you to that point.

If I were you, I'd chop out 2 tons of ammo, remove 1 of the 10Xs and two of the jump jets and then build around the space you have left over. 4 MLs and 2 UAC5s is also a very serviceable and effective build on the 3D if you don't want a pop tart sniper.

[RumRunner151]

You have gotten some good advice here, though its light on specifics. The reason is that you have not mentioned a play style and/or role. Anybody can throw on weapons and make a mech. The most successful ones are tailored to a play style/role. Your current build is a mix and match. You have taken brawler weapons (I am a fan of LB10Xs) and managed heat so you have a good DPS to stand in there an pound, but then you counter that by using an XL engine that makes you unable to stand in there an pound. You have jumpjets, but you are neither a poptart sniper or fast agile striker, so they are wasting tons/slots.

So my suggestion is to tell us your play style, and what role you want to fill and we can give you specifics for a build. Otherwise, your build is "fine".

[themoob]

XL engine in a slow, brawler Cataphract is a quick way to die horribly. Each side torso is the size of a CENTURION CENTRE TORSO.

Also I find LBXs underperform compared to other ACs personally.

[CygnusX7]

Here's a few I've messed with.. Minus the XL340 on the NGNG build. I usually dump the JJ's.
Haven't spent much time JJ sniping though.

AC10, 4ML, STD300 with JJ's: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3bf84f281ca0181
AC2,2x ERPPC, 2ML, XL340 - NGNG Marauder build with JJ's: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...840815367284670
2x AC10, 4ML, XL300: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3761007bff9f0b8

STD is the way to go if you're working on survival.

Edited by CygnusX7, 14 March 2013 - 01:38 PM.