23 replies to this topic

[Arctourus]

My first mech purchase was a Trebuchet 7m. Love the mech, but got tired of my old loadout. I had horrible luck with it in the original loadout because I didn't realize that you had to maintain target lock with lrms....I know, I was an ***** noob. I retooled it with better armor, three mplas and two srm6 and one srm4. It made for a great brawler so long as I chose the right time and place to leap into battle.

Anyway, my second mech was a jenner that I loaded out for close combat hit and runs. It has short range lasers and srms....so the two ended up being very similar in playstyle. I'd like to retool the trebbie for a balanced ranged support. I currently have one erppc, one lrm 15 and three mlas. It's a balanced build, but I haven't had much time to play it yet and was wondering if it might be tweaked better. Would replacing the LRM with a couple of streaks and swapping the mlas for a second erppc make for a better loadout? Any suggestions? I know that people who don't know how to use cover get wound about "pop tarts" and snipers, so your complaints are duly noted ahead of time, no griping necessary.

[Wanderfalke NK]

Replace the LRM with another ER PPC. Solution if you dont have enough tonnage? Smaller XL.

[Gigastrike]

Does your Treb have ferro-fibrous armor and no endo-steel structure?

[Wanderfalke NK]

What makes you think, he does? Oo

[Arctourus]

I've got the endo steel, but it won't let me do the ferro fibrous as well. I may not have the slots for it.

Are the streaks a good alternative then? I see some loadouts like that that have the two erppc's and a couple of streaks for anything that gets close. To me, only two missiles jumping out seems...weak, but I guess they do decent enough damage and really help with smaller, quicker mechs.

[Ohari]

I actually sold my Treb 7m BUT I did have it built up as a long range support. This is how I had it....

xl250
3 med Lasers
2 LRM 15 + artemis (3t ammo)
1 streak (1t ammo)
endo

Now this did not deviate too much from stock armor set up so you have to do remember to keep your distance. With Artemis I was able to fire on the run and maintain LOS. HOWEVER this build is vulnerable to the light ECMs. All you have to do is keep an eye on the flow of the battlefield and keep your distance.

OH also this mech had advanced sensors, this actually helped with the Atlas D-DC ECM builds..just stay in that sweet spot if you can.

[Peekaboom]

I've been messing around with various 7m loadouts. Artemis is a pretty sweet upgrade that makes your missiles a lot more effective. Keep in mind that the missile port on the right side (where the NARC was) only fires 1 missile at a time, so don't load an LRM-15 in there or anything.

Here's a shorter range variants:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3c8b3ea49cefc21

1 ER PPC
2 Med PL
2 SRM-6 with Artemis
2 Extra double heat sinks

It's got the ER PPC for long-range fire and it tangle pretty well up close.

A variant on the above goes like this:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...97e2ef93bbe1e86

1 ER PPC
2 ML
1 SRM-4 with Artemis
1 LRM-15 with Artemis

Doesn't excel in any one role, but it can do well in a variety of situations.

[Atayu]

The trench bucket was not ment to be a snipper and other mechs can make much better snipers.

[Devil Fox]

The 7M variant isn't a sniper variant in my books, the jumpjet's give you flexibilty for mobility whether it's an LRM or brawler set up. I initially ran TBT-7M which was good at all ranges unless you find the pesky ecm light...

At present I use mine with a LPL, 2 MPL with an assortment of SRM's as a close range power puncher. Which substitutes my longer range 7K and my main laser brawler the 5J.

[ohtochooseaname]

I've had great luck/fun with my 7M using:
1 PPC
1 MLas
1 TAG
1 Artemis LRM 15 (3T Ammo)
2 SSRM2 (1T Ammo)

It has an XL255 in it and full armor everywhere but the legs.

It works pretty well for both long range and short, but really excels at mid range, where all the weapons can come to bear. It even works against 2D's and 3L's if you're a good shot with the PPC. TAG and PPC are on separate arms to make sure that there's generally going to be something to circumvent a DDC's ECM.

[Phoenix Gray]

Maybe something like this?

http://tinyurl.com/amzo7tp

You might want to drop a ton of LRM ammo and add CASE.

Edited by Phoenix Gray, 15 March 2013 - 11:36 AM.

[Amsro]

I use a varied combo of Medium Lasers and SRM6+Artemis on all treb variants (different amounts depending on hardpoints), just the best heat/damage ratio.

This usually allows you have max armor and engine as well.

Sniping just doesn't work well with the treb.

[Forestal]

Amsro, on 15 March 2013 - 01:36 PM, said:

Sniping just doesn't work well with the treb.

Depends on your idea of "sniping"-- if it means camping and having what is an essentially a long-distance stand-off, then no treb can bring that kind of armor or firepower.

But if you mean actually looking for cover, trying to get on the enemy's blindside, etc.-- you know, the early part of a sniper's job before the shooting actually starts (many army snipers are trained or recruited from scouts)-- then trebs or even lights will be the ones to do the job...

I guess I would call it "back-sniping" to distinguish it from what usually passes for "sniping" in MWO... it rarely works/goes well because it's more "realistic" (and therefore challenging), cos snipers (or "back-snipers" in MWO) must constantly worry about working with the team (focus fire) as well getting cut off from them, etc.

Edited by Forestal, 16 March 2013 - 12:13 AM.

[Tenri]

Really? I think it makes an excellent pop tart sniper. 2 erppcs, big XL engine, 2x ssrm + 1ton ammo and you have yourself a pop tart sniper. Though personally I hate using the arms and prefer torso hard points for snipers but the arms are useful when you're in short-med range combat.

edit: Personally I like the 7k as a sniping platform though I miss the JJ on the 7M and 7J

Edited by Tenri, 15 March 2013 - 06:34 PM.

[Forestal]

Tenri, on 15 March 2013 - 06:30 PM, said:

Really? I think it makes an excellent pop tart sniper. 2 erppcs, big XL engine, 2x ssrm + 1ton ammo and you have yourself a pop tart sniper. Though personally I hate using the arms and prefer torso hard points for snipers but the arms are useful when you're in short-med range combat.

edit: Personally I like the 7k as a sniping platform though I miss the JJ on the 7M and 7J

Hey, I'm trying out the 7k myself! And it turns out the shoulder mounts are "forcing/training" me to take much better aim, since the shots take longer to line up...and I'll take quality over quantity anyday.

But with the availability of ecm, the trebbie sniper will probably never catch on in MWO-- I mean, I don't think I have ever dropped with another trebbie sniper... though it would be nice to have one trailing/guarding the light scouts (I mostly do this-- it's time to start shooting when they start retreating), and another playing scout/guard for the heavies.

Anyway, in response to the thread starter--MWO sniping is "skill-intensive" (or "location, location, location") rather than "build-intensive" (everything has a sharp trade-off with trebbies and other mediums/lights), just like with real-life snipers... especially since trebbies have to do it "hardcore" without ecm!

IOW, just pack whatever you need "on-the-go" and GO-- I mean, go quietly...

Edited by Forestal, 16 March 2013 - 01:34 AM.

[Arctourus]

I've been playing more with my original loadout (one erppc, one lrm 15, two mlas) and it's actually working out very well. I may switch it up some with some of the suggestions you've given from time to time though.

The hard part is getting used to staying at the fringe of battle...I sometimes follow too closely and get in a firefight that I can't retreat from. Having one ppc means that, as a sniper, I can cause some damage but rarely steamroll a target immediately. That being said, if you stay far enough away, you can pound away at a target with the one ppc and lrm without becomeing too exposed.

Granted, the ppc in the arm makes for an easy loss to damage, but overall, if you don't get that close, it's not an issue. With some retooling, this mech could take a second erppc easily. I think it's turning out to make a great sniper, if not an overpowered one. But then again, everyone gripes about the overpowered builds anyways, so I guess this one just feels more fun because it's more balanced.

My original build was a brawler...srms and mplas, but I just got bored with it. It was, however, a great build for the chasis too.

[Culler]

I have my M kitted out as a poptart sniper with an ERPPC and a PPC and have had good success with it. I use an XL300 engine, endo, and all the double heat sinks I can carry. Behold! http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e59c8574c58d424

I have both PPCs on right click and just the ERPPC on left click. Having one of each type means I'm not SOL for brawling (you can't really fire 2 ERPPCs and brawl anyway) and my heat is a little more manageable.

[Forestal]

Arctourus, on 16 March 2013 - 05:59 AM, said:

My original build was a brawler...srms and mplas, but I just got bored with it. It was, however, a great build for the chasis too.

My original build was an lrm boat, but I started looking for a challenge as soon as my kill-death/win-loss ratios started improving -- so I switched out one lrm 15 for a PPC, then another... until my ratios are literally "in the red".

So I am still playing with around with my options (more lrm? more srm? more lasers?)... cos I guess trebbies will always be playing some kind "hybrid-sniper" role-- as opposed to the pure/perfect "camping-snipers" like the Stalker.

[Forestal]

Culler, on 16 March 2013 - 03:06 PM, said:

I have my M kitted out as a poptart sniper with an ERPPC and a PPC and have had good success with it. I use an XL300 engine, endo, and all the double heat sinks I can carry. Behold! http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e59c8574c58d424

I see you chose to lose the armor (32 pts/ton) on the legs to fit in one more double heat-sink... whereas I chose to lose 2 jump jets (0.5 ton/jet)-- I never liked to jump that high (& become a target), just enough to get around the odd ramp/ridge quickly.

Which means that if you lose 2 jump jets, while I lose some leg armor-- we could both fit an extra heat-sink in our builds... and Chain-Fire FTW! Bwahahahah!

Edited by Forestal, 16 March 2013 - 06:50 PM.

[Phoenix Gray]

Here are couple of ideas I noodled for TrenchSnipes:

http://tinyurl.com/b49r8rh

http://tinyurl.com/byvf5sc

The need to manage your heat means, in this case, skimping on backup weapons. The SRMs are not there so you can brawl, they are there so you have something that you can throw in a close-in opponent's face as you re-open the distance with speed and jump jets. Also, if you are stuck in a close-in fight, they give you a cooler weapon to fire while bleeding down heat from the ERPPCs.