21 replies to this topic

[Kaylos Thex]

So, pretty simple question.

How much ammo do you bring for each weapon?

Now I find that if you do the math, one ton of ammo, whether in an AC2 or AC20, is 100 points worth of damage. It is all in the delivery.

That being said, I will opt for 3 tons for an auto cannon. So if I mount two cannons, i need to bring 6 tons of ammo. More than that I end matches with wasted tonnage, less and I run out.

If I have a large energy weapon to back it up, I may only need 2 tons. But I find with the two large guns, AC20 and Gauss, I don't feel safe with less than 4 tons.

LRMs seem to need one ton of ammo, per 5 tubes on the launcher. So an LRM 5 will be ok with 1 ton, but a LRM 20 can eat up 4 tons.

On an SRM set up, I like to have 1 ton of ammo, per 3 tubes. So an SRM 6, or three SRM 2's can throw the same amount of damage and in both cases, work best with 2 tons of ammo to keep them going. A single SRM 4, or two 2's, could get by with 1 ton of ammo.

What about yourself? How much is enough for you?

PS, I find it odd that the LRM 5 is the only missile launcher that gets you weight savings. Four of them weighs less and shoots faster, than one LRM 20. SRM' s are balanced at .5 ton per tube.

Edited by Kaylos Thex, 03 April 2013 - 07:30 PM.

[NRP]

3 tons per gun.

[Loc Nar]

Depends on the weapon...

AC2 I use 2t per gun
UAC5 2t per gun
AC5 3t per gun
AC20 4-6t per gun
Gauss 4-6t per gun

SRM 1t for every multiple of 4 (SRM4 =1t)
LRM 1t/5missiles (LRM 15 = 3t)

[Hex Pallett]

AC20/Gauss: 3 tons each. That's usually just enough for me to complete a match. You can't handle that? Well, you sir need to practice your aiming.

AC2: It depends. My go would be 1.5 ton each, or as close to that as possible.

AC5/UAC5: 2 tons each. Probably a bit more on UAC, since it depletes ammo faster. My 5-tier ballistic experience is rather limited, but that feels enough for me.

AC10/LBX10: 3 tons each. I never used AC10 and rarely use LBX10 for hunting Lights, so don't take my word for it.

LRM: Probably 1 ton per 5-salvo. However for higher salvo-count you have in your launcher, the need for ammo marginally decreases as they tend to fire slower.

SRM4/6: 1 ton or less as back-up weapon, 1.5 as main weapon.

SRM2/SSRM2: Half ton per launcher should suffice.

[Valrock]

I find that a weapon's role also dictates how much ammo I bring, instead of just the weapon itself.

Stalker with laser/srm brawler build, carrying a single LRM 10. I only carry one ton of ammo for it, as the weapon's purpose is to provide fire while I close the gap, or eliminate damaged runners. However for my Catapult, wherein the LRM is the primary weapon, I'll carry twice that amount per tube.

Double UAC sniper build, 3 ton per weapon, whereas having a single UAC as a backup on a PPC build might only carry one ton.


Its not just the weapon type that matter, its the weapon's role.

[SchwarzerPeter]

Like Valrock said it depends on the mech / the role the weapon is playing. But i tend to take more ballistic ammo with me. These guns are damn heavy and i hate it to run out of ammo in longer matches. After all in most cases the ballistics make half the weapon tonnage, so better support them with enough ammo.

In my Dragon i got a AC10 with 4t, because its also my long range support. 3t have been running out quite often (and yes i do hit ).

My Atlas D-DC runs a AC20 with 5t. Its the mainweapon in a brawl.

My Jager has Dual UAC5 with 7t. 6 should also be fine, but i have no more crits for DHS free. AC5 dont need that much ammo, they fire slower (and more shots per t).

In my mechs SRM are mainly a backup weapon. I carry only 1t ammo per SRM6/4. You need to be pretty close so that all missiles hit. For firesupport is 1t enough.

I don't like LRMs that much, so i dont use them.

[Hammerfinn]

I find for ballistics, about 2.5 tons (rounded up) per weapon works well.

For SRMs and Streaks, 1 ton for every 4 tubes.

For LRMS, enough to fire about 20-25 salvos.

However, as pointed out, if it's a support weapon, less is needed.

[chenkTheTank]

I start with 1ton for every weapon, so 1 lrm 20 3 AC2's and 1 srm 6 would be 1 ton lrm 3 tons ac2 and 1 ton srm.

If i run out in a match i add more, if i consistently have a bunch left over i drop some.

[Elizander]

3 is usually enough for an AC/20 and Gauss though I've burned through 4 tons before but it is rare. As long as you have backup weapons, not having ammo for a full 15 minute firefight is fine as long as you smash through 2-4 mechs with your AC before going dry.

UAC/5, AC/2s usually 2 tons for each. SRMs 1 ton per. I don't use guided missiles since ECM.

[HeliosRX]

Hm, how do you guys get by with so little UAC ammo?

I run at least 3 tons per gun, unless I pack 2 UAC 1 ERPPC, in which case 5 tons total. Any less and I start running out at the end-game, and honestly 5 tons goes like crazy for the UAC if you're trigger-happy.

Gauss is always 3 tons, I can never get through all three in a match. 2 is just asking for your heavy 15-ton gun to become deadweight mid-game.

AC20... 3-4 tons should be sufficient. 7 tons for dual AC20 works well, I find.

AC2 can go with a single ton of ammo, maybe 2.
AC5's need at least 2 tons.

[John MatriX82]

-AC 20: 3 tons minimum, 4 is ideal. Dual AC 20, 6 tons minimum, 7 decent, 8 for spam
-GR: 3 tons minimum, 4 ideal. Dual GR, 7 tons is my minimum.
-UAC5s, never used less than 2 of them; for dual UAC5 i tend to bring 6-7 tons for safety (5 tons is the minimum), triple UAC5 is a spamfest, 10 tons minimum, 11 when possible (triple Ilya ftw ). Lately I don't use them too much, it's too unreliable.

Other AC's.. I've used them few times, I don't like them much so I can't speak much for them.
LRMs: same as above, I've tried them few times.

SRMs: depends from the launchers. When I use SRM6s i tend to bring 1,5 tons of ammo per launcher, 0,75/1 ton per SRM4 launcher.

Streaks: I don't use them much, usually 0.50/.75 tons per launcher do good.

[Hayashi]

Generally speaking in a match against 8 mechs you will be firing your weapons for approximately 150 seconds if you last to the end. You only actually get to fire for about half the time in a fight, and this works out to about 6 minutes of combat, total. The rest of the time is usually spent in trench warfare and/or walking to the battle site.

How much ammo you should bring is dependent on the cooldown of the weapon and how many shots you get per ton of ammo. In general, the most efficient ammo point is 150/(ammo per ton * cooldown)
AC/2 - 4
AC/5 - 3
AC/10 - 4
AC/20 - 5
uAC/5 - 5 without jamming. With, it'd be more like 4.
LBX-AC/10 - 4
Gauss - 3
Machine Gun - 1
LRM20 - 3.5
LRM15 - 3
LRM10 - 2
LRM5 - 1
SRM6 - 2
SRM4 - 1.5
SRM2 - 1
SSRM2 - 1

Taking less than these values mean you will very likely run out of ammo at some point in the match and should be ready to use backup weapons. taking more than these values mean you will very likely have excess ammo, and should probably remove it to add DHS/up power of backup weapons.

This is based on the assumption you survive to the end and fire near-constantly. Chassis like the Atlas are famous for not surviving (and in their deaths they save the lives of 2-3 of their teammates), people who run those builds can afford to carry a little less ammo. And chassis that are prone to heat problems (AC/2 boats, dual AC/20, triple uAC/5) also can afford to carry less ammo as the true limit to their firepower is heat, not ammo - especially on Tourmaline Desert. Lastly, weapons you don't fire constantly (maybe machine guns?) may require less than these values, and people who take longer to aim than the rest of us can also get by with less ammo (and should probably up the size of the gun instead so they do better).

Edited by Hayashi, 05 April 2013 - 02:12 AM.

[TuntematonSika]

HeliosRX, on 04 April 2013 - 07:43 AM, said:

Hm, how do you guys get by with so little UAC ammo?

I run at least 3 tons per gun, unless I pack 2 UAC 1 ERPPC, in which case 5 tons total. Any less and I start running out at the end-game, and honestly 5 tons goes like crazy for the UAC if you're trigger-happy.

Gauss is always 3 tons, I can never get through all three in a match. 2 is just asking for your heavy 15-ton gun to become deadweight mid-game.

AC20... 3-4 tons should be sufficient. 7 tons for dual AC20 works well, I find.

AC2 can go with a single ton of ammo, maybe 2.
AC5's need at least 2 tons.

AC/2 definently needs 2 tons, used it as a primary a while ago as a primary weapon.

[Golrar]

For me it depends on the gun and what it's role is. If I am chugging AC2s for head knocking suppression fire, I take as much as I can fit, and never less than 300 rounds.

If I am boating, I try for at least 1000 rounds minimum. I rarely run LRMs as an add-in option. It is either boat or nothing.

As far as SRMs, I tend to go with 2T per 10 shots. When it comes to my Oxide, which runs 4xSSRMs, I go with 4 tons, and I still tend to run out right as the match ends. But I tend to do 800+ damage in that case.

When I go with big caliber guns, I don't feel "safe" with less than 30 rounds (AC20 and Gauss).

[Modo44]

Take enough to run out about half the time. You do not want to be out after one fight, nor keep spares at the end of long matches. Generally, 3 tons per AC, 0.5 tons per SSRM2/MG, 1 ton per SRM4 or LRM5. Add or substract a ton depending on playstyle (spray and pray vs careful aim) and weapon role (main or backup).

[Shatterpoint]

On Assaults I use the following, SRM heavy on an Awesome, AC/5 heavy on a Battlemaster.
400 SRM missiles (4t)
120 shots AC/5 (4t)

If I've run out of either then I've done something really wrong or really right.
Heavy laser usage on all mechs so no ammo required there.

[Roosterfish]

As much as I can reasonably pack into the mech and still get the mech to perform how I want it to.

So far I've never been in a match and thought 'Hey Rooster, man, you brought to much ammo'.

[SethAbercromby]

If you run LRMs, take as absolute minimum one ton per LRM5 and LRM10, 1.5 tons per LRM15 (rounded up) and 2 tons per LRM20. LRM5s have then tendency to deplete ammo much faster than the other variants because of the fast cycle times. The others will usually run pretty solid depending on you you intend to use them for. If you intend to use missiles primarily, you might want to take up to 3 times the required minimum to feed your launchers, on some builds maybe even more.

For AMS, the rule of thumb is one ton per AMS as it consumes its ammo very quickly. That will usually last an entire 12v12 match. If it doesn't... well, hope your enemies have used up most of their ammo by then.

MGs usually don't perform as primary weapons, but they can consume ammo very quickly, similar to AMS. Consider 1 ton of ammo per MG, if you can spare the tonnage. If you don't plan to use them very often, 1 ton per 2 MGs might just be enough.

With ACs it largely depends on whether you are intending to use them as a primary or secondary weapon. AC2s as secondary will run with about 1-1.5 tons per AC but if you use them as primary, 2 tons per gun might be more adequate. They do consume ammo very fast, though. Consider packing some spare ammo if you have the tonnage.

AC5s will follow roughly the same rule, but if you intend to use them as primary weapons, using 2.5 tons for each AC5 and 3 tons for each UAC5 should be the least amount to aim for.

Pack about 2.5 tons of ammo for an AC10 or LB10X. They are fairly ammo conservative and will perform well at low ammo consumption.

AC20s and Gauss Rifles are primary weapons and need at least 3 tons of ammo each to perform adequately. The ammunition per ton for each weapon is low however, and you might want to increase the amount to above the minimum, if you can spare the tonnage.

Streaks and SRM2s will run very ammo efficient. 2 launchers feeding from a single ton of ammo will perform very ammo and weight efficient.

SRM4s can perform well with only 0.5 tons per launcher but if you intend to use them more often, consider 2 tons of ammo per 3 launchers as a minimum.

SRM6s can eat through ammo very quickly and should receive 1 ton of ammo per launcher if possible. 2 tons per 3 launchers might work as well, if you use it more conservatively.

Keep in mind that this is what I personally consider to be the absolute minimum required to use the weapon with adequate performance on the battlefield. Your mileage my vary both above and below what I have suggested, but I'm running pretty well with it.

[TimePeriod]

I just mix/match until I find a happy medium between duration of dakka and the number of my own parts laying about.

[Bigg Robb]

My Cat packs 2 LRM15's and carries 9 tons of ammo.

I've found that LRM ammo is much more effective towards the endgame, when fewer enemy 'Mechs are on the board and there is less AMS (and the AMS they have is out of ammo).

So, effectively, the first few tons of LRM ammo are really just making them duck and burning off AMS. Then real damage starts to happen. Those last few tons are where the kills are.

Of course not all matches are the same.