95 replies to this topic

[Victor Morson]

TOGSolid, on 07 April 2013 - 02:05 PM, said:

I suppose. I just have a really big hard on for AC20s tbh and the YLW is the only Cent that can run one.

If you haven't already, buy a Jaggermech. 86kph dual AC/20s is awesome (even though people have already begun whining about it) and the first time I've viewed AC/20s as a credible "serious" threat in a while. They're nasty.

[Kassatsu]

Josef Nader, on 07 April 2013 - 11:57 AM, said:

Hero mechs should be worse than their free variants. The idea is that they're money grinders, -not- competitive mechs.

If they make any of the hero mechs "good", you end up toeing the line of pay to win.

Too bad the X-5 is the best non-ECM Cicada variant. Too bad the Ilya is only outclassed by poptarts, too bad the Pretty Baby is the single best Awesome in the game, too bad the Heavy Metal is the only Highlander currently in the game... Too bad the... Commando... Yeah, okay I'll give you that one.

Edited by Kassatsu, 07 April 2013 - 03:46 PM.

[Flashback37]

Lol, last match with Yen-Lo, a teammate starts the match with the comment "cheap Wang".

I then proceeded to outscore his Dragon. And I suck at this game.

edit for spelling

Edited by Flashback37, 07 April 2013 - 03:59 PM.

[Josef Nader]

Kassatsu, on 07 April 2013 - 03:45 PM, said:

Too bad the X-5 is the best non-ECM Cicada variant. Too bad the Ilya is only outclassed by poptarts, too bad the Pretty Baby is the single best Awesome in the game, too bad the Heavy Metal is the only Highlander currently in the game... Too bad the... Commando... Yeah, okay I'll give you that one.

Yeah, the X5 is the best of the cicadas. The only thing the Ilya can do well is the 3UAC5 build. Everything else is pretty much trash. I've been wrestling with that mech for months and I just hate it. I can't find anything that it does that the free 'phracts don't do better. The Pretty Baby's only real advantage is being able to put in a hugely weight-expensive engine to barely break medium mech speeds and is, in general, out classed by almost any other awesome as far as hardpoints.

Releasing a hero version of the new mech prior to the free version is just good business sense. Everyone who's willing to pay money gets to feel like they're getting something special, something exclusive. Then, a week or two later, everyone else gets in on it. You've made bank on the folks willing to pay without unbalancing your game. Besides, the hero highlander's hardpoints are pretty much the same as the bog-standard highlanders, only moved around a bit.

[Kassatsu]

I'm still not a fan of that concept, it's like PS2's subscriber early access gone wrong. All I've ever seen there is camo, decals or helmets. Never saw weapons, though maybe I just never noticed them. As for the PB, I've seen some pretty nasty loadouts with speed equal to or greater than my Hunchbacks with a 260 (highest possible) engine rating. Granted, it's a much larger target, but it has much more firepower and the same speed. With the lack of weight matching its weight class isn't even a valid argument for anything right now.

Anyway, YLW is actually a pretty decent mech. If I were willing to spend the money on it, I'd definitely use it over either of the Hunchback variants capable of mounting an AC20 if for no other reason than its superior speed and ability to use an XL engine with an AC20. I would probably have been grinding Centurion elite skills rather than Hunchback as well. Problem with it, like many mechs, is people don't know how to pilot it properly, and more importantly (or maybe the only point even worth mentioning?), other mechs simply outclass it.

[Erik Hollister]

I guess I should have expected all the L2P comments. Yeah, I DO know a little bit about piloting Centurions... its my mech of choice and was before they came out with the YLW.

Just to shed light, I run an XL280, Endo Steel, DHS (because I had the C Bills), 2 UAC5s, 2 MLs -or- AC20 , ERLL or 2 MPLs.
I don't "stand still and get my arm blown off", I am flying around like a light, taking shots where I can. Then you attract a 3L Raven or a Jenner that gets in a run and gun with you. They target your arm with beam fire while you try to get that ballistic shot to land. Torso twist all you want, you are going to lose that fight.

I almost NEVER lose my right arm in any of my other centurions, RARELY do I keep it on my Yen Lo Wang... especially if I am using the AC20. I'm not claiming to be elite, I'm just stating that the FREE Centurions are superior to the CASH YLW. It wouldn't be too difficult to fix it where it is at least equal to the rest.

[Smk]

Erik Hollister, on 07 April 2013 - 05:48 PM, said:

I guess I should have expected all the L2P comments. Yeah, I DO know a little bit about piloting Centurions... its my mech of choice and was before they came out with the YLW.

Just to shed light, I run an XL280, Endo Steel, DHS (because I had the C Bills), 2 UAC5s, 2 MLs -or- AC20 , ERLL or 2 MPLs.
I don't "stand still and get my arm blown off", I am flying around like a light, taking shots where I can. Then you attract a 3L Raven or a Jenner that gets in a run and gun with you. They target your arm with beam fire while you try to get that ballistic shot to land. Torso twist all you want, you are going to lose that fight.

I almost NEVER lose my right arm in any of my other centurions, RARELY do I keep it on my Yen Lo Wang... especially if I am using the AC20. I'm not claiming to be elite, I'm just stating that the FREE Centurions are superior to the CASH YLW. It wouldn't be too difficult to fix it where it is at least equal to the rest.

I was with you until you started losing to light mechs. I have a 79% accuracy with my AC20 which isn't the best because I tend to get a little carried away shooting it but I will typically land at least half my shots on the light mech that's trying to dance around me. You really only need to land 2 before he will go down to your lasers. I especially make short work of them because I run 2 mpl. Even if he tries to focus the arm he should go down first.

It's inevitable that it's going to go. It's too big a target but it should never happen before you manage to get off 2/3rds of your ammo unless everything has gone to hell. The thing isn't a 8v8 mech but there aren't a lot of them in the first place.

[jay35]

Josef Nader, on 07 April 2013 - 11:57 AM, said:

Hero mechs should be worse than their free variants. The idea is that they're money grinders, -not- competitive mechs.

That makes no sense. If they suck, they can't grind c-bills.

Hero mechs are, and should always be, competitive variants roughly equal to the other variants available yet different in hardpoints, etc. None of the hero mechs released so far are worse, thankfully, although I don't have the Death's Knell or the Heavy Metal yet to confirm those two. But the rest are good compliments to their standard variants, and that is as they should be.

[Zolaz]

The Wang is one of those mechs you have to be a Hero to be able to run well ...

[CateranEnforcer]

Joseph Mallan, on 07 April 2013 - 10:07 AM, said:

No Axe until it was used on Solaris 7 by Kai. So to date YLW is correct. It had claws Prior to Kai receiving it.

This is Justin's Yen-Lo-Wang though. Kai's had a Gauss and some medium pulses.

Edited by CateranEnforcer, 07 April 2013 - 09:33 PM.

[Dreamslave]

WhiteRabbit, on 07 April 2013 - 09:30 AM, said:

a fast moving ac20? what's wrong with that? Played right the wang is a considerable threat.

Not in 8 mans. There is a reason you don't ever see a Yen Lo in 8v8.

[Josef Nader]

jay35, on 07 April 2013 - 08:48 PM, said:

That makes no sense. If they suck, they can't grind c-bills.

Hero mechs are, and should always be, competitive variants roughly equal to the other variants available yet different in hardpoints, etc. None of the hero mechs released so far are worse, thankfully, although I don't have the Death's Knell or the Heavy Metal yet to confirm those two. But the rest are good compliments to their standard variants, and that is as they should be.

They had the first "hero" mechs right. Custom-skinned versions of actual, existing variants that made more money i.e. the founders program. My AS7-D(f) is the only "hero" mech I'm 100% satisfied with. It's both the most competitive mech I own (at least, the one I'm the most skilled in and the one currently holding my best ratio of wins/losses by a wide margin) and the most flexible. I -wish- my Marmoset had the same hardpoint layout as a stock cataphract. It'd be so much better. I -wish- I had a hero Centurion AH, rather than the Wang. I -wish- I had a "hero" stock Highlander to play with.

tl;dr, free mechs are better than hero mechs in almost all cases, and I'd love for them to just match existing variants with custom skins and models for the "heroes". All of the "hero" mechs they've released so far have been trash, and none of them have been competitive for very good reason.

[LordBraxton]

OP says wang bad, Machine Gun Centurion better.

Me no understand

[Exinferis]

Dreamslave, on 07 April 2013 - 09:37 PM, said:

Not in 8 mans. There is a reason you don't ever see a Yen Lo in 8v8.

Hmmm... then we never met in an 8v8. I always use my YLW there.
And to loosing against lights. 1 is for breakfast, 2 is just a cause of priorities, from 3 up to more it becomes a pain. But nothing you will not be able to handle.
With a YLW piloted right you can even face more than one assault at a time and win.

Edited by Exinferis, 08 April 2013 - 12:49 AM.

[Jungle Rhino]

Yes the Wang is very limited in it's loadout. You really only have one major decision to make - XL300 or Standard 225?

But it is a total monster on the battlefield. I used to swear by the 'slow wang' with a Standard 225 but after getting constantly frustrated by light mechs I traded some survivability for speed and I haven't looked back since.

Going 107kmph with an AC20 and 2x MPL is fearsome.

The Wang has some major advantages over it's contemporaries:
HBK-4G - has very poor vertical traverse for the AC20 and the side torso is harder to protect than the Wangs arm. Also a poor zombie as you lose a laser when the AC20 goes. No option for a high speed HBK with AC20 either.
CN9-A/D - SRMs are only effective at face hugger range, and often you just don't want to face-hug (i.e. a splatcat) or doing so would expose you to the entire enemy team. Wang can participate in peek-a-boo AC20 sniping out to 500m and still inflict reasonable damage. The SRM CN9-A/D is point blank only. You can bring a more flexible AC10/Gauss build (which I prefer) but that sacrifices speed or missles so doesn't really fill the same role as a Wang anymore.

Don't forget the 4 module slots you get with a Master-Wang if you are a fan of airstrike/artillery


Anyway there is no right or wrong answer, it really comes down to personal preference and what you see as adding the most value to your personal gamestyle. But it is certainly wrong to write of the Wang as not effective. Limited yes, but very much effective!

Edited by Jungle Rhino, 08 April 2013 - 01:45 AM.

[TOGSolid]

Dreamslave, on 07 April 2013 - 09:37 PM, said:

Not in 8 mans. There is a reason you don't ever see a Yen Lo in 8v8.

Eight mans are a gigantic joke with a hilariously broken metagame. They're not worth using as a serious discussion point right now.

[LordDante]

a Wang is a Wang ! no need for changes !!! its the "one size fits all" off all mechs .in a one on one Situation, when i get the jump on u ... UR DEAD ! thats it . and now some memes to make everything more easyer to understand.

[Felipe Rigueira]

You must be a "hero" to pilot one.

[skelley92]

This weekend has been great with so many matches with two or more Wangs.

Nothing like some Wang *********!

EDIT: They filtered out the two words that rhyme with Wang that are a group of people and the sound a gun makes.

Really, you have a 'mech called the Wang and you filter those two words out?

Edited by skelley92, 08 April 2013 - 05:17 AM.

[Wizard Steve]

Erik Hollister, on 07 April 2013 - 09:16 AM, said:

Suggestion: PLEASE move the energy weapon slots out of the center torso on the YLW. Put them both on one side torso, or split them. That way there is an option to actually go energy based rather than ballistic based.

Please don't.

The Wang is perfect as it is.