92 replies to this topic

[KKRonkka]

hunchie 4P with 9 ML running 92.7 kph when elited doesn't complain, especially after laser weapons got the lag fix.

[GODzillaGSPB]

Yep, the 4G and all Hunchbacks are crap. People should ignore them whenever they see one.

muhaha, I hope that works. *plays with successful 4G and 4SP*

[Shepherd]

I piloted my HBK-4G(F) the other weekend when Founders mechs got a double C-Bill bonus. I had just come off of a long stretch in my Jenners so I didn't use that chassis, the Atlas just isn't my style, and for what ever reason I didn't feel like using my Catapult too often that weekend.

At first I found myself suffering the typical HBK failures. Early on in a match my right torso gets knocked down and I'm reduced to being a slow Spider with two little lasers. That lasted for a few rounds, I got sick of it, and I started to think of ways to ensure that I'm not losing my AC/20 in the first volleys of the match. Here's what I came up with:

• Don't engage right away. Stick with the group but stay in cover until there is at least 2 kills on the board. A medium with an AC/20 is an unholy terror to a damaged mech, but it's only an inconvenience to a fully armored mech.
  
• Don't don't DON'T Leeroy Jenkins straight at the enemy. The HBK is a city fighter. It's intended to be used in a hit and fade manner. Sure it feels awesome to charge somebody pumping AC/20 rounds into their chest, but it also feels awful to get your AC/20 blown away, so... round a corner while an enemy is fighting one of your allies, pop them with your AC/20, then fade back into cover. Swing around the other side of the building and hit them again.

That's basically it. Pretty simple I think. I went from doing maybe 100 damage and ending the match dead or crippled to doing around 300-400 damage and ending with an intact AC/20. My AC/20 often turned the tables in an allies' favor. In an Atlas vs Atlas fight, having a Hunchback wingman makes a huge difference. And if the enemy Atlas decides to kill your AC/20, that's five seconds it's not tearing into your ally Atlas' armor, so your teammate still wins.

HBK is not a terrible chassis, but you DO need to play cautious with it.

For the record my build is pretty much stock. AC/20, 2 tons of ammo, 2 medium lasers and a small laser. Doesn't even have double heat sinks. 200 STD engine. I imagine that putting in double heat sinks and Endosteel would make it an even better rig.

[GODzillaGSPB]

Shepherd, on 13 April 2013 - 06:21 AM, said:

[...]Here's what I came up with:

• Don't engage right away. Stick with the group but stay in cover until there is at least 2 kills on the board. A medium with an AC/20 is an unholy terror to a damaged mech, but it's only an inconvenience to a fully armored mech.
  
• Don't don't DON'T Leeroy Jenkins straight at the enemy. The HBK is a city fighter. It's intended to be used in a hit and fade manner. Sure it feels awesome to charge somebody pumping AC/20 rounds into their chest, but it also feels awful to get your AC/20 blown away, so... round a corner while an enemy is fighting one of your allies, pop them with your AC/20, then fade back into cover. Swing around the other side of the building and hit them again.

[...]

Don't feel offended, but those are basics. Mediums are not meant to charge, they are meant to support assaults and heavies, run at the flanks or slightly behind them, chase off and help engage lights and only enter the full-on battle when the time is right. They are not condemned to stay still for the first minutes of battle but should shoot from the second line and avoid to get focused on early in the match.

[EyeOne]

I pilot Hunchbacks and Centurions for the most part. I love Hunchbacks. Even the 4G, which is the one I use the most.

And I'm happy with the game.

[Sephlock]

The HBK may be made for city fighting but I don't think its supposed to be a hit and fade type of fighter, is it? Its not supposed to be all that fast...

I thought it was more about abusing corners and having high slugging power.

[Gremlich Johns]

I love my Hunchies!! Since I returned to the almost stock weapons config, I end up doing much better on the points now, provided I don't get killed too soon due to ECM groups sneaking up on me. The key is to not lonewolf it in a hunchie - always team with another medium or an assault (with the latter to keep the flies off them).

I have the founder's 4G and played with all kinds of weapons/weight configs and finally returned to the AC/20 (w/4 tons ammo), 3XMLas (the combination of which gives me a firepower of 35), almost full armor (320/338), endo steel, standard engine 200 (with Elite - 72 kph), and 13 DHS (heat eff=1.44). I took the AMS off to give me more weight for the lasers, although I could drop 2 DHS to squeeze it on, but why bother if I can hide from missiles, The 3xMLas would be too hot as well. I could drop a DHS to get one more ton AC/20 ammo, but I usually finish with one or two rounds left at the end of a match. I have the lasers chained on one JS button and alpha lasers on another.

The stock weapons config for the Founder's G was the AC/20, 2xMLas, and 1XSmLas.

I also have one Centurion, the 9A, it's fun too.

My 4SP (at Elite) is a bruiser as well: 5xMLas and 2XSSRM2 (combined firepower of 31) or 5xMLas and SRM6+Artemis (combined firepower of 43), both have15 DHS (heat eff at 1.3/1.23 respectively), endo steel, almost full armor SSRM2 model carries AMS, 81 kph. Lasers chained on one JS button, alpha on another.

I used the 4P, but just lasers? Meh, sure, it can slice and dice, but I didn't do as much damage as I can with the 4G and 4SP. It was okay using pulses against ECM lights.

FWIW, I use a Logitech Extreme 3D Pro and a Nostromo n52 (the original Belkin model from years back)

Edited by Gremlich Johns, 13 April 2013 - 06:46 AM.

[Hauser]

Shepherd, on 13 April 2013 - 06:21 AM, said:

• Don't engage right away. Stick with the group but stay in cover until there is at least 2 kills on the board. A medium with an AC/20 is an unholy terror to a damaged mech, but it's only an inconvenience to a fully armored mech.

Before there are two kills on the board it helps if you shoot mechs other people are shooting. You can take your time though and edge your shots in past the front line. HBK's are nible enough to dance behind a heavy and assault and shoot by his sides. (Especially if you put your left and right arm weapons in a different weapon group!)

As long as you're not the most interesting target about you'll be okay.

Edited by Hauser, 13 April 2013 - 06:43 AM.

[Phelan Ward Kell]

my problem is my 4P loses almost all of its guns way to fast.... having all the hard points concentrated on one torso sucks.

[Lucian Nostra]

It's one of those mechs that you can't listen to the community on because I find the 4G to be a beast, but than again you can't bum rush with it like an R-tard like half the people playing this game want to and you have to aim for the AC/20

The 4P is even meaner just shreds through mechs like a hot knife through butter. Probably my favorite ride atm

The 4SP is good but I prefer it less to the 4G or 4P

[Gremlich Johns]

Phelan Ward Kell, on 13 April 2013 - 06:46 AM, said:

my problem is my 4P loses almost all of its guns way to fast.... having all the hard points concentrated on one torso sucks.

Don't rush in, as others have recommended. Lasers on every slot. For a while, I used 2xLLas and the rest either MLas or SmLas. Bide your time, wing with another medium, a heavy, or an assault and be patient. Hang back, spot for the others, then swoop in when you know you can minimize damage to yourself.

Watch other medium mechs - you'll spot what to do and what not to do soon enough. One bad thing is to go in alone.

Edited by Gremlich Johns, 13 April 2013 - 06:51 AM.

[Urdnot Mau]

Well... They are fine. At least for me..
I'm top 4 most of my matches. I use a HBK-4SP. It takes some time to get used to a mech class (or weight) after a longe time without playing it. My first mech was the 4SP when it was a trial (before the CTF arrival). I Loved it, but then i started changing classes and didn't come back to the medium for a long time. A few weeks ago i came back to Centurions and Hunchbacks and at first i hated it. I had a really hard time getting used to te new high-alpha meta. They are much more fragile and it is easier to get in bad spots because of their speed (you are just running around with you top speed and forget to slow down etc). After the release of the Jaggermech i had lots of bad encounters with JaggerBombs (literatly losing my side torso in 1 shot). I felt so frustrated when that happened and i still do because there are lots of AC/40 jaggers. The good thing is that after playing a lot of matches with some mech you'll get used to its play style. Some situations are unavoidable, but it is what it is.. you gotta adapt to the play style.
Maybe that's why there are more people playing heavies, assaults or light mechs. Medium mechs can take a good while to get used to (they are big enough to be hitable most of the times [easy torso shots] and not fast enough to dodge big lasers/ballistics and not as tough as heavy/assault mechs). Once i did that i saw their potential in the battlefield and it is dangerous some times. Worse than an assault gettng swarmed by light mechs is an assault getting swarmed by medium mechs.

so... i just meant to say that i have good and bad times with medium mechs. Not sure if they are worth it, since heavy mechs can run as fast as some medium mechs. They sure are fun as hell

[Iceman486]

personally i still like the Hunchback. the lrm's to are a minor setback. but it allows players to actually play the game instead of being barraged by lrm boats. Personally the srm's do more damage overall anyway even before the nerf came out. My Raven still destroys everything it spots.

[Aim-Bot]

I have a 4sp on master and it feels pretty much castrated....

[General Taskeen]

Sephlock, on 13 April 2013 - 06:31 AM, said:

The HBK may be made for city fighting but I don't think its supposed to be a hit and fade type of fighter, is it? Its not supposed to be all that fast...

I thought it was more about abusing corners and having high slugging power.

The UrbanMech is a "city fighter" too and its slower than a Hunchback.

[Yokaiko]

Iceman486, on 13 April 2013 - 07:09 AM, said:

personally i still like the Hunchback. the lrm's to are a minor setback. but it allows players to actually play the game instead of being barraged by lrm boats. Personally the srm's do more damage overall anyway even before the nerf came out. My Raven still destroys everything it spots.

I never really saw the value of 50 ton LRMers.

Now the SRM nerf hurts the -4SP, my -4G and -4SP still work. The biggest issue with Hunchbacks is sllloooooooooooowwwwwww. They aren't fast enough to dodge a competent shooter and they can't tank the hits from bigger mechs.

[RowanE83]

The 4G is great and the only hunchback worth playing

[Rayah]

I still love Hunchbacks, but I'm upset that the frame rate is once again a closed beta levels, which I can't play.

[Yokaiko]

Rayzor, on 13 April 2013 - 07:43 AM, said:

I still love Hunchbacks, but I'm upset that the frame rate is once again a closed beta levels, which I can't play.

My frame rate is still pegged at V-sync.

[Budor]

P and SP are still great. They have this weird off-crosshair convergence issue though.

Edited by Budor, 13 April 2013 - 07:53 AM.