12 replies to this topic

[Son of Horus]

I know LRM is not popular since ECM went gawd mode, but I kinda like the idea of dumping on stragglers in pugs and the whole idea of long range weaponry like ER PPC's and missiles sounds fun!

I watched a lot of videos featuring the following build and I wonder if in coordinated team play (yeah right, lol!) it's worth using.

I now finally have the funds to make my Flame able to swap from my 4 LLas build to try this out.

Will I hate it?

And thanks again, you guys have helped me TONS thus far!

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...2d89c9c4210f501

Edited by Son of Horus, 20 April 2013 - 07:05 PM.

[ICEFANG13]

That doesn't look too good, not enough long range, not enough close range, LRMs are worthless, a bit slow for a Dragon with light ordinance.

There is a 4 LL Dragon, you could try the 3 PPC Dragon?

[Son of Horus]

I currently run the 4 LL version, and also have all the kit to make it the gauss/ 4 ML as well.

ICEFANG13, on 20 April 2013 - 07:09 PM, said:

That doesn't look too good, not enough long range, not enough close range, LRMs are worthless, a bit slow for a Dragon with light ordinance.

There is a 4 LL Dragon, you could try the 3 PPC Dragon?

Wouldn't that ER PPC and those ML be enough up close though?

[Op4blushift]

I've used basically this exact build on my 1C although I used an XL340 and I only had one ton of LRM ammo. Thought it went pretty well for the few matches I used it, although this was before the missile nerf.

[ICEFANG13]

Son of Horus, on 20 April 2013 - 07:14 PM, said:

I currently run the 4 LL version, and also have all the kit to make it the gauss/ 4 ML as well.




Wouldn't that ER PPC and those ML be enough up close though?

I would think its too hot and not fast enough to kill something before heat becomes an issue. When you have a lot of PPCs, you can kill with a great shot, and over heat, but with the hot Medium Lasers, and ER, I think it would be a problem.

[Padic]

I think it's definitely worth a shot. I guess my gut would be to swap out LRMs for SRMs... But I might just be a knife-fighter at heart.

You won't be soloing mechs with a rig like that. But you can probably use your speed to jump from hot spot to hot spot, and, of course to run away when you don't like the looks of a situation.

Edited by Padic, 20 April 2013 - 09:19 PM.

[Hammerhai]

Hmmm. I actually run considerably hotter. 2 ER LL 1 ER PPC 1 Med L. Efficiency 31%.

However Group weapon assignment and management help. Switching to firing the PPC only was actually enough for me to lose heat while fighting on Tourmaline.
Course I still often lose my cool and forget not to alpha.

[Brink Contro]

This is my take on the Grand Dragon with the 1C. Could also do in the Flame as hp's are the same but in different locations but I was leveling my 1C at the time

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1ac917be01f13e0

Obvious difference is the 300XL and additional ER PPC. I like the LRM 10 because I pick up quite a few kills after pounding armor of and hitting them indirectly while in retreat with the lrms. I agree they lack punch but they are still good for suppression. Despite the lower damage people won't just sit in the open while LRM's are flying at their face. Too each their own but i personally still find them useful.

I did run with the fully canon Grand Dragon but it didn't have enough punch. I also felt the 360XL was a bit wasted on the weapon loadout. This works great as a long range support/strike build and while not fully canon I fell it's still in the spirit of the Grand Dragon and I have a lot of fun with it.

Notable change would be swapping ppc's and ml's which prob works better, I just had PPC's in arm for canon (I know there's an extra one so it's really not cannon anyway but you know...).

[Gigastrike]

I had been running a Grand-ish Dragon with this build: DRG-1C

Somewhat like Brink's, but placed the PPCs in the torso, and traded the LRMs and some armor for an SRM 6 and an XL 315 engine.

Makes for a good sniper, while still packing a decent close range punch. Runs a bit hot, though.

Edited by Gigastrike, 27 April 2013 - 09:31 AM.

[Arctourus]

It would run hot in a firefight, but depending on your play style, it would be an alright build. The key would probably be disciplining yourself to NOT use the ppc up close if you can. Rely on the mlas and you should be able to fire away without overheating. Break away when you can to use your longer ranged weaponry. In fact, you should probably make a habit of staying at the fringe of battle and choosing to close in with your targets only when they are damaged enough to easily dispatch with the mlas. I like seeing builds like this that are more balanced....a range of weaponry choices. It doesn't make sense from an "alpha spam" style of gameplay, but it feels more "real" when you're out making choices on the battlefield.

[Brink Contro]

It definitely runs hot in extended engagements. If i end up in a brawl I try to just use the ML's or only fire 1 ppc at a time. Like you say the best tactic is to avoid those situations where you can. You definitely need to be aware of what you're teams doing or you'll get caught out. Generally when the other team realises the 2 ppc's that hit then are from a Dragon they'll focus you and melt you CT pretty fast.

Totally agree with you about balanced builds, it's one of the reasons i played around with the Grand Dragon build. I find it really boring just packing as many of the heaviest hitting weapons on a mech and hoping the 2 alphas i fire before shutting down destroy whatever mech I'm looking at. No style/skill

[Arctourus]

I recently changed up my approach to my jenner. I reloaded it with one erppc and two mlas. Now I zip around the battlefield taking pot shots at people then run up and chew on them for a minute with my two mlas and run off again. Its sometimes tempting to fire away with both weapons systems when I close in, but that usually get's me overheated. Still, it's a similar philosophy to what you have with your dragon. I can engage from all ranges and fade away when things get too heated. Works great, I love it!

[Macheiron]

In my experience, Dragons do better with SRM4s than 6s. 3 tons 2 crits for total weapon system, vs. 5 tons 4 crits if you want any longevity in a fight. I've run my DRG-1C thus and had good experiences with it, especially on Tourmaline oddly enough. It makes an excellent Skirmisher/Sniper and can RTB fast enough to stop a cap from center map. It may not hit as hard or have the range, but it's got armor and speed, and that's all a Dragon really needs.