58 replies to this topic

[The Mech behind you]

Dragons need to go fast. It's a good mech to flank. I try to find a target that's exposing it's back. Or when brawling with an Atlas trying to stay behind him which isn't that hard.

My 5N: FF (376), Endo, 12 DHS, XL 340, AC 10 (2t ammo), 2 LL (my slowest Dragon )
My Fang: FF (376), Endo, 13 DHS, XL 360, AC 10 (2t), 3 MPL
My Flame: FF (394), Endo, 15 DHS, XL 355, UAC 5 (3t), 2 ML, 2 MPL

[One Medic Army]

For comparison here's what I use:
1C: 2xML, 2xPPC, SRM6, XL350
1N: 2xSRM4, LBX, 2xML, XL350
Flame: AC/10, 4xML, SRM6, XL350
Alt Flame: 2x LPL, 2xML, SSRM2, XL350

[John MatriX82]

To the OP: best dragons are FLAME/1C, and 1N... and run them with XLs (300 and above, I tend to use 320s, 350 with FF), ENDO and DHS, the key is speed, know well your positioning/enemy positioning and a Gauss rifle should always be in your RA.

Play them like a medium, but at the moment they suffer SRM lower damage, especially my beloved dual SRM4 1N that's dusting out until they fix missiles.

[Yokaiko]

HarmAssassin, on 25 April 2013 - 03:46 PM, said:

Sorry, but whenever I see a Dragon (regardless of what I'm playing), my first thought is... "time for an easy kill".

I love when people think that.

[Skalpel]

I LOVE my dragon.

I have Drg-1c with 340XL, 4x medium lasers and a Gauss with 40 ammo.

My best mission was with 900+ damage and that was less than a week ago.

You just have to get a good setup that you like and get used to it. Speed is a must, though.

[Clit Beastwood]

I've had some luck with a 3 ac2/erll/ml dragon - lots of AC2 ammo and I just keep pouring on fire (from far away) to keep enemy mechs shaking and distract while my team closes in. I've also used the triple AC2 combo for some long distance cockpit destruction. Heat can be an issue, and its not the "killingest" build for the mech, but I've enjoyed it. I usually run around with a gauss and 2xerll for some long range harassment. I'm able to soften up targets from very far away so my team has an easier time killing them when they get close.

[MeiSooHaityu]

I never really liked the Dragon much. It's not that it is a bad mech, but I just never warmed up to it.

I think this bias goes back to closed beta when knock-down was in the game. Dragons were steam rollers knocking down every mech on the battlefield.

Overall though, I think I am happy with my Catapaults and Cataphracts.

[Sagamore]

Fierostetz, on 26 April 2013 - 07:41 AM, said:

I've had some luck with a 3 ac2/erll/ml dragon - lots of AC2 ammo and I just keep pouring on fire (from far away) to keep enemy mechs shaking and distract while my team closes in. I've also used the triple AC2 combo for some long distance cockpit destruction. Heat can be an issue, and its not the "killingest" build for the mech, but I've enjoyed it. I usually run around with a gauss and 2xerll for some long range harassment. I'm able to soften up targets from very far away so my team has an easier time killing them when they get close.

I +1 this build.

Using this build, along with with advanced sensors, I was able to get an enemy cataphract who was slow off the start critical on River City.

EDIT: I shot from my spawn point over to his... AC2's have over 2km range.

For you to have enough heatsinks and ammo, you can't go the biggest XL engine. I think my AC2 Dragon goes about 90 KPH (rather than the maxed out 106 KPH with largest engine and tweak).

Edited by Sagamore, 26 April 2013 - 08:08 AM.

[Xizore]

One advantage the Dragon has over medium mechs is a boss amount of armor. I suggest you put as much armor on the CT and arms as you can. When brawling/striking, I like to get up close and absorb some damage for the team, then pull back and strike from range/cover when my armor has been almost removed. I don't like the AC20 on dragons because of it's short range. I have had the most success with sticking to longer ranged weapons (AC5, LL, ERLL, GAUSS)

It has been harder to play dragons since the ballistic fix. The meta game is shifting again and burst damage is King.

[beniliusbob]

I started doing well when I dropped the XLs. Saying "don't put an XL in your Dragon" is probably heresy round these parts, but I've found much greater survivability in the 1C with a STD300, 4 ML, LRM10 and AC5. It looks awful on paper but it's boss.

[Adridos]

HarmAssassin, on 25 April 2013 - 03:46 PM, said:

Sorry, but whenever I see a Dragon (regardless of what I'm playing), my first thought is... "time for an easy kill".

I love people like you. Because you mostly see just trial Dragons, you underestimate the machine too much. And underestimating your opponent is the first step on the road towards failure.

You go in, try to rambo it out and I end up with 1 free kill to the bunch.

[Braggart]

You play the dragon like you should be playing a medium, if mediums were not so horrible.

a 60 ton mech is the sweet spot in this game. Just the Dragon has terrible hardpoints, and terrible hitboxes. Can it do decent, oh yes, but you gotta play it as a fast hit and run mech, not as a heavy.

I look forward to the next 60 ton mech they put in the game, simply because it will without a doubt have better hardpoints, and a better hitbox layout.

[Trauglodyte]

Dragons get a bad wrap cause, much like the Awesome, people don't know how to drive them or load them out. Just because you're driving a Heavy doesn't mean that you can churn it up like a Cat, Jager, or Phract. Speed is the key and if you're not burning at 97kph or faster, you are way to slow. The problem with the chassis is that you pay such a heavy price for the speed that you're not left with a lot of options for weapons. That means that your punch is usually a lot less then mechs of near the same weight. And the fact that the hard points are all over the place makes it extremely hard to manage.

It is, what I would consider, a pro level mech. That isn't to say that it is a cutting edge mech that you can dominate with but, rather, that you've got to drive it like a pro to get the most out of it.

[Yokaiko]

I call it MWO hardmode.

Rocking face in a Dragon is extremely rewarding. It was the first mech I fell in love with in MWO, even though I had the four founders from the get go.

[NRP]

Dragons are cool, especially on the larger maps. Mount the biggest engine you can, and use the Capture Accelerator module (it's useful on both Conquest and Assault).

[DarkDevilDancer]

Have to agree with the others a slow dragons a dead dragon, that massive torso is so easy to line up a shot on when they go along at a stroll.

[hammerreborn]

Did anyone else read the title and have the DBZ theme pop into their head?

[TruePoindexter]

Flame & 1C: XL 360 1 Gauss 4 ML: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e98c620a6b3f646

Fang: XL360 1 AC10 3 MPL: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ff12dc9f7c9a02a

[Ryokens leap]

Uh-oh, is this going to run 26 pages like the last Dragon post?

[ThunderHart]

I have 4 Dragon for a reason. Dragon pilots are some of the best pilots on MWO. If you are a sit and shoot or sniper pilot this is not the Mech for you. As previously stated this is a stick and move Mech your mind set has to be totally different in that the Dragon will mewl other dragons and anything with lesser weight including lights and Stalkers and maybe a Atlas that is not aware.
The weapon do matter but not as much as your piloting skills, knowing your terrain and whats around you.

Edited by ThunderHart, 26 April 2013 - 11:09 AM.