49 replies to this topic

[Huntsman]

Inside the lbx's very short range where it can focus all its damage on the same component, its a good weapon. The trouble is with its weight. To use it you need to be far enough to dictate contact range with your target, so I don't like it on big slow brawler mechs unless I can be certain I'll be fighting in claustephobic circumstances. Since we cant know where the fighting will be, I only like the lbx on scouts or flankers. You aren't going to have enough weight to use it on a light mech without severely compromising the engine however, so that won't work.

There may be isolates variants in the 40-60 ton range that can stay over 100 kph while mounting lbx, but overall I don't feel you can do with this weapon what you should. For instance, we can take a Cicada and put 2 erppcs on the thing. We're hot but not unreasonably so, and we have stong burst damage at almost any range and we can still maintain a somewhat reasonable speed. By comparison you couldn't tenably mount 2 lbx on a cicada...but why not? It wouldn't be overpowered. It would be the same burst damage as the dual ppc, but gaining better crit and no heat problems while as a downside its now ammo dependant and is useful out to a much, much shorter range.

Ballistics in general are too heavy imo, but the ac10 and lbx are the biggest offenders by far.

Edited by Huntsman, 31 August 2013 - 10:29 AM.

[Dalinor Frostreaver]

I guess I'm in the minority, but I like the LBx-10 just fine. I get tons of kills with it, and my damage output is usually 300+ with many games in the 700 to 1000 range. Ive run many builds with it, on many mechs, and had success with them all. Lbx + ac2, Lbx + ppcs, Lbx + streaks, etc etc. Seems fine to me. My two cents. That's said, I'm not gonna argue if they make em even better. But its not needed.

[Angel of Annihilation]

Dalinor Frostreaver, on 31 August 2013 - 08:28 PM, said:

I guess I'm in the minority, but I like the LBx-10 just fine. I get tons of kills with it, and my damage output is usually 300+ with many games in the 700 to 1000 range. Ive run many builds with it, on many mechs, and had success with them all. Lbx + ac2, Lbx + ppcs, Lbx + streaks, etc etc. Seems fine to me. My two cents. That's said, I'm not gonna argue if they make em even better. But its not needed.

I am for the most part feeling the same way you are. I get lots of kills and lots of damage and it is truly amazing to watch a stray pellet grab a accidental crit and take out a relatively undamaged mech in a fiery explosion.

[Wolf Ender]

LBX-10 should not do more than 10 damage.

if you have supreme faith in yourself and your aim, there's no reason to take an LBX

if understand that maybe you're not the best gunner in the world and sometimes you're just a tiny bit off, then LBX could be great because it's better to do some damage than having that one shot of regular AC/10 do 0 damage and hit the rock next to that yen lo wang's ac/20 arm.

[PEEFsmash]

LBX as it currently stands is balanced. Nothing to complain about. Ask Kaffeangst if you don't believe me. And if you don't believe either of us, there is no way to convince you.

[Spirit of the Wolf]

I can run an Atlas-D or DDC with an LBX, a UAC-5, 2 LL, and an LRM 15, running 3 tons of ammo for each. It's called the 'Punisher' build, because if I can get anywhere CLOSE to you, you're dead meat. Even if 4 or 5 other enemy mechs are firing on me, I can still take an enemy atlas from full health to cored in a matter of seconds.

Trust me, the LBX is fine. It has it's niche, and that's what all weapons should have, or else they'll become OP in so many situations that they become the only meta worth using.

And given how much meta there already is, we don't want any more of it, right? Good.

[dwwolf]

How big is the cone at the moment? Something from 0.5meters to 4 meters at 600 meters sounds reasonable.

[SweetJackal]

Not going to sit here and say that the LBX-AC/10 is flat out better than an AC/10. Though the LBX-AC/10 is a weapon worth using in it's own right. Where the AC/10 is a straight up main weapon, the LBX is a specialist weapon. It can still be used in the same manner as an AC/10 but it starts to shine in the situations where the AC/10 starts to lose it's effectiveness.

Aside from weighing less than an AC/10 by a ton and having a greater range the Scatter can be used to great effect. In a standoff situation it is hurt by that scatter but if you are providing direct fire support for your team it is a favored weapon over the AC/10 in my books. The side profiles on Legs and Arms tend to be quite large on most mechs, meaning you don't lose damage to the scatter and the way math works with the pellets means that you'll strip armor just as fast and mulch the internals faster.

The LBX isn't a favored weapon for coring the CT. It is favored for Legging and mulching through the Twist Meta.

In situations where you aren't making use of the AC/10s range the LBX performs just as well. Having a spare ton means a spare ton of ammo, or armor, or an extra Medium Laser or a whole slew of things with designing a mech.

And the scatter cone that many players rail against make the weapon a better choice than the AC/10 for hitting slim, fast targets. Hitting a Spider with an AC/10 or AC/20 while said Spider is weaving about in an intelligent fashion is a feat that I bet even the best MWO players cannot pull off every single time. And since you more often than not want to Leg them to rob them of their speed, again a favorable weapon.

And it is a lot more reasonable to squeeze an LBX into a light mech than it is to do the same with an AC/10. Even if it is a crazy thought, just think of that juicy rear armor at close range with the boosted internal damage.

Edit:

TL:DR?
The LBX is weaker than an AC/10 at Standoff ranges. The effectiveness of an LBX scales up when you start to consider other weapons on your mech or on the field and the LBX becomes more potent the longer the match goes on. The AC/10 remains static in it's effectiveness.

Edited by SuckyJack, 01 September 2013 - 02:49 AM.

[mekabuser]

it IS now viable..
I know because I slapped one on one of the most UN viable mechs out there and have had
Sublime games with it.
Thats after trying 3 other different weapon systems on that mech..

ANd no, this time I am not disclosing the mech or config.

[SweetJackal]

mekabuser, on 01 September 2013 - 04:40 AM, said:

it IS now viable..
I know because I slapped one on one of the most UN viable mechs out there and have had
Sublime games with it.
Thats after trying 3 other different weapon systems on that mech..

ANd no, this time I am not disclosing the mech or config.

Now I'm just wondering what mech you were using. Damn my curiosity.

[General Taskeen]

An LB-X were 100x more useful in other Mech titles. Sad, but true.

[Sephlock]

"Making LBX-AC10 viable".

It makes me so very, very, sad inside that checking the forums in 2013 yields the same threads as checking the forums in 2012.

[Donnie Silveray]

I go to sleep for one night and wake up to find this.

The LB10X is more useful now due to the spread. I watched a friend go twin jager on enemies and scored 2-4 kills and murder light mechs with it. It is expecially good at damaging enemies even when not perfectly on target at 500+m range. I'm even considering getting one myself.

As for slug ammo, why not have said slugs require their own ammo space and have a shorter range than standard AC10 rounds. There for the convienience of switching and changing roles,but not to make the AC10 obsolete.

[General Taskeen]

As soon as someone says an MWO-fied LB-X "murders light mechs"



If this was the past and we were all playing Mech Warrior 3, Mech Warrior 4, or Mech Warrior: Living Legends, where at least the LB-X guns were amazing to use, then I'd believe it.

[Woad Raider]

This is anecdotal but recently I have been using a cataphract 4x equipped with two LB 10X, two MG's, two Medium Lasers and an SRM 4. Riding in this thing is the most fun I have had in this game for ages; it is a liability at anything over 300m but if you can get close enough those LBX 10s will rip the face off of everything but an assault mech.

Sadly there are plenty of weapons that will do this just as well as the LBX and at longer ranges so while it isn’t a bad gun, it isn’t particularly good ether. I can understand why people don’t like them, especially for competitive play, but they do have an undeniable fun factor when you manage to back someone into a corner and strip their CT armour in a few thuds.

[Royalewithcheese]

Now, while I maintain the LBX is a joke weapon, I made one of these and it's been hilariously effective:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...dd4585bfbb248b6

Also amazingly consistent. Back-to-back-to-back good games. I suspect that this is due to the fact that I am a bad who can't aim running a robot that does not require you to aim vs. the LBX actually being good.

[ElvenWarrior]

I think that the LB is fine. I use it on a Dragon with an ERPPC, and those are my only two weapons (no more free slots).The ER fires at range, the LB up close. I found the LB useful while light-hunting without a laser weapon, as it gives more of a chance to hit than just one shot. I could go with different ammo to switch on the fly, though, like to make it compatible with A/C 10 ammo as well.

[Sybreed]

PEEFsmash, on 01 September 2013 - 12:49 AM, said:

LBX as it currently stands is balanced. Nothing to complain about. Ask Kaffeangst if you don't believe me. And if you don't believe either of us, there is no way to convince you.

is balanced on a 50 tonner using a single one, or is it balanced on an Atlas using 2 at the same time?

Using 2 is actually pretty powerful, but only 1 feels a liiiiiiiiiiitle bit lackluster.

Royalewithcheese, on 01 September 2013 - 03:24 PM, said:

Now, while I maintain the LBX is a joke weapon, I made one of these and it's been hilariously effective:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...dd4585bfbb248b6

Also amazingly consistent. Back-to-back-to-back good games. I suspect that this is due to the fact that I am a bad who can't aim running a robot that does not require you to aim vs. the LBX actually being good.

that's the thing. 1 lb-x is not enough. 2 is where it's getting good. IMO, it shouldn't have to be "boated" in order to be useful.

[SweetJackal]

Well, using a single LBX is lackluster. If that LBX is paired with a second weapon or with other weapon systems it really starts to get good. When you have more than -only- a LBX then armor starts to lose it's value and the strengths of the LBX gain more traction.

[Captain Stiffy]

How about the LB10 is freakin awesome and please don't change it? Please don't change it.