27 replies to this topic

[Svalfangr]

For a very fast assassin/harasser *PLEASE NOTE* While i wont yell at you for it i doubt very much i will get the Jenners or the Spider, however feel free to persuade me otherwise.

[Koniving]

Commando. Only one Raven can go really fast.

If you want all the variants you get to serve the same purpose then commando is the route you go. The 2x and 4x Ravens cannot fulfill that role, leaving you with only one "good" Raven for it.

Edited by Koniving, 14 May 2013 - 03:00 PM.

[Svalfangr]

Koniving, on 14 May 2013 - 02:56 PM, said:

Commando. Only one Raven can go really fast.

If you want all the variants you get to serve the same purpose then commando is the route you go. The 2x and 4x Ravens cannot fulfill that role, leaving you with only one "good" Raven for it.

Any particular commando you'd suggest? (I've come to trust your opinion quite a bit) Or just personal preference

[WaddeHaddeDudeda]

Koniving, on 14 May 2013 - 02:56 PM, said:

Commando. Only one Raven can go really fast.

If you want all the variants you get to serve the same purpose then commando is the route you go. The 2x and 4x Ravens cannot fulfill that role, leaving you with only one "good" Raven for it.

...if you don't care about having multiple (useful) variants though (and are happy with 1 very good one) go for the Raven 3L.
10 tons difference IS a huge difference, especially amongst lights.

Apart from that in imho the Jenner F is hands down the best light in the game at the moment.
It's quite fast (faster than Ravens at the same weight) and can actually outgun EVERY other light (and far bigger mechs) on its own, no matter if disrupted by ECM or not.

[Mynder]

Honestly, I feel Commandos really notice the weight difference. Your armor is thinner, and while you are a little bit smaller and harder to hit than either a Jenner or Raven, you're also not a bit faster than them. Going up with a 3SSRM COM-2D against a standard 3L with 3 ML and 2 SSRMs, you're pretty much toast unless the Raven pilot doesn't know what he's doing.

The spider has more mobility via jump jets (which make up much of the 5 ton advantage it has on the COM), and both the Jenner, and the Raven have a lot more armor than the COM. I love my COM-2D, but having ten tons less available, without any speed advantage, makes playing it painful on a regular basis.

The non-ECM variants are even more vulnerable, and considering BAP is getting a strong buff at May 21st, I'm resigning myself to probably leaving my commandos sitting in their mech bays except for a few fun runs.

I'd say Jenner or Raven is the true decision to make at this point. Or upgrade to a Cicada or Blackjack, depending on what max engine ratings the latter will be able to fit.

[Butane9000]

If your looking for speed then go Commando. But I recommend the Raven because you'll have more survivability.

[Lordred]

Commando! They are very good for trolling heavies and assaults.*





*Piloted by Koniving, Screens by me.

Edited by Lordred, 14 May 2013 - 03:44 PM.

[Koniving]

Svalfangr, on 14 May 2013 - 03:02 PM, said:

Any particular commando you'd suggest? (I've come to trust your opinion quite a bit) Or just personal preference

Personally my favorite is the 1-B.

2-D is the favorite of most, however. 2-D is shown in the shots above of me. (Why no Death's Knell shots of me?)

I run mine with 3 SRM-4s. Many run it with 3 (or 2) streaks and a medium laser + ammo.

The 1-B I like to run with a nearly stock build + additional armor and squeezing in some speed. I do quite well with the trial 1-B which is what shined me on to commandos.

------

Much as I love the Ravens, since only one Raven can fulfill your request it's not good for what you want; you'll suffer through the other two.

-------
Commando flamers! Old, (Jan / Feb) but fun! Vids.

Spoiler

BUG!

Edited by Koniving, 14 May 2013 - 04:26 PM.

[Svalfangr]

Koniving, on 14 May 2013 - 04:15 PM, said:

Personally my favorite is the 1-B.

2-D is the favorite of most, however. 2-D is shown in the shots above of me. (Why no Death's Knell shots of me?)

I run mine with 3 SRM-4s. Many run it with 3 (or 2) streaks and a medium laser + ammo.

The 1-B I like to run with a nearly stock build + additional armor and squeezing in some speed. I do quite well with the trial 1-B which is what shined me on to commandos.

------

Much as I love the Ravens, since only one Raven can fulfill your request it's not good for what you want; you'll suffer through the other two.

-------
Commando flamers! Old, (Jan / Feb) but fun! Vids.

Spoiler

BUG!

Why would i want to go through all the variants?

Do i get some kinda bonus for maxing all variants?

If so i'd hate to try to master Treb. lol

[Koniving]

Nah, no benefit for mastering them all.

However you need to bring at least two others through Basics to Elites to maximize the one you like. Speed tweak, fast fire, quick-boot and convergence.

There's only 3 Ravens. Two of them won't fit what you want it to do. That makes pushing their basics to elite a bit of a chore to beef up the Raven 3-L

Edited by Koniving, 14 May 2013 - 04:44 PM.

[ArcDemon]

As people have already said, there is only one Raven that really fits the bill as a fast mech. Personally I'm not a fan of the 3L but for the moment it is in theory the best mech in a light vs light fight (assuming players of average skill) and can take kills even when piloted by a subpar pilot, which is what you see a lot of the time. Where it fails is that it is not as good against larger mechs, at least not without pack tactics and a mixed group of other lights can do that just as well.

The Commando is effective against larger mechs, in fact apart from the 2D I'd say they are better equipped to harass and assassinate big mechs then they are to fight lights. Be warned that there is a hard learning curve for the Commando to become a real threat on the battlefield. You are very, very vulnerable - even the extra 1 ton of armor the Spider has makes a night and day difference in how much punishment you can take. You will be killed in one hit by many mechs, and your damage progression follows a rapid 3 step process of paint scratched, critical damage and dead. As a Commando you have to learn the fine art of not being hit at all.

The obvious variant is the 2D. It carries ECM which valuable both to you and to your team - you can sway the battle just by being in the right place to disrupt your enemies radar and prevent him from seeing and coordinating his movements with allies. This works best when your team is starting to attack a target that has strayed from the group, getting your ECM on him helps prevent his buddies from seeing his plight and him from forming an escape route. The 2D also carries 3 missile hardpoints, which makes it popular for streaks. The streakmando aka trollmando aka half-streakcat is very effective against lights, though against a 3L it is at a disadvantage. Alternatively those 3 hardpoints can carry a lot of SRMs, giving you a huge alpha strike for 25 tons.

Of the non-hero variants I would endorse the 3A and 1B depending on where you want to favor missiles or lasers. The 1B also has a unique attribute, it has only 2 missile tubes in the chest which force an SRM4 or SRM6 to fire in several tight and straight bursts of 2 missiles each instead of a wide scatter shot - with an SRM6 it's like getting a short range AC/5 for less then half the tonnage.

The 1D is the only variant I would not endorse, it has the same number of hardpoints as the 3A, but groups them. You have only 2 criticals slots to share between 2 missile hardpoints, and both lasers are in the same arm increasing the chance of losing them at the same time (Commandos take a lot of their hits to the shoulder and arms, if you are taking a lot of center torso shots it means you are running directly at or away from the enemy and you will be dead in a few seconds).

The hero Commando (Death's Knell) is interesting since it drops the missile punch that defines the Commando. I haven't piloted it myself so I can't comment too much. The Commando does have the fastest hands in the game so you can instantly put your lasers on anything in your field of view. If you are interested in hero mechs I would probably suggest getting the 2D, the Death's Knell and either a 3A or 1B just for variance. You'll also need engines - Commandos usually run either an XL195 for weight or an XL210 for speed. Normally a light mech would run with the fastest engine available but in a Commando even a half ton makes a difference in terms of what weapons and ammo you can carry, so don't dismiss the XL195.

Edited by ArcDemon, 14 May 2013 - 05:32 PM.

[Mycrus]

Have you seen people working at smelters?

The newbs are in full thermal gear, the pros are in gloves, goggles, and a hardhat (minimum safety requirement)...

But but there are sparks, globs of molten metal flying around..

Guess who gets burned most? Newbs in full thermal gear... The pros have learned that sweat allows them to flick metal globs away while it burns through a newbs thermals before they realize that a glob was there in the first place.

Why the story? Because saying that lights benefit a lot from torso twisting is boring.

Anyway, in this age of arms lock - pilots don't realize the great benefit that arms provide... In a commando I can win a circle fight vs cicadas...and I routinely make sweeping passes and get multiple side torso shots while big poptarts in arm lock flail around stoopid...

Generally, people will winge when they see highlander poptarts... To my commando - it is just kibble..

As a new player - get the commando and learn arm gunnery skills...

My favorite is the death knell... My least favorite is the 2D..

[Svalfangr]

Went ahead and got the COM-1B because lazerz.

Now, what are some good builds that would make for a nice assassin/hunter

I was thinking maybe something like (REDACTED)

Or maybe http://mwo.smurfy-ne...886a4795a36bb3c

So what do you all think?

*First link didnt work so i just got id of it, but to clarify its mostly the same just has a LL and two ML with 1 less heatsink*

2nd edit: Had this Idea. http://mwo.smurfy-ne...39e77555e5b7110 Not sure if its Viable but if it is it could be fun.

Edited by Svalfangr, 14 May 2013 - 07:36 PM.

[Koniving]

Svalfangr, on 14 May 2013 - 07:23 PM, said:

Went ahead and got the COM-1B because lazerz.

Now, what are some good builds that would make for a nice assassin/hunter

I was thinking maybe something like (REDACTED)

Or maybe http://mwo.smurfy-ne...886a4795a36bb3c

So what do you all think?

*First link didnt work so i just got id of it, but to clarify its mostly the same just has a LL and two ML with 1 less heatsink*

Was going to say it didn't work.

Remember the SRM launcher only has 2 holes. An SRM-2 is more than sufficient, allowing you to help cool that down with more DHS. Alternatively you could do a streak and just don't use it on ECM mechs (or throw in BAP).

[ArcDemon]

Svalfangr, on 14 May 2013 - 07:23 PM, said:

Went ahead and got the COM-1B because lazerz.

Now, what are some good builds that would make for a nice assassin/hunter

I was thinking maybe something like http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a199d355cc058f7

Or maybe http://mwo.smurfy-ne...886a4795a36bb3c

So what do you all think?

I can't see the first one (the link is incomplete, you need to make sure you copy the part that is a bit off screen).

The second one needs one additional heat sink before MWO will let you play. This is something that affects Commando builds a lot - you must have at least 10 heat sinks in total (and an engine) or you can't play. Normally this is not hard because most mechs engines have 10 heat sinks already.

But the tiny little engines used to power Commando's don't have 10 heat sinks - the XL195 has 7 heat sinks and the XL210 has 8. That means you need either 3 or 2 additional heat sinks. Depending on how much ammo your build needs to carry it can mean that you don't have enough critical slots for Ferro-Fibrous armor and Double Heat Sinks at the same time.

[Svalfangr]

ArcDemon, on 14 May 2013 - 07:39 PM, said:

I can't see the first one (the link is incomplete, you need to make sure you copy the part that is a bit off screen).

The second one needs one additional heat sink before MWO will let you play. This is something that affects Commando builds a lot - you must have at least 10 heat sinks in total (and an engine) or you can't play. Normally this is not hard because most mechs engines have 10 heat sinks already.

But the tiny little engines used to power Commando's don't have 10 heat sinks - the XL195 has 7 heat sinks and the XL210 has 8. That means you need either 3 or 2 additional heat sinks. Depending on how much ammo your build needs to carry it can mean that you don't have enough critical slots for Ferro-Fibrous armor and Double Heat Sinks at the same time.

Thanks for pointing that out, But atleas thats an easy fix i just have to get rid of SRM4 for a SRM2 and the toss another DHS in

[Ewigan]

Hey man, as i am a huge commando fanboy myself (and have all my builds laying around), here is my 1B.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...95894f731309c2c

He's called the "stinging bee" for obvious reasons. And he's Black/yellow ^^

Beware though: He is kinda hot.

Edit: That was my fav. mando till the deaths knell came around. 4 Med Pulse in those arms are just damned sexy.

Edited by Ewigan, 15 May 2013 - 05:47 AM.

[Cubivorre]

Koniving, on 14 May 2013 - 04:34 PM, said:

Nah, no benefit for mastering them all.

Personal satisfaction.

I mastered all of my light mechs without using GXP, and it's done done 2 things for me:

1) Personal satisfaction, as stated above

2) Made me a better light pilot in every respect.

[Koniving]

Cubivorre, on 15 May 2013 - 05:51 AM, said:

Personal satisfaction.

Exactly.

(Old Shot. I now have the final Awesome, the 9M. 60 Mechbays, 6 free.)

[Darwins Dog]

I would also say commando. It's a little more agile on the ground than the heavier mechs. Turns faster, starts and stops faster, and has fully functioning arms which help a LOT when you are running and gunning. My favorite is actually the 3A. I run it with 200XL, ES, FF, 2xML, SRM4, and SRM6. It's just plain fun to use. If you decide to spend real money, the Death's Knell is also a nice mech (and will give you a hero mech to grind cbills with).

Also, what Koniving said.