31 replies to this topic

[Ryllen Kriel]

I use AC2s and AC5s for previously mentioned tactics like closing distances and suppressing fire against snipers on my brawlers. It can also be decent damage over time against slow moving targets. SRM2s are fairly well useless unless a mech variant has a lot of missle slots and I'm loading up tonnage on one of the other weapon types. An example would be stacking a heavy ballistics weapon, ammo and heavy energy weapons on a Highlander and just wanting to fill the missle slots with something for short range burst damage. They are not great, but it's something else I can spend tonnage on and occaisionally it makes a difference.

[arghmace]

Ryebear, on 19 May 2013 - 11:50 AM, said:

AC/5s have significantly less DPS (2.94 vs 5) than an AC/20

Yes but don't forget that you get almost two AC5's for the weight of one AC20. Of course the heavier weapon should have more DPS.

[Terror Teddy]

I would actually like to see a larger change in cycle time between the weapons.

Lower the cycle time of the SRM2 and SRM4 by 1 second each and you have a a choice between a larger slower alpha missile cluster or sustained fire by smaller missiles over time.

The damage per tonne would be the same in the end.

Edited by Terror Teddy, 20 May 2013 - 09:04 AM.

[Ryebear]

arghmace, on 20 May 2013 - 06:37 AM, said:

Yes but don't forget that you get almost two AC5's for the weight of one AC20. Of course the heavier weapon should have more DPS.

You don't forget that two AC/5s are more than 1 AC/5, not all mechs have the weight, or ballistic slots available to mount two AC/5s. And AC/20s do all the damage to a single location. And you cant load 2 AC/5s effectively on anything lighter than a Dragon or *maybe* a Hunchback.

[arghmace]

Anyway the point is that you could just as well say that medium laser is crap since it has worse DPS than large pulse laser. A bigger ballistic should have more DPS, naturally. DPS per ton would be a more reasonable statistic.

[Terror Teddy]

Ryebear, on 20 May 2013 - 09:05 AM, said:

And you cant load 2 AC/5s effectively on anything lighter than a Dragon or *maybe* a Hunchback.

My hunchback disagrees with you.

HBK-4G
Standard Engine 200
DHS [2 External]
3 Medium Lasers
2 AC/5
3 Tonnes AC/5 Ammo
Endo Steel
AMS [1 tonne ammo]
Max Armour

Only drawback is that if I freed 3 criticals I would be able to fit Ferro Fibrous but I cant find the space without exchanging for perhaps an AC/20.

[arghmace]

Terror Teddy, on 20 May 2013 - 10:59 AM, said:

My hunchback disagrees with you.

HBK-4G
Standard Engine 200
DHS [2 External]
3 Medium Lasers
2 AC/5
3 Tonnes AC/5 Ammo
Endo Steel
AMS [1 tonne ammo]
Max Armour

Only drawback is that if I freed 3 criticals I would be able to fit Ferro Fibrous but I cant find the space without exchanging for perhaps an AC/20.

Throw away the useless AMS and 1 external DHS. Then strap on FF and a bigger engine with one more HS inside.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e85414482c26654

[Ryebear]

Frankly the roles of the AC/2 and AC/5 should be switched. The AC/2 should have lower heat and lower DPS and AC/5 having higher heat and higher DPS.

It really bothers me that single AC/2s arent really effect which hurts lighter mechs with ballistic slots.

[Buckminster]

But single AC/2s were never that effective. Great range, no heat, but only 2 damage. Even in TT, with normal armor values, 2 damage just didn't justify the weight of the weapon and the ammo.

What I don't like is that the AC/5 has a lower DPS than the AC/2. I love the high ROF 'dakka' of the AC/2, but it fires over three times faster than an AC/5. Sure, you have to have decent aim to get all of those shots on target, but it just seems wrong that the AC/2 has a higher damage potential than an AC/5.

[arghmace]

If you're like me and don't wanna use macros, using UAC5 and AC2 in chainfire gives you great dakka without the possibility of Ultra jamming. Too bad that dakka isn't exactly useful compared to alphas.

[MonkeyCheese]

Ryebear, on 20 May 2013 - 11:34 AM, said:

It really bothers me that single AC/2s arent really effect which hurts lighter mechs with ballistic slots.

I say otherwise

My spider 5k works well with an ac2 and 1ml
http://mwomercs.com/...ost__p__2361104

I can usually pull 250-350 damage and multiple kills or kill jacks if one of those infamous large ppc/gauss boats dosnt get a lucky shot off on my ac2 arm.

I also run an ac2, 2ml, ssrm2 build on my 4x raven that works really well at range and in brawling situations.

Sure my worst enemy is other skinny little spiders, but anything bigger is easy to hit with this dakkadakka of a weapon, given you can fit plenty of ammo for an entire round (3-4 tons for me)


tldr
In my eyes the Ac2 is perfect for that long range scout/capper, and depending on your aim it can be usable on anything bigger then a spider in brawls.

Edited by MonkeyCheese, 20 May 2013 - 04:34 PM.

[Ryebear]

MonkeyCheese, on 20 May 2013 - 04:31 PM, said:

counter-point

I'm factoring in the fact that it is a very hot weapon and the tradional low weight support weapons in a well rounded build are energy weapons which have a high heat to damage ratio as well. They don't mix as well as a lower heat AC/5 and some energy weapons would, but when weight is at a premium on lighter mechs, those 2 tonnes to upgrade can be huge.

But I'm glad you find success with an AC/2