41 replies to this topic

[DocGiggles]

Polk738, on 26 June 2013 - 08:45 PM, said:

XL engines are fine in Centurions as long as you know how to protect yourself and play the role. Use your speed to flank, torso twist, don't take on assaults head on, stick with your team. Basic stuff

What role are you referring to? Because I really hope its not Brawler.

[POOTYTANGASAUR]

Buckminster, on 05 June 2013 - 03:59 AM, said:

Here's why I don't like XL engines on the Centurion:



Finished the round with two kills and three assists, and that final kill happened when I was nothing but medium lasers. An XL equipped mech would have been dead by then.

i run my yen-lo-wang with an xl300 and though i dont have a screenshot. I am able to regularly survive with HP percents under 20. Which is funny as hell when you finish off an atlas at 16% with 5 kills 800 damage lol. I run an xl because if i lose my ac20 i dont need to live super long after even though when i do i can deal a surpising amount of damage(107kph so i can circle pretty strongly). My favorite thing to do is find the trial mech on the enemy team. Lure them off like a sheep from the herd and then cap them in the back with an ac20 and finish them with med lasers so i dont waste ammo. Sounds like i would take at least a bit of damage but i rarely get out of those slaughter fests under 90% meaning i have full ammo and a kill to start the game. I alos run a cn9al with a standard 260 and survive for even more insane amounts of time. Both side torsos gone, a leg gone, and all body parts except cockpit yellow to red internals. Very satisfying way to end the game.

[Polk738]

DocGiggles, on 26 June 2013 - 08:49 PM, said:

What role are you referring to? Because I really hope its not Brawler.

Whatever role you do your build for, long range, mid range, hunter, striker and yes even brawling-that's what makes the centurion a great platform. You don't have to pilot a heavy or an assault to brawl you just have to be smart, patient and choose your battles wisely while working with your team.

[DocGiggles]

Polk738, on 27 June 2013 - 02:27 PM, said:

Whatever role you do your build for, long range, mid range, hunter, striker and yes even brawling-that's what makes the centurion a great platform. You don't have to pilot a heavy or an assault to brawl you just have to be smart, patient and choose your battles wisely while working with your team.

I'm talking about your choice of an XL engine for brawling. Brawling means taking certain unavoidable risks, and an XL will drastically shorten your lifespan when brawling, in my experience. Centurions are great with an XL, thanks to their ability to spread damage well and giant shield arms, but to be the best Centurion brawler you can be, I'd say standard engines are a must.

[Polk738]

So to be a great brawler in a Centurion I have to run a standard engine? hmmmmm

[Mycrus]

XL275
UAC5
2 Med Laser
3 SSRM2

[DocGiggles]

Polk738, on 28 June 2013 - 07:23 PM, said:

So to be a great brawler in a Centurion I have to run a standard engine?

DocGiggles, on 28 June 2013 - 03:40 PM, said:

Centurions are great with an XL, thanks to their ability to spread damage well and giant shield arms,

To me the difference between a standard and an XL on a Centurion is the difference between being tough to kill and being an actual "must destroy the brain" zombie.

Edited by DocGiggles, 28 June 2013 - 09:05 PM.

[Polk738]

You forgot some of your quote there

DocGiggles, on 28 June 2013 - 03:40 PM, said:

but to be the best Centurion brawler you can be, I'd say standard engines are a must.

I understand what you are trying to say, yes an XL makes me more vulnerable but my mech runs at 108 kph, thus I'm trading "toughness" for speed which balances it out. If you move in behind slower mechs, stay out of their firing arc, and keep them in front of you then you still become tough to kill.

[DocGiggles]

Polk738, on 28 June 2013 - 09:19 PM, said:

I understand what you are trying to say, yes an XL makes me more vulnerable but my mech runs at 108 kph, thus I'm trading "toughness" for speed which balances it out. If you move in behind slower mechs, stay out of their firing arc, and keep them in front of you then you still become tough to kill.

Depends on how you define brawler compared to striker/flanker. In most brawls you'll likely have to expose a rear torso to someone at some point. I also don't like the idea of any Jenner being able to put me at critical damage with one alpha to the back. If you're skirting the edges at 108 kph and nailing rear armors, XL may be better. But if you're facing any opponents faster or just as fast as you, or in situations where heavy damage is inevitable being able to survive as a pair of walking medium lasers will be more useful than running fast.

[Buckminster]

I'd hesitate to say that you *can't* brawl with an XL, but I do think it's fair to say that the "speed brawling" that you are doing at 108kph isn't the same as what most people consider "brawling". There is a certain amount of implied "get in there and duke it out", with brawling, which I personally wouldn't try with an XL.

All of my Cents run with standard engines, and my paper doll at the end of the match is generally quite ridiculous - I've had games where I survived as not much more than a leg, CT and head. And while those two medium lasers aren't super, they can still take out a mech.

[stjobe]

Buckminster, on 01 July 2013 - 05:23 AM, said:

my paper doll at the end of the match is generally quite ridiculous - I've had games where I survived as not much more than a leg, CT and head. And while those two medium lasers aren't super, they can still take out a mech.

Absolutely. I have had quite a number of kills while reduced to just a leg (or two), CT, and head. The CN9 with a standard engine is one of those 'mechs you really have to kill to stop it being a threat.

It's a rare match where I end the match with the same number of arms and legs as I started with

[Frank the Tank]

0okami, on 27 May 2013 - 01:30 PM, said:

If you wanna be different, run this : http://mwo.smurfy-ne...0e8150f3bd62a59

Edit: its so normal that most ppl with some knowledge of TT and Battletech will shed a tear in your honour when they see it.

Cheers to the OG centurion! Still kicking *** with some fancy 2nd level hardware, but the same badass at heart.

[Baba Yogi]

i really would not make a centurion with an XL engine. Its ridicilous how tanky and effective a std cent is. I run with gauss 2xSsrm 2ml with 200std they have to go through shield arm then gauss arm then have to take center. by the time im dead, ive dealt 500+ dmg and this happens regularly. I didnt expect much from this mech when i bought it just did it for the fun but hell it is the most effective workhorse. Bad thing about std engine is though that u need to choose very carefully which fights you want to commit. Because if you got yourself surrounded and without cover you'r still gonna go down fast.

[Volts]

Garth Erlam, on 27 May 2013 - 01:49 PM, said:

How have you done in it? I find the best way to figure out what to do is take it for a few runs and see where you have issues. Back when SL Jenners were popular I found I didn't have enough punch over time, so I tried 6 ML's. Suddenly, a classic is born

And thus, boating was born?

[Polk738]

Buckminster, on 01 July 2013 - 05:23 AM, said:

I'd hesitate to say that you *can't* brawl with an XL, but I do think it's fair to say that the "speed brawling" that you are doing at 108kph isn't the same as what most people consider "brawling". There is a certain amount of implied "get in there and duke it out", with brawling, which I personally wouldn't try with an XL.

All of my Cents run with standard engines, and my paper doll at the end of the match is generally quite ridiculous - I've had games where I survived as not much more than a leg, CT and head. And while those two medium lasers aren't super, they can still take out a mech.

Speed brawling, I like that But isn't brawling just you going toe to toe with another mech in close combat? If you watch the video, you'll see I just stay behind them, or out of they're firing arcs. If you're faster than the other guy you don't have to go blow for blow. It's basic stuff, pick and choose your battles, protect your CT, torso twist, use your team. I basically trade that extra toughness of a standard engine for more speed with the XL-its worked pretty well so far.

[Pliskkenn D]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...6572612aa990cbb

What do people think of this build?

I'm aware it's a tad slow but I really don't want to move into XL Territory. I want to become that mess of a mech that somehow has survived everything.

Edit: First match did a distinctly average but not poor 267 Damage. Had no arms remaining and then went down to god knows what. I could have probably tried harder to swivel, it's not as easy as I remember,

Edited by Pliskkenn D, 17 July 2013 - 07:07 AM.

[Oni Ralas]

I run most cents with XL. They're so damn durable that the XL glass syndrome doesn't really seem to kick in. I was fully zombie and red all over, down to my last 2mlas and still able to take out 2 enemies before I finally went down (and the other two still standing were deep red cts). Yeah, you may get cored, but I seem to die just the same in std vs. XL in this chassis.

[Buckminster]

Pliskkenn D, on 17 July 2013 - 04:53 AM, said:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...6572612aa990cbb

What do people think of this build?

I'm aware it's a tad slow but I really don't want to move into XL Territory. I want to become that mess of a mech that somehow has survived everything.

Edit: First match did a distinctly average but not poor 267 Damage. Had no arms remaining and then went down to god knows what. I could have probably tried harder to swivel, it's not as easy as I remember,

My $0.02:

I generally run a 225 or a 250 in my Centurions. (I like the even numbers for the in-engine heat sinks), so I wouldn't necessarily call a 240 "slow". If you can find a way to gain an extra ton, you can ditch that 10th heat sink and throw in a 250, or if you are looking to find some weight to add something, dropping your engine to a 225 gives you 1.5 tons and won't have a huge impact or your speed.

I'm personally not a fan of the AC/5, I just prefer the punch of the 10 or 20. But with what you are also carrying, I see why you went with the 5.

With the Streak pathing change, 3 Streaks just isn't what it used to be. They are still great at hitting lights, and they are still nice in that they track to your arm reticule (which is nice for flowing brawls), but the damage spreads out a lot more than it used to. You also might want to try and find an extra ton of Streak ammo, as three Streaks burn through a single ton pretty quickly.

Another option might be to ditch the Streaks and the BAP and add on some standard SRMs. SSRMs didn't get the damage buff, so by trading out the BAP and Streaks for 3 SRM4s, you up your damage potential quite a bit, at the cost of missile tracking.

[Pliskkenn D]

Oni Ralas, on 17 July 2013 - 09:46 AM, said:

I run most cents with XL. They're so damn durable that the XL glass syndrome doesn't really seem to kick in. I was fully zombie and red all over, down to my last 2mlas and still able to take out 2 enemies before I finally went down (and the other two still standing were deep red cts). Yeah, you may get cored, but I seem to die just the same in std vs. XL in this chassis.

Hmm, that does sound deliciously blappy. I might give that a crack later.

[Voyager I]

You shouldn't XL the 9A. Its engine limit is too low for it to go fast, so all you're doing is freeing up tonnage to put something big in the ballistic arm where it can be immediately blown off. The 9A is good because it can be incredibly difficult to kill and move decently while still carrying a threatening loadout in a well-protected torso.

The 9D is a different story, since it can actually mount a big enough engine to justify the XL upgrade.

The 9A isn't configured very well for a sniper; Gauss + LL isn't bad, but it's not fantastic and other chassis can do you better for the job. Ditto for missiles.