31 replies to this topic

[Alistair Winter]

[Guide] Centurion 101 – a guide for new players
A lot has changed since I first wrote this guide. I've learned a lot more, I've changed my attitude to the game and the meta in MWO has changed significantly. My original guide (see below in spoiler brackets) contained a number of different builds for each variant, with different advantages in term of costs, playing style and sheer fun factor. In the 2014 edition of this guide, let's take a completely different approach.

TL;DR - Scroll down to part 3.

Part 1: Why you should not pick the Centurion.

This is an important question. Today, the matchmaker doesn't really make sure that both teams have an equal amount of assault mechs, heavy mechs, medium mechs and light mechs. It doesn't even add the total weight of all mechs on both sides. In any given match, you will either be at a weight advantage or disadvantage. In other words, taking a medium mech over a heavy mech doesn't mean that the enemy will also have that extra medium mech instead of a heavy mech. Or to put it differently, if you pick a medium mech, there's a chance your team will be lighter than the enemy, because you didn't pick an assault mech. If you pick an assault mech, there's a chance your team will be lighter than the enemy, but there's nothing you could have done to prevent it.

So the question becomes: what can the Centurion do better than any other mech?

You shouldn't only compare your Centurion to other medium mechs. You should ask yourself: why am I using this Centurion instead of a Highlander or Jagermech or Jenner? What unique advantages does the Centurion offer, that may make it a better choice than any of those mechs. The answer, for most players, is... the Centurion offers very limited advantages, and there are very few reasons why you should pick the Centurion.

Is the Centurion one of the best snipers in the game? No. The Jagermech, CTF-3D and Highlander are better.
Is the Centurion one of the best light mech hunters in the game? No. The Shadowhawk is much better for that, and even the Kintaro. Even a Jenner is better suited for hunting down light mechs than the Centurion.
Is the Centurion one of the best long range support mechs in the game? No. The Stalker and Jagermech are far better.
Is the Centurion one of the best brawlers in the game? No. If you like brawling, absorbing damage in order to deliver damage, pick an Atlas.

Don't pick the Centurion to perform a role that you can do better with other mechs. At the moment, there's nothing to gain from this. Perhaps Community Warfare will one day offer some kind of incentive for using a medium mech instead of an assault mech. Today, that is not the case.

Part 2: Why you should pick the Centurion.
There are a select few things that the Centurion does better than most other mechs. As a medium mech, you have a small number of significant advantages over heavy mechs. Number 1 is speed, number 2 is agility. Of course, you're a smaller target, but the Centurion is so big that it makes little difference. Many people will tell you that the Centurion offer the unique advantage of being a good 'zombie mech', which means you can keep fighting after losing both arms and both side torsos, and still do damage with the CT medium lasers. Well... that's a pretty small advantage, in my book. If you compare the percentage of matches in which you had a major impact at full health (90+%) compared to low health (no arms, barely any weapons), I think you'll find that it's better to focus on not getting beaten half to death, instead of being great at fighting after being beaten half to death.

So what is the Centurion great at?

Speed combined with firepower and agility. More than any heavy and assault mech, the Centurion can quickly change positions, take out targets that are vulnerable (due to being damaged or just isolated) and get back to defend before the enemy can exploit the opening. However, you don't want to go too far. There's a point of diminishing returns, where extra speed means you have no more firepower, agility or armor than a light mech. In which case you might as well go with a light mech. For example, the CN9-D with the biggest engine can go 135+ kph, but then it has less firepower and less agility than a Jenner, with only slightly more armour. The extra armour doesn't help too much, because you're a bigger target without jumpjets. In other words, you need to find the perfect balance of speed, firepower and agility that no other mechs can match.

Your job is to:

• Exploit any weakness in the enemy team. Isolated team members, vulnerable mechs, LRM boats without support. Get on those guys, and disappear when you encounter trouble.
  
• Protect the weaker parts of your own team. You can help chase away light mechs, you can quickly move to protect an unguarded flank.
  
• Stay busy and do damage! If you spend the whole match looking for easy kills or crunchy light mechs, then you're probably wasting a lot of time that could be spent doing damage.You need to keep doing damage, while being ready to do the two above jobs. Keep firing that AC10, PPC or AC20, don't just wait behind the wall of friendly assault mechs.

Part 3: Good CN9-builds for 2014

This is where I tell you what builds I use for my Centurion when I want to get serious, when I'm not just playing for fun and with ambitions of mediocrity. If you want more fun builds, scroll down to the spoiler bracket.

My general recommendations:

• Use SSRMs, not SRMs. SRMs currently have serious hit registration problems, and it takes a lot of skill to use them effectively. With a big ballistic weapon and lots of SRMs, you'll most likely be at a serious disadvantage against a good light mech pilot in a fast mech. You're never going to be a premium light mech hunter, but with 2-3 SSRMs and 2 medium lasers, you can help teammates scare off enemy light mechs. Which is your job. If you want to hunt light mechs, pick another mech.
  
• Use an XL engine. It took me a while to accept this, but the extra survivability of an STD engine is wasted because it basically turns you into a slow medium mech with less firepower. A slow medium mech with less firepower is basically a horrible heavy mech. There are a few exceptions to this point. A few.
  
• Don't strip off too much armour. Many skilled players will target your legs, because the Centurion can deflect a lot of punishment with its arms and side torsos. So without leg armour, you will lose your legs. Some people strip armour of the arms and run around with only torso weapons. This used to be a great idea when 3 SRM6 in the torso was a force of destruction. Today, that is rarely the case.

My builds.

CN9-YLW. Either go with XL300, AC20, 2 Medium lasers and AMS, or XL280, AC20 and ER large laser. This mech excels at close range, as its primary advantage is an insane torso twist. At long range, the torso twisting ability is less useful, and so is the ability to carry an AC20.

Most people like the 2 medium lasers and AMS with the bigger engine. I prefer the ER LL because it gives me something to do at long range, where the AC20 is ineffective.

CN9-A. XL275, AC10, 3 SSRMs, 2 Medium lasers and BAP. You only have 30 shots with your AC10, so don't waste any shots. This is a versatile build, jack of all trades, master of none.

CN9-D. XL340, UAC5, 2 SSRMs, 2 Medium lasers. Plenty of ammo, so spam that UAC5 at your heart's content and keep doing damage throughout the match. A max speed of 121 kph should make it very easy for you to stay out of trouble from enemy heavy mechs, while your weapons should be enough to take care of enemy light mechs.

CN9-AL. Though it only has 2 SSRMs, the 4 energy weapons combined with high speed makes this mech a moderate threat against both light mechs and heavier mechs. I don't usually have BAP on it, but you can always swap a DHS and some armour for a BAP at the cost of heat efficiency.

As an alternative, try the STD engine and SRM4 build for extra survivability and higher damage, at the cost of speed and accuracy against light mechs.

Part 4: Centurion vs Shadowhawk
The Shadowhawk (SHD) is widely considered the best medium mech at the moment, and also one of the best mechs in the game overall. When you're choosing the Centurion over the Shadowhawk, you should probably take a look at what the SHD does better. First of all, it's high mounted ballistic weapon, jump jets and arm-mounted energy weapon makes it a much better sniper and poptart. Second, its ability to carry 4 SSRMs with a much bigger engine than most Centurions makes it a better light mech hunter.

One of the few advantages the Centurion has, is the huge and "useless" left arm. Use this to block enemy fire, that's what it's there for. Another advantage is the low-slung, arm mounted ballistic, which makes it easier to hit moving enemies at close range, but harder to snipe. Whenever you're making a Centurion build, consider whether there's a Shadowhawk who does the job better.

Looking at my builds above:
CN9-YLW: Much better torso twist than any SHD. A unique advantage for an AC20 mech.
CN9-A: More missile hardpoints than the SHD-5M, more energy hardpoints than the SHD-2H. It' only advantage over the SHD-2D2 is the arm mounted ballistic, useful at close range, and a very slight increase in torso twist. In other words, its only advantage is at close range.
CN9-D: Same as above.
CN9-AL: 4 energy weapons offers unique abilities that no SHD can match. Arguably a better light mech hunter than most SHD, except the SHD-2D2 with 4 SSRMs, but the CN9-AL is more versatile than the SHD-2D2 due to the energy weapons which are great against both light mechs and assault mechs.

Thanks to everyone for your comments and constructive criticism.

Note: The spoiler contains the previous, outdated version of the guide. Read with a pinch of salt or two.

Spoiler

Like many other medium mechs, the Centurion is a versatile workhorse, capable of filling numerous different roles. It can be equipped to engage in both short range and long range engagements, fighting on the front line or engaging in rapid skirmishes behind enemy lines. It pretty much lets you take any role you desire. On the other hand, the Centurion is not a specialist. In boxing, there is a saying that one should “box a brawler and brawl with a boxer”, and this is exactly the approach you need to take with the Centurion – take enemy mechs out of their element and take advantage of their weakness. Against light mechs, use your size and firepower to negate their speed. Against heavy mechs, use your speed to negate their size and firepower.

The Centurion chassis offers a lot of different possibilities and for this reason, it’s hard to offer a lot of general guidelines that apply to every build, regardless of weapons and engine sizes. As a rule of thumb, however, you should consider the following

• Never lead the charge. Whenever the two teams meat, the medium mechs have the speed to engage the enemy first, and it’s tempting to attack when several nice targets expose themselves. You have to remember, however, that it’s not your job to shield assault mechs from enemy fire, it’s the other way around.
  
• Never walk alone. The Centurion is a team player. While able to dance around many heavy and assault mechs, you’ll often be intercepted by packs of light and/or medium mechs if you cause too much trouble. Depending on what engine you have, there may even be heavy mechs out there with superior speed, armor and firepower. Whether you’re scouting or fighting, always keep your friends nearby.
  
• Learn how to block incoming shots. The one distinguishing feature of the Centurion is its durability and its left arm with a built-in shield for absorbing damage. When you’re not shooting, you should be blocking, by twisting your torso to keep your shield between you and your enemy.

Centurion CN9-A




The main advantage of the CN9-A is that it has 3 missile launchers with 10 missile tubes. In theory, you could have 3 missile launchers with 50 LRMs fired in two salvos. It is more common, however, to load the CN9-A with 3 SRM launchers, with the idea of giving it a hefty punch at close range.

With recent patches, the effectiveness of LRMs and SRMs have varied wildly, and it’s likely that they will keep doing so. At one point, a CN9-A with 3 SRM6’s had enough firepower to brawl with the biggest mechs in the game. Today, the SRM is so weak that few dedicated SRM boats still exist. Until PGI increases the effectiveness of the SRM, think twice about going toe to toe against other mechs in a CN9-A.

For those who enjoy a challenge or just like the idea of unleashing a swarm of missiles directly into the face of their enemy, here are three different options:

1) Striker - 11,3 million C-bills
The CN9-A Striker combines great firepower with great responsibility. I mean speed. It does 98 kph, carries a UAC5, 2 medium lasers and 3 x SRM4. While this is only marginally more firepower than the most heavily armed light mechs, the Striker is able to deliver large amounts of burst damage, which means that you only need to aim at your enemy momentarily to deal damage, and allows you to quickly twist your torso after each shot, to absorb counterattacks with your left arm. Use the double-tap to do maximum damage with your UAC5, and then try to block incoming fire while you wait for SRMs to reload and/or the UAC5 to unjam.

The high speed gives you great mobility. You can team up with a light mech to capture a base, or you can use your speed to run circles around heavier mechs in a brawl. Just keep in mind that the high speed comes at the cost of an XL engine, which will destroy your mech if you lose a side torso.

2) Demolisher - 6 million C-bills
This build is cheap, fun and versatile. It has 3 x 5 LRMs, which can launch a steady stream of missiles that will really mess with your target’s aiming ability. It also has an AC10, the second most powerful ballistic weapon in the game. And it has 2 medium lasers combined with a standard engine, which means you can go full zombie mode when all else fails.

The balanced weapon load-out of the Demolisher lets you engage the enemy at any range. At a distance, you have the LRMs and AC10. At close distance, you have medium lasers, and you can use the high burst damage of your AC10 to attack damaged body parts. The only weakness in this build is the lack of speed, but this is negated if you stay close to heavy mechs and assault mechs. You shouldn't go off on your own with this build anyway, because if you're swarmed by light mechs, your LRMs are useless and it's hard to use the AC10 to good effect.

3) Tank - 8,6 million C-bills
A cheap and durable build. This thing can take a lickin’ and keep on kickin’. It has close to maximum armour, a big standard engine, an anti-missile system (AMS), and its ammo is protected by CASE, to stop any ammo explosions from doing internal damage. It also have lots of ammo and enough speed to get it out of trouble most of the time.

The only weakness with this build is the lack of firepower, combined with heat problems. You have approximately the same firepower as the most heavily armed light mechs, so don’t expect to scare anyone off. In other words, you need to use your survivability to wear the enemy down, or count on your teammates to do the damage. The heat problem isn’t necessarily a problem at all. Any target more than 300 meters away will be out of range of your SRMs and medium lasers anyway, so you can keep peppering with your AC2 all day. At close range, stop using your AC2 and switch to medium lasers and SRMs, as they have far better damage to heat ratio.

This is a nice build when you’re relatively new to the game and don’t have the finesse to make tricky builds work.

Centurion CN9-AL
The CN9-AL is the only Centurion variant with arm-mounted energy hardpoints. It's probably the most popular Centurion variant at the moment, due to the fact that it's hard for Centurions to combine several ballistic weapons, and because SRMs are currently not very powerful.

In my opinion, the CN9-AL is the best beginner mech in the game, because it's so flexible while not having so much armour that you can just plod forward in a straight line. Heavier mechs, while having more firepower, are more often out-maneuvered and separated from their team.

With that said, let's look at some builds!

1) Executioner - 8,3 million C-bills
This is my current CN9-AL build and it rocks! If PGI ever buffs the large pulse lasers, it'll rock even harder. So it has 2 large pulse lasers in the right arm and 2 medium lasers in the torso. Big standard engine, STD260, giving it plenty of speed. The large pulse lasers haven't really been too popular, partly because of their weight and the huge amounts of heat. People like to compare the large pulse laser to the large laser, but that's missing the point entirely.

The point about large pulse lasers is that they fire rapid bursts of damage. And they do 10 damage each. Put two of them together, and it's close to having an AC20 with unlimited ammunition. You have to stay on target a little longer, but you also don't have to worry about projectile speed, so it's ultimately no better or worse in terms of aiming.

Whether you're attacking light mechs or assault mechs, this thing will chop of limbs with frightening speed. If you have a good aim, you can chop light mechs' legs of in mid-flight, or melt down an assault mech's rear armour as it's twisting its torso. You have great speed and you have no weapons in your left torso or left arm, so keep torso twisting to protect your right arm.

2) Crusader - 7,4 million C-bills
This was my first successful CN9-AL build and it's very versatile and cheap. Good at everything, but not great at anything. It's really a great Centurion mech for beginners and is very forgiving when you make a mistake. You can attack enemies at almost any range, though short to medium engagements is where you will do best, naturally.

Due to having large lasers instead of ballistic weapons, it's actually quite effective against pesky light mechs, even for new players. Unfortunately, you'll rarely be able to team up with light mechs and go flanking, because you really need more speed for that. Consider this mech more of a grunt, effective against virtually any opponent.

3) Tron - 8,6 million C-bills
Obviously quite similar to the Executioner above, but with ER PPC + PPC in the right arm, this thing is better suited for medium or long range engagements, while still moderately effective in a brawl. As long as no one gets within 90 meters of you, you'll still do full damage with all weapons. Whenever someone has a regular PPC, enemy players will try to get as close as possible to render it harmless, as it has a 90 meter minimum range. This mech is quite fast, however, so you can easily adjust and keep your distance when necessary.

Again, note the STD260 engine, letting you sacrifice half your body if necessary, without losing any firepower what so ever. As opposed to mechs with elevated weapon arms, like the Blackjack or Jagermech, your low slung weapons make you a slightly inferior hill sniper, because you have to expose more of your body. So when you do engage in long range battles, be sure to use buildings to hide behind corners or simply use the terrain to create vertical movement while using your full speed to maintain plenty of horizontal movement. Hitting someone moving in a straight line is easy, but hitting someone running up and down hills while turning is a lot harder!

Centurion CN9-D
The Centurion CN9-D is a freak class with its ability to carry a size 390 engine, which is a bigger engine capacity than any other mech variant in the game except the AWS-9M and Pretty Baby! Of course, in a 55 ton mech, it's actually impossible to use the STD390 engine, which weighs 53 tons. And while it is possible to use the XL390 engine, you only have 8 free tons to spend on weapons, if you combine it with max armour. That's an AC2 with 2 tons of ammo, in other words, less than most light mechs have. Furthermore, the XL390 engine costs 6,3 million C-bills, which is outrageous. So while it seems on paper that the CN9-D has a potentially huge advantage, it rarely ever gets used to good effect.

The CN9-D comes with the XL300 engine, which is one of the most versatile engines in the game. You won't regret buying this, it's equally useful on medium and heavy mechs. Personally, I don't really like using XL engines on the Centurion, but I've included a suggestion for a build if you want to try it out. You still have to keep twisting that torso to distribute damage, but instead of letting one side absorb most of the damage, you now have to distribute damage away from the center torso to both arms and side torsos, which can be a bit trickier.


1) Vanilla Ice - 12,8 million C-bills
A balanced Centurion build with no major weaknesses or strengths. This should work well for most new players. An UAC5 with plenty of ammo, which works both at short and medium range. 2 medium lasers in the center torso for zombie mode, and SRM4+SRM6 with 1 ton of ammo for close encounters. Use your SRMs sparingly, as you only have 18 shots.

The trick to using this build is to get maximum effect from the UAC5. Never hold the fire button down for more than a moment. For maximum damage per second, you want to fire it approximately once per second. For burst damage, you can try to double tap, although this increases the chance of jamming. The good thing about have 75 rounds of ammo is that you can afford to experiment and miss quite a bit.

2) Wee Lil Wang - 9,2 million C-bills
This is the cheapest of the CN9-D builds on this list. It doesn’t even have double heat sinks, which are a must on most mechs, but the double AC5s are cool enough that you don’t really need that upgrade. The AC5s’ high rate of fire and 60 shots per AC5 make them forgiving for new players without a Legolas-like aim, as opposed to the gauss rifle. Just keep blasting those things as long as you have a good shot, and use the medium lasers when you have some free heat capacity.

Notice that this build has a standard engine with no weapons or important components on the left side. Which means it’s basically like the Yen Lo Wang hero mech, letting you use half your body as a shield. This makes it particularly useful for new players who need to practice torso twisting.

3) Longbow - 15,3 million C-bills
With dual AC2s, dual LRM5s and a large laser, this Centurion is able to unleash a hail of fire across long distances. Both the AC2s and the LRM5s have a high rate of fire, but they also run quite hot, so you’ll need to take short breaks to cool down once in a while. This works out quite well, because this build is also very weak in close combat, so you’ll need to keep moving to stay at optimal range, which is no closer than 300 meters from the enemy. Stay away from their medium lasers, SRMs and AC20s.

This is basically a support mech when you want a break from brawling. To use it well, follow the assault mechs on your team. Your support will be useful because if you keep laying down support fire with AC2s and LRM5s, it’s very distracting for the enemy mech which is constantly rocked by projectiles rattling against his cockpit and throwing his aim off.

Normally, the best medium mech for long range fire support is the Blackjack, which has the advantage of elevated weapons, allowing it to snipe over hills. With your low slung ballistic weapons, you need to be more careful when popping up from cover. However, the Centurion is better suited to hide behind buildings, as you can sneak both AC2s out from cover without exposing your whole mech.

Centurion CN9-YLW Yen Lo Wang
This was my first Hero mech and it took a while before I learned to really appreciate it. I think it's the same for a lot of new players, because it's a highly specialised mech and it takes a while to get familiar with the game so you can make use of its advantages and avoid suffering from its disadvantages. On the other hand, when I really started learning how to use it, it influenced how I played my other Centurions, and you can see that some of the builds above have been inspired by the Yen Lo Wang, by neglecting missile launchers in favour of strong weapons in the right arm.

The Yen Lo Wang has 3 advantages. First, it can have an AC20 in the right arm. That used to be a big deal, but today it shares that ability with a few other mechs. Second, it's faster than the CN9-AL and CN9-A, although it's still slower than the CN9-D. Third, and most importantly in my eyes, it has a 120 degree torso twist, which is more than other Centurions, more than the Trebuchet and more than the Black Jack. It makes it a lot easier to keep firing when you're dodging shots and circling your opponent.

And of course it looks great, especially now that you can repaint it.

1) Trooper Wang - 7,2 million C-bills
A rather common build, and while it’s not my favourite, I would be remiss in neglecting it. At the cost of having an XL engine instead of the STD engine, you have room for 2 UAC5s in one arm, 5 tons of ammo, and close to max armour. You also have 2 medium lasers and 50% heat efficiency, which means you can pretty much keep firing until the cows come home.
Needless to say, the XL engine means that you can’t afford to lose a side torso, so be careful with taking too much damage on either side. You can still block shots with your left arm, but once it’s gone, it’s time to play a bit more cautiously.
Not much else to say about this mech.

2) Classic Wang - 3,5 million C-bills
The AC20 build. Some people will tell you to use an XL engine to get more ammo for the AC20, but let me tell you two things. First, the concentration of weapons on the right side of the mech makes the left side the ideal shield. Second, while 4 tons of ammo only gives you 28 shots, a high amount of damage combined with long reload time means that most of the enemies should be dead by the time you run out of ammo.

The trick to this build is to stay the hell away from light mechs. If you miss with your AC20, which you often will, you’re left with 2 medium lasers. Even the smallest light mechs have more firepower than that. The YLW has a very nice torso twist, however, which makes it quite easy to run circles around heavy and assault mechs, while firing. Against slow and cumbersome mechs, aim for the legs and rear armour. Against faster mechs, go for the torso.

3) Zorro Wang - 4,9 million C-bills
The Zorro Wang is all about finesse. It doesn’t really require a lot of experience to use, it just requires a good aim. So if you’re new to MW:O, but you have a lot of experience from other FPS games, try this one out for size. It has a gauss rifle and ER laser, both of which are great at any range from 0 to 800 meters or more. You have no chance of overheating, the only thing you need to worry about is your gauss ammo. Basically, this is a sniper build. You want to hit the same locations over and over again, so you really need to pick your shots. You don’t have enough ammo to take people’s arms off, just focus on their center torso or their legs.
This is not only one of my best mechs in terms of average score and kill/death ratio, it’s also the first build I scored 6 kills with in a single match. You really need to use your speed to the fullest, staying away from danger, dodging shots and taking out weak targets. Beyond that, it’s not very complicated.

You could arguably create the same build with another Centurion, but keep in mind that the Yen Lo Wang has an extended torso twist, which comes in handy when you’re constantly torso twisting to shield your right side, and also circling enemies at high speed. You’ll need to do both with the Zorro Wang.

PS: You can also swap the STD235 engine with an XL300 engine and 1 extra ton of ammo, for extra Zorroness.



The main advantage of the CN9-A is that it has 3 missile launchers with 10 missile tubes. In theory, you could have 3 missile launchers with 50 LRMs fired in two salvos. It is more common, however, to load the CN9-A with 3 SRM launchers, with the idea of giving it a hefty punch at close range.

With recent patches, the effectiveness of LRMs and SRMs have varied wildly, and it’s likely that they will keep doing so. At one point, a CN9-A with 3 SRM6’s had enough firepower to brawl with the biggest mechs in the game. Today, the SRM is so weak that few dedicated SRM boats still exist. Until PGI increases the effectiveness of the SRM, think twice about going toe to toe against other mechs in a CN9-A.

For those who enjoy a challenge or just like the idea of unleashing a swarm of missiles directly into the face of their enemy, here are three different options:

1) Striker - 11,3 million C-bills
The CN9-A Striker combines great firepower with great responsibility. I mean speed. It does 98 kph, carries a UAC5, 2 medium lasers and 3 x SRM4. While this is only marginally more firepower than the most heavily armed light mechs, the Striker is able to deliver large amounts of burst damage, which means that you only need to aim at your enemy momentarily to deal damage, and allows you to quickly twist your torso after each shot, to absorb counterattacks with your left arm. Use the double-tap to do maximum damage with your UAC5, and then try to block incoming fire while you wait for SRMs to reload and/or the UAC5 to unjam.

The high speed gives you great mobility. You can team up with a light mech to capture a base, or you can use your speed to run circles around heavier mechs in a brawl. Just keep in mind that the high speed comes at the cost of an XL engine, which will destroy your mech if you lose a side torso.

2) Demolisher - 6 million C-bills
This build is cheap, fun and versatile. It has 3 x 5 LRMs, which can launch a steady stream of missiles that will really mess with your target’s aiming ability. It also has an AC10, the second most powerful ballistic weapon in the game. And it has 2 medium lasers combined with a standard engine, which means you can go full zombie mode when all else fails.

The balanced weapon load-out of the Demolisher lets you engage the enemy at any range. At a distance, you have the LRMs and AC10. At close distance, you have medium lasers, and you can use the high burst damage of your AC10 to attack damaged body parts. The only weakness in this build is the lack of speed, but this is negated if you stay close to heavy mechs and assault mechs. You shouldn't go off on your own with this build anyway, because if you're swarmed by light mechs, your LRMs are useless and it's hard to use the AC10 to good effect.

3) Tank - 8,6 million C-bills
A cheap and durable build. This thing can take a lickin’ and keep on kickin’. It has close to maximum armour, a big standard engine, an anti-missile system (AMS), and its ammo is protected by CASE, to stop any ammo explosions from doing internal damage. It also have lots of ammo and enough speed to get it out of trouble most of the time.

The only weakness with this build is the lack of firepower, combined with heat problems. You have approximately the same firepower as the most heavily armed light mechs, so don’t expect to scare anyone off. In other words, you need to use your survivability to wear the enemy down, or count on your teammates to do the damage. The heat problem isn’t necessarily a problem at all. Any target more than 300 meters away will be out of range of your SRMs and medium lasers anyway, so you can keep peppering with your AC2 all day. At close range, stop using your AC2 and switch to medium lasers and SRMs, as they have far better damage to heat ratio.

This is a nice build when you’re relatively new to the game and don’t have the finesse to make tricky builds work.

Centurion CN9-AL
The CN9-AL is the only Centurion variant with arm-mounted energy hardpoints. It's probably the most popular Centurion variant at the moment, due to the fact that it's hard for Centurions to combine several ballistic weapons, and because SRMs are currently not very powerful.

In my opinion, the CN9-AL is the best beginner mech in the game, because it's so flexible while not having so much armour that you can just plod forward in a straight line. Heavier mechs, while having more firepower, are more often out-maneuvered and separated from their team.

With that said, let's look at some builds!

1) Executioner - 8,3 million C-bills
This is my current CN9-AL build and it rocks! If PGI ever buffs the large pulse lasers, it'll rock even harder. So it has 2 large pulse lasers in the right arm and 2 medium lasers in the torso. Big standard engine, STD260, giving it plenty of speed. The large pulse lasers haven't really been too popular, partly because of their weight and the huge amounts of heat. People like to compare the large pulse laser to the large laser, but that's missing the point entirely.

The point about large pulse lasers is that they fire rapid bursts of damage. And they do 10 damage each. Put two of them together, and it's close to having an AC20 with unlimited ammunition. You have to stay on target a little longer, but you also don't have to worry about projectile speed, so it's ultimately no better or worse in terms of aiming.

Whether you're attacking light mechs or assault mechs, this thing will chop of limbs with frightening speed. If you have a good aim, you can chop light mechs' legs of in mid-flight, or melt down an assault mech's rear armour as it's twisting its torso. You have great speed and you have no weapons in your left torso or left arm, so keep torso twisting to protect your right arm.

2) Crusader - 7,4 million C-bills
This was my first successful CN9-AL build and it's very versatile and cheap. Good at everything, but not great at anything. It's really a great Centurion mech for beginners and is very forgiving when you make a mistake. You can attack enemies at almost any range, though short to medium engagements is where you will do best, naturally.

Due to having large lasers instead of ballistic weapons, it's actually quite effective against pesky light mechs, even for new players. Unfortunately, you'll rarely be able to team up with light mechs and go flanking, because you really need more speed for that. Consider this mech more of a grunt, effective against virtually any opponent.

3) Tron - 8,6 million C-bills
Obviously quite similar to the Executioner above, but with ER PPC + PPC in the right arm, this thing is better suited for medium or long range engagements, while still moderately effective in a brawl. As long as no one gets within 90 meters of you, you'll still do full damage with all weapons. Whenever someone has a regular PPC, enemy players will try to get as close as possible to render it harmless, as it has a 90 meter minimum range. This mech is quite fast, however, so you can easily adjust and keep your distance when necessary.

Again, note the STD260 engine, letting you sacrifice half your body if necessary, without losing any firepower what so ever. As opposed to mechs with elevated weapon arms, like the Blackjack or Jagermech, your low slung weapons make you a slightly inferior hill sniper, because you have to expose more of your body. So when you do engage in long range battles, be sure to use buildings to hide behind corners or simply use the terrain to create vertical movement while using your full speed to maintain plenty of horizontal movement. Hitting someone moving in a straight line is easy, but hitting someone running up and down hills while turning is a lot harder!

Centurion CN9-D
The Centurion CN9-D is a freak class with its ability to carry a size 390 engine, which is a bigger engine capacity than any other mech variant in the game except the AWS-9M and Pretty Baby! Of course, in a 55 ton mech, it's actually impossible to use the STD390 engine, which weighs 53 tons. And while it is possible to use the XL390 engine, you only have 8 free tons to spend on weapons, if you combine it with max armour. That's an AC2 with 2 tons of ammo, in other words, less than most light mechs have. Furthermore, the XL390 engine costs 6,3 million C-bills, which is outrageous. So while it seems on paper that the CN9-D has a potentially huge advantage, it rarely ever gets used to good effect.

The CN9-D comes with the XL300 engine, which is one of the most versatile engines in the game. You won't regret buying this, it's equally useful on medium and heavy mechs. Personally, I don't really like using XL engines on the Centurion, but I've included a suggestion for a build if you want to try it out. You still have to keep twisting that torso to distribute damage, but instead of letting one side absorb most of the damage, you now have to distribute damage away from the center torso to both arms and side torsos, which can be a bit trickier.


1) Vanilla Ice - 12,8 million C-bills
A balanced Centurion build with no major weaknesses or strengths. This should work well for most new players. An UAC5 with plenty of ammo, which works both at short and medium range. 2 medium lasers in the center torso for zombie mode, and SRM4+SRM6 with 1 ton of ammo for close encounters. Use your SRMs sparingly, as you only have 18 shots.

The trick to using this build is to get maximum effect from the UAC5. Never hold the fire button down for more than a moment. For maximum damage per second, you want to fire it approximately once per second. For burst damage, you can try to double tap, although this increases the chance of jamming. The good thing about have 75 rounds of ammo is that you can afford to experiment and miss quite a bit.

2) Wee Lil Wang - 9,2 million C-bills
This is the cheapest of the CN9-D builds on this list. It doesn’t even have double heat sinks, which are a must on most mechs, but the double AC5s are cool enough that you don’t really need that upgrade. The AC5s’ high rate of fire and 60 shots per AC5 make them forgiving for new players without a Legolas-like aim, as opposed to the gauss rifle. Just keep blasting those things as long as you have a good shot, and use the medium lasers when you have some free heat capacity.

Notice that this build has a standard engine with no weapons or important components on the left side. Which means it’s basically like the Yen Lo Wang hero mech, letting you use half your body as a shield. This makes it particularly useful for new players who need to practice torso twisting.

3) Longbow - 15,3 million C-bills
With dual AC2s, dual LRM5s and a large laser, this Centurion is able to unleash a hail of fire across long distances. Both the AC2s and the LRM5s have a high rate of fire, but they also run quite hot, so you’ll need to take short breaks to cool down once in a while. This works out quite well, because this build is also very weak in close combat, so you’ll need to keep moving to stay at optimal range, which is no closer than 300 meters from the enemy. Stay away from their medium lasers, SRMs and AC20s.

This is basically a support mech when you want a break from brawling. To use it well, follow the assault mechs on your team. Your support will be useful because if you keep laying down support fire with AC2s and LRM5s, it’s very distracting for the enemy mech which is constantly rocked by projectiles rattling against his cockpit and throwing his aim off.

Normally, the best medium mech for long range fire support is the Blackjack, which has the advantage of elevated weapons, allowing it to snipe over hills. With your low slung ballistic weapons, you need to be more careful when popping up from cover. However, the Centurion is better suited to hide behind buildings, as you can sneak both AC2s out from cover without exposing your whole mech.

Centurion CN9-YLW Yen Lo Wang
This was my first Hero mech and it took a while before I learned to really appreciate it. I think it's the same for a lot of new players, because it's a highly specialised mech and it takes a while to get familiar with the game so you can make use of its advantages and avoid suffering from its disadvantages. On the other hand, when I really started learning how to use it, it influenced how I played my other Centurions, and you can see that some of the builds above have been inspired by the Yen Lo Wang, by neglecting missile launchers in favour of strong weapons in the right arm.

The Yen Lo Wang has 3 advantages. First, it can have an AC20 in the right arm. That used to be a big deal, but today it shares that ability with a few other mechs. Second, it's faster than the CN9-AL and CN9-A, although it's still slower than the CN9-D. Third, and most importantly in my eyes, it has a 120 degree torso twist, which is more than other Centurions, more than the Trebuchet and more than the Black Jack. It makes it a lot easier to keep firing when you're dodging shots and circling your opponent.

And of course it looks great, especially now that you can repaint it.

1) Trooper Wang - 7,2 million C-bills
A rather common build, and while it’s not my favourite, I would be remiss in neglecting it. At the cost of having an XL engine instead of the STD engine, you have room for 2 UAC5s in one arm, 5 tons of ammo, and close to max armour. You also have 2 medium lasers and 50% heat efficiency, which means you can pretty much keep firing until the cows come home.
Needless to say, the XL engine means that you can’t afford to lose a side torso, so be careful with taking too much damage on either side. You can still block shots with your left arm, but once it’s gone, it’s time to play a bit more cautiously.
Not much else to say about this mech.

2) Classic Wang - 3,5 million C-bills
The AC20 build. Some people will tell you to use an XL engine to get more ammo for the AC20, but let me tell you two things. First, the concentration of weapons on the right side of the mech makes the left side the ideal shield. Second, while 4 tons of ammo only gives you 28 shots, a high amount of damage combined with long reload time means that most of the enemies should be dead by the time you run out of ammo.

The trick to this build is to stay the hell away from light mechs. If you miss with your AC20, which you often will, you’re left with 2 medium lasers. Even the smallest light mechs have more firepower than that. The YLW has a very nice torso twist, however, which makes it quite easy to run circles around heavy and assault mechs, while firing. Against slow and cumbersome mechs, aim for the legs and rear armour. Against faster mechs, go for the torso.

3) Zorro Wang - 4,9 million C-bills
The Zorro Wang is all about finesse. It doesn’t really require a lot of experience to use, it just requires a good aim. So if you’re new to MW:O, but you have a lot of experience from other FPS games, try this one out for size. It has a gauss rifle and ER laser, both of which are great at any range from 0 to 800 meters or more. You have no chance of overheating, the only thing you need to worry about is your gauss ammo. Basically, this is a sniper build. You want to hit the same locations over and over again, so you really need to pick your shots. You don’t have enough ammo to take people’s arms off, just focus on their center torso or their legs.
This is not only one of my best mechs in terms of average score and kill/death ratio, it’s also the first build I scored 6 kills with in a single match. You really need to use your speed to the fullest, staying away from danger, dodging shots and taking out weak targets. Beyond that, it’s not very complicated.

You could arguably create the same build with another Centurion, but keep in mind that the Yen Lo Wang has an extended torso twist, which comes in handy when you’re constantly torso twisting to shield your right side, and also circling enemies at high speed. You’ll need to do both with the Zorro Wang.

PS: You can also swap the STD235 engine with an XL300 engine and 1 extra ton of ammo, for extra Zorroness.

Edited by Alistair Winter, 24 December 2013 - 07:01 PM.

[oldradagast]

Still trying to figure out what to do with Medium mechs, but this is a very nice guide to a chassis that doesn't see as much play as it probably should. Thanks for the work that went into this.

[Liev Andropov]

Wow, very interesting builds! I'll have to give a few of these, notably the AL variants, a shot.

Oh, and everyone who ever buys a CN9-D should really give the LBX-10 a shot at some point, hopefully after you have speed tweak. With that and SRMs your ability to distract and spread mayhem as a 107kph shotgun is unparalleled.

[Alistair Winter]

oldradagast, on 28 May 2013 - 12:59 PM, said:

Still trying to figure out what to do with Medium mechs, but this is a very nice guide to a chassis that doesn't see as much play as it probably should. Thanks for the work that went into this.

Well, there aren't too many Centurion builds that are realistically on par with the pimped out heavy and assault mechs out there. With an AC10, a couple of medium lasers and an SRM launcher, you can't really go toe to toe with a Highlander with AC20, a couple of large lasers and three SRM launchers, assuming both pilots are equally skilled. The speed advantage isn't that significant. In other words, some of these builds are fun, but not really world beaters. Especially now that SRMs are nerfed. But Centurion builds are more powerful than many people think, as you say.
Thanks for reading.

Liev Andropov, on 29 May 2013 - 08:08 AM, said:

Wow, very interesting builds! I'll have to give a few of these, notably the AL variants, a shot.
Oh, and everyone who ever buys a CN9-D should really give the LBX-10 a shot at some point, hopefully after you have speed tweak. With that and SRMs your ability to distract and spread mayhem as a 107kph shotgun is unparalleled.

Oh yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun. The LBX is definitely underrated.

[Padic]

One thing you might want to include in your quite is that, even once a Centurion's arm has been destroyed, the chunk of shoulder that remains will still absorb a significant fraction of incoming damage. So a Centurion pilot can still twist to the side to try and catch damage on the shoulder nubs - even if the arm is destroyed.

This piece of information might also give us hints as to where we should allocate our armor. Arms continue to provide partial shielding to the mech body once their destroyed, but our legs are still a weak spot. So I suggest Centurion builds de-armoring the left arm slightly, to increase armor in the legs.

[Alistair Winter]

Padic, on 30 May 2013 - 09:27 AM, said:

One thing you might want to include in your quite is that, even once a Centurion's arm has been destroyed, the chunk of shoulder that remains will still absorb a significant fraction of incoming damage. So a Centurion pilot can still twist to the side to try and catch damage on the shoulder nubs - even if the arm is destroyed.
This piece of information might also give us hints as to where we should allocate our armor. Arms continue to provide partial shielding to the mech body once their destroyed, but our legs are still a weak spot. So I suggest Centurion builds de-armoring the left arm slightly, to increase armor in the legs.

Interesting. I thought PGI said that damage taken to a damaged component will be transferred to the nearest component. Is your point from personal observation, or has it been mentioned by PGI somewhere?

[Padic]

There's a discussion going on down in the Mechs&Loadout forums.

http://mwomercs.com/...age-allocation/

The thread is pretty hostile towards the balance implications of how the damage transfer seems to be working, but the results seem unambiguous, at least.

TL;DR: 50% of damage is transferred. If an AC20 round hits your destroyed arm, only 10 damage worth will be transferred in towards the side torso.

[Liev Andropov]

Also, in the thread there's a bit indicating an in-game stacking effect regarding damage transference. So if your arm is gone, and your side torso is gone, and someone hits you in your arm, only 25% of that damage ends up transferring to your CT because it gets halved twice.

[Padic]

Liev Andropov, on 30 May 2013 - 12:25 PM, said:

Also, in the thread there's a bit indicating an in-game stacking effect regarding damage transference. So if your arm is gone, and your side torso is gone, and someone hits you in your arm, only 25% of that damage ends up transferring to your CT because it gets halved twice.

Right. Which is still worse for your CT than having the intervening Side Torso in the way, but much better for your CT than taking the hit on the chin directly.

[thepartisan]

I rec' this based purely on this :

Alistair Winter, on 28 May 2013 - 02:48 AM, said:

• Never lead the charge. Whenever the two teams meat, the medium mechs have the speed to engage the enemy first, and it’s tempting to attack when several nice targets expose themselves. You have to remember, however, that it’s not your job to shield assault mechs from enemy fire, it’s the other way around.
  
• Never walk alone. The Centurion is a team player. While able to dance around many heavy and assault mechs, you’ll often be intercepted by packs of light and/or medium mechs if you cause too much trouble. Depending on what engine you have, there may even be heavy mechs out there with superior speed, armor and firepower. Whether you’re scouting or fighting, always keep your friends nearby.
  
• Learn how to block incoming shots. The one distinguishing feature of the Centurion is its durability and its left arm with a built-in shield for absorbing damage. When you’re not shooting, you should be blocking, by twisting your torso to keep your shield between you and your enemy.

[Gremlich Johns]

my CNT-9A is a lot of fun to use. I use the LBX-10 on it

[Alistair Winter]

I don't use streaks anyway, but now that they hit a random location, the combination of Streaks and LBX means that you're basically showering your damage all over your target, unable to focus on any specific location.

[grml666]

First of all, don't ever try to play a Centrurion if you're drunken.

In my opinion the biggest advantage is the ability to spread the damage over the arms and side torsos. I am using a std275 (~89kph without speedtweek) in a CN9-A, compared with 3x SRM6 (5t) and 2x Medium lasers.
It’s a very fast and durable harasser built that can hold a lot of damage, Even if your arms and side torsos are down your able to use the two medium lasers in the center torso. If you’re getting familiar with torso twists and ninja play style the lack of range (270m) will not be a problem.

At the moment I try to master the standard variants for a CN9-D built, with a XL350 (~124kph), 2x Medium pulse laser, SRM4+SRM6 (2t) and 2x Machineguns (1t). Have you tried this built? Because I am a big fan of lights and it should be a fast durable striker.

[Rakona]

While I like and approve of all most everything you've said, I feel that your builds are flawed by their use of C.A.S.E. You could fully armor the legs of each and store the ammo there, or in some instance's, put the ammo in the right torso (normally last to go) and just use one unit of case, and the other half ton back into armor. You're a Centurion, and shaving that much armor off is a bad idea in my opinion. I can understand your possible retort to 'good players shoot a Centurion's legs', and that's why I don't totally reject your use of the mod, but putting it into the torso of an XL Engine mech is simply a waste. If they hit it enough to explode the ammo, you're engine is already gone and you're not twisting enough.

All in all, I enjoyed the read though, and thought it to be useful.

Quote

The one distinguishing feature of the Centurion is its durability and its left arm with a built-in shield for absorbing damage.

This. I'm praying they don't **** up the Centurion's hitbox's with the ******* 'touch up'. Its the only thing that really makes the mech viable, and quite frankly, I'd be very happy if they just left it alone, but I doubt I'm that lucky to have my favorite mech, one that is hardly used, be left alone. They will try to improve it and **** up its durability, I can almost promise that. (no offense PGI, but when one adjusts things, other things get lost, just how it works, no mistake of yours).

Edited by Rakona, 03 December 2013 - 07:44 AM.

[Draconis March]

The fact that this guide doesn't have the zombie build (almost unanimously accepted as the best Centurion build out there) makes me very dubious of the entire thing. Also, case doesn't do jack when you have an XL engine.

[grml666]

It's a STD Engine 275, 3x SRM6 in the left torso, case and 5x SRM Ammo in the right torso. Max Armor but 33 in both legs and 14 in the head. 89,1 without speadtweek.

I don't like to store my ammo in the legs, because when I am playing lights and have to go 1vs1 against a healthy assault most of the time I am going for the legs. It depends to the loadout and if there is the propability for stored ammo. Usually it's the weakest point resp. the lowest armor with ammo inside.

[Sable Dove]

The tips you give are solid, but most of your builds are not so great. Aside from the AL and the Wang, there is no reason to ever put weapons in the right arm. Most competitive Centurions use the right side to block, while cramming as many SRMs in the LT as possible and a pair of ML in the CT.

Just about the only reason to ever use the RA is with the CN9-AL (because you can put a pair of ML in there), or with the AC/20 Wang. The arm just gets blown off too easily to justify putting a significant amount of weaponry in it unless you can use the AC/20.

CN9-A

CN9-D

CN9-AL

CN9-A is easily the best, and the -D is overall the worst. AL at least can make use of the right arm without a huge investment. Even with {Scrap} hit registration on SRMs, the Centurion is generally best when stuffed with as many SRMs as possible, and the CN9-A is best in that regard.

[iamunkle]

so as of last patch, cent got its ct widened 10% if i recall correctly, as well as its hitbox fix...

havnt used the cent for a while since trying to grind through my phoenix mechs,


my YLW is the main breadwinner and favourite mech as i always finish games with so much red an orange internals i shake my head in amazement. if pgi has effed the cent up...lol, ...

*pauses for a moment*

im lost for words.

[Artgathan]

Just a point to note: no medium (the Centurion included), is able to out-maneuver any Heavy / Assault mech. An Atlas with a 300-Engine can turn at a rate of roughly 44 degrees / second, meaning that if you're any further than 50 metres from it, the Atlas can track you just by turning (not even torso twisting. Just by mashing A / D they can keep up). To be able to evade (IE: run faster than the Atlas can turn) at 100 metres, you would need to be running at 266 kph.

The guide is OK; the builds are sub-par. CASE? No one really uses case except die-hard "lore" junkies. It's useless in-game. Put the ammunition in the Head / Legs. A 10% risk of explosion is hardly enough reason to justify wasting 5% of the mech's tonnage that could be devoted to thicker armor / more heatsinks.

That said, I've used builds similar to those posted and they're pretty good for their respective roles. As I dig more and more into MW:O though, I find that Mediums in general do better as fire-support mechs (since they can lower the size of their engine and just grab more weapons).

[Aleski]

What do you think about that on the Classic YLW build?

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...23e3a524a5c207b

You had the FF armor, and you can have max armor. And i remove the case and put the munitions in the legs and cockpit.

A little amelioration of your build =)


I have to try the 2xUAC/5 build! But i think it's a better idea to use a XL255, it's an engine that you can use on all of the spiders variants for example. At the price of a XL engine, it's good if you can use it an other mech too!