43 replies to this topic

[Kommisar]

First, always keep in mind that to get the high end Raven 3L; all of us light pilots have to walk the trail of pain that is the 2x and 4x. It is a right of passage similar to the adult genital mutilation rituals in some primitive cultures. This is currently something I am going through myself. I want that 3L speed tweak so bad....

First thing to understand about the 2x and 4x is that they are NOT real light mechs. Okay, yea, they fit the tonnage; but they are slower than most. They have a low engine cap. Meaning, even if you trick them out, they are not keeping up with other lights. These guys are more like light-weight mediums than light mechs. And trust me when I say that Seismic proliferation has made driving one of these mechs even harder. No more ninja skills keeping you in the fight. No more out-thinking your opponent. They just get to follow the red dot.

As such, a smart pilot isn't going to try and force a 4x to be a traditional light mech. Its the same as pretending that your Dragon or Jager is a "Mech of the Line" and can hold the front. Sometimes, you get lucky... most times you get cored like a chump. This also means, recognize that 2x or 4x for what he is and don't set your expectations to be something he is not. Not arguing that these mechs are competitive! But the Devs created the system wherein we have to grind through them and take our teammates along with us as collateral. And few of us really want to invest all the CBills into tricking out a chassis we know we are selling right back the second we get enough XP on it.

So... now that I think about it, maybe it is closer to group genital mutilation in primitive cultures where the group gets dragged along and doesn't have a choice. They just kinda wake up and someone says, "Hey, Bob's doing his thing, get out here... and leave your pants." Except, thankfully, in this online version, we just have to carry the guy a bit and maybe have a bad round.

This holds true for the Spider 5K as well. I still remember my nightmare of grinding that POS.

With all of that said, you CAN make a cheap, playable build on these chassis that, while not great, are not joke builds either. You don't have to put 2x MGs and 2x Flamers on your Raven 4x. Or 4xFlamers on your 2x for crying out loud. I actually found a 4x build that works for me. It is not something I would ever take in to a serious 8 man; but in PUG drops I can pull off over 300 damage a round easy, a few kills, a LOT of assists and be more helpful to my team than not.

Up in the light mech guides forum, there are some really solid guys that have written up helpful guides (followed by great discussions) on just these light chassis. No one is saying these mechs are Top Shelf, Tier 1, Hidden Gold by any means! But, we have figured out ways to make best with what we have with them. If you are grinding through, go check them out.

[Ursus_Spiritus]

A DDC not equipped with ECM and configured for LRMs

[LordBraxton]

spider

commando

anything that starts firing MGs when the match starts

Atlas DDC with 2 AC2s and LRMs

^^^^^

For some reason I still see that build, its like everyone has to try it once.

Nothing better than going OH F****** when an atlas 'gets the jump' on you

then seeing he has AC\2s hahahaha

[sikakraa]

Hunchback 4G. There is no reason to use it. If equipped with AC/20 or Gauss, then the 4H is the same, but you can add two extra lasers. 3 AC/2's or dual AC/5's on 4G are also rubbish, because you just can't pack the ammo to last the whole round.

Spiders aren't often any good, although I've seen some good players too. Raven 2x and 4x are often quite horrible. Dragons and most Awesome variants tend to die very easily, except a fast 9M is a fun companion for any medium brawlers.

Still, I think a diverse set of mechs is the best start. Many times I've started a match with together of DDC's and maybe an RS, thinking that we'll probably win this one. And then lost to a more manouverable team with good lights spotting and harassing when our Atlases split up and run alone out in the open to die.