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So... Quickdraw


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#1 Hex Pallett

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 10:07 AM

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Anyone excited? Anyone? Over this Commando on steroid? The few variants on Sarna are all pretty much the same. But again, this thing can jump.

Maybe we could make a ghetto-Catapult out of it. Anyway.

#2 Wintersdark

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 10:34 AM

I am. I love my dragon, and constantly chafe at it's lack of jump jets. So, yes, fast, jumping heavy? Damn rights I'm looking forward to it. The Catapults either don't jump or have quite restrictive hardpoint layouts for heavy brawler/skirmisher sorts of mechs.

#3 NRP

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 10:51 AM

I'm more interested in the Victor, to be honest.

#4 mack sabbath

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 11:25 AM

Waiting for our bait & switch Orion and Victor.

#5 Xeno Phalcon

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 11:29 AM

Im gonna put four flamers and two srms6's on it, and then call it the Quickderp. Its battle cry shall be looped casettes of larry the cable guys christmas carols.

#6 Kenyon Burguess

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 11:35 AM

stats wise, its a bad mech. it will be cored at the same rate as the medium mechs if it steps out of cover and its weapons package is mainly focused at 270m. in order to make it successful or at least unique enough to own, the design team will have to give it something along the lines of a short stature or being thin. otherwise I think players are better off keeping with their dragons and cats in that tonnage range.

#7 Sorpin

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 11:46 AM

It's a 60ton CN9D with more lasers, that's how I see it, should be fun ;)

#8 Wintersdark

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 11:50 AM

View PostGeist Null, on 06 June 2013 - 11:35 AM, said:

stats wise, its a bad mech. it will be cored at the same rate as the medium mechs if it steps out of cover and its weapons package is mainly focused at 270m. in order to make it successful or at least unique enough to own, the design team will have to give it something along the lines of a short stature or being thin. otherwise I think players are better off keeping with their dragons and cats in that tonnage range.

Who cares about it's stock weapons layout? Nobody keeps mechs stock, as they suck compared to modified ones.

It's just a dragon with a smaller CT and jump jets, or a hunchback with more tonnage, speed, jets, and armor.

Edited by Wintersdark, 06 June 2013 - 11:50 AM.


#9 1453 R

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 01:07 PM

I love how everyone just automatically assumes that just because the Quickdraw doesn't weight seventy-five tons and come with three ballistic hardpoints, nobody wants it.

TONNAGE ISN'T EVERYTHING, PEOPLE.

The Quickdraw can carry 350+ armor, jump, and move at a hundred-plus klicks an hour. Nothing else in the game can do that. Nothing. It is fast, it is mobile, and its hardpoint layout is well-suited to carrying a weight-efficient mix of striker weapons. Medium lasers and SRMs have done the job for other strike 'Mechs in the past, I don't see why they couldn't be made to work for Quickdraws. Dragon pilots should be taking a serious look at this guy, as should pilots of 7M or 5J Trebuchets. I happen to be both, and am very much anticipating getting my hands on a Quickdraw to experiment with. In fact, let's experiment here:

A notional Quickdraw, stripped of all its weapons. Carrying a 350XL, the largest engine that generally makes sense for the machine, and remembering to subtract five tons for jump jets, we have 18.5 tons left over for payload...on a machine that hits 104 tweaked, carries 368 points of armor including maximum torso protection and jumps as well as a Jenner. Now. Let's start adding things, shall we?

There we are. Four additional DHS, four medium lasers, an SRM-6 and two tons of ammunition. Remembering the jump jets that our dress-up Dragon can't mount for us (and the second hand actuator a Quickdraw has that Dragons don't. Almost got me there, Smurfy...almost), we have 5.5 tons and 15 critical slots left. That is more than enough for an additional SRM launcher to pull off our existing ammo supply, or for a couple of additional beams and some extra DHS to cool them if we're working with a QKD-5* variant. Is it a lot? No - but the ol' HBK-4SP used to take down assault 'Mechs with the same sort of armament, except it went slower, carried less armor and didn't jump.

Assume for the moment that we get a variant with four beam and three missile hardpoints - not an unreasonable assumption, given the stock configurations and Piranha's need to differentiate them somehow. 5.5 tons and 15 critical slots is easily weight and space for two SRM-4 launchers and a third ton of ammo, as well as an extra half-ton to distribute back into the 'Mech's plating. This gives us four medium lasers - the primary dueling weapons of the popular DRG-FLAME/1C Gaussdragon configurations, and responsible for most of its kills - and twenty-one-and-change shots of fourteen SRMs per salvo. Again, moving over a hundred klicks an hour, with 368+ armor, and capable of jumping.

You could also, by cutting your initial SRM-6 down to an SRM-4 like your other two launchers (and by dropping the third ton of SRM ammo we almost got to keep. Curse you hand actuators!), click the ferro-fibrous armor button and trade out two of your medium lasers for a large, resulting in a 'Mech (8 remaining crit slots for 5x jump jets, 2x SRM-4, and 1x middle finger actuator) with greater heat efficiency, ranged punch, armor protection and ammunition efficiency in exchange for four points of alpha damage. That's a Quickdraw I can be proud of.

Or let's take it another way, and work with a variant we know, absolutely, that we're going to get - the 5K, with a guaranteed minimum of six energy and one missile hardpoint. Let's start with our basic, unarmed Quickdraw again, just to make things easier. Gives us 18.5 tons and 24 critical slots to monkey around with - not enough for your metatypical massed PPC boat, but enough for, say...something like this?

Admittedly, not as enticing as our notional 4e/3m variant, which I consider almost ideal. Heat problems, thy name is 5K Quickdraw. But with an ER PPC, five medium lasers, an SRM-4, and all five jump jets on top of very nearly maxed-out armor and all that 350XL speed, it's not hard to see how a skilled pilot with more trigger discipline than most could make his presence felt with precision strikes using this Quickdraw.

A casualty of that hand actuator I forgot until just recently, with no real way to make back the eighth crit slot we need short of dropping a jump jet and running one ton shy of maximum weight. C'est la vie. The 6e/1m variant is harder to work with anyways.

Or perhaps we do this. Two large and four medium lasers and no missiles at all. We have to slim the armor back down a bit, but it's a bit more heat-efficient than the ERPPC edition - a bit - and with better midrange capabilities. Not as exciting, and not really my preference, but solid enough.

Or you could go with a smaller engine, if 89 tweaked is sufficient for your purposes, and gain the tonnage for two ER PPCs and four medium lasers, backed by sixteen DHS. Your heat efficiency will still be crap, but you'll have a hefty energy armament backed by the mobility to get it where it needs to go.

The point being, there's plenty of ways one could go about crafting for themselves a Quickdraw that would make them squee their tea and let them move about the battlefield wreaking what havoc they saw fit. Dragon pilots are used to working with tight weaponry constraints - or damn well should be at any rate - and thus are already in a great position to make effective use of this new chassis. Not everyone in this game is slobbering over the largest possible chassis capable of carrying the greatest number of autocannons, and it's getting to be downright insulting listening to the hysteria over how useless a fast, decently armored jump-striker is going to be.

Maybe let it release first, folks?

#10 Narcissistic Martyr

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 01:29 PM

Here's why it's crap. You have to use 1 ton jump jets.

So, with STD engine a 5/8/5 treb has half a ton less free space than a 5/8/5 QD with ES&FF. Now, if the arms are more flexible it's slightly superior to a treb. Problem is with a QD you fight Cats, Phracts, Drags, and Jags vs cents, cics, BJ, and hunchies. So, it's just like being a Dragon pilot, you will always be outgunned. Now some folks (me) are fine with that but on the whole your team suffers since using your speed to cap or flank doesn't work so well without voice chat.

With an XL350 the QD has the same free space as the treb so again the meta concerns are the killer for the QD IMO.

Of course dragon pilots like myself are likely to be all over this if we don't get cored so darn fast.

Edited by Narcissistic Martyr, 06 June 2013 - 01:33 PM.


#11 Vanguard319

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 01:31 PM

I patiently await the announcement of the Summoner thx.

#12 1453 R

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 02:52 PM

Well, as the Summoner is a Clan 'Mech and thus absolutely not available until the Clans are announced, at the least, I'm glad you're demonstrating patience in your wait for a machine we're not likely to have for quite a while and WHY DOES THIS IMPACT THE QUICKDRAW O_O?

I really hate "Clan 'Mech 'X' is better" posts :)

Anyways. Martyr. You claim to be a Dragon pilot, but I'm honestly not sure I buy it. First of all, you mentioned standard engines in your post, and no Dragon pilot worth the name uses standard engines. Like, ever. The weight/speed advantages of an XL engine are far, far more critical to 'Mechs like the Dragon and Quickdraw than the minorish gains in durability a standard engine provides.

Secondly...you mention that making use of your machine's speed to cap or flank doesn't work well without voice comms. Pardon me whilst I cackle in great amusement. Do you play Conquest, Martyr? Have you played Conquest? Have you never managed to be that guy in the right spot at the right time to turn a bad fight into a winning one, even in Assault? It's kinda what me and my Flame do.

I dunno, man. It just sounds an awful lot like you're in the wrong 'Mech even if you do run Dragons. These are the sorts of arguments I've been hearing from Cataphract and (eventually) Orion pilots. Y'know, those guys who feel that 35, 55, 75, and 100 are the only valid BattleMech tonnages and any machine that doesn't devote fully half of its weight to multiple large ballistics is Bad 4 Teem. Those guys the Quickdraw isn't for.

#13 Davoke

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 03:07 PM

Not the Orion i was wanting...but I'm definitely picking up a variant of this. Easily enough to make it into a heavier trebuchet. Or even a 60ton Zombieturion.

Or you know, equip BAP and go streaking.

Streak missling.

Using SSRM2's.

#14 Padic

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Posted 06 June 2013 - 03:27 PM

Unless I'm messing up a calculation somewhere, I think this is a build I'd like to try out.

2xLL, 2xML, 1x SRM6, 1xSRM4 (with two tons of ammo), an XL345 engine driving me at 93.2/103.5kph with room left for 3 JJ's ... and only 13 DHS... It might run a tad hot, but I *think* it'd still get three alphas before shutdown, even with no efficiencies (and really, why would a build like this ever want to just hold down all of its firepower?).

I hope I haven't missed a calculation, because I think I'm using ever critical slot (counting the hand actuator).

I'm very excited for this mech. The speed to get there, the firepower to do something and the armor to come back again.

#15 Tremendous Upside

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Posted 11 June 2013 - 09:20 AM

Basically it's a 60-ton CN9-AL that can jump... Definitely looking forward to it.

#16 Shiro Matsumoto

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Posted 12 June 2013 - 03:55 AM

i will get one test it. One of my favorite Mechs is the Treb, so, this will hopefully pilot like a more massive Treb.
Looking forward to it, and if its only a sleek Dragon getting less-easy cored.

#17 Xeno Phalcon

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Posted 12 June 2013 - 03:09 PM

Hope the quicky isnt as big as im thinking it is, gonna be another tribuchet, or a 60ton energylander.

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#18 armyof1

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Posted 12 June 2013 - 03:40 PM

Well the Blackjack they added last time at least is sized pretty well, I have hope they're not going full Treb-crazy again.

Edited by armyof1, 12 June 2013 - 03:41 PM.


#19 Empyrus

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Posted 13 June 2013 - 11:09 AM

I'll be making my Quickdraw a brawler (my Catapult is a long range missile platform, and useless if there's ECM in play).

STD 300
5xJump Jets
4xMedium Pulse Laser
1SRM4, 1xSRM6, 2 tons of ammo (20 shots)
Endo-Steel, Ferro-Fibrous (near max armor), 2 extra DHS mounted in the engine.

Will run a bit hot, not the fastest mech but quite maneuverable.

Alternatives:
-Swap 2xMPLS to 2x Medium Lasers and 2 DHS, no need for Ferro-Fibrous then and better heat management.
-Trade one Jump Jet for 13th DHS.
-Swap all MPLS to Medium Lasers, a couple of heat sinks and extra ton or two SRM ammo. Alternatively add Artemis.
-XL engine (must get rid of Ferro-Fibrous) for extra weapons, speed, heavier weapons, more ammo... Will be vulnerable though, don't really like running with an XL engine.

#20 TELEFORCE

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Posted 17 June 2013 - 06:16 PM

I'm not sure that I would run an XL engine in the Quickdraw, since the side torsos look a bit big. I can work some viable 300-standard configs that can run circles around most 'mechs out there, since the average speed appears to be about 65 kph between mediums and assaults. Just get at the back armor, spin around quick with the jump jets, and just dance around the opponent.

The configs I'm thinking would use medium lasers and SRMs, and I feel that the Quickdraw does have the speed and mobility to use those effectively regardless of the map.

It looks like it can somewhat zombie with the CT missile slot provided the ammo for the launcher is stored in the head.

I'm definitely getting a version of the Quickdraw tomorrow. Had some fun playing this 'mech on tabletop.

And a little off-topic to the fellow waiting for the Summoner: The Mad Dog is a closer 'mech to compare against the Quickdraw, since the Mad Dog is a 60 tonner with a 300 XL engine and FF armor. Since it's an omnimech, it can also mount jump jets.

Edited by TELEFORCE, 17 June 2013 - 06:20 PM.






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