14 replies to this topic

[Sephlock]

Particularly given the recent JJ nerf.

Do you experienced Highlander pilots still poptart? Missile boat? Gauss/PPC with JJs just for mobility? Which variants do you prefer?

[Bishop Steiner]

I never Poptarted when that was the FOTM.

That said, I like the 733P, with a 325XL, 2 ER PPC, 2 Mediums and 3 SRM6 w/Arty. I also run 270xl 733c with 3 ssrm, 2 er ppc and 2 UAC5.

I honestly never have much problem with my XLs, but up to whomever.

[Fate 6]

Your answer is yes.

I have never piloted a highlander though, so I wouldn't know. They all look good though

[One Medic Army]

I like all 3 I got:
733C
733P
Heavy Metal

They all play a little differently, what do you want to do with it?

[Sephlock]

I want to bathe in the tears of my enemies.

[One Medic Army]

Sephlock, on 08 June 2013 - 09:49 PM, said:

I want to bathe in the tears of my enemies.

Well, I find the 733C with:
325XL
AC/20
2x PPC
4xJJ
3xSSRM

Is a pretty potent loadout. Nothing like a precision 40dmg strike between 90m and 270m, with the ability to go both further and closer.

[Wintersdark]

Bishop Steiner, on 08 June 2013 - 09:38 PM, said:

I never Poptarted when that was the FOTM.

That said, I like the 733P, with a 325XL, 2 ER PPC, 2 Mediums and 3 SRM6 w/Arty. I also run 270xl 733c with 3 ssrm, 2 er ppc and 2 UAC5.

I honestly never have much problem with my XLs, but up to whomever.

I'm with Bishop, here.

I run XL's in all my HM's, and it's a very, very rare death due to them.

My personal favourites are the HGN-733C with dual UAC5's, SRM's, and LL's, and HEAVY METAL with 2ERPPC, LL, and a Gauss Rifle, and 19 DHS. Also, despite what I said above, I frequently run a more "traditional" 733C build with a STD300, AC20, 2LL, and ALRM20. Mostly when my XL engines are in use elsewhere

The dual UAC5's are extremely potent, though. Doubleshot firing together, they can pretty reliably get 5 rounds out in 1.1s before jamming up, for 25 damage at a very reasonable heat level. This pairs well with the 1.25s beam length on the LL's - another 18.

Most importantly, the UAC5's tend to hit approximately like an AC20 at gauss rifle ranges. They each have 10 health, and they don't explode. They weigh more, obviously, but a pair of them is vastly more effective than a single gauss rifle. Even if they jam, the cooldown is comparable to an AC/20 or GR's, so it's not a big deal. Time for defensive piloting.

Edited by Wintersdark, 08 June 2013 - 10:53 PM.

[Wintersdark]

With regards to jump jets:

It's my strongly held opinion that while it IS possible to poptart still, particularly with the HM and 5 JJ's (to get you high enough to have a decent fall time to fire accurately in) it's just not a good strategy for them anymore.

Still, jump jets are extremely useful maneuvering tools, particularly on maps like River City and Canyons with lots of impassable vertical surfaces. I'm absolutely of the belief that generally speaking, 1 JJ is sufficient for pretty much all normal cases.

Not using Jump Jets on a Highlander is, IMHO, just plain stupid. Pilot an Atlas, and have comparable hardpoints and 10 extra tons to play with. Two tons is a paltry investment on a large assault to be able to go anywhere on any map, and not be locked in by short obstacles/cliffs/buildings.

Multiple jets is much more iffy. They are very heavy, and while one jump jet gets you an enormous advantage over non-jumping mechs, there's a definite level of diminishing returns with more. You'll never fly through the air like a Spider, poptarting isn't very practical anymore, so what are you gaining with more? I always recommend people start with one, and only take more if they feel they're constantly running out of jump fuel early - something that's never an issue for me at least.

[Amsro]

732, 733P and Heavy Metal are my most effective HIghlanders. That being said the 733 and 733C are great too!

Don't fear using an XL engine to get you more firepower, a little torso twisting and JJ allows you to use most of your 500+ points of armor.

[NRP]

The only ones I kept are the Heavy Metal and the 732.

And yes, I still jump snipe with the 732, although not as effectively as before.

[SgtMagor]

I run a stock weapon HM it does ok and I still pop tart with it if that's what you want call it.

[Chavette]

Agree with winter, 1jj is fine against obstacles, and no amount is good for anything else. Use the free space to change ssrms to srm6s.

The sheer fact medic runs 4 just proves he can't think critically(no offense).

[John MatriX82]

I didn't went for the 733P because it looked redundant with a stalker (4ppc's and them all in the right side, so you can get disabled fast) in the jumpsnipe meta, so I got 732, 733 and 733C and I'm happy with them all.

732 was the best poptarter for sure albeit I used to run backup SRMs in my 733 that were simply devastating when anybody had the idea to charge. When brawling will come back (hopefully with improved srms that have been made crappy and are still less than useful now) 733 will become pretty wasteful and the 733C with AC20 or dual UAC5 will be rather interesting as well.

[One Medic Army]

Chavette, on 09 June 2013 - 07:38 AM, said:

The sheer fact medic runs 4 just proves he can't think critically(no offense).

The additional height is occasionally useful, more often than you'd think.
Really though, they need to do a balance pass on Jets so that having more than 1 actually provides better air/distance.

I've just planned ahead so that if/when they do such I don't have to re-config my builds to free up 3 crits and 6 tons.

Also the extra height gives me more time to snapshop people with AC/20+2xPPCs on the way down...

Also, you shouldn't expect minmaxed builds from someone who runs things like a 1ERPPC 3SL Cicada 3M, or a Raven 3L that actually mounts a NARC.

Edited by One Medic Army, 09 June 2013 - 09:52 AM.

[Lugh]

Anyone that is taking the JJs off of a Highlander is pigeonholing themselves into a monstrously bad turner (it's even worse than the Stalker )

This makes you easily outflanked and killed. How do I know? I do it to you regularly in my Highlander with the JJs.