23 replies to this topic

[CommEDan]

I've seen several threads with similar builds but I was hoping for some feedback on these specifically before I drop the CBills on the XL Engines.

CPLT-C1
CPLT-K2

Thanks

[Hebdomas]

C1: Four tons of ammo may not be enough for some games, I usually carry six. Any reason for the medium pulse lasers?

K2: I'd suggest finding room to fit in a xl300 that way your catapults can share the engine. Here's a build from someone that I saved CPLT-K2. It doesn't have AMS though.

[DodgerH2O]

Agreed on making space to share the XL300. That engine is a great investment, I use my XL300 on at least a dozen different builds over three (and sometimes four) different mech chassis.

[ShadowbaneX]

I use a C4 for my Missile Mech, but the 3x MPL + TAG is interesting. I'd consider dropping the CT MPL for an extra ton of ammo, AMS & a ton of ammo. Or possibly dropping all the MPLs down to MLs and take 2 tons of ammo & AMS.

As for the K2, I play mine with Ultras, so I have difficulty commenting on that build. I'd echo the others, go for the XL300. I'd also consider dropping the AMS for a couple of extra Heat Sinks. I run my C1 with 2x PPC and 18 DHS and even on Caustic & Tourmaline I can fire 6 straight salvos of PPCs before I'm near overheating. It seems like a bit of overkill to have Large Lasers for your brawling weapon though, and if you're firing PPCs & LLs together you're going to overheat fast.

[CommEDan]

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually feel kinda stupid for not noticing the xl300 option on the K2.
As for why pulse lasers over extra ammo on the c4 it basically comes down to my play environment. I have to much work/family stuff going on to even consider joining a team and the PUG environment doesn't really work well for lrm boating. People never stay locked on to a single enemy long enough for the missiles to land so I'm kinda pick about my shots and tend to tag my own targets, so I hardly ever even exhaust my four tons of ammo. The pulses let me deal damage fast so that I can turn torso in an engagement and not get cored quite as fast. I've considered a PPC build but the weight is saddening.
Also, I though up an alternate K2 build that looks fun:
CPLT-K2

[Chrithu]

Hi. I have some comments on the K2.

First of all that armor layout has too much back armor. At least for an elite K2. Twist range and speed are so high you can easily avoid being hit in the back thus can savely run with 10 on back CT and 8 on back STs making your front soak one more PPC hit. And trust me that really does matter.

I have to give two thumbs up for trying to run something special. And even with the additional heatsinks managing heat on your proposed K2 builds will be tough. But if the premisse is to build an energy heavy K2 then your second build looks as good as it gets as far as maintaining heat managable while combining effective short range and long range firepower.

Not my taste of K2 build but once you get used to it should be able to do good. After all it's still a K2 and that's in my view still the best heavy chassis to get.

I used to play it as a fast Sniper since Beta (2x ER PPC + Gauss + 2 SL + XL 315). But lately I start to get a lot of hate for using a 2 ER PPC + Gauss build so I changed the setup and found a pretty nasty mix of a Sniper and AC/20 Catapult:

Cat McNasty

As Modules I currently use Seismic and Cool Shot 9. Grouping is Left PPC on 1, right PPC on 2 (so left mouse is left PPC, right Mouse is right PPC), AC/20 on 3 and the two ML on 4. That Mech performs surprisingly well. As for the question that's bound to come: Why ER PPCs? Because I found the extra range to be quite useful on the bigger maps + I love the fact that I can also use it close up.

Maybe this can act as a source of some further inspiration.

[CommEDan]

I'll keep the back armor thing in mind. Also I never thought about what modules to run on each. Everyone loves seismic, but what else would be good to run (no consumables.)

[Chrithu]

Well seismic is an obvious choice in my view if you expect to be on the frontline and in close combat a lot. Advanced Sensor Range is for long range builds in order to get target info from further away to know what to aim at. I loved Advanced Zoom, but stopped using it because it is bugged as hell. It messes up the rectangles and triangles that mark targets so you confuse friend and foe a lot of the time.

For the C1 you should absolutely go with advanced Target decay and Advanced Sensor Range combined with a TAG.

Also just to add this: I haven'T played a C1 a lot except for getting Elite on the K2. But I think on a LRM Boat it is safe to say that armor should not be shifted as much towards front as with the K2. You will be standing still and focused on your target a lot so you get shot in the back a lot more. Mostly by lights that flanked you.

[CommEDan]

Ran this last night:

CPLT-K2

I'm still saving for the xl300 (I might just wait for my JR7-D(S) to come in) so I figured I'd try this in the mean time.

I started with 2xPPCs in the arms but I kept getting hammered by missiles (and my aim with PPCs is abysmal) so I switched for 2xLL and AMS and it ran quite well. Heat was surprisingly not much of an issue, even on Tourmaline (didn't play Caustic.)
The (almost) point damage from the pulses made for a nice surprise for lights playing ring around the heavy. Also, and I guess it's because the pulse animation is much more subtle than others, I almost never became the main target in multi-mech brawls, something that routinely happened when i was running 2xAC2s 2xLL.

[Greyrook]

If I was min maxing that K2 build, this is what I would use http://mwo.smurfy-ne...23e411fc645aa3. The problem is that it's a little unsure of itself as to what it wants to be, and I never like to have max armor on a K2, nobody touches the legs anyway. But, it's an intriguing one, I might try it out myself. I never use machine guns or AMS, positioning and good aim can make up for them in my opinion.

It's actually surprisingly effective, I like it better than I thought I would and it's surprisingly cool with the weapons all separated. 500 damage on the first try, and around 400 on the next couple.

Edited by Greyrook, 31 July 2013 - 04:38 PM.

[CommEDan]

@Greyhook: Thanks for the input. I'd love to see what your running, but your link is broken.

I've started Running the C1 build and I'm very happy with how it's turning out. The added speed and additional heatsinks space that the XL300 provided are making it much more survivable. And gasp, I occasionally even run out of missiles during a match, I'm still not sure if I want to downgrade my MPLs into MLs for more ammo, I've become quite attached to the little guys.

As for the K2, once I get my aiming issues worked out I'm thinking this might be a keeper.

[PinCushion]

I'm not at my home computer right now to post the build in detail, but the build I've been running on my C1 is an XL engine (a 280, I think), with 2 LPL, 2 MLas, and 2 SRM6 with jump-jets. I'll link the actual build later today, but it's loads of fun to play. You wouldn't think so, but the C1 makes a pretty decent flanking attacker. It's a bit strange running a Catapult with zero effective damage outside 300m, but it's fast enough and agile enough to do the job very well.

Edited by PinCushion, 01 August 2013 - 12:47 PM.

[Greyrook]

CommEDan, on 01 August 2013 - 12:33 PM, said:

@Greyhook: Thanks for the input. I'd love to see what your running, but your link is broken.

I've started Running the C1 build and I'm very happy with how it's turning out. The added speed and additional heatsinks space that the XL300 provided are making it much more survivable. And gasp, I occasionally even run out of missiles during a match, I'm still not sure if I want to downgrade my MPLs into MLs for more ammo, I've become quite attached to the little guys.

As for the K2, once I get my aiming issues worked out I'm thinking this might be a keeper.

That's annoying! But I adjusted the build anyway and found one that's very similar. It's also my favorite kind of build, all slots filled, no excess armor, and plenty of speed. http://mwo.smurfy-ne...04877f00b8b21c4. It does break my rule about mgs, but I couldn't resist for how clean it makes the build and I think it has done a few crits to make it worth it in my mind.

C1s are actually pretty poor missileboats with the current metagame in my experience, I play mine as a weird brawler thing that I describe in this post http://mwomercs.com/...tapult-loadout/. C4s are much better if you want the true indirect fire-support experience.

[Bront]

I just got a Catapult-C4, and was planning on running it with a 265XL, but the 300XL I had I've so far had success with. 2 LRM20s with Artemis, Tag, tons of ammo (6 or 7), and almost full armor. I think I was able to squeeze an ML in there as well. It's fairly heat efficient (And will get better when I fit in the DHS), does some damage, and can stay safely behind team mates or move into a better position quickly. I think I might try to find a way to squeeze 2 JJs on it for additional mobility and mostly call it a day with that build. I still might drop to the 265XL to get a little more tonnage.

For the C1, I was pondering throwing 2 LRM15s and 2 LLs on it for some decent long range support punch.

[Elizander]

I'm more biased towards 280XL engines since they give me a bit more room to work with.

C1 - 2x LRM15+A 6xLRMAmmo 3xML 1xTAG 4xJJ

As for the K2, here's something that fits with the current PPC game:

K2 - 2xERPPC 1xUAC5 3xUACAmmo

Due to weight issues, I've replaced the gauss with a UAC5. If your target doesn't notice you, you can just spam it and it still gives you a nice shot of damage if you need to fire quickly and twist. It is very comfortable with the heat as opposed to one with less heat sinks and a gauss rifle.

For those that insist on using the ER PPC + Gauss combo:

K2 - 2xERPPC 1x Gauss 3xGaussAmmo

The difference is the build with the UAC has 17 DHS while this one can only handle 13. You can drop down to 260XL (but who keeps one of those?) for a significant speed drop to get 14 DHS instead. I suppose you can replace the ER PPCs with regular PPCs too.

Edited by Elizander, 03 August 2013 - 04:06 AM.

[ThePedoMeter]

Grappling with the same issue
C4 or K2?
the K2 build I'm going for is as above, but my current C4 is
CPLT-C4
the reasoning was that if need be the right arm could be sacrificed to run and I'd still have 20 per salvo

[Greyrook]

ThePedoMeter, on 04 August 2013 - 06:45 AM, said:

Grappling with the same issue
C4 or K2?
the K2 build I'm going for is as above, but my current C4 is
CPLT-C4
the reasoning was that if need be the right arm could be sacrificed to run and I'd still have 20 per salvo

That C4 is...well to be honest, not very efficient. Ferro provides less tonnage than endo structure with the same critical cost (Really you should only ever use Ferro armor if your build can handle both) but you're not using up all your tonnage anyway. My guess is that this is an economy build? I would kit it out like this once you get the funds http://mwo.smurfy-ne...bd24e265b3579fd and then get an XL as soon as possible to load on more ammunition and heatsinks. Unless you're managing to make this sacrificial arm work for your playstyle, I would say load on everything you can or at least balance it out so you can carry more ammo. The utility of having 4 LRM10s over 2 20s is that you can bring constant DPS on the enemy, but you're not going to be able to sustain full volleys on that that much supply.

[BP Raven]

I put this together the other night...

CPLT-K2

And it was deceptively effective. The AC10s might not be as flashy as 20's or UAC5s, but they have a really good RoF (2.5 seconds) decent range, and generate very little heat. The med lasers i have grouped as alpha and a pair (in the arms) for better heat management. 24 armour in the arms might not seem like much, but there's only one laser in each, and who would bother aiming for that?

The only downside is that it's a little marginal on ammo load, only giving 37 full volleys with the main armament.

[Bront]

BP Raven, on 04 August 2013 - 09:59 AM, said:

CPLT-K2

Ooh, that looks fun. I'd throw that last ton of AC10 ammo in the head, not the CT though. If you wanted to go anti-light, you could even go LB10X (which are incredibly effective in a few builds, and suck otherwise. Not sure if this would be one of them)

[Enialis]

Bront, on 04 August 2013 - 10:07 AM, said:

Ooh, that looks fun. I'd throw that last ton of AC10 ammo in the head, not the CT though. If you wanted to go anti-light, you could even go LB10X (which are incredibly effective in a few builds, and suck otherwise. Not sure if this would be one of them)

I run almost that exact build in my K2: CPLT-K2

Not great for standing toe-to-toe with someone (although it's not terrible), but very deadly shooting into brawls. LB10X run a lot cooler than standard AC/10 as well.