21 replies to this topic

[Josef Nader]

Machine Guns are far from useless, they just take focused fire. Each one puts out 1 point of damage per second for zero heat, so they work very well in conjunction with hot weapons and they let you continue to lay damage into an enemy while the rest of your weapons are cooling off. My 4 machine gun spider is the only light mech I still run. It takes some doing to kill mechs, but it's still hilariously effective.

I would recommend something like this as a well-rounded build. The large laser gives you a ranged poke, while the machine guns and SRM 6 give you some close-in firepower. It's got lots of sustainability (two and a half minutes of constant fire, once you get your elites). It's a bit more of a high-skill build than a lot of the other common light builds, but I find builds like this to be a lot of fun to play and very rewarding.

Here are my thoughts on the AC/2 variant. Still completely viable, but the AC/2 is a lot hotter. You do have insane range and good damage output, but you lose some sustainability. Still, it's on the same level as the MG raven above, and both builds can be fun and effective if you put the work into learning them.

[Desdain]

I wouldn't say it's that terrible of a chassis. Play to its strengths. Load it up with the fastest xl engine, small pulse lasers, mgs and a few jjs. You have a pretty good harasser there. When playing a light mech with jump jets, be sure to learn how to jump in melee range. It's actually quite powerful once you get the rhythm down. Also practice your aim while moving. You can do this on the Testing Ground. Run towards a mech at top speed and practice jumping and hitting their cockpit. Learn the cockpit hitbox on all mech types. With something like a battery of small pulse lasers, you can get quite a lot of shots out. Note that pulse lasers are getting buffed soon.