28 replies to this topic

[Solis Obscuri]

Blue Hymn, on 13 August 2013 - 08:13 PM, said:

The current heat nerfs and penalties have been pretty unforgiving to energy-based mechs. Even for some chassis and variants that are primarily built for energy weapons - ergo, the AWESOME, Hunchback 4P, certain variants of the Quickdraw, etc. - have suffered dramatically because of it, hence why you see some pilots either attempting to balance their build more effectively with mixed success, or cease use of certain chassis altogether. Add that with the recent maps that are nothing but heat-intensive, and you get the current state we are in.

Because of this, we now see a lot more ballistic mechs on the field as of late, and the famed 2PPC+gauss combo which has sparked some controversy and debate at the general discussion's section of this forum. Missiles still have some mixed reviews, but that's another discussion to tell at a later time.

I for one, decided to say "to hell with this!" on the current meta's penalty on energy weapons, particularly the lasers, and began fielding my AWS-8Q with 6LL's for combat.

You heard me.

SIX.

And you know what?
It was GLORIOUS. Even with a lot of pilots calling the build stupid or ********, I can still raise hell against those that scoff at my mech and its weaponry. With proper firing groups and occasional chainfires and alphas (when in a desperate situation) the mech is a powerhouse, especially with friendlies nearby to finish the kill.

So what does this show?

HEAT PENALTIES BE DAMNED. If you want to be a TRUE BADASS, use 6LL's.

Note: Comment is based on pilot's personal biased opinion on the state of heat penalties for large lasers. ^tm

Yes, yes it is. Own that **** bro.

[Arete]

I still miss my trusty old 8Q 6xLPL build, unfortunately turned useless by the combined pulse laser nerf and ghost heat.

[aniviron]

Victor Morson, on 13 August 2013 - 09:32 PM, said:

I am one of the biggest Awesome {Noble MechWarriors} you will meet in BattleTech. Huge. There's even been a few MWs it's been great in (2 and LL).

It is just generally awful here.

6 Large Lasers requires you to be running macros pretty much to use even halfway effectively due to Ghost Heat. on top of the Awesome 8Q being too big, too bulky and too slow.

If they were ever to remove Ghost Heat, the upcoming Battlemaster could run the same configuration at Almost 80kp/h, with superior heat efficiency, because you can store so many DHS in the engine and mount FF.

I'd recommend against both the 6 LL build, and the 8Q in general.

I'm afraid that I am in the same boat as Vic here. I run the Awesomes every tournament, and I do well, but they're just not good mechs. The Victor, Stalker, and soon Battlemaster will all fill every single possible role that the Awesome fills, but considerably better. The kicker is that even if the Battlemaster launches with terrible, Kintaro-esque hitboxes, you know they will fix them within one patch because of the outcry, "My $80 is a piece of ****, waaaah!" Meanwhile, the Awesome will continue to have the worst model and hitboxes in the game, and PGI will continue not caring.

While I agree with OP that energy mechs have truly been suffering since ghost heat (the AWS-8Q and HBK-4P went from my two most-played mechs to least) I have to say that I disagree with your assessment of the 6xllas 8Q. I actually ran one of these things for a month or two prior to ghost heat being implemented, and while it was harder to do as well in it as the 4xPPC 8Q, it was a ton of fun. Stayed about 5-600m out and alpha'd until the inevitable brawls broke out and then mashed chain fire for hilarious, hot brawling. It was a really fun build, and viable although not good per se.

Since ghost heat has come out, I've tried a few times to run the 8Q with 6xllas. It's just not doable. Your choices are to fire in three groups of two, or chain fire all six. Even if you completely ignore the fact that you have no alpha potential whatsoever, the timing between weapons is too hard to try and juggle. Nobody can count to precisely .5s between firing groups or .25 between individual shots. It's just not doable under optimal situations, and when you have three spiders circling you, hahaha just shut down. Your only options are to hold down the chain fire button and meekly accept the fact that it's poorly coded (on purpose?) and absolutely guts the one thing the build still has going for it, the dps, by slowing down your rate of fire so much you might as well just run 4xllas, or to try and work it yourself and inevitably get whacked with severe heat penalties. Neither option is very appealing.

[Mycrus]

Dunno I still run 4 ER PPCs in my AWS

Dual fire, chain fire... Never alpha..

[Blue Hymn]

aniviron, on 24 September 2013 - 11:13 PM, said:

Meanwhile, the Awesome will continue to have the worst model and hitboxes in the game, and PGI will continue not caring.

I think this sentence sums up the most critical issue us pilots are feeling about the Awesome. With it being one of the earliest mech introduced in closed beta ( I believe?) it's surprising how it's been just neglected by the community in general. But that's a topic to debate on for another time.

For the 6LL's, aniviron, I find that the best way to capitalize on it is to move with your friendlies in a group, while you focus your attacks on anything slower than 70kph. This build, to be frank, isn't meant to last long in prolonged engagements - and you're usually better off retreating to a safe spot after a volley or two of the 6LL's while your allies distract the enemies. If you're caught by yourself without allied support, you're in for a hard match.

But! Nothing still beats the capability of just obliterating 50+ points of armor from a standing assault mech if you know you're going down...which was kind of the point I had in mind when I brought this build back to the light. To expose an atlas' internal when I go down, so my friendlies can finish the job I started. That the sort.

[Werewolf486 ScorpS]

http://mwomercs.com/...ystems-for-mwo/

Would be a simple effective way to make chassis like the Awesome 8Q very viable and do away with ghost heat and other stupid penalties while reducing boats.

[Autobot9000]

You can still run an AWS-8Q with 3 regular PPCs and do good in it. If you strip some armor off the legs you can have 22 DHS and 3 PPCs. It's ofc trouble vs anyone closing in, so obviously you need to actively work on staying inside and with your group. Wandering alone solo wouldn't work for that build. ERPPCs are impossible to manage heatwise, so here is a no go.

[Fuggles]

Autobot9000, on 28 September 2013 - 04:57 AM, said:

You can still run an AWS-8Q with 3 regular PPCs and do good in it. If you strip some armor off the legs you can have 22 DHS and 3 PPCs. It's ofc trouble vs anyone closing in, so obviously you need to actively work on staying inside and with your group. Wandering alone solo wouldn't work for that build. ERPPCs are impossible to manage heatwise, so here is a no go.

If your running regular ppcs in an 8q only going 65 your going to have a hard time maintaining proper range. No room for backup weapons without sacraficing heatsink slots. I do run 3ppcs in my 9m but I have 3mlas as backup and can go 85 keep my distance.

I've run 3 erppcs in the 8q but wow they are hot now. The fact you can't group fire them and torso twist also hurts after the ppc nerfs

Another option I prefer is to run one less heatsink in the arm and you can run 2 ppcs in the arm and 5mlas.

Edited by Fuggles, 28 September 2013 - 05:11 AM.

[NRP]

I run 3 PPCs on my 9M but bounce between 3 MLs and 3 streaks + BAP for backup weapons.

It still isn't very good for an Assault mech. It does ok with good teammates, but when you've gotta take matters into your own hands, I'd rather have a different mech.