15 replies to this topic

[Yelruh]

Hey all. Wondering your opinions on the new found love created by PGI reducing the spread of 'shotguns'.

I love them. Rather than run twin AC10s on my Jagers, I now run these. Excellent for dealing damage across an entire mech, which is handy for those long range shots where accuracy is required, but not really possible. Guaranteed to hit most of the mech you are shooting at.
Also - those pesky, circling lights - Shotgun works well on them too. Where the AC10 cant hit them (esp. the spider), the LBX comes through with the goods. Doesnt do the same damage because of the spread, but at least I can deter them with at least some damage rather than none.

My new favourite mech is the Muromets Cataphract. 3x LBX, 7 tonnes of ammo and a tag, on chain fire for the LBXs, permanant enable for the tag. Dont need lots of heat sinks (I think I run the minimum 10 in mine), and a standard engine (210 in mine) helps to provide the little bit more longevity to own people who dont realise what they are up against.
Cool shot helps for the hot maps, but arent required for the ice ones. I find they help a hell of a lot to drop excess temps, as the 10 SHS have troubles dropping your heat once it is up.

What are others playing around with?

Cheers,
Yelruh

[_Splitshot_]

I run the Cataphract 4X, with XL255 twin gauss and two med lasers.

After about two weeks strait of running this build i wanted to try something new last night. So now instead of twin Gauss i run twin LB10x, 2 Machine guns, one large pulse laser. The damage output overall is lower but the insane pounding i put on enemy mechs gives me smiles all day long. I have never been into high pin point damage and this current build just fits with my play style. When you go full bore out on someone up close and start painting them all kinds of colors from head to toe it is just plain awsome!

[Dalziel Hasek Davion]

The LB10X is best as a late-game weapon. You can use it to rack up kill assists because it has range and the spread means you only need to clip an enemy with the blast for it to count. However you'll want to spend the early part of the match avoiding trouble until some people have peeled armour.

I ran the ILYA with XL280, 3xLBX10 and a bunch of ammo. You need to speed to close with the enemy. I would find a 210 engine too limiting - turning the 'Mech into a mugger - reliant on ambush - rather than a more dynamic hunter.

Honestly - I haven't has as much success with it as I have the 3xUAC5 build. I dearly want the LBX10s to be successful - but they are just really not as effective as other weapons. It occurred to me that I was using them out of nostalgia and a love of the sound and fury - but wasn't enjoying the results. A lovely idea of a weapon... not for me.

[Cuddlytron]

I started running this HBK-4G with delightfully destructive results. You can also put STD engine in there without too much sacrifice. This is an agile and brutally effective knife fighter that still runs pretty cool. Play it safe until mid-match, then jump into the brawl with your speed, agility, and crit-seeking prowess. Great for finishing off damaged mechs. LBX is my new favorite ballistic for HBKs.

I also used to run a CTF-4X with dual gauss... until the LBX buff. Now I'm running the same build as Splitshot with fantastic results (XL255, dual LBX, dual MG, LPL). You can also squeeze a SRM4 or LRM5 into the head hardpoint for even more multi-weapon abuse... or use the tonnage for extra ammo. So much fun! The constant battering you can dish out is just hilarious.

[Evogenesis]

I use a dual LBX build with one of my Atlas variants. Combined with SRM they pack a solid hit up close, can leg lights with ease and a bit further out have the tendency of blasting off components from enemy mechs.

[Ryokens leap]

Crit seeker buff made the right arm 3 ballistic Dragon 5n into a killer. Put LBX 10 with 2 MGs in arm, coupled with ERPPC, 330XL, full armour, BAP and sensor module upgrades. I cruise around in a big Cadillac looking for enemies with holes in their armour. Super fun!

Edited by Ryokens leap, 29 August 2013 - 03:01 PM.

[Captain Stiffy]

Want 1000+ dmg? Bring enough lbx ammo. In my DDC with 2xLB10 I do it pretty often.

[Royalewithcheese]

LBX is fun but bad. You get a lot of kills with them, but that is often from from "securing" kills vs. actually contributing.

[Cuddlytron]

Royalewithcheese, on 29 August 2013 - 04:10 PM, said:

LBX is fun but bad. You get a lot of kills with them, but that is often from from "securing" kills vs. actually contributing.

I disagree...

I my HBK-4G and CTF-4X builds (see post above), I've been putting up some excellent damage numbers. 600+ is pretty common. Kills and assists are also high.

[Royalewithcheese]

Cuddlytron, on 29 August 2013 - 04:15 PM, said:

I disagree...

I my HBK-4G and CTF-4X builds (see post above), I've been putting up some excellent damage numbers. 600+ is pretty common. Kills and assists are also high.

LBX racks up damage numbers fine, but the spread means it doesn't do enough of that damage to things you care about hurting. It gets kills b/c crit-seeking builds are great for "securing" kills.

[Koniving]

I've had the said "love" for them for a long time.

Slightly aged.


Semi-recent.


Be terrified. The shotguns are coming for you.

[Bishop Steiner]

Dalziel Hasek Davion, on 29 August 2013 - 06:17 AM, said:

The LB10X is best as a late-game weapon. You can use it to rack up kill assists because it has range and the spread means you only need to clip an enemy with the blast for it to count. However you'll want to spend the early part of the match avoiding trouble until some people have peeled armour.

I ran the ILYA with XL280, 3xLBX10 and a bunch of ammo. You need to speed to close with the enemy. I would find a 210 engine too limiting - turning the 'Mech into a mugger - reliant on ambush - rather than a more dynamic hunter.

Honestly - I haven't has as much success with it as I have the 3xUAC5 build. I dearly want the LBX10s to be successful - but they are just really not as effective as other weapons. It occurred to me that I was using them out of nostalgia and a love of the sound and fury - but wasn't enjoying the results. A lovely idea of a weapon... not for me.

try the Ilya with a 340xl 2 standard AC10 and 2 medium lasers, with 105 rounds of ammo. Does damage and killing ALL out of proportion to i's paper value. Max range on the ACs is 1350, the projectile speed is decent. I knock out 700 pt damage matches with 3-4 kills constantly with it. Cruising 86 kph lets you hunt, and disengage almost at will.

[Deathlike]

I like the LBX10s a lot... but for some reason the UAC5 is still way more attractive. That UAC5 jamming reduction (which is a buff) is hurting the AC10 AND LBX10 quite a bit IMO.

[Sahoj]

I generally put one of these on my Dragons to test out each patch they get buffed.

I think they finally made this thing better than a standard AC10 in close quarters. It certainly wasn't before.

[xengk]

It is strange to get pling with LBX pellet at 600m and hurting, but I guess it is the new thing now.

[Alistair Winter]

I think the LBX10 is a better choice than the AC10 for the Centurion. If you're running double AC10s on a Jager, then the LBX is inferior. The gauss, AC20 and UAC5 are the best choices.

The AC10 requires the same skill and focus as the AC20, it's not like an AC5 or UAC5 that has lots of ammo and a high rate of fire. You really need to stay on target all the time, and it's quite hard to achieve maximum efficiency with the AC10, 2Mlas and 2-3 SRM4s (or whatever) at the same time. With the AC20 or Gauss, that's not a problem, because you only have 2 weapons to worry about, and your main weapon is much more effective than your lasers.

I'm currently playing with 2 Centurions.
CN9-D with AC10, 2 Mlas, 2xSRM4
CN9-A with LB10X, 2 Mlas, 3xSRM4.

The last one is slower, but much better. Sure, the extra SRM4 doesn't hurt. But it also has a great synergy between LBX and SRM.