14 replies to this topic

[AHZeruel]

Hey guys, im making this post looking for an advice. Which Medium Mech should i start with?

After checking the upcoming max tonnage per group, it got me thinking i should start a medium and/or light to be more team friendly. I have already mastered Atlai, Stalkers, Catapults, Cataphracts and Jagermechs, so im not new to the game, but a total noob to medum mechs. I'm looking for something faster than my heavies with a decent damage output and doesn't die too fast.

I was considering a hunchback, but i've heard good things about Centurions. Not so much about trebuchets and kintaros.

Which Mech/Variant would you suggest for a player with my experience?
Thanks!

[Reslin]

AHZeruel, on 31 August 2013 - 06:08 PM, said:

Hey guys, im making this post looking for an advice. Which Medium Mech should i start with?

After checking the upcoming max tonnage per group, it got me thinking i should start a medium and/or light to be more team friendly. I have already mastered Atlai, Stalkers, Catapults, Cataphracts and Jagermechs, so im not new to the game, but a total noob to medum mechs. I'm looking for something faster than my heavies with a decent damage output and doesn't die too fast.

I was considering a hunchback, but i've heard good things about Centurions. Not so much about trebuchets and kintaros.

Which Mech/Variant would you suggest for a player with my experience?
Thanks!

If you're into hunchbacks my guide and the ultimate hunchback guide would be a good place to start. Both have feedback and builds. As for the centurion.. my sister swears by them. She has every centurion variant there is and we often duo together contributing quite a bit to our team. The centurion is one of the sturdiest mechs in the game when played right and by virtue of excellent survivability can pump out quite a bit of damage before the game's end.

[Xeno Phalcon]

Hunchbacks are pretty solid other than their large side torso on most models, cents are durable but everyone knows to leg them at this point and (someday) they might get their hitboxes fixed. Blackjacks are my personal favorite, with a good combination of firepower and mobility (with somewhat lower speed on the jump jetable models) with high arm mounts (very much like a jagermechs) they have superb capacity to fire over hills and smaller mechs. (ravens make great shields O.o)

Cicadas shouldnt be overlooked either, they are basically giant jenners that cant jump but they have an EXTREMELY fast torso twist speed so if your a twitch gamer these guys can get pretty mean for their size too and are the only medium currently with a model that can mount ECM.

[Johnny Reb]

I have been here since June 29-2012. Started with the Hunchback and still like it. I didn't like the Centurion till about December of 2012. That said, the Cent is the best medium to start with....problem is which one? I got the Wang on sale and would not recommend it to a new player. The other 3 Cents are the AL (which could have some great load outs but never tried), Cent-A and Cent-D. I confess I am a sucker for fast mechs! So the Cent-D was a hands down for me (in December-2012) and with it I have run the gammit of great fast engines, 390, 380, 370 and tried lower even. However, Cent-D fast is not what you want, great mech but thats an option. For a new player the Cent-A is the standard! Its viable all the way up to Comp 12v12, 3 srm6 and 2 med laser. However, the Cent-D is my fav mech and will be till cents get there armor nerfed!

edit: or if like the streak nerf just stay away. Hey a Heavy "medium" is fun to run with a pack!

Edited by Johnny Reb, 31 August 2013 - 08:51 PM.

[xengk]

I got a HBK 4G for founder and have piloted all the medium mechs, now working on Elite for the Kintaro.

For speed, fire power and toughness, you will want either a Centurion or Hunchback.
With access to ballistic slot, they can pack the biggest gun in the game and still out run most Heavy and Assault.
They are also very durable for few reason, Centurion have huge side torso allowing it to spread damage and survive as a zombie. The Hunchback's hump is a bullet magnet and everyone will aim for it, leaving the rest of your mech unmolested.
With that in mind, most experienced pilot will go for the legs of Centurion, while a de-humped Hunchback is pretty much a neutered mech.

Take the Cen if you are good with arm mounted weapon, else take the hunchback.

Kintaro, Trebuchet, Blackjack and Cicada are mostly support mechs and work best away from the frontline, however that doesn't stop good pilots from brawling in them.

Xeno Phalcon, on 31 August 2013 - 06:21 PM, said:

Cicadas shouldnt be overlooked either, they are basically giant jenners that cant jump..

Whenever I see someone refer the Cicada that way, it reminds me of that movie "White men can't jump".

[t Khrist]

Hello,
Don't be discouraged from buying a Trebuchet, they're one of my favorite mechs and can be very effective if you're careful. Their wide torsos make them easy targets but they're extremely nimble because of their speed and jump jet capabilities making them a lot of fun, and capable of dishing out a lot of damage.

Cicada's are my favorite mech, they're basically a light with more armor. So if you're looking for a good transition mech to get you acquainted with the speed of lights, but without the frailty, they're the way to go.

I don't own any centurions but I know of their greatness, I've watched my roommate (I am the Table) dominate many a time with his Wang and every other variant. Not to mention whenever I dual a Centurion no matter what I'm piloting, they seem nearly invincible, the ******** just don't die . So if you're looking for durability in a medium, you should go with cent's.

Kintaro's are a no-no until they're patched on Tuesday, and hunchies although a staple mech, just go down too easily and you don't see a lot of people piloting them anymore these days.

Lastly, BJ's. Again I don't personally own any, but Table has all four and has had great runs with all of them. Think of Jager builds with less armor and more speed. Another good buy, but not the most agile out of the mediums.

Hope this helps out with your decision and if you want any build suggestions for trebs or cicadas let me know.

Happy Hunting!

[Bront]

Cents play not dissimilar to Dragons and VIctors, other than 2 varieties you don't want to put an XL in ever. I've had fun with them at times, though, like most mediums, they feel a little too squishy and a little too slow, but they can be effective.

Hunchies at least have a bit of variety going for them, not a bad choice. The 4SP is popular.

Or wait for the Shadow Hawk to come out, as that looks to be a good mix of weapons for a medium mech.

Edited by Bront, 01 September 2013 - 01:14 PM.

[Sh4dow78]

I like to play medium mechs they have quite nice firepower, good speed some of them got JJ enemy most of time ignores U and u can make ur miracles when they do. I really like my CN9A - this is beast mech so dam hard to put down... 3xsrm6 well this is something cant be ignored i like my Hunchies 4SP - user friendly mech 3xML and 2xsrm6 very agile mech, with good hands he can really hurt. i got my blackjack with 8xML well let enemy ignore u and u just melt them down but this one have no JJ but BJ1 - well this is another story 3xML AC20 + 4t ammo and JJ... u really need more ? this thing is just deadly in right hands. New kintaro even if they are broken right now u can really play good with them for now i have KTO20 and 18 and both can be played quite nice. on KTO18 try 5xLRM5 ERLL and tag i can get about 9-10 tons of ammo well it my looks like not good setup but this thing can be really painful... u can do alpha of 25 misiles or when u see a lone mech without AMS just turn to chain and rain on him missiles rain will newer end and u just see him cored in few seconds i really like this setup. I dont like to play "big" mechs they gets to much atention for me and all want to focus U so u need good team to follow u, but in med u are fast so u can work more solo and still be able to run to group if u need. There also trebuchets i have them mastered but dont play them much now... imo they are to big for med mech my 7M sometimes kill like crazy but sometimes also die fast not really like to play them right now, but they have JJ and this is helpfull. Before they change streaks i like to run 3xML 3x SSRM BAP XL325 and kill all those annoying lights, now its not work so well. Still can play but there are another "better" mechs in medium class.

[jper4]

while i haven;t played the centurion or the cicada i've used most of the other mediums. so here are some personal observations.

hunchback- i love the hunchy 4sp, it's my go to mech and avoids the "everyone shoot the hunch" problem...because it has 2. most balanced hardpoints (2 laser and a missile on either side and a head laser). 4P is popular laser boat since it gets the 9 lasers but suffers from hunch- though people have said that the rear torso for the hunch is very tiny so you can get away with 5 or so rear armor to boost the front of the hunch. the 4G has it in for me though it does have the ac20. played one of the other varients back in closed beta and sold it it was almost 4G-esque in my futility but without the ballistics slot.but speed is decent enough to harrass heavier mechs and keep the pesky lights in sight to actually hit them a time or two before being left in the dust.

blackjack- i actually find myself playing these a lot now. the 1X is a baby jager impersonating a hunchy 4P with the 8 energy slots, heat is a bit of an issue. i finally settled on 4MPLs (cause my aim is bad trying to keep MLs on one spot moving at 116kph) and have been doing better. the 1 i've had trouble finding a niche for- people have been using it as the ac20 blackjack but i use the DC for that role-most people rank the DC last of the BJs. BJ 3 i use as a pure ML boat. biggest problem with these other than the 1x is speed. because i went with light weapons in the BJ-3 i could stuff a max engine in and get it up to 93kph generally they're not much faster than a heavy and if a smart light gets behind you its tough to get your weapons on them because you're a slow medium generally.JJs on the 1 and 3 help some but lights can just jump right along with you usually. i still like them but more of a pure support mech. XL engines are good options on these because of smaller side torsos so you get CT deaths more often than not.

trebbies i've had difficulties with. the only one i'm comfortable with is the 3C. many people like the 7M best but like the hunchy 4G it hates me and is one of my worst mechs- tried it as lrm,srm,ssrm, big lasers- nothing works well. 7K is ok but i always feel like i'm not using it right if i don;t have all 3 weapon types on it but haven;t found a combo i'm very effective with. ground the 5J through basic but about to give up on it- nears 7M levels of badness for me.

Kin-torsos er kintaros i only have the 20 version so far. i almost immediately gave up on it as any sort of brawler after a jenner kicked up a very small rock from the ground using its JJs and it went right through my CT killing me instantly. people used to complain that blackjacks were easy to kill but kintaros make a blackjack seem like an atlas (hopefully the tuesday patch fixes this though). i just use it as an lrm/LL boat and try to stay as far away as i can from the main fight. starting to grow on me a little

my personal rankings
1) Hunchy 4sp
2) Blackjack 3
3) Blackjack 1x
4) Blackjack DC
5) Trebbie 3C

most hated
1) Hunchy 4G
2) Trebbie 7M
3) Trebbie 5J

[AHZeruel]

Thank you all for the good advices!

I had'nt considered Blackjacks at all, but after reading your suggestions ill queue them up, along with the Hunchbacks for mastering, i do love their big brother jagger.

Any general advices on gameplay? Are mediums better fitted for Hit and Run Tactics? range direct fire support? Anti light duty?

Coming from heavies and assaults i suppose there are lots of other ways to engage. Any tips would be greatly appreciated

[rotagh]

The first mech i bought was a cent, and i still have it. I basically learned the game from that cocpit. By the way, at the moment, its the only mech in my bay that isnt a trail mech.. ( I really don't have the patience to grind te c-bills for another one!) It took a while to learn myself that i got a shield arm, but i can definitly recommend the centurion.
ill make a smurfy build and post a link: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...5614f2a048cc33a

advises on gameplay?
Follow the assaults.

seriously, thats how i tend to survive longer than 4 mins.

[jper4]

the first rule of medium mechs- don't go first
the second rule of medium mechs- don't go first
the third rule of medium mechs- be the vulture

remembering those three rules are the first step towards survival

i tend to play brawlers for the most part. only a handful of mediums make decent lrm support boats (kintaros the best from what i've seen). blackjacks have no missiles so it's either dakka, long range lasers/PPCs or short range brawling. blackjacks (other than the 1x) are card carrying members of the "stick with the big guys" club because of their speed issue. the 1x is about the only one i'd try to fight a light with or use for scouting and they'll still have the speed edge. however if you toss an ac20 on the ones that can use it and see a distracted light then... (unless it's a spider in which case 5 ac20 rounds fired at a stationary spider may scratch the paint)

hunchies make better anti-light mechs than blackjacks since they have missiles and even with the ssrm changes they don;t like getting hit with them. plus they have more armor than blackjacks to handle the counterfire.

and by being the vulture i mean- you have less armor and less firepower than the heavy and assaults so never face one that's fresh, look around til you find that one that's damaged- run to where it's at and go for the damaged parts- you can turn the tide of a duel quite often i find that way. always go for the one's that's already shot up.

i do tend to play my slow blackjacks as somewhat mobile rear support- float around the rear of the group watching for lights in the early going thn once the brawl begins pick your victim and move in then. actually i do that with most of my mediums regardless of speed- only difference is how quick i can get to the front. plus assaults hate it when blackjacks kill them. so you get that warm fuzzy feeling after too.

[Autobot9000]

I can comment on the Centurion, as I ahve mastered the variants. You will have a huge chance of staying alive throughout the match, longer than in most other mechs really. Both the AL as well as the D version are good. My preferred AL loadout is 275XL, ERPPC (RA), 2 ML (CT), SRM6+4 (LT) and 17 DHS, for the D it's a LB10x, 2ML, 2x SRM4 and the biggest XL you can fit (300+). The D is mostly a very capable light hunter, especially if you give him a 350XL+LB10x+2ML. All variants with SRMs can zombie with MLs+SRMs until the end of the match. Your right arm is your biggest weakness, as it typically carries either the biggest energy weapons (AL) or your autocannon. I can recommend the chassis, it's fun, you are fast, durable and you can rack up to 500 dmg, if you're good.

[Tezcatli]

Blackjack. If you like to go decently fast get the X1. You can mount 7 small pulse lasers for crazy light killer build. Four/five pulse mediums for a little more brawling damage with limited range. OR my prefered bill of five or six medium lasers for good alpha point and better range then their pulse counter parts. Unlike other mediums, the blackjack is smaller and with a 275 engine, you can do some work. WARNING: You will have to manage some heat. So be ready to manage how many alphas you can get off. :3

Edited by Tezcatli, 05 September 2013 - 12:51 PM.

[arghmace]

There's one thing you must know about Hunchbacks. Their right torso is mainly front even in the back. Check it out from here:
http://mwomercs.com/...x-localisation/

You can see the same thing in the mech lab as well, turning the mech around in camo section. This applies even to 4SP even though it has no bigger right torso than the left one. Even in that variant the front right torso hitbox goes all the way to the back.

So there's just a very little area of back torso in the lower back. No point putting much armor there. Just put most to front, which actually makes the hunch very durable. Most of the battles you won't even lose it, if you play wisely. I use just 1 point of armor there, like this:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...51308813854ad6f