28 replies to this topic

[Blue Hymn]

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

[JudgeDeathCZ]

My 8Q have 2xERPPC(RT,LT),2xLLas(RA) and 3xMLas(HD,RT,LT),std 300 and 18 DHS.
I had a lot 1000+ dmg games with it and once even 8 kills.Its only drawback is lack of DHS bcuz even if I use XL I still do not have enough room for more than 18 with this setup .

[BR0WN_H0RN3T]

Nice to see an enthusiastic AWS player out there. I tried to love the 8Q but sold it for scrap. Any player that recognises a barn-sized mech as a threat just need to poptart it to death with their PPC/GR combo. It's that easy. I aways build my mechs to deter light mech harassment. You'd overheat in a flash under that sort of pressure. I'm glad that it works for you, but it won't for me.

[Evrik]

I have also been using my 8Q to great effect. My build is just an upgrade of the stock design and its great! Here is my current build.
AWS-8Q
Std 300.
3 ER-PPC.
1 SL
As many double heat sinks as you can fit.

Very heat efficient even after the heat Nerf to ppcs. Group the torso ppcs and leave the arm ppc by itself. Fire them staggered and only alpha when a kill is for sure. Don't forget your small laser as it can be used while you cool down from the ppc fire. I have had a few 600+ games with it and it averages around 400. Which is good for me ymmv.

Edited by Evrik, 14 August 2013 - 06:03 AM.

[Victor Morson]

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.

[Blue Hymn]

Evrik, on 13 August 2013 - 09:24 PM, said:

I have also been using my 8Q to great effect. My build is just an upgrade of the stock design and its great! Here is my current build. Std 300. 3 ER-PPC. 1 SL and as many double heat sinks as you can fit. Very heat efficient even after the heat Nerf to ppcs. Group the torso ppcs and leave the arm ppc by itself. Fire them staggered and only alpha when a kill is for sure. Don't forget your small laser as it can be used while you cool down from the ppc fire. I have had a few 600+ games with it and it averages around 400. Which is good for me ymmv. (I will fix the formatting, add smurfy, and screenshots when I can get to my pc. I apologize for the inconvenience.)

For that build, I would recommend the AWS-8T variant. Instead of the torsos, all four energy slots are on the arms, which means you get a better capability to extend your angle of fire. I often run with the STD290, 2ERPPCS on the right arm, a PPC on the left and a Small Laser on the head. The rest is heat sinks - totaling 20, plus an AMS for taking out pesky missiles. Because the PPC runs a bit cooler than the ERPPCs (which is your primary hitting power), you can use that to keep up fire on units while you cool down, or use your small laser when they get close enough for it. You won't believe how having energy slots on the arms helps out with aiming, especially when you're in heavy combat and trying to lead those shots.

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 would admit that if you alpha the 6LL's you'll be hitting the shutdown sequence in no time with one burst. It's not advised usually, and only recommended when you're safe behind cover (or with friendlies next to you) if you overheat, really in a pinch - or if you're going down, and you want to take some enemy mech down with you. However - if you group it up into three pairs of LL's... By firing in moderation, you can apply a good deal of damage continuously without too much trouble with heat, while also inflicting a constant barrage of damage towards the opposing enemy.

Also - people tend to forget that 6LL's, while difficult to use appropriately in the current meta, is 54 points of damage being applied if you alpha. If you can get to a good position to fire at an assault - say, an Atlas that is stationary and distracted, for example - a single alpha at optimal range to a stationary target is 54 points of damage to the Atlas's armor. You'll overheat, yes, but the Atlas armor is most likely be in a pretty bad shape, which your teammates can take advantage of.

With this build, your main objective isn't finishing off mechs - your job is to strip armor off of slow, heavily armored mechs so that your team can core them and take them out quickly. I tend to play like a surgeon - I light up heavy mechs with my LL's, alpha only when I believe I have a good chance of staying safe, and switch targets once I see part of their internal structures showing. This makes it easier for my team to deal with them, and I can make sure that the lights/mediums have a chance to take them out instead of having to blast through all that armor first.

And in the event that I do shut down from overheating...I try to position myself within the safety blob of my teammates. Most enemies would try and shoot at me, but it's that while being shot back by a group of my teammates. And most of the time --

They tend to retreat to cover, giving me enough time to power up and continue the push with my team.

[Evrik]

I see what your saying Blue Hymm but I like my 8T build because I have been playing LRMs sence closed beta. I can really beat them down with this thing.
AWS-8T
Long range support is what the 8 serries Awesomes are ment to do.

[xengk]

Blue Hymn, on 13 August 2013 - 10:17 PM, said:

With this build, your main objective isn't finishing off mechs - your job is to strip armor off of slow, heavily armored mechs so that your team can core them and take them out quickly. I tend to play like a surgeon - I light up heavy mechs with my LL's, alpha only when I believe I have a good chance of staying safe, and switch targets once I see part of their internal structures showing. This makes it easier for my team to deal with them, and I can make sure that the lights/mediums have a chance to take them out instead of having to blast through all that armor first.

Your build looks alot like my old 8Q but with only 5LLaz, the problem with this build is that you need to constantly expose your CT to utilize the torso LLaz.

After some tinkering, my current 8Q looks like this
3 ERPPC
2 MLaz
2 SLaz
AMS w/ 1t
19 DHS
280 STD
Max amour

Stay away from the brawl and snipe slow moving target with the 3ERPPC on chain fire.
The lazers are for defending against rushing lights instead of using the ERPPC and risk shutdown.

[Autobot9000]

I've been running my AWS-8Q with 5 ML and a LPL in the arm or alternatively a (ER/STD)-PPC in the arm. Both works somehow, but I am not overly excited about this variant. I tried 4,5 and 6 LL builds as well as LPL/PPC solo builds and these suck. The most success I had with the 8T by using 4 standard PPCs (2 per arm). This is by far the most natural and effective build, bc you can constantly torso twist, because PPCs let you minimize the face time to your opponent. Also high alpha/duck to cover is still the best tactic in MWO.

[Lyoto Machida]

Used to do 6 LLs in my Stalker 3F...that thing sits dusty and unwashed in my mechbay for the time being.

Posted this in another 8Q thread...you could switch the 2 LPLs to a total of 4 LLs also:

Try this build (though you better be good with managing heat). Vary the ranges at which you use the different weapon systems:

XL 300 (66.8 kph)
480 Armor
16 DHS/Endo
2 ERPPC (RA)
2 LL (RT/LT)
2 LPL (RT/LT)
AMS (1 ton)

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1ea0f523aa8436b

Still...I haven't done very well with this variant in comparison to my 8R and 9M. Not sure if I've ever broken 500 in it.

For comparison, I dropped last night in a dual UAC5/4ML K2 that I hadn't run in months. Pulled down 931 damage and 3 kills...some mechs are easier than others.

[Void Angel]

Evrik, on 14 August 2013 - 06:12 AM, said:

I see what your saying Blue Hymm but I like my 8T build because I have been playing LRMs sence closed beta. I can really beat them down with this thing.
AWS-8T
Long range support is what the 8 serries Awesomes are ment to do.

Yet anothre reason an Atlas is a substandard LRM platform. =)

[Blue Hymn]

Void Angel, on 29 August 2013 - 11:40 AM, said:

Yet another reason an Atlas is a substandard LRM platform. =)

Atlas' are meant to be the tank guy, the mech that you form up behind while the enemy tries to take it out ASAP. At least that's how it seems to me - unfortunately there are the situations where you see a whole squad of atlas's, but that is more of a rarity these days.

Lyoto Machida, on 29 August 2013 - 11:31 AM, said:

Used to do 6 LLs in my Stalker 3F...that thing sits dusty and unwashed in my mechbay for the time being.

For comparison, I dropped last night in a dual UAC5/4ML K2 that I hadn't run in months. Pulled down 931 damage and 3 kills...some mechs are easier than others.

Can't say it better myself - some mechs can put down a lot of punishment downrange without too much difficulty (since their ammo gets reloaded to full every start of the match). Now with ballistics becoming ever more popular from the recent few patches - uac5's are becoming pretty brutal, with the amount of mechs fielding it more often recently - the role of the Awesome has become ever more difficult to use in light of this current meta.

But whatever. I'll still laser the {Scrap} out of them with the 8Q.

[oldradagast]

Nice to see enthusiastic Awesome pilots here!

I don't have an energy-heavy one - just an 8R missile boat - but it's good to see the mech still played.

[Autobot9000]

Void Angel, on 29 August 2013 - 11:40 AM, said:

Yet anothre reason an Atlas is a substandard LRM platform. =)

Atlases who boat LRMs significantly add to a teams loss.

[Koniving]

8Qs doing awesome things with completely unawesome builds. Sadly the laser thing won't work now.

Spoiler

[The Bionic Platypus]

Another Awesome pilot here. AWS-8R, AWS-8V, and AWS-9M.

I learned early on that PPCs and Awesomes don't seem to mix well, and switched to LLs long before the last patch. I found Awesomes need to take advantage of their speed potential to stay caught up with teammates, otherwise they will be cored very quickly. LLs seem to work better in this scenario.

I also use 1x Gauss and 2x ERPPC on my Highlander. I thought the patch would destroy this build. Once I became used to the Gauss Rifle, the changes didn't really seem to bother this set up all that much. It still has 1.38 heat efficiency. If anything, the patch will only deter newer people from using this setup.

[Alekzander Smirnoff]

I romp around in the AWS-8Q (still working on a build), AWS-8T (2xALRM20, 4xML+tag) and AWS-9M which I can't seem to find any decent build that I like. Usually end up trolling in a flamer build on it w/ an xl380 or some other light killer build.

[Abe07]

I pilot an 8Q. I find that it makes for an amazing fire support mech...even with the PPC heat.

3 PPCs
3 Medium Lasers
18 DBL heatsinks
Max Armor
STD 300 engine

Yes, it's hot. Patience is a virtue. The Mediums for when under 90 meters or you need an 'oh **** need shoot lazerz' moment. Find an Atlas, stick a few hundred meters behind it and SHOOOOOOOT!

[NRP]

LOL, I approve the OP's post!

I ran my 8Q with 5 PPCs and a ML (for close range, LOL). It was manageable if you chain fired. Not sure about now with the PPC's heat all screwed up. I suspect it won't do very well. I may roll it anyway just for the chance to land a 5 PPC alpha on some kid and trigger a bout of nerd rage.

Edited by NRP, 17 September 2013 - 08:08 AM.

[darqsyde]

After much playing around, I came up with a 5LL version, which does very nicely, and won't over heat on one alpha!

AWS-8Q

60/66kph, AMS, and 38% cooling eff.