70 replies to this topic

[juxstapo]

Nothing scientific at all here. No detailed analysis of loadouts or MathTech breakdowns. Just knee jerk emotional responses to various heros. A layman's review, if you will.
Here are mine, in the order I purchased them. In whatever order I can recall.

The Death's Knell:
Bought this fellow the instant it was patched in. Back when lights were practically cheating. Often decried as an undergunned, underarmored, jumpjet-less JR7-F, but that loses some of the basic flavor.
It's probably subjective, but at one time it felt as if the Commando's cornered sharper than the Jenners; combined with the lower arm actuators, and TDK felt like a ninja. Ran this thing again recently as was surprised to find that it's still viable (and amusing), in the right hands (not mine, not really. It'd take practice for me to confidently call myself a light pilot again).

Anansi
Oxide
Ember

X-5:
My "not really into the game" older brother bought one and loved it. I bought one to run with him and also loved it. However trying to rank up two additional Cicadas proved a grind for me. Anyone who has ever dithered between cicada builds knows exactly what I did. I thrived in my Jenners, tried to replicate that in my bugs and suffered for it. I know now you have to leverage the additional weight.
The X-5 serves as a light fighter-bomber for me. Not really for serious competitive play, but when PUG'n I enjoy dashing in, doing a few SRM-6 strafing runs on vulnerable spots, then bailing out.

Arrow
Yen-Lo-Wang
St. Ives Blues
Gray Death

Ilya Muromets:
Often lauded as the "best hero in the game", for awhile it was hard to argue. Still top tier, I would say. Bought this as an afterthought once I had a really good time leveling my Phracts. Of course, its not a 3D, so didn't do me as well.
The Cataphract occupies an interesting position in my little world view. It's almost the bread-and-butter heavy. Cat's and Dragons and Jagers all have their place and are extremely potent in the right hands, (I adore my K2), but can you imagine a match without Phracts?

addendum: STILL my most-used hero. 2x AC/10's + lasers (either a single large in the shoulder or 3 mediums). This is mah money maker.

Fang:
Yea, I know, I know. My "not really into the game" best friend bought a Flame and loved it. Thus...
The Dragon was the first patched in mech after the initial four (Jenner, Huch, Catapult and Atlas). And during all those closed beta MC resets we all bought scads of them. Enough for me to realize that when it came time to "really" purchase things for my profile, I wouldn't be spending much time with these things, they didn't suit me.
Now I've got this one, and it's the most under utilized hero in my stable. Only use it when Twin Dragon'ing with my friend. Honestly though, it isn't a bad mech, I'm just a bad pilot for it.

addendum: Omg, post-quirk Fang is a beast. In fact the Dragons are all fun to me now. (Queue Dragon pilots being offended at my bandwagon jumping)

Firebrand
Jester

Heavy Metal:
Not an assault pilot, like fast stuff too much. However the gnarly visuals and promise of a faster, more nimble Atlas made me jump into Highlanders. Before the LrgPulse nerf I ran this thing with three of 'em and loved it. Wasn't particularly effective in it. Got multiple kills each match, but tended towards stupid, suicidal brawling and thus got splod before contributing enough to make the tonnage worth it. "Yeee! I'm gonna dive into these three guys" and then our team loses an assault. I'm getting better about that.
Wish you could disable the kill music. And wish the HGN's had a better field of view.

Dragon Slayer:
Whereas all my other forays into Assaults was a "meh" experience, I absolutely love my Victors. One of the very few mechs (other than the Jenner), that I bought all the variants instead of just the three required for mastery.
I never got as comfortable in my 9K and DS as I did in my 9B and 9S, love that arm mounted AC/20 too much. This mech and my Blackjacks made me realize that the aesthetics of the interior of the mech actually affect my performance. If the cockpit "looks cool" I tend to do better, anyone else experience this?

Misery:

Protector:
The Orion was one of my "meh" chassis when announced, but that selfsame brother who bought the X-5 sprung for one of these, and I snagged one to run as his wingman and really liked it. (Cool looking cockpit helped)
They rock. Don't suit me as well as my Victors, but the Orion was a solid addition to the lineup of heavies. To leverage those wide-ranging, low slung arms the thing really wants to be setup as a brawler, in my eyes. The other potential is as a LRM boat, but I don't see this thing shining very brightly as a sniper due to the height of the mounts.

Tell me about yours! Overall impressions, we'll leave the technical stuff for the appropriate sub forums, give me an overview.

Edited by juxstapo, 27 December 2014 - 02:38 PM.

[NRP]

I think the kill music is the best aspect of the Heavy Metal.

As for the rest, I agree with you. Too many people try to give mechs a binary assessment, as in it's either "the best thing ever" or "terrible and should never be used". I've bought most of the heros, and I've enjoyed them all for the most part.

[Amsro]

Heavy Metal:
This is my favorite mech in my mechbay, I use a simple build and even with Ghost Heat its still very effective. With a speed of 65kp/h this mech can get to the front lines pretty quick. The 3 arm energy points are the best part of this mech, this is what stands it apart most from other HGN's. Great mech I have no regrets.!

I have also Mastered all Highlanders, even tho there can only be ONE!


Dragon Slayer:
This mech was certainly a great surprise, I basic'd out the DS before the C-Bill variants were available, once they were I was able to start with the 9K Mini Metal and be familiar with the build to learn the chassis quirks. I've since picked up all the Victors and do fantastic in all of them.

I ended up using the Dragon Slayer's XL400 ability to make a Speedy Assault, I've even been called a Dragon Slayer Spider by enemy teams before.

Edit; Since Oct 2013, I have added Muromets/BoarsHead/Jester/Ember/Oxide

Edited by Amsro, 14 April 2014 - 07:54 PM.

[C E Dwyer]

I like what you've written, though again I'd say the music is a nice touch with the HM

Boars head

I said this would be the first hero I wouldn't buy, but the art work is so good, and I missed grinding atali, that really is its only plus, I don't think running a 400xl is good for an atlas, as the Rs brawls better with 2 less lasers but 2 missile pods, and only one ballistic point means you can't set up uac5s

Dragon slayer love it, but find cb builds more effective, as I have no desire to run the top engine, in tight battles, great fun, when side torso goes, and i'm still attacking, you can allmost hear the "uhh NO XL..sheees"

Pretty Baby

I bought this on a whim, because I had heard how bad the awesome was and this was the only one worth a mention, now maybe thats so in games where there are players that can shot the leg off a running spider at 2000 meters, but I have fun with it, and so far only draw back is that because of its rep once i'm targeted every lrm seems to come flying at me, thats where I find tag handy, tag lock fire hide, watch lrms hit the ground where I used to be..and while all launching at me, they are giving others a chance to get position.

Misery

I've seen people do good things with this mech, I'm not one of them, I'm running all but the N currently and I don't lrm boat in my stalkers, I suppose it will remain my worse, until I deside to buy the N and see if thats as bad as people claim

Edited by Cathy, 05 October 2013 - 08:40 AM.

[DyDrimer]

Wang!!! Stats off the board with it, my money maker, and i like saying "I just hit you with my wang..."

And my Heavy Metal is ok, just took me forever to find a build i could get into. Lack of AC20 on a big mech kinda puts me off, so had to force myself to play it, but now its a keeper.

Edited by DyDrimer, 05 October 2013 - 08:47 AM.

[juxstapo]

Yea. The Ilya, HM, and Dragon Slayer were all purchased because I dug the regular variants first. And in every one it took me some doing to get comfy in them. I've complained about it before, like they were trying so hard to avoid the PTW that they went PTL with some of the design decisions, but now I have to admit that for the most part the wierdness of the heros makes them interesting.

[Mechwarrior413183]

I really like the Heavy Metal I do this with http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d39c06ad1d172ba but I've now removed a ton of SRM ammo and added in AMS, kind of low ammo for the AC5s though, I love the music when you kill something. Ilya is great I did 3 AC5s but I changed it recently to 3 UAC5. YLW I don't really like so much, only have it because at the time it was the only hero mech, I tried doing a 2UAC5 build but 4 tons of ammo is too little, really wants an XL or sloow speed for that to work.

[Pastor Priest]

I find the Ilya to be one of my favorite mechs, overall. If I'm having a bad day in terms of matches or need to Fri d some cbills, I pull this out, complete with the go-to triple UACs. It is a tad fragile and you are rolling the dice a bit, but when it is on, it is a thing of shear beauty.

The Firebrand is also a fun one. While not the pure face smasher that is my Ilya, it makes a great fire support mech. I don't get the highs and lows of the Ilya in terms of damage, bit it is more consistent.

[process]

I have three heroes:

Misery
A nearly perfect mech in my opinion. Maxed armor, maxed speed with a STD310, and maximum sensors through BAP and the sensor range module. My loadout consists of 2 LLas, 2 MLas, and an AC20. The high energy hard points mean I can poke away all day from cover, with plenty of armor to endure return fire. The relatively compact front profile and elongated side profiles allow and actually encourage me to constantly engage while strafing, unlike humanoid chassis.

Firebrand
I wanted a fast striker, unlike many of my heavies -- maxed armor, over 90 kph with an XL340, 2 PPCs and 4 MLas. It's has enough double heatsinks to manage without difficulty. Though it's a little on the fragile side, it can provide a nearly constant steam of PPC fire from afar before moving in to clean up with the MLas.

Another highly effective loadout uses an XL315, 2 LLas and 2 PPCs. It runs a little hotter and slower, but it operates more effectively at range. Usually when I tag someone with the PPCs, the time it takes for the target to react gives me a window to unload the LLas. Since my K2 can run the exact same build, I no longer use it on the my Firebrand.

Yen-Lo-Wang
I run the standard XL300, AC20 and 2 MLas. It's a lot of fun so weave through enemies, but the lack of variation means I don't use it often. It also takes some patience to not be the first in the battle.

[Ertur]

WANG
I took one of the spare Std245's I had yanked out of my Jenners and plopped it into a Wang, and have had a lot of fun with it. I can imagine the frustration of the other team as they keep pouring fire into me after my arms and sides are all gone. Still moves at an ok speed, if not nearly as fast as an XL300 would. As a wingman for an assault, you can be deadly. Go running out alone and you'll be a walking stick with just 2MLas in a jiffy. If you can nurse your right arm and ammo to the end of the match, you can run crazy and finish people off. A pretty situational mech that takes some practice to use well.

[DONTOR]

The Death's Knell:
Bought this fellow the instant it was patched in. Back when lights were practically cheating. Often decried as an undergunned, underarmored, jumpjet-less JR7-F, but that loses some of the basic flavor.
It's probably subjective, but at one time it felt as if the Commando's cornered sharper than the Jenners; combined with the lower arm actuators, and TDK felt like a ninja. Ran this thing again recently as was surprised to find that it's still viable (and amusing), in the right hands (not mine, not really. It'd take practice for me to confidently call myself a light pilot again).

HELL YA!

[juxstapo]

Hero Blackjack, I think it lost my post about wanting a Hero BlackJack

[Funkupotamous]

Heavy Metal:
I've done the best in this mech to date (6 kills in a match, and multiple 1000+ dmg). The nice thing is that it can adapt to so many loadouts that you don't get bored playing it (or at least I don't )

PS
The music is the best part!

[Liquid Leopard]

My opinion is that PGI is turning out hero mechs with better hardpoints lately, because they learned from earlier heros where the hardpoints basically nerfed it. They learned that if they make a hero with jacked-up hardpoints, people run it into the ground on the forums, and I'm guessing they have a particularly hard time selling the Pretty Baby.

Ilya Murometz was my best mech by far during the "Dakkapocalypse" (after the PPC heat nerf, when the UAC/5 was at maximum buff). Actually, it's still pretty good even though Ultras have been de-buffed.

Firebrand is in the running for my best current mech. The Ultras jam more than they used to, and it suffers "Death by XL" more than most of my mechs. A bad match can be really bad. A good match can be pretty darn good, because it works well to have cannons and lasers mounted high where it's easier to shoot over terrain.

Heavy Metal was a darn good mech back when I could use a Gauss Rifle and 2 ER-PPCs. This was my only mech that ran that combination for more than one mission. I'm not satisfied with any other combinations I've tried lately.

Flame gets a lot of "meh" results. Evidently, I don't know how to use it. I liked the idea of a Dragon with identical energy hardpoints on the arms. The ballistic hardpoint on the torso is mounted up high, where it's conducive to sniping from partial cover. If you want a speedy Gauss platform, this mech might be a good candidate.

The X5 has a good combination of weapons, but I'm not good at piloting speedy mechs, so I only use it when I can be wingman to a friend in another Cicada. Preferably an ECM Cicada.

Pretty Baby is the hardest of all my hero mechs. The lopsided hardpoints, and the fact that they're so limited, are a heck of a handicap in my opinion. The slow acceleration and braking are pretty bad, too. And, if only I had known it was such a big target... I mean, it's shaped like a damn billboard.

Edited by Liquid Leopard, 09 October 2013 - 11:16 AM.

[Buckminster]

Yen Lo Wang I'll reiterate what has been said - maybe not the most consistently effective mech, but tons of fun. I run with a STD 250, because I firmly believe in the power of the Zombie Wang, and the 250 provides enough speed to get in and around heavier mechs without putting yourself in too much danger. But honestly, nothing makes me smile like watching a mech take that AC/20 shot, and seeing parts come falling off, or watching it crumple to the ground.

So not as versatile of a loadout as the vanilla Centurions, but AC20 makes it worth it.

Edit: I've also taken to painting it with the standard green, so that you can't see the sunburst and it looks like a stock mech. I don't know if it's fooling anyone or not, but it makes me feel sneaky.

Edited by Buckminster, 08 October 2013 - 07:47 PM.

[rolly]

knee jerk reaction :

As a purist, to be honest I dislike every single non-original canon mech they introduced. Kudos to mechs like Heavy Metal or Protector.

With so much rich history in the Battletech lore, I find it sad to see them make up stuff just to drive sales.
Ie. Ilya Muromech to capitalize on a certain large player demographic that drives -simulated-tracked-vehicles a lot.

Especially this early in the development. I'd be content with a higher ratio of "real original" canon hero mechs because there ARE that many if they look back far enough. In fact we had a good list going as a suggestion. I'd at least be somewhat okay if these "Hero mechs" had an indepth backstory like how they do it in the original TRO's.

[Koniving]

Space reserved for he who owns or has at least played them all has more time to write something oversized.

In the mean time: Two random runs.

Death's Knell -- standard 210 engine, max armor. (Starts out making some fun of the Golden Boy with its original hitboxes.)


Heavy Metal with shotgun, AC/2, 3 ML, 2 streaks, XL 330 engine, LOTS of ammo.

Start from 5:49 (for a pun on MWO's movement code) and let it run from there for the Heavy Metal's performance while giving commands in the heat of the action.

[Liquid Leopard]

rolly, on 08 October 2013 - 07:48 PM, said:

knee jerk reaction :

As a purist, to be honest I dislike every single non-original canon mech they introduced. Kudos to mechs like Heavy Metal or Protector.

With so much rich history in the Battletech lore, I find it sad to see them make up stuff just to drive sales.

With the Protector we can infer that it's General Kerensky's mech, but why would he have his mech painted in Safety Vest Orange? Derrrrr... Whoever drew it did a good job. Whoever picked the colors needs to relinquish their crack pipe.

Even when PGI totally made up mechs, like the Fang, Flame, and Ilya, they used to at least come up with a backstory for them. Now, they're not even doing that. ...Or, if there's some place I can find the back story for the Boar's Head (and not just conjecture, by players trying to fill in the blanks), someone please tell me where to find it.

Sarna.net shows plenty of notable Atlases they could have used as their 100-ton hero. The lore includes stories for custom Battlemasters, Marauders, and Catapults, too.

I want my Butterbee!

[Cpt Chattahah]

juxstapo, on 08 October 2013 - 12:55 PM, said:

Hero Blackjack, I think it lost my post about wanting a Hero BlackJack

Would buy INSTANTLY.

[juxstapo]

Liquid Leopard, on 09 October 2013 - 12:21 PM, said:

Even when PGI totally made up mechs, like the Fang, Flame, and Ilya, they used to at least come up with a backstory for them. Now, they're not even doing that. ...Or, if there's some place I can find the back story for the Boar's Head (and not just conjecture, by players trying to fill in the blanks), someone please tell me where to find it.

heh, the very first technical readout. (3025). Each entry had a "Notable Mech's and Mechwarriors" section. It's in there.
So is the Pretty Baby and The Death's Knell.