Kjudoon, on 13 October 2013 - 09:09 AM, said:
When I look at Armor ratings on the Mechlab this is what I find, and those numbers have been true:
Starting Armor
Kintaro: 352-358 Max 370
Trebuchet: 224-256 Max 338
Quickdraw: 256-286 Max 402
Hunchback: 320 Max 338
Jagermech: 192-256 Max 422
So as you can see, the Kintaro and Hunchie start out with better armor than two heavies, they can't max out as high, but even the HEAVIES can't reach their max unless they cut their loadout and/or engine sizes back that I've found. My JM comes in at a fat 368
Forget about their stock loadouts. Starting armor is totally, entirely irrelevant and utterly meaningless. You should never run a mech with it's stock loadout. Also, those that can't make full armor? I garauntee you're trying that with Single Heat Sinks. Don't ever, EVER run Single Heat Sinks. Not ever.
I say this as a very, very experienced player who knows wtf he's talking about:
Always, ALWAYS start with maxed armor. Always. You can pare a bit off - typically a little off the legs to get an extra ton available, sometimes off an arm or two when you're in a mech using them as shield arms. But your torsos? Head? Max armor. Always. Understand when others talk about mech builds, it's always under the assumption that you've already maxed armor.
When you buy a mech, feel free to play around with it's stock build, but understand this. Stock, non-champion builds in MWO are
all horribly bad. You'll get pasted in them, every time. Before even beginning to rate the mechs performance, strip it completely, add DHS, max armor, then work out the engine, heat sinks and weapons with what space is left. ES if required.
See, for example, a stock
JM6-S: 192 armor, 2AC5, 2AC2, 2ML, STD260, 16% cooling efficiency (7s to overheat) and 3 tons ammo total.
A modified
JM6-S: Same weapons, an additional 2 tons of ammo (one for each type), basically the same speed, 352 armor, 33% cooling (14s to overheat). Not that this is a particularly good build, but it's a good example of how much you can improve the stock loadout.
Edited by Wintersdark, 13 October 2013 - 09:30 AM.