32 replies to this topic

[Jon Gotham]

FearNotDeath, on 14 December 2013 - 04:48 AM, said:

Well they did ask viable not optimal. Guess we'll have to wait to for 1vs1 to see how easy it really is.

It was also his opinion not fact as it came across:)
XL's are perfectly viable. As I said before I found with my experience an XL Cent is still tougher to kill than an XL Kintaro. Smart use of that shield arm is still an edge, and a good one if done well.

[Grey Black]

There seem to be 2 schools of thought with regards to Centurions: XL and non.

In the XL school, they say that, because of the small side torsi, you don't have to worry too much about getting side cored, so load up on speed and firepower and bring it all to bear on an unsuspecting target.

The Non-XL school, however, say that using an XL engine robs the Centurion of its single greatest asset: survivability. A Centurion pilot who learns how to torso twist can survive for a LONG time and do some pretty incredible damage with two medium lasers, so why gimp yourself?

Personally, I'm in the non-XL school of thought. Learning that torso twist helps you become a better pilot overall and lets you pull some pretty crazy things in game. The LB-10X AC is a good idea if you must bring arm weapons, but again, putting that much firepower in one of your shields isn't a great idea IMHO.

[Muffinator]

PenitentTangent, on 11 October 2013 - 04:26 AM, said:

Don't run an XL in a cent ever.

Not true at all - if you use a big XL, like a 360, the speed makes it worthwhile. You can get in and out of cover better and also get into the back of larger mechs much more easily, and stay there.

[Madara Uchiha]

i have one cent using this build, ill be honest its not that great (dps feels too low, and its not like you can really get killing blows cuse your alpha sucks)...it use to be a gauss in place of the LB before the nerf and that rocked but, it was just never the same after that.

[Jon Gotham]

@Grey Black

I'm in both camps to be honest. I run an engine based on what I want to achieve with that particular build. sometimes an XL is sensible other times it's not.
Most smart players will go for your legs anyway:)

[Zordicron]

Mastered out my -D with the build mentioned earlier with streak and LBX. Nowdays, the streaks are not nearly as effective to brawl( no more CT tracking) nor do they do as much cockpit shake. LBX in the arm is ULTRA easy to aim, and very effective when you splat it in someones face as they are then distracted by the shake and giant cloud of black smoke. 2 ML in torso is a given.

I used 3 triggers, LBX on 1, ml on 2, streaks on three. I had a 3 button mouse this worked well on. Never run straight on to your foe. Strafe at an angle, dont be afraid to turn back and forth a bit. best to show your left arm to them, and twist to get the shots off with right arm. Streaks dont care if your torso crosshairs line up. Once you get a measure of the foe's attacks, you can chance an exposure of full torso to fire the ML into them too. Prior to this, it is best to only partially turn to get the arm reticle on them to keep streak lock and fire LBX into their face.

With the speed, it is really easy to get confident and get in front of your team. You are a 50 ton mech. Do not get in front of your team. DO not fret about breaking a fight off to retreat if your foe gets buddies to help him. Use the speed to respond to skirmishes, if you can assist in a timely manner against a harder target, it saves a lot on your teams armor when you add another mechs focus fire to take the enemy down.

My AL I went XL, but that was to load up on heavy laser weapons and PPC. Now with ghost heat, I havent actually run the thing since. I expect I would have to rework the whole loadout. Probably back toStd. and smaller lasers.

My A I had a std, but put LRM's on it instead of streaks, and a single AC2. Then I hung out in back and support fire, roughly 5-600M was optimal. followed my Fatlas pal into a fight, hung back around 400M from him, blasted whatever he was getting shot by.

The Wang is fantastic. I run std on mine, but XL would also be fine. Wang teaches you about torso twist and shield arms very quickly. You must protect your precious. All the filthy hobbitses will want to takes it, but you must'nt lets them!

[Autobot9000]

It's not just viable, it's one of the best builds I would say. I run my CN9-D with LBX10, 2ML, 2SSRM2 and a 325XL, endo+ferro, 1 ton streak ammo and 3 tons LBX ammo. You have to protect your right arm, but you are super fast and you have plenty of ammo for the LBX. For me this is one of the most satisfying medium mech builds. I upgraded the engine to the XL325 (from a XL300) since the SRM4s, that I used to have don't work with hit reg issues, hence a faster engine and SSRMs. This mech can hunt lights (really puts the scare on them) and can support heavier team mates on taking their opponents down (slamming LB rounds in the rear or front CT).

[Himlios]

this is the build that I use:
CN9-D

build for long range, have been able to do a lot of damage with this.

[POOTYTANGASAUR]

I run my yen-lo with an xl 300, ams(1 ton obvi), 2 med lasers, ac20 (4 tons), 10 dhs, endo, max armor except one point off each leg, and i survive down to 13%.

[Fauxwise]

I run something similar to Pootytangasaur. One 300 XL, 2 medium pulse lasers, 1 lb-10x (30 shells), 1 LRM-10 with AFCS (18 salvos), 10 DHS, endo steel, ferro fibrous armor. I may have left out some details. Due to using both ES and FF this mech has zero slots left open.

Edited by Fauxwise, 21 December 2013 - 05:16 PM.

[MungFuSensei]

Waaaay back in early closed beta days, I used to run this.

Slow, vulnerable, weak on ammo, yet wicked when it worked. Some matches I'd die barely getting a shot off. Other matches I'd walk away with 800 damage and 5 kills. I didn't use the Gauss Rifle to snipe, but more the chop off any parts missing armor while I was at mid range. Streaks were a nightmare back then, as well, so between them and the gauss, it was easy to core people quickly. Also I used it very much as a team player, so the speed and XL were less of an issue. This mech wouldn't work anywhere near as well today. I might just have to dig out the old Cent-A (which I think is the best of all the variants), and see if I could work out something similar.

But I think one point stands out: If you play as a support mech, the XL doesn't really hinder you. No one's gunning for your side torso when they have an atlas in their face.

[Buckminster]

MungFuSensei, on 04 January 2014 - 01:06 AM, said:

Waaaay back in early closed beta days, I used to run this.

Slow, vulnerable, weak on ammo, yet wicked when it worked. Some matches I'd die barely getting a shot off. Other matches I'd walk away with 800 damage and 5 kills. I didn't use the Gauss Rifle to snipe, but more the chop off any parts missing armor while I was at mid range. Streaks were a nightmare back then, as well, so between them and the gauss, it was easy to core people quickly. Also I used it very much as a team player, so the speed and XL were less of an issue. This mech wouldn't work anywhere near as well today. I might just have to dig out the old Cent-A (which I think is the best of all the variants), and see if I could work out something similar.

But I think one point stands out: If you play as a support mech, the XL doesn't really hinder you. No one's gunning for your side torso when they have an atlas in their face.

Gauss and streaks may not be the insta-kill machine it used to be, but it's still fairly effective. I run a gauss and 4 SSRM Shadow Hawk, and it doubles the damage output of my other two Hawks.

[Hawk819]

PenitentTangent, on 11 October 2013 - 04:26 AM, said:

Don't run an XL in a cent ever. The centurion has few advantages over other mediums. One of the few is it's zombie design. The CT is really small and side torsos are large. Once your sides are gone, Any damage that hits side torsos is halved and transferred to CT. The cent's survive ability is off the charts with a standard engine.

Yep. Unless, of course, as a player, you want to. XL engines are good for two things: Less weight and Mo0re Speed, but P.T. has it right. Now if you want to re-create Yen-Lo-Wang 2, then the CN9-D variant is your Zombie Mech, however, and I'm afraid that you'll utilize an XL for this get up. Also consider Ferro Fibrous, it'll allow for better survivability. Just saying. I agree with P.T. Cents are monsters with the Standard engine.