53 replies to this topic

[Aym]

Wish I could spend 250 MC to play in your Elo bracket for a day instead of getting premium time, would be MUCH MUCH more valuable!

[Phobic Wraith]

As primarily a hunchback pilot, it gives me great joy to hear of your plight, however, there are huge tradeoffs for the wicked AC 20 (or equivalent) doing 90kph.
Most hunchie pilots -myself included- strip the rear armor from the hunch torso to about nothing in a desperate attempt to give the huge "front" torso hitbox some more durability. That means if you can aim for the tiny spot just beneath the cannon on the rear, you can take the whole thing out VERY quickly. I remember a guassapult hit me there on terra therma from across the volcano as I was running away. I had 100% health, or very nearly to it, and my cannon was gone. Just like that. The other thing to remember is that ammo is stored in legs. And on a 50 ton mech carrying more firepower than many heavies, that often means leg armor in the low 20's. An east shot for anyone, and if you really want to be devious, aim for the left leg. Ammo is consumed from the right to the left and odds are pretty good that any ammo remaining will be there.

I kinda feel like a traitor now... oh well, we pilot hunchbacks because we have a mental problem, not because they're better than anything else we could pilot. So we'll be okay.

Edited by Phobic Wraith, 13 October 2013 - 05:39 PM.

[Silentium]

I used to really dig the 4SP, until......well, i'm not going to go into that.

[Mcchuggernaut]

Aym, on 13 October 2013 - 05:20 PM, said:

Wish I could spend 250 MC to play in your Elo bracket for a day instead of getting premium time, would be MUCH MUCH more valuable!

LOL, Hey I'm not actually bad, just spent a long time underestimating Hunchbacks until enough of them taught me the error of my ways. Got a 3.02 K/D in one of the two mechs I currently own, and a 2.58 in the other (I sold the others to pay for new ones and modules). Odd that it took me so long to learn exactly what was going on with them, but everyone makes a stupid assumption or mistake once in a while. Mine was underestimating the Hunchback and thinking it's size=its firepower and armor.

Edited by Mcchuggernaut, 13 October 2013 - 05:45 PM.

[Mcchuggernaut]

Phobic Wraith, on 13 October 2013 - 05:32 PM, said:

I kinda feel like a traitor now... oh well, we pilot hunchbacks because we have a mental problem, not because they're better than anything else we could pilot. So we'll be okay.

Fear not: most players don't look at the forums, and I am sure plenty of people will yet fall for the tricky size of the Hunchback.

[Aym]

Mcchuggernaut, on 13 October 2013 - 05:44 PM, said:

LOL, Hey I'm not actually bad, just spent a long time underestimating Hunchbacks until enough of them taught me the error of my ways. Got a 3.02 K/D in one of the two mechs I currently own, and a 2.58 in the other (I sold the others to pay for new ones and modules). Odd that it took me so long to learn exactly what was going on with them, but everyone makes a stupid assumption or mistake once in a while. Mine was underestimating the Hunchback and thinking it's size=its firepower and armor.

Your K/D seems out of proportion to your understanding of just how weak hunchbacks are, especially compared to centurions, which may be evidence that you haven't risen to your appropriate Elo level yet. I am REALLY not trying to be insulting, just blunt. I wish, VERY MUCH, that I could trade my Founder's Hunch for something useful.

[Mcchuggernaut]

Aym, on 13 October 2013 - 06:21 PM, said:

Your K/D seems out of proportion to your understanding of just how weak hunchbacks are, especially compared to centurions, which may be evidence that you haven't risen to your appropriate Elo level yet. I am REALLY not trying to be insulting, just blunt. I wish, VERY MUCH, that I could trade my Founder's Hunch for something useful.

Not lyin'. Here's my stats. I had a couple bad games tonight and my Atlas D-DC stats dropped a few points, but you get the picture. Guess I'm just weird. Haha.

http://postimg.org/image/zdtqubc8r/

Edited by Mcchuggernaut, 13 October 2013 - 08:04 PM.

[Roland]

Mcchuggernaut, on 13 October 2013 - 04:17 PM, said:

Not at all. I underestimated Hunchbacks and got killed enough times that I looked at why they seemed so damn tough today, and saw they were basically a half-scale Centurion. It got me thinking.

Hunchbacks are killing your assault mech?
That is hilariously awesome.

[Krivvan]

Mcchuggernaut, on 13 October 2013 - 08:04 PM, said:

Not lyin'. Here's my stats. I had a couple bad games tonight and my Atlas D-DC stats dropped a few points, but you get the picture. Guess I'm just weird. Haha.

http://postimg.org/image/zdtqubc8r/

I had a 60 k/d when Elo was first introduced. I'm not trying to brag, but the game is different when facing experienced players versus new players. Granted, it was in the days of massive lagshield, but it quickly dropped from 60 to 3 when I reached my proper place.

Great players can excel in pretty much any mech (just take a look at the Steel Jag stream). That does not mean that mech is good.

In any case, when I see a Hunchback in my Jenner I consider my Jenner to have the inherent combat advantage almost no matter the loadout or situation. That's saying something.

Edited by Krivvan, 13 October 2013 - 08:15 PM.

[Kaspirikay]

oh god i love shooting at hunchbacks. they have been my punching bag of choice since the start of open beta

Edited by Kaspirikay, 13 October 2013 - 08:11 PM.

[Mcchuggernaut]

Roland, on 13 October 2013 - 08:08 PM, said:

Hunchbacks are killing your assault mech?
That is hilariously awesome.

Haha, yeah a few times. I guess the joke's on me. Like I said, I was treating them like lightly armored scout mechs instead of small Centurions. I kept getting surprised that two alphas from an Atlas didn't mess them up more, and that they could hit back as hard as they can.

[Krivvan]

Mcchuggernaut, on 13 October 2013 - 08:15 PM, said:

Haha, yeah a few times. I guess the joke's on me. Like I said, I was treating them like lightly armored scout mechs instead of small Centurions. I kept getting surprised that two alphas from an Atlas didn't mess them up more, and that they could hit back as hard as they can.

It takes 1-2 alphas to tear off a Hunchback's hunch. It even only takes a few alphas for a light to do it. This immediately makes the 4P, 4G, and whatever that single missile launcher hunchback is pretty unviable. The 4SP is the best of the lot, but it just doesn't do anything that another better mech can't.

And Hunchbacks are quite slow. It'd be a different story if they didn't have their engine cap, but they're far too slow to be a good harasser or scout mech.

Centurions are actually durable, meaning they can actually stand up for a while against heavier mechs and in a brawl.

Edited by Krivvan, 13 October 2013 - 08:18 PM.

[Bagheera]

This is my new favorite thread.

[Taemien]

I'm sensing a.. ooh there it is...

[Mcchuggernaut]

Taemien, on 13 October 2013 - 10:07 PM, said:

I'm sensing a.. ooh there it is...

Nope, just made a stupid mistake. But as long as I learned something, and you were amused, I guess it's a win-win?

Edited by Mcchuggernaut, 13 October 2013 - 10:24 PM.

[Johnny Reb]

Mcchuggernaut, on 13 October 2013 - 04:17 PM, said:

Not at all. I underestimated Hunchbacks and got killed enough times that I looked at why they seemed so damn tough today, and saw they were basically a half-scale Centurion. It got me thinking.

Hunchies were a force before engine caps going 130+kph with 9 small lasers.

[BUDFORCE]

The 4SP should have JJ's.

[Mcchuggernaut]

So, hearing what people have to say after having a good joke at my expense (I can handle it, this is the interwebs. You should expect that.), should the Hunchback have a speed per engine-size buff? A size increase? Should most mediums be smaller? Jump jet capability? Or, should it just be left alone?

Note: I'm going to bed. I won't be replying for a while. Like 8 hours.

Edited by Mcchuggernaut, 13 October 2013 - 10:45 PM.

[Dago Red]

Most mediums should be smaller with the Hunchback being about right to just a tad too big. If I were going to ask for a buff to them it would maybe be a more favorable multiplier for speed to engine weight.

Sad to see one more person realize their mistake here though. As an exclusively hunch pilot finding people who ignore me for another target is like christmas morning. By the time they realize that mistake usually half their mech's gone. This is why we tend to lurk near the fatties what with them being big juicy targets for the enemy.

[POWR]

Dago Red, on 13 October 2013 - 11:38 PM, said:

Most mediums should be smaller with the Hunchback being about right to just a tad too big. If I were going to ask for a buff to them it would maybe be a more favorable multiplier for speed to engine weight.

Sad to see one more person realize their mistake here though. As an exclusively hunch pilot finding people who ignore me for another target is like christmas morning. By the time they realize that mistake usually half their mech's gone. This is why we tend to lurk near the fatties what with them being big juicy targets for the enemy.

Yep. After whatever it is that made SRMs weird, I have been playing my 4P a bunch more, and with the upped hit registration, lasers are now deadly as hell tweaked things a bit, and will have to do some more tweaking to it, maybe install that 275 engine, and actually get around to buying some of those nice modules that I never seem to really have enough C-Bills to spend on. If I manage to not act greedy or foolish and hang back, hogging cover, always presenting the left side to any incoming fire.. man, those 30 pinpoint damage really carve up targets. I love the "parking basement" location on Crimson Strait. Hide behind those pillars, no problem

My 4SP has been retrofitted with a 275 and a AMS with 1 ton of ammo. Have been considering dropping that and half a ton of armor for a Artemis, since it seems Art has become rather more useful than it once was.

The other mediums are way too big, really, compared to the HBK. But yeah, piloting the HBK is great fun, but you're probably kinda crazy for doing it.