59 replies to this topic

[Koniving]

Most SRMs fired tend not to detect too well. In the very last video above I happened to be mentioning that. After the recent patches it's improved but it is still awful. Besides the 4J's hunch is too large to be brawling with. It's got the biggest hunch of all.

[Damoadius]

Each time im finally convinced Ive made a decent build, this happens Ive mentioned this in my other posts. Being a new player im still learning the ins and outs. Learning not to trust logic, but the stats and evidence i see infront of me.

Ad still getting it messed up :/

HBK-4J - Revised w/SSRMs... Im gonna roll that and see how i go. Like ive said, not fussed on missles. So hopefully this lil guy can win me over.

Cheers again guys. Happy hunting.

[Wrenchfarm]

Mediums are a little out of sorts right now, getting outclassed by Heavies in some pretty significant ways (just about as fast, MUCH more armour and firepower).

That said, the Hunch is still a great workhorse.

I particularly love the HBK-4P. 8 MLAS (6 in hunch, 2 in the arms) with 18 DHS and a big old 275STD engine is VERY nice. The hunch is a 30 damage pinpoint strike every 3 seconds. You can wreak nightmarish levels of damage by sneaking around an Assault mech and melting his back armour in one quick burst. Then you just eat the insides. With the 275, you'll be manoeuvrable to do it.

It does run hot. Make sure to never activate the ghost heat by firing the hunch and arms too fast and it's probably wise to pack a coolant mod. Sucks to have to pay a fun tax, but it can be a life save on maps like Therma.

Ballistics are the most reliable and potent weapons in the game right now. The AC20 hunch will never go completely out of style, even if the BlackJack can do it very well, with jets and vertical arm aiming to boot. That said, I highly recommend sticking with the AC20, it just gives the most bang for the buck. AC10 is too heavy to be worth it, Guass will blow you up, and the HBK-G doesn't have enough tonnage to mass AC2s and AC5s like the Shaq or Jager. I suppose you could try a crit-seeker kind of thing with an LBX and 2 MGs thought.

I used to recommend the 4SP to every new pilot. A simple powerful killer that made an excellent wingman to any Atlas. Sadly those days are over. The hit detection issues with SRMs laid the old beauty low. There is no point in bringing weapons that don't do any damage when you hit with them, the most frustrating thing in the world.

I'm starting to wonder if I've been hit with the SRM issues more than other people. Some say it's only occasionally noticeable, or that they NEVER experience it. I used to run a lot of SRM based builds and have found in the past few months they are completely unplayable. I wonder if my super low ping actually exasperates the issue. So you may have more luck with them than me, but I'm still not going to recommend a mech that is dependant on a weapon that only works when it wants to.

The HBK-J is unfortunately junk. Not enough tonnage or missile tubes to lurm properly. I'd skip it.

[Sephlock]

Are you shooting for variety, or what?

If you just want to be successful, and you've been successful with Jenners, just pick the Cicada.

The loadouts are generally terrible (two missile tubes for each launcher on the X-5? Seriously?) But the Cicada is basically a giant, flightless Jenner.

[Wrenchfarm]

Sephlock, on 22 November 2013 - 12:09 AM, said:

Are you shooting for variety, or what?

If you just want to be successful, and you've been successful with Jenners, just pick the Cicada.

The loadouts are generally terrible (two missile tubes for each launcher on the X-5? Seriously?) But the Cicada is basically a giant, flightless Jenner.

I'm not sure that's a great sales pitch. "It's just like the thing you've been driving, but worse!"

[zagibu]

This was the best 4P build I could come up with: 9 MLas Of course, you can't alpha with it multiple times, but once is enough if you get behind something, and otherwise, I fire the lasers in triplets (2x3 in the hunch, arms and head together). I've also bound both arms on a key, in case you have to aim up or down.

Here is an alternate version: 2LLas, 4MLas It is slower, hotter and has slightly less armor, but better range and more damage after losing the hunch. You can also switch the 3 MLas in the hunch with 6 SLas, if you prefer that.

The 4SP can do a similar build as the one above, but with more survivability: 2LLas, 3MLas

Edited by zagibu, 22 November 2013 - 04:21 AM.

[Sephlock]

Wrenchfarm, on 22 November 2013 - 02:34 AM, said:

I'm not sure that's a great sales pitch. "It's just like the thing you've been driving, but worse!"

It worked for Ghost Heat. And LRMs. And C-bill rewards. And the upcoming Artemis changes.

[Blackwolf 1 1]

I'm not a dedicated hunch pilot, but I've found some really good success with them.

At this point I've only got 1 in the hangar these days, the 4SP. On it, I run this build. http://mwo.smurfy-ne...echlab#modified
It's got a decent amount of firepower for a medium, with the 5ml and dual SRM6's, and it's pretty fast with a 250 engine. Skimp on some armor in a couple places and you can cram on 6 DHS which keeps it pretty cool on all but the hottest maps. Going with a standard engine rather than an XL gives you a little more staying power each match. Artemis tightens the missle spread so pesky lights don't stick around long. I've never had much trouble with missle hit detection in it, and I usually do a good amount of damage in it. The key to using it is as a support brawler for a bigger mech. Stick around your big friends and you can help them pull down anything

My dad has a founders Hunchback, the 4G, and had a lot of success running a crit seeker version, something like this I'm pretty sure. http://mwo.smurfy-ne...echlab#modified
It doesn't have the firepower that some other builds do, but it runs cool and shreds internals, and it's fast enough to chase down some slower lights once it's got speed tweak.

When we run both of these builds together we can bring down several enemies each. We usually bring down an entire lance with just us fighting, but we have bad luck just like everyone else. The key to playing either of these builds is to not go one on one with anything heavier than you. Hope these builds help out!

[Prezimonto]

If you want a medium mech with an AC20 your options are: Shadowhawk>Blackjack>YenLoWang>Hunchback.

Shadowhawk, despite it's size is the best of the bunch and is capable of some amazing play.
The Blackjack isn't my cup of tea, but the current champion blackjack can eat people alive if you're sneaky. JJ and a small profile means you'll often be ignored while dishing the hurt.
The Wang can be an effective mech, but much like the hunchie people know to blow off that right arm if you've got an AC20, it's harder to do to a good wang pilot that a good hunchie pilot and the cent still zombies well.
The hunchie is the dog of the bunch. Not quite fast enough, or JJ, to be manuverable enough to keep up with the Shadowhawk or Blackjack and not able to take enough punshiment compared to a cent. The massive side torso is a huge bullseye for better players.

It's a good mech for beginners because it's cheap, as it doesn't benefit greatly from an XL-engine and it's got a relatively low cost entry point all around, however it doesn't scale well into harder levels of play.

[Victor Morson]

Short Answer: Yes.

Long Answer: Mostly because you will regret not buying a Shadow Hawk instead.

The Hunchback isn't the worst pugging mech but it's way too slow to be taken seriously, leaving it outclassed totally by the Centurion and Hawk.

Now if they release a hero Hunchie with a 400xl-ish engine mount and a less pronounced hunch (like the 4SP) we'd be talking.

[Burning Chrome]

The HBK series is well worth the investment, IMHO.

It was the one I chose for my Founder's mech.

Had an absolute blast driving an HBK-4J (3ML RT, 1 SL HD, 2 LRM-10 w/Artemis and 5 tons of ammo, BAP).

I'm hoping they add the HBK-4N some day and I'm thinking about trying a HBK-4H just for the hell of it.

Each variant performs its role very well. Success, as with any mech depends on the pilot and the circumstances of the battlefield.

One of the better looking in game models as well.

[TheCaptainJZ]

I no longer own any hunchbacks because I didn't want to buy more mechbays at the time. I really enjoyed the 4sp at the time though, but it seemed to perform worse after elo and metas changed and i didn't want to spend money on bays at the time. I might rebuy the chassis later and try it out again.

If you like lights, try the blackjack 1-x. if you upgrade the engine you can go 100+ kph with a laser boat. I like weaving in and out of enemies attacking with 6 med lasers. it can shred armor easily so long as you are not focused on. being only 45 tons, the armor is weaker, but it is agile. other variants have jump jets which is great in canyon networks.

[N a p e s]

All this Hunchback talk has put me in the mood to rebuy a 4G which I got rid of for no apparent reason.

[Deathsani]

The 4sp lacks the flair of most mechs, but it is VERY durable. Decent speed and good layout mean that it can get into and out of tough situations while still being able to go toe to toe with certain heavies and assaults. The only downside is a lack of jumpjets.

But if you like symmetry it's the way to go.

[Charons Little Helper]

Terciel1976, on 30 October 2013 - 04:10 PM, said:

So why the 4G over the 4H? It seems like if your plan is to run an AC/20 the add'l two energy hardpoints would be more useful than the other two ballistic hardpoints. Or is three away from the hunch all you can practically use? If that's the case, the 4G does provide more ballistic options.

S

4H is my favorite. I sold off my 4G in favor of it.

MisterPlanetarian, on 30 October 2013 - 01:18 PM, said:

The hunchie is pretty awesome with it's torso twist. Just remember, even an 82kph AC20 Hunchie is a pretty easy target to hit for a skilled marksman so make sure you use that torso twist to keep your AC20 safe.

You do need to use torso twist - but why are you only going 82kph? Right about that speed is when people just start to miss you. You should be going faster.

Of the 3 hunchbacks I still use (I'll use my 4sp more once SRMs are fixed) the slowest of them (4H) goes 92.7 kph with speed tweak. Hunchbacks need to take advantage of their compactness - the faster you go the less you're hit. Also - even when they do hit you - going that fast makes it harder for people to focus damage on your hunch.

Edited by Charons Little Helper, 22 November 2013 - 02:17 PM.

[TercieI]

Charons Little Helper, on 22 November 2013 - 02:17 PM, said:

4H is my favorite. I sold off my 4G in favor of it.

What are the advantages of the 4H? Why do you prefer it?

(Very serious question, Hunchies are 1-2 chassis away for me and I'm debating between the two)

[Wrenchfarm]

Terciel1976, on 22 November 2013 - 02:56 PM, said:

What are the advantages of the 4H? Why do you prefer it?

(Very serious question, Hunchies are 1-2 chassis away for me and I'm debating between the two)

The 4H has a single ballistic hardpoint while stuffing 2 extra lasers in the hip for awesome cowboy style gun slinging in addition to the usual arms and head slots. The 4G is more ballistic-centric, packing 3 ballistic hardpoints in the shoulder and a paltry 3 laser hardpoints on the arms and head.

However, since the Hunchie is a mere-50 tonner, it usually doesn't have to weight to pack more than one large ballistic. So unless you are bound and determined to run MGs with your AC20 or try and "boat" a pair of AC2s like some dime-store Jager, you're likely better off going with the 4H and the extra laser points.

Or not. If you plan on running an AC20 you'll have trouble finding the weight for them as it is, and you'll certainly be running it hot if you try to use 4-5 MLAS and an AC20 with no additional heatsinks. But of course, at least that model will let you switch to a energy loadout if you find ballistics just aren't right for you.

Personally, I ran the 4G and enjoyed it the way Blake intended - with a big ol' AC20. But if you want more versatility, the 4H is a decent option.

[TercieI]

Wrenchfarm, on 22 November 2013 - 03:33 PM, said:

Or not. If you plan on running an AC20 you'll have trouble finding the weight for them as it is, and you'll certainly be running it hot if you try to use 4-5 MLAS and an AC20 with no additional heatsinks. But of course, at least that model will let you switch to a energy loadout if you find ballistics just aren't right for you.

This is why I'm struggling to see a distinction. Once you have the 20, it's hard to find much more weight for anything else on either one.

[zagibu]

The 4G has a slightly larger hunch. If you run a single ballistic build, this makes the 4H a little bit better IMO.

[Koniving]

I can agree with this. The 4H is ideal for a single ballistic. But if you run 2 MGs as opposed to the H's 2 RT lasers... you're better off with the G. It really depends. Neat, though, is you can actually ditch ballistics with the H and run it just like a 4P. Nothing says you can't load in 2 or 3 PPCs into the H instead.

Just remember the golden rule: 46 RT front armor, 2 RT rear armor. You'll find that Hunch can survive more abuse than even a Shadowhawk's side torso. Don't let little guys get behind you (Locust and Jenner can hit the "rear torso" hitbox. Spiders, Ravens and larger mechs will probably never make that shot). Still, don't get overconfident.

Edited by Koniving, 24 November 2013 - 09:34 AM.