16 replies to this topic

[exassin]

Hi there ~ I had been piloting the Jagermech for a long time and would now seek to pilot an Assault class. I had a Viktor before but I find it quite boring ? as in the builds do not vary much. So... I hope to look for another mech that are fun and interesting to play with. Currently I had Highlander in mind but not sure which variant to get.

Edited by exassin, 16 November 2013 - 10:33 AM.

[Wintersdark]

Jack of all trades, not traits.

The highlander has basically the same options as the Victor, but with more tonnage and less speed. IMHO the Victor is actually more flexible as you can vary between high speed and more weaponry, whereas the highlander is going to need a large engine no matter what.

So, honestly I'd call the Victor a jack of all trades, if anything.

Stalkers are reasonably flexible, and have a great hero option in the misery. You can go LRM boat, sniper, brawler, etc. But, no jump jet option. Lots of great builds though.

[Appogee]

Check out Atlases, they are quite flexible given all the tons on offer. Plus, there's the ECM variant (D-DC).

[Jonathan Paine]

Really hard to go wrong with the Victor! However, the Highlander does a better missile boat than the Victor. If you are willing to give up on speed and jump jets, the Atlas can both use balanced load outs as well as boat weapons.

[p8ragon]

Highlander! Faster than any atlas + has jumpjets

[St4LkeRxF]

HGN is great mech but it have all good hardpoints on right side so if you lose that side you are done (unless you buy HM).If you compare it to Victor they can both have similar builds (HGN can be great LRM boat while Victor can't), and as HGN pilot i must admit that Victor (also Victor is more heavy than assault in my eyes) is better because it is much faster, agile and have better hardpoints.

From other assaults Atlas is always great choice (but it does get stuck almost every 5 seconds), Awesome and Stalker are good but i feel they are underpowered atm.

[FireSlade]

If you want a jack of all trades mech that would be the Highlander. It does heavy ballistics, energy, LRM, SRM JJs, just about the same armor as an Atlas, and thanks to it being XL friendly reasonably fast for something so heavily armed.
Variants

• HGN-732: Basically, it is the free Heavy Metal version with slightly worse hard point locations.
  
• HGN-733: The LRM missile boat of the group.
  
• HGN-733C: The only one able to carry an AC20.
  
• HGN-733P: Same as the 733C but removes the ballistic hard points for 2 energy ones making it an energy boat.
  
• HGN-HM: My personal favorite mech besides my Ilya Muromets. It is a beast while fighting and plays music when you kill someone. It also gives a 30% C-Bill boost which is added before premium time giving you a nice payout. I usually get 100,000 - 180,000 for a loss, 200,000 - 250,000 for a win with my heroes + premium time.

My build for HGN-HM http://mwo.smurfy-ne...5d73f48d1a76d0d just bewarned that the MPLs will cause you to run a little hot.
If you hate the Gauss Rifle then you can swap it for twin AC5s and 4 tons ammo. http://mwo.smurfy-ne...24aee509a93f4ae

[zudukai]

VTR>HGN>AS7>STK>AWS

[MrRaaaager]

Ive played a Stalker and a Highlander 733c and I must say I really enjoy the Highlander.

AC 20
SRM 6 x3
Med Laser x2
300 STD Engine
15 DHS
1 JJ

Alpha strikes most lights, and 3-4 volleys will CT damn near any mech short of assaults. Lacks long range punch, but I prefer too get up close.

And Imo Highlander > Stalker

[Victor Morson]

You probably had one of the lesser Victors. However, I'd recommend you pick up the Highlander. They are all great, and will give you ballistics, energy and missiles with jumping capability. That's about as jack as all trades as you'll get!

[exassin]

@Wintersdark - Lolz my bad. Pardon me for the grammatical error. XP

@Viktor Morson - Aye I may had the lesser Viktor. It's the 9S variant. Load it with AC20 , 2 SSRMs and 2 ML. But that is pretty much the loadout I will go for all the time. I am looking for some mechs that are able to switch between battle viable loadouts somewhat like the Jagermechs.

Yea currently have my eyes on Highlanders and from the forums I had found out that most prefer the 733c variant. Would go for Stalker if its torso turns faster. XP

[Bront]

I love my victors, but yes, the 9S and 9B can play similarly unless you make use of the 9B's 3 Balistic points. The 9K plays a bit differently than the other two, but not by a lot.

Other options:
Stalkers: Generally pretty slow compared to Victors, but durrable, work best with a standard engine (275 or 300 in general), tend to run hot, but can provide a variety of play depending on the models you get. The 3F is the best all around due to it's better torso twist and good hardpoints, the 3H is the high volume missile boat with 20 missile tubes in the arm missile hardpoints, the 4N is lacking (fewest hardpoints, no builds you can't do on another Stalker, including the 3F), the 5M has some zombie potential with a CT Energy point and has an extra 6 tube torso missile slot for LRM/SRM/SSRM boating fun, and the 5S has dual AMS and the same hardpoints as the 3F, making it a good long range support mech and LRM cover fire mech. Pretty flexable, but no balistics other than the Misery hero stalker (which is a good mech).

Highlanders: The Victor's big brother with a few more options due to larger tube missile launchers and more tonnage. Most of the non-hero variants have most of their direct fire weapons on one side. Very popular as jump-snipers.

Atlas - The DDC is king, the others are ok, but not a huge variety. D, DDC, and RS are very similar, with simply moving around and adding or subtracting a hardpoint or two. DDC gets ECM, K has dual AMS but is missing hard points compared to the others (only Atlas with 1 missile hardpoint, and only has 1 balistic like the RS). Boar's Head isn;t that exciting for a hero, having 2 more energy hardpoints in the arms than the RS (3 per arm vs 2), but only has the 1 balistic and 1 missile, so it's mostly an energy or bust mech. Don't get me wrong, none of them are bad, but the DDC's ECM is a HUGE advantage.

Battlemaster - the 1S is a missile build that offers some flexability (SRM boat with high energy hardpoints, or LRM boat with lots of missiles spread out over the mech. The 1D offers some fun Dakka builds with suplimental energy points, and the 1G has a little bit of everything, including 7 energy hardpoints, most of which are high mounted. Since the chasis is XL friendly, there's plenty of room to play around with. Won't be available outside of the phoenix package till January.

Awesomes - Plenty of variety, but wait and see how the hit-boxes work out with the fix.

Edited by Bront, 19 November 2013 - 01:18 PM.

[NRP]

When I'm sad, the Heavy Metal's kill music makes me happy.

[Breeze]

exassin, on 17 November 2013 - 03:12 AM, said:

@Wintersdark - Lolz my bad. Pardon me for the grammatical error. XP

@Viktor Morson - Aye I may had the lesser Viktor. It's the 9S variant. Load it with AC20 , 2 SSRMs and 2 ML. But that is pretty much the loadout I will go for all the time. I am looking for some mechs that are able to switch between battle viable loadouts somewhat like the Jagermechs.

Yea currently have my eyes on Highlanders and from the forums I had found out that most prefer the 733c variant. Would go for Stalker if its torso turns faster. XP

I feel that running 2 SSRMs on a Victor is a little underpowered. My current build on a 9K has a XL340, AC20, 2x MPLs and SRM16 (6+6+4) and (almost) max armour. It's pretty hardy, speedy and decent damage output.

[DONTOR]

p8ragon, on 16 November 2013 - 12:21 PM, said:

Highlander! Faster than any atlas + has jumpjets

Hmmm except not faster than any atlas... BH. JJs though obviously.

[Alaskan Nobody]

NRP, on 19 November 2013 - 01:35 PM, said:

When I'm sad, the Heavy Metal's kill music makes me happy.

Even when you are the kill?

[Bront]

Breeze, on 19 November 2013 - 02:08 PM, said:

I feel that running 2 SSRMs on a Victor is a little underpowered. My current build on a 9K has a XL340, AC20, 2x MPLs and SRM16 (6+6+4) and (almost) max armour. It's pretty hardy, speedy and decent damage output.

That would be a 9S build. The 9K is the gauss one and can't mount an AC20.