51 replies to this topic

[Hex Pallett]

I had to share this. I was just wondering how the good ol' 9M would perform under the current meta, and this was the first game.

It was ridiculously satisfying.



Seriously, if this does not become a Champion, I'm gonna mail some dead roses to PGI.

Build: XL380, Endo-Steel, 20DHS, 3xPPC, 3xML. Ghost heat? I don't even care. I have senses of a ninja and ghosts are afraid of ninjas.


EDIT: Since that gameplay was on a normal-heat map, which makes it not legit, here's Caustic Valley:

Edited by Helmstif, 07 December 2013 - 03:50 PM.

[NRP]

What engine and how many DHS?

I'm currently running an XL380 with 2 PPCs (torsos), an LPL (arm), and 3 MLs. I think I've got around 20 DHS or so.

[InKerenskyWeTrust]

I like it. Might just have to try a PPC M9, I prefer my 4 LL's though.

[Op4blushift]

I'm pretty sure this is basically the exact build you posted in that Ultimate Awesome thread. Only thing I change is put an ER PPC in the arm instead of a regular. Might seem a little hot,but it really helps to have it when things get under 90m (plus sniping things at range). But yeah, this is basically THE build I use for my 9M these days, haven't really bothered with anything else.

[Hex Pallett]

Op4blushift, on 06 December 2013 - 08:45 PM, said:

I'm pretty sure this is basically the exact build you posted in that Ultimate Awesome thread. Only thing I change is put an ER PPC in the arm instead of a regular.

Here's the dilemma: do I want a lower ghost heat value in order to be able to fire all three PPCs together? Or do I want an ERPPC in hand to give myself a boost over CQB situation, and immediately implode when I Alpha Strike? Because ghost heat is gonna be calculated with ERPPC value.

I chose the former. After all I still have three MLas for defense within 90m, and it doesn't take much for me to maintain distance with this kind of speed.

[aniviron]

If you like this build, you're going to love this variant: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...4ec421dd81e1913

I ran this for a month or so this summer, before the Ghost Heatening. It was a pretty solid build, but I wound up switching back to the 3xllas srm14 build because I just felt that this didn't take good enough advantage of the XL380. It's rare that I find myself needing to switch PPC locations at almost 90kph. But I really suggest you try the SSRMs. They add a little damage for almost no heat at 100-250m, and at at under 90m, no good light is going to run from your 3 mlas, but you can chase most lights off with 3ssrm2.

I gave this build another try while desperately searching for ways to make my 9M playable again after ghost heat, and just didn't care for it. Hitreg is still dodgy enough that a single missed alpha is 0 damage for half your heat, or more on a hot map; add in the slower PPC projectile speed and the nerf to damage below 90m, and I don't think this build is that great anymore. Finally, with the hitbox tweaks to the Awesome, your CT is still big, but at least the 8-series mechs saw some amount of improvement; I'm almost tempted to call the 9M a death trap now.

The build is functional, but the fact that 491 damage is a good game for it when nobody was really shooting at you should tell you something.

[Hex Pallett]

Oh boi all these pessimists...gonna record another session just to see how it works.

EDIT:



Was tired and missed quite a few shots, but ended up with more damage than the previous vid...

Edited by Helmstif, 07 December 2013 - 01:07 AM.

[aniviron]

Helmstif, on 06 December 2013 - 10:37 PM, said:

Oh boi all these pessimists...gonna record another session just to see how it works.

EDIT: Uploading....

I'm not being pessemistic just to rain on your parade or something. I'm pretty good in an Awesome, I'm not just talking out my posterior here. I have run both the exact build you're running as well as a very similar one that I linked above; like I said, both are ok builds, but really, the only reason I would endorse them comes more from a dearth of good builds for the 9M than because I think they're incredibly solid tools to help you win games.

I'm happy that you won a game with pretty ok damage, and I will be twice as happy for you once you win a second one, but I don't really think that compares to a month of experience running these builds. If they work for you, that's great, and you should keep using them. I was just stating that I'm not terribly keen on them, and think there are much better options should PGI ever choose to give us a champion Awesome, even for the 9M.

[BP Raven]

I ran the OP exact build through the summer, including ghost heat with no issues. what killed the build for me was the PPC heat increase, and the removal of sub 90m damage. With the hitbox changes i've switched to a standard engine laser boat, which is quite tanky if you work at it, but still dies easy if you don't.

I also used to run 3PPC 3SSRM but went to 3 MLas as the 15 pinpoint was much more useful to me, and thatwas when streaks homed in on CTs.

[VIPER2207]

that's pretty much the build i run on my 9M
AWS-9M 'Undertaker'
same weapons, but a XL350 four your 380, and 2 more heatsinks. i set up my weapons groups slightly different, firing the PPCs on chainfire primary and having another group for alpha strike them.

i don't have a video at the moment, just the end-of-round-screen

[NRP]

The reason I run an LPL instead of a 3rd PPC is precisely for those inevitable times when enemies get within 90m. 3 MLs+LPL can at least leg lights if the stars are properly aligned.

Still, it's a build whose viability is highly dependent on how good your teammates are and how stupid your enemies are. Thus, not my first choice for PUGing.

Edited by NRP, 07 December 2013 - 10:07 AM.

[VIPER2207]

got the video now... not my best performance, but also not my worst.

[NRP]

You guys keep showing cool or heat neutral maps. Show us how you do on Caustic, Tourmaline, or Terrible Therma.

[VIPER2207]

NRP, on 07 December 2013 - 12:36 PM, said:

You guys keep showing cool or heat neutral maps. Show us how you do on Caustic, Tourmaline, or Terrible Therma.

will try to... caustic and tourmaline are at least okay for my build, terra therma is the worst thing that could happen. first point is of course the heat, second is, that you will get trouble with your minimum range at a lot of spots on TT.

[Hex Pallett]

NRP, on 07 December 2013 - 12:36 PM, said:

Show us how you do on Caustic, Tourmaline, or Terrible Therma.

Caustic gameplay uploading now. It was exhausting, required a lot more trigger discipline, shooting smarting instead of shooting more, and moving around.

[VIPER2207]

just dropped at tourmaline... ran into a complete lance of cataphract meta-builds... deleted the video =(

[Hex Pallett]

Updated with Caustic gameplay. Didn't overheat for once, so that's that. Also, I'm pretty happy about a smart guess I made near the end of the match...

Edited by Helmstif, 07 December 2013 - 03:51 PM.

[VIPER2207]

Helmstif, on 07 December 2013 - 03:51 PM, said:

Updated with Caustic gameplay. Didn't overheat for once, so that's that. Also, I'm pretty happy about a smart guess I made near the end of the match...

nice one dude =)

mine is uploading at the moment, will take about 45 minutes (yeah, uploading hd-videos with a ADSL sux =/ )

[VIPER2207]

done...


damage dropped about 50 points, but i got pinned down for almost half of the round.
overheated once(was aware of the shutdown), at the very end, trying to get the kill for the last mech^^

Edited by VIPER2207, 07 December 2013 - 05:20 PM.

[MisterPlanetarian]

Honestly, the Awesome was never really top comp material given the way MWO currently works but people who say that it is useless really have an unimaginative approach to play. Play-2-Win ideas are not necessarily limited to abusing overpowered mechanics favoured by the metagame of the month. Learning to make the best of a more difficult situation is also very important and piloting less effective mechs while developing focused and efficient loadouts is an important part of improving your skills as a pilot.

The Awesome is an excellent mech for this. Yes it's outpreformed in its supposed firesupport role by alot of mechs including some which are lighter than itself. Part of this is because of how energy weapons are balanced, part of it is because of how energy weapons are balanced when compared to ballistics and part of it is because of the mechs hitboxes and large profile. That doesn't mean a clever pilot can't figure out how to turn 3 PPC's backed by 19-22 DHS into a pretty nasty damage dealer.