58 replies to this topic

[Tahribator]

TL;DR here it is: Rak's Armory

Hi everyone, as a holiday project, I finally started a blog about MWO. I have been writing guides, posting artwork, writing lengthy discussion posts, streaming on Twitch and putting up Youtube videos here in reddit and MWO forums for the good part of the last year. Though, what good they were when they are so quickly forgotten in the chaos of forums, and lost to the unsearchable graveyards of reddit? I wanted to centralize the content I produce and the feedback I get. This was the thought in my head, but I just couldn't find the time and motivation. . . until now.

So who am I? I'm very passinate about things I like, and I love sharing my experiences to excite other people about my passion. I was a freelance writer("the simulation guy") for a gaming magazine in my country for a while, but college eventually put an end to that. I usually play games that walk the tiny line between simulation and mainstream, offering tactical depth(Red Orchestra) and deep customization(EVE, MWO). I have been playing MWO for exactly a year now and as my blog description states "I'm in love with the depth of gameplay and customization MWO offers". I'm a lonewolf and mostly a brawler, a person who loves taking unpopular mechs out just for the challenge of making them work.

Why? I think there's a lack of written MWO content. The Mittani had good articles for a while and I was frequenting them, but they quickly got disappointed with PGI and lost in interest in MWO. QQMercs and Homeless Bill put out great articles once in a while, but they are mostly aimed at giving developers feedback or suggestions. This leaves only reddit(it's hard to comb through forums to find good content) for my source of "daily MWO intake" but the content here is also unpredictable. I really like reading about the experiences of others, how they play the mech, what they think of its quirks and thoughts about how to overcome the shortcomings. MWO gameplay in my opinion, is deep enough to make this kind of content interesting.

What now? I had a lot of content from last year, but I didn't want to just rehash them. I wanted more quality rather than quantity. I started putting up content in my blog last week, and only now it's up to a standard that I'm comfortable sharing with you. Right now, you will find a selection of articles that offer a taste of what to come. Mech reviews, thoughts about mechanics, builds and videos, artwork . . . everything that I feel like sharing that day. I'm not expecting this to get big, I just want to share my experiences to those willing to hear.

I'd really appreciate if you check out my blog and leave a comment now and then. Any feedback is welcome about how I can improve and make things more interesting for you. Thanks!

Here are some appetizers:

• Brawler of the week - "The dependable K"
  
• The Protector, finally ready!
  
• A note on Orion hitboxes
  
• The way of the Dragon - is it time for a Flame?
  
• Thunderbolts, a brawler's verdict - Part I

Edited by Tahribator, 17 January 2015 - 10:39 AM.

[Tahribator]

I was trying out random BNC builds for an upcoming article and I stumbled upon this very fun BNC-3E build. Thanks to some good positioning and silly opponents, I could do some decent damage and showcase the ridiculous mobility of this build.

I also wanted to try out a new video format. Instead of just uploading the whole match and calling it a day, I tried to commentate a bit about what was happening during the gameplay. Now, it's not perfect and I make a few grammar mistakes and such(mostly because I commentated realtime without a script), but I think the commentary makes the video much more enjoyable. Let me know if you'd like more videos like this.

[Tahribator]

New big article today!

http://raksarmory.bl...00-banshee.html

[Tahribator]

July has been a busy month in Rak's Armory, there was a lot of excitement with the arrival of the new matchmaker and the Clan invasion was still fresh. With 16 posts, it's my busiest month ever even though my laptop decided to die half way through the month. At the end of the month, everything was brought to order again with the arrival of my new laptop though. Hopefully August will just as be productive.

Here's a collection of content that I consider a good read if you missed them earlier.

Builds from the wild - The brutal DDC
A tongue-in-cheek post about the random hilarity of the solo queue.

Sunday nostalgia starring the Awesome
I take the Awesome out for a ride again, only two days before it receives its quirks, which was unkown to me at the time.

A few technical problems and how I fixed them
Apparently you can’t expect things to work smoothly with new computers even in 2014.

Build of the week - The "solo proof" Timber Wolf
A weird TBR build I had a lot of fun with in the solo queue.

Winning and fun
A conversation in a stream chat makes me why there is a separate “business time” and “fun time” in MWO.

Exploring the viability of XL400 — Banshee edition...
I take a look at the engine everyone hates, the XL400 and see if it can be used in meaningful builds and ‘Mechs.

Rak's comments - Why do I play MWO?
Ramblings about why MWO is so fun to me.

Paul's Q&A on Impaler's charity stream
Paul stops by Impy's stream and answers questions.

[Tahribator]

I am back after a long hiatus . . . with a video!

[Tahribator]

New stuff today!

Sunday Notes where I talk about my Sunday experiments in MWO and a tip to how to take out Atlases quicker.

With these articles, I have passed 100 published posts on my website.

Edited by Tahribator, 03 November 2014 - 10:04 AM.

[Tahribator]

I have three Quirkening highlights from my stream if anyone's interested. Higher quality videos here if you're annoyed by Youtube quality.

We start with the BNC-3E, which was my first pick. It was already amazingly good with 3xAC5 before, and right now it's even more ridiculous. The amount of heat-efficient damage you can put out is just insane.



The second video shows off the TDR-5SS. With 7xMPL this thing is just ridiculous. The TDR-5SS with 7xMPL is just incredible right now. This 'Mech has been pulled from the muddy realms of mediocracy to the throne of awesomeness.



The last one is the Huginn, which gets a massive 50% boost to SRM4 cooldown. With the SRM4 cooldown module this adds up to a staggering 62%. This was my first match in it and the results speak for themselves!

Edited by Tahribator, 04 November 2014 - 05:18 PM.

[Tahribator]

Some recent posts on my website:

• Early CW impressions
  
• 
  
• Sunday Shenanigans — The 4SP
  
• Rak's Comments — Spider, what is it good for?
  
• Rak's comments — Which Battlemaster?

[Tahribator]

New articles this week:

• The build of the week — Warhawk the "Yet another Wubhawk"
  
• Youtube channel spotlight: VengefulWagon (aka JujuShinobi)
  
• Forgotten weapons of MWO - The state of the AC2

[Tahribator]

Throttle decay for lights — A compelling reason: I talk about why you should enable TD when piloting your lights.

Davion C-Bill Sale — Rak's Hipster Picks

Edited by Tahribator, 17 January 2015 - 09:34 AM.

[Tahribator]

My very early impressions of the King Crab.

[Tahribator]

More King Crab content:
My favorite King Crab builds so far and a few building tips

[Bishop Steiner]

Tahribator, on 23 January 2015 - 09:24 AM, said:

More King Crab content:
My favorite King Crab builds so far and a few building tips

I think you will need to stream the Urbie Derbies in April!

[Tahribator]

Today we're brawling with the Trebuchets!

The Article: Unconventional Brawler: The Trebuchet

A demonstration:

Bishop Steiner, on 23 January 2015 - 10:03 AM, said:

I think you will need to stream the Urbie Derbies in April!

I'll do my best!

Edited by Tahribator, 27 January 2015 - 11:39 PM.

[Tahribator]

[Tahribator]

Greetings MechWarrior! Are you tired of getting hit by enemies every time you expose yourself? Are you still longing for the old days of poptarting when you could dump ridiculous alphas repeatedly without even getting your 'Mech scratched? Then we have just the 'Mech for you.

Spoiler

Our metacraft industries have been prototyping this baby to be the ultimate MWO meta 'Mech. It has all the features to please both the competitive community and your average solo queue guy. Here are its amazing main features:

• Two vertically attached arm units to ensure you NEVER expose yourself. Simply park yourself behind a rock and enjoy blasting idiots running around in the open pro MLG style! Each arm has 1B+3E hardpoints to ensure you can still be effective in every meta in the future!
  
• A Raks Industries™ armored and highly durable telescopic camera unit to ensure your viewpoint is up above, right beside the arm weapons! The camera unit also houses a thermal imaging equipment that is identical to the first heat vision in MWO!
  
• Torso mounted 6xM hardpoints to please your average LRM boat guy!
  
• A *********** Industries Collimator C-ERPPC is also included inside the dong unit for self defense.
  
• And of course it comes with six jump jets!
  
• The 'Mech comes with Clan technology and weighs 90 tons with both endo and ferro equipped. ECM and quadruple AMS is also available!

We'll be taking pre-orders soon, so don't be late! As an early-adopter you'll get "LOCK TARGETS FOR LRMZ PLEASE" and "OMG TEAM YOU SUCK I CAN'T CARRY HARDER" warhorns which are manually toglleable for your own convenience along with a Machine Gun Range 5 module which is 3.000.000 C-Bills in value!

Pre-order begins tomorrow and the whole pack will cost 360$ because **** you, we know it'll be good. C-Bill release will be 2 years after 'Mech delivery.

Edited by Tahribator, 27 March 2015 - 04:30 AM.

[Tahribator]

I jokingly tweeted my Metatinator mock-up to Alex and it turns out he actually took his time to come up with an artwork. It totally made my day. Thank you Alex!

[Tahribator]

[Tahribator]

New article is out!

10 tips/habits I picked up over the years

[Tahribator]

I accidentally mini-reviewed the Warhawk:

Warhawk mini-review (Should I buy a Warhawk?)