28 replies to this topic

[theta123]

SHD-2H

Ended up becoming my favorite Light-medium mech hunter....
I first ran this build with an AC10...But my scoring improved alot when i added a LB-10X and extra DHS The large laser is sufficient for not becomlng useless beyond 270meter. The LB10x and dual MG's do a miracle on those XL engine users...I squashed 2 spiders and a jenner in a single match, just by hitting them when mly AC10 would have missed. Against larger mechs, the LB10, MG's and LL is enough to cause sufficient destruction

Altough i do need to coordinate my assault with other light mechs. Wich is going fine TBH.


Dont underestimate the LB10...Its situational...But can be used to good use with those MG's as secondary weapons

[Ryokens leap]

I fooled around this weekend with the LB10x + 4 med las on BJ1. I run 3 sensor mods to quickly find mechs with holes in their armour and tear into them. The speed and JJs of the BJ + the fast cycle of LBX and med las keeps constant fire on target. I can almost feel the frustration of the enemy pilots. Not strong enough to 1v1 fresh mechs but strong past mid point of match when armour is weak. No slouch against light pests either.

[theta123]

Its a great mech build for using in a Pug/premade/squad/lance whatever

Working together with other medium/heavies and then having such a build....

Great idea bout the sensors. Will try that aswel

[N a p e s]

I'm using a build that's really close to your SHD-2H but I swap out the regular LLas for an ER and drop one streak launcher for an engine upgrade to a 300xl. Probably my favorite build for this mech and that LB10/MG combo has been finding its way onto a bunch of my other mechs.

Edited by Napes339, 06 January 2014 - 03:28 PM.

[Trauglodyte]

Not really a joke build but it has been around since SHD released. The problem is that you're not doing localized damage which means that you're not killing quickly and therefore not achieving anything. That isn't to say that it isn't fun but rather to say that, if your goal is to live and kill, you're not going to achieve your afore mentioned goal.

[theta123]

But i am killing mechs quite fine, thank you
If only the shadowhawk had 4 ballistic slots...

[Levi Porphyrogenitus]

I find this build to be a bit too slow for my taste as far as an XL SSRM Shawk goes. I prefer something with a 330 or 340, which requires dropping the AC.

That said, I'd probably drop the MGs and add another two JJs and an extra ton of SSRM ammo. I think the boost to maneuverability and increased combat endurance would be worth losing the crit damage (since their armor damage is negligible).

[Escef]

Kinda' slow, no Beagle, 100 missiles to split between 3 Streaks, 45 rounds for the LBX? If you get results out of it, hey, great. But I wouldn't touch the thing.

[5th Fedcom Rat]

No mech that can mount 3 Streaks is a joke build in this game, sorry. No skill auto-lockon weapons aren't funny, especially if you're a light pilot.

[Roland]

theta123, on 06 January 2014 - 10:34 AM, said:

Dont underestimate the LB10...

The LB 10 is a terrible weapon... especially for the purposes you have laid out.

As a "light mech hunter" the LBX is clearly one of the worst weapons in the game. You are GUARANTEED to never land all of your damage on a single location on a light mech, even at point blank range, with the LBX. Against a lot of light mechs, like the spider, the LBX spread is essentially guaranteed to not even be able to land all of the damage on the mech at all.

In that role, the LBX is really only useful if you aren't good enough at aiming to land a shot on those light mechs using real weapons.. But in that case, you would be better served by simply improving your aiming skills.

[Escef]

5th Fedcom Rat, on 07 January 2014 - 05:57 AM, said:

No mech that can mount 3 Streaks is a joke build in this game, sorry. No skill auto-lockon weapons aren't funny, especially if you're a light pilot.

Well, if you knew how to perform evasive maneuvers you'd have a lot less to worry about. Or if you maintained some situational awareness and kept a good 280-odd meters away from a Streak carrier. I've seen plenty of light jocks that were really good at stopping me from getting a target lock.

Roland, on 07 January 2014 - 06:37 AM, said:

As a "light mech hunter" the LBX is clearly one of the worst weapons in the game. You are GUARANTEED to never land all of your damage on a single location on a light mech, even at point blank range, with the LBX. Against a lot of light mechs, like the spider, the LBX spread is essentially guaranteed to not even be able to land all of the damage on the mech at all.

In that role, the LBX is really only useful if you aren't good enough at aiming to land a shot on those light mechs using real weapons.. But in that case, you would be better served by simply improving your aiming skills.

Or mayhaps he's decided that keeping the pressure on the light jock by dealing a little damage at a time is a better plan? Considering how much ammo he packs for that shotgun, I'd say so. When it comes to dealing with lights, scaring them away is a valid strategy. And it does not take much damage to do that. When I'm in a Commando I'm more likely to seek cover when you damage me than I am if you look at me threateningly while I pump my weapons into you.

[Barantor]

Roland, on 07 January 2014 - 06:37 AM, said:

The LB 10 is a terrible weapon... especially for the purposes you have laid out.

As a "light mech hunter" the LBX is clearly one of the worst weapons in the game. You are GUARANTEED to never land all of your damage on a single location on a light mech, even at point blank range, with the LBX. Against a lot of light mechs, like the spider, the LBX spread is essentially guaranteed to not even be able to land all of the damage on the mech at all.

In that role, the LBX is really only useful if you aren't good enough at aiming to land a shot on those light mechs using real weapons.. But in that case, you would be better served by simply improving your aiming skills.

And then latency issues or any leftover hit registration issues come in and you have to carry a lot more ammo for that regular ac/10......

I've killed all sorts of mechs with an LBX, random head shots from jokers that think nobody will hit their cockpit so they under armor it is the best.

LBX works with the streaks since they are spread out too so you are shredding anythings armor. Really good as a clean up mech if there aren't any lights to hunt.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but far from useless.

[theta123]

Thanks for the fine comments gents. I have been getting good scores and kills with this mech...But i am tempting on indeed, removing the machineguns and ammo for a slightly more punchy engine. But currently low on Cbills, so that aint gonna happen

AS7-D

currently saving up cash for this build.

[Roland]

theta123, on 07 January 2014 - 08:20 AM, said:

Thanks for the fine comments gents. I have been getting good scores and kills with this mech...But i am tempting on indeed, removing the machineguns and ammo for a slightly more punchy engine. But currently low on Cbills, so that aint gonna happen

AS7-D

currently saving up cash for this build.

Eh.... You may want to consider the following changes:
1) I'd probably recommend the DDC, since the D is basically a crappy variant by comparison. Unless you already have the DDC and are just trying to get mech efficiencies.
2) I'd swap the LBX10's for UAC5's (or even standard AC5's). You'll get much more precise damage and killing power.
3) I'd swap the arm lasers for PPC's, to give you additional precision punch at range. With two AC5's, you'll have a very solid 30 point alpha, and if something gets right up in your face you still have the AC5's which will mess up mechs pretty bad.

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I've killed all sorts of mechs with an LBX, random head shots from jokers that think nobody will hit their cockpit so they under armor it is the best.

Honestly dude, you are totally kidding yourself here. You aren't getting headshots on folks with LBX. Even if someone stripped ALL the armor off their head, they've still got 15 internal structure there. An LBX, in the best possible case, will hit their head with ONE pellet... and doing so is going to be complete luck since you can't actually aim with that level of precision. So, minimally, against a target with zero head armor, you're gonna need to hit their head 15 times... which means 15 lucky shots. Hell, even if they have something like ammo in their head, and you score a crit, a single pellet can't actually destroy it... so you can't even get lucky and kill them with an ammo explosion through their head.

For headshots, you use a mech with a high alpha strike, with weapons using the same travel time. The dual AC20 mech is a prime example. One shot will kill a mech if you hit their head, every single time, against any mech.

[Kubernetes]

Roland, on 07 January 2014 - 09:14 AM, said:

Honestly dude, you are totally kidding yourself here. You aren't getting headshots on folks with LBX. Even if someone stripped ALL the armor off their head, they've still got 15 internal structure there. An LBX, in the best possible case, will hit their head with ONE pellet... and doing so is going to be complete luck since you can't actually aim with that level of precision. So, minimally, against a target with zero head armor, you're gonna need to hit their head 15 times... which means 15 lucky shots.

Have you ever used an LBX? At close range all the pellets are closely grouped. I used to run a triple LBX Ilya that got headshots all the time from close range. Two salvos to the head will kill anything if you're under 250m.

I agree that the LBX is an inferior weapon to the AC10, but it has its uses. For instance, I think they work fine against lights-- just aim for their legs. They won't one-shot a Spider like an AC20, but a least you'll hit it with every shot. At close range you'll leg them very quickly.

[theta123]

And now i upgraded to the 2D2

SHD-2D2

its a better mech in one way. Its faster with XL 300. It carries 4 streaks now. With more ammo.

[Roland]

Kubernetes, on 07 January 2014 - 11:39 AM, said:

Have you ever used an LBX? At close range all the pellets are closely grouped.

No, they really aren't. They certainly aren't closely grouped enough to have multiple pellets hit the head section of a mech.

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I used to run a triple LBX Ilya that got headshots all the time from close range. Two salvos to the head will kill anything if you're under 250m.

No dude, you really didn't.

At 250m, the spread of the LBX is WAY LARGER THAT THE HEAD HIT BOX. It's physically impossible for you to land much damage from an LBX on a head, just due to the physical impossibility that it'll generate that much overlapping damage on that small area.

You can see it here. At the 50 sec. mark, he's showing the spread at 200m.


You can clearly see that the spread is so large that you are never gonna land multiple pellets onto the tiny head section of a mech. Hell, it can't even land many pellets on the largest sections, like the CT. It's spread all over the entire mech's body.

And that's against a BIG mech, the catapult A1. Against small mechs, like lights, it's even more terrible, since you are generally hitting each section with MAYBE one pellet.

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For instance, I think they work fine against lights-- just aim for their legs. They won't one-shot a Spider like an AC20, but a least you'll hit it with every shot. At close range you'll leg them very quickly.

But that's terrible.

Againts a light mech's legs, which are super tiny, you are gonna land one or MAYBE two pellets on the leg. That's 1-2 damage.

You know what else can easily do one to two damage? A medium laser. No travel time, and just grazing over the legs will do that same damage... more if you are a good shot. And the medium laser only weighs ONE ton, and has no ammo.

Again, this is what highlights the errors folks make when evaluating the LBX... sure, it could do some trivial damage against a light mech's legs.. but if you've set the bar so low, that you just want to spray some damage around, then lasers are better.

[Dirus Nigh]

If you want a good light mech hunter, use the shadowhawk with four missile points. Give it two med lasers, four streaks, and a fast engine.

I find the AC20 does wonders against light mechs too.

[Escef]

Roland, on 07 January 2014 - 01:31 PM, said:

You know what else can easily do one to two damage? A medium laser.

That assumes you can keep the beam on the hypothetical light mech's leg for 0.2 to 0.4 seconds. Slashing at a light's legs witha single medium is not likely to produce more than 0.1 seconds of contact. Large lasers, OTOH, are much better.

Of course, this is somewhat rendered moot, as energy weapons, amazingly enough, do not fit into ballistic hard points. A shock, I know.

[Pyrrho]

Haven't they reduced the LBX cone of fire since August 6th, 2013? Serious question, I remember it being reduced, but I don't remember when!