38 replies to this topic

[NRP]

The Dragon can be a fun mech, if you can keep your wits about you. If you stay near and work with teammates, it can be effective.

But sometimes you just want to run out there and punch the enemy. The Dragon isn't a good choice when you're in that kind of mood.

[DONTOR]

The first build is a good skirmisher mech put the SRM ammo n the head though. The 3 x AC2 build is too hot and you dont have enough ammo lose the SRM6 for 2-3 tons more ammo and the rest of the tonnage to DHS.

[Israel Finklestein]

DanNashe, on 09 January 2014 - 06:59 AM, said:

What ever became of the quickdraw? Same weight, same speed, can jump, and lighter but hotter hard points, no fat stomach you can shoot from the side? Even rarer than dragons?

(I'm not saying they Are better, but curious why not mentioned?)

I would argue that QKD make better energy boats than dragons, but no ballistics and mediocre missile hardpoints make it pretty much strictly an energy boat, so it's even rarer than Dragon.

[Mad Pilot MkIV]

So i did it! \o/ Elited the Dragon and working towards to master it for the sake of completion.

Spoiler

*i show the whole table for perspective

As i mentioned, i tweaked all of the fits after a couple of battles. The final builds: -1C, -1N, -5N

I don't like 1N, had some nice battles with it, but just in general its bad. The other two are solid, but to be honest the SH is more versatile. On maps like River City, Crimson Strait and Tourmaline desert it shines, but poptart/sniper maps (Alpine Peaks, Caustic Valley) or JJ-would-be-very-useful maps (Canyon Network, HPG Manifold) can break it. Overall i like the Dragon, i will definitely keep one in my hangar.

edit: any tips which should be my next mech? I'm really interested in the Jenner and the Catapult. And even the Battlemaster.

Edited by Mad Pilot MkIV, 15 January 2014 - 02:05 PM.

[StillRadioactive]

Mad Pilot MkIV, on 07 January 2014 - 01:14 AM, said:

I just started to play a little bit more than a week ago and with the cadet bonus and premium i mastered the Shadow Hawk which was a bit of a roller-coaster ride, until i found the loudouts which works the best for me. So i started to look after a new mech, which is little heavier and i stumpled upon a few Dragon videos. And that speed is insane. Looked up a couple of way of fitting them

1C http://mwo.smurfy-ne...2f44638761cf91a
1N http://mwo.smurfy-ne...fab2b9b2ef546b0
5N http://mwo.smurfy-ne...dc161825db47c53

And i like the looks of those. For my newbish eyes it seems like an upgrade from the SH. It has more speed, more armor and about the same if not higher DPS (speaking of DPS - why is the firepower aka salvo damage is the only stat the game shows for you, i find it dumb). The downside is the arm mounted guns and the beer belly CT. But the Shadow Hawk is freaking huge. The damn thing is as high as an Awesome highest point: the shoulder armor.

Excited by my "discovery" i checked the forums. And most of what i read was that how bad is this thing . Is it really? Should i just stand in the line with the others to pick up a Jägermeistermech? I mean it looks amazing, like the big brother of the trial Blackjack which i liked a lot and made me choose my first mech a medium.

So tell me is the Dragon a viable option fitted as a skirmisher?

I've recently gotten my hands on the Dragon, and I like it. I tried the DRG-5N with Triple AC/2s, and I found that it ran WAY too hot.

Here's one that I like A LOT better:
DRG-5N

And a brief video of it in action:

EDIT: This is an older version of it with less ammo and a PPC rather than an ERLL. The ERLL works better.

Edited by StillRadioactive, 17 January 2014 - 06:45 AM.

[Denolven]

You might want to try a double AC/2 or AC/5/2 combination in the Dragon arm. Putting 2 MGs there is a bit of a waste.

If you like skirmishing and hit&run assassinations, you might want to try the Jenner F. This build is a bit unusual - most people will tell you to take a bigger engine. But this has worked well for me. It uses a double pulse on each side, good and condensed (time/space) damage. Think of them as one weapon left and one weapon right and use them independently. Also, two normal lasers on the top as a tertiary weapon for hillsniping at medium range, or when you need a third weapon in case the other two have been used already.

A warning though, this build is extremely taunting. You need to have some willpower and only shoot when you can make it count, otherwise you'll overheat alot. That's why I use the BAP and even the info gathering module, so I can make my decisions quicker.

Jenner story:

Spoiler

In one game there were 4 opponents left against me alone. They taunted me to fight instead of a boring cap, which was exactly what I hoped for - there was no way to win 1v4 by capping anyway. Luckily it was on Frozen City, so I had both the temperature and lots of cover to strike&fade on my side.
Their Spider was hunting me, so I seperated it from the rest of them by "running away". When I saw that he followed me (360° target retention module), I simply turned around and oneshot him with an alpha strike in the face. Then I took the other three, two heavies and an assault. I aproached them from the side, outside of their vision. While running towards them I did a quick scan on all of them (BAP, Info Gathering module) and saw that the Cataphract had a critical CT front, but otherwise good armor. Approaching from the front would be bad, so decided to strike between the second and the third guy. I gave the assault mech an alpha strike in the CT while passing between him and the Catapult and made sure to get their attention. It worked, the Cataphract turned around and showed me his juicy open front CT. Stab, another one down. Turning around again, a second alpha in the CT of the assault mech, then fading into the shadows to plan my next strike.
I approached from another direction, and the assault was my next target - it had more fire potential (the Catapult only had a single large laser left) and was easier to hit. So I gave him three alpha strikes right to the front CT. It was a bit nasty, as I knew the surprise advantage only counts for the first and maybe party the second attack, so I got some damage, but wrestled him down relatively quickly (he protected his back with a building, meaning he didn't really move, so I had a clear line of fire). Overheated, so I needed to retreat once more.
With a red glowing CT on my end and a single laser Catapult with a red glowing CT on the other end, things became somewhat dramatic. The little guy had killed 3 of the 4 supposed winners, and the last one was in very bad shape.
I went for the final showdown... but he disappeared! He was in our base capping, but somehow I didn't see him while running around it two times - he probably stood in a corner, shut down so I wouldn't get a signal from him. Risky, but pretty clever if you ask me.
I knew he was there, and when I saw that the capping stopped, I knew he was behind me. But I was still much faster than him, so I used the buildings to get in his back. It took a few seconds, and he instantly knew that I would come from behind if he didn't manage to catch me in those seconds, so when I got to his back, he was turning around already. I had one chance, and he had one chance. Both of us had armor on the back, but not in the front. I shot first and immediately turned my torso and used the jump jets when I saw that the time frame was so short that I only got one or maybe two damage ticks on his torso, which hasn't been enough. He was still alive. "Hit my legs, hit my legs!" I thought, while the clock was ticking for the weapon cooldown. But he was good. He didn't hit my legs. He managed to hit my front CT, mid-air, while I was facing away from him! Probably just a scratch, but that scratch was enough to ******* up.

Man I can tell you, that was probably the most awesome match I ever had, and certainly the most awesome one in a Jenner. I wonder what would have happened if I had stayed on target - maybe it would have been a double K.O.

Edited by Denolven, 17 January 2014 - 06:56 AM.

[Zelator]

If you like Dragons I recommend you buy the Flame, the hardpoint layout is just amazing and is just superior to the other Dragon variants in my opinion (i've mastered them all)

Im currently running it with 4 medium pulse lasers on the arms and an AC10 on the torso with an xl360 engine over 100kph top speed with speed tweak! . Use the AC10 to its full advantage, its mounted very high on the torso so you can play peekaboo over obstacles. This mech runs a bit hot so I ussually run the pulse lasers on chain fire, which suits my playstyle anyway since I like to constantly fire my weapons while I circle the enemy.

Never fight fairly in this mech. The best tactic is to wait behind other mechs and let them engage first then rush in and circle them one by one. Or just go light mech hunting if you know how to avoid their supporting heavies and LRM boats.

[PanzerMagier]

Only weird people like dragons...

I like dragons...

[Flying Judgement]

this is one of my favorite mech what i always come back

Edit : wrong mech
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...91b76d5b95f2076

this is what i waned
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...014c6af18033b4b

if u realy like it get it its good fun

this was my first mech what i realy liked but SRMs were good back in the day i used it for flanking or light hunting.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...db089c627c9d5b7

use weapon grups separately depending on heat or situation and u cant owerheat

Edited by Flying Judgement, 19 January 2014 - 02:32 AM.

[Flying Judgement]

with a 300XL

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...c7e13a480454cda

[luxebo]

Did anybody suggest to go get the flame? It's especially worth it with the sale for that hero, plus it's a good grinder with the capability to use an AC20.

[Verrue]

I recommend the flamme , i got 1 since long time, The 4 lasers hardpoint on the arm are a real boon as you can stack 4 med laser or 4 LL , 2 Lpuse+ 2 MED L on it , and do wonderful circle fight with it.

Plus , the high left shoulder balistic point is ideal for an ac/10 to aim over a hill.

[rdmgraziel]

Dragons are effectively only good as skirmishers, but they ARE good at being skirmishers. While the 360XL grants maximum speed, the 350XL gives you a little more room to cram heavier weapons or heatsinks onto it.

Your 1C is probably better off dropping the lone SRM6 and swapping the LBX for a standard AC10 or Gauss Rifle. A lone SRM6 isn't great, and you'd need more ammo to use it in any case.

The 1N on the other hand doesn't have a choice in the matter, it needs the extra SRM punch. You might consider swapping the lasers for PPCs, dropping AMS, and swapping to the 350 XL. The SRMs give you some up-close punch if anything gets in your grill, and Dragons are fast enough to re-position so sniping shouldn't be an issue.

Your 5N build needs more AC2 ammo, and doesn't really need the SRM6. If you find the ammo to be sufficient, dropping the SRM6 still grants you more room for cooling and/or a bigger engine.

Unlike Shadowhawks, Dragons aren't best-in-class 'Mechs and their hitboxes are dreadful. Despite the height of the Shadowhawk, it's got great durability and hitboxes. IF you choose to dive into them, keep in mind that they're a rough ride that's difficult to use well, but potentially rewarding as a result.

[Lord Perversor]

luxebo, on 18 January 2014 - 10:03 AM, said:

Did anybody suggest to go get the flame? It's especially worth it with the sale for that hero, plus it's a good grinder with the capability to use an AC20.

Imho i think the Flame it's not worth to put an Ac/20 (it just don't bring anything new to game than a 4g nothing at all)

I always loved my 4x med laser and Gauss(despite the last changes has made it a bit more tricky), and secretly hoping for the arrival of the LBX-20 to swap my Gauss for it.

The Flame it's right now one of the best variants for Dragons due the flexibility it brings...
Now if we can trick PGi to grant the 1N and Fang variants AC/20 capacity on arms some wild dreams may come true.

[Op4blushift]

Lord Perversor, on 18 January 2014 - 06:21 PM, said:

Imho i think the Flame it's not worth to put an Ac/20 (it just don't bring anything new to game than a 4g nothing at all)

One big advantage the Flame has with AC20 use is that it doesn't have a huge hunch like the hunchback does. I have a 4H and I recently got a Flame and I honestly think it might be a superior AC20 carrier. Having 4 ML in fully articulated arms along with a high up ac20 mount is a god send. I haven't even gotten speed tweak yet either, once I'm cruising above 80kph I can only imagine it'll get better.

That said, the 4H/4G can go faster and hunchbacks in general are smaller targets compared to dragons, so they both have their pros and cons.

[Flying Judgement]

hups sorry this is what i use for 5N

i posted the wrong build

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...014c6af18033b4b

[Archie4Strings]

i didnt read all the replys, but i can tell you: The Dragon is great!
I bought it cuz i was looking for a new versatile mech with a higher basic speed cause i like mobility! (its a bit sad though that there is no dargon chassis with JJ...)
My favorite so far is the 5N with 3 AC2! In my second match i did 840 dmg with it.
I knew this mech fits my style.
You have a high speed, so just use it. I always try to get in their flanks, shoot a couple of times and turn around before the they shoot me. And the speed makes you a quite good hunter of light mechs (with you 360 engine even more!)

It worked well with the 1C and even more with the 5N. Actually i think the 5N is the very best of all! Whatever you wanna do with the other 2 Chassis, you can (almost) do the same with the 5N, but only the 5N can do 3AC2. Just 2 ML and then double heatsinks. Heat is not a big issue then.

[Fooooo]

Op4blushift, on 19 January 2014 - 12:26 AM, said:

One big advantage the Flame has with AC20 use is that it doesn't have a huge hunch like the hunchback does. I have a 4H and I recently got a Flame and I honestly think it might be a superior AC20 carrier. Having 4 ML in fully articulated arms along with a high up ac20 mount is a god send. I haven't even gotten speed tweak yet either, once I'm cruising above 80kph I can only imagine it'll get better.

That said, the 4H/4G can go faster and hunchbacks in general are smaller targets compared to dragons, so they both have their pros and cons.

Yeah its not too bad with the ac/20 and a std300 and urhm 2xML i think I had.

Mainly because of the high mount. Its fairly easy to keep most of your mech covered while the ac20 is popping over a ridge.
or you can just go the ac/20 with no lasers & no extra HS (engine only) and stack ammo.

Better than a hunchback trying to do the same thing imo.

The build is fun, but I think still a little too slow, with tweak it gets i think 87.6km/h, if you could get 100km/h or close to with that build then it would be a lot better.

Before the heat increase to ppcs an XL and 2xERppc worked well, bar the low arms and convergance problems.

XL & 3xLL was not bad, I found it probably slightly better than a 4xLL build.



Right now I use XL300, Gauss + 2xERLL and have been for a while. I find it quite fun to use as well, so basically swap between this and the ac/20 build on occasion.

As others have said, because of the poor shape of the mech etc its not really a competitive mech when you compare it to most other mechs...................but you can still do well in pugs with it and have a bit of fun.


Flame is the best variant & is on sale right now if you had mc to burn so.............

Edited by Fooooo, 21 January 2014 - 04:18 AM.

[Cappricorn]

Hi!

I'm glad to see some people using the Dragon

In general, there is 1 rule: a slow dragon is a dead dragon. So i decided to use at least a XL-300 on my builds.
The Dragon can be fearsome for mediums and lights. And, if you focus on your speed, other heavies and assaults in direct 1 vs 1 combat.

I also have mastered all 3 C-Bill Dragons.
After a while I enyojed 1C and 5N variants the most.
I did some testing with different Builds.

This is my current 5N:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b2f068496a90d81

DAKKA! Nothing more to say about it

I also had some nice moments with this Variant (although heat can be troublesome and its mainly useful for close-medium range):

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ec0ccf1413c29c3

maybe an optimization woulde be: drop srm, adding moar DHS. This Setup melts down armor really quick and after that you start your crit hit chain with your machine guns. Its a very special build and not extreme useful in mob situations, esp. when you are the heaviest mech....


Here is my previous 1C build (great supporter):

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...5064dc597f43d0c

You also kan drop tha AC for an LBX-10 for more kind of med. laser equipment.

After reading this (REALLY HELFUL)

http://mwomercs.com/...-melt-properly/

I plan to roll out this 1C:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7c13b25ccbc1f3b

Currently, I'm using a XL 340 with an crit slotted DHS and some more leg armor....with the XL-360 I can place that DHS in the engine. You will get the same heat efficiency at higher speed. The AC5 is just for some kind of long range support and may be useful if you melted down the armor.
My first 2 test runs today were promising. You can hunt down lights really quick with it and you can win 1 vs1 duels against assaults (maybe except victors) thx to your speed advance.

Just my 2 cents

Edited by Cappricorn, 21 January 2014 - 10:48 AM.