18 replies to this topic

[Terrible Clint]

Please critique: VTR-9S

Edited by Terrible Clint, 15 January 2014 - 02:54 PM.

[DONTOR]

I would get rid of the PPCs and do something original.

[Bagheera]

Fairly standard, but the legs are under-armored for my liking. Generally since you will be jumping around you get hit in the legs incidentally during combat. Coupled with the odd falling damage and players intentionally going for your legs they are a bit on the low side, especially for ammo holders.

[Itsalrightwithme]

Terrible Clint, on 15 January 2014 - 07:38 AM, said:

Please critique: VTR-9S

I'd ton down the engine a bit and add more armor to the legs. It's a tricky build since crit slots are very scarce, and you'd wish you had another ton of AC20 ammo.

[IraqiWalker]

This is what I would do, I've never piloted viktors, but I've killed so many of them I've lost count.

what I would do

Spoiler

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3d6dffec4360c58

You can drop a ton of ammo for Case or DHS, or a jumpjet for the same results.

In my corp we have a simple tactic to deal with Victors, get them to jump, then obliterate those legs by the time they land. It sometimes works extra well if they have ammo in the legs, and get a kill that way, or get the jumpjets in the legs so they can't dodge as easily.

[Terrible Clint]

DONTOR, on 15 January 2014 - 07:42 AM, said:

I would get rid of the PPCs and do something original.

Yeah maybe I could put some Llas in there, that would be original. Flamers maybe?

[Terrible Clint]

What about heat sinks? Just right? Too many? Not enough?

I know it's not an original build but it works pretty good for me, and I love the AC20...LOVE IT. I usually roll with Llas in the arm but wanted to try PPC's again since I ditched them completely after the min range nerf. I have to say, with the speed of the VTR it's not hard to stay at effective range. Tried ER PPC's as well but even with 17 DHS I would over heat after like 3 shots on anything but frozen maps.

I think I might try removing a heat sink and adding either 1 more ton of AC ammo or armor. Then when I can afford another XL engine I will drop to maybe a 350 and have both an extra ton of armor and ammo.

[Bagheera]

Terrible Clint, on 15 January 2014 - 02:35 PM, said:

What about heat sinks? Just right? Too many? Not enough?

I know it's not an original build but it works pretty good for me, and I love the AC20...LOVE IT. I usually roll with Llas in the arm but wanted to try PPC's again since I ditched them completely after the min range nerf. I have to say, with the speed of the VTR it's not hard to stay at effective range. Tried ER PPC's as well but even with 17 DHS I would over heat after like 3 shots on anything but frozen maps.

I think I might try removing a heat sink and adding either 1 more ton of AC ammo or armor. Then when I can afford another XL engine I will drop to maybe a 350 and have both an extra ton of armor and ammo.

Don't bother with ERs on that build.

Regarding heat sinks - my first instinct was to drop one of your heat sinks for an additional ton of ammo as I like to have 4 tons for my ac20. Slightly hotter, but still manageable. I tend to stick to the 1.3-1.4 range in the game client, which I think is 30-40% in smurfy-speak. If heat management is not your forte, then ignore this advice. I know I built my -9S like this once just to see how the other half lived. I must have gone with a smaller engine (340xl) because I run that victor with no more than a half ton of armor shaved from it.

Never mind that last bit, I think I was running this:

VTR-9S, Modified

You could swap 1 ton of ammo or the second JJ for a heat sink - basically salt & pepper to taste. Same goes for ammo placement. I also redistributed your torso armor and maxed it out as well. I recommend max upper body armor, place front/back to your preference. The 350xl would probably give you more flex in the build, but I only have a 340 and a 360 in that range at the moment, so I wouldn't know.

Edited by Bagheera, 15 January 2014 - 03:28 PM.

[JigglyMoobs]

I would drop a heatsink in favor of a jumpjet, and maybe a second one in favor of more leg armor.

Also, I might want to put less armor on the rear ST and more on the front.

4 tons of AC/20 would be better than 3 if you find yourself shooting it a lot. You might want to drop down to XL 350. This way you could also swap out the AC/20 for dual AC/5s if you are so inclined.

[warner2]

Terrible Clint, on 15 January 2014 - 07:38 AM, said:

Please critique: VTR-9S

You definitely need more ammo. 4 tons is the minimum but in a longer fight even that might not be enough. More leg armour would be better, too. I'd go down to an XL350 and see how that works out.

[Victor Morson]

Terrible Clint, on 15 January 2014 - 07:38 AM, said:

Please critique: VTR-9S

One huge mistake: That leg armor.
What's worse: There's ammo in there.

Personally I'd run a standard engine anyway, but you NEED to raise that leg armor up to near-full or you are crippled. Drop a DHS if you have to.

DONTOR, on 15 January 2014 - 07:42 AM, said:

I would get rid of the PPCs and do something original.

Let me get you a Kleenex to dry away your tears.

[Breeze]

I'd probably dial down on the engine size. And perhaps go with ER PPCs instead?

Personally, I'm finding that I prefer the AC10 over the 20 for my Victors. The ROF on the 10s fits my playstyle much better.

[Terrible Clint]

Thanks all for the input, going to do some tweaking and shoot some mechs!

[Terrible Clint]

So this is what I did:

VTR-9S 2xUAC5 + 2xPPC

Seems pretty easy to do lots of damage, but the ultras jam a lot and it's annoying... Wondering if I should try 2x AC5 instead? What are thoughts on UAC5 vs AC5?

[warner2]

Pretty nice build. Powerful in the right hands, speedy too. Try using a double tap towards the end of the cool down to fire the UAC double shot, not by holding you're mouse button down. Literally, double tap the firing button with a deliberate delay in-between. That is said to reduce the chance of jamming over just keeping the button held down.

Using 2AC5s instead is not the same build at all, less dakka. However, doing that does allow a reasonably sized standard engine to be used so it has that going for it.

I like both, they're both useful but serve different roles. Yours is a great flanker at higher tonnages with that speed and burst damage.

[1453 R]

Longer range than most of the Victors I see. But slow, and prone to jamming. I hate Ultra autocannons. I want to like them, but I simply cannot.

That said, my Dragon Slayer runs a similar configuration on an XL350 with regular AC/5s. Still slow, but more reliable. The standard autocannons do less DPS in short, snipery bursts but will also not fail and let you down if you get caught by surprise or have to engage in a prolonged firefight alongside your team. They also free up two additional tons for armor, ammo (which you have plenty of for standard 5s, methinks), heat sinks, or even things like AMS. Or extra jump jets, if you really want to punch the thrusters.

...I'm pretty sure I'm the only guy on the forum who still tries to put more than two jump jets in jump 'Mechs >_>...

Anyways. That's my advice - try standard AC/5s and see if they work for you. You've already got plenty of burstfire damage in the PPCs, why sacrifice your pressure ability?

[Kenyon Burguess]

you can put 2 tons of ac ammo in the torso, and not have to worry about the legs at all. see if u can squeeze an ams system on there and put the ams ammo in your mechs head slot.

[Terrible Clint]

Just some more feedback, I did try 2 AC5s in place of the ultras because I was a little frustrated with jams at bad times and it's just not the same, like warner2 stated. Even with the jamming the ultras throw out a lot more damage. Shortly after I switched back to ultras I had a 900+ damage, 3 kills, 6 assist round and that sealed the deal for me. The burst damage is amazing and if I play smart, as in close to a barrier, I can use my speed to move behind said barrier and wait for the ultras to unjam. It's also a great build for suppression. Once you start pelting people with ultra rounds and dual PPC's they tend to back away. While I do miss the speed of the XL360, 75 kph is still pretty fast. I think this will be the build i stick with on the 9S for a while.

[Lance451]

You could always mess around with this build VTR-9S. It's not all long range but should be able to put a beating on anyone who gets close. (Haven't played it in game yet)