91 replies to this topic

[somenothing]

I'm running this as a money-making lurm-boat - http://mwo.smurfy-ne...405d8a13d4beba7

XL310, Artemis-LRM10/LRM20, Tag & BAP, 3 ML's for extra bite. Bring the target decay module if you can.

1080 ammo gives you 36 LRM salvos in a whole blob, so you could sit back, but it's better to hang in the flank to support by direct-fire LRMs. Just make sure you peek out next to cover instead of peeking over the top - you're not as fast as say the Griffin lurmboats, and your torsos WILL take heat.

BAP & Artemis along with arm mounted Tag ensures you get fast lock-ons as long as you get line of sight, but due to pack of Assault-level armour, you better stick with friends who know you're making direct-fire LRMs instead of sitting back waiting for locks. Bring your target decay module! (did I mention it already?)

This build is giving me nice c-bills from the Phoenix bonus, and focused damage from the Artemis + Tag combo. Give this a try, or drop the Artemis if you don't wanna spend the cash yet, and throw in extra heatsinks.

How I wish this had JJs =D

-------

Side question - anybody tested if the left & right torso laser mounts are at the same height on the 5SS?
Still haven't elite'd that one due to annoyance of heat... It feels quite like a hunchie 4P...

Or, I'm thinking about running this in the 5S(P) for kicks once I get it elited...
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b0ae4280c3f26a6
(evil laugh)

Edited by somenothing, 23 January 2014 - 07:17 PM.

[1453 R]

The right-torso lasers in the 5SS are actually JagerMech/Blackjack height, if not higher. They're at or above the Thunderbolt's cockpit level and make pretty bombastic ridge-peeking lasers. Better in some ways than the chin-mount slot all Thunderbolts can nab.

[Krujiente]

the thunderbolt chassis itself is wiiiide BUT it spreads damage so well with proper torso twisting they tend to make great brawlers.

[Scrawny Cowboy]

Krujiente, on 26 January 2014 - 01:13 PM, said:

the thunderbolt chassis itself is wiiiide BUT it spreads damage so well with proper torso twisting they tend to make great brawlers.

True this, lot of people compare the Thud to the Awesome because of it's stature but after the recent hitbox pass the Awesome loses it's side torsos too quickly before the arms are even halfway through when twisting. But nah, Thuds have the proportional hitboxes to damage spread effectively. That' why I only run standards, why give up that advantage?

As for loadouts, these two are what I run.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...445149a2c0e19e4
5S, an all-around build that work great when you hang back with the support then assist the brawlers.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...2f5b38315ab2dd3
9SE, this is an odd one but having those matches where I'ved tanked away that whole right side and then some is just too dang rewarding to give up haha

[Krujiente]

Scrawny Cowboy, on 27 January 2014 - 12:19 AM, said:

True this, lot of people compare the Thud to the Awesome because of it's stature ....

yeaaah the difference it is that Thunderbolt has round sides that lend don't let edges peak out and the awesome is a big fat flat Centurion. Both have some great arms for torso twisting so I usually put dud-guns on the arms (mls and MG) I feel like awesome players would get more out of it if assaults seemed to grasp the concept of torso twisting better. Maybe its because I play lighter mechs and they think if they stare at me with cherry red armor when I'm still yellow or orange and going twice as fast I'll give up the ghost or they can kill me before I start popping parts off of them.

Edited by Krujiente, 27 January 2014 - 12:43 AM.

[1453 R]

UPDATE:

The TDR-5S(P) "Thunder Hammer" Thunderbolt, adjusted a bit since its inception to accommodate a Fuzzy Puppy Detector, has not only proven its worth on the field of battle, it has against all odds become one of my favorite 'Mechs, to boot. The combination of highly accurized LRMs with a high-center ERPPC mount means the Thunder Hammer can outperform just about anything but a dedicated assault sniper in a distance fight, exposing a bare minimum of itself to fire while it does so. And even in close quarters, the ERPPC's lack of minimum range, and the additional defensive lasers, have allowed the Thunder Hammer to clean up enemies inside its LRM minimum range. The machine isn't helpless in the brawl, and even better, its direct-fire armament supports and assists its LRM tubes, rather than clashing with them as most LRM 'Mechs' 'defensive armaments' do.

I now know what Thunderbolts do. The other two have been moderately successful as well, but neither of them has captured my affection the way the Thunder Hammer has. Give this configuration a shot - you might be surprised how exceptionally well this thing can work in the hands of a pilot who doesn't feel the need to brawl 24/7. Give it a whirl, and load up Adv. Target Decay, Adv. Zoom, and Target Info Gathering while you do. This is the 'Mech that finally made me buy modules. Nothing else I've piloted has made me feel like those overpriced bass tarps are worth the scratch.

[Cementi]

My thunderbolts are my utility mechs. My favorite is the 5S, I run a standard 250. LRM 20 with artemis int the right torso, large laser in the right arm, 3 medium in the left torso and surpisingly two machine guns in the left arm. I stay back with the missle boats and drop lrms on targets with them popping off a few snipe attacks with the large laser when conveniant. However my real purpose is to act as a body guard for the missle boats. I only move at 62 kph but my torso twist and arm mount weapons are fast enough to deal with lights with the occasional shot from the 3 mediums.

When I run out of LRM's I close to brawl and use the machine guns to crit seek targets that have been softened up and due to the wide array and placement of weapon hardpoints have been effective when most mechs would have had no weapons or been dead. Finished a match tonight at 29% health had nothing left but the left leg left torso center torso and head. Got the second last kill with my 3 medium lasers and we won the match. Not saying it was because of me but I know the missle boats appreciated the escort and when the victor blew off my right torso and turned away assuming I was dead only to have me rip his rear center torso apart with my lasers and machine guns....ya made me smile.

So as a solo drop, I am not a fan of my thunderbolts even though they were always my pen and paper favorites, however I am almost always dropping with 1 to 3 of my friends and because of that I think the thunderbolts real chance to shine is team tactics. As many have said they are very tanky for thier size.

[Krujiente]

Now that I have quickdraws I have sold my 9SE, to be honest just not enough hard points and very clustered together. I still love my P variant 5S though, has great brawling ability with plenty of hardpoints and a nice spread on them

[GhostWalkn]

This is my first mech in MWO

I wanted something heavy with a highly versatile weapon set, a fair bit of armor, a smaller hitbox, and better than Atlas speed. I also just liked how the thunderbolt looks

I went with a pair of SRM6 and three small lasers for up close brawling. A pair of AC5s on top of that for heat management and getting medium range. Finally an ERPPC for extended ranges and buffering the AC5. The engine is an XL245, so it's real slow like, but not too slow (60-70kph), and armor is 400+. I kept AMS because why not, but I could swap that for more ammo. You could say the main weapon is the AC5s but when you close in it just becomes a walking alpha strike, and a few PPC rounds can single out sections

Basically if I use all of the weapons I can make up for slow speed and the susceptible XL. It's definitely for close range brawling but I can still tag targets before I get there.

The legs on this mech are extremely tough, but the torso isn't really. I mean it's not quite as durable as 400+ sounds especially when using an XL. Just take care to cover your damaged sides

Edited by GhostWalkn, 02 February 2014 - 09:00 PM.

[warner2]

Your first 'mech was a Thunderbolt!

Hold on, let me get over that

My first 'mech was a Dragon, that was pretty bad. I realised after a few games, sold it, and bought a Hunchback (this was a while ago, now).

Anyway, back to your first 'mech. The engine that came with it (a standard 260) is more suitable than the one you put in it. An XL going that slowly, without JJs, in a 'mech without skinny side torsos...you will be dying from engine explosions to the extent that you are simply not as survivable as the 'mechs around you. In short you are playing in hard mode.

Why don't you stick with the STD 260 and develop the same build from there?

Something like this: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...799d8520be9c027

[GhostWalkn]

This is what it looks like. I'm 8/8 basic and have some XP left over, so I've used it some. I haven't changed anything on it since I bought it. Max damage I've done was about 600, 300-400 avg

It can brawl, it can peck longer range targets, it does adequate damage at medium ranges with AC5s. Heat becomes a problem with PPC if I alpha strike.

I've gotten used to the off-center shooting scheme. I know my weak side is my PPC side, since I run an XL and that big missle battery is a target. On my regular side I can AC5 safe enough so long as my guns aren't getting chopped

The 3 small lasers are really short range but it's a little extra DPS for 1.5 tons and low energy. It doesn't penalize as much for missing light mechs.The SRM6x2 have a wide enough spread for hitting lights

I like to think the AC5s as my main gun but I use everything. If I ever swap the engine which is extremely light weight it will change the whole weapon scheme. I don't have much of a problem with speed as long as I keep my legs in the right direction, torso speed is ok

I'm going to buy an Atlas so I started off with a heavy to get used to play. After that I'll grab a light for 3rd. A medium for 4th, which I expect to be the hardest class to play. Hard because, it doesn't have as much weaponry as a heavy, and is more armor worth being easier to strike?

Basically I think a lot of players underestimate the weapons this build is packing when they come within 180M and end up getting wrecked.

Don't get me wrong a skilled player can take me down QUICK but I do my best to not expose myself until the right time

Edited by GhostWalkn, 05 February 2014 - 11:08 AM.

[Spheroid]

[Pariah Devalis]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...539c2b033c1adfa

TDR-5S that I lovingly call "The Metafraker."

Why? Hits three points:

• It is a Thunderbolt.
  
• It does not use an autocannon of any sort.
  
• It has an ERPPC which it uses as a primary weapon system.

It basically is everything the current meta is not, and it absolutely abuses the hell out of the AC5 mechs it sees. At range, it can put 25 points of pinpoint damage where I want it with minimal exposure time to the enemy. My projectiles are faster than an AC5 mech's, and consequently I can be free to throw off their aim while I lob shells and particle blasts at them from 800 meters away. A simple forward-backward-forward movement is more than enough to mess with AC fire at that range as even if they hit, it will be difficult to hit the same part consistently whereas I just need to point, charge, shoot, and repeat to take any part I want off the enemy mech. If they have good aim, it can abuse terrain easily enough to pop out, fire, and retreat before the enemy gets a chance to build up damage over time on my mech.

Furthermore, even with an XL engine, the Thunderbolt is an amazing mech for damage soaking. Those gorilla arms are amazing. How amazing, you might ask?



That amazing. The Thunderbolt is such a grossly underestimated mech that it is even overlooked for more "threatening" mechs. That changes in a real hurry once your lowly Thud starts picking people off like over-ripe fruit off a tree. By then, it could be too late for them.

[Victor Morson]

Thunderbolts are such an engima.

They aren't awful, exactly. They're not great, either; there's some variants that perform pretty well and some that perform.. middle of the road.

It's a hard 'mech to peg. I'm not ruling it entirely out yet, but by God, I've not seen anything to knock my socks off with it either. It's probably the most frustratingly "middle at everything" 'mech in the game that I've seen so far.

Count me as "Undecided" on the Tbolt at present. I've seen good cases for and against them and I really don't know if a niche might get found for these.

Edited by Victor Morson, 07 February 2014 - 02:23 PM.

[Tiamat of the Sea]

Some nice thoughts on the Tbolt in this thread, might as well add a few of my own.

For me, the TDR-5S was the hardest machine to figure out what I wanted to do with it. The hardpoints aren't very focused either in location or in type, it doesn't have jump jets, and something about being the only one with a ballistic mount really really made me want to put -something- there. I tried a few things with LRMs and once with a gauss, but what I eventuall settled on was this- the 'From The Blue'.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...48f5e54c81824cf

This T-bolt uses the left torso mounted cockpit to throw dual-PPC blasts downwind through narrow holes with near-perfect convergence. This gives it a punch at long distance that keeps down heads and tears open chunks of armor, particularly on enemies that are distracted by fast brawlers in their face already. These holes can then be exploited by allies or the FTB itself, via the LB 10-X that is there as a crit-seeking weapon. The SRM-4s are nearly just an afterthought, but they can combine in nasty ways with the other weaponry at closer ranges. I know the use of an XL engine in this thing is iffy (especially such a slow engine) but I find that moving at that speed keeps me in the second line of combat, which is really where this thing belongs.


As for the TDR-5SS, I went with what I'm calling the 'Thundershock'.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b204f41f7b0cb5e

Originally, one of the large lasers was in the left torso, but I found that at longer ranges or when trying to pin down a light mech with a beam of 16 damage, having both lasers on the arm was very helpful. The LRM rack is intended to be used until it runs dry, hopefully keeping the 'Shock out of close combat until everything's softened up and ready for quad-medium-laser perforation. The large lasers are useful in both stages of combat (and for cutting holes in pesky lights that try to reach the back line or missile support). Compared to the From The Blue, Thundershock is fairly zippy, but trying to use that speed to charge forth only gets me smashed like the barrel my torso has the shape of.

Finally, the TDR-9SE, which I operate like a really really fat Jenner.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ba97df1dbf3879d

Cramming the maximum size of engine in there lets me squeeze out nearly 85 kph of speed, and having five medium lasers lets me quickly chew through individual locations on enemy 'mechs. Eighteen double heat sinks is huge (literally), and do a great job of keeping the temperature down- this thing doesn't even overheat worth speaking of on Tourmaline, leaving only the actual volcanoes on Caustic and TT as dangerous in a 'shutting down' direction. I probably should take it even further by using Endo-Steel to slap two more heat sinks into the thing, but it's not strictly necessary. This one I have to run as the same kind of 'lightning brawler' that a Quickdraw is- a 'mech whose role is not to get in and scrum around, but to jump in from a dead angle, smash a hole, and then just leave before anyone can get their head back on straight. Loop around to come in from a completely different angle, repeat. Concentrated 5ML strikes have let me tear the cannons off of Atlases, lop Stalkers in half, and absolutely ruin most light 'mechs I run across with this thing. Plus, the empty left arm makes a great shield for charging into battle on those rare occasions when there's no cover to charge in from behind.



In the end, the main strength of the T-bolt is like the main strength of the Battlemaster- all the variants are considerably different from each other, and while you -can- sameface them and operate them all as middle-of-the-road machines, you can also emphasize their differences and come out with loadouts and play methods that other people just aren't going to even recognize, at least not as belonging to that 'mech. Of the Phoenix 'Mechs, I have to say that the Thunderbolt and Battlemaster are by far my favorites- I really don't care much either way about the Shads, and while the Locusts are fun when I want to go crazy (My dual-SRM-4 locust oscillates wildly between 50 damage games and 4-kill 400+ damage games), the Thunderbolts have so far been just solid fun. I'm really looking forwards to hitting Battlemasters fairly soon.

QKD-CR0

[1453 R]

Thunderbolts aren't ever really likely to break into the top echelons of ultracompetitive murderplay. They're not slow, but they're not really fast either. They're unusually sturdy (as the 14% integrity shot from Pariah shows. Cripes, man...don't break wind too hard, you'll self-destruct!), but not really any more so than an Orion could be with ten tons more to muck with/higher structure and armor. They can carry diverse and effective loadouts, but the top-end players don't give a snot about diverse. If it weighs more'n forty tons and can't do 2xAC/5/2xPPC (The TDR-5S can come close, but it just doesn't have the weight for two of each gun and has to sacrifice one somewhere, though it can dead-side shield), they don't really want it. The Thunderbolt is a generalist if ever I saw one, and generalists are usually considered junk in high-end matches.

That said...I think the thing is a real gem in the low and middle-range ELO brackets. The diverse loadouts means pilots can fiddle with their Thunderbolts to suit their moods, or can configure each of their three machines to do something completely different. The 5S(P) is one of relatively few 'Mechs that really is adept at a mixed-type weapon loadout, and the 9SE is one of, if not the, sturdiest jump-capable machines in the weight class. Sure, the Cataphract 3D can carry five tons' more armor/structure points, but the Cataphract's hitboxes aren't nearly as friendly in close combat as the Thunderbolt's are. if energy weapons with the letters P, P, and C in their name and SRMs ever make a real comeback, I could see the 9SE making itself a real threat as a rugged jumping brawler.

Even the 5SS happens to have two of the highest-mounted energy hardpoints in the game in its right-torso mounts; the quad large laser build that's making a few waves here and there is actually really viable on the 5SS. It's got high-mount lasers in the right torso for ridgehumping and arm-mounted chase lasers in the right arm for helping to deal with lights and stuff, and it dead-side shields as well. have to trim a chunk of armor to get that fourth external DHS in there, and it's going to run hot no matter what, but it's also much faster than most of the Standard Meta STD-engine builds I've seen.

This is the only 'Mech that's made me break my "STD engines are for toids" rule. Something about the Thunderbolt just lets it hit a sweet spot on armament while still sitting on that 300STD engine, at least in the 5SS and 9SE. Never going to run the 5S(P) as anything but Thunder Hammer, because to Gehenna with T-Ballistic builds and losing your primary weapon right off the bat.

Edited by 1453 R, 08 February 2014 - 09:11 AM.

[Spheroid]

@1453 R: You have room for ferro unless you are keeping the chassis open for other builds.

[GhostWalkn]

I had disappeared for a few days, then jumped online last night, and pull a 727 and a 600+ right after, then I just got involved in watching Olympics. With that XL 245! I know my build can do upwards of 8 or 900. Mid range volleys and up close clobbering

[Reno Blade]

Very nice thread with a lot of great posts!
I'm still not done leveling my Thunders, but I usually ran LL/ML/SRM configs in all of them with a AC10/LBX10 on the Phoenix one.
I will check out some alternatives mentioned here such as adding PPC/LRMs.

[Modo44]

I would say the Thunderbolts tank (spread damage) better than other 65t heavies, and that is about it. So, take simple weapons with standard engines, and get in people's faces. They may have a role as decent brawlers. As soon as brawling comes back and SRM hit registration is fixed. For now, even Catapults feel more powerful.

Edited by Modo44, 14 February 2014 - 04:32 AM.