Macksheen, on 20 February 2014 - 06:26 PM, said:
Dragon Slayer - Dual AC5s, paired either with dual 7-ton energy weapons (PPC, LPL) or triple LLs. Not loving it, but it does work. 330 engine. I dislike it as the aim-point is different (ACs on arms, energy on torso) - and that causes me (as a new / less experienced player) fits.
B - I had dual UAC5s in here for a while, but finally when with sneaky alpha strike and run a AC20 and 2 7-ton energy. I'm struggling through this one now - not loving it. 350 XL engine.
S - I run an AC20, 2 ML, 3 streaks + BAP. 350XL engine. Most fun for me.
K - I'm looking for the K to solve my issue w/ the DS, being able to put the energy weapons on the arm-recticule as well. It won't zombie as well as the DS with those torso points, but should converge better operationally.
I was in the exact same boat as you before I Mastered the Variants. After seeing some huge damage and kill stats from other (better) pilots, I bought a Victor thinking it was going to be a cake walk. Every Victor variant was an absolute dying machine - losing streaks of 10+ where I'm sure I was the cause of our team's loss. After mastering it and figuring out it's strengths, I'm cranking out 2-4 kills a match. The VTR's are different beasts after Mastering.
So I scoured the forums to try and figure out what I was doing wrong, both tactically and build-wise. Here's what I found from reading tips from others and just experimenting:
Tactics for the S: XL350, AC20, ERPPC, 3 Streaks + BAP, close to full or close to full armour.
-Pilot it like a medium, think of yourself as a support mech. It's best to be a bit more patient and wait for enemies to be distracted before moving in. Think 2nd or 3rd mech in. You can fire a few potshots if you have a PPC or ERPPC on your left arm but try to avoid being the first in.
-VTR's are pretty big targets so you have to find the right time 'reveal' yourself. Once the enemy already has a dance partner or 2 you can show yourself. This is one mech that enjoys a bit of chaos. If you have enough jj's, it's really effective to rush at a mech and jump over them to spread your damage and protect your side torsos. Rotate while jumping over them and get a couple of shots in their back or side in as they turn to try to face you.
-circle and jump a lot so. If you see that you're getting hit in the legs a lot, it means that you're probably doing a good job of spreading damage. Better than dying from losing your side torsos right?
-Rush in, get your shots in and torso twist/jj your way back to cover. Or keep jumping over them so they have trouble hitting you with their torso mounted weapons.
-streaks + BAP (so you can still target ECM lights) + target retention module (so you can keep lock a touch longer) are great because while you're running around in circles and jumping, you can still send a steady stream of Streaks as long as you keep your targeting reticle in the red box. Shakes their screen and doesn't produce too much heat while you wait for your AC20 to reload.
Dragon:
Because the energies are mounted high on the torso, this is going to be the best poptart cheese build. I've only ever played this as a poptart sniper because it worked to so well. This is one variant where arm lock actually works well so you do pinpoint damage and score a few more kills/component destructions.
My Dragon has the best K/D ratio because it's more of a long range sniper build but truthfully it's the least fun. When you engage a bit closer, you end up playing it like a Centurion where you use your left arm as a shield and torso twist after every shot because all of your primary weapons will tend to be on your right torso or right arm.
The K: - XL 350 or 360, 6 jj's, LBX10, 2 Streaks, 3 MLAS, BAP, Full Armour.
I found this to be the weakest variant because it can't mount the AC20. A lot of people out there say that it's just a mini version of the Heavy Metal. (3LL + some ballistic on the other arm, jj's) This is the only variant that can mount 6 jj's so I tried playing it as a high flying, speedy distractor mech.
It was definitely very fun and agile but it just didn't have the finishing power of the other variants. If you do play the role of the distractor, sometimes your teammates will take advantage and get some shots on enemies as you distracted them but more often, you just end up getting roflstomped while your teammates watch idly behind a comfortable covered spot.
Who knows, maybe you'll find this the most similar in play style to your Shadowhawk. I sold the 9K because I always ended up defaulting to the 9S.
The B:
I don't own this variant but I think these tend to have higher DPS because of the ability to have 3 Ballistics. Someone else who know the 9B can chime in.
When I first started on the VTR's I was so frustrated that I was going to throw in the towel. But people told me to stick with it and now it's definitely one of my most consistent mechs.
Good luck!
Edited by Sewman, 21 February 2014 - 02:50 AM.
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