65 replies to this topic

[Ion Punch]

Hi fellow mechwarriors!

I am coming to MWO from Mechwarrior4, which I used to Play extensively.

I have literally finished my first day and I am loving it.

Now, two questions:

1)I Need a Budget friendly sniper. Does not Need to be super fast, I do want to have the super zoom Option. EIther ER PPC Setup or maybe ER PPC and autocannon.

2) I LOVED my Loki with triple LBXs in MW4. Here, LBX is not nearly as powerful, it seems. Is it still possible to build a short range brawler with a similar idea? I used to be able to circle assault mechs and blow them to bits with wel placed triple LBX salvos. I am looking for a similar mech here.

Ideally, if there is a site with prebuilt profiles for those, I would love to have it. The mechlab here is much more complicated than in MW4.

[Antique]

Aahzmandeus, on 25 February 2014 - 11:56 AM, said:

Hi fellow mechwarriors!

I am coming to MWO from Mechwarrior4, which I used to Play extensively.

I have literally finished my first day and I am loving it.

Now, two questions:

1)I Need a Budget friendly sniper. Does not Need to be super fast, I do want to have the super zoom Option. EIther ER PPC Setup or maybe ER PPC and autocannon.

2) I LOVED my Loki with triple LBXs in MW4. Here, LBX is not nearly as powerful, it seems. Is it still possible to build a short range brawler with a similar idea? I used to be able to circle assault mechs and blow them to bits with wel placed triple LBX salvos. I am looking for a similar mech here.

Ideally, if there is a site with prebuilt profiles for those, I would love to have it. The mechlab here is much more complicated than in MW4.

in general you'd want to check this site often for builds: http://www.mechspecs.com/forum/

for your first mech you'd probably get a shadowhawk or a cataphract, i'd suggest a ctf-3d http://www.mechspecs...hp?topic=3760.0 (2 x pcc + 2 x AC5) since it is a de facto sniper mech.

as for your second question, yes you can make a short range brawler with a LBX, good contenders are atlai, orions and maybe shadowhawks and cents and hunchbacks.

[Dawnstealer]

I feel dirty doing this, because "sniping" in this game is kind of pointless, but on a budget?

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...97753abc3b30e47

There.

If you want the current "I win" button, get either a dual gauss Jager or a 2xAC5/2xPPC Victor.

[Modo44]

Take a Spider 5D with ERPPC+ML, Raven 3L with ERPPC+2xML, or Blackjack with 2xPPC. The latter two with stock engines to be really cheap. You will want to upgrade to big XLs when cash comes in.

[Mechteric]

Modo44, on 25 February 2014 - 12:14 PM, said:

Take a Spider 5D with ERPPC+ML, Raven 3L with ERPPC+2xML, or Blackjack with 2xPPC. The latter two with stock engines to be really cheap. You will want to upgrade to big XLs when cash comes in.

Those light mechs are more harassers than snipers, he will likely want something with a bit more power. The problem with the blackjack as a sniper is that it doesn't have much armor, so any return fire from serious snipers like Victors and Highlanders will end you very quickly. Also that blackjack you posted has a really weak STD engine, way too slow for a medium mech, put an XL in that sucker.

The Victors are probably your best bet for sniper, since you don't really need to put an XL in them to make them good, and they don't start out with an XL so that keeps their price down relatively well. PPCs + ACs are the name of the game. Also they can brawl pretty well too.

Shadow Hawk is a similarly good choice for either sniper or brawler roles.

[Modo44]

I too know bigger mechs that are really scary -- once you put around 15 million Cbills into them. Budget friendly was the theme. I doubt you can beat the BJ on that front.

Edited by Modo44, 25 February 2014 - 12:48 PM.

[Koniving]

Two Budget friendly sniper mechs.

One, Shadowhawk 5M. Slap on one or two AC/5s and one or two ER PPCs. Streaks as backups. You're done. No upgrades (other than endo steel). Comes with Endo steel. Roll out.

Blackjack 1. Slap on an XL 180 engine, some JJs, AC + PPCs, DHS, and you're set.

Both will run you right about the same price.

Edited by Koniving, 25 February 2014 - 12:57 PM.

[Mechteric]

Modo44, on 25 February 2014 - 12:48 PM, said:

I too know bigger mechs that are really scary -- once you put around 15 million Cbills into them. Budget friendly was the theme. I doubt you can beat the BJ on that front.

Not without an XL engine (because a medium sniper running 64kph is dumb), which will bring the cost of that BJ up to 10 million according to smurfy's. The Victor without an XL would be in that ballpark, for instance VTR-9B with AC20 + 2 PPC, stock STD 320 engine, same price about 10 million (though a smaller STD 300 engine would allow for more armor/sinks). Give or take a million that's ballpark.

XL 2PPC BJ: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...73956a23b2a958b

Edited by CapperDeluxe, 25 February 2014 - 12:59 PM.

[Ion Punch]

Woow, thank you, so much Information to sort out!

So, is my hunch that in the current meta the LBX build is possibly, but sucks, correct? Just judging by the sheer amounts of sniper builds I received here.

I need to jump in the game and check on the pricing of all of these.

Also, totally unrelated: how does the friend matching System work here? I hate to play alone, and prefer to roll with 3-4 people. Any quick ways to find random people to play with in a squad?

EDIT: have checked some of the builds - pricepoint seems to be around 10 Mills for the sniper. I am sitting on 9.0 Mill, so just a bit more left.

At the moment I am leaning towards Victor, blackjack and shadowcat.

How come are PPCs universally suggested? Is the ERPPC bad? The wiki says they are comparable, but PPC lacks shortrange attack (inactive below 90m). Am I missing something?

Also, once I buy a mech, I have to redistribute heatsinks, ammo, and such. Do I buy those extra or are they on the mech and I decide how to distribute them? In MW4 this was an easy process, but here the mechlab is scary big

Edited by Aahzmandeus, 25 February 2014 - 01:29 PM.

[Mechteric]

Aahzmandeus, on 25 February 2014 - 01:15 PM, said:

So, is my hunch that in the current meta the LBX build is possibly, but sucks, correct? Just judging by the sheer amounts of sniper builds I received here.

I need to jump in the game and check on the pricing of all of these.

Also, totally unrelated: how does the friend matching System work here? I hate to play alone, and prefer to roll with 3-4 people. Any quick ways to find random people to play with in a squad?

Definitely use smurfy's to check pricing! If you want to group up with any randoms you'll need to join a community Teamspeak server.


LBX can be ok, but I wouldn't recommend it simply because its outclassed by the standard AC10 among other weapons. Unfortunately since SRMs are broken right now brawling is limited to AC5/10/20s, and lasers/pulse lasers more or less. Streaks also can be good, but I only consider them if you are going for a light hunter, not a raw damage brawler.

Edited by CapperDeluxe, 25 February 2014 - 01:21 PM.

[Macksheen]

Aahzmandeus, on 25 February 2014 - 01:15 PM, said:

Woow, thank you, so much Information to sort out!

So, is my hunch that in the current meta the LBX build is possibly, but sucks, correct? Just judging by the sheer amounts of sniper builds I received here.

I need to jump in the game and check on the pricing of all of these.

Also, totally unrelated: how does the friend matching System work here? I hate to play alone, and prefer to roll with 3-4 people. Any quick ways to find random people to play with in a squad?

EDIT: have checked some of the builds - pricepoint seems to be around 10 Mills for the sniper. I am sitting on 9.0 Mill, so just a bit more left.

At the moment I am leaning towards Victor, blackjack and shadowcat.

How come are PPCs universally suggested? Is the ERPPC bad? The wiki says they are comparable, but PPC lacks shortrange attack (inactive below 90m). Am I missing something?

Also, once I buy a mech, I have to redistribute heatsinks, ammo, and such. Do I buy those extra or are they on the mech and I decide how to distribute them? In MW4 this was an easy process, but here the mechlab is scary big

The ERPPC generates more heat, and is harder to manage. The better players can make do w/ the 90m min range, so they recommend the normal PPC.

Once you buy a mech it comes with some basic stuff (the default loadout on smurphy should tell you) but any upgrades you'll have to manage yourself.

LBX is not favored in the current meta - but that may depend highly on your play group / style. The top folks are all using grouped pin-point weapons (things that hit one spot) because they have much better aim, etc. than us new players. For them, 30 or 40 points of damage in one spot is doable and repeatable - so they favor weapons that hit one location (ACs, PPC). The others work, and probably the difference isn't as extreme for us mere mortals.

Friend matching is kinda odd. You can group with other people, and then it will try to balance you with other players of similar skill. "skill" is based on a score derived from comparable win-loss, but there are a host of other factors as well (such as, teams on audio vs. not, teams with very lopsided rock-paper-scissors layouts compared to the other, etc.) so the matchmaker gets a bad rap sometimes which it doesn't deserve. But, if you find a group of folks you want to drop with, you can.

Having gone through a handful of the chassis, I personally think the mediums are in a sweet spot. I tend to put up the same #s with my mediums as with heavies / assaults ... so I'd recommend the 55-ton jumpers like the Griffin and Shadowhawk as awesome starters.

If you want something nominally cheaper, go with Centurions ... they have sniping and brawling options, are cheap and easy ... and set you up to love the Shadowhawk even more when you eventually pick them up ;-)

Plus, right now you can get a free Centurion which kits out to be a darn solid short range brawler by winning 5 matches. Then you buy the -AL for your energy fetish needs and the -D for your sniping pleasures and you're solid (or the Yen-Lo if it goes on super sale if you want to spike folks with an AC20). Earn, practice, play and move on. Might be a solid budget option.

[Koniving]

Aahzmandeus, on 25 February 2014 - 01:15 PM, said:

I need to jump in the game and check on the pricing of all of these.

How come are PPCs universally suggested? Is the ERPPC bad? The wiki says they are comparable, but PPC lacks shortrange attack (inactive below 90m). Am I missing something?

For pricing, build some in Smurfy. But yes 10 mil is about even for any build. Bit higher for a CTF 3D.

I suggested ER PPCs. But the reason they are not frequently recommended is they are very hot. VERY hot. In MW3: firing 2 at once was an instant shutdown. Here, not so much, but they are very, very hot.

Aahzmandeus, on 25 February 2014 - 01:15 PM, said:

So, is my hunch that in the current meta the LBX build is possibly, but sucks, correct? Just judging by the sheer amounts of sniper builds I received here.

This video is before Hunchbacks got improved hitboxes. It's an external commando chase-cam of my Hunchback. At first I'm talking about my computer and the lag I had before he started. But then I go in and rip some mechs apart.


Golden rules: Engage mechs already fighting. The closer you are the more devastating you are. Back the LB-10x up with an AC or MGs. Make sure your energy weapons compliment the fighting style (shoot fast, damage fast, low heat). Never, EVER, say you have an XL engine -- that's what killed me was rubbing it in.

(....I just realized you didn't mean Hunchback. D'oh!)

LB-10x builds actually rock. But you need to back them up. Pair them up with another AC (2 or 5 preferably) to have good, solid results. These two videos are a bit more appropriate.

Heavy ballistic mix, Jager. Incredible 5 on 1 fight with multiple kills at the end.
Highlander LB-10x + AC/2 mix (2 premades versus 2 premades as introduced in the beginning of the match).

Both vids skipped to the action.

Edited by Koniving, 25 February 2014 - 03:56 PM.

[Turist0AT]

ERPPC twice as hot

Edited by Turist0AT, 25 February 2014 - 03:53 PM.

[Redshift2k5]

You can basically build a sniper on any mech chassis (even missile-oriented chassis like the Catapult have direct-fire variants like the K2) so it really comes down to preference & cost. Brawlers are a little more difficult, you want good hitboxes and good hardpoints to be a brawler and you're better off not tryng until you realy know what you're doing. A brawler that gets picked apart at 800m by PPCs & AC5s is a sad brawler

[Nikkoru]

Modo44, on 25 February 2014 - 12:48 PM, said:

I too know bigger mechs that are really scary -- once you put around 15 million Cbills into them. Budget friendly was the theme. I doubt you can beat the BJ on that front.

The thing is, though, assaults are ususally cheaper c-bill wise because you don't have to buy sop many expensive engines and upgrades for them

[Koniving]

Turist0AT, on 25 February 2014 - 03:52 PM, said:

ERPPC twice as hot

1.5x as hot.

PPC - 10 heat. ER PPC - 15 heat.
2 PPC - 20 heat. 2 ER PPC - 30 heat.

Macksheen, on 25 February 2014 - 02:35 PM, said:

Plus, right now you can get a free Centurion.

I think the Centurion deal ended yesterday.

[Stalkers Only]

k2 solves everything

[Modo44]

Nikkoru, on 25 February 2014 - 04:25 PM, said:

The thing is, though, assaults are ususally cheaper c-bill wise because you don't have to buy sop many expensive engines and upgrades for them

Not when two of the builds I showed have stock engines.

[Adiuvo]

If you want a cheap-ish sniper the Cataphract 3D will be the best. It can also be reconfigured to a brawling role though that will require a larger engine.

Sniper: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...487c770d72233f4
Brawler: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b8fec17d42e4e28

Adjust rear/front armor to your liking. I personally run 5 back on everything.

Edited by Adiuvo, 26 February 2014 - 12:22 AM.

[Ion Punch]

Guys, thank you for all the great Input!

I have, in the meantime, invested in a Jagermech 6DD.

I have built two variants - one with 1 LBX 10/UAC/AC/3 machine guns: this one is a nice Support mech, but is definetely NOT a brawler. Reason? The damn XL engine. Cannot count how many times I have been killed due to RT/LT crits.

The second variant is a twin gauss sniper. Works okay, but isnt fun at all. Deals okay damage for a newbie like me.

Here is my next question: I want a hero assault mech. I want something that is NOT XL engine based and can take a heavy beating before going down. Is my hunch that the Atlas is the right candidate for a hero mech correct?

Regards

Alex

EDIT: Am I correct in my assumption that it is NOT possible to build a 3x LBX mech currently? Namely, there are simply no mechs with enough mountpoints for such a build in MWO currently.

Edited by Aahzmandeus, 10 March 2014 - 01:25 PM.