20 replies to this topic

[Takashi Uchida]

It's been about a month since I asked for everyone's opinion, so I thought I'd give an update on my Battlemaster experiences for my fellow new assault pilots.

I've had decent success with the 1S and the 1D, which are now both mastered. The 1G I elited but sold shortly after. The engine I have used the most is the 360XL, which I bought as soon as a could after buying the 1G (the first BLR I bought). The only other engine that I have used is the stock 340.

BLR-1G
-I really could not get the hang of this mech. The twist is quite limited and slow, especially out of the box with no efficiencies. I wanted to make use of the energy hardpoints but found that my more effective builds could be done much better on the 1D. I think I bought this one in the beginning because I thought "ZOMG I'MA PUT 6 MLs ON THIS THANG AND KICK A**!" At the end of the day it was cumbersome to pilot. I guess I should have been more patient, but I sold it with a mediocre W/L and K/D with only about 60 games played.

-I had some good games like this

Spoiler

-Unfortunately, most of my typical games ended up like this

Spoiler

BLR-1S
-I managed to pick this thing up shortly after the LRM speed increase. Had a blast. I ran the typical LRM-Artemis builds (either LRM 40 or 50, with BAP, TAG, and medium lasers as backup). I did try streaks, but haven't had a good game using them yet. I've run Splattlemasters (SRMs) with limited success, though it may be something I may want to try again in the future once (read: if) hit-reg is addressed and I've got an even bigger engine to play with. Some of my LRMadventures:

-First time over 1k ever! Never thought I'd see the day..

Spoiler

-Excellent performance in a win

Spoiler

-Got face-stomped in this one.. a much more pedestrian performance

Spoiler

-This one was after they knocked down the LRM speed. However, I had saved up some cbills and beefed up my mech with adv seismic, adv sensor range, and target decay! Still capable of a very good match.

Spoiler

BLR-1D
-I had some difficulty at first with this mech because the left arm is a bit low and my ballistic shots tended to hit the ground. I've spent some time in Jagers and I think my issue was that I tried to play it as a Jager. I eventually realized that I don't have the advantage of high arms but that I could take a lot more abuse than I thought, especially if I front-load the armor. My effective builds in this mech are rapid fire ACs in the left arm, and heavy lasers in the left torso. I found [AC5 + AC2x2 + LLx2] to be a decent build, and experimented upon that build by swapping out different lasers and ACs. I haven't had much luck putting an LBX or an AC10 in the arm; I like the ability to be able to open fire from long range. My attempts at using machine guns in it have also been laughable.

-Average performance, show was stolen by a very capable pilot lol

Spoiler

-Similar numbers in a close loss

Spoiler

-Excellent win

Spoiler

-Died, but not before dealing out an enormous amount of punishment

Spoiler

Moving Forward
-So what now? Well I eventually plan on picking up an XL395 or XL400 to screw around with some super speedy builds (ie LPL x4), but unfortunately, this mechwarrior is once again broke. I'm tempted to try the Victors, especially after today when I got PPC'd to death by a team with at least 4 (not sure how 3/3/3/3 is gonna affect this kind of thing). I am ok at jumpsniping with the CTF-3D and the Victor offers a more heavily armored version with comparable speed. Perhaps I'll try to grind some XP with the trial while I'm waiting for my cbills to go up again.

-Well anyway, it's gonna be a long time before I can afford to buy another assault mech so I'm open to suggestions! To you guys who have been here a while, what mech, if any, do you think will be most positively affected by the upcoming changes to the game?

[Turist0AT]

Stalkers have served me very well. But i dont know anything about the upcoming changes to the game. What about Banshee? no arm weapons but it can pack allot of firepower.

Edited by Turist0AT, 07 April 2014 - 03:42 AM.

[Sarlic]

I see you alot ingame. Could be me. But your doing it pretty good! Those are some great damage numbers.

[Bhelogan]

I really like the Banshee and Atlas mechs, but sounds like you don't want to go for another assault at the moment. I really like the Firestarters and Shadowhawks for lights and mediums. Both of these use different play styles from each other and form the mechs you listed using above. (SDH though can play the jump sniper rule, but I like to build it as a light hunter)

[Takashi Uchida]

Sarlic, on 07 April 2014 - 03:53 AM, said:

I see you alot ingame. Could be me. But your doing it pretty good! Those are some great damage numbers.

Remember that those are epeen highlight numbers . I've certainly got my more than substantial handful of crash and burn games. My average damage is much more modest at 450. Should have put a "results not typical" disclaimer like they do on those weight loss infomercials. However, to a new player who struggles to do 100 a game, I've definitely been there as well. When I first started the BLR-1G, I felt like I was relearning to play because I just couldn't get anything done.

[RushOutlaw]

The Battlemaster is a nice mech, each variant has it's duty too which is nice, it stops me running the same build across all three variants and then getting bored i.e. Shadowhawk, Jaeger etc.

A fast Assault is always a nice touch for something different too!!

[Turist0AT]

Bhelogan brought up a good point. Do you want Assault or are you looking for something else?

Need to second Firestarter, fun, powerful and cheap mechs.

[Sarlic]

Takashi Uchida, on 07 April 2014 - 04:06 AM, said:

Remember that those are epeen highlight numbers . I've certainly got my more than substantial handful of crash and burn games. My average damage is much more modest at 450. Should have put a "results not typical" disclaimer like they do on those weight loss infomercials. However, to a new player who struggles to do 100 a game, I've definitely been there as well. When I first started the BLR-1G, I felt like I was relearning to play because I just couldn't get anything done.

Still; did well. I got stomped all the time too. I mostly end up in teams full of new players. I don't mind the new players, but i do mind the teamwork.

[Magna Canus]

Takashi Uchida, on 07 April 2014 - 03:23 AM, said:

BLR-1G
-I really could not get the hang of this mech. The twist is quite limited and slow, especially out of the box with no efficiencies. I wanted to make use of the energy hardpoints but found that my more effective builds could be done much better on the 1D. I think I bought this one in the beginning because I thought "ZOMG I'MA PUT 6 MLs ON THIS THANG AND KICK A**!" At the end of the day it was cumbersome to pilot. I guess I should have been more patient, but I sold it with a mediocre W/L and K/D with only about 60 games played.

Try it with an XL 375, 21 DHS, and 4 LPL. I have tons of fun it that. =)

[Tastian]

Magnakanus, on 07 April 2014 - 06:36 AM, said:

Try it with an XL 375, 21 DHS, and 4 LPL. I have tons of fun it that. =)

I also bought a 375XL just for the Battlemasters. The speed boost and agility was really needed, it performed well with an XL, and I always put 5 DHS in the engine. I just couldn't get myself to buy a 400XL; its 7 tons more then the 375. Not saying its a bad idea.

[Magna Canus]

Tastian, on 07 April 2014 - 06:51 AM, said:

I also bought a 375XL just for the Battlemasters. The speed boost and agility was really needed, it performed well with an XL, and I always put 5 DHS in the engine. I just couldn't get myself to buy a 400XL; its 7 tons more then the 375. Not saying its a bad idea.

I also bought a 400XL at one time and after a bit of joking around found that it was really not the best idea. Maybe in something else some day, but now it is just collecting dust.

[Dawnstealer]

Yeah, unlike most Assaults, BLGs really need the XL to shine. Its hitboxes support this as you will get cored out FAR more often than you'll have a side torso blown off. That doesn't mean you're immune to it, just that being more nimble and having the ability to run out of the fight, or to cover, or towards the fight, means a much better game.

It's definitely not an Atlas, Highlander, or even a Victor. You also need to put your long-range weaponry in those shoulders - play it like a fast Stalker and you'll have better games. If you try to wade into the fight, ala this mech does lore-wise, you will get torn up FAST.

[Ovion]

Have you got any Lights yet?

They're cheap, and great fun.

What mechs do you already have / have used besides the Battlemaster, Shadowhawk, Hunchback and Jager?

[Koniks]

I second getting an XL375 and XL400 for the BLR when you can afford it. They're worth it for the "I didn't realize an assault could go 80KPH" comments.

I don't think we know enough about the changes to predict which mechs will benefit. It really depends on what happens with SRM hit registration and how they adjust ACs.

[Takashi Uchida]

Thanks for the responses.

I do have a couple lights in my garage (Firestarters, Raven 3L). I may want to try a more "traditional" assault like the Stalker or Atlas, but my experiences with the slow Cataphract-4x kind of make me apprehensive. Hell, when I just started out with the BLR, I tried to use the standard 340 with no speed tweak, and found that difficult. I still pug a lot and it sucks to get left in the dust by the rest of charlie lance. I think piloting the BLR as a first assault was a positive experience, but at the end of the day I just treated them as fat heavies.

The heavier you get the more expensive things generally are. It costs a lot to get an Atlas fully decked out and elited. I guess the plus side is that I wouldn't need an XL for an Atlas or Stalker.

Heh, maybe I should just grind cbills because eventually I'll probably want to try a clan mdch and those are gonna cost a pretty penny.

[Takashi Uchida]

Bhelogan, on 07 April 2014 - 03:57 AM, said:

I really like the Banshee and Atlas mechs, but sounds like you don't want to go for another assault at the moment. I really like the Firestarters and Shadowhawks for lights and mediums. Both of these use different play styles from each other and form the mechs you listed using above. (SDH though can play the jump sniper rule, but I like to build it as a light hunter)

The 3E with the super ballistic shoulder looks like a beast.. The all enegy variant I would have to grind out would give me BLR-1G fits all over again lol.

[SethAbercromby]

Takashi Uchida, on 07 April 2014 - 02:29 PM, said:

I do have a couple lights in my garage (Firestarters, Raven 3L). I may want to try a more "traditional" assault like the Stalker or Atlas, but my experiences with the slow Cataphract-4x kind of make me apprehensive. Hell, when I just started out with the BLR, I tried to use the standard 340 with no speed tweak, and found that difficult. I still pug a lot and it sucks to get left in the dust by the rest of charlie lance. I think piloting the BLR as a first assault was a positive experience, but at the end of the day I just treated them as fat heavies.

The heavier you get the more expensive things generally are. It costs a lot to get an Atlas fully decked out and elited. I guess the plus side is that I wouldn't need an XL for an Atlas or Stalker.

The Stalker can work with an XL. Being designed as a energy and missile-based fire-support platform, you can get a lot of long-ranged damage potential. The Stalker does suffer from low heat management so using a large XL can help with the additional heat sinks. The Atlas on the other hand is more geared to me a close to medium range brawler. You can get some ranged potential but everything you can do with it, the Stalker can do much better. Because of its large torso, engine failure is much more likely on an atlas than on most other assaults which is also why I'd discourage from using XL. But feel free to experiment nonetheless if that's what you'd like to play with.

My personal preference among the Stalkers is the 5S because it can equip dual AMS. This adds some additional support to your team by destroying as many missiles as possible. My personal configuration looks like this. This is pretty much the canonical weapons layout on the 3F, but upgraded with DHS, CASE and BAP. You could drop the BAP for some more armor but it has served me very well to this point.

[Buckminster]

I also went XL375, but that was also because it was the maximum engine size for the Wolverine 6K.

Have you maybe considered a faster heavy? The Cat-4X is slow but it's the oddball (and you don't even need to get it), and the other mechs can be very quick and maneuverable. Plop a 300XL into a Catapult and make sure you have jump jets, and the thing is incredibly nimble. Or you could maybe go lighter assault, like the Victor, and get the jumpy goodness that it's known for.

[Ovion]

Yeah.

You could go cheap and cheerful - try some locusts for giggles. They're amazing fun to play, and the set doesn't cost all that much.

Or something a little more substantial, like Commandos, Spiders or Cicadas (It's a light really, it just likes to think it's a medium), and play with some ECM?

Alternatively, Catapults are good fun and have a reasonable variety, with a gunboat, a missile boat and some inbetweeners, and's pretty speedy for a Heavy.

[Takashi Uchida]

Buckminster, on 07 April 2014 - 05:19 PM, said:

Have you maybe considered a faster heavy?

Kinda want to try out the something unconventional like Dragon, or maybe get a Catapult k2. However, it seems that whenever I'm trying something new I get matched against the "2 Victor 2 Highlander lance ggclose" clowns. I mean damn can I catch a break when I'm experimenting? lol