15 replies to this topic

[Onyxian]

Is the ERPPC worth it?

The ERPPC seems to be a *ton* more heat, 2 more tons, 1more spot, slightly longer cool down.... all for a tiny amount more damage (1point!), with a bit more range.

From my uneducated POV, I don't think I'd ever use an ERPPC. What am I not seeing?

[Redshift2k5]

The ERPPC's greatest strength is that it focuses all it's damage on one spot, instead of a beam which spreads damage over time (and possibly over multiple sections of the target)- even more useful when combined with other, cooler weapons that also deal all damage to the same location.

Generally I don't see many ERPPCs except in a few builds where the ERPPC is the sole weapon (See, ERPPC ECM Cicadas) and the lower-heat regular PPC is much more common

[Modo44]

For general usability on heavy energy weapons, stick to LLs, ERLLs, and PPCs. ERPPCs and LPLs are for special cases where you either rely on other weapons for DPS, have extreme cooling (23DHS dual ERPPC Awesome), or are being silly on purpose (ERPPC Spider).

Edited by Modo44, 08 April 2014 - 09:46 AM.

[Tastian]

ERPPC certainly has more range then the ERLarge and single point damage vs spread. This is a blessing and a curse. For sniping, I find I'm not a great aim at moving targets at over 1000m. So, having the ERLarge gives me a split second to adjust and not lose my target all together. I also like to put my weapons in groups of 2. Why have a single ERLarge when you can have 2? Two ERLarge have about the same heat as one ERPPC. Why have an ERPPC over 2? Well, because the heat is outrageous for two. So, my choice is always ERLarge. Although, yes, ERPPC is nice for maybe a light long range harasser, but even then, I'd rather have 2 ERLarge, or an ERLarge and a couple Medium Lasers.

[Archon]

No. The ERPPC has not been worth it since its speed was nerfed. It's hard to snipe with a weapon that fires tortoise-speed level beams. That coupled with the ludicrously high amount of heat that it puts out make it a really poor weapon in terms of DPS. You're much better off using the regular PPC. It's a real shame because the ER PPC was once my favorite weapon in the BT universe, but now PGI has made it nigh unusable.

[Gas Guzzler]

Tastian, on 08 April 2014 - 09:46 AM, said:

ERPPC certainly has more range then the ERLarge and single point damage vs spread. This is a blessing and a curse. For sniping, I find I'm not a great aim at moving targets at over 1000m. So, having the ERLarge gives me a split second to adjust and not lose my target all together. I also like to put my weapons in groups of 2. Why have a single ERLarge when you can have 2? Two ERLarge have about the same heat as one ERPPC. Why have an ERPPC over 2? Well, because the heat is outrageous for two. So, my choice is always ERLarge. Although, yes, ERPPC is nice for maybe a light long range harasser, but even then, I'd rather have 2 ERLarge, or an ERLarge and a couple Medium Lasers.

Yeah... and people want to nerf PPCs....

I will say that when I only have tonnage for one PPC, I do like to take an ER PPC depending on the rest of the build. The extra range helps a little, but mainly the lack of minimum range comes into play. Dual ER PPC is just not practical in almost all cases.

Edited by Gas Guzzler, 08 April 2014 - 09:56 AM.

[BigBadVlad]

I use ERPPC on 2 of my Battemasters because I'm mounting only 1. It's just NOT a Battlemaster without some kind of PPC in the right arm
That said I use ER PPC cause i'm putting only one PPC on my BLR's and use it in tandem with either AC5/AC2 or Gauss Rifle. Regular PPC just doesn't have the reach to match. I drop the ER PPC, long range weapon group soon as I have a target around 450 Meters or less. I switch to the medium lasers and ballistics at that point.

I know I could possibly get a better overall damage out of some kind of Large Laser but what can I say, not BLR without PPC! and the single ERPPC is best suitable for spamming long range fire, like around 1KM out or more. I treat it kind of like an LRM launcher I guess, use for long range but not in close. I'm packing other weapons for that.

[Voivode]

It depends on what you're doing with the ERPPC. If you have other weapons that produce noticeable heat you will struggle with it. Couple it with lower heat weapons and it can certainly be worth it. For an extreme long range sniper the ER part comes in handy, or if you lack close up defensive weapons the lack of 90 meter minimum can help.

As a general rule, if you'll be taking the time to aim, the PPC/ERPPC would be the better choice. If you'll be firing on the move, the LL/ERLL is the better choice.

[Onyxian]

Problem I had with regular PPC was I kept forgetting the minimum range when I was in close range.

But the focused single location damage... that makes the PPC make more sense now. Not sure it's worth it, but at least there's an argument to be made for it, for that reason alone.

Thank you!

[Jody Von Jedi]

Lasers are easier to aim. It's like using a laser pointer verses shooting a projectile. If you have good aim and like to pop tart, go with the ERPPC. ERPPC will concentrate damage, but you have to be a good shot. If you need help aiming, go with the lasers.

Jody

[Corison]

Don't forget PPC/ERPPC can be used to knock out ECM for a bit.

ERPPC+Gass/AC can be very fun once you get used to it... But yes the heat is an issue.

[Koniving]

Onyxian, on 08 April 2014 - 09:35 AM, said:

slightly longer cool down....
From my uneducated POV, I don't think I'd ever use an ERPPC. What am I not seeing?

There's something you're missing. It's not the ER PPC that has a longer cooldown.
Time to fire an ER PPC after having fired.
Player fired ER PPC at 0 seconds.
1...
2...
3...
4 FIRE!

Time to fire an ER LL is NOT 3.25 seconds. Observe.
Player fires ER LL at 0 seconds. Beam starts. Cooldown does NOT begin.
1 second. Beam concludes. Laser weapon shuts down. Cooldown begins.
2 seconds.
3 seconds.
4 seconds.
4.25 seconds. FIRE!

[Koniving]

In MWO, the weapon's cooldown cannot begin until the weapon ceases to fire.
For example if you load an LRM-20 into the NARC beacon launcher of a Raven 3-L (since models on it do not update), you have to wait until all 20 missiles have fired... one at a time... before the cool down begins. This effectively changes the 4.75 second cooldown of the LRM 20 to roughly over 7 seconds before you can fire the LRM-20 again.

Beam weapons of the medium to large sort take 1 second to finish firing.
Small laser takes 0.75 seconds.
Pulse weapons of the medium to large sort take 0.6 seconds.
The small pulse takes 0.5 seconds.

To find out the actual time to fire again, you take the beam time + the cooldown time to get the actual refire time.

And if you have fast fire, subtract 5% from the "cooldown time" only. It has no effect on beam time or time to pump out missiles.

[Hex Pallett]

Also, when compared to ERLL, ERPPC is an extremely heat-taxing weapon. If you're carrying more than ONE ERPPC, you'll have to surround your entire build around the pair of ERPPCs - I'm saying "a pair" because I don't see any way one could build anything remotely functional with more than two.

However, a single ERPPC could provide some interesting opportunities. It gives you 10 pinpoint damage from point-blank to 810 meter. You could use to scavenge Assists from afar, finish enemies off at any range and of course, counter ECM. Here's an example of a mixed build involving a single ERPPC.

[Spleenslitta]

Tastian, on 08 April 2014 - 09:46 AM, said:

ERPPC certainly has more range then the ERLarge and single point damage vs spread. This is a blessing and a curse. For sniping, I find I'm not a great aim at moving targets at over 1000m. So, having the ERLarge gives me a split second to adjust and not lose my target all together. I also like to put my weapons in groups of 2. Why have a single ERLarge when you can have 2? Two ERLarge have about the same heat as one ERPPC. Why have an ERPPC over 2? Well, because the heat is outrageous for two. So, my choice is always ERLarge. Although, yes, ERPPC is nice for maybe a light long range harasser, but even then, I'd rather have 2 ERLarge, or an ERLarge and a couple Medium Lasers.

This.

I tried putting 2ML's and 1 ER PPC on my Jenner instead of my usual 2ML's and 1 ER LL. My damage went from 400-600 damage to 130-250.
Heat ain't really the issue for me. I didn't even drop any speed when i mounted the ER PPC. I just couldn't accuratly hit anything that moved at longrange.

I go for the ER LL everytime nowadays. It's better for hunting internals without armor. Much easier to do damage where it really counts.

[Void Angel]

The ERPPC is a niche-use weapon only. Even though it does not suffer from a minimum range, this advantage is more than offset by its incredible heat cost. The ERPPC is useful for a handful of situations, such as a PPC-harasser light, or when you intend them to be used only to complement a brawling loadout - and this last works only when you have a lot of extra hardpoints, like a Stalker (how well it works I won't say.)

The ER Large laser, on the other hand, is an excellent all-around weapon, but a bit problematic in its own right. While the ER Large does have a longer range than the normal PPC, the PPC's pinpoint damage means that your time to kill at those ranges is at least comparable, if not slanted in favor of the PPC (since the ER Large spreads damage.) However, the extra heat for the ER Large compared to the normal Large Laser is manageable, and it's also an excellent tool for smaller 'mechs who will be able to mount fewer additional weapons - thus allowing the 10 engine heat sinks to better handle the heat.