97 replies to this topic

[Bishop Steiner]

Nathan Foxbane, on 11 April 2014 - 01:22 PM, said:

Yeah my Caesar build for the CFT-2X was brutal back then with just a single ER PPC and Gauss Rifle. The GR is a bit cumbersome to manage on it these days.

been thinking about rebuying the 2X to run this
CTF-2X

[Nathan Foxbane]

Bishop Steiner, on 11 April 2014 - 01:27 PM, said:

been thinking about rebuying the 2X to run this
CTF-2X

Nice brawler.
CTF-2X V1.5 shaved some armor and a ton of gauss ammo for BAP.
CTF-1X Caesar-phract. Not nearly as effective as it used to be, but I never did the Gauss/PPC alpha meta. The ER PPC was for snap shots and targets with low hit probabilities at long range while the Gauss was for high hit probability shots and medium range work. Both tended to be ignored in close combat and just used the medium lasers to keep heat down.

[aniviron]

Bishop Steiner, on 11 April 2014 - 01:27 PM, said:

been thinking about rebuying the 2X to run this
CTF-2X

Can I suggest swapping the LPL for a regular large, and the aSRM4s for aSRM6s?

I know the LPL makes some great noises, but it really is an incredibly niche weapon- and I ran some numbers that suggested why. For almost every player I've asked for numbers from, taking your actual damage/shot and dividing by total possible damage for shots hit, you should get a percentage of time on target for the beam. Turns out that when I shoot a large laser, I average 61% of the total possible damage for every single shot I take, so if I shoot once, on average I am hitting for .61s. Well, there's a funny thing about the LPL when I run the numbers for that- the total damage percent there is 61 as well! So given that you're taking two tons, extra heat, and less range in exchange for shorter beam time, and shorter beam times are supposed to help keep you on target for a larger percent of the damage, the LPL mechanic is a total failure, at least for me and everyone else who has run the numbers (they tend to be plus or minus 3-4% for most people).

So if you run your numbers and find that the LPL is delivering its damage efficiently for you, keep it. But if you're not getting much out of it besides being able to twist away a third of a second early in a brawl, then you're better off putting the tonnage into the SRMs- artemis doesn't help the 4s that much anyway imo, but it's a big boost to 6s.

I know this is a thread for non-meta builds, but it's food for thought, at least. While I love the LPL sound and there is something of a use for them, I do think there's a reason we don't see them often.

[Alaskan Nobody]

Soulscour, on 11 April 2014 - 11:41 AM, said:

Thats not the current metagame.

It may not be current - but there really isn't a current for the Centurion, so that is about as close as people get.

IE - when people ask how to build their CN9-A, you can guarantee all but a few of the posts will be that build or a variation of it.

[Clogsman]

One of my most succesful mechs:

CPLT-K2

And this is probably my most non-meta and favourite mech of all:

CTF-2X

No one expects a Cataphract moving at that speed to have STD engine.

Edited by Soladrin, 11 April 2014 - 05:33 PM.

[Turist0AT]

so many great builds in this thread. keep going.

[Typhon27]

JM6-S

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d4ac20d8fe35347

CTF-IM

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...953acab5587887e
Option: drop in 340XL to boost DPS and gain 6.4 kph

CTF-IM

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...2d37fadc1886a59

[Bishop Steiner]

aniviron, on 11 April 2014 - 04:18 PM, said:

Can I suggest swapping the LPL for a regular large, and the aSRM4s for aSRM6s?

I know the LPL makes some great noises, but it really is an incredibly niche weapon- and I ran some numbers that suggested why. For almost every player I've asked for numbers from, taking your actual damage/shot and dividing by total possible damage for shots hit, you should get a percentage of time on target for the beam. Turns out that when I shoot a large laser, I average 61% of the total possible damage for every single shot I take, so if I shoot once, on average I am hitting for .61s. Well, there's a funny thing about the LPL when I run the numbers for that- the total damage percent there is 61 as well! So given that you're taking two tons, extra heat, and less range in exchange for shorter beam time, and shorter beam times are supposed to help keep you on target for a larger percent of the damage, the LPL mechanic is a total failure, at least for me and everyone else who has run the numbers (they tend to be plus or minus 3-4% for most people).

So if you run your numbers and find that the LPL is delivering its damage efficiently for you, keep it. But if you're not getting much out of it besides being able to twist away a third of a second early in a brawl, then you're better off putting the tonnage into the SRMs- artemis doesn't help the 4s that much anyway imo, but it's a big boost to 6s.

I know this is a thread for non-meta builds, but it's food for thought, at least. While I love the LPL sound and there is something of a use for them, I do think there's a reason we don't see them often.

Not really, for 2 reasons.

1, this is a brawler/crit hunter. The shorter beam duration actually matters, and range is not so much an issue.

As for the ASRM4, the 2X has 2x 4 tube launchers. So I would have my missiles in 2 volleys, again, unacceptable to my goal.

[aniviron]

Bishop Steiner, on 11 April 2014 - 09:00 PM, said:

Not really, for 2 reasons.

1, this is a brawler/crit hunter. The shorter beam duration actually matters, and range is not so much an issue.

As for the ASRM4, the 2X has 2x 4 tube launchers. So I would have my missiles in 2 volleys, again, unacceptable to my goal.

I also made my post before Paul's post today, or at least before reading it. Given how much DPS SRM2/4 will do for significantly less weight than the 6, I find myself hard pressed to recommend the bigger launcher for any reason, really.

And I neglected to look at the tubes in Smurfy, lazy on my part. That's reason enough to stick with the 4s.

Edited by aniviron, 12 April 2014 - 12:15 AM.

[Graves24]

It is hard to tell what the "current" meta is because so far everything but flamers and machine guns were named and looked down upon.

But here is my SHD-2H build. (:

[Gambino87]

I've been rolling this 'mech with great success since early beta. Holds up very well even through the ravages of ghost heat believe it or not.

HBK-4P

The build has evolved a little bit with the engine changes to the HBK but the theory behind it is all the same. I did a write up for the build on MechSpecs a long time ago and is still considered one of the go to builds for the 4P.

HBK-4P Knifeback (9ML, 18 DHS, STD270)

[Thunder Child]

Well, I know it will seem very odd, but I still have the occasional bit of fun with the 6 LL Hunchie.
Yes, you are Slow..... Slower than an Urbanmech, going Uphill, in Canyon.
Yes, you are so hot you temporarily blind thermal sensors, with people thinking a thermonuclear warhead just detonated in front of them.
But, yes, those tears are so delicious when you melt someones face off at 200m as they step around a corner.

The other one that was good for a Laugh was the LRM 20 Raven 3L. This was back when LRMs did 0.8 Damage per missile, but firing the damned thing out of a Narc Launcher got me 5 kills in one match as I cored out and Nommed on everyones CTs.

The LRM 40 HBK-SP was a nice joke too. Got a few kills with that in 12 mans. Completely unexpected.

[theta123]

BLR-1G

Recently aquired another battlemaster, made it like the canon BLR-1G. minus the machine guns. And for some weird reasons, i am having insanely amounts of fun and great results with it And its especially great when they find out i am running an STD engine, not an XL one. On average getting 2 kills every match

[TimePeriod]

I run a victor-DS with two LL, PPC and a guass with an Xl330 engine. Works well even on hot maps.

[Bishop Steiner]

aniviron, on 12 April 2014 - 12:14 AM, said:

I also made my post before Paul's post today, or at least before reading it. Given how much DPS SRM2/4 will do for significantly less weight than the 6, I find myself hard pressed to recommend the bigger launcher for any reason, really.

And I neglected to look at the tubes in Smurfy, lazy on my part. That's reason enough to stick with the 4s.

well, if one could trust them to hit, they still make sense for "alpha and run" builds, like my VTR-9S.

[Pastor Priest]

My favorite WVR, and one of my best PUG mediums.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...563a9bcbffbc291

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

Quickdraw with 6 medium lasers and SRM6

[aniviron]

Bishop Steiner, on 12 April 2014 - 04:11 AM, said:

well, if one could trust them to hit, they still make sense for "alpha and run" builds, like my VTR-9S.

Don't I know it. :[ I used to be an SRM junkie- ran them on every single mech I owned that could fit them, which meant only the HBK-4H and 4P were excluded. I almost consider them a waste of tonnage, at this point though- they do nothing at all to lights, and even against Atlases it's a coin flip whether even a single missile hits or not. Ran my JR7-D for most of last night, with a pair of 4s; standing still against a distracted Atlas' nether side, eight volleys of eight, and only four hit markers. Of the four volleys that did hit, I didn't manage to break the rear armor on a single component. While it's certainly possible that Atlas had >64 rear armor, it does seem unlikely.

[jper4]

i've got almost the same SHD 2d2 build as you Bishop except i just went with a regular AC5 instead of the UAC5

BJ 1x- 3MPLs,2ML, xl295
HBK GI- ALRM 20, 2MG, 3ML. std 225- only build that's ever worked decently for me
Jager DD- 2LPL, 6MG std 285, used to hate this varient. but now i hug it and squeeze it and name it George after only 4 matches with this setup.
cicada 2A - 3ML, 1ERLL, xl300
JR7 D(S)- 4ML, SRM 4 and LRM 5, xl285
all 3 Locusts- doesn;t matter what build you use, they will never be meta-almost mastered now.

[Shazarad]

If you really want to grate your balls against something, try out this bad boy:

AWS-8Q

3 PPCs, 1 small laser.