70 replies to this topic

[Dawnstealer]

CDAs are fun ONCE YOU HAVE THEM FULLY ELITED. Until then, they're basically Locusts that are a LOT easier to hit.

But once they're Elited? Yeah: fun mech. CDA was my first mech and I still go back to them when I want something zippy that can also take a couple hits.

As for order? 2A (get 6ML, put them in two groups, ALWAYS max out the XL engine - this one will teach you how to use a CDA without all the bells and whistles of the other models), 3M (of course get the ECM mech - I run mine with an AC20, but I wouldn't grind it that way), and I made the HUGE mistake of getting the 3C. It's fine now, because I ground it up and it's actually kind of fun, but...

Get the X-5 instead.

Edited by Dawnstealer, 17 April 2014 - 02:00 PM.

[Curccu]

Mystere, on 17 April 2014 - 01:03 PM, said:

Why do I like them? Or why will they be "Unwanted"?

Unwanted part

[Bront]

The 3M is the best of the bunch with ECM and 4 usable energy slots (The balistic slot is less usable). Buy it first for the XL320 to use in the others.

If you're not getting the X5, I'd recommend leveling up the 3C and 2A. The 3C can mount 4 MGs and an LPL, and be pretty deadly up close even with single heat sinks, to save you money. The 2A doesn't have the arm mounts, but the arms do work well as shields, so the torso mounts give you pretty good survivability.

[Mystere]

Curccu, on 17 April 2014 - 02:00 PM, said:

Unwanted part

The prevailing "Go big or go home!" attitude infecting the playerbase translates into the belief that the low end of the weight class will be useless once 3/3/3/3 arrives.

[operator0]

The 3M is a genuine tournament quality mech. The 2A is solid. The 3C is terrible.

Allow me to describe how I use the 3M;
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...75484122fc38db3

XL300
2xERLL
2xML
2xDBL Heat Sinks (external)

Do not run this mech as a light fighter. It's too hot and too slow. Instead, stay near the big guys, find cover and ridge hump using the ERLL. Stick and move. They will notice you and they will notice how much damage you are inflicting and they will try to do something about it. Change locations regularly. You will probably have to deal with a light who has decided that you are a dangerous mech for their team, but an easy kill for the light. This is true. When the light(s) show up to deal with you, kite them back towards your group ( you should not be far away). Be very cognizant of your heat management. Use the ML to deal damage to the light(s) more than then the ERLL.

If your team is being pummeled by LRMs, you need to close ranks with them to provide ECM support. You can still deal good damage if you are amongst the group, just try not to take any while you are at it. Use the ears as shields, they work great for that purpose. Try not to solo any mechs, You simply don't have the heat capacity to do so. Always stay with, or near the group.

Kills will be infrequent, as your shots will be spread across the torsos, but your damage will be great. Stats say I average 390.5 damage per match in this mech. I regularly see 500+ damage matches. You will strip armor across torsos at an alarming rate. This will make you a prime target...trust me. Remember to cool off and DON"T OVER HEAT.

Alternative builds for this play style include dumping the 2ML in favor of extra heat sinks. I dislike this as it leaves you vulnerable if you have to fight a light and cripples your alpha strike capability. Some also run 2xPPC. This is a good build with a very apparent and dangerous drawback. You cannot fight any lights with the 2 PPC build. So, if they cull you from the group, you are dead. Give these builds a try, I think you'll like the results.

Edited by operator0, 17 April 2014 - 03:57 PM.

[Captain Stiffy]

Ecrof, on 17 April 2014 - 12:40 PM, said:

What 3 Cicadas sholud I buy and in what order? I already have Locusts comandos Spiders and Ravens. I don't like that the jenner can't spread damage and has tunnel vision.

I basically wouldn't. They are too big for what they are (devs are daftly insane on at least half of the mech scaling) and putting a big enough engine in it to make it move like a light takes away enough tonnage that you can't use most of the slots.

[ThatBum42]

TimePeriod, on 17 April 2014 - 12:50 PM, said:

Stay as far away from any of them as you possibly can. However if you must indulged yourself in such madness I implore you get the X-5 or the ECM variant.

I beg to differ.


I love my CDAs, I have the 2A and the 3M both mastered and only have 6 mechbays, so they're worth it enough to me over other mechs that could take their space.

Edited by ThatBum42, 17 April 2014 - 08:09 PM.

[Davers]

Bront, on 17 April 2014 - 02:02 PM, said:

The 3M is the best of the bunch with ECM and 4 usable energy slots (The balistic slot is less usable). Buy it first for the XL320 to use in the others.

If you're not getting the X5, I'd recommend leveling up the 3C and 2A. The 3C can mount 4 MGs and an LPL, and be pretty deadly up close even with single heat sinks, to save you money. The 2A doesn't have the arm mounts, but the arms do work well as shields, so the torso mounts give you pretty good survivability.

Really? The one thing I NEVER seem to lose is my arms. I don't find they shield anything.

[Shatterpoint]

I'll add you to my hate list when I get the chance, the Cicada is one of the few mechs I really hate running into (specially in numbers, they're rarely alone)..feels like they have way too much firepower for their size and speed.

[Kubernetes]

I could never get the hang of it (or any light), but I've seen some pretty amazing Cicada pilots running dual PPCs in the ECM variant. Absolutely devastating if played well.

[El Bandito]

Dual AC20 Cicada is a fun little ****** to use.

[sabujo]

It became my first favorite mech (the 3M with ECM) and still is one of my preferred rides. I run mine with 1 LL and 3 ML, max speed. It is a great mech for harassment and striking in support to bigger mechs. It has very good acceleration and high mounted weapons, making it great for hill humping.

I believe that after the terrain inclination nerf it lost a bit of edge and as someone said, when 3/3/3/3 arrives I don't know if being ECM capable will be enough for this mech to be chosen while you can bring a heavier medium.

[Training Instructor]

I've got all five of them fully elited, and several of them mastered. They make really good snipers because of they hill hump so well and can reposition so quickly. It's difficult for brawlers to sneak up and flank you if you're never in the same position for long.

2B and 2A basically play the same, so I'd get the 3C just for some variation in builds. You'd be surprised at how much suppressing you can do with a single ERPPC, as many players reflexively retreat into cover when they see the ppc shot coming their way from long distance. Then when it gets time to knife-fight, you'll steal a lot of kills or at least cripple half-gone mechs with the 4 machine guns.

3M is golden. 4 energy and 1 ballistic + ECM gives you a lot of flexibility in loadouts. Pro-tip, don't ever waste the ballistic slot on a machine gun. Either put an autocannon in there or leave it empty.

X5 is the only missile variant, and you can do a lot with it as well.

[Curccu]

Mystere, on 17 April 2014 - 02:37 PM, said:

The prevailing "Go big or go home!" attitude infecting the playerbase translates into the belief that the low end of the weight class will be useless once 3/3/3/3 arrives.

Well Cicada 3M with dual peeps and pilot who knows how to play it usually out damages most other mediums in the game

[Flyto]

I enjoy my Cicadas a lot, and they're among my most successful mechs (although I'm not good enough to be playing against top people).

For a long time I was using an X5 with XL320, 4xML, 2xSRM4.

Then I switched it to 2xML and 2xLL with a smaller engine (I forget what, but it does ~113kph with speed tweak). I'm not sure I'd recommend doing this before mastering the mech, though.

It seemed a bit of a waste to use an X5 and ignore the missle hardpoints, but it worked much better. But I realised that since I wasn't using the missles, I could build the same thing on the 3M and have ECM... so I did.
I oscillate over which I play... the 3M is clearly better with the ECM, but the X5 brings in more money...

Either way, don't try to use the large lasers at range much, but use your agility to put those 28 points of damage where they're most useful - either in peoples' backs, or seeking out weak spots.

[o0Marduk0o]

Ngamok, on 17 April 2014 - 01:32 PM, said:

I know right? People dissing on the 3C:
CICADA CDA3C
72 kills 47 deaths ! ER PPC + 4MGs.

CICADA CDA-3C
73 38 34 1.12 W/L
116 33 3.52 K/D


Yes, the chassis is fine.
I run PPC+AC2+3MG, with the speed of a fast medium.

Mystere, on 17 April 2014 - 02:37 PM, said:

The prevailing "Go big or go home!" attitude infecting the playerbase translates into the belief that the low end of the weight class will be useless once 3/3/3/3 arrives.

The opposite is the case. People can run any tonnage of a certain weight class, because tonnage is matched. Take the mech you like, not the one with the highest possible weight.

Edited by o0Marduk0o, 18 April 2014 - 05:33 AM.

[Mystere]

o0Marduk0o, on 18 April 2014 - 05:30 AM, said:

The opposite is the case. People can run any tonnage of a certain weight class, because tonnage is matched. Take the mech you like, not the one with the highest possible weight.

3/3/3/3 will use weight class and not tonnage matching. As such, the ""Go big or go home!" crowd will do as expected of them.

[Davers]

Mystere, on 18 April 2014 - 05:42 AM, said:

3/3/3/3 will use weight class and not tonnage matching. As such, the ""Go big or go home!" crowd will do as expected of them.

Well, the MM will try to find another mech of same tonnage. But as to how successful that will be? Currently there is only 4 40 ton variants compared to 15 55 ton variants, so it will be harder to match Cicadas than Shadowhawks.

[Mystere]

Davers, on 18 April 2014 - 05:51 AM, said:

Well, the MM will try to find another mech of same tonnage. But as to how successful that will be? Currently there is only 4 40 ton variants compared to 15 55 ton variants, so it will be harder to match Cicadas than Shadowhawks.

Where does it say tonnage matching? This quote says otherwise:

Quote

Instead of restricting team builds by tonnage and causing these weird edge cases, we decided to implement a team building limitation based on Weight Class. This means for each ‘Mech of a certain Weight Class, there is one on the opposing team. On top of that, we will enforce a 3/3/3/3 team build based on Weight Class as well. That is, a team is to consist of 3 Lights, 3 Mediums, 3 Heavies and 3 Assaults. No more, no less in each class.

Edited by Mystere, 18 April 2014 - 06:04 AM.

[o0Marduk0o]

Mystere, on 18 April 2014 - 05:42 AM, said:

3/3/3/3 will use weight class and not tonnage matching. As such, the ""Go big or go home!" crowd will do as expected of them.

Mystere, on 18 April 2014 - 06:03 AM, said:

Where does it say tonnage matching? This quote says otherwise:

Read the full text, not only the quoted part.
Their stretch-goal is exact tonnage matching and they said it is met and coming the same time with launch module.

There are 3 things. Weight class limits, weight class matching and tonnage matching between mechs in both teams of a certain weight class.
When you run a Cicada (40t) and the MM finds no other 40t mech, they will pick a 45t medium next. If no 45t mech is found, it picks a 50t medium. I think you get the idea by now.

Davers, on 18 April 2014 - 05:51 AM, said:

Well, the MM will try to find another mech of same tonnage. But as to how successful that will be? Currently there is only 4 40 ton variants compared to 15 55 ton variants, so it will be harder to match Cicadas than Shadowhawks.

See above, there are enough mechs left between 40 and 55 to pick them.

Edited by o0Marduk0o, 18 April 2014 - 06:23 AM.