18 replies to this topic

[ramp4ge]

Just bought a K2, my first heavy 'mech and 2nd non-trial 'mech. Really liking it so far!

I've been reading builds over the last couple days and seeing a lot of viable setups, but I've also read that there have been a lot of changes to both the K2, so I'm concerned that some of those builds might not be viable, or even possible anymore.

If you were going to build a K2 for today's game, how would you do it?

Currently running 4 MLs and an AC/20 with 28 rounds and an MLS. Saving C-Bills to do the DHS upgrade as well.

[Mad Porthos]

For Modern, K2 builds, I'd go with more "dakka" and run 2 ac5, and two large lasers, preferably Extended Range. One AC20 isn't a bad idea, rather like Misery, the hero STALKER mech. One Gauss could work as well, with the advantage that it is not needing to be a standard engine mech, which the AC20 necessitated.

Now, I mention Gauss because they are STILL good, but they take learning how to calmly ready to fire, swing onto target, then release. This is not an "twitch" skill, it's rather more a function of patience and concentration, despite any and all distractions such as being hit by missiles, incoming ballistics and worse. Because of this, many have tried to get used to Gauss Rifles and thier charge up mechanic, but failed - thier own skills lay more in the twitch category, less in the patience and planning area.

A classic killer of the old days which many may have told you is no longer doable on the K2, is the dual gauss K2. This in fact seems to be a distinction a number of people have made regarding old school K2 and modern K2 builds. Back in the day, the dual ac20 K2 and dual gauss k2 were both very common and feared in some circles, but that charge mechanic changed things for the gauss and the introduction of the Jaegermech pretty much announced the decline of the dual ac20 k2, since they could run XL and carry two 20's.

As I've said in another thread though, one of the issues with the "Modern" K2, is that like every other catapult, they have a huge center torso and also a centered and easy to focus cockpit. This means you need to work on being able to constantly pivot and torso twist, almost never actually facing your TARGET, because if you face them for long, they will just kill you with a head/cockpit shot or coreing the CT with all shots easily hitting it. ANY weapon you use on a catapult, including your K2, needs to be able to fire as you are swinging your mech's body side to side, at the moment it lines up with the target you want to hit. This takes a lot of situational awareness, and a general willingness to plot your approach so that you are not always looking dead at your target even as you approach them.

I kind of think of it like a dog sniffing the air as he follows a scent, head goes to the left, right, up, down... left and up, right and down and all around. Each time you sort of time it so that no matter how you are moving, circling or dodging in a fight - you have a line to the target as you pivot back to them and past. This CONSTANT swinging of the body left to right means almost all thier damage gets spread out on all the sections of the catapult, even arms and legs at times. With this in mind, standard engine still can be even better on this mech, as you run with your k2 design, because when one of your mech's side torsos finally DOES give way, you don't die the way most expect a K2/Catapult to. Also, with this tactic in mind, do not neglect your back armor. Many tend to front load thier armor on mechs, but since facing an opponent constantly in a Catapult is DEATH, you need to make sure even the back can be used in spreading damage out.

Since you emphasized "modern" I'll also recommend AMS. Truly, missiles are getting serious again and any edge you can get to keep from being cored will help. Especially since alot of direct fire weapons WILL hit that big CT making it weaker even before the missile storms start to rain on you. Missile damage is spread out, but it will seem like missiles are coring your Center Torso faster, both because more probably do hit there (big target) and because that torso is very likely already eating a good bit of direct fire. LRM boats looking for an easy kill will jump for joy seeing a K2 or other catapult, but if you have an AMS and know a nearby ally who also has one, you can bee-line right up to them and bask in the additive effects of multiple AMS. I've had it really save my bacon in such cases, more recently when I was in a game against 4 LRM boats, but knew where a nearby Jester, Atlas-K and dual AMS Locust were loitering. Also, those AMS help against NARC beacons and streaks, both of which will ruin your day if you have been taking central torso damage and they manage to start hitting you.

Edited by Mad Porthos, 19 April 2014 - 06:51 PM.

[Lil Cthulhu]

Ah, the K2. That was my first mech, and still my most used. Put in the time to learn the ins and outs of the gauss rifle, the dual gauss K2 is still a ferocious beast. My other go to build would have to be dual UAC5 with quad medium laser backup, that build can really make some heads roll.

Going off what Porthos said, yes the CT is huge but it has tiny side torsos. XL engines are this mechs friend. Just make sure you don't become the center of attention and you'll be fine. Also, since they made a geometry pass on it, I haven't died once from having my cockpit blown in.

Edited by Lil Cthulhu, 19 April 2014 - 07:25 PM.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Lil Cthulhu, on 19 April 2014 - 07:20 PM, said:

... dual UAC5 with quad medium laser backup, that build can really make some heads roll.

That is a fierce beast, indeed!

[Modo44]

Dual UAC5 also has the benefit of looking badass. Personally, I prefer it with one PPC.

[ThatBum42]

I prefer the dual AC/10 DakkaPult. Just keep in mind your arms are expendable/decoys.

[SerratedBlaze]

I use 2AC5 and 2ERPPC but admit that even normal PPC are too hot to bother having two of in this mech. there just isn't tonnage for the HS. And despite being frontloaded direct damage, it really can't brawl at all with the CT taking all damage. Even having all armor dedicated to front CT it goes down fast. Peek over ridge with an ECM ally and come out for an alpha when the enemies aren't looking. If you like peekaboo my 2 and 2 build works as there will be time to cooldown.

[Hex Pallett]

Just saying, all those builds involving large ballistics are piloted by heretics and filthy weaklings.

Man up and rock those two giant PPCs on the shoulder.

[Kaptain]

4xLL
XL300
DHS (+6-8 extra in body)
ES
AMS

Make sure to only fire 2 of them at a time to avoid ghost heat.

[TimePeriod]

Got elite on the K2, use an XL225 with twin gauss and 2 ML. Works wonder if you can get into position

[BP Raven]

Mad Porthos, on 19 April 2014 - 06:44 PM, said:

As I've said in another thread though, one of the issues with the "Modern" K2, is that like every other catapult, they have a huge center torso and also a centered and easy to focus cockpit. This means you need to work on being able to constantly pivot and torso twist, almost never actually facing your TARGET, because if you face them for long, they will just kill you with a head/cockpit shot or coreing the CT with all shots easily hitting it.

...

Also, with this tactic in mind, do not neglect your back armor. Many tend to front load thier armor on mechs, but since facing an opponent constantly in a Catapult is DEATH, you need to make sure even the back can be used in spreading damage out.

The cockpit hitbox is much smaller now than it was, it's more akin to the 'Phract to be honest. Think i've only been headshot once since they reduced it, and i'm pretty sure it was a lucky dual ac20 hit.

With regard to armour distribution, i would say that if your situational awareness is good, drop it down to 1pt at the rear and front load the rest, as you would a jenner. Your twist angle is good enough that you can shield the back with your sides if you need to run away, and the extra 10-20pts you put to the front can make all the difference in a stand up fight ... not that a stand up fight is the K2s strength, but since most hits go to that CT, you may as well armour it up.

ThatBum42, on 19 April 2014 - 08:49 PM, said:

I prefer the dual AC/10 DakkaPult. Just keep in mind your arms are expendable/decoys.

Pretty much the build i run, although i drop the AMS for an extra heatsink and a touch more armour in the arms. Very good street fighter, it's more nimble than a jagermech i think, and so much more XL friendly. If you aren't getting shot at, the burst damage you can put out will take down almost anything before you overheat, and if you're 1 vs 1 and land your shots you have a good chance of killing him before he gets you.

It might go 'only' 82kph, but i find it best to keep moving and shooting where possible, light an oversized light mech.

Helmstif, on 19 April 2014 - 09:19 PM, said:

Just saying, all those builds involving large ballistics are piloted by heretics and filthy weaklings.

Man up and rock those two giant PPCs on the shoulder.

<---Heretic

[dr bongstorm]

xl engine, two regular ppcs, 2 uac 5s. the best build you can run on this thing, hands down.

CPLT-K2

if you need a bit more speed, go to regular ac 5s. the cataphract 3d or muromets runs this build better with a bigger engine, but it is still the best thing you can do with a K2.

Edited by dr bongstorm, 20 April 2014 - 08:37 AM.

[Clogsman]

Twin AC10 and 4x Mlas for me.

[Modo44]

I would recommend downgrading to dual AC5s for cooling, not a bigger engine. The full on dakka setup is extremely hot, and this mech can not just drop down to cover while cooling down. BTW, XL265 is just as fast as XL260 -- get that when buying new. I sometimes run it with 2xERLL+2xAC5+2xML for sustained long-range firepower.

Edited by Modo44, 20 April 2014 - 08:49 AM.

[TimePeriod]

CPLT-K2 GaussCat - XL 220/2ML /Gauss Rifle x2/ Max armour* / 7 tons of ammo.
Mix and match with desired engine, 255 is near ideal.

CPLT-K2 Boom'Cat - STD 220/2 ML/ AC20 x2/ Max armour* / 7 tons of ammo.
Reduce amount of ammo at your own discretion, 255 without ML's and only 5 tons of ammo.

CPLT-K2 ½20Cat - XL 255/ LL x2 / AC10 x2 / Max armour* / 4 tons of ammo.
Runs pretty Slavic but packs a mean punch, lot more range but runs hot.

CPLT-K2 DakkaCat - XL300/ 4 ML / UAC 5 x2 / Max armour* / 7 tons of ammo.
This build runs 14 DHS, you may think this overkill but trust me it generates a lot of heat. You want to run this with elite for that speed increase else you simply don't have enough up-front punch to take down larger targets from range.

* Important notice, regarding "Max Armour"
When I refer to "max armour" I do not include the legs nor the arms as they do not hold any weapons or heat sinks and as such is dead weight. With the exception of the DakkaCat.

This means any 'leftover' half-ton of armour gets dumped into the legs to fill the quota.

Edited by TimePeriod, 20 April 2014 - 09:59 AM.

[Liquid Leopard]

Last week someone wrecked me with a Catapult having stock weapons. This configuration may not be optimal, and may completely defy the meta-game, but I've seen a few hot pilots rock the world with it. Back in the days of 8 vs. 8, there was a stock-weapon Catapult that was the last mech standing on my team, and he single-handedly wore down an Atlas and its 2 buddies, and won the game.

OK, so I'm not one of those pilots, but I still admire these Catapults, and I think they're usually configured like this:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...5b1ff3619b4cd3f

If you're facing a lot of LRMs, you can down-size the engine to a 300XL, and have an AMS and its ammo.

I haven't made PPCs work for me lately, and my most successful Catapult build has probably been the 2xERLL, 2xLL setup.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...31ab503e219b0e2

It runs pretty hot if I panic and turn into a button-mashing thug. It takes a little bit of discipline to make sure you only fire 2 lasers at a time. To avoid the heat penalty for firing extra Large Lasers, you don't have to wait that long before firing more lasers. It's less than the cool-down period for the first pair.

I had to watch a video or two to see how this build works.

(Didn't understand a word this guy said, but I still learned from it.)
I set the left mouse button to fire the left pair of lasers, and the right mouse button fires the right pair. This allows you to shoot the enemy while peeking around corners. The middle mouse button fires the ERLLs. Any terrain you can see over, you can shoot over it.

Edited by Liquid Leopard, 20 April 2014 - 10:39 AM.

[Modo44]

If you are talking about upgrades, take it straight out of lore, build a K2K.

[Glaive-]

I still run a Mostly old school K2, and it's still one of my best mechs haha.

I know I should probably upgrade to an XL, but occasionally I'll loose a side torso, which makes me ask myself if I really want to with it.

Besides PPCs, I will occasionally switch to a Guass rifle setup, or sometimes a dual LB-10X + quad MLs setup.

Edited by armyunit, 20 April 2014 - 12:57 PM.

[ramp4ge]

My K2's taking a break. I've come to the conclusion that it really just doesn't fit my playstyle right now. Maybe because I don't have the c-bills for the ER weaponry, which forces me to engage a bit closer and the K2 just can't take a hit. I get cored so fast it's almost ridiculous.

I'll definitely go back to it once I learn a bit more about the game, learn the maps better, etc. But as it is, the 'mech is simply above my skill ceiling, I think.