31 replies to this topic

[Commander Binz]

Anyone else confused with the weird stock setup of the free TDR?

2 Machine Guns... 2 Flamers.... why?

Anyway, thanks for the free mech! Time to strip it and put in some real guns!!

I am wondering though, has anyone had any success with its stock loadout?

[Wintersdark]

Stock setups of mechs (not champions) are whatever their stock loadouts in battletech where. They are almost always, then, simply bad, because Battletech worked very differently than MWO.

[Commander Binz]

I see Well, anyway I threw an AC5 on there, and jammed it full of ammo and heat sinks and first game got 421 damage and a kill - pretty fun mech, but probably inferior to my Jagers...

[Coralld]

Its a pocket BLR with speed.

Edited for a change in build, see below.

Edited by Coralld, 21 April 2014 - 09:13 PM.

[Arctcwolf]

Seems like this mech is just a little brother to the premium variant of the battlemaster. faster, less armor, and only 1 medium laser less than a battlemaster. and thats needed is a little skill in heat management and this thing rocks.

[Buckminster]

I'm running twin PPCs in the right, trip MLs in the left, and twin MGs. Time will tell how effective it is.

[wanderer]

It's stock config for the "to the nines" -9S is designed to handle a little bit of everything in TT.

The flamers and MG's wreck infantry, the SRMs are useful against armored vehicles, and the laser/PPC main battery is quite peachy for denting 'Mechs. Even has AMS to swat stuff built right in.

Of course, few stock designs fit MWO's bending of the system, so there's all kinds of odd ways to run it. Just enough room for dual AC/5's or 2's with a matching energy weapon on the other arm, plenty of torso energy mounts for backup, and the RT ones are high on the shoulder, giving it a chance to ridge-hump decently.

A total welfaremech it ain't. And of course, it can serve in missile-heavy metas as a swatter with dual AMS mounts.

Edited by wanderer, 21 April 2014 - 08:11 PM.

[Coralld]

I just got out of a game where I was testing a slightly different config of my 6xML, 2x AC5, 9S. All I did was remove 1x ton of ammo and 1x of the DHS and put in a STD 280 Engine which greatly increased its speed.
Now I can run nearly 80KPH.

Edited by Coralld, 21 April 2014 - 09:08 PM.

[mogs01gt]

Commander Binz, on 21 April 2014 - 06:49 PM, said:

Anyone else confused with the weird stock setup of the free TDR?

Well there is a reason why people call them thunderturds...

[Harathan]

mogs01gt, on 22 April 2014 - 09:55 AM, said:

Well there is a reason why people call them thunderturds...

Yeah, because they're not very good at piloting them.

[LauLiao]

2 Flamers and 2 Machine guns would be a solid set-up for an Anti-infantry mech. It's a little unusual to see a 70-tonner outfitted as anti-infantry, but there you have it.

[mogs01gt]

Harathan, on 22 April 2014 - 10:16 AM, said:

Yeah, because they're not very good at piloting them.

That is an excuse a lot of players use for poorly designed mechs.....

[Harathan]

mogs01gt, on 22 April 2014 - 10:39 AM, said:

That is an excuse a lot of players use for poorly designed mechs.....

Which would be a valid argument if not for the fact that some people do very well in Thunderbolts.

[Asrrin]

I've built a highly unconventional build with mine:

Gauss, ERLL, x4 ML, LRM5, x2 AMS, XL280 engine.

I snipe with the ERLL and Gauss, pop off LRM when I can't get a solid bead, and then mop up with the MLs. Even when I'm doing entirely crappy and my team is getting rolled I always bring down at least one other person with me, and my K/D ratio with this thing is double my next best mech, my metaphract Ilya.

It's such a weird, unconventional build, but I'm doing something right with it.

[Harathan]

XL engine in a TBolt is always a risk since they're almost all side torso, but if you can stay out of harms way I'm sure it'd work.

Haven't found a comfortable build for my 9S yet, that I cant already run in my 5S, that doesn't involve ridge-humping to take advantage of the RT energy slot placement.

Edited by Harathan, 22 April 2014 - 12:32 PM.

[Wildstreak]

Commander Binz, on 21 April 2014 - 06:49 PM, said:

Anyone else confused with the weird stock setup of the free TDR?

2 Machine Guns... 2 Flamers.... why?

From Sarna:

Quote

Based on the older 5SS model, the 9S is built with off the shelf structural components and armor. The 'Mech is armed with an ER PPC for its primary long-range firepower. This is supported at closer ranges by an SRM-6 launcher and three Medium Lasers. Finally, the Mech carries an Anti-Missile System for missile protection and two Machine Guns and a pair of Flamers for anti-infantry use.

T-bolts are one of the oldest Mechs proven by having a Primitive version (TDR-1C). T-bolts are usually built to mixed range combat and usually include at least 1 anti-infantry weapon.

Unlike some other T-bolts, the 9S uses only 1 weapon, ERPPC, at range, preferring the SRM+MLs up close and saving the 4 oddball weapons for soldiers not seen in MWO. So a stock build in MWO is a backup Sniper, primary Brawler with blinding and critting abilities from the minor weapons. Designing weapons groups for a stock build requires a gaming mouse or joystick.

Of the 4 current T-bolts, 9S has the second highest Energy points plus Ballistic so PPC+AC meta fans could get use from it. Twin AMS for LRM protection for all the LRM complainers. Enough room for short range weapons if anyone gets close. Its one downside is 10 degrees less torso twist than other T-bolts.

Edited by Merchant, 22 April 2014 - 02:20 PM.

[Flyto]

I always have to try every new mech in its stock loadout, however silly... and actually, I found this one's surprisingly effective as long as I didn't want to go anywhere in a hurry. Flamers are so rarely seen in the game that folk seem to freeze when blinded by them...

But anyway, I seem to have settled on something along these lines: TDR-9S, and I'm liking it a lot. It feels like how I always wanted my Orion to be... I think I shall have to buy two more, but the question is which ones...

Edited by Flyto, 23 April 2014 - 02:40 AM.

[mogs01gt]

Harathan, on 22 April 2014 - 10:55 AM, said:

Which would be a valid argument if not for the fact that some people do very well in Thunderbolts.

and that is irrelevant since anyone can have a good game in any mech. Go look at the GD thread regarding the Tbolt..

[Selene Lunaris]

mogs01gt, on 23 April 2014 - 04:49 AM, said:

and that is irrelevant since anyone can have a good game in any mech. Go look at the GD thread regarding the Tbolt..

There are very few mechs which are objectively ''bad''. The only one which springs to mind is the Trebuchet, and even that isn't as bad as people make it out to be. The Bolt is probably called bad because it's a bit of a quirky mech, with its offset cockpit, gigantic torso and weird hardpoint layout, but it isn't ''bad''. I do well enough in it, and it can run a ton of silly stuff fairly well. Like I said, it's just quirky.

One mistake which I and a few of my friends made with our Bolts is not having a main damage dealer and just cramming it chock full of SRMs, medium lasers and machine guns. It really doesn't last long in my experience, so it does need a high alpha weapon in there. Crammed the stock ER PPC into the left torso, just below the cockpit. Makes aiming a breeze, does plenty of damage at range. The SRM6 is there to fight off stuff at close range when it runs hot. Bit of a silly build, but works well for me thus far.

Edited by Chrona, 23 April 2014 - 04:58 AM.

[oldradagast]

Thuds I think get little respect because they are designed for mixed loads. There isn't a clear path with them, such as Jagers (pile up ballistics and hill-hump) or the Cataphract 3D (jump sniping) or even Catapults (missiles or sniping for the K2.) Thuds can do a bunch of things, but are not incredible at one thing, though they take damage well for a mech of their tonnage.