9 replies to this topic

[Katotonic]

Hi all,

I checked the forums but couldn't seem to find a comprehensive Mad Dog review so i thought I would ask for one.

I am not really looking for builds, although that is part of it, but more: how does it handle? what role(s) do people feel it is best at? How does it compare with other mechs? Does it feel "fun" or do people tend to struggle with it? How are the hit boxes? Does it feel under or over armored? How is the speed relative to other mechs and relative to what you are trying to do with it? How are the hardpoints positioned? Etc.

So if anyone has any thoughts along these lines please share them!

[Zordicron]

General:
Missile points are positioned well, easy enough to lob LRM over stuff without artemis even compared to some mechs IMO. SRM work well too, points are high enough you dont tend to hit the dirt or anything like that with the mech.
Arms are slightly lower, but not enough so to create much issue, omstly due to how you poistion this mech in play-

Durability: It is a 60 ton mech, hitbox are good, but there are little for arm shields so if you twist, most will hit ST. Still, spreads dmg well enough. 60 ton mech means this is no Stalker- you get X amount of armor for the tonnage, there is no miracle hitbox foolery here.

Handles similar to Vulture in MW4 if you played that as far as footwork, feels heavy on it's feet for it's size, but can cruise around at good speed, actually faster then it feels like, likley a result of how the cockpit is situated compared to the model. I did find myself at first getting stuck on things here and there, but it was easy to get used to the spacial sense of the model and that went away quickly.

Unlike the Vulture, the torso twist is not 360 degrees, and is surprisingly shorter then I thought they would have put in(pretty well 90 degrees left or right before basic/2x basic) but my expectation was more along the lines of 120 degrees, but that falls into medium mech territory I suppose, and it doesnt hinder the mech much anyway, the turn speed is adequate to compensate.

Overall, it is not so great as a brawler, other then you can load it out for some major facewreckz(but the heat will stomp you bad doing this) however you can't brawl alone in this way. If you like that type of play, you need to be a wingman for something big, and if you want success, you will help the biggun focus fire his target, but mostly that means giving his target one huge splat of SRM and then cooling down to use that armor smash on another target.

I found better success using it as a dual range mech, something long range and somthing short to compliment it( like twin ERPPC and SRM, ERLL and SRM, some ERML and LRMs, etc) and working as a relatively mobile fire support that can take a few hits compared to a medium mech. In a straight up brawl, I think the Stormcrow is more duarable(Mad Dog will lose a ST easier and with such it's firepower) but I find Mad Dog to be more useful all around as Storm Crow IMO is harder to load a dual range loadout on that is as effective at both ranges as a Mad Dog can be.

I find the SUPERBOATS with the missiles are one trick pony, and i kill them in game easily. LRM boat runs too hot, bigger mechs do it better for heat management, smaller ones do it better with less launchers for mobility and firepower/tonnage. SRM megaboat runs way to hot and MD wont survive the brawl without a pal or two to take the aggro after MD unloads the SRM smash and has to cool down.

The single ballistic is a tricky one, I have one loadout with an LBX20 and ERML and a stack of LRM5's. It is fun, but not as effective as other loadouts, the ballistic and missiles tend to be too much tonnage to put really powerful things on both/all hardpoints, but mostly because of the ammo. If ERMl didnt cook the mech with the new heat, it would be more viable.

in general I found less is more when looking at the loadouts, this mech does much better when you can sustain fire and stay mobile then it does doing mega alphas because it wont survive return fire if it can't keep pressure on because of heat. If you mega alpha, it needs to be while supporting some body else, so you have to be a follower for sure to add in that big smash and then cool down. I suppose this depends on if you drop in a team or not also, I 100% pug, so I don;t like to be 100% reliant on the skills of a stranger for my loadouts.

[Xacharon]

Yep, I agree with Eldagore on his assessment of the new Mad Dog. I've largely played the Mad Dog almost exclusively since its release, trying different builds over the past week. I feel it is quite good as a mobile fire support mech. There's a nice selection of hardpoints across the omnipods, with an emphasis on missiles and energy.

I've personally had the best luck/fun with an LRM support build -- 2xLRM15+Artemis, 3CERMLs, TAG, and Narc. Throw in a target decay module if you want. I've found that to be a pretty formidable LRM platform, with still having some teeth for anyone who gets close.

It's definitely not a brawler. I've had some fun with 6xSSRM4 + whatever builds, but it definitely feels "squishy" as a front line combatant if you're trying to face down enemies solo. So brawling isn't recommended, unless you're acting as escort for a larger 'mech that'll attract enemy aggro for you (in which case you can really go to town with those SRMs!), or are part of a larger group.

By comparison, the Stormcrow, despite being 5 tons lighter, feels like a much sturdier chassis, and is a far better brawler from what I've experienced.

[Malcolm Vordermark]

It has the movement profile of the Timber Wolf so it is pretty agile, no jump jets though.

It has a good amount of free tonnage to use (after you max armor, of course) but because of how hot Clan energy weapons are you need to either focus on the arms or the missiles. With the arms you'll then need to beef up your DHS count, with missiles you'll need fewer DHS but more ammo.

The side torso is a pretty easy target. I find that when taking fire the full 90 degree turn to shield with your side is a mistake. Instead shake your head back and forth, no more than 45 degrees to each side, to get the CT to travel in and out of the line of fire to spread damage. If you lose a side that becomes you default shield side and then you can start twisting 90 degrees.

the arms are very low compared to the top of the mech so don't hill hump, try peeking around corners instead.

Because of the last two parts I do not recommend fighting on the front line in this mech. Treat it as IS describes it in lore, a mech perched on some firing position away from the battle using long range weapons. The one exception is the 6xSRM6 build but I've had limited success with that build.

So far this has been my most successful build: MDD-B

It works pretty well, just treat it like a fire support mech, use your speed to assist your team mates but I wouldn't lead the charge in it. Unfortunately, I think it is a bit overshadowed by the Stormcrow.

Edited by Rouken, 28 September 2014 - 08:18 AM.

[Chrithu]

Not a review but a fun fact: with a little fantasy and from the right front angle the Mad Dog has a lot of similarity with the Volus from Mass Effect. After I noticed that I cannot unsee it anymore and start to laugh everytime I see a Mad Dog stomping by. Even more so when they have a destroyed leg and are just limping.

Edited by Jason Parker, 28 September 2014 - 12:07 PM.

[process]

The enormous damage potential you can with SRMs makes it easy to forget that you're just a 60 ton mech with a 60 ton mech's worth of armor. It's also prone to overheating due to the generous hardpoints and low stock heatsinks.

After experimenting with the Splatdog variety, I've switched all my builds over to long-range. I'm currently grinding through Elites, so hopefully once I get the 2x agility boost I may be able to switch back to short/medium range.

- 6xALRM-5, 4 C-ER medium lasers
- 2xALRM-15, 2 C-ER large lasers
- 1xALRM-15, 2xASRM-4, 2 C-ER large lasers

Edited by process, 28 September 2014 - 12:46 PM.

[CuriousCabbitBlue]

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...60dc2da31d1253c

^ been liking that build, you can mess with it to get tag/narc

============

this build it a lil silly but it was fun xD you just barely don't over heat on a alpha but it is a lrm 90

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...827e45729c67cf9

[NovaFury]

It's a 60 ton heavy, with all of the armor that entails (IE: Just barely more than a stormcrow), moves a bit like the Timber Wolf, which makes sense as they share the same leg and lower body design. Can't jump, which means it has difficulty maneuvering compared to the other two current clan heavies.

Side torsos are huge, to the point where I haven't actually been killed to CT damage yet. Face-on or Twisting, incoming fire can and will hit your side torso before anything else. This, combined with it's poor (worst-in-class for heavy mechs at 60 tons) armor makes it feel extremely squishy.

I don't like it. Couple gimmicky missile boat builds, but other than that it brings very little unique that the TBR or SCR can't do better. Even the summoner makes a better SRM brawler.

Edited by NovaFury, 20 October 2014 - 01:38 AM.

[Tuefel Hunden]

The Mad Dog was my favorite mech. It just got nuked by PGI. Choose something else.

Edited by Tuefel Hunden, 21 October 2014 - 12:29 PM.

[rolly]

Eldagore, on 28 September 2014 - 07:18 AM, said:

General:
Missile points are positioned well, easy enough to lob LRM over stuff without artemis even compared to some mechs IMO. SRM work well too, points are high enough you dont tend to hit the dirt or anything like that with the mech.
Arms are slightly lower, but not enough so to create much issue, omstly due to how you poistion this mech in play-
....

By far the most comprehensive answer I was looking for. Thank you for taking the time to post this and thanks to the original poster for it.