41 replies to this topic

[TripleEhBeef]

I love my Commandos, but you need to be a special kind of crazy to run them. They're essentially "hard mode" Spiders.

And my Shotgun Raven 4X with an LB10 and JJs was straight up hysterical to play and troll other lights. "Oh look, the crappy Raven!" *BOOM!* "Yeah, I'm going to run the other way now."

Of course, the meta friendly mechs are the Firestarters, Raven 3L, Jenners, and Spiders.

[Bigbacon]

Jherek C, on 27 May 2014 - 03:19 AM, said:

Jenner F => Laser boat. Balance to get 4 ml and 2 mpulse, xl300 == 32 dmg/152 kph (elite)
Jenner D => Missile/Laser. Can fit 2 x srm4 and 4 medlas == 36 dmg (@150kph elite) however srm4 need quite some skills compared to streak but if you learn how to use them, they are decend damage dealer against slower/bigger targets. can also fit 2x lrm5

Raven 3L => most used RVN because of ECM. Decent longrange grinder for assist points with large laser but no JJ
Raven 4X => 2MG good for peeling amor off legs. has JJ and can longrange with large laser.

My favorite ATM is the JR7-D closely followerd by RVN-4X

PS: Raven was a hell to elite, because of that RVN-2X useless piece of crap (why is it even in the game?). Be prepeared to die alot. JR7-K is a pain too, but not as much as the 2X.

did elite the locusts? can't be nearly as bad as the locust 1v and the spider 5v

[Vweegit]

Jherek C, on 27 May 2014 - 03:19 AM, said:

Jenner F => Laser boat. Balance to get 4 ml and 2 mpulse, xl300 == 32 dmg/152 kph (elite)

I would caution new guys against this build. If you are new, this will be harder to run. More heat management required, or less armor than 6x ML.

I actually recommend starting with 5x ML and an extra heat sink until you learn to discipline yourself.

[Ertur]

Jherek C, on 27 May 2014 - 03:19 AM, said:

PS: Raven was a hell to elite, because of that RVN-2X useless piece of crap (why is it even in the game?). Be prepeared to die alot. JR7-K is a pain too, but not as much as the 2X.

Raven 2X: You can put a large pulse laser and medium laser on the right arm, two medium lasers in the torso, and an SRM4. 6 points away from max armor, and an XL245 (with a heat sink). Stay with the main pack, and watch the rear and flanks. Or ditch the SRMs and put a max engine in there, but again -- STAY WITH THE PACK. The X Ravens don't have the speed to run off on their own and make it back again. Stand near something that is a bigger threat, so people have to ignore you to shoot at it instead.
I disagree with you on the JR7-K: with 4Mlas and an SRM4 you get a 28 point alpha and better DPS than the JR7-F because you run cooler and don't shut down on heat as often. My build is on the first page. The K shows up in 12's since it has the extra arty.

Spider 5V and Locust 3S are the worst to get elited, in my opinion. The machine gun locust can work, but only if you wait for the mid-game when there's a fair number of mechs with open crits. Commandos are fun and can be very lethal.

Edited by Ertur, 05 June 2014 - 09:43 PM.

[focuspark]

Firestarter is the best brawler
Jenner is best light hunter
Spider (ECM) is the best ECM carrier (yeah, I prefer it over the 3L)
Commando is underrated

[Valdemaar]

It depends on what you're looking for. If you want the fastest mech regardless of offensive capabilities then you want the Commando. Except for the Commando-2D they have a max speed of 171.1 KPH* while the 2D is capable of 149.7 KPH. Listed below are the different chassis with variants of different engine ratings listed separately.

Commando (25 tons): 171.1 KPH

Locust (20 tons): 169.3 KPH

Spider (30 tons): 169.3 KPH

Jenner (35 tons): 152.7 KPH

Raven-Huginn (35 tons): 152.7 KPH

Spider-5D (30 tons): 151.5 KPH

Firestarter (35 tons): 150.2 KPH

Raven-3L (35 tons): 150.2 KPH

Commando-2D (25 tons): 149.7 KPH

Raven (35 tons): 140.0 KPH

Commandos (except 2D), all Locusts, and Spiders (except 5D) are roughly the same speed. The next fastest mech is the Jenner which is 16 KPH slower. Afterwards all mechs except the Ravens 4X and 2X are nearly the same speed. However these fast mechs tend to have the worst hard points.

• The Commando's only have four hard points of varying Missiles or Lasers except The Death's Knell which is lasers only.
  
• The Locust has decent hard points but at 20 tons it's difficult to cram anything substantial in plus it has the weakest armor.
  
• The Spiders generally have poor hard points with the 5D having three energy points, the 5V have two energy points which are both in the CT, and finally the 5K which has two ballistics in each arm and an energy point in the CT.

Meanwhile the Jenner and Firestarter, both at 35 tons and supporting jump jets, boast a large amount of hard points.

• At most the Jenner-F contains 3 energy in each arm and the Jenner-D has 2 energy in each arm and 2 Missile in the CT.
  
• Meanwhile the all Firestarters except the Ember carry at least 6 energy points with the A and K variants sporting 8. The Ember and H variants carry 4 and 2 ballistics points respectively while the S variant has 7 energy and twin AMS.

Of the light mechs three of them carry ECM. The Spider-5D barely edges out the Raven-3L in terms of speed however the Raven can carry missiles in addition to the same number of energy points as the Spider. However the Spider is the only ECM light that can equip jump jets. Unfortunately the Commando-2D is comparatively underpowered as it lacks jump jets, moves the slowest, weighs the least, has less armor, and for hardpoints has a meager 3 missile and 1 energy.



At the bottom of the list is the Raven 4X and 2X. These mechs are lackluster compared to the Raven-3L as they lack the ECM advantage and move 10 KPH slower. At their best they both have a hardpoint advantage over the 3L with the 2X carrying 4 energy points and a missile point while the 4X has 2 ballistic points, 2 energy points, and 1 missile point.

Ultimately though my personal preference lies with the Firestarter-Ember, Commando-The Deaths Knell, and Spider-5D as they comprise what I consider the trinity of light mechs.

• The Deaths Knell has incredible speeds for hit and run tactics and precision aiming. Although it lacks Jump Jets for maneuverability it has the ability to outrun anything that could pose any serious threat.
  
• The Ember loaded with 4MLas and 4MG has incredible brawling capability both early on with the lasers and late game as they can rip anything to shreds.
  
• Finally the Spider-5D is my preferred stealth unit. I'll load an ERPPC in the arm for ranged sniping or twin MPLas in the arm and MLas in the CT and harass the enemy.

I can also recommend checking out Smurfy's mechlab to build your mech before you buy it.




*All speeds listed are after unlocking speed tweak.

Edited by Valdemaar, 06 June 2014 - 08:10 AM.

[Mynder]

Com-2D has 3 missile, 1 energy, not the other way around. It has significant short range punch for its weight, which might be one of the reasons why it wasn't made as fast as the spider.

[Escef]

M E X, on 26 May 2014 - 11:45 PM, said:

Too bad that they dont release the Dasher/Firemoth as their first Clan Mech

Probably because it has a MASC system. They tried to bring in the Flea over a year ago, but it's been trapped in pretty much permanent hiatus because the speeds achievable with the MASC system and a big engine do Bad Things^TM to the servers.

[Myke Pantera]

InsertRubiksCube, on 22 April 2014 - 06:33 AM, said:

So, I've been playing the trial version of the Jenner, and I wanted to buy it, but it was too much. So do any of you guys know any good light mechs that are similar to the Jenner?

If you want something similar to the Jenner you have just 2 choices:
a: Firestart (FS9-K being similar to JR-F)
b: Cicada (CDA-2A being similar to JR-F)

@a The firestarter is a fine mech. Ember, K, H and S are all good variants. The problem is you don't get the XL engine easily, unless you buy the Champion S. So for the K variant (most similar to JR-F) you need to spend 2662k for the chassis. Another ~ 1900k for ES/DHS (you won't be able to fit FF unless you go for ****** heat efficiency.) and another 4818k for the 295XL which you really need. That makes a total of 9380k (plus weapon/equipment costs).

@b The cicada doesn't have jumpjets and you need to get yourself a 330XL or bigger for it to be similar to the JR. Further it is significantly bigger than the Jenner and simply just not as good. The only advantage you can have an ECM version. So you would need to spend: 3194k for the chassis (2A), another 1500k for DHS, roughly 1000k for FF&ES and another 5390k for the XL which makes a total of 11084k to get a good CDA-2A

The JR-F costs around 9993k (+ weapons/equipment). So as long as you don't already own any of the XL engines (295,300,330), non of the good lights will come cheap to you. If you don't want to grind all that CBills, consider buying the Firestarter Mastery Bundle (XL295 included) or the JR-F(C) (300XL incl) or JR-F starter bundle or CDA-2A(C) (340XL incl).

All other lights, serve a different role. None of them are good strikers. So i would not consider them instead of the JR.

Edit: Proper (imo) builds for JR7-F, FS9-K & CDA-2A

Edited by Myke Pantera, 06 June 2014 - 12:17 AM.

[Valdemaar]

Mynder, on 06 June 2014 - 12:04 AM, said:

Com-2D has 3 missile, 1 energy, not the other way around. It has significant short range punch for its weight, which might be one of the reasons why it wasn't made as fast as the spider.

Thanks for the catch. I still feel my point stands though for it being the inferior of the three ECM lights. With such a low speed nearly all other light mechs are faster than it.

[Mynder]

True enough. I wish it were faster.

[xMintaka]

Vweegit, on 05 June 2014 - 10:48 AM, said:

I actually recommend starting with 5x ML and an extra heat sink until you learn to discipline yourself.

I'd recommend staying with 5ML to be honest. You only lose out on 5 damage and gain a hell of a lot more endurance. It can mean the difference between winning and losing a light vs light fight against a 6ML Jenner.

[gensaber]

Personally, I would recommend the commando.

it is relatively cheap, even with a XL200, and the srm favouring variants allow you to skip out on DHS if you are strapped for cbills.

Xl200 keeps me above 140kph (with speed tweak), and i find that commandos are the only mechs that can consistently stay behind other mechs (both when piloting one, or playing against one)

Or I may just be a masochist and like playing on hard mode (i pilot hunchbacks, working on dragons, and used to have awesomes as well).

That said, I will concede that all 35 ton lights are solid picks (except for the black sheeps of their variants that is).

edited for speed mistake

Edited by gensaber, 15 June 2014 - 04:00 AM.

[Ertur]

Valdemaar, on 05 June 2014 - 11:05 PM, said:

• The Commando's only have four hard points of varying Missiles or Lasers except the 3A which only has 2 missile points and 1 laser point and The Death's Knell which is lasers only.

Very nice summary, except for the part I quote. The Com-3A has 2E and 2M, with one energy point in each arm.

[Valdemaar]

Ertur, on 06 June 2014 - 07:33 AM, said:

Very nice summary, except for the part I quote. The Com-3A has 2E and 2M, with one energy point in each arm.

Thanks for the catch. I could've sworn when I checked it was only an energy point in one arm but you're right.

[Pappus]

fs9-k

[maniacos]

Bigbacon, on 28 May 2014 - 11:09 AM, said:

did elite the locusts? can't be nearly as bad as the locust 1v and the spider 5v

Edit: I just started with the Spider, I guess I gonna have fun. Never bothered with the Locust, while I like speed, I like to have some armor too...

Edited by Jherek C, 11 June 2014 - 07:04 AM.

[CheeseThief]

Jenners are for hunting
Firestarters are for brawling
Ravens are for spotting
Spiders are for trolling
Locusts are for lols.
Commandos are for ruining all the other lights fun with streaks.

[maniacos]

Ertur, on 05 June 2014 - 09:43 PM, said:

I disagree with you on the JR7-K: with 4Mlas and an SRM4 you get a 28 point alpha and better DPS than the JR7-F because you run cooler and don't shut down on heat as often. My build is on the first page. The K shows up in 12's since it has the extra arty.

F is a LaserBoat, D has the missiles. So if at all, you have to compare K with D, and as said with 2 SRM4 you get 36 alpha and more than 4 DPS. So what advance does K have over D (besides the module slot, which not everyone needs in a Jenner)?

Edited by Jherek C, 11 June 2014 - 06:59 AM.

[PhoenixFire55]

InsertRubiksCube, on 22 April 2014 - 06:33 AM, said:

So, I've been playing the trial version of the Jenner, and I wanted to buy it, but it was too much. So do any of you guys know any good light mechs that are similar to the Jenner?

Closest you get to a Jenner is a Firestarter. No other lights pack that kind of firepower. Still, they are very different. FS spreads the damage much better then the Jenner, but its legs are far more vulnerable.