43 replies to this topic

[Atheris]

Hi,

my mech of choice is the Cicada and I am currently using one with an XL-310 engine, ECM, ERPPC and Medium Laser with (at my mediocre skill level) pretty good results.

I spread out my CBills over multiple mechs so far but none bring me the enjoyment of the cicada, so I thought I'd get to elite skills with that mech.

To do this I decided to buy the 3C variant next and I would really like to use 4 machineguns on it if that is viable.

So my question is, is there a viable 3C build with 4MGs? Would ACs or other ballistic weapons be far more viable?

All the info I found on 3Cs with MGs seems pretty old and outdated.

Thanks!

Edited by Atheris, 07 May 2014 - 02:08 AM.

[Bigbacon]

you got me looking at this now...

this is what I came up with but my ideas are normally not "the best"

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...52fa1b606b12f94

[Magos Titanicus]

Bigbacon, on 07 May 2014 - 06:28 AM, said:

you got me looking at this now...

this is what I came up with but my ideas are normally not "the best"

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...52fa1b606b12f94

i wouldn't call it the best, but it's not bad but i prefer that build http://mwo.smurfy-ne...143e6ea190067de
it's faster and has more firepower as well

Edited by Magos Titanicus, 07 May 2014 - 06:37 AM.

[Bigbacon]

i didn't call it the best....but everyone is always an expert I like to build non META/Perfect OMG builds anyway.

I am also one, while understands the MG, doesn't agree with the usefulness of them.

[Fnord Asteroid]

I took the stock engine from the 3M, gave it to the 3C, upgraded(ferro fibrous, etc) and then put
four MG and if memory serves an ER PPC. That allowed me to max armor, one of my standards.

Edited by ChromeDaedalus, 07 May 2014 - 08:48 AM.

[Rogue Jedi]

prehaps something like this
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...657e3c85e037718

as I am sure you knnow MGs are short range weapons best suted to destroying internat structure when the armor is gone, you can stay back until a few mechs have damaged armor then the LPL and the MGs will make short work of structure, if you want some long range punch you could easily swap the LPL for an (ER)PPC

Edited by Rogue Jedi, 07 May 2014 - 06:50 AM.

[Spheroid]

Bad choice of mech. The 3C is easily the worst Cicada. I guess I would recommend 2x AC-2.

Your third variant should be the 2A in case you are wondering. Level this thing and sell it ASAP.

[Atheris]

Hey, thanks for all the builds, if you guys think the 3c is a bad cicada, which besides the 2a are good? 2b? X-5?

I'd rather not fit another erppc (or any ppc) on a cicada since my 3m will stay my main mech and I'll want to have a little diversity.

Autocannons or large laser sounds fun though.

[Magos Titanicus]

definitly X5! and the 2b is awesome too. i've linked my favourite builds at the moment.

[Warge]

Magos Titanicus, on 07 May 2014 - 06:34 AM, said:

i wouldn't call it the best, but it's not bad but i prefer that build http://mwo.smurfy-ne...143e6ea190067de
it's faster and has more firepower as well

Trade PPC for LPL. with max engine - good crit seeker.

[kesuga7]

Here is prob best you could do on the 3C with machine guns

You can drop the engine to XL 335 if you want another tonn of armour
but cicada's are verrrry hard to cockpit

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...896c092ada3452e


or the 118 kph gauss cicada with 40 shots
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ba6d42c5ae9f76c

or 113.8 kph with .50 tonns of armour shaved and a added tonn of gauss

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...8474f7fa304b475


or the 127 kph , 2 ac 2 , 450 shots cicada
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...16c78864d72ece9

Do 118 kph for 1.5 Tonns for armour and ammo if you want

Edited by kesuga7, 07 May 2014 - 08:49 AM.

[Dawnstealer]

Atheris, on 07 May 2014 - 02:07 AM, said:

Hi,

my mech of choice is the Cicada and I am currently using one with an XL-310 engine, ECM, ERPPC and Medium Laser with (at my mediocre skill level) pretty good results.

I spread out my CBills over multiple mechs so far but none bring me the enjoyment of the cicada, so I thought I'd get to elite skills with that mech.

To do this I decided to buy the 3C variant next and I would really like to use 4 machineguns on it if that is viable.

So my question is, is there a viable 3C build with 4MGs? Would ACs or other ballistic weapons be far more viable?

All the info I found on 3Cs with MGs seems pretty old and outdated.

Thanks!

I run mine with a LPL and 4 MGs, and always the max engine. Lots of fun, doesn't run that hot. Looking at Kesuga's build, I think that's pretty close to mine, except I put the MG ammo in my CT (theory being if someone cores you, you're dead anyways). I also have run with an ERLL and an AMS.

Edited by Dawnstealer, 07 May 2014 - 08:55 AM.

[Tiamat of the Sea]

2A, 3C, 3M. The 2B has a nice set of hardpoints, but those arm hardpoints will get blown off of you incredibly quickly if you take any fire from the sides.

I recommend trying an AC/2 or AC/5 (or possibly dual AC/2s or an LB 10-X) in a Cicada once in a while just for practice with fast-moving ballistics, but you really don't want to go heavier than that on the ballistic weapons. Machine guns aren't a bad choice for ballistic slots on a Cicada as long as your Energy weapon is a good hole-puncher- namely a PPC, ERPPC, or Large Pulse Laser.

In no situation do you want a machine-gun focused 'mech to be the first into battle, so your choice of energy weapon should depend on your personal patience- the PPC and ERPPC are prohibitive in close quarters or constant fire, but the LPL will tempt you to rush in ahead of allies.

Machine guns do negligible damage to armor, but once things are stripped of armor they'll ruin whatever location is bare- so make sure to go for targets that are already scraped up.

-QKD-CR0

[Revis Volek]

I prefer to run mine with the PPC, 3 MG, and a XL 320. Hes fast enough to help the lights and do some light hunting. But really excels when helping the heavies and assaults. Once they strip the armor your strip the components. I put up 350-650 on a regular basis with him even if its PUG.

[Corbon Zackery]

There is 2 builds that work will with CD-3c and MG.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...2f61b0101510b60

Slow surprise I have a AC 20.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...2eec937d4436fb4

Best option. However the ER PPC doesn't work well at speed. You get into a issue were your snipping and take so much damage that closing to MG range is suicide.

[Takashi Uchida]

I bought the 3C recently so I could have variety to grind out basics so that I can get my 3M kitted out. However, I've been finding myself actually doing better in the 3C than my 3M!

I run mine right now with the 320XL that came with the 3M (unfortunately, I do not have the funds for a 340XL right now). Weapons are 4 machine guns, and either a large pulse laser or a ER large laser.

And get this, since I bought it with the intention of just grinding out basics, it has no weight upgrades and is still rockin single heat sinks! If I continue to have success with it I might as well drop the cbills for the upgrades and master it! But right now, I still need money for my third chassis.

Anyway, with the machine guns, understand that they are next to worthless against a target that is still armored. Should you choose to run 3-4 machine guns, your playstyle will be dictacted by the energy weapon(s) you carry.

-With the ER large laser, you will be limited to a pretty inefficient sniper build (Raven-3L, Cicada-3M, and Spider-5D are better for this role).

-With the large pulse laser, you are a little closer to the battle and will have to take pot-shots while making sure lights and streakboats don't get close to you.

-I personally haven't tried multiple medium lasers and ERPPC yet because it'll probably get too hot for my single heat sinks. I've also seen some builds that will compromise on the engine size to fit an LBX in there for moar crit power. Might give that a try later.

Regardless of your energy weapons, what you do with your machine guns is the same: destroying exposed internals. I can't stress enough how bad machine guns are against armor. They simply do not do alot of damage, and the only redeeming value really is the crit chance. So, if you see a weak point, do a quick survey of the battle and make sure you have an exit route. If everything looks good, make your run. You'll want to avoid charging straight into your target unless you know that they can't fire back. Make sure you approach at angles where you have enough twist to keep the target under your crosshairs. Don't stop to fire at an enemy unless it's a stomp scenario.

Here's a game a had a couple days ago: 3 kills, 8 assists, 444 damage. I somehow made over 200k cbills too, without any sort of bonus or consumable. As you can see, it was a close game, and I didn't make it to the end. But, I certainly pulled my weight. 400+ damage is decent for this kind of build (again, your machine guns won't give you a lot in terms of raw damage), I average just under 300 damage with it. You will be very reliant on your allies in this build. Your job is to quickly take out hurt mechs. The pug lottery has been pretty good to me the past couple days, so always keep that into consideration.

[DONTOR]

1ERPPC
4MGs (2 tons ammo)
XL 340
near max armor

Or 2 AC2s a smaller engine with i think a 300 XL is also fun and relativly viable.

[IraqiWalker]

Atheris, on 07 May 2014 - 02:07 AM, said:

Hi,

my mech of choice is the Cicada and I am currently using one with an XL-310 engine, ECM, ERPPC and Medium Laser with (at my mediocre skill level) pretty good results.

I spread out my CBills over multiple mechs so far but none bring me the enjoyment of the cicada, so I thought I'd get to elite skills with that mech.

To do this I decided to buy the 3C variant next and I would really like to use 4 machineguns on it if that is viable.

So my question is, is there a viable 3C build with 4MGs? Would ACs or other ballistic weapons be far more viable?

All the info I found on 3Cs with MGs seems pretty old and outdated.

Thanks!

A 4MG build is fantastic on any mech. As long as you couple it with a high yield energy weapon to peel the armor, since MGs are excellent on internals.

CDA-3C 4xMG

It's a fun build, you can also switch to an XL 300, to get more DHS in there (and upgrade to LPL). or an XL 325 for more speed and crazy.

[Atheris]

I bought a 2B now and put medium lasers into it and... I am really really really bad with it. Like dying almost every match bad.

I am getting lots of assists with it but have only one kill so far. Needless to say I'll ditch it as soon as I have the basics for it and I decided to get a 3c now and X-5 if there is another sale of that mech (I wish I had gotten it on its last sale!) .

I will run an erppc and 3 or 4 mgs on the 3c i think, I can't seems to get lasers to work well for me. (Though I plan on a gauss build just to see the difference but I can imagine the delay getting tiresome)

What I learned is that the long range of the erppc is really useful to me, it means I can snipe in the beginning, it is really annoying to sit there with your medium lasers and not do anything while your team is clustered behind a hill taking potshots at the enemy.

It seems the eppc is the perfect weapon, I can get in close with it without problems if I want to , as soon as the big mech brawling starts I can chose my battlefield position at a whim and still be effective.

Edited by Atheris, 08 May 2014 - 01:32 AM.

[ThatBum42]

I recommend removing most of the armor from the arms to save weight. There shouldn't be anything in there, and they do a meh job of shielding since the Cicada is 90% leg anyway, and everyone always goes for the legs on a fast mech...unless you're hillhumping I suppose. But the Cicada's strengths lie in being a skirmishing gunboat.

Anyway yeah, the 4 MGs can wreck face if used properly. They're a very scary thing to come across in the late game when everyone's crit.

Also I seem to recall a crazy PPC+Gauss 3C on an NGNG stream once, it did pretty well by sniping from the top of the Crimson mountain. Might want to consider that.