22 replies to this topic

[RichRuzz]

Hey guys, I used to play VERY early on, and in my days the Catapult K2 with the Gauss was the thing to be, or Atlas LRM boats, things seem to be VERY different now and the gauss shoots differently which yet I have to understand. What would be the suggest choice of mech that I could do good with in solo queue until I meet some competent players?

I bought a Misery, I have a K2, a Yen-lo-wang, and some others and premium currency if necessary! All help and advice would be much appreciated.

[Selene Lunaris]

Shadowhawks seem to be really popular choices in the medium bracket now. Jagermechs are the new hillhumping gauss/ac40 trollmechs, and generally seem to be the prime ballistic mechs.

Gausses charge now. Press down lmb - wait for the funny noise to end - release - boom. It's to kill the poptart gauss thing, or something. Was on hiatus when it happened.

Going by metacheese, Shadowhawks are THE mediums currently, Phracts THE heavies, and the assault bracket is a bit more varied. We've got everything from Victors to Atlai now - there are a few good comparisons in the assault mech subsection, the links to which I'll dig up soon.

Personal recommendations? The old faithful Hunchback - the 4SP in particular. The last few patches have done a lot of good stuff for SRM hitreg. Thuds can be fun - if you can handle their barn door syndrome. Orions are pretty good, if somewhat flimsy heavy mechs, and basically baby Atlai.

Dunno if you go back far enough to have missed ECM. If you have, read up on it here. It's a really big thing in the game these days, and proper knowledge on how to use/counter it is a must.

[Darwins Dog]

The Gauss K2 still works pretty well, but you usually see Jagermechs sporting that due to the higher weapon mounts. It has the charge mechanic now (hold the button for a second, then release to fire), so you can't do snap shots with it. It still has the range, damage, and projectile speed as it did before.

What style do you like to play? It's hard to recommend something without knowing your tastes.

[RichRuzz]

I used to play a medium/long range, since I never seemed to be able to close into the brawling unloading style in solo queue if my team was derping around. Medium/long I used to pop off targets during engagements and this new Gauss style interests me but only if viable.

[Modo44]

I would say try your mechs with various weapons first. Start with 2xPPC+AC20 on the Misery -- that is a very strong configuration. Put some PPC+(U)AC5 on your K2 or go back to dual Gauss if you like. Unless playing lights, pinpoint damage at long ranges is king, so you should do well.

The strongest assault currently is the Victor, but it is best used for jump-sniping which would basically mean an entire new skillset for you. You probably want to learn the new jump jets (you can only fire accurately when dropping down) and how to charge Gauss before going there. 2x(U)AC5+2xPPC and Gauss+ERPPC+PPC are extremely potent, based on competitive builds (stronger on the Dragon Slayer, but that costs MC). You can try a less optimized build as it is currently the assault trial mech.

The Shadowhawk comes highly recommended as a new medium purchase. You can put a lot of setups on the 2D/2D2 and test lots of different weapons on a very good mech.

Edited by Modo44, 17 May 2014 - 10:53 AM.

[RichRuzz]

Could you help me out with the Dragon Slayer build or a Misery build? It'd be much appreciated, then I can spend my time learning the positioning and such before getting further into tweaking and earning some cash. (For the Misery the PPC AC20 build you mentioned not sure what "dynamic slots" are either or how to displace them properly.

Just tried out my K2 with double gauss and seemed to do really well with them, just gotta time the charges now.

Edited by Rich Rusznak, 17 May 2014 - 01:19 PM.

[Barkem Squirrel]

Go to the training grounds to practice initially for the Gauss changes. It took me a few hours of sniping, then a few real games to even get decent with the gauss changes. They are still viable on the K2, but the jagermechs have almost replaced the K2 in the dual Gauss role. The charging of the Gauss is the hard part, by holding the button down, but you have a limited time to fire after it is charged by letting the button go. The upper left square on the targeting box will turn yellow during charging and green when you can shoot.

One way around this I used was a TAG laser to help me hit.

For some reason I see mainly two PPC's on mechs instead of the ERPPC and this may be due to heat issues.

The K2 I have been seeing UAC 5 or AC 5 combinations with either LL's, ERLL's or PPC's. There is one hero the Jester like the K2, but with 6 energy hard points.

The Misery is one that I also just purchased, but run a bit differently. It just depends on your stile. I have been running the misery with two ERLL's, Three ML's and one LBX 10. with 300 standard engine. I would use the AC 10, but I want something for LIghts and I play with Lower frames per second.

Now ghost heat is another big change. Smurfy's has a listing of what and how much ghost heat is created when boating certain weapons. More than one AC 20, Four or more AC 2's, three or more PPC's, Three or more LL's, Three or more LRMs over LRM10's, SRMs with four or more SRM 4's, finally more than 6 ML's.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...eapon_heatscale

The Victors are mainly two AC 5's with Two PPC's and JJ's. You will need more JJ's now due to some changes and the VIctors are slower to torso turn now. There is one Victor that can carry an AC 20 in the arm instead of two ac 5's.

There are many mechs now to chose from and some are hard to kill. Battlemasters, thunderbolts can tank damage with standard engines. But the one mech it seems I can not die in is a Battlemaster with a 400XL in it. Sure going 83 KPH in an assault is fun, but chasing down a centurion is priceless.

The last free mech and bay they gave out was the thunderbolt 9 was a good point. I used a standard engine, lasers and some LRMs. I was able to delay the the other team on Terra therma for almost a minute allowing my last teammate to cap and secure the win. I was at 13% when I went down. A few other games with that mech I received comments from my team and the other team on how well it tanked. Especially if I was just fixing the other team into a position. Mainly for my Artillery and airstrikes, but also to allow for a flanking maneuver by the rest of the team. The T-bolts with standard engine have surprised me.

Edited by Barkem Squirrel, 17 May 2014 - 01:23 PM.

[RichRuzz]

I REALLY like the gauss cannons still, I was using my old K2 and I'm pulling 600ish damage a game. What would be the "optimal" or best gauss setup mech now? Hero or non doesn't matter. (preferably not jumpjet sniping based)

[Barkem Squirrel]

Any Jagermech load out. You could on the firebrand Hero mech reduce the ammo by two tons and place ML's on the arms. Or any other mech with ML's in the torso's.

The one big thing I have is speed or having AMS. With a 210XL I can have almost full armor (-6 points to even out the tonage) with 6 tons of ammo, and two ML's

That is 57 kph with speed tweak.

Also the DD and S variants have larger torso twists at 110 the A at 90 and the firebrand at 100 degrees. The K2 has 110.

[RichRuzz]

Could anyone suggest an optimal Jagermech build loadout then? Or variant to get? Would be much appreciated.

[Modo44]

I linked my solo PUG DS build in my previous post. It has insurance (AMS and more back armor) added to a typical competitive setup. Note that it requires good aim -- there is no spare ammo for spray and pray. If you really dislike the UAC5 jamming, you can take dual AC5 as well.

Here is an approximation on a typical AC20+2xPPC Misery based on the same PUG insurance principle (AMS, back armor, backup ML added). I personally prefer it with AC20+3xLL or Gauss+3xERLL+2xML, but those are technically weaker (lacking pinpoint damage).

The dynamic slots show that you have Endo Steel or Ferro Fiber equipped. They move automatically as you place equipment.

For Cbills, get the Jager S. The Firebrand hero is also pretty good, though not as versatile. Some builds: Dual Gauss Jager -- fits on any variant; you can make it faster, but that will cost you armor and/or the backup MLs; various setups with one Gauss and a standard engine can also be done. Meta Jager -- fits on the S variant; not really used competitively, but it utilizes a standard engine and has a dedicated shield arm. F U glass cannon Jager -- fits on the S and DD. 2xPPC+2xAC5 Firebrand -- this is why people buy that hero mech; you can drop Ferro Fiber and the engine rating to take backup MLs/more ammo/UAC5s/AMS.

Edited by Modo44, 17 May 2014 - 07:00 PM.

[n r g]

Rich Rusznak, on 17 May 2014 - 10:12 AM, said:

Hey guys, I used to play VERY early on, and in my days the Catapult K2 with the Gauss was the thing to be, or Atlas LRM boats, things seem to be VERY different now and the gauss shoots differently which yet I have to understand. What would be the suggest choice of mech that I could do good with in solo queue until I meet some competent players?

I bought a Misery, I have a K2, a Yen-lo-wang, and some others and premium currency if necessary! All help and advice would be much appreciated.

victor 2ppc/2ac5

[Myke Pantera]

Rich Rusznak, on 17 May 2014 - 10:36 AM, said:

I used to play a medium/long range, since I never seemed to be able to close into the brawling unloading style in solo queue if my team was derping around. Medium/long I used to pop off targets during engagements and this new Gauss style interests me but only if viable.

How about this? (SHD-5M, XL300, 2AC5(5t), 2ML, AMS, 2JJ). It has range and is relatively heat efficient. And the Shadowhawk is never a bad choice to have in your garage.
SHD-5M

Edit: Furthermore it is quick enough to get you out of trouble most of the time, if you ran the wrong direction, which might be helpful since you probably don't know all the maps too well.

Other than that the EMBER is a beast! But only if you like to play lights

I hardly play above 55t, so i leave these weight classes to others, more in the know.

Edit: At some point i used the SHD like this: SHD-2H, but i can't say this is a particularly good build.

Edited by Myke Pantera, 20 May 2014 - 03:22 AM.

[Orbit Rain]

Hey rich, just saw this post, not reading previous replies.

Think about what you want to learn, and the path you should take to learn it. I'm guessing you have a founder's cat, get an A1, 6xLRM5, max everything, learn how to lrm in anything at that point, then get a BLR-1S lrm-boat and wreck face with it. Get an ecm light to get a better feel of the timings to enemy contact. Take a D-Dc and learn the art of herding pugs. That k2 is *still* a beast with two gauss. You just hota be at that point where you're so on, you *want* the lights to come close to ya. Boom cat is great, though slow, Jaeggers make better xl engine boomsticks. There's always the meta to try. Play with ppc(s)+(u)ac5(s) loadouts on mechs of all stripes. Eventually (or just start with) a DS.

You'll have to suffer some figuring out how to make all these different builds work, and that's the game to play right there. Lotta people can't stick it out and just keep playin to get better, learn more, and have more enjoyment from the mental challenges. Yes, I'm mentally challenged X D

[Orbit Rain]

So just read a bit, gausscat has way better (imho) convergence and feel than a gaussjaeger. Xl300 5 or six tons of ammo, nothing else.

[RichRuzz]

Sorry to post again what would be the "best" mech to be a Gauss Sniper, Hero, or non.

[Motörhead]

Rich Rusznak, on 23 May 2014 - 02:51 PM, said:

Sorry to post again what would be the "best" mech to be a Gauss Sniper, Hero, or non.

catapults can store more ammos + backup mlas because they can strip arms completely (ofc still better to put 1 point) :

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...be2eacde246c38a

Jager advantage is the higher mount and ofc the arms mount (can fire better up and down, tho on a sniper it isn't that important).
But it also needs compromises : if you want 70 ammos with XL255 you have no Mlas, or you have to drop your engine but then you are too slow for a 65 tonner.
On a Jager I'd run xl255 70 ammos and nothing else.

But overall the Jagermech is better for other builds and in general, so I'd still go with Jager and have no 2Mlas when mounting the 2x Gauss

Edited by fx8320, 23 May 2014 - 03:28 PM.

[Magna Canus]

Rich Rusznak, on 17 May 2014 - 10:12 AM, said:

Hey guys, I used to play VERY early on, and in my days the Catapult K2 with the Gauss was the thing to be, or Atlas LRM boats, things seem to be VERY different now and the gauss shoots differently which yet I have to understand. What would be the suggest choice of mech that I could do good with in solo queue until I meet some competent players?

I bought a Misery, I have a K2, a Yen-lo-wang, and some others and premium currency if necessary! All help and advice would be much appreciated.

The standard wang is a good way to start.

[Tim East]

Rich Rusznak, on 23 May 2014 - 02:51 PM, said:

Sorry to post again what would be the "best" mech to be a Gauss Sniper, Hero, or non.

I had my LT torn off by a triple gauss Ilya Muromets the other day. Not sure how beefy/fast it'd be, but...the damage is definitely there.

[Koniks]

Do you have

Rich Rusznak, on 17 May 2014 - 02:10 PM, said:

Could anyone suggest an optimal Jagermech build loadout then? Or variant to get? Would be much appreciated.

Do you have 3 variants of each chassis you've bought? And are you familiar with the 'mech mastery system yet?