96 replies to this topic

[Mott]

I grabbed one and nearly basic'd it last night in just an hour and a half.

THE ARROW 15 8 7 1.14 16 9 1.78 4,188 10,977 01:33:41

I was pugging mostly solo, but also dropped for a few in a 3 man, pulled up an ELO or 2 above my own skill and still managed to do quite well in a basic chassis with a near stock load out.

I run mine with 6MGs, 2ERLs and all the engine, JJs and armor i can pack onto it and as you can see it's no slouch in the damage or kills departments.

Those knocking it and claiming easy kills against it obviously didn't battle competent pilots. I had 3 or 4 otherBJ-As drop on my teams throughout the night and they all put in good games as well, often even better than mine.

Obviously, being a BlackJack, it's quite nimble and maneuverable even at just 86kph. There were a couple matches i over committed and got myself into hot water - it's my first ever MG build and i'm not used to up-close fighting, or waiting till later in the match to go crit-seeking - and it soaked up serious punishment more than a few times. Once i walked right into a AC40 Jager and a AC10+3LL VTR... and i was able to back out in still relatively good condition.

IMO, its legs are its weakest point. I had no problem keeping all torsos (and my XL) in good shape, but i was definitely losing legs more than i usually do.

Edited by Mott, 04 June 2014 - 05:46 AM.

[spottiedogman]

After playing this mech more today I will say it needs a total overhaul of the hitboxes, this thing is a glass house! Don't fear this mech just core it and go about your business. I very rarely use GXP to skill out a mech but I did on this one just to see if elite would improve it but sadly it did not. Do not understand why you would build a mech for close to medium combat and make it this easy to kill. Another miss by PGI as far as I am concerned.

[Simbacca]

I enjoy my Blackjack Hero Mech. One just has to be careful that it does not have nearly the Rambo ability of the Jager-Donald Duck. But it does have 3 advantages: Faster, Jump Jets, and more heavily armed. If its engine cap were increased to 255 the mech would be golden.

Against medium mechs, light mechs, and mechs where armour has been stripped - 6 MGs is highly effective.

Only complaint is regardless of the colour change - the mech looks perfect in Mech Lab, yet in the field it is purplely...

My loadout:
6 Machine Guns with 4 (yes 4) tons of ammo
2 ER Large Lasers
1 Medium Laser
XL235 + 1 Double Heat Sink
1 AMS with 1 ton ammo
4 Jump Jets
Endo-Steel Structure

[Mott]

Simbacca, on 04 June 2014 - 06:10 AM, said:

If its engine cap were increased to 255 the mech would be golden.

This.
I run a build similar to yours except i swapped a DHS for your medium laser... and I have 6 tons of MG ammo. I'd be happy to drop that to 3 or 4 tons of MG ammo to have a larger, faster engine.

It would make this mech feel like a true Hero mech, rather than just another BJ variant.

[Chemistry Warden]

I was busy yesterday and didn't get a chance to log on, but I definitely will tonight, and buying an arrow will be the first thing I do.

[xeromynd]

Loving my Arrow. Kept it close to stock and it's been great to me.

STD 230. Ferro & Endo
6xMG (3T Ammo) 2xERLL 2xJJ
BAP & Target info Module (Gotta see them crits!) MG Module, 360 Ret. Module
Speed is at 94, heat mgmt is at 1.41 (totally doable)

Getting around 400-500 damage. Pugging, usually swarming other heavies with two lights or fast mediums.
Go for the legs with this one (Arrow to the knee) and watch that ammo COOK. It can chew through legs like butter. Seems like lots of heavies neglect their leg armor Might consider taking BAP out for a medium laser and some more armor. We'll see.

Edited by xeromynd, 04 June 2014 - 06:30 AM.

[DONTOR]

WELL, after playing it to 5,000 XP from mastery yesterday, it might be my new fav. IS mech everygame was incredibly fun and MG kills are hilarious.
I still stand by my 2 PPC 6 MG build, plenty of long range punch and the MGs to finish em with, it has worked wonders so far.

[xeromynd]

DONTOR, on 04 June 2014 - 06:29 AM, said:

WELL, after playing it to 5,000 XP from mastery yesterday, it might be my new fav. IS mech everygame was incredibly fun and MG kills are hilarious.
I still stand by my 2 PPC 6 MG build, plenty of long range punch and the MGs to finish em with, it has worked wonders so far.

Isn't the PPC minimum range mixed with the MG max range kind of awkward?

[DONTOR]

spottiedogman, on 04 June 2014 - 05:43 AM, said:

After playing this mech more today I will say it needs a total overhaul of the hitboxes, this thing is a glass house! Don't fear this mech just core it and go about your business. I very rarely use GXP to skill out a mech but I did on this one just to see if elite would improve it but sadly it did not. Do not understand why you would build a mech for close to medium combat and make it this easy to kill. Another miss by PGI as far as I am concerned.

change the loadout? Yes it is to squishy for purely close range combat.

xeromynd, on 04 June 2014 - 06:31 AM, said:

Isn't the PPC minimum range mixed with the MG max range kind of awkward?

No hasnt been a problem yet, by the time they are that close you hit them plenty of times with PPCs and they are open somewhere (in my expierience). Also stay close to friendly incase a fresh lght gets in your face or something.

[xeromynd]

DONTOR, on 04 June 2014 - 06:35 AM, said:

No hasnt been a problem yet, by the time they are that close you hit them plenty of times with PPCs and they are open somewhere (in my expierience). Also stay close to friendly incase a fresh lght gets in your face or something.

Might have to try it out then

Also it should be noted that the BJ-Arrow has magical powers: twice last night I lost my left torso but not my left arm. This has also happened in the past with my Firebrand.

[Mott]

spottiedogman, on 04 June 2014 - 05:43 AM, said:

Do not understand why you would build a mech for close to medium combat and make it this easy to kill. Another miss by PGI as far as I am concerned.

This mech wasn't designed for medium "combat". It was designed as close range mop-up mech. If you're running 6MGs, not matter what else your armament includes, you're not going to be able to wade into battles vs fresh mechs and slug it out with them. That's not what its for.

Take pot shots for the first 3-4 mins of the match as the teams close with your ranged lasers/ppcs/whatever and then go seeking crits on damaged mechs after that.

If you find it squishy, stick with a STD engine... i prefer the XL and am living to match's end more often than not but there's been a couple times i died with sub-100 damage and thought "man... an standard engine woulda saved me some embarrassment there" lol

[Forte]

lockwoodx, on 03 June 2014 - 10:56 PM, said:

A jager that can jump! .....but yeah. An extra squishy one with about the same profile.

Love the paint job/camo tho. They've been "hitting the mark" lately in the art department.

It might just be me, but that shiny aspect makes me think it is stuff they worked in from Gold Mechs and decided to use again for more cool affect.

[Pygar]

Bishop Steiner, on 03 June 2014 - 12:50 PM, said:

Any early results and opinions?

I picked it up, because well, JJ Medium, so gotta have it. Repainted it (like that interesting prismatic/metallic sheen.

Gotta say loadout-wise, not sure it needs much change. Some people obviously don't like the WUBWUB, me, I do just fine with it, especially for an infighter.

I've only got to use it in testing grounds, due to some bandwidth issues, so probably won't be til later I get to test it in battle, but on the testing ground, it cored out a Commando in 5 seconds with the MG alone, and a Cicada in 6. Even locked, and with a nerfed torso twist, it seems plenty agile still.

Anyhow, what's the verdict, thus far?

I want one but can't afford it right this minute. I flew my BJ-1 with 2xLPL 2x Machine guns and 2x small lasers instead last night, got 6 kills 3 Assists and 9 components in one match.

If/when (pretty much when) I get the Arrow, I'll fit it fairly similar to my BJ-1. (Well, technically it already is, but I'll strive for 2x LPL on it instead of just one)

Edited by Pygar, 04 June 2014 - 07:34 AM.

[Cavendish]

Forte, on 04 June 2014 - 07:04 AM, said:

It might just be me, but that shiny aspect makes me think it is stuff they worked in from Gold Mechs and decided to use again for more cool affect.

Of course it is, does not make it bad however.

[Mott]

Here's the promo vid for it. Juicy.

[Felio]

Slow, weak armor, and you have to constantly look at your target to maintain MG spray? What's not to like?

[Forte]

Cavendish, on 04 June 2014 - 07:30 AM, said:

Of course it is, does not make it bad however.

On the contrary, it makes me like it more. That shimmery effect the Gold mechs have is quite nice and while I'd love it on a Griffin, a BJ Arrow will do.

[Mott]

Felio, on 04 June 2014 - 07:56 AM, said:

Slow, weak armor, and you have to constantly look at your target to maintain MG spray? What's not to like?

You have to constantly look at your target to maintain ANY weapons' fire... and yet the BJ is still one of the most loved mechs in MWO's short lifespan.

It's also no slower or less armored than any of the other variants pilots have thrived in.

This thing is going to be a beast when tonnage limits are implemented.

[Sarsaparilla Kid]

I'd have to agree with Dontor...the BJ platform is too squishy to run in close or medium ranges, especially when the enemy mechs are still relatively fresh. I've only run the stock loadout so far and have yet to live through a match, so I'll adjust it to be more in line with my other BJ's, which have ERLLs and PPCs. The stock loadout is fun, but not very survivable at the ranges where its weapons are most effective. A few other loadouts I've tinkered with on Smurfy's include running 3 AC2s on one side, or 2 UAC5s on one side of the mech, for convergence benefits, mostly. However, with the jump jets, it makes most sense to go with 2 PPCs and do some jump sniping until it's safe to close in for the kills.

[xeromynd]

Seeing a lot of comments about the BJ being squishy.....so............... don't get shot!

Kidding aside, I find BJs need large engines when possible (mine usually go at least 100kph, BJ-1X has max engine) and a lot of strafing/zigzagging/JJing, avoiding fire in order to be viable. Once you learn this, they'll treat you well as the JJ & Arm Laser MiniJagers they are.

That being said (kind of off topic), I love my Blackjack fleet to death. Dual PPC sniper BJ-1, my super fast and annoying as F**K 8xSPL BJ-1X, and now the Arrow. Tried the boomjack (AC20) and didn't really like it though

Edited by xeromynd, 04 June 2014 - 08:48 AM.