349 replies to this topic

[ColdPsyker1]

I absolutely love the nova. I primarily played the hunchback 4p, and with my nova, I am doing almost as well as I do in my hunchie. I havent even finished basicing the prime.
Why is it good? Because PGI gave me a hunchback with jump jets and non-"SHOOT ME HERE" hitboxes.

[Nehkrosis]

ive seen novas cook assaults all over the place.

Its a savage mech and it'll be my next purchase.

[ArchSight]

I'm expermenting with the nova but so far my research has found the double AMS is great for sheilding a brawler lance that also carries AMS and the Nova can deliver a almost instant kill shot if it gets behind a mech while boating many weapons. It seems like it's a great Ambush mech that can deliver a devasting blow to a team at close to medium ranges but has no ECM to help with sneaking around. The targeting computer could change this though with the increased ranges it adds to the beam or ballistic weapons.

The reason why I say it's a great ambush mech is because i've been recently successful on terra therma by dropping down from the top of the center Volcano into the the enemy team. It was fun because I killed a cataphract from behind easily when I showed up and their forces were split up fighting me and my team at the entrances. It turned into a even trade match but that could of been a land slide move if I had more Nova's drop down with me.

[Blitzace]

One of my best games was in a Nova. 3 Clan ER large lasers make for amazing long range damage. It helps that the hardpoints are in the arms for the extra range of motion. Throw in jump jets and you have range and mobility.

[Kiiyor]

The Nova isn't a good choice for OCD'ers, because most people don't seem to understand that you don't have to fill all the available hardpoints with weapons.

Sure, you can laughably fire off a hideous MLAS Alpha strike and watch whatever is in front of you either explode (if you have a steady hand) or do the daffy-duck-avoiding-fire-dance whilst it frantically backpedals away from you but you may as well book yourself a ticket to tour Europe whilst you wait for it to cool down. It reminds me of the old borderline useless 6PPC Stalkers (which were HILARIOUS fun) that all the luddites complained about back in the pre ghost-heat days of yore.

6 MLAS and a crapload of heatsinks >>>>> 12 MLAS well-I-missed-it-was-nice-knowing-you builds.

OR - 12 ERSLAS + 4MGs.... Crap if you don't get to brawl, but lots of fun in those swirling melees on some of the tighter maps.

OR 2 ERLL + 4 ERSLAS. Fun.

[Koniving]

Default weapons, each arm can do 42 damage and you only need to space them 0.5 seconds apart so you can overlap them.

Even with ER smalls that's 30 damage per arm with barely any heat generation that your heatsinks can easily handle even on Terra Therma.
30 damage, 30 damage, 30 damage, 30 damage. Your range might be 180 for full effect, but add some jumping to the mix and you'd be surprised. You just don't want to be a front line mech.

It's when you start packing autocannons on the Nova that it becomes next to useless.

One thing you could try is packing 1 ER ML + 5 ER SL per arm. That way you have some long range touch but can also really fry something up close.
After all even with 5 ER SL per arm, you have 25 damage per shot and you can get 50 damage with just one arm in the time that a single AC/20 can get 40 in. So that twin AC/20 Jager? He gets in 80 in 4 seconds, you get in 100 in less. Best thing is you run cold. He doesn't.

Food for thought.

[Kiiyor]

Koniving, on 21 June 2014 - 08:20 PM, said:

...You just don't want to be a front line mech...

Sorry for the paraphrasing, but to me that perfectly sums up the mech.

The JJ's do add some great maneuverability, but IMHO, the Storm Crow with it's amazing hardpoint locations and utterly insane torso range is where it's at for medium brawling.

[Koniving]

Agreed. I had a 3 Streak-6 + 2 SRM-6 rig and it just owns.
Shame it too has no real ability to use ballistics.

The Stormcrow that is.

[UBCslayer]

Anavel Gato2, on 20 June 2014 - 07:04 AM, said:

Hi,

For me the Nova seems an useless mech.

Speed: 81 kmh - the same of Heavy Summoner and Timberwolf.
the Stormcrow runs over 90 kmh
So no hit and run tactics.

Weapins and ammo: it's a 50 ton medium.
Only scout mechs are weaker.

What is this mech good for? only hunt on IS mechs?

Note: i like the B version (6 lasers and 4 (four!) MGs,
but i can't see an useful tactic for him.

Thks

Killing:

[Sardauker Legion]

Hello,

thks again for all your posts.

My starting thought was:
Why spend the same real money for a mech that looks inferior to the 5 ton bigger stormcrow?

I see that a lot of people prefere more laser hardpoints and jump jets to speed.
Different combat philosophy - i'm a hit and run believer.
Fast in fast out, that's why i rarely use Assault mechs.
And an 89 kmh fast 75 ton Timberwolf can deploy everywhere in no time.

Thanks again to everyone, and be sure i want not to offend neither the Nova then their pilots.
I have both (Stormcrow and Nova) but - except the MG version - the Nova is not in MY battle philosophy.

Following one of your ideas, i modified the prime with 4 med and 6 small lasers - and did 430 dmg in 3.40 secs before being killed. It works.

See you online.

Edited by Anavel Gato2, 22 June 2014 - 06:06 AM.

[Macksheen]

It's a mentality thing, I think.

I suck in them, and ahead of time on paper they were what I was excited about. Stormcrow was low on my list, but surprisingly to me I do much much better in them (and Kit Fox, but who knew that either).

[Sardauker Legion]

The Ironclad said:
Stormcrow was low on my list, but surprisingly to me I do much much better in them (and Kit Fox, but who knew that either)[/color]
__________________________________
The Kit Fox is another long story: actually the ony ECM-ClanMech (Right arm Pod?).
Who does not need ECM cover - with the Raven's speed and the Clan Firepower...

Edited by Anavel Gato2, 22 June 2014 - 06:55 AM.

[Satan n stuff]

Rattler85, on 20 June 2014 - 07:23 AM, said:

The Nova Prime is devastating if used effectively. The B and S are harder to use.

I found the B hardpoints to be lacking a bit, but you can go for one big gun and a few lasers if you want. Mine has a Gauss rifle, Prime sidetorsos for the increased torso twist range and the S left arm with an ER medium and two ER small lasers, so it's more or less a slightly heavier Shadow Cat Prime.
My Prime is set up with 6 ER medium and 6 ER small lasers, you can't alpha it but it's a good compromise between damage and heat efficiency. It's surprisingly heat efficient so it can stay engaged much longer than a stock Nova Prime.
My S has a Prime arm with 6 ER small lasers, 4 machine guns and AMS in the torso and 3 ER medium lasers on the other arm.

[NRP]

The stock Nova prime will teach you heat management and mental discipline. It is the quintessential "run hot or die" mech. And the payoff for mastery is huge. Love it.

[Bigbacon]

It isn't usless. It seems to do best in a support role of other heavier mechs that can take fire for you while you dish it out in large and/or constant (lots of chain fire) volleys.

off on your own or out numbered it is toast.

You just don't want to be their first target or concentrated target. You need to stick with your heavies


if you can manage the heat of 12 laser (of either medium, small or a mix) you can tear mechs apart. limbs are best to go for.

i've been mostly small laser boating 12 or 9 SLs with either a long range backup (LL or AC2) or mixing in MLs or MPL and then however many DHS you have the tonnage left for.

Edited by Bigbacon, 22 June 2014 - 09:30 AM.

[Tarriss Halcyon]

To all those people saying Nova with Autocannons is useless, I've been having fun with two ER MLs, four ER SLs and two LB2Xs on a NVA-S. Sure, it doesn't kill things as fast as most other mechs, and the spread damage "nerfs the guns" until you realize that the trick to the build isn't to do the most damage, but to take the legs off the lights going for my fatter targets. In my NVA-S, I'm not going for kills (well, not as many as my stock Stormcrow Prime, the only mech I own with a 2.7 KDR), but I'm a bodyguard mech capable of causing havoc.

My NVA-B build is even more useless, since it's two UAC2s and an ER Large. Basically, I play the ballistics Novas as snipers. I haven't actually used the NVA-Prime yet, though, so I'm taking notes on these suggestions.

[CronuxKobold]

I love this mech, it rules. I run all of mine stock. With prime I chain fire each arm and I have wrecked so many timber wolves and dire wolves with this mech in one on one duels. The S and B are a little less balls to the wall. You want to stay close to support, but you can still own people.

[wanderer]

People forget that the original killer medium in MWO was the Hunchback-P.

This is a much better version. Mobile. Wider fields of fire. Facemelting damage. And it can feed MG's into the holes for good measure.

[Escef]

NRP, on 22 June 2014 - 07:57 AM, said:

The stock Nova prime will teach you heat management and mental discipline. It is the quintessential "run hot or die" mech. And the payoff for mastery is huge. Love it.

Nova Prime taught me that I have a nasty habit of Alpha-ing as a snap reaction... Yes, that worked out for me in the Nova about as well as you expect it did.

Seriously, though, each arm of the Nova Prime stock outguns a BoomJager. Let that sink in a little. In under 5 seconds this thing can put out more than 2 BoomJagers worth of firepower, and then jump jet away.

[Thorn Hallis]

Viken, on 20 June 2014 - 07:38 AM, said:

I was watching the NGNG Twitch stream last night, and one of the pilots had a 12 Small Laser (ER Small Laser, because Clan tech) and 4 Machine Gun build. He could Alpha without overheating, had a lot of Heat Sinks, so he could Alpha once every 5-7 seconds, and after Alpha, he was waiting about 3-4 seconds and could fire an arm again. On top of this, the MGs are heat free. Also, by NOT using Medium Lasers, he drew less player agro, because everyone thinks "lol small lasers" completely forgetting that he still had a 5 dmg x 12 lasers = 60 damage alpha @ 180m range.

His play was devastating. That Nova build makes me want to think about getting it, to be perfectly honest.

I allready met this config and since then every Nova is a prime target for me. This thing is hell.