22 replies to this topic

[Cementi]

Seriously, in other incarnations of this game including tabletop the adder has always been one of my favorites. However in this game no matter how I try to play it I find it is nothing more than a steaming pile of crap.

Any ideas or is this mech truly DOA?

[Noth]

While it is one of the weaker Clan mechs, I have seen people just destroy with it. It almost seems as if it come down to pure playstyle whether someone will do good in it or not.

[FupDup]

It needs help. It can contribute due to the awesomeness of Clan ER Lasers and ERPPCs, but it's not a "good" mech by any means.

[orcrist86]

Don't rush in. Play escort or clean up. The adder carries a lot of weaponry for its tonnage but is otherwise fragile. It does best this way.

Edited by orcrist86, 15 July 2014 - 03:42 PM.

[Bullseye69]

The best way I have seen it played is to stick and move at range use it as a long range sniping mech don't close to medium range and don't get caught at close range it simply not fast enough or armored enough to handle it. I also think I once saw a adder with long range missile and that seems to work well for it. It is not like Inner Sphere light that get all up in your face hugging and picking you to death think of it as a long range raven or spider or jenner that use a ppc to hit and move never stopping and always striking from range.

[Marauder3D]

The Adder suffers from one serious problem as a light mech in MWO: it doesn't have ECM [GASP!!!]

If you can overlook that cardinal sin and adjust your play accordingly, the Adder is a great mech.

What has worked for me lately is sticking with an Assault or Heavy mech group. You will ALWAYS be the target of least priority. Once the group engages the enemy, use your superior mobility to find your shots and feel free to dash back to your bigger buddies if you get into trouble.

I've been running the Prime as a mini-Stormcrow B: UAC10 with 3 ER Medium lasers. Sounds terrible, but when you play escort well I've been getting 4-600 damage and a couple kills. All in a mech with no ECM.

Maybe it just suits my style (Stormcrow is my favorite clan mech, and the playstyle isn't that different). Missle style play works as well as the normal energy or energy/ballistics loadout. LRM15+5s or 4SRM6 fit just fine.

Keep playing with it a bit and master out one of them. Fully unlocked, they feel just as agile and quick as a light mech should. If you still hate it, there is always the Stormcrow, eh?

Good luck!

[Monkey Lover]

Ya It needs more speed. Its to slow, just like the kitfox. maybe extra 15kph.

[Roadkill]

The Adder is a slightly tougher Kit Fox with no ECM. As such, it barely qualifies as a second-line Mech. It's only real role, and it's only a partial role, is as mobile support, meaning that it can fairly rapidly move to provide support wherever it is needed in the battle.

But the Kit Fox can do that just as well, and provide ECM cover at the same time. So... yeah, meh.

[A Man In A Can]

Adder-lo-Wang. Try it sometime. Worked well enough for me. 1.38 W/L 2.58 K/D

[Mondos]

I have had some good games with the Adder Prime, but you do have to put in 2x times the work to everyone else.

[Zordicron]

Adder is NOT a light mech. It is a lightly armored medium mech.

Are you aware on the field? Can you predict enemy movements fairly well, and keep track of your own team also? Then you will do well in adder. you are fire support. you are small, and easy to miss on the field, both litterally and figuratively. You are fast enough to hover the edges of your team, and shoot at targets to either ditract them from your teams flank, or add support fire to your team's big boys. The dmg will add up, because adder can pack some nice firepower.

You cant fight lights, although after basics, it isnt too hard to at least defend yourself well. you are not a scout, and you shouldnt be YOLO off ahead of the team.

really, you are pretty fragile, though you can spread dmg well, and you should have pretty long range weapons equiped, ike PPC or ERLL, so IS shorter weapons dont do full effect on you BECAUSE YOU ARENT DERPING INTO BRAWLING RANGE WITH A PAIR OF ERPPC.

Can you aim really well? No? your facehug tactics will not work here son. Favorite weapon the AC20? Not today pal. need advanced zoom module to hit past 500M? Look elsewhere boy. Adder plays on the fringe of combat, fires at his prey until they notice him, and then Adder moves. At full speed, to the next place he is needed for his team.

Adder is great as company to your team's flank squad. Fat boys keep the attention of enemy, medium/heavy force moves to flank, GO WITH THEM. but, not in front, and dont lead a charge. Whoever turns to shoot your team mate first, blast 'im in the face with ERPPC from the back of your squad. Keep it up till you are too hot, or someone looks at you. Then, get back behind cover, cool off or move using the cover to the next support spot.

People trying to play an Adder like its a raven or something are doomed to fail. it is not a raven, or ember, or jenner, or even a HBK or the like, it's an adder. it has long range, and no self defense items like ECm etc. You need self awareness and good play. THEN, it will wreck face like the tiniest assault mech, pouring dmg into the enemies, a moderate amount at a time, but a huge amount by the end of match.

[Zordicron]

Further, try these loadouts if you like:

One ERLL in each arm, LRM10 in each side torso, ammo and DHS as you like-
One LRM20 in each arm, one ERML in each side torso, same as above
Prime, but dump everything that isnt ERPPC or DHS to add more DHS

You should be fighting at that >500M range. Even the one with ERML, those are for self defense, and targets of opportunity. If you need to use advanced zoom module to aim accuratly at this range, you will never be good at Adder. Advanced zoom is a crutch. If you need it, your true calling is brawling. Learn the skillset for that role instead.

[MonkeyCheese]

Boat a big weapon/s and sneak up on already engaged people is the best advice I can give. Play it like a Yen Lo

[Rando Slim]

Yea I hated the Adder at first (and as we all know, Im a ****** pilot that gets mad easily). But.....its the fastes LRM-30 in the game if you equip it that way. That's probably its best role but I feel like a cheese-head if I use LRMs. The above mentioned UAC-10+3 med laser build is alright. My two favorites are the Prime with 2 ER Large in the torsos (using A pods) and two mediums in the arms. Another good one is the Adder-A with an ER-PPC in right torso and 3 clan streak 4s. You can play on the perimeter and contribute a little with your PPC, and also defend against lights and mediums with streaks. Like has been mentioned, DO NOT chase stuff, and stick and move. You can flank from a distance but you need to remain closer to your team than with an IS light. Like you can maybe go 300-400 meters off to a side to get your shot but you need to be ready to run back to the team. Also, don't try too hard to use the flamer, it always gets you in trouble and puts you in tunnel vision mode. Overall I like the Adder better than the Nova strangely enough
. Oh and don't approach anything at a straight on vector. You can actually spread damage ok, it can turn its torsos really far.

Edited by Scrotacus 42, 15 July 2014 - 09:32 PM.

[Clit Beastwood]

Try to never be the primary target - make sure the enemy always has something more obvious to shoot. Try to shoot enemies only when your teammates hit them. If the enemy notices you, disappear until they forget... The. Go back

If you can avoid getting overeager you'll do well. You cannot Rambo in an adder.

[Draykin]

I've been messing around some with the Adders, and I can tell you one thing: I believe it is fine as it is.

One of the main issues I see is that most people don't seem to realize that the Clan Lights are not scout mechs. The Kit Fox is a support mech, while the Adder is more a fighter. An Adder is capable of destroying any mech, given the right circumstances. As such, it should not be played like a scout. An Adder should actually be treated more like a lighter Medium, You wait for someone else to engage, and then you go in, take some shots, and try to not get focused down. One of the best tactics I've found for an Adder, actually, is a sort of strafing run when enemies are sitting in one place. The Adder, I have found, works best when you're aggressive, but even so you still need to think. Often times, when I go into a fight, I run up to an enemy and puts that Flamer on them while firing off my other weapons. It's surprisingly effective, and while mostly I get kill assists, sometimes I get to score a kill because of it. (It's a Light mech, so I really shouldn't be expecting many, if any kills)

[Ted Wayz]

Had a lot of fun with the Adder, actually enjoyed it more than the KitFox. First match with the prime went 5/3 but only 300 dmg. As people have mentioned act as an Assault escort and vulture their kills. Works for me so far.

[CDLord HHGD]

My super ultra top secret squirrel I'm not kidding team playing utility Adder that can also score nice damage and kills.

Edited by cdlord, 16 July 2014 - 01:39 PM.

[Archon]

It could use a speed boost.

[Trauglodyte]

Cementi, on 15 July 2014 - 03:35 PM, said:

Seriously, in other incarnations of this game including tabletop the adder has always been one of my favorites. However in this game no matter how I try to play it I find it is nothing more than a steaming pile of crap.

Any ideas or is this mech truly DOA?

I don't see anything wrong with a 35 ton mech cruising around with 4 SRM6s, personally. 107kph isn't fast but the Adder is small and it has a permanent Flamer so fear the ADDER!!!