82 replies to this topic

[IraqiWalker]

HlynkaCG, on 17 September 2014 - 01:38 AM, said:

Exaggerate much?

Just cause the aren't the godmode sniper weapon they once were does not mean that they aren't effective.
On most maps fights occur at less than 600m anyway.

Energy is talking from a purely competitive standpoint.

However, I do agree that they have been hit hard by the nerfinator. They do need their speed brought back up.

[HlynkaCG]

IraqiWalker, on 17 September 2014 - 01:55 AM, said:

Energy is talking from a purely competitive standpoint.

However, I do agree that they have been hit hard by the nerfinator. They do need their speed brought back up.

I know but even then, there are still "competitive" builds that use PPCs.

For instance that the fast PPC + ECM Cicadas have not gone away, nor have the Gauss + PPC Assaults

[The Basilisk]

Psyrex, on 16 September 2014 - 06:27 AM, said:

Thanks for the replies and help.
After reading everything you all have said I have come to the conclusion that im asking too much.

Maybe I could get away with firing 2 PPC's and then a second set of 2.

I want to be able to move around at speed as im used to my light and I like being able to get around the map and take pot shots before moving again.

Full armour just makes me feel more comfortable as I dont want to be too quishy

I think its going to be tricky to find a nice balance.

I'm using this. GRF-1E
Its the Griffin Hero chassis.
The Mech is Jumpcapable and with elite just over 90kph fast.
If you use either medlasers or the dual PPCs you won't overheat on normal maps and you can do two full alphas in succession even on Terra terma.
With the good arm and Torso range you can fire almost 360° with your medlasers and just over 180° with your PPCs.
It has full armor and can withstand even 2 dual gauss or dual gauss dual ppc alphas to its front armor.
Six Jumpjets will lift you up for potshots and give you enough fuel left for soft landing.
Just remember to keep moving and never jump 2 times from the same spot.

Edit: If you invest in PPC cooldown module a second pair of PPCs becoms essentially redundant since you will have to reposition before firing the second set of PPCs or you will be exposed to withering counter fire.

Edited by The Basilisk, 17 September 2014 - 03:16 AM.

[Darwins Dog]

Because no one else has posted it: the Direstar. You can fire twice before you die! Also, that usually means 2 kills.

www.youtube.com/embed/7io0wHyFX4U

Edited by Darwins Dog, 17 September 2014 - 03:13 AM.

[Psyrex]

The Basilisk, on 17 September 2014 - 02:45 AM, said:

I'm using this. GRF-1E
Its the Griffin Hero chassis.
The Mech is Jumpcapable and with elite just over 90kph fast.
If you use either medlasers or the dual PPCs you won't overheat on normal maps and you can do two full alphas in succession even on Terra terma.
With the good arm and Torso range you can fire almost 360° with your medlasers and just over 180° with your PPCs.
It has full armor and can withstand even 2 dual gauss or dual gauss dual ppc alphas to its front armor.
Six Jumpjets will lift you up for potshots and give you enough fuel left for soft landing.
Just remember to keep moving and never jump 2 times from the same spot.

Edit: If you invest in PPC cooldown module a second pair of PPCs becoms essentially redundant since you will have to reposition before firing the second set of PPCs or you will be exposed to withering counter fire.

Nice build but i'm a little confused as to why you didn't put endo steel on it and up the engine? Is there there something i'm missing here?

Also I quite like the idea of the Cicada 3M with dual PPC's.

I'll have to look through everyone's suggestions again as there are many good builds here and it's tough to pick the one that would suit me best.

Thanks everyone once again for all your help and keep it coming, this is really useful.

[The Basilisk]

Psyrex, on 17 September 2014 - 03:20 AM, said:

Nice build but i'm a little confused as to why you didn't put endo steel on it and up the engine? Is there there something i'm missing here?

Also I quite like the idea of the Cicada 3M with dual PPC's.

I'll have to look through everyone's suggestions again as there are many good builds here and it's tough to pick the one that would suit me best.

Thanks everyone once again for all your help and keep it coming, this is really useful.

You're right
The reason is its parent build with 2 large lasers, quad med and four additional heatsinks where endo steel does not fit in.
I simply didn't realize that after removing those heatsinks it would have enough space for endo and a larger engine.
With LLaser range and reload module you have a considderable higher heat output on your LLasers so more heatsinks where imperative.
( Hey 500m range LLasers with 2,9 sec cooldown and you can get 2 or 3 alphas out before overheating thats a lot of dmg for a med mech)

[terrycloth]

I've been having fun with a Centurion AL w/ 2 PPCs in the arm. Works a lot better than a single AC/10 in the A. It's still really hard to hit people at long range, and hard to judge when people are 'too close' at short range, though.

I used to run 2 PPCs in a raven 2x. That... was a mistake.

[Psyrex]

terrycloth, on 17 September 2014 - 10:59 AM, said:

I've been having fun with a Centurion AL w/ 2 PPCs in the arm. Works a lot better than a single AC/10 in the A. It's still really hard to hit people at long range, and hard to judge when people are 'too close' at short range, though.

too close?
why is that a problem?

[terrycloth]

PPCs do no damage at close enough range (90m?).

[Turist0AT]

terrycloth, on 17 September 2014 - 12:06 PM, said:

PPCs do no damage at close enough range (90m?).

Yup but ERPPC has no minimum range

[Revis Volek]

terrycloth, on 17 September 2014 - 12:06 PM, said:

PPCs do no damage at close enough range (90m?).

Thats why you use ERPPC's

Also, The clan Mechs did not get hit as hard from the speed nerf because the TC's (Targeting Computers) actually speed the PPC projectile up (up to 12% i think) and make it MUCH, MUCH easier to hit peeps at range. Unfortuanly they have not BALANCED this to the IS side yet.


IMO the IS PPC needs a 7% speed buff to make it relatively inline and balanced with the Clan Assault build that can use TC5's and 2 or more ER PPC's.

[terrycloth]

ERPPCs are too hot. It's not worth the tradeoff for an all-energy build.

Specifically, if I was using ERPPCs I couldn't follow up with the medium lasers for an extra 10 damage, which I do a lot.

[Metus regem]

Psyrex, on 16 September 2014 - 05:28 AM, said:

Hi all, I'm trying out a new idea but running into a few problems.
I want to build a mech that has as many PPC's on as possible but I still want it to be fast and have as close to 50% heat eff as possible.
I also prefer to have max armour.

I tried out two PPC's on my raven 3L but had to drop some armor and put a smaller engine on.

So which mech/build would be best to meet all of my requirements or am I asking for too much?

Thanks.

Edit: reduce the amount of PPC' down to 4 so I can fire sets of 2.

No?

4 normal IS PPC's are 40 heat, so you would need assuming 10 normal heat sinks in the engine, you would need 25 normal heat sinks to reach 50% heat eff. So 25 tons in heat sinks + 28 tons in weapons... you are going to be looking in the heavy to assualt range for a mech with enough tonnage to mount all of that.

I was able to get an AWS-8Q to 30% with 4 PPC's... 47% with only 3 PPC's and a 300 STD engin, and 54% if you eilite the mech... It only gets worse if you start to look at ER-PPC's...

The thing is PPC's are heavy, and very, very hot... Yes they hit like a truck, but you pay for it. A differnt way to go, that hits almost as hard, but is more heat effi is to with LPL's.

[n r g]

HlynkaCG, on 17 September 2014 - 01:38 AM, said:

Exaggerate much?

Just cause the aren't the godmode sniper weapon they once were does not mean that they aren't effective.
On most maps fights occur at less than 600m anyway.

why would I use a weapon that has a high chance of missing 50%, even at 600m, with faster mechs, and the possibility of doing 0 damage, when I can merely take lasers and do SOME damage every time plebeian?

silly jesters.

Turist0AT, on 17 September 2014 - 12:10 PM, said:

Yup but ERPPC has no minimum range

To hot to run (2) on almost anything, and even if you can put the DHS and on the mech, it won't compare DPS/firepower/heat to a srm/ballistic setup or even laser setup.

[Metus regem]

E N E R G Y, on 18 September 2014 - 12:48 PM, said:

To hot to run (2) on almost anything, and even if you can put the DHS and on the mech, it won't compare DPS/firepower/heat to a srm/ballistic setup or even laser setup.

I have to agree with ENERGY here, as much as I like runing them on my Timber Wolf (2 CERPPC), my Timber Wolf is about big burst damage, and staying out of seight till I have the chance to kill someone, then move on, or leg some poor light that comes across me. But I spend most of my time in the 70% heat mark....

[Moonlander]

Everyone has given some really great builds for you to choose from. I would personally suggest using the assault builds like the Awesome, Stalker 3F or a Warhawk.

If you're absolutely determined to move faster, I would definitely use the Cicada. It's such a great mech! ProfessorD really had some of the best builds for you to choose from. Good luck with the grind and enjoy your new mech!

Edited by Moonlander, 18 September 2014 - 01:05 PM.

[terrycloth]

I use something similar to this with large lasers and LRMs, but if you want PPCs...

STK-3F

[HlynkaCG]

E N E R G Y, on 18 September 2014 - 12:48 PM, said:

why would I use a weapon that has a high chance of missing 50%, even at 600m, with faster mechs, and the possibility of doing 0 damage, when I can merely take lasers and do SOME damage every time plebeian?

silly jesters.

Because ton-for-ton it's still the most efficient 10 points of pinpoint FLD that you can mount.

I would expect a member of the patrician class to able to do basic math, but no matter.

[Mad Ox]

PPC and Awesome's like peas and carrots

Quirks like below help alot

HEAT GENERATION (ENERGY) -12.50 %  RATE OF HEAT LOSS 10.00 %  ARMOR STRENGTH (CT) 17.00 %

Edited by Mad Ox, 18 September 2014 - 01:52 PM.

[HlynkaCG]

Metus regem, on 18 September 2014 - 12:54 PM, said:

I have to agree with ENERGY here, as much as I like runing them on my Timber Wolf (2 CERPPC), my Timber Wolf is about big burst damage, and staying out of seight till I have the chance to kill someone, then move on, or leg some poor light that comes across me. But I spend most of my time in the 70% heat mark....

...and that burst damage is why they are still effective. At 6 or 7 tons a piece they are half the weight of a comparable ballistic weapon + ammo, while still having the range and pinpoint advantage over equivalent Missiles and Lasers. For 'mechs looking to minimize "face time" the PPC/ERPPC is still one of the better (if not best) weapon choices.

Then again I'm a plebeian who pilots IS mechs, plays modes other than skirmish, and majored in mathematics. What do I know?