44 replies to this topic

[STEF_]

Escef, on 12 October 2014 - 01:25 AM, said:

A little light in the ammo department. If you break the LRM up into 3xLRM5 you save a ton. That can net you either more ammo or a 330XL if you are happy with the ammo counts. Or even another heat sink. The multiple 5 packs will cycle faster than the 15, so you might find your LRM bins going empty sooner.

Yes, I must consider this. I frequently run out of ammo and it's quite hot too. I also was thinking to put a lrm10 instead of 15.

[Escef]

Stefka Kerensky, on 12 October 2014 - 01:58 AM, said:

Yes, I must consider this. I frequently run out of ammo and it's quite hot too. I also was thinking to put a lrm10 instead of 15.

A pair of 5 packs is lighter than a 10. Unless you're using Artemis or are dealing with hardpoint limits, multiple 5 packs are better than one big rack. And even with Artemis, sometimes the faster recycle rate on the 5s still means you pump more damage out. Depends on how much tonnage you have to play with, too.

Anyway, I really do recommend a minimum of 4 tons of ammo for 2xAC5 Breaking up the missile launcher for more tonnage will accomplish this. With only 15 tubes, you should get by ok with just 2 tons of LRM ammo, it doesn't seem a weapon you rely on too heavily. Alternatively, you could cut the larges down to mediums and go for 1 each of LRM 15, 10, and 5 and toss in a third ton of missile ammo, and maybe even cut your 2 extra heat sinks for more ammo as well. But that's if you want to focus more on the missiles, not less.

I run 2xLL and 2xAC5 with 4 tons of ammo on a CPLT-K2 with a 315XL, and it works pretty well most of the time. So, I'm not surprised you are doing well with this build you have. You definitely have a lot of options when it comes to tweaking it.

[Zordicron]

Thought I would chuck some lodouts here I have had fun with so far:

Protector:
Tried twin LBX, too bad HSR means the dmg doesnt count a lot of times(too many pellets to track apparently, like laser hits seems like) otherwise it ran really cold and had solid DPS and brawl ability.
Ran twin AC5 and some lasers, was ok. Not enough dakka to distract enemies though, not enough punch to make them think twice either, so it was more support fire role, didnt like that a whole lot.
AC20, PPCx2. Current. LOL, shoot somthing in the back with this at 100M. In a brawl, AC20 is still king, PPC reach a good ways out. Still, with tweak only 70KPH, and twist rate is just a tiny bit too slow. I dont have double basics though, so I reserve judgment on that part temporarily. may change it out again.

M:
tried a few things, then went very odd AC10, PPCx2 all on right side. Twin PPC in arm. YOU CAN TANK SO MUCH DMG. STD 300, use that bullet flag on the left shoulder for good use, just twist, let them pound the useless half of you mech. ONOZ MY LEFT ARM: lol, who gives a ****, now it provides phantom dmg reduction. I actually took on a dakka puke DWF and won in this thing(took out a ST, then used some cover and out-aimed him) although I was in bad shape after. Downside: if you get caught off guard, and some PPC/Gauss DWF blows your right arm, you are effectively a slow 40 ton mech dmg wise. Really need to pay attention to the field with this one.

VA:
HAHA, oh man, my favorite. twin PPC, twin SRM6, twin SRM4. All in arms, XL 350. So fast for this mech, turns and twists like a dream, even before speed tweak etc. Just got tweak, goes over 80KPh now. Just ran a match on canyon where my team gathered up at c4 corner, got sorta pinned. Called for a flank along B side around, TBR said "yup" and like 8 mechs went for it. TBR is slightly faster, but not enough to matter, our crew of mediums behind us, we went up around. Our assault crew did very well holding them off while we moved(they all ate it, but it was so worth it for th match) we came around, blew apart the TBR that saw us coming, then their missile support pult, then a gauss jager. The rest of the enemy had spread a bit to flank our small force at C4, and we just ruined them. I had 4 kills 5 assist and 775 dmg.

It is amazingly fun loadout, PPC are great for mid range(to long range, nobody likes to hear that sound even if dmg is reduced to half) and SRM are perfect to covr the min range hole. it is hilarious to see the confusion some pilots have, you peg them with some PPC, the instantly react to close the gap for range advantage. BUT WAIT< SRMS. So suddenly, they dont know what to do, and many break off, or get confused and hold their ground instead of advancing or retreating. Fine by me, i will engage you at my range desire then. Depending on mech and loadout, i will either move back out, or charge in. Gauss jager I chrged in, fed him two PPC as i did so into ST, then Splatted SRM20 on him as I ran by taking it out. SRM in arms on this mech, is flat out amazing, you can twist to the side, and beynd to feed somthing SRM20 to it's face, while they have to try to figure out where to shoot a fully twisted Orion with part of it's back even showing to them as it run's past, or circles around behind them. SRM20 to the back of some atlas or DWF is amusing also, really messes them up.

Downside: somebody with a lucky shot or two can expose a ST, and then it becomes a focus point if your armor isnt fairly even. I have had a match or two where I got taken down with yellow armor because some one got a big PPFLD alpha into my LT flag, and then every enemy on the field will aim for the internals after.

havent bought the others yet. On the list once I have restored my c-bill bank to my 'comfort zone".

[Dagon Zur]

Orion is an excellent chassis with no bad variants, king of mixed load-outs and balanced builds. It was badly fit for PPC poptart meta, which ruined its reputation (it was good even then, imho).

After the SRM fix and the recent nerf storm (nerfs to JJs, nerfs to PPCs, nerf HGN, nerf VTR..), I think it became THE BEST IS heavy mech. It seems that not many pilots think that way (very few Orions on battlefield atm), which is good, meaning it is still underrated and a low priority target.

This is what i run on my "pocket battleships" (some builds are direct transfer of my Atlas loadouts):

ON1-P (2xUAC5, 2xSRM4, 3xML)

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7c641500070c6a0

ON1-V (2xUAC5, 3xSRM4, 2xML)

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...8bad812dc148f9a

ON1-VA (UAC5, 2xERLL, 4xLRM5)

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a42b645da1de9f0

ON1-K (AC20, 2xSRM4, 4xML)

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...208f672c5a62bdd

ON1-M (AC20, 3xSRM6, 2xML)

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...512d24efb5ee536

Give Orion some love ! You will be rewarded!

[Why Run]

I've had reasonable success with something like this. If you're good about staying close to your team.

ON1-V

There are a ton of variants on this...