19 replies to this topic

[Jaegerwulf]

I have found that I last longer with direct support fire types of builds, so I want to try that style of combat with clan mechs... of the currently available and announced clan heavy mechs, which ones are best suited to direct support builds?

[Metus regem]

Jaegerwulf, on 26 October 2014 - 06:47 AM, said:

I have found that I last longer with direct support fire types of builds, so I want to try that style of combat with clan mechs... of the currently available and announced clan heavy mechs, which ones are best suited to direct support builds?

The Hell-Bringer, Summoner and Timber Wolf can all excel in that role. The thing about Clan mechs is that they are more multi-role oriented than most IS mechs.

[Sam Slade]

Hellbringer with ECM, at least a Mk 5 Targeting Computer and a pair of PPCs will be awesome fun for direct fire support.

[Metus regem]

Sam Slade, on 26 October 2014 - 07:43 AM, said:

Hellbringer with ECM, at least a Mk 5 Targeting Computer and a pair of PPCs will be awesome fun for direct fire support.

I'd go with the Mk 4 TC, at the 5 you start getting diminishing returns, for the invested tonnage and crit space.

[IllCaesar]

To continue in the tangent happening above, the stock Hellbringer Prime has two ER PPCs with a Mark III Targeting Computer with plenty of ways to shed a ton off of it. It comes with AMS and a ton of ammo, but since you're ECM, its of questionable value, so there's 1.5 potential tons, and there Clan Active Probe if you don't value that either, so one ton there, and one ton with its MGs and ammo, SSRM6 with one ton of ammo, so four tons there, and three ERMLs. Lots of ways to shave off that one ton. It seems you could even give at least one of them a high mount by attaching it to your left torso, which is also the side torso that houses ECM. It won't have max armour without sacrificing some payload, though.

[Metus regem]

MarsAtlas, on 26 October 2014 - 11:12 AM, said:

To continue in the tangent happening above, the stock Hellbringer Prime has two ER PPCs with a Mark III Targeting Computer with plenty of ways to shed a ton off of it. It comes with AMS and a ton of ammo, but since you're ECM, its of questionable value, so there's 1.5 potential tons, and there Clan Active Probe if you don't value that either, so one ton there, and one ton with its MGs and ammo, SSRM6 with one ton of ammo, so four tons there, and three ERMLs. Lots of ways to shave off that one ton. It seems you could even give at least one of them a high mount by attaching it to your left torso, which is also the side torso that houses ECM. It won't have max armour without sacrificing some payload, though.

Very true, I place higher value on armour, something it is in dire need of, as well as ECM and a TC, since I have 3 Mk 4's laying around after the S pod change on the Timber Wolf, I'll be down grading the cERPPC's to cERLL and maybe dropping the cSRM pack, not sure on that yet...

[Redshift2k5]

I have a great time in my Summoner Prime (I) with two PPCs and 2 MGs(a "less is more" approach, with the Summoner prime energy quirk buff). Trading for an ECM in a Hellbringer would be fantastic.

[Jaegerwulf]

okay if I am using a targeting computer, er ppc or er ll?

also on the summoner (until I get my preordered hellbringer) do I want to fiddle with the omnipods or not?

[Metus regem]

Jaegerwulf, on 28 October 2014 - 02:02 AM, said:

okay if I am using a targeting computer, er ppc or er ll?

also on the summoner (until I get my preordered hellbringer) do I want to fiddle with the omnipods or not?

The TC's will boost the speed of a cERPPC, and boost the range of the cERLL, both get a bosted crit chance as well, once armour has been removed.

As for the Omni-pods, well it is really up to you, my Summoner Prime currently runs a cLRM 15, cERLL and cUAC 20 for kicks...

mileage may vary for you though... when it works, it works well, other wise, I'm back in the mech bay fast.

[Jaegerwulf]

what should I do about armor? on the stock summoner prime it is not maxed out anywhere.

[Jaegerwulf]

Okay, so last I checked the hellbringer is out on december 2nd. I don't get a lot of time to dive into the game so should I wait for my hellbringers or try to do the direct support fire thing with the mad dog, the timber wolf and or the summoner?

and if I should try one of what I have now, what should I do with the missile hardpoints if I can't drop them all together by swaping omni pods?

[Jaegerwulf]

so looking at smurfy, it seems that there is not a huge difference between the clan er ppc, the clan er large and the clan large pulse lasers.... I tried the helbringer prime in the testing grounds and the er ppc's do build heat fast.... not entirely sure how do proceed...

[Metus regem]

Jaegerwulf, on 06 December 2014 - 07:47 PM, said:

so looking at smurfy, it seems that there is not a huge difference between the clan er ppc, the clan er large and the clan large pulse lasers.... I tried the helbringer prime in the testing grounds and the er ppc's do build heat fast.... not entirely sure how do proceed...

My Hellbringer runs 2x cERLL, 3x cERML 1x cSSRM6 with 1/2 ton ammo, 3 additional DHS, ECM TC and near max armour down 2 points per arm and down 1 point per leg.

I find it works well for me as a fire support unit for something bigger. And with how the ECM system works, it makes the active probe redundant.

[EmpireX]

There will be a significant difference in game play between the 3 different weapon types.

For the ER PPC, the pros are that you only need to expose yourself for a fraction of the time you would normally have to with lasers due to the beam durations. Range is also a bonus, especially as compared to the large pulses. It's also harder to track where PPC fire is coming from than with the lasers.

The cons are projectile travel time (which can be somewhat mitigated with a TC), additional heat generation and less pinpoint dps/ton (due to the splash damage effect).

For LRG Pulse, on the surface, you would say that you're swapping range for dps when compared to the ER LRG. This isn't necessarily true considering the fact that there is a significant difference in dps/t. 2 LRG pulse lasers for 12 tons will have a combined dps of 5.94 while the equivalent tonnage for ER LRGs (3) is 6.96. But then you get into the HPS...

In any case, and I hate to repeat something we've all read a dozen times, but your choice of weapon is going to come down to play style. I personally like the 7 er medium with module on the Hellbringer. You can also try the 6 er medium & 1 gauss Timber. I'm of the opinion that the Mad Dog is best suited for indirect fire support and that while the Summoner offers a fair amount of agility, you can accomplish more with the Hellbringer or Timberwolf.

[Kain Demos]

Don't laugh...................



Adder. 2 x C-ERLL (mounted in torsos) 2 x C-ERML, the rest in armor and heat sinks.

Stay back and hill hump like no tomorrow or stick with the group--sometimes you just get ignored.

I find that I can consistently contribute "above my weight class" this way. I also run a much hotter version with 2 x C-LPLs instead where the heat isn't as much of an issue because it is so easy to back off from the hill and cool down for a few seconds when needed. 2 x CERLLs allows some pretty continuous fire though sicne it has 4 more DHS.

[Mad Ox]

Kain Thul, on 08 December 2014 - 12:09 PM, said:

Don't laugh...................



Adder. 2 x C-ERLL (mounted in torsos) 2 x C-ERML, the rest in armor and heat sinks.

Stay back and hill hump like no tomorrow or stick with the group--sometimes you just get ignored.

I find that I can consistently contribute "above my weight class" this way. I also run a much hotter version with 2 x C-LPLs instead where the heat isn't as much of an issue because it is so easy to back off from the hill and cool down for a few seconds when needed. 2 x CERLLs allows some pretty continuous fire though sicne it has 4 more DHS.

No doubt Adder done right is a monster most just never realize. Though my friend in Kitfox LPL and ECM with some other bits forget which makes for one mean sniper uses JJ's to the max its impressive when he is on a roll.

As for Heavy though really can't beat Timber wolf as great mix of space/speed/armor for just unrelenting death. Largest Heavy so it plays with Assaults well but not assault so still can move. Only bad thing i find when i see them is just the sheer amount of possibilities (12 weapon slots at max last I checked) people get stuck in perpetual loop of there must be better setup and just keep swaping never settling down. One thing that really works for Summoner sure limited weapon load out but make choices easier so you can settle in and really click with it.

Edited by Mad Ox, 08 December 2014 - 03:47 PM.

[Kain Demos]

Mad Ox, on 08 December 2014 - 03:42 PM, said:

No doubt Adder done right is a monster most just never realize. Though my friend in Kitfox LPL and ECM with some other bits forget which makes for one mean sniper uses JJ's to the max its impressive when he is on a roll.

The Adder hate I believe is just due to the fact that by the time they came out IS lights had been running 150kph+ for a while and the popular way to run lights was to run around by yourself at light speed impervious to most incoming fire while poking with your meager weapon loadout.

The Adder is a 35 ton 'mech that has 16 tons of space available for clan weaponry--play it as such.

****--I just realized this is off topic I thought this was the general battlemech forum but this is the heavy sub forum.

I've seen the Summoner excel at the support role--lots of LRMs and a TAG for the rest of the team. Its mobility and JJs really let it fly around and reposition at ease to give the other team headaches.

The Hellbringer can wreak havoc as an ECM sniper as well--the other night my team got destroyed by one on Tourmaline because he found himself a good hiding spot on that big crystal you can walk up and since he never appeared on anyone's radar no one ever found him and he just racked up the kills and damage with his Gauss and Lasers.

Edited by Kain Thul, 08 December 2014 - 04:00 PM.

[operatorZ]

Metus regem, on 26 October 2014 - 08:38 AM, said:

I'd go with the Mk 4 TC, at the 5 you start getting diminishing returns, for the invested tonnage and crit space.

Actually after TC 1 you get diminishing returns, the increases decrease exponentially as you spend tonnage after TC 1.

[Metus regem]

operatorZ, on 09 December 2014 - 03:40 PM, said:

Actually after TC 1 you get diminishing returns, the increases decrease exponentially as you spend tonnage after TC 1.

I find that Mk 4, is the sweet spot for them.

[InspectorG]

Kitfox ECM 2ERLL 1 ERML Range and ECM

Adder 2ERLL, 2ERSL ridgehumping with the LL, maybe use large Wubs?

Nova, well, brawl laser support as long as you dont get your nose shot off...

Summoner 4ERLL range poke...should do well
3LPL, Wubs away
ERPPC/Gauss, range and poptart but ammo is sparse
2EERML, LRM45...again, ammo concerns
5SRM6...now you are playing with power!
4ERML/Gauss. happy medium?

Thats about all i got.

P.S. TC1 and Probe for bonus/ need.