36 replies to this topic

[Soul Tribunal]

They are a little autocannon (and no Missile HP) dependent, but the BlackJacks mastered with the XL235 in them can be quite agile, and with the quirks, you can crank out AC rounds almost as fast as Machine gun rounds.
I find they are well balanced, agile and deadly in the right hands.

My personal thoughts,

-ST

[Soulscour]

MarineTech, on 23 December 2014 - 07:47 AM, said:

Have you SEEN how fast the 4J can pump out LRMs with the quirks now? Particularly when you add an LRM10 Cooldown module?

The thing can be downright evil now as a fast LRM carrier. Particularly if you drop in an XL and stay behind the lines.

You are right. The 4J is the LRM variant and viable after they introduced quirks. Anyone who says its no good is just repeating old information that is no longer true. That being said, do you really want to run around trying to LRM people with a medium? Surely you are at the bottom of the LRM totem pole.

[MarineTech]

Soulscour, on 03 January 2015 - 12:27 AM, said:

That being said, do you really want to run around trying to LRM people with a medium?

Yes. Yes I really do.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

Treb 7K (The sale is coming!) with just FF+ ES upgrades,the stock STD250 engine and AC20 + 2 ML it still works and is viable.

[Voivode]

Griffins, Trebuchets, or Hunchbacks would be a good choice. Also, the Cicada is a fantastic mech, though only the hero variant can carry SRMs, and even then not very many.

[Porcorosso101]

Hunchback 4P for the win - cheap and once elited you can reach high speeds with just a standard engine + its a laser vomit monster. Its my best Medium due to its peek and shoot capabilities. Also has lots of good variants.

The only time I go for XL is with very high speed mechs - eg Lights and a Cicada - 130kph+.
Cicadas are awesome too - 4 great variants.

Edited by Porcorosso101, 16 January 2015 - 01:11 AM.

[skorpionet]

Only 3 SHD???

[Kiiyor]

I vote BlackJack.

It's not a front line skirmisher like the Hunchies or Cents. It's a peek'n'kill weapon of awesomeness. It has great high mounted arms, meaning you can put the majority of your fragile bits behind a rock, and lace your foes with emerald and azure beams of death.

The 1X is theoretically the fastest, as it can mount a 295 engine (max 116.8kph with speed tweak), whereas the other variants are limited to 235 (max 93.1kph with speed tweak).

The 1X has also received all the delicious Large Pulse Laser quirks, making it a freaking deadly little mech.

This monster is almost completely heat neutral firing 2LPL. I use the MLAS for alpha damage only, as the LPL give you FAR better sustained DPS for the heat.

A slight variation sees the removal of an MLAS, and the addition of Ferro to free up enough tonnage for an XL280, giving you around another 9KPH, and full protection for your arms. Or, you can shave some protection off your legs and cram the removed laser back in, but you're playing with fire if you're ever in a mobile fight, as the 'Jack's legs make for a tasty target indeed.

I wasn't enamored with the BJ before the quirks, now I love my WubJack to pieces. It's still fragile (it's only 10t heavier than a FireStarter), and it's torso twist is poor, but if you exercise a little restraint and use your high mounted arms to peek over ridges and fill your enemies with delicious lethal dubstep, you can do very well.

As for the other variants, you can throw AC5's in the DC, as it has some great quirks for them, but you'll have trouble fielding enough ammo. The 3 is awesome with PPC's. Truth be told though, I don't find them anywhere near as fantastic as my beloved WubJack.

[Treechomp]

I fell in love with Hunch line and I strongly recommend it. Variants are specialized as stated before and they are doing awesome job when built as intended. Yes that includes 4J. If you choose to go XL and have patience to elite him you have a 98kp/h lrm spammer. I often won while brawling as him. Vindicator 1AA is a great sniper with PPC quirks and JJs (+ 2 AMS) and that is pretty much it. He can go 20 LRM but I don't really think it's worth the tonnage and all non-hero variants have only 1 M slot you wont do much until lucky. Cents? Yes. Always. You saw D variant? With XL you can build him fast as light mech while durable as heavy. Yes you are left with only LBX-10 but who cares when it's so much fun (40-52% CD reduction!). Can't Really say much about the rest, Cicadas are OK but if you want to go fast you go light and other meds have more firepower.

[mad kat]

Kiiyor, on 16 January 2015 - 02:26 AM, said:

I vote BlackJack.

It's not a front line skirmisher like the Hunchies or Cents. It's a peek'n'kill weapon of awesomeness. It has great high mounted arms, meaning you can put the majority of your fragile bits behind a rock, and lace your foes with emerald and azure beams of death.

The 1X is theoretically the fastest, as it can mount a 295 engine (max 116.8kph with speed tweak), whereas the other variants are limited to 235 (max 93.1kph with speed tweak).

The 1X has also received all the delicious Large Pulse Laser quirks, making it a freaking deadly little mech.

This monster is almost completely heat neutral firing 2LPL. I use the MLAS for alpha damage only, as the LPL give you FAR better sustained DPS for the heat.

A slight variation sees the removal of an MLAS, and the addition of Ferro to free up enough tonnage for an XL280, giving you around another 9KPH, and full protection for your arms. Or, you can shave some protection off your legs and cram the removed laser back in, but you're playing with fire if you're ever in a mobile fight, as the 'Jack's legs make for a tasty target indeed.

I wasn't enamored with the BJ before the quirks, now I love my WubJack to pieces. It's still fragile (it's only 10t heavier than a FireStarter), and it's torso twist is poor, but if you exercise a little restraint and use your high mounted arms to peek over ridges and fill your enemies with delicious lethal dubstep, you can do very well.

As for the other variants, you can throw AC5's in the DC, as it has some great quirks for them, but you'll have trouble fielding enough ammo. The 3 is awesome with PPC's. Truth be told though, I don't find them anywhere near as fantastic as my beloved WubJack.

+1 for the wubjack that is how i have my 1X with 6mpl. its great but you have to be quite aware of your situation it will not go toe to toe with many heavier mechs unless you have a good aim and can go for the the headshot. BUT those arm mounted pulses are great for improving accuracy so you can nearly always land your alpha just where you want it.

One word of notice though..Dragon.

Its practically a medium mech anyway and a little known fact certain variants of it are actually the best in game for hill humping sniping. Put two PPC's in the 1C's left torso and the only things that are visible above the ridge are the dragons little shoulders and a smidgem of cockpit (look at my sig.). The entire mech bar those three small parts are hidden (two if you get a downward sloped hill to the left). Both the Blackjack and the jagermech known for hill humping prowess actually present more of a target, especially the latter! (Again look at my sig). It has the speed, manoeuvrability (some turn rates are a little sluggish) but the arm movement speed makes up for that.

If you want a medium you must consider the dragon too, in the same way that the cicada is considered a light.

Edited by mad kat, 21 January 2015 - 02:45 AM.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

mad kat, on 21 January 2015 - 02:41 AM, said:

One word of notice though..Dragon.

1C with 2 peeps and a AC10 is really potent midrange sniper.

[Zelumbras]

I too vote for the Blackjack.

That being said, it is not a mech for everyone and many people will even view it as a pointless mech which is only good for hill humping. But many of those who give it a serious try quickly fall in love with it. The look may be unusual but i personally like it since it reminds me of the Yeti unit from the game Sacrifice that i used to play a lot many years ago.

The BJ requires a different playstyle than the Shadowhawk but especially the 1X and the 1DC can dispatch any bigger mech in seconds @ 500m range if you know what you are doing. The downside is the relative squishyness compared to most other mediums due to the relatively low tonnage of only 45t. This, however, is partly compensated by the small and compact frame that is rather forgiving for the use of XL engines.
Regarding whether the BJ's will fit your taste, i don't know. They can hold their own against every other single mech 1v1 but will likely loose way too much armor in the process to make them good brawlers, unlike the Centurion or Hunchback. They can punch way above their weight but the ballistic variants can quickly run out of ammo but their high mobility and firepower as well as the high mounted weapons make them great for CW and my usual dropdeck features three BJ and one CTF.
If you are interested in giving them a try, here are my favourite loadouts that i also use in CW:

BJ-1X Wubbajack / Precision Scalpel:
Surpirsingly heat efficient and well suited for medium range battle (475/950m optimal/long range with the quirks and the LPL modules) and quick strike and response due to its maximum speed of 101 kp/h. You need good aim and some practice but then it feels like a laser scalpel with surgical precision - and the size of a medieval european longsword.
Below 500m range it does more damage per hit and more DPS than a dual Gauss and can be just as deadly - if you have good aim and know where to hit them. Positioning, knowledge of each chassis' strengths and weaknesses and often used loadouts and good aim make it a truly fearsome little mech.
Variations: all LPL in one arm improves convergence but makes you less versatile.

BJ-1DC Dakkajack / DPS Monster:
With the weapon quirks and the AC-5 modules (=> 2x firing speed), this little devil can pump out over 12 DPS of nearly heat neutral, long range dakka at 800m range. No other mech in that weight class can destroy large, slow targets or CW generators faster and from bigger distance than this mech. The downside is the limited ammo and although 6t of AC-5 ammo allow for 900 damage, you will quickly run dry if you waste too many shots.
Variations: SHS and a little less armor for an additional ton of ammo.

BJ-3 Fire Support / 45t Squirrel:
Not as powerful and heat efficient as the other two BJ but the high agility and jumpjets make it very nimble and ideal for fighting heavy hitters due to the ability to avoid most hits. It is very well suited for fire support for friendly Heavies and makes for an excellent 45t squirrel when things get close and personal. Think like a medium, pilot like a light and hit them where it hurts.
Variations: dual PPC makes better use of the quirks but i prefer the versatility of the lasers against fast moving targets and lights.

Edited by Vulcan888, 21 January 2015 - 04:57 AM.

[Haleax]

wolverine- 6k for the triple large pulses and the 6R for the twin AC5s, the 7K is good w/ srms but I really like the 1st 2 options best--protect that right arm!! Also, notice the 6K does not have jj for what it's worth.

[NUJRSYDEVIL]

Hunchbacks have too much armor (a good thing) for a medium. They are hard to kill and pack a punch. There is a variant for everyone as well. I highly suggest you go with that.

[Wildstreak]

Hunchbacks are Sluggers/Brawlers unless you use LRMs on the 4J or 4SP. You can also do long range with low damage ACs & turn several of them into Energy boats using PPCs or LLs. Just remember the RT weakness on 3 of them (4G, 4H, 4P), 4 if you count the GI.

Centurions are usually Skirmishers though AH & YLW can do some Brawling with an AC20 and the A with AC10. I also have seen a couple of LRM boat versions even of the AH. The D can become a Light Chaser & overall Harrasser at top speed.

Have not used the other 2.

[mad kat]

I was do doing just that in my cn9-d tonight running around all over the place at 121kph with the rapid fire shotgun.

Good times.

[Cabusha]

I vote Wolverine. I'm a dedicated medium pilot, probably 70% of my time in MWO is spent in a medium chassis. The Centurians (the Wang and AL specifically) used to be my go-to mediums. But post quirks the 6K and 6R Wolverines are just ridiculously good. 3xLPL on a medium with ~540 meters range? 2xAC-5 with the ROF of an AC-2? It's simply not fair to your target!

With that said I find the 7K wolverine fairly "meh". 2xLL and 2xSRM6 seemed to be about the right build for the thing, but it's just not nearly as overpowered good as the other two variants.

Edited by Cabusha, 22 January 2015 - 11:19 PM.