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Having not grinded this mech during the double XP weekend is pretty much enough punishment one would need... as the mech is not for the faint of heart. Sane people need not apply.
I had intent to grind this after the quirkening, only because the Locust was a bad mech. Having played it post-quickening, somehow PGI managed to make it better than the Mist Lynx AND the Commando as a result. Thus, a good title was born.
I will specifically talk about the mechs I grinded out. I do have some thoughts about the other mechs, including the Pirates Bane... which may be the only Locust worth buying for MC (P2W? The Locust-3S should've gotten it first so this would be a non-issue...)
There are so many inherent issues with the Locust, stemming from how engines < 250 function, and how it honestly does affect how this mech is very limited....
For reference, I grinded out the 1E, 3M, and 1M... they are listed in order from best to worst. Let's start from the bad mechs first and work our way to the best.
Locust-1M (2E, 2M):
For a brief moment, I thought I could make this useful somehow, but it turned out to be a clear explanation on why the Locust-3S is a terrible mech. The only usable weapons in the build happen to be limited to anything that consumes less than 2 tons. I ended up using 2 Medium Lasers and 2 SSRM2... which means I also needed to commit to BAP in order to not be useless.
This "most" resembles a Commando-3A or Commando-1D in build methodology.
The initial mistake I made was probably trying to be "cheap" on the XL engines and bought an XL 180 for this. Going @ 140 kph or so w/o speed tweak is like asking other Light mechs to nomnomnom on me. It's a terrible thing.
Anyways, the quirks favor the med laser, and going for that makes sense. However, there is one terrible caveat about the CT energy hardpoints... they are terribly low. The only way to "correct" this is to actually increase the torso pitch as low firing points are the bane of bad mechs.
If unchallenged though, the mech is really the Commando variants on crack. However, the heat sink issue rears its ugly head. Not being able to use the full 10 "truedub" DHS is a serious issue, and really limits the effectiveness of mechs that can't field something big. This indirectly prevents the usage of Ferro Fibrous armor for the purposes of saving a little more tonnage. I've listed solutions various times to this... and the quickest one is to allow heatsinks to be added into the engine of those smaller than 250.... allowing to reach the 10 heatsink requirement and allowing FF. I'm not as concerned then if the "truedub" DHS is not adhered to (or at least some sort of indirect< 25 ton mech buff)... but that would help greatly.
Inevitably, the use of the XL190 engine is preferable and optimal for the mobility and agility of the mech... it needs that speed far more than the Commando...
Locust-3M (5E):
Although this is one of the original Phoenix Pack mechs, it's the first IS Light mech to get dual AMS (Firestarter-S came later). Loading up on med laser looks good, as the Small Pulse Laser isn't that good enough range-wise (it needs to be buffed to 120m naturally) allowing for the range boost to be more palatable (other quirks would have to be adjusted) as the current 176m after buffs is still "underwhelming". Under my "wishful thinking" scenario", it would reach 192m, which is much more useful.
Anyways, the CT laser is still problematic and the arms... are what really make the mech go. This is further amplified in the next variant in question...
I ended up with 3 MEDLASERS + 2 SPL. The SPL was used for an overall cooler mech and better alpha...
Locust-1E (6E):
This is arguably one of the better things to have happened to the Locust, as I've seen this primarily in the last mech challenge (so PGI can look at all the mechs and justify the quirks).
The Small Laser quirk comes into focus and I built my mech very similar to the Jenner Champion... 3 Med Lasers and 3 Small Lasers. Of course, I did kill a Jenner Champion with the build so it works out for me.
The sole focus on the high mounted weapons allows it to thrive. The armor buffs to the arms are sufficient in allowing you to not worry about them... like the Jenner. You will very rarely see Locusts with both arms removed.
With regards to playing the mech, it's very difficult to be successful if your team is terrible. Technically, you are able to make everyone a "meat shield" as that's the only real way to be successful. Finding targets of opportunity (like, helping your teammates) is the only way to contribute.
Now, I know what some people may be grumbling about, the Locust can NEVER be used as a primary light... it's best use is to be a "support" light. The Firestarter, Raven, and Jenner (and to a limited extent the Spider-5D) are primary Lights that can do the same job as most Lights and not need to "hold another mech's hand" for support. The only time where you can "solo" your opponent with a Locust is when they are not as good to you. I had a game where I completely schooled someone in a King Crab (and he said so in chat before he ragequit). This would never work vs an elite player. That's how these mechs are judged on.
To put in in simpler terms... if you can do well in a Locust, you can do much better in a 35-ton mech.
Now, the alternate point of the topic is about why it is superior to the 25 tonners.
It's really simple.
In the case of the Locust vs Commando, the Locust has the firepower to go against the Commando. Just think about this for a moment. The best a Commando can do is 4E (Death Knell)...you have a Locust that can do 6E (not well, but it can) and putting 4+ med lasers on the Locust can allow you to strip if not core/side core a Commando more effectively. The Commando indirectly suffers from large arms, so removing those is in your favor. It may not necessarily be perfect on a 1v1 basis, but a Locust can ironically deal far more damage over time than a Commando... given the opportunity to do so.
Now, while someone might mention Streaks in this conversation, it isn't quite as effective as it could be, and primarily the ECM Commando can't really catch up with the Locust when used properly... so it's somewhat of a non-issue, but I guess that has to do with how Streaks are disappointing at this point in time.
In the case of the Locust vs Mist Lynx... the Mist Lynx actually has no "response" once its arms are removed (only mech to not have torso weaponry options). If one were to aim for the Right Arm... you have a pretty good shot that you've disabled the mech w/o much effort. The Mist Lynx can have the firepower, but it does't have a shot to chase the Locust at all (at least the Commando could at least catch up).
With a few words on the other variants...
The Locust-1V seems to be a gimmick mech as the ER Large is the quirk of choice, but MGs are quite possibly the worst thing to see given the uptime/facetime required. The Spider-5K could at least take a few hits when cleaning up.. not so much the Locust. Also, the CT energy hardpoint rears its ugly head here. The ER Large quick is very interesting though... it may be worth considering over the 1M due to its pro-troll nature.
The Locust-3S is a lost cause unless it gets ECM like the Pirates Bane... otherwise, it is wasted space as you'll be very limited in missile options... and if you went with the SRM option... you'll need good facetime to put out a decent payload out. I rarely see this variant... like ever.
The Pirate's Bane seems to have high side torso mounts, which allows it to not suffer the same fate as the other options. The MG mounts seems to suffers the same problem as before since they are CT, as it reminds one what an Ember would look like w/o arms.
The best Locusts are the ones with the high mounted energy, and it is ironically through after the quirkening that the Locust stands ahead and shoulders above the 25 ton brethren (I haven't tried the Commandos post-quirk, but some of the buffs are kinda meh). The prey has now become the predator, but I kinda doubt the most diehard of Atlas pilots would be able to master the Locust.
Go figure.
