21 replies to this topic

[Wolfguide]

Hello people,

Ive been playing for a few days and I just got the trebuchet 5n, and I was wondering if anyone can help me with using and building this mech so I could not just be a useless person on the battlefield (since I cant make heads or tails on how to use it well). Thank you.

[Jody Von Jedi]

The 5N is the only TBT I don't own, but the all have pretty much the same quirks. Mostly missile based.

The 5N quirks are LRM15 biased, so I maximized the stock build for you. It does require the use of an XL300 engine though, so if you want to old off on spending so much for the engine, just drop one of the LRM15 launchers and run a single launcher with the stock engine.

Keep moving, but stay behind your team and offer suppression fire with the LRMs. Don't stare the enemy down, fire and move.

So here is what I recommend to another new player, recently.

Have you considered the Trebuchet?

Five variants plus a Hero. Two of the variants and the Hero have JJ. Only one, the 7K, has ballistics. My favorite variant is the 7M. It's my go to mech when I'm in a slump. I used it in the Steiner challenge this (2 weekends ago now) weekend and got most of the 20 kills with it.

Another unique variant is the 3C. What the 3C lacks in JJ, it makes up for in being able to mount a 390 engine. A medium mech that can keep up with almost any light mech is really handy, and 139 kph with speed tweak will surprise most light pilots.

What I prefer about the TBT over the GRF, is the handling. Even with a 325 engine the GRF feels sluggish to me. The TBT with a 300 engine is the sweet spot for me. It just seems to "feel" lighter than it is. The GRF is also 5 tons heavier, but to me, it's wasted tonnage. I can do any build a GRF can do in a TBT and be more maneuverable and pack just as much firepower. The TBT also has better balanced hardpoints. The GRF has most of it's hardpoints on the right side. It's not a deal breaker, but I prefer to have a more balanced load out. To me the TBT just offers a pilot more choices. The TBT-7K, the one with the ballistics, is the only TBT variant that suffers from this one sided hardpoint layout, although the ballistic point is in the left torso. All others are on the right side.

The TBT also got a face lift recently with the release of the TBT-LG "Loup de Guerre". All of the missile hardpoints are now 20 tubes with 1 exception on the right arm of the 7K. That means you can mount any size missile launcher in a TBT and get one volley of up to 20 missiles at a time. The face lift also included a reduction in height, I've been told, but I haven't been able to substantiate or find in any patch notes.

[Jody Von Jedi]

Found a couple good threads on builds for you. What works for the 3C will work for the 5J too, the engine cap is just higher on the 3C.

http://mwomercs.com/...ebuchet-builds/

http://mwomercs.com/...gend-continues/

[Wolfguide]

Thank you, hopefully once I can get the loadout I could be better at this. I was also thinking of running large pulse lasers instead of the medium lasers, trying to be able to stand a brawl in case I get into one.

[DONTOR]

I LOVE Trebs but I dont LRM with them, so just go with Jody's advice he's a great Treb pilot also.

BTW welcome to the game! Its hard to get used to but once you do, you will be happy you slogged through the steep learning curve, good luck!

[Wolfguide]

Yes, quite a learning curve, but I've been using the Stalker for a while and I'm okay at that, so I thought the Treb. would have some what of the same playstyle with the missles and all that.

[Koniving]

Wolfguide, on 30 December 2014 - 01:50 PM, said:

Hello people,

Ive been playing for a few days and I just got the trebuchet 5n, and I was wondering if anyone can help me with using and building this mech so I could not just be a useless person on the battlefield (since I cant make heads or tails on how to use it well). Thank you.

One great thing about the Trebuchets is that they have variants that cater to all sorts of playing styles. This one, a 7K build, is dubbed my Eternally Cold build. It can run in the hottest environments and still be cold even with constant fire.


Mkay.

Here's a few of my own variations. Note that these are "Cheap" builds. Low cost, easy to come by builds.
Additional notes: Yes that is very little head armor. The Trebuchet's head is perhaps the hardest part of the body to hit. So long as you are mobile at any speed above 40 kph, the bounce in your step will make a headshot virtually impossible.

Aggressive support. A Treb 5N with a vicious 270 meter punch, though it's more than capable of lobbing those LRMs to support others.
Consolidated Hitboxes similar to above but with consolidated hitboxes by reducing the overall hitbox size through removing a weapon.

Viciously consolidated hitboxes. Drops the SRM launcher and cuts the lasers down to 3.

----------------
Moving on to another design.
Sacrificial Shield. Ups the engine size a bit, moves everything important to one side and allows you to sacrifice everything about the other side to preserve yourself as long as possible. LRM in the ST allows you to pepper enemies. Large laser allows some range, and twin ML allow for a bit more punch up close. The LL and twin ML can work together at 270 or less without getting too hot. Good cooling. Very limited ammo, so you'll use them wisely. Can trade an ML or heatsink for another ton of ammo.

Sacrificial Shield heavy hitter. A brawler's build. Relies on the energy quirks to allow it to fire 3 LL at once. Make every shot count, remember your left torso is sacrificial. Can move one LL to the left arm in order to have a more balanced build.

Sacrificial Shield Ballistic Hitter. Akin to the one above, but for those who can't hold lasers on target. Instead of 27 damage with the risk of spread per shot, it's 20 damage pinpoint. It hits like a double range AC/20 but it's hot! So careful with it. Takes less skill than the Heavy Hitter and is a bit colder but a miss at the wrong time can cost you your life. For a more balanced build can put one PPC in each arm but they won't hit the same spot as easily.

Light Stalker Mark I. An anti-light mech rig designed to stalk and destroy them. Twin pulse lasers make a lot of damage in very short and quickly repeatable bursts. Two sets of Streaks allow you to always hit them. BAP counters ECM. Standard 300 engine easily reused in most heavy to assault mechs and ensures great speed.

------------

Expensive builds.

Light Stalker Mark II. Another design of the above. Twin streaks + bap ensure easy destruction of lights. Twin large lasers have a good punch against threats at a decent range. XL 325 is expensive but ensures maximum speed. No loss in ammunition.

Dedicated LRM'er. TAG to enhance LRM capabilities. NARC to get 30 second locks even without sight (after marking a target with it). Some ammo, 3 ML. XL 325. I personally run an XL 280 without a problem, allowing you to carry many more tons of ammo.
------
Mkay out of ideas that aren't similar to those already suggested.

Only so much I can do with a 5N. I confess it isn't my favorite among the 6 variants of Trebuchet I have. My favorite, honestly, is the 7K. Which is the one that most people hate, funny enough.

Another side note: The Light Stalker builds (Light Hunter if you prefer) can sometimes leave you yearning to increase the back armor a bit. This is because hunting lights can lead you to enemy territory, which'll have you running for your life in short order. If you feel you don't have enough back armor on those two builds then you can raise it.

Edited by Koniving, 30 December 2014 - 03:30 PM.

[Wolfguide]

I hope Ill be able to try these builds in the future, for now I'm trying to just buy an XL engine, but being in a 10 lost streak its hard to get the few million I need.

[Alaskan Nobody]

One thought toward XL engines - is that you can get them (relatively) cheaper by buying a mech that comes with it, rather than buying the engine separately.

IE: the TBT-3C comes with an XL300 - but costs less than another TBT + XL300 would.
All of the "Upgrades" - Endo, Ferro, XLs, Artemis, DHS - work the same way

[Koniving]

Hence why the first 7 builds I gave use standard engines.

[Wolfguide]

But it seems like the XL engine is better, a faster mech with more room to add things, sadly I didnt the get 3c, I just got the one I thought was best for the money I had (I made the mistake of buying other mechs that didnt suite my playstyle).

Edited by Wolfguide, 30 December 2014 - 04:13 PM.

[Alaskan Nobody]

XL engines are lighter - but take up extra slots in the side torsos - meaning that your engine stops functioning if you lose a side.
STD engines are heavier (and cheaper) - but do not have that weakness.

[xMEPHISTOx]

Hmmm the 5N eh, no jump jets so would never purchase myself.
But I do have and like the 7M as it does have JJ's. I tried to replicate it for the 5N and while it is a slight bit better on heat it is seriously gimped w/out the JJ's. I like this particular build for CW's but again with the JJ's not so much w/out.
My 7M build > TBT-7M
attempted translation for the 5N > TBT-5N
Other potential 5N builds I would use > TBT-5N, and TBT-5N.

Edited by xMEPHISTOx, 30 December 2014 - 04:31 PM.

[Wolfguide]

2 ERPPC's, I've never thought of that for the 5N, but I'm not sure how well that goes in the field.

Edited by Wolfguide, 30 December 2014 - 04:26 PM.

[xMEPHISTOx]

Wolfguide, on 30 December 2014 - 04:26 PM, said:

2 ERPPC's, I've never thought of that for the 5N, but I'm not sure how well that goes in the field.

Yeah, like I said I would not buy a treb w/out JJ's because it diminishes the way I personally would use the dual ERPPC build if in CW's. I do use the 7M build as such on an alt for IS/CW's battles and it works excellent. But the other builds I posted would be more realistic I think being that the 5N has no JJ's.

Edited by xMEPHISTOx, 30 December 2014 - 04:34 PM.

[TripleEhBeef]

One nice thing about the Trebs is that their stock engines are very useful across the IS medium lines.

The 3C has an XL300, the 7M has an XL250, and the rest have STD250s. Most other IS medium mechs can all use these engines in various competitive builds.

I'm thinking about buying some Trebs again. Right now I'm liking this 5J build I've been theorycrafting.

Also, love the paint job on your Treb, Koniving. And your build seems similar to the one I used to run on my 7K.

Edited by TripleEhBeef, 30 December 2014 - 04:55 PM.

[Wolfguide]

I was thinking of large lasers instead of the mediums, but I'm not sure if that leaves any room for anything else, as I prefer to snipe, it seems like i'm good at that thus far (I had a thunderbolt with an erppc and did pretty well in some matches). I'm still new to brawling so I'm bad at that, so I'll think of staying away from the srms.

[RazorbeastFXK3]

I just recently bought all the c-bill variants for the Trebuchet. This is the one I go with for the 5N http://mwo.smurfy-ne...95ee5f9ecedb7d1

And the 7K which is rather fun to use at close range http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e14979dc0625ee1

[Koniving]

PPCs / LLs are covered in my sacrificial side builds, both running standard engines.

Sure, you could go faster with an XL engine, but you'll die the instant you lose one side torso.
With a standard engine you can lose both side torsos and still be alive. Sadly won't be able to fight, but sometimes all it takes is being alive to make more money (such as conquest, capturing bases).

[Wolfguide]

I guess you're right with the whole survival thing koniving, but the thing about the builds is I really don't know how to brawl well, I always end up dying in a horrible matter. So that is why I would have the lrms and the XL engine, so I don't need to get up close with anyone.

Would anyone happen to tell me any tips on surviving brawling?

Edited by Wolfguide, 30 December 2014 - 05:57 PM.