22 replies to this topic

[theta123]

So after my warhawk-direwolf-adder story, i think its time to finnaly add a heavy mech chassis to my mechbay. I have 50 mechs but only a firebrand as a heavy.
And as usual, simular to the warhawk and adder, my eye fell on the underdog. The summoner
I dont know, i just dont care that the T-wolf is better. The summoner looks awesome and i have seen people kicking ass with it. They said the adder was bad, i have a 2 K/D with it.

But how does it play?
I am saving up cbills for these 3 variants
SMN-PRIME
SMN-D
SMN-B

Will these work with the playstyle of the summoner? The SRM one is obvious tough.

[Ingga Raokai]

some people take it as LRM platform, but im not a big fan of LRM. so i also still looking for the build

i have this SMN-D on my drop deck last time, and it was "okay" as 3rd drop and by that time usually the gens already out and rushing things (you might want to move the UAC20 to the right torso as it aligned with the cockpit)

[ArchSight]

theta123, on 04 January 2015 - 05:17 AM, said:

But how does it play?
I am saving up cbills for these 3 variants
SMN-PRIME
SMN-D
SMN-B

Will these work with the playstyle of the summoner? The SRM one is obvious tough.

How does the Summoner play?

Well the torso mounted weapons are great for shooting over obstacles. The left arm has a higher hard point than the right arm which makes the left arm better for holding another weapon used for shooting over obstacles. The 5x jump jets will clear over buildings but long duration lasers mounted on the right arm and lower hard point of the left arm will have trouble applying full damage before re-entering cover. The Cockpit is on the right side which makes the summoner's view force the pilot to have a easier time avoiding damage while shooting from it's right side and right arm around right corners but they'll have harder time shooting from the left side due to having to expose more of the mech to get the cockpit's view around cover.

I've made a ton of builds for the summoner to get it to seem as a better option than the timber wolf but so far I'm not sure any have succeeded. The summoner only has a few advantages over the wolf that the wolf can't do. Current advantages are: Possible Double AMS, amount of missile hard points the summoner can get, More critical slot space, Partial faster than the timber wolf, Two cool down Arm quirks, weighs 70 tons which lets it get fielded three times in Community Warfare with a 30 ton kit fox or 25 ton mist lynx.

Maybe you'll find it out.

Warning: Brawling only load outs are not always viable due to your teams positioning and the amount of enemy mechs shooting at the mech without a equal amount of your teammate's mechs firing back. Let your team get into a position to give fire support to where the brawling mech goes and don't step in front of your teammates line of fire or that will be the same as getting no help from them.

The Summoner is truly a great mech to pilot due to it's speed and agility even if doesn't turn out to be the greatest mech at getting the top score. It will at least be easy to pilot through the maps terrain. Also you m

Edited by ArchSight, 04 January 2015 - 09:03 AM.

[theta123]

Hm yeah.. about those jumpjets. Do they work well?? Because next to my jenners, i dont have any jumpjet mechs

[Chagatay]

Summoner is a weird platform here is what I run in the CW*** (note summoner is a lefty mech so keep that in mind if you are going with this bad boy)

MrLaser (SMN-D) (excels at getting in the face and exterminating lrm5 kintaros/catapults also good at sniping)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ab8f2a59454ba03

MrSnuggles (SMN-PRIME mixed omni) (purely for face smashing funsies)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...97e4b1ad9f898bb

Flyswatter (SMN-B Swats flies)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b35175204ce51b2

*** Ignore armor distribution (it will be 12 pts shy) I am lazy after all. Oh and forgot to put in the LA actuators do that as well....

Edited by Chagatay, 04 January 2015 - 12:02 PM.

[dezgra]

I like the Summoner D with 4 ERLL. It is fun and can be used on any map.

[Summon3r]

if u want to utterly ruin a lights day take all streaks and an CAP.

the summoner is decent for non CW drops, my personal fave was 2 erppc and 3 ssrm4 excellent poptart. only reason i dont run it anymore is the hellbie is soooooo awesome and until hitreg issues with all ppc's is even acknowledged you just cant be sure if you will hit.

ive seen some people of late using just a guass and a erppc with the quirk bonus's of the LA and RA.

[Bluefalcon13]

Honestly I think the stock prime is pretty nice in CW... Good at all ranges, almost never overheats. Just a bit short on ammo.

The A loadout and C loadouts are pretty fun as well (sarna stock) with the C having a UAC20, ssrm6, erllas, and an erslas. The A has a guass rifle, large pulse, and an srm6.

[Mad Ox]

Summoner really ended up being a fun mech to me especially after JJ fix sure limited in weaponry but makes module picking loading out etc alot easier.

My fav was the one with 5 missile slots with SSRM-4 x 5 cooldown module and range module along with Active Prob. How efficent it isis up for debate as Missile spread all over leaving enemy more effective for longer but good gawds does it do damage combined with jump jets letting you get to odd places.

Prime variant basically used the standard setup just scaled back the missiles to get more Ammo. Add on modules (LBX cooldown/PPC cooldown) and while seems way low on firepower for heavy it puts out some good hurt.

Stock its a painful mech but once pilot skills start to get unlocked and get used to it it ends up being rather fun.

[mogs01gt]

The Summoner is a pretty low performing mech that needs a lot of quirks to be competitive. Its at the same level as the Nova when comparing it to other Clan mechs. When compared it to both the TBR or Crow, its horribly under performs.

Read through these posts to get a better understand of the issues with the Summoner.
http://mwomercs.com/...ner-12-21-2014/
http://mwomercs.com/...e-they-used-to/

IMO its not worth the CBill investment. Im stuck with mine.

[Chagatay]

mogs01gt, on 05 January 2015 - 10:23 AM, said:

The Summoner is a pretty low performing mech that needs a lot of quirks to be competitive. Its at the same level as the Nova when comparing it to other Clan mechs. When compared it to both the TBR or Crow, its horribly under performs.

Read through these posts to get a better understand of the issues with the Summoner.
http://mwomercs.com/...ner-12-21-2014/
http://mwomercs.com/...e-they-used-to/

IMO its not worth the CBill investment. Im stuck with mine.

No, no, no don't put it down THAT much. Summoner is like god-tier in comparison. If they ever add that G version oh my!!!***
http://mwomercs.com/...4/page__st__520

*** Note I personally prefer the "Bugs Bunny" edition as you can see your impending doom from miles away as it hops towards you @ 93.5KPH. Terror does have a name and it would be the Summoner G. The sheer amount of ssrm2/4 streak action would cause a light pilot to tremble in absolute terror.

Edited by Chagatay, 05 January 2015 - 11:15 AM.

[theta123]

Hopped on me mates account, tried his summoners

Frikking loving them

only 3 million cbills away from my first Thor

[MavRCK]

The summoner needs some love -- the fixed jj removes a lot of free weight that could be used for equipment and/or weapons. Every variation has JJ in the legs so you can't drop 2 JJ or 4JJ to add 2-4 tons here and there as needed.

Currently, JJs are limited in their usefulness due to the previous poptart meta - nerfed to the ground baby.. 5 JJs are hardly needed atm.

[InspectorG]

Summon3r, on 04 January 2015 - 12:49 PM, said:

if u want to utterly ruin a lights day take all streaks and an CAP.

the summoner is decent for non CW drops, my personal fave was 2 erppc and 3 ssrm4 excellent poptart. only reason i dont run it anymore is the hellbie is soooooo awesome and until hitreg issues with all ppc's is even acknowledged you just cant be sure if you will hit.

ive seen some people of late using just a guass and a erppc with the quirk bonus's of the LA and RA.

You have to be a good poptarter to make that work.
Thats a skill from yesteryear.

[Silra]

Alrighty, let's talk Summoner!

I will probably make a guide video for this chassis eventually, but for now this is text only here...
So far my drop deck for CW has pretty much exclusively been trio of Summoners and a Kit Fox, and I run these same builds in all sorts of regular queue games on top of it.

First thing you have to realize is that Summoner is not Timber Wolf, it is not as durable while being only 5t lighter and it can not carry same firepower amounts (no torso mounted energy weapons), it is however more mobile overall and you have to take advantage of that. In all honesty how you take advantage of it comes with experience playing the chassis and there is no way around that. Finally understand that some chassis and the play style it warrants to make good use of it just do not fit for some people... everyone has preferences on play style and don't want to change dramatically just to fit a new mech variant!

With only missile and ballistic hardpoints in the side torsos it is really difficult to make a Summoner build which is not some kind of a bracket build (bracket build? What are you talking about? PPC + SRM6 is a bracket build for example, you engage hostiles first at PPC range and eventually get into the range bracket of the SRM6 aswell), so you have to either take full advantage of those hard points or then use them to supplement range disadvantages of the arm mounted weapons.
Like all Clan mechs the arms are rather low hung so ridge humping isn't going to be very productive, though jump jets do alleviate this issue slightly.

But we're talking builds so I guess I will link a few of mine and explain the reasonings behind them.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...4b55117705feb65
This thing is a direct fire support build, used to cover your bigger team mates. You are more mobile than all the Dire Wolves and Timber Wolves and such, so you can easily maneuver around the back line of your team to shoot at opposing team from angles the main force is not shooting from, creating crossfire zones and so forth. Long range weaponry for the most part because you do want to be in the second line and act like a force multiplier where it is needed by your team. Single SRM4 for close range work because this build does not do very well at shorter ranges.
Note about the D-variant's right torso being present: You can use Prime's right torso just aswell, I have the D-variant's torso because I like the ability to swap in an AMS if I feel like teams I play with for the day simply don't have any ECMs around.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...21b2863cdb9c8e2
This build takes advantage of the torso mounted ballistic point to bring a powerful ballistic weapon to bear along with four medium lasers. It is quite capable of taking down targets at medium ranges and because of your mobility you can even try and get into positions to finish crippled mechs off. You still have to work mostly as fire support because you simply can't puke out a crazy amount of damage at once, but you're also not going to overheat instantly so if you can force a protracted engagement you're likely to come out on top against heat-heavy builds.
Note: Dropping the Gauss rifle and fiddling around a little allows mounting two UAC/5s instead of it if you so desire, will not carry crazy amounts of ammo however.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d570f8ae8bf8034
Finally we have the thing that gives nightmares to anything that has already taken some damage. It's a blade in the darkness, clinging to team mates waiting for the opportunity to jump out of the shadows and annihilate anything which is crippled and/or has just fired an alpha or two and thus does not have the heat threshold to counter the assault. SRM4s with Artemis are nearly pin-point accurate at close ranges and can easily be fired at 200 meters still without really wasting many missiles. You want to use your mobility to get to places you can do rapid strikes from and then use that same mobility to vanish after the strike, always have the escape route planned before you go in.
This takes more map knowledge to play well but can be absolutely brutal if you time your attacks right.
Note: If you enjoy LRMs then this build can very easily be switched over to full LRM boat. I don't like them things so I use SRMs.

Edit: Also armor values are not exacts, if you're copying these builds tweak those to your own personal liking! Why? Because everyone plays differently... personally I do so much mobility play that I fully expect to be shot in the back atleast once a game so my rear armors are typically a bit higher than most people use.

Edited by Silra, 08 January 2015 - 01:30 PM.

[NUJRSYDEVIL]

OP needs the Hellbringer/Loki if he wants a Clan heavy.

The Hellbringer is an offensive dynamo with ECM. The Summoner is crap. The Summoner was my favorite mech in MW2 and MW4, the powers that be did not deem this Summoner worthy of carrying on it's awesome tradition.

[GumbyC2C]

I love Summoners in MWO.
I have been tweaking them for some time and I have two that are really good and one that is pretty good.
4xSRM6 and LRM15. This thing hits like a Mac Truck at short range and can bombard on the way in.
2XLPS and an ERPPC. This just peels off armor. I use the range and cooldown modules for the LPL and I use the RA with the cooldown. This one is a standout in CW too because of the energy only config.
The third one I have tried is 4xERML plus various combinations of Gauss/AC for the nipple cannons. I am still working on getting this one right.

The thing to remember on Summoners is that you probably won't have a lot of 4+ kill matches. But if you build it right you will have a lot of high damage and assist matches and you will be an asset for your team. Use that mobility to be where a heavy should not be and to get yourself out of trouble. It's only starved for hardpoints if you need to boat.

[a gaijin]

Chagatay, on 04 January 2015 - 11:59 AM, said:

Summoner is a weird platform here is what I run in the CW*** (note summoner is a lefty mech so keep that in mind if you are going with this bad boy)

MrLaser (SMN-D) (excels at getting in the face and exterminating lrm5 kintaros/catapults also good at sniping)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ab8f2a59454ba03

MrSnuggles (SMN-PRIME mixed omni) (purely for face smashing funsies)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...97e4b1ad9f898bb

Flyswatter (SMN-B Swats flies)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b35175204ce51b2

*** Ignore armor distribution (it will be 12 pts shy) I am lazy after all. Oh and forgot to put in the LA actuators do that as well....

I used to use build very similar to yours except in MrLaser and Flyswatter I never once thought about AMS (I added a few heat sinks instead). But in the B I can totally see how an AMS could come in handy because so many lights carry an SRM 2 or 4.

And I've used the exact same MrSnuggles build right after the Summoner released but after some experimentation went with either a PPC or a B arm and more SRMs.
I've been using the Summoner lately and ... it has improved a bit. The M and F ST's make a difference. Have you tried them?

[TercieI]

Holy necropost, Batman.

[General Solo]

The Summoner is not a top rate mech
Low arm mounts, limited weapon mounts, better on the new ones and smaller payload compared to other 70 tonner's being the main reasons.

With that out of the way, I like it. Its pretty tanky, fast and agile for a 70

Some builds I run

SRM6A Splat Which you have

UAC20, 2 med pulse, srm4, don't forget quirk arm

2 x ER PPC, with quirk arm and MarkV Targeting comp velocity is close to gauss, Torso mount if you got the new ones.

The following build is BAD, try at your own risk.
It has no backup weapons, and people will call you bad things, occasionally your team mates too. Let you guess the reason.

But its the greatest troll build I have.

Quad LRM10 with narc (no Artemis)
Narc Module, narc perk omnipod, LRM10 Cool down Module

Use your jump jets to poptart targets from 650 meters or less with your torso mounted narc.
Arm lock helps, toggle unlock to let arm mounted lerms clear terrain

The closer the better, 180m-300metres is optimum, flight time is short and you will often CT damage targets at that range.
Also working in optimum range means you are on the front line with your team mates taking damage and getting supported by the direct fire guys.

Still its an OUT THERE build, that I love piloting