10 replies to this topic

[BUDFORCE]

Something I have been thinking about and I am not 100% sure about this myself so I am asking others for their opinion also.

I have been running various AC builds on my Timberwolfs and Hellbringers trying out AC20 and AC10 builds.

As you know both these mechs are heavy mechs and reasonably quick on the field, but are not assault tanking mechs and therefore still require some finess when piloting, more so the Hellbringer which requires you play a bit more skirmishy, at least early game.

Also, there is a quite a big difference between the IS and Clan versions of these weapons, in practice, especially the AC20.

So, trailing builds with both AC20 and AC10, I am wondering if the AC10 might be the more viable weapon?

Reasons:

Both C AC10 and 20 spread their damage over several shots, unlike the IS version (particularly the IS AC20) which delivers all 20 points of damage (if in optimal) to one single point on your target, the clan AC20 spreads it over 5 shots. This is clearly inferior to the IS version in this respect. It also means that if your target is moving and twisting, it is much harder to place all 20 points of damage on to one section, and almost impossible on any fast moving light mech.

Due to this, I wonder if the trade off for poor range and rate of fire for higher alpha is worth it?

Without the close range smack of 20 points of damage to a single component, the C AC10 suddenly looks to become more viable in comparraison.

Firstly there is a weight saving element, but also higher range and rate of fire. The higher projectile speed means that the damage will also be more focused and more easy to apply on faster moving targets. Seems to be worth the trade off?

[rolling thunder]

The Clan AC 10 is like a shotgun. While i'll admit while it suffers from spreading its damage, it has the advantage of making it easier to hit those pesky fast moving light Mechs at a distance. Personally I prefer dealing the damage in one area but each type of AC has its advantages?

[Bows3r]

Not sure why you wouldn't just use the Ultra versions, you do realize the C-AC/20 and C-AC/10 have a cooldown increase over the ultra versions, right? Just look in the mechlab. If you're worried about jamming, good news, it's difficult to get 10's and 20's to jam, especially 20's. And if you're still worried about jams, don't take advantage of the ultra mode, just use it like you would a normal AC.

[BUDFORCE]

Bows3r, on 23 December 2014 - 03:31 AM, said:

Not sure why you wouldn't just use the Ultra versions, you do realize the C-AC/20 and C-AC/10 have a cooldown increase over the ultra versions, right? Just look in the mechlab. If you're worried about jamming, good news, it's difficult to get 10's and 20's to jam, especially 20's. And if you're still worried about jams, don't take advantage of the ultra mode, just use it like you would a normal AC.

Hi, while I am not disagreeing, I think this is slughtly more a seperate subject.

I am more focusing the the pros and cons between clan version AC10 and 20, whether the ultra or "standard" versions.

[Bows3r]

In that case, the 10's are much better suited at mid-long range sniping, and then 20's are brutal close range DPS AC's, IF you can manage the significant spread.

[MilesTeg1982]

@Budforce

if you play clans you have a choice between:

C-UACs - Burstfire + shot twice with the chance to jam
C-LBX - Single shots just like the IS-Versions
C-ACs - pretty much like C-UACs but without the option to shot twice (they are considered to be placeholders)

The problem is: none of these will give you pinpoint damage like the IS-ACs do. Therefore if you want pinpoint damage (on a clan mech) you can only go for Gauss and/or ER-PPCs (pretty hot).

[Malcolm Vordermark]

The UAC5 isn't bad, but whenever I try using the UAC10 or UAC20 I feel I get better results from just using lasers.

[cryonic]

On my Nova i found the laservomit was a fast road to shutdown. As a result one of my Novas is sporting a Uac10 and a couple of erMls.

There is practically no heat - and double tapping the UAC still puts out an enormous amount of damage.
The Uac10 may not have the single shot slam the IS have - but the low heat/dps is very useful on a heatbound mech.

[Anakha]

UAC 10 is a great weapon to be able to fire when you are at almost max heat and still put out some descent DPS at most any reasonable range you might be engaging in. It can also put out some significant damage if it doesn't jam. I usually do the majority of my damage with lasers but pack on a uac to back it up when hot.

[Senor Cataclysmo]

My go to hellbringer build has an LB-20 and 7 small pulse lasers. If you're within close range quite often the shotgun won't have the range to spread and all or most of its pellets will land on a single component, giving an effect similar to IS ACs. The small pulse lasers are good for putting out lots of fast damage too.

this build really shines late game, and if you can get behind something like an atlas that sucker will be cored in no time,

[Ursh]

I prefer the LB20X to the cuac20, because you can mug someone with it and immediately twist.

I like the cuac10 better than the clb10x, because at ranges beyond 150m, the clb10x sucks badly for anything but trying to notch an assist on a light that's leaving your AO.