17 replies to this topic

[mike29tw]

HGN-732
HGN-732 STD version

Long story short, I sold my HGN-732 ages ago because I had to free up mech bay to master more mechs. Now with weekend event and CW rewards, I have plenty of empty mech bay and I'm considering buying the 732 back.

I sold it right after ghost heat was introduced, and at that time my favorite build was Gauss Rifle, 3 Large Lasers and 3 streaks. Now, of course, the balance has changed. What do you think of this build? What would you do to improve it? And if you have a 732 in your stable, how does this build perform?

[Mudhutwarrior]

I would drop an lpl and add second srm myself. Its a heat monster with three.

[Mudhutwarrior]

Mudhutwarrior, on 18 February 2015 - 04:46 AM, said:

I would drop an lpl and add second srm myself. Its a heat monster with three.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...156559118375657

[Hit the Deck]

Yeah I've tried that gauss+lpl build but I didn't like it because it doesn't have that staying power when doing one on one against the enemy. For this purpose I'm sticking to SRM6s.

But of course it depends on your playstyle. If you always keep it at a distance then this build works.

[mike29tw]

Hit the Deck, on 18 February 2015 - 04:54 AM, said:

Yeah I've tried that gauss+lpl build but I didn't like it because it doesn't have that staying power when doing one on one against the enemy. For this purpose I'm sticking to SRM6s.

But of course it depends on your playstyle. If you always keep it at a distance then this build works.

With the recent change to Large Laser family ghost heat threshold, i'm beginning to try out different builds with large pulse lasers. 3LPL+a Gauss seems like a monster pin-point build that works great at mid-range, and I'm tempted to try it out.

Now I just need a mech that can actually fit 3PLP+a Gauss......

[Curccu]

Mudhutwarrior, on 18 February 2015 - 04:46 AM, said:

I would drop an lpl and add second srm myself. Its a heat monster with three.

I would drop the SRM and add few heatsinks

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e5d03570b76f88f ERLL + STD
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...d1b06df644e7fa9 LPL + STD
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...252daa33c073dd5 LPL + XL

[Shinobu Oshino]

HGN-732

You mean this?

[Alistair Winter]

My thoughts:

• If you're going with an XL engine, you should make sure you have enough firepower to blast opponents with STD engines out of the water. You're not as durable, so you need a considerable firepower advantage at your optimal range.
  
• If you're going with an STD engine, it had better be an STD325. Because you're not equipping Hoverjets anyway, so if you're moving at 55 kph with a smaller engine, you're just piloting a lesser Atlas. The one advantage of the Highlander, right now, is that it's a 90 ton mech capable of moving with decent speed (65 kph) with a "small" engine.
  
• Having a shield side used to be a big deal in this game, but TTK has lowered considerably with two years of power creep, hardpoint inflation and the quirkening. Right now, I personally prefer firepower in both side torsos and/or arms rather than having an empty shield side to absorb damage. At least for assault mechs.

Edited by Alistair Winter, 18 February 2015 - 05:42 AM.

[Shinobu Oshino]

Alistair Winter, on 18 February 2015 - 05:39 AM, said:

My thoughts:

• If you're going with an XL engine, you should make sure you have enough firepower to blast opponents with STD engines out of the water. You're not as durable, so you need a considerable firepower advantage at your optimal range.
  
• If you're going with an STD engine, it had better be an STD325. Because you're not equipping Hoverjets anyway, so if you're moving at 55 kph with a smaller engine, you're just piloting a lesser Atlas. The one advantage of the Highlander, right now, is that it's a 90 ton mech capable of moving with decent speed (65 kph) with a "small" engine.
  
• Having a shield side used to be a big deal in this game, but TTK has lowered considerably with two years of power creep, hardpoint inflation and the quirkening. Right now, I personally prefer firepower in both side torsos and/or arms rather than having an empty shield side to absorb damage. At least for assault mechs.

XL on HGN is not appropriate.
325 SDT drive cuts your cooling efficiency by tonnage that can be used for mounting DHS.
HGN732 LPL+GR build are the "surgeon death" cause of enormous convergence.
Having Surms or Lurms at LT+LA will not give ya any advantage cause your Cooling per DPS will hit the basement.

Edited by Shinobu Oshino, 18 February 2015 - 05:56 AM.

[Alistair Winter]

Shinobu Oshino, on 18 February 2015 - 05:54 AM, said:

XL on HGN is not appropriate.
325 SDT drive cuts your cooling efficiency by tonnage that can be used for mounting DHS.
HGN732 LPL+GR build are the "surgeon death" cause of enormous convergence.
Having Surms or Lurms at LT+LA will not give ya any advantage cause your Cooling per DPS will hit the basement.

You just pointed this build above. What's the point of that mech?
You can do the same thing with the King Crab, except with more armour and 2 extra DHS.

If you want the King Crab to move at 64 kph, you need an STD360 engine. With max armour, you have ~33 tons to spend. If you want the Highlander to move at 64 kph, you only need an STD325 engine. With max armour, you have ~38 tons to spend.

I prefer using the one advantage the Highlander actually does have, instead of making it a lesser Atlas / King Crab.

[mike29tw]

Alistair Winter, on 18 February 2015 - 05:39 AM, said:

• Having a shield side used to be a big deal in this game, but TTK has lowered considerably with two years of power creep, hardpoint inflation and the quirkening. Right now, I personally prefer firepower in both side torsos and/or arms rather than having an empty shield side to absorb damage. At least for assault mechs.

I agree that torsi shielding doesn't work as well as it used to be, but consider that HGN has only missile hardpoints on its left side, and the fact that both LRMs and SRMs really don't match well with the Gauss+LPL combination, I don't see any better alternative though.

Comparing both of my builds in the OP, I seriously doubt that whether the vulnerability of XL engine worth the extra SRM6......

[Shinobu Oshino]

Alistair Winter, on 18 February 2015 - 06:06 AM, said:

You just pointed this build above. What's the point of that mech?
You can do the same thing with the King Crab, except with more armour and 2 extra DHS.

If you want the King Crab to move at 64 kph, you need an STD360 engine. With max armour, you have ~33 tons to spend. If you want the Highlander to move at 64 kph, you only need an STD325 engine. With max armour, you have ~38 tons to spend.

I prefer using the one advantage the Highlander actually does have, instead of making it a lesser Atlas / King Crab.

Few questions:

a) Do you own a Poorlander?
Did you EVER drive one of them?
Who told ya that I want ma HGN move 64kmph when... firstly, I don't, and secondly... it don't.

I think you are just one of those people who accidently found SmurfLab but still don't know how to use it.

Edited by Shinobu Oshino, 18 February 2015 - 06:13 AM.

[Water Bear]

Alistair Winter, on 18 February 2015 - 06:06 AM, said:

You just pointed this build above. What's the point of that mech?
You can do the same thing with the King Crab, except with more armour and 2 extra DHS.

If you want the King Crab to move at 64 kph, you need an STD360 engine. With max armour, you have ~33 tons to spend. If you want the Highlander to move at 64 kph, you only need an STD325 engine. With max armour, you have ~38 tons to spend.

I prefer using the one advantage the Highlander actually does have, instead of making it a lesser Atlas / King Crab.

+1 for a cogent explanation. We need more posts like this.

Shinobu Oshino, on 18 February 2015 - 06:12 AM, said:

Few questions:

a) Do you own a Poorlander?
Did you EVER drive one of them?
Who told ya that I want ma HGN move 64kmph when... firstly, I don't, and secondly... it don't.

I think you are just one of those people who accidently found SmurfLab but still don't know how to use it.

-1 for doing the exact opposite.

[Alistair Winter]

mike29tw, on 18 February 2015 - 06:10 AM, said:

I agree that torsi shielding doesn't work as well as it used to be, but consider that HGN has only missile hardpoints on its left side, and the fact that both LRMs and SRMs really don't match well with the Gauss+LPL combination, I don't see any better alternative though.
Comparing both of my builds in the OP, I seriously doubt that whether the vulnerability of XL engine worth the extra SRM6......

Then consider my point above. If you want the gauss+LPL combination, consider whether the Highlander is the best platform for this weapon combo. Right now, I don't think it is.

Shinobu Oshino, on 18 February 2015 - 06:12 AM, said:

Few questions:
a) Do you own a Poorlander?
Did you EVER drive one of them?
Who told ya that I want ma HGN move 64kmph when... firstly, I don't, and secondly... it don't.
I think you are just one of those people who accidently found SmurfLab but still don't know how to use it.

Sorry, I don't have time to be rude on the internet with somebody's alt account right now. If you don't have any actual arguments, we're done here.

[DjPush]

I have XL engines in all my Highlanders and I would destroy that LP Gauss build in any one of them. DPS beats pinpoint most of time. Not to mention most of my HGN's have an Alpha over 70. The Highlander can tank damage pretty well. If you lose that side torso you are dead anyway XL or not.

[Shinobu Oshino]

Water Bear, on 18 February 2015 - 06:16 AM, said:

-1 for doing the exact opposite.

+1 for being ma WubTimber priority target than. There is no more "popcornish" mech than HGN with XL drive.

Alistair Winter, on 18 February 2015 - 06:17 AM, said:

Then consider my point above. If you want the gauss+LPL combination, consider whether the Highlander is the best platform for this weapon combo. Right now, I don't think it is.


Sorry, I don't have time to be rude on the internet with somebody's alt account right now. If you don't have any actual arguments, we're done here.

Got nothing to say, remain silent than. Cause everything you say will be turned against you by experience.

DjPush, on 18 February 2015 - 06:36 AM, said:

I have XL engines in all my Highlanders and I would destroy that LP Gauss build in any one of them. DPS beats pinpoint most of time. Not to mention most of my HGN's have an Alpha over 70. The Highlander can tank damage pretty well. If you lose that side torso you are dead anyway XL or not.

You'll be eaten alive by any custom build Doomcrow PRIME son. Wake up.

[Cyborne Elemental]

I tried this before, was a fun build before the JJ nerfs.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b07cc966eea5d80

[Deathlike]

Alistair Winter, on 18 February 2015 - 05:39 AM, said:

• Having a shield side used to be a big deal in this game, but TTK has lowered considerably with two years of power creep, hardpoint inflation and the quirkening. Right now, I personally prefer firepower in both side torsos and/or arms rather than having an empty shield side to absorb damage. At least for assault mechs.

It is a big deal as it increases TTK if you use it correctly. Even the Panther needs that shield arm to survive. I reference this concept multiple times when it comes to Clan XL (which is ironically the primarily defining characteristic of durability in Clan Mechs)

Before the Clans were released, the use of this was prevalent with the Dragon Slayer. Before that, the Highlander was used quite a bit in that role.

I think underestimating the use of it skews the view of durability of a mech when it goes unused.

I understand the logic in your comments in terms of build decisions and usage, but to some degree the optimal use of a shield side is an edge a better player would use over someone who doesn't... given the same mech and build.