44 replies to this topic

[Finkledbody]

Gotcha. So the fools above only have 3 mastered variants but want to look cool and say they have 4.

000
000(L) - loyalty 30% bonus

They are one and the same. 3 Mastered variants not 4.

Edited by Finkledbody, 20 February 2015 - 02:11 PM.

[Sewman]

Thanks again for some new replies, especially from the grizzled Banshee veterans who still enjoy it after owning the King Crab. It's pretty cool to hear that it is your favourite mech of all time from some of you.

After reading about the strengths of the Banshee, I'm starting to realize that I'm much more of a brawler than a sniper. To me, having a good shield arm is such an advantage both for your own survivability but also for the rest of your team who is probably able to get their shots in while you're busy absorbing damage. I can see why Banshees still make their way into competitive matches.

Gevurah mentioned that King Crabs are somewhat similar to Phracts with their low slung ballistic arms. My first mech was an Ilya (yah...great mech, but not for a beginner). I still have rage quitting nightmares from my cadet training period where I was demolishing buildings, rocks and small slopes, but not much else. Similarly, those low slung arms don't shield your side torsos very well either.

I actually think that the King Crab will be easier to pilot if I'm going strictly for Damage numbers or K/D ratio but I'm probably going Banshee first because I really do find joy in 'gracefully' get my arms shot off!

Edited by Sewman, 20 February 2015 - 03:43 PM.

[Randall Flagg]

BANSHEE

all day.

[Punk Oblivion]

Speaking of the Banshee though, I really want a La Malinche! Maybe next time there is a good sale...

Otherwise I need a hero King Crab variant that can fit 4 LBX10's/AC10's and I will be a happy mech warrior. Hear that PGI!

[Alienized]

get a quickdraw 5k.
its not as heavy as a banshee but just as big
and even taller than any king crab. actually you can spit on its head.

personally i hate slow drunken walking mechs like the crab....
so i would put you in a banshee.
3m and 3e are totally woth it, no matter what you do with it.

[Jorunn]

Punk Oblivion, on 20 February 2015 - 04:08 PM, said:

Speaking of the Banshee though, I really want a La Malinche! Maybe next time there is a good sale...

I went to play some of my other mechs for variety for a few weeks (Timbers, Ilya, Dragons) and came back to my Banshees because I just love them more than anything else. I blew through a few million getting weapon cooldowns during the sale so thought I'd grind some C-Bills with my LaMalinche which I didn't like as much before but I have to say I've been having a blast and killing lots... XL375, AC10, 3x LPL, 1x ML

[Setun]

I have 0 experience with Banshees, but I can say I love my King Crabs. As you mentioned the torso twist range on them is extremely nice, but what I like the most is that since they're so squat their arm mounted weapons are in perfect range to hit lights as they run past. I've legged / one shotted more lights in my Crabs on the first attempt than on any of my other assault mechs. One of the big negatives about them though is that they're really wide targets. Most enemies can usually peg your arms / torsos while rounding a turn before you ever see them, which can be annoying. Crabs do have a lot of build variety though which is nice.

[Punk Oblivion]

Jorunn, on 20 February 2015 - 09:28 PM, said:

I went to play some of my other mechs for variety for a few weeks (Timbers, Ilya, Dragons) and came back to my Banshees because I just love them more than anything else. I blew through a few million getting weapon cooldowns during the sale so thought I'd grind some C-Bills with my LaMalinche which I didn't like as much before but I have to say I've been having a blast and killing lots... XL375, AC10, 3x LPL, 1x ML

This is one downside of the Banshees too, is a lot of good builds need XL375-XL400's, which are SUPER EXPENSIVE! I spent way too much getting a Dakkawolf set up for personal enjoyment/troll builds :-P

And blew all my money again fixing up panthers/enforcers. And can't spend any money again since I have to save up for grasshoppers/zeus'.

Blah, Banshees = expensive, but fun

[TercieI]

There are no wrong answers to this question.

Cryll Ankiseth, on 25 February 2015 - 05:25 PM, said:

Get a Battlemaster

Except for this.

[Jorunn]

Punk Oblivion, on 25 February 2015 - 03:35 PM, said:

This is one downside of the Banshees too, is a lot of good builds need XL375-XL400's, which are SUPER EXPENSIVE! I spent way too much getting a Dakkawolf set up for personal enjoyment/troll builds :-P

And blew all my money again fixing up panthers/enforcers. And can't spend any money again since I have to save up for grasshoppers/zeus'.

Blah, Banshees = expensive, but fun

Ok so just because it's expensive doesn't mean it's not the best?

[Punk Oblivion]

Jorunn, on 25 February 2015 - 07:12 PM, said:

Ok so just because it's expensive doesn't mean it's not the best?

ugh... Sorry, the double negative is throwing me off, what are you asking exactly?

You can build the Banshees in a cheaper way, they are just not running at their full potential is all.

For example, I run the Banshee-3M with a Std 350 and either 2LPL+2LL, Or 2LPL+5MPL. It moves 65.7 KPH - a moderately powerful mech that moves like an assault.

For maximum potential, people usually run an XL400 with 5 LL, Or 3LPL + 3MPL. It moves 75 KPH - a very powerful mech that moves like a light heavy.

Edited by Punk Oblivion, 25 February 2015 - 09:32 PM.

[Jorunn]

Punk Oblivion, on 25 February 2015 - 09:32 PM, said:

ugh... Sorry, the double negative is throwing me off, what are you asking exactly?

Sorry didn't mean to be abstruse

I think the Banshee is the best assault out there (unless you like slow lumbering gunship whales) after sinking millions and millions into them. Yes the XL engines are pricey, the modules are even more so ($6M C-Bills for XL380 and $12M for LPL Cooldown, LPL Range, AC10 Cooldown, Advanced Zoom on my LaMalinche and I have similar on my 3M and 3E).

When I first started out, millions of C-Bills seemed like a lot to grind out but once you have a good mastered mech and Premium Time you can average $150K C-Bills a match so that's maybe 7 matches to hit a million C-Bills... Good matches I'm pulling in $300K C-Bills. The C-Bill bonus for the Hero variant has been helping even more.

I'm going on 4,000 matches woohoo! lol

Edited by Jorunn, 26 February 2015 - 04:48 AM.

[TercieI]

Punk Oblivion, on 25 February 2015 - 03:35 PM, said:

This is one downside of the Banshees too, is a lot of good builds need XL375-XL400's, which are SUPER EXPENSIVE! I spent way too much getting a Dakkawolf set up for personal enjoyment/troll builds :-P

And blew all my money again fixing up panthers/enforcers. And can't spend any money again since I have to save up for grasshoppers/zeus'.

Blah, Banshees = expensive, but fun

Just as a PSA: before anyone considers putting lots of CBs into big XLs, I'd recommend looking at GMan's Master Guide for Banshees on MetaMechs. I don't think it contains a single XL build. As a rule, XL assaults are jokes or stunts. Banshees are legitimately tough and if you run an XL, you give that up. Very few good players run XLs in them except for jokey PUG builds.

Edited by Terciel1976, 26 February 2015 - 05:21 AM.

[NUJRSYDEVIL]

I use the x3 AC/5 Banshee 3E.

It is hard to use at long range unless your aim is very good (mine is not). It is absolutely deadly at mid range though. The constant AC5 barrage screws up a pilot's targeting and sends them into panic mode.

[That Dawg]

Banshee, AC5's for the win

[Sewman]

Just thought I'd give an update on this thread for others who may be curious about the Banshee. I got the Banshees and thanks to the weekend tourneys, premium time sped up the initial grind past basics.

First few matches were pretty terrible but I was warned it wouldn't be good out of the gate. I overheated constantly until I got familiar with my heat scale in the training grounds. Before basics, you have maybe 2 alphas before shutdown - with long rest times between. That being said, I was able to get a couple of fluke games of 600+ dmg even before basics were done, especially the 3E where the DPS from the AC5s is deceiving. You don't realize how much dmg you're doing because you feel like you're spraying everywhere. If there's one variant that I think will crack 1k damage, I think it'll be the 3E (perhaps because the other 2 variants have an alpha/twist play style that kills things more efficiently).

After optimizing builds, I've been able to get back to the damage numbers I'd expect of an assault, 500+ with the occasional 800+ game with the right conditions (Haven't been able to with my HGNs and VTRs after JJ & PPC nerfs).

On the Engines:
I first tried an XL375 I had from another assault mech on the 3M and STD 320's on the other two. I agree with Terciel1976. The XL engine is fun, but not as survivable. It is hilarious being able to run around like a fast heavy. I will have an XL400 one day just so I can zip around feeling like a 95 ton ballerina. I agree that having a fast XL will just be for lols on the 3M.

In the interest of all out damage potential (survive longer so I can shoot more stuff), I have STDs (325-350) in all of them and it gives you so much more freedom to tank damage. A STD 300 feels a bit slow. I think STD 320 is the lowest I'd go, but prefer 350+.

Conclusion:
I specifically wanted to tank damage and survive matches. Well, I can safely say that the Banshee has to be one of the best at tanking damage if you twist after each shot, even before your laser beams finish sometimes. Many times, I've started pushes leading with my shield arms, expecting them to be blown off before firing my first shot. It's pretty common to end the match with around 30% health left.

I imagine that if I had gone for a Crab, I'd be shocked at the high damage output, but I'd probably also have a lot more early death games too.

Other observations:
Nobody seems to shoots the legs. I suggest armouring up shield arms. Shave armour from your legs.

The high mount lasers are higher than I thought. Yes, you do have to mount small, medium or mpulse lasers FIRST and Lpulse or Llasers SECOND so they end up at the shoulder positions. On me 3E though, there are two AC5 mounted lower on the Side Torso. I guess you could mount a machine gun or AC2s to bump them up?

It's quickly become of the most enjoyable mechs in my stable.

Edited by Sewman, 27 February 2015 - 11:19 PM.

[Mike Oakenwall - the khadoran]

Well i have both mastered and the problem with crab is that it dies so damn easy. Not sure what its problem is but its harder to kill a heavy than a crab most of the time.
.
Im running lrm and standard engine on all of mine just because of that, less need to show myself and stil have space for some close range guns..

The banshee just looks like a big blob which turns me off, its a better mech imo though. 3 ac5 build is one of the few mechs i have that can win a staring contest with a direwolf.

[LordBraxton]

XL banshees, as some have claimed, are a bit of a 'stunt' build.

it either goes horribly right or wrong.

71kph 95 tonners with massive laser alpha's should not be laughed at though. If you dont stop moving the fast banshee can be deadly as hell. It takes some getting used to, but really, you can't stop moving. Just circle the area at 71kph if you have to, but never stop, that XL engine takes your survivability from 95 tons to about 70.

std engine banshees feel like atlai with better hardpoints. cant go wrong there

Crabs are probably stronger and easier to use than the banshee, but my issue with the crab is it's kind of a one trick pony. With the banshee you get 3 very different variants, with the crab you always have giant gun claws.

[JRR1285]

I have been wanting to try Banshees for a while now. I have the King Crab and I do very well in it but I have been wanting something different in an assault for a while. I have an XL400 laying around from when I got the Boars Head on sale (I bought it mainly because it came with the XL400 and I got a bonus mech to try out).

I like my assaults to be fast so I run XL engines in some of them. I found the King Crab to do OK with one, I die to CT death more than a side getting blown out so I think the added speed is worth the risk. I also run Victors with an XL but I haven't used a Victor in a very long time.

I want to get the La Malinche once it goes on sale since I like to have the Hero mech as one of my variants.

Edited by JRR1285, 28 February 2015 - 05:57 AM.

[Jorunn]

Terciel1976, on 26 February 2015 - 05:20 AM, said:

Just as a PSA: before anyone considers putting lots of CBs into big XLs, I'd recommend looking at GMan's Master Guide for Banshees on MetaMechs. I don't think it contains a single XL build. As a rule, XL assaults are jokes or stunts. Banshees are legitimately tough and if you run an XL, you give that up. Very few good players run XLs in them except for jokey PUG builds.

Terciel, the XL ST vulnerability is well known and generally true, however the Banshee is extremely survivable due to their small ST position protected by the shield arms. I've got nearly 1,700 matches in my Banshees, I know of which I speak. The 3E ballistic build does require a STD engine to have enough slots. Just because armchair evaluations don't show XLs doesn't mean that all the above Banshee veteran pilots are wrong... The 3M and LaMalinche are best with XLs.