10 replies to this topic

[Beld]

I've been trying to train up clan mechs but the problem i'm having is after running around in an fs9-a to make the Cbills, I'm finding clan mechs to be hot, slow and seemingly fragile, should I bother to continue training up these expensive heaters, or build myself a deck for the innersphere instead?

[meteorol]

Timberwolf and Stormcrow are the best mechs in their weightclass. Direwolfs are very good, slow, turn like a whale but have the most firepower of all mechs. Hellbringers are solid mechs aswell. The Mad Dog is not bad too.

Aside of those 4 mechs, there are alot of supbar clan mechs. Clan lights are flat out bad and no match for their IS counterparts.

If you want a strong clan dropdeck for CW i'd suggest you stick to those "good" mechs and stay away from the other clan mechs. You might need a kitfox to have more flexibilty on which mech you want to bring.

Generally clanemechs are hot, very dependent on energy weapons because ballistics are bad (aside of the gauss) but if you get used to managing their heat, those laservomit (or Gauss/ERML) builds on stormcrows and timberwolfs are brutal. And i wouldn't call clanmechs slow in general. Clan lights are slow (which makes them bad), the Direwolf is slow (which is OK for the crazy amount of firepower), but the Timberwolf goes 89kph with tweak which is really fast for a 75t mech, the stormcrow is 107kph which isn't slow for a medium with this much firepower.

Edited by meteorol, 18 February 2015 - 04:26 AM.

[Beld]

I bought a timberwolf and fitted it out like the tier 1 on metamechs its so hot, but still better then anything else i can come up with, i guess running a fast light as spoilt me, because i'm not used to getting cored in seconds everytime i pop around a corner.

In an FS9 i can run around the map, kill 3 or 4 ppl and end the match with 700+ dmg, in this madcat i'm lucky to get 300.

Edited by Beld, 18 February 2015 - 04:42 AM.

[Koniving]

It's about time we got an objective and honest opinion on the Clan mechs that wasn't "Oh, they're Clan mechs so they must be overpowered."

Since you're using a Timber Wolf, first off you're using a meta build. Most likely without the "meta skillz" of hide like a damn coward, pop out every now and then when people are almost dead and dismember people for the kills and damage.

Try building more to your own strengths. You run around in a Firestarter, which certain ones admittedly were overquirked to a point of brow-raising in the "what was PGI thinking" category. Which means it's likely cold, keeps firing a lot, and lets you keep moving with rarely ever having to stop, right?

Build your Timber Wolf to match that. DPS rather than high damage. Rear torsos to 2 armor, all else to the front. Build for a 1.5 or greater heat efficiency on MWO's little rating. 1.6 is ideal. High endurance, high speed, high slaughter.

Then enjoy stuff like this.

I've since brought the rear armor to 2 (as I learned that unless you try the good habit of torso twisting -- which in moderation is good but kinda bad to do often for the TBR -- you will almost never take rear damage), tweaked the weapons and heatsinks a bit (lowered the missile launcher count) and made it even more heat efficient. The only reason it's so good is simply because of speed combined with heavily frontal hit-boxes with ridiculous torso twisting abilities (range, the speed is fine but the range is obscene as it surpasses all canon references). There's also the added benefit in blitzkriegs, where when possible get other mechs of similar speed to follow you.

Finally, the lack of meta lowers the attention directed on you.

(For anyone wondering, the music is oddly fitting if you're familiar with Star Siege; it's about the Cybrid invasion. Cybrids invaded Mars and Earth. Clans invade the Inner Sphere.)

Edited by Koniving, 18 February 2015 - 05:23 AM.

[Beld]

I may have just taken your advice before reading it, good post I appreciate the effort you've put into it, for now i swapped the ER MLs for small pulse lasers like my FS9 and the close range shredding power and lower heat use is already working out well for me, I still don't like people being able to hit me and not being able to piss bolt the moment things get hot, but so far so good.

[Lily from animove]

Beld, on 18 February 2015 - 04:40 AM, said:

I bought a timberwolf and fitted it out like the tier 1 on metamechs its so hot, but still better then anything else i can come up with, i guess running a fast light as spoilt me, because i'm not used to getting cored in seconds everytime i pop around a corner.

In an FS9 i can run around the map, kill 3 or 4 ppl and end the match with 700+ dmg, in this madcat i'm lucky to get 300.

train the madcat, the FS9 is cheating hitreg,t hats why it performs exeptional good. but the TBR is going to make you quite happy by being rather easy to pilot.

[Koniving]

Might not go with small pulse. You have to get a bit too close for that. Unless you're packing something like 4 SRM-6s to back it up.

Though if you want more heat efficiency, try ER MLs (limit to 4, any more and it will get hot) and Streak 6's. They only fire half as often and will always hit their target provided you can see the target. This also saves you on ammo count, allowing you to load up more heatsinks.

Plug heatsinks into feet whenever possible, standing in water doubles their cooling abilities.

Also if you're ever in a situation where you have to run away, something was very, very wrong with you starting the fight from the get-go. A Clanner should never have to run. It's both against their creed and against all logical sense.

Instead, try other tactics. Disable their legs and then come back to finish the job later. If you're running... you're a "coward" in terms of Clan lore. But if you come back to finish the enemy later, it's an act of mercy.

[Beld]

yes I know all about clan lore, I just don't care to apply it in a free to play game full of, well i'll leave it there.

[Sadistic Savior]

Beld, on 18 February 2015 - 04:09 AM, said:

I've been trying to train up clan mechs but the problem i'm having is after running around in an fs9-a to make the Cbills, I'm finding clan mechs to be hot, slow and seemingly fragile, should I bother to continue training up these expensive heaters, or build myself a deck for the innersphere instead?

It depends on the mech. They are not better of worse, just different.

Basically any variant can mount the same stuff as any other variant, so in that respect, they are flexible. The downside is that a lot of stuff is built in. You can't change engines, you can't change the number of jump jets, ect... The weapons work differently (ACs and missiles are arguably worse on Clan mechs, but lasers are better, and they can mount targeting computers).

In lore, Clan mechs were intended to be clearly superior to IS mechs in almost every way. In MWO, they had to be gimped to make them balanced. And even so, some Clan mechs seem OP to me. I just played a game last night where I got 7 kills in my Twolf...I have not even mastered it yet. I don't even have any tier 2 skills on it. Flexibility counts for a lot.

EDIT: I forgot two big advantages of Clan Mechs...LRMs can do damage even within their minimum range, and Clan Mechs with XL Engines don't die from the loss of a side torso.

Edited by Sadistic Savior, 19 February 2015 - 10:10 AM.

[Sadistic Savior]

Beld, on 18 February 2015 - 06:14 AM, said:

yes I know all about clan lore, I just don't care to apply it in a free to play game full of, well i'll leave it there.

MWO does not follow the lore completely...if it did, Clan mechs would own any IS mech 1v1. That's how it is supposed to be.

MWO is heavily based on Battletech lore though, and most players like it this way. So it's probably not going to change. The emphasis on lore is one of the main reasons this game is so appealing IMO.

[Koniving]

Beld, on 18 February 2015 - 06:14 AM, said:

yes I know all about clan lore, I just don't care to apply it in a free to play game full of, well i'll leave it there.

Lore aside, there's a genuine reason for mentioning it. That's the way the Clan mechs are designed the rear hitboxes are very difficult to access if you're "fighting."
But the moment you turn your back to run, you screw yourself to a quick death.
The blue and the rear-purple represent the rear hitboxes.

Almost impossible to attack, unless directly behind, and then that surface area to hit is incredibly large.
Most players take advantage of the Timber Wolf's large front hitboxes by slapping all the armor to the front and 2 armor on the rears. Those who don't tend to die pretty quickly from focused fire unless they use other methods to spread the damage like torso twisting and hopping.

Anyway, the moment you turn tail and run is the moment you tell everyone "One shot right here, whacha waitin' for?!"
Most Timber Wolves won't survive two shots, and if that CT is already damaged on the internals you might not survive the first.

Meanwhile IS mechs -- in general -- have easier to access rear hitboxes and generally smaller hitboxes overall, so whether fighting or retreating they can still tank somewhat and be just as screwed coming as they are going.

It's the same size either way.

The Awesome, considered to have the largest CT of 2013.

Fun fact, a Timber Wolf's side torso (just one) is large enough to wrap around the front CT of the Awesome starting from the back of the head and then wrap down over the pelvis, between the legs and to loop back up to the rear waist. That's more than 70% of the Awesome's entire CT hitbox. That's how big just one of the TBR's front side torsos are!

Edited by Koniving, 19 February 2015 - 10:43 AM.