18 replies to this topic

[Toxic Toast]

Hey all, pretty new to this game, still trying to feel my way around. I just got a Trebuchet 3C, fire-support seems to cater to me. I was wondering If anyone had any helpful tips on how to handle this mech and similar mehcs, and what I should expect to contribute to the team as far as damage and support goes?
In the 6 missions I have played with it, I have averaged mid-200's in dmg. I am running with a tag-laser, in the chest mount.

Sorry if this in the wrong forum wasn't quite sure which one this would be more approprate in.

-Thanks for the help

[Nothing Whatsoever]

Welcome, this is a great place to post.

I ran the Trebs and kept the 7K, so I can share a bit.

Also here is Smurfy's site, a great resource.

---

Trebs are XL friendly with their hitboxes, and run as fine flankers and skirmishers.

If you kept the LRMs, the main thing is to stay mobile and fire your LRMs when you have a solid lock, such as seeing a Target NARC'd or revealed by a UAV.

Stay near a group of allies and fire on what they are. You don't need to stay too close, since you have good closing speed to stay near most other mechs and you are looking to find the best firing lane for your LRMs.

Also use the range finder on your Crosshair / Reticle so that you can work to keep targets in the ~270 M range for best results and remember that you won't do damage inside of 180 M with LRMs.

If you are firing on targets that are beyond ~380 M you should expect to lose lock or miss if you can't see them yourself, especially against fast mechs, so if you find a slow mech like an Atlas or Direwolf, they are often going to be a Prime target and look for a clear firing lane to keep LOS.

But if you are running near stock armor you also have very little armor, so just guard against over exposing yourself and try to play patiently, because nothing is as annoying as facing a rather fresh LRMer late in a match.

One piece of gear that will help a lot is Advanced Target Decay. You need to unlock it in the Skills tab area and then purchase it in the Module tab found in the Mechlab.

There's more, but this is what I can think of for now!

Edited by Praetor Knight, 17 March 2015 - 07:23 AM.

[Voivode]

Weclome to MWO! The Trebuchet is a fine mech. Most are geared towards fire support, but if you want to close in and mix it up, the 5J and the Loup de Guerre (hero variant) are both capable close in fighters.

Check out the mech quirks here to get a better picture of what each variant of the chassis specializes in.

As Praetor Knight said, Smurfy is a fantastic resource to mess around before taking the plunge and spending in game currency.

[DONTOR]

I run my Treb 3C with an XL380, BAP, 4x MLs, and 2x SSRM2s. Basically kill every light mech ever. Its a great option if you get bored of the fire support role. Average 400-600 damage.

[Voivode]

To touch on the rest of your post, playing as fire support via LRMs is significantly more difficult than people are willing to admit. Firing off a volley of LRMs is easy, but making those missiles connect is not.

The most important part about being an LRM support mech is positioning. If you are too far away from the enemy your missiles are unlikely to hit their target. If you are too close the minimum range of LRMs will render you useless. Between 200-400 meters distance from the enemies you are trying to hit is the general "sweet spot" for LRM support.

However, this is relatively close to the enemy. Be aware that you should endeavor to remain unseen while still being in a position to unleash volleys of LRMs. Above all else, don't get left behind! One of the advantages of Trebuchet's is that they are fast and can catch up much more easily than, say, a Stalker.

Situational awareness is the primary attribute of a successful LRM support pilot. The game also provides some tools to assist you. The TAG laser is very good. Equipping a Target Decay and Sensor Rang module can help more missiles connect after firing. Additionally, packing your own UAV consumable module is a good idea. If you are willing to give up tonnage for it (1.5 tons to be precise) the Beagle Active Probe will help you out as well.

All in all, LMR support is just going to be inconsistent given the way they have implemented LRMs and the counters to LRMs (ECM, AMS etc). Keep at it and you'll get better but you shouldn't ever expect consistency from that style of gameplay.

[Jody Von Jedi]

The 3C is unique to the TBT line-up:

Engine cap is 390, I run mine with a 360XL, (1) LRM15, and 4 ML. The quirks are LRM15 and laser based, so use them to your advantage. The LRM15 quirk makes it fire so fast, I only run the single launcher. That makes my ammo last longer too.

Without jumpjets, you need to take advantage of the speed. Situational awareness is critical in a medium mech. Watch the mini-map and move with the team. Don't get caught alone. Keep the rest of the team between you and the enemy force while you suppress enemy fire with your LRMs.

Hope this helps.

[Toxic Toast]

Yes, it all does, thank you, I know I'm equiped with an artemis, and I'm pretty sure the beagle comes standard also although it doesn't pop up on the mechwarrior wiki (unofficial), I can't check it right now thanks to the sever maintenance. I'll keep an eye out for the target decay and sensor rang module. Ill have to try it with a single launcher and see how I feel about it.

Is Fibrous armor something worth looking into, or does it take up to much space?

Edited by Toxic Toast, 17 March 2015 - 10:44 AM.

[bayoucowboy]

You need 14 free slots for Ferro, my recommendation would be to avoid it. You can free up some tonnage if you are willing to move the ammo from the LT/RT to the head and legs (but I would put more armor on the legs) and take off the CASE.

Most definitely get the target decay module, it is worth every CBill for a LRM chassis. If you decided to add BAP, you may not need sensor range module - BAP already boosts you by 25% - to 1000m range, which matches your LRM range

[Nothing Whatsoever]

I agree Ferro is not going to be a good upgrade for the 3C, you lose too many crit slots with Endo already installed and running an XL engine.

So keeping the stock XL 300 engine and one LRM15, I'd figure that this should be a reasonable build to consider.

[Jody Von Jedi]

Well, my TBT build is wrecked now. Went from a 40% LRM15 cool down quirk, to a measly 10% LRM overall cool down.

OP, ignore my recommendation on 1 LRM15 now. PGI broke my build.

[Toxic Toast]

I kind of like the one LRM idea, I was thinking of removing the arm LRM and replacing the chest one with a 20 LRM, so I don't lose all my potiential top end missile damage, that would give me the tonnage to put the beagle in plus some left over for more ammo or armor.

[Koniving]

Toxic Toast, on 17 March 2015 - 06:51 AM, said:

Hey all, pretty new to this game, still trying to feel my way around. I just got a Trebuchet 3C, fire-support seems to cater to me. I was wondering If anyone had any helpful tips on how to handle this mech and similar mehcs, and what I should expect to contribute to the team as far as damage and support goes?
In the 6 missions I have played with it, I have averaged mid-200's in dmg. I am running with a tag-laser, in the chest mount.

Sorry if this in the wrong forum wasn't quite sure which one this would be more approprate in.

-Thanks for the help

Endo is better than Ferro since there is no repair/rearm mechanic in the game at the moment.

Removing the arm LRM and putting it on the chest isn't a bad idea. I personally run chest mounted LRMs and arm mounted SRMs when possible. This is because I can use the Arms to aim my SRMs and lead targets more efficiently than I can with a torso mounted SRM. LRMs will lock on either reticule, but will dumb fire on the + reticule. This is even more reason to use the LRMs as torso mounted weapons.

I personally enjoy the Trebuchet series. My favorite is the 7K, however they can all perform pretty well. I have every single Trebuchet (including the hero).

As for how to perform, there's many things but this video -- intended for Centurions and Dragons -- is also ideal for Trebuchets. Specifically and akin to canon lore, your best bet is to find a Centurion and march alongside him. His job is to protect and support you. Your job is to soften his targets.



Ideally, at long range the two of you should stick to trenches, lobbing missiles at targets together.
When it comes time to clean up, the two of you should head into combat together, continuing to soften them as you approach before hammering your lasers in alongside the Centurion's ballistic and lasers.

If the situation gets bad, briefly abandon the slower Centurion to gain the high/far ground and start lobbing missiles in support of the Centurion. He can tank enemy fire, you cannot. You are the bow to his sword. He is the shield to your flesh.

The Centurion / Trebuchet relationship:
Cent.
Treb.

For great fun, get a friend to snag a Centurion.

[Koniving]

Expanding on this, here's how I play my Solo Treb (7K) which is very different from all the other Trebs.


And famous images of my Trebs.

Spoiler

I'm the fire spitting one, but both of these are Zhizhu Trebs.


Famous Atlas/Treb battle. I won. 2 SRM-4s, 2 MGs, 2 flamers. He was full health, but had Gauss and PPCS/lasers/SRMs, a sort of meta at the time.


Does this twig make me look fat?

[Sonny Black]

Voivode, on 17 March 2015 - 07:08 AM, said:

Weclome to MWO! The Trebuchet is a fine mech. Most are geared towards fire support, but if you want to close in and mix it up, the 5J and the Loup de Guerre (hero variant) are both capable close in fighters.

Check out the mech quirks here to get a better picture of what each variant of the chassis specializes in.

As Praetor Knight said, Smurfy is a fantastic resource to mess around before taking the plunge and spending in game currency.

I would also add the Loup de Guerre makes a fine LRM boat 4 LRM 5's + lots of speed and JJ's

[Vlad Striker]

Trebuchet devastating mech with LRM because it have tightened missile volley. But reaping kills this mech is too easy for me and I decide to leave it for best times. 2xLRM15 - that's all is you need. Some ML for backup.

[Flak Kannon]

If you wanna take Dontor's recommendation to the next level, try the Hero Kintaro - Golden Boy- with 5 SSRM2's and 3 ML. Before the Streak nerf, it was a beast of a light killer, now its merely really good as a light killer.

DONTOR, on 17 March 2015 - 07:18 AM, said:

I run my Treb 3C with an XL380, BAP, 4x MLs, and 2x SSRM2s. Basically kill every light mech ever. Its a great option if you get bored of the fire support role. Average 400-600 damage.

Edited by Flak Kannon, 18 March 2015 - 02:56 PM.

[Mogney]

i have all the trebs. The 7m is the best by far, the 5j is also fantastic. The LG is powerful but hard to play since its a btawler. Great advise inthis thread so far.

[dragnier1]

LRMs are not easy weapons to use. They may appear to be simple, but there's so much you need to take note while firing.

Angle of fire, terrain (i see many lock and shoot but all their missiles hit terrain), keeping lock (once lock is lost missiles miss), line of sight aka LOS if you use artemis (doesn't work without LOS) and range. There are others i might have missed out.

Once you get good, it's possible to get kills from lrms.

[Mogney]

True, the 7m is the hardest lrm boat to use, but its also the best. In order to carRy enough amMo you go slow and have no backup weapons.