7 replies to this topic

[eFTy]

So after the Pot of Gold event I have a ice pile of C-bills waiting to be spent. Since the announced quirks for the adder are underwhelming to say the least, the glorious engine purr is not enough to convince me to keep the free Adder - my mastered Kit Fox can do anything I'd want to do with the Adder anyway.

I already have the Nova and Stormcrow, so I'm looking at finally getting a clan heavy mech. I'd like the Summoner if it wasn't so... quirky looking (see what I did there?). And since the Timber Wolf still reigns supreme, I wouldn't get much satisfaction from it. Thus I'm left with Mad Dog and Hellbringer, and fortunately I like the look of both of them.

Since the chassis only differ through hardpoints, unlike the other clan mechs I have so far, I think I'll just buy one variant, do the Basics, sell it and get the next, finishing with the Prime which can then be mastered.

That is, unless I find enough different loadouts to motivate holding on to more than one variant. And this is where you come in.

Which of the two do you like, and what are your favourite loadouts?

[NUJRSYDEVIL]

The Mad Dog is best used as a missle boat since the A variant has six missle hardpoints. It can be a brawler, but I would not recommend it. The MDD-A is incredibly fun as a LRM boat though, and it has enough laser hardpoints to have reliable backup firepower.

The Hellbringer is an instant offense mech. It has ECM and you can smack anybody around so long as you play the support role instead of front lines.

If you play CW go Hellbringer, if you just like casual play go Mad Dog.

[Aiden Skye]

Either way have fun losing your side torsos on both these machines.

Maddog has a few good configurations, lrm boat / srm36 work well.
Hellbringer has ecm and and some pretty high energy / ballistic hard points. Could also work out a few workable builds here.
But again, both squishy and most of the time you'll lose ST before anything else as their hitboxes are huge and not that heavily armored.

[eFTy]

Yeah, I know they're relatively fragile. It should make playing them feel more satisfactory.

I love the look of the Mad Dog, and I know it can spew missiles like no other mech in the game (and I drive Stalkers), I'm just worried about build variety.

The Hellbringer, on the other hand, seems like will offer quite a few more options. Might end up keeping more than one chassis.

[TercieI]

HBR. Not even a question, IMO.

W A R K H A N, on 17 March 2015 - 04:29 AM, said:

Either way have fun losing your side torsos on both these machines.

Maddog has a few good configurations, lrm boat / srm36 work well.
Hellbringer has ecm and and some pretty high energy / ballistic hard points. Could also work out a few workable builds here.
But again, both squishy and most of the time you'll lose ST before anything else as their hitboxes are huge and not that heavily armored.

HBR can (and should) be deadsided and is significantly more survivable than the MDD (ECM also conceals where you're hurt much of the time).

[Jorunn]

I'm having a really fun time with my Hellbringer HBR-PRIME ERPPC, 5x ERML, LRM15. Been averaging around 600 damage with it and I haven't even mastered it yet, I'm grinding to get the other two variants. The ECM on a heavy is great and there are a lot of build variants. I've seen people play those LRM5 missle boat Mad Dogs and they put out a lot of LRM spam but that's only LRM30?

[HeliosRX]

I think that the Hellbringer is much more versatile and meta-friendly than the Mad Dog.

First of all, what does the Mad Dog bring to the table in terms of unique and effective builds? Streak boat, SRM boat, LRMs and the odd Gauss+SRM cheese are about all it's got going for it. It can't laserboat effectively due to low weapon mounts and lack of hardpoints, and is unable to run dual gauss unless you pay for the gift shop model (at which point you may as well grab an Ebon Jaguar).

The Hellbringer on the other hand is one of the best mechs in the game. It's the only ECM heavy and allows you to stack a drop deck with ECM at practically no cost. It can effectively run a variety of 'meta' builds such as Gauss+ 4 CERMLS, 4 CERLLAS and 2CLPL + 3 CERMLAS. It can even become a somewhat effective LRM boat because enemies can't cancel its locks with their ECM. Finally, the torso and head weapon mounts are all high-mounted and make this mech very good at hill peaking.

Also, FWIW I think the Hellbringer is the sexiest humanoid clan mech in the game.

[eFTy]

Thanks for all th replies, guys. And for all the reasons you stated, I got the Mad Dog first (being half drunk after St. Paddy's might have something to do with that...) - the B variant. I'll sell it and just keep the arm omnipods once basics are done (already halfway through), move to the A (from which I'll keep both arms and torso pods) and then the Prime. The C doesn't interest me at all, I'll just grab the right arm when it goes on sale for c-bills. And then I'll start on the Hellbringers and probably keep more than one chassis. I really love the cockpit on that one (both from the outside and inside).