48 replies to this topic

[Beefer]

There's a good thread on this in the general forums, btw. I've only taken out the 6S for maybe 10 games so far, but I'm liking it. Pretty sure I have around a 2:1 K/D and ~450 dmg/game with only the basics I've been unlocking. I'm running an XL, which hasn't really been a problem yet.

350XL, ES, DHS, LRM15 (2T), AC10 (3T), 2LPL in the torso. Only needs 3 DHS in the engine to get to 1.37 in Mechlab, 40% dissipation in Smurfy's. 13T of armor, only missing on the legs which the quirks make up for anyway. Don't use the LRMs as your main weapon, use it to harass and chase targets back into cover. The AC and LPLs are all on the same side, so you can corner peek very effectively.

Can't wait to get this thing properly Elited to see what it does then...

[LordKnightFandragon]

Here is the build im running on it, its pretty much the one Sean Lang showed in his preview of the Zeus, I think minus 1 MPL.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...80f7465bc30161b

It seems to be pretty dangerous, slap a AC5 CD5 mod on it, see a target, fire till it dies.....or you do...if your close enough, fire the MPL to add an instant 20 dmg to the mix.

So far, 800+ dmg ,5 kills, 685 dmg, 2 kills....seems to be a pretty dangerous mech lol.

[2RC4U]

Here is my monster http://mwo.smurfy-ne...71c2f3a356aa97e constantly get high scores with this 6T, i got 1118 this morning i really like the Zues all 4 variants

6S http://mwo.smurfy-ne...8c143c891db0028
9S http://mwo.smurfy-ne...590d9b0cf96f730

Edited by AUSSIETROOPER2, 26 June 2015 - 12:02 AM.

[Fang01]

I like it with xl390 and 3 lpls

or something like this:
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...2b1c8aa4adf8dac

[Luscious Dan]

I found they all really took off with speed tweak.

6S (Gauss, 2x ERLL, MPL, BAP and STD320)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...da6da68815ff7fb

9S (3x LL, 3x ML, BAP, STD 325)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...1a63fd1a211e6df

Shave a little more armor or engine off the 6S for ammo if you like. And I actually run the slightly less efficient 9S with stock FF instead of Endo. You can use the difference in tonnage to get a 325 engine with 1 more DHS, but IMO it's not worth the cost unless you're drowning in C-bills or unused STD325 engines. Both variants are reasonably quick, have lots of torso durability with a shield side for twisting, and run at a manageable heat level. I don't particularly enjoy assault mechs but these are good to me.

[Big Tin Man]

This guy is a beast at range (particularly in CW). Optimal range of 900m with modules. Suck it Clanner ER Large.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...093c5a9ce2435be

Fire the ERLL in pairs, MPLS for backup in a brawl. High speed for repositioning.

[Nightshade24]

Stefka Kerensky, on 18 March 2015 - 08:47 AM, said:

Both are fine.
St for zombie, but Zeus is quite xl frieldy and this means a lot of speed and firepower.

thinking of getting into zeus soon... care to tell me about how xl friendly it is? I am thinking to stock + most of hte zeuses and for the 2nd ballistic variant will do something simular to MW4 stock one and have LRM's and guass...

[STEF_]

Nightshade24, on 28 June 2015 - 03:12 AM, said:

thinking of getting into zeus soon... care to tell me about how xl friendly it is? I am thinking to stock + most of hte zeuses and for the 2nd ballistic variant will do something simular to MW4 stock one and have LRM's and guass...

Zeus has a good +15 st armor quirk, so it can be quite xl friendly.
Of course, with a ST engine it can survive even more.
In both chases I use the Zeus as mid range or brawler.

I'm not a fan of gauss in Zeus, because its hardpoint is quite low for my tastes.

I ended with this config that worked for me:

ZEU-9S (brawler) (very speedy for an assault, it seems a medium to me, while piloting it)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...54c8f6d7c368eae
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b027dcd45221b3e

ZEU-6S (mid range)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...753ece1623a8da9
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...493db248a42c215
(it can seems hot, but at range you have time to cool down temperature)

ZEU-6T (brawler)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...6dc37a7592518ef (it didn't work weel for me)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a7b5dc106ab2423 (speeeeeedy and alpha, fun)


The more lrm/gauss pseudo-lore thing I could imagine:
ZEU-6S with gauss(3tons ammo)/4ml/lrm15(2tons ammo) FF/endo/dhs and 330 ST engine

o/

Edited by Stefka Kerensky, 28 June 2015 - 09:07 AM.

[Nightshade24]

Stefka Kerensky, on 28 June 2015 - 08:36 AM, said:

Zeus has a good +15 st armor quirk, so it can be quite xl friendly.
Of course, with a ST engine it can survive even more.
In both chases I use the Zeus as mid range or brawler.

I'm not a fan of gauss in Zeus, because its hardpoint is quite low for my tastes.

I ended with this config that worked for me:

ZEU-9S (brawler) (very speedy for an assault, it seems a medium to me, while piloting it)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...54c8f6d7c368eae
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...b027dcd45221b3e

ZEU-6S (mid range)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...753ece1623a8da9
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...493db248a42c215
(it can seems hot, but at range you have time to cool down temperature)

ZEU-6T (brawler)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...6dc37a7592518ef (it didn't work weel for me)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a7b5dc106ab2423 (speeeeeedy and alpha, fun)


The more lrm/gauss pseudo-lore thing I could imagine:
ZEU-6S with gauss(3tons ammo)/4ml/lrm15(2tons ammo) FF/endo/dhs and 330 ST engine

o/

ZEUS would this be a good pseudo? the stock Zeus for MW4 has a Heavy Gauss rifle, twin LRM 15, and a Large laser...

I changed it for a normal Gauss rifle, a single LRM 20 with Artemis, and a ER large laser with 2 medium lasers to be a mix between the traditional and mw4 zeus...

Opinions?

I am quite good with XL engines and such and often run them in my banshee and battlemaster and cataphract and do quite well so I think I can handle an XL on a zeus.

[STEF_]

Nightshade24, on 28 June 2015 - 09:56 PM, said:

ZEUS would this be a good pseudo? the stock Zeus for MW4 has a Heavy Gauss rifle, twin LRM 15, and a Large laser...

I changed it for a normal Gauss rifle, a single LRM 20 with Artemis, and a ER large laser with 2 medium lasers to be a mix between the traditional and mw4 zeus...

Opinions?

I am quite good with XL engines and such and often run them in my banshee and battlemaster and cataphract and do quite well so I think I can handle an XL on a zeus.

No idea, I've never dropped in it, only theorcrafted it, since you was asking a Zeus with lrm and gauss.

Imo, with that armor quirks and good speed, Zeus can be a decent brawler; it's the way I have fun with it.
But every pilot has different tastes, so... the good build is the one you tailormade it for yourself.

o/

[Nightshade24]

Stefka Kerensky, on 28 June 2015 - 11:16 PM, said:

No idea, I've never dropped in it, only theorcrafted it, since you was asking a Zeus with lrm and gauss.

Imo, with that armor quirks and good speed, Zeus can be a decent brawler; it's the way I have fun with it.
But every pilot has different tastes, so... the good build is the one you tailormade it for yourself.

o/

cheers.

yea I see the potentual for the Brawling in this thing.

But I also got the victor and highlander... I use the lore behind the builds to differentiate them from each other and my mental footnote on each is easily identifying those mechs to it.

Victor is my brawler of the trio. So yea ^^

Zeus in my planning is a energy / ballistic + missile mech with backup or secondary energy weapons.

[Goldwing83]

Just a heads up to anyone else reading this thread in search of Zeus feedback: take the "great for XL" thing with a grain of salt. I'm about a dozen matches in with a fully armored 6T ( ~70% F / 30% B ), and I have lost a side torso in EVERY. SINGLE. MATCH. Thank goodness I didn't have the funds for an XL! Managed to keep swinging for a few minutes longer. This thing has hit boxes like billboards. But maybe that goes for all the assaults... I'm usually a Medium pilot, so I wouldn't know. Still enjoying it, though it feels a bit like a glass cannon at the moment. I'm hoping I can eventually get a feel for it, like I did with the Vindicators (weird, tricky to load, but dang tanky once you figure them out).

Edited by Knightrun, 07 July 2015 - 06:06 PM.

[Tiamat of the Sea]

Yeah, well, with the predominance of left hardpoints most people will specifically try to tear off the left shoulder of a Zoose if they get half a chance. That said, it's still harder than tearing the left shoulder off a Victor, and about as difficult as tearing the right shoulder off of an Awesome whose pilot has figured out what torso twisting is.

The Zeus typically has the problem of needing to stare at its targets, which makes torso shielding a little rough without a build focused on heavier ballistics and/or pulse lasers.

For me, it worked out that I'm running only one XL engine Zeus. 80 is a pretty comfortable tonnage point for taking a decently sized engine while still having enough weight for scary weapons.

MWO:Mechlab - ZEU-5S Ukko is essentially my brawlzeus. Ukko (named for a different deity of thunder) is built to meander around in cover, then jump out and pry open armor with the Medium Lasers, following up with deadly scattershot. The SRMs run a little on the hot side, but once the armor's open, it's just hand weapons and the LB-X is cool as a cucumber. It's a little rough to drive when I forget that I want to be second or fifth to the fight despite lovely armor quirks, but still quite a lot of fun and nastiness.

ZEU-6S Jupiter is my Zeus with a bit of a staring problem. Hence the LRMs- they give me something to do at range to support the team when I can't see anyone, once I can see targets they go well with the AC/5s, and they mean that if I take heavy damage but keep my right arm, I can fall back and still provide additional fire on enemy positions. The staring problem is mostly because of the AC/5s, but the range on those mitigates it a little, as does the arm mount for peering around things at people.

MWO:Mechlab - ZEU-6T Whirlwind.... this guy sows the thunder. The best part is when I'm running low on missiles, push up to the front line, and someone gets cunning and rips off my right torso, only to find that a Standard engine and Case means I'm still pulsing out laser damage in close range. The lasers can get a little hot, but it's a lot of damage all in one place when done right, and will tear great gaping holes in pretty much anything- or handily finish off someone who's been shaved half to death by the LRMs.

MWO:Mechlab - ZEU-9S Sturmgott is my lone sword-and-board Zeus. I've still not quite got the trick of right-shielding things, a little bit too used to the predominance of right-handed 'mechs. Despite that, the power of 3xERLL is undeniable at a distance, and as per my common preference, the medium laser/large pulse synergy is going on in the torso, so I can even theoretically guard with my left arm after the right side falls off as I push into close quarters. Usually an exercise in futility, but once in a while it pays off hard.

I've found Zeus to be plenty functional and lots of fun, especially with the degree of variety between them.

[Aggravated Assault Mech]

The arm shields well if you pretend it isn't supposed to have missiles, and the mech itself is pretty small. Torso and arm weapons have good convergence. As a long range sniper, return fire distributes really evenly across the torso.

I haven't tried brawling in it, but as an 80t the obvious comparison is to the Victor. However, lower arm actuators and arm missile mounts mean you can't mount an AC20 and your SRMs are sitting on your shield arm, unlike the Victor. Weapon perks are also generally underwhelming except for the 12.5% ballistics cooldown on the -6S and 12.5% energy cooldown on the -9S.

Personally I just don't see anything that stamps "brawler" over this mech. The general durability of the chassis doesn't really help you in a way that overcomes the difficulty in frontloading damage without sacrificing mobility. The -5S is definitely the best for brawling but it's going to run a lot hotter and be a lot slower than a Victor, going to have to play a symmetrical build with most of the firepower on the arms, and regardless still be without the firepower to handle mechs that are in the same speed and armor class (DWF, KGC, AS7 etc.).

The perks just seem to be there to give it some insurance in mounting an XL and playing as a sniper. OP is pretty ignorant or a troll on that point. Can't really tell which.

My favorite build is 3x ERLLAS 1x Gauss on the 5S and 6S with a big XL. You can boat lasers on the -9S. You should be able to fit a 390XL + 2x PPC + Gauss though it'll mean leaning on the armor perks to make up the difference. Would an 87kph 2xPPC/Gauss sniper with acceleration perks be called a sidetart?

Anyways, I really like playing mine. I feel it gets underestimated because of how tempting it is to go for some gross lorebuild.

[Kaldrenborn]

Here's one for you.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...aa5d4ffd01d3f4d

[zagibu]

I use the 2xAC/5 + 4xMPL on the 6S, the ERPPC + 3xML + 3xSRM6 on the 6T (although 3xLRM15 was fun for a while, but too much ECM lately) and the 3xLL + 3xMPL on the 9S.

Dusty's AC/10 + 3xLPL build looks interesting, must give it a try soon.

[Timicon]

Truth to tell, I was wondering this myself, since I just bought a Zeus-5S and was wondering what others use on the builds that they find most useful.
The 5S contains a ballistic AC10 weapon, as well as a large laser, dhs, medium laser and sports an LRM 15 (artemis equipped right from its purchase (but you have the equip an AMS if you want it and n jump jets - I have (for the sake for of this post (no surprise there, considering it is an Assault-class 'Mech. I do not favour ballistics, so I replaced it with an extra LRM 5 launcher and switched out the large laser with 2 or 3 medium lasers (in favour of additional armour), but to those who have experience with the Zeus, is this considered a good loadout or for something more akin to brawling?

[Nightshade24]

Aramas Thornes, on 17 March 2015 - 11:01 PM, said:

Okay I don't see how the Zeus can be any good at all. I can get an average 200-300 and 30 to 50 score but have not had any success with anything higher.


My Wolverine at 55 tons is faster, has more damage, has better heat management, more armor unless you severely under engine the zeus (which makes it worse because its max armor is still no where as high as other assaults), has jump jets, and the layout of the hard points actually makes sense.

You cant use an xl because the torso armor points are not nearly high enough.

If you try to do an energy build there simply isn't enough heat management even with skills and double sinks.

If you try to do a LRM or SRM build there isn't enough hardpoints.

If you try to do a projectile build there isn't enough tonnage for ammo or slots for the hard points

if you try to do a mobile build there isn't enough armor or damage capabilities

if you try to do a dps build there is no where near enough speed and your armor dips into medium class equivalency.

if you try to do a combo energy/projectile build not enough tonnage to do heat management and have any ammo or vice versa

I had people tell me that they have gotten 800 plus damage and I simply just do not see how that is possible unless the other team was just really stupid

I do not see any Zeus variant worth anything unless they up the speed, the tonnage, or the slots/hard points and quirks will not solve the issue either.

Have any of you had any success with any builds? at all?

Well here's your problem. You are trying to use MW:O's sense of heavily boating 1-2 weapons (and most likely result in 1-2 weapon groups) on a mech just simply NOT designed for that. I have had huge success in the Zeus because I guess you can say is that I carried a mix of weapons and equipment. Some may swear by Large lasers + UAC 5 or Gauss vomiting in this mech but even the cheesyness of the meta can't cover the zeus... funny how all the "gods" in MW: O suck in the meta.... Thor (Summoner), Zeus.... etc.

You can use an XL engine because you can focus on a long ranged build like the original and stay away from the ruckus of a close brawl OR use the speed to flank, hit and run, or do passes against a group in a more closer range build.

You can easily use every single energy hardpoint in the zeus without heat penalties. My main preferences is medium lasers with a large laser or two/ medium pulse lasers with a singular er large laser or a mixture of above.
The medium lasers provides good close range support when people get to close for comfort on a ranged build much like how an LRM boat uses medium lasers or the slower assaults. Or I use the ER large lasers in my closer ranged builds to allow me to continue fighting at enemies at range.

You can do a LRM or SRM heavy build there, 3 hardpoints is certainly enough but instead of having 3 LRM 15's or what ever I would normally do a singular artemised LRM 15 or 20, Or 3 LRM 5's or 10's.
For SRM's you can easily do an arm with 3 SRM 6's with Artemis or 2 SRM 6's or what ever combination, You could do 3 SRM 2's or SSRM 2's however that will more lean into what kind of play style you have. (Afterall, 3 SRM 2's is like an uber-artemis on a SRM 6 with great cooldown).

Well I typically like keeping a singular ballistic weapon to gofor the general austhetic the zeus has and keeping it in line with it's past iterations however you can easily do dual AC 2's, AC 5's, or UAC 5's, I've personally got a singular AC 5, UAC 5, or Gauss rifle on my Zeus however. You do not need more then 3 slots for ballistic weapons to work. It's similar to the Victor in this regard.

I assume by mobile build you mean something fast and agile? well this is the trade of for having a larger engine and such. It's for those who WANT that speed with slightly more firepower then a lighter mech at the same speed and much more armour. You may not be a juggernaut anymore but a brawler is fine. This goes for every single mech out there including light mechs. You can be easily surprised how much firepower a slower light can carry. Ie dual LRM 15 Hugin or the stereotypical urbanmech or panther. etc. The clan lights do demonstrate this well.

Well I guess I can take a gander at a "DPS" build..
ZEU-6T
A Standard 325 build... I got a large pulse laser, 3 medium pulse lasers, and 3 SRM 6's with artemis.
It's a bit hot when alpha striking however the large pulse laser was mainly a range support- and on cold maps, times requiring a heavier alpha, or when SRM 6 ammo is out (or beyond 270 meters SRM range) the Large pulse laser is used. Otherwise when up and personnel use the large pulse laser sparingly.

SRM 6's + Medium pulse laser's =

• Maximal possible dps: 14.68 dmg/s
  
• Sustained dps (without overheating): 6.16 dmg/s (most heat effecient damage due to SRM's, however mroe innacurate)
  
• Heat generation: 6.33 heat/s
  
• Cooling Efficiency: 42%
  
• Approximate time to Overheat: 18

Medium pulse laser's + Large pulse laser =

• Maximal possible dps: 7.81 dmg/s (pinpoint)
  
• Sustained dps (without overheating): 4.06 dmg/s
  
• Heat generation: 5.12 heat/s
  
• Cooling Efficiency: 52%

SRM 6's + Medium pulse laser's + Large pulse laser (all weapons) =

• Maximal possible dps: 17.48 dmg/s
  
• Sustained dps (without overheating): 5.77 dmg/s
  
• Heat generation: 8.12 heat/s
  
• Cooling Efficiency: 33%
  
• Approximate time to overheat: 00:12

Alright build. I haven't tried anything like this on a zeus but I have did something similar on other assault mechs before.

An alternate build here would be to trade all pulse lasers for regulars (allowing alpha strikes to be more common) and increase engine mass.
ZEU-6T (II)
Here it's faster, has better heat effeciency for the alpha striking capabilities. etc. I used an ER large laser due to these heat changes as well as to keep some weapon present for ranged combat.

The last variation on theses kind of builds would be an XL engine of course. Removing the Ferro in the process.
ZEU-6T (XL)
Much like the later build, it uses a large laser. Due to it's large engine it is pretty fast for an assault and can out run some heavy mechs out there while having a sustained firepower superior over some heavy mechs out there that isn't a sluggish DPS boat.

I tried to focus more on the energy zeus then the ballistic zeus as ballistics have high weight for their DPS and the 'DPS'y" ballistics are more for range and thus it isn't the best option for pure DPS that you were seaking. Lasers being tonnage effecient and SRM's being 'damage' effecient I made this. There is several ways you can modify it more maybe use an XL engine for a build to accomidate an AC 10 or what have you but that was my crack at your preference... as I said however I haven't tried it on the zeus personally and I often tune by testing and playing in mechs. I may drop or put on another tonne of heatsinks or ammo or maybe remove artemis for a bigger engine. It's all up to you.
Note: ammo and armour distribution is up to you, I left it simply and blank here just for ease of building this design and keeping the clutter down.


My personal builds with great success?... well most of them is based on the stock mech.
Typically I just add endo, dhs, additional armour or artemis where I need it, and shfit the LRM's around a little bit...
I got one with a large pulse lasers, 2 medium pulse lasers, a gauss rifle, and a LRM 20 with artemis that I do well... However for my Loyalty Zeus I decided to experiment with a pair of large lasers, an LBX 10, and a trio of LRM 5's which also works well.

Sure things do not role out into your favour but that happens with all mechs and players.
It's kind of funny actuallly that you have such a hard time with builds.,.. meanwhile the victor and highlander with the exact same hardpointss and general statistics but were the peak of meta and strength back in those days along with the cataprhact. Sure back then they had strong jumpjets and were 'poptarting' but with that aside it still performs virtually identical in firepower. Any weapons they can do the zeus can also do.... well minus the AC 20 I guess (just 1 slot short due to the lower arm actuator) Sure the ballance of weapons has changed since then but having something along the lines of twin PPC's and twin UAC 5's it does give you a range pin point alpha of 30 damage and got the UAC 5's still hammering away shells while the PPC's cool down.

It just depends on what you want to do. The zeus may not be the mech cut out for you however me being a fan and rather decent in every mech and every role I do believe with practice people can easily get into a mech...
I suffed 50-150 damage games in my battlemaster before, however a week after getting down into it I have hit my first 1000+ damage game in an assault mech. It's hard to argue a mech is poor if it was capable of doing that... especially without all the basics and in a rather bad match in terms of how it rolled out.

[SleekHusky]

My favorite of the three is on the ZEU-6T Feels like a big version of my Centurion AL and nearly matching in mobility. I have used this successfully against even the best players.
ZEU-6S Uses a Gauss and 3 Large Pulse very similar to my Highlander 732B except trading armor and JJ for speed.
5 ERLL ZEU-9S Not quite recommended, its a bit gimmicky but amusing. Would suggest 3LPL and 3MPL build instead.

Edited by Sleek34, 29 April 2016 - 09:42 AM.

[Dawnstealer]

I like this one:

ZEU-9S

3 ERLL, 3 MLs on the arm for dealing with littleuns, and an AMS.

Can zombie up.

This one was my standard in FW for a long, long while before eventually being replaced by a Marauder.