24 replies to this topic

[The Lonely Sniper]

If there are mech with sniper on them what would be the best build for it ( im still downloading the game i just want some info before i start playing)

Thank you

[Metus regem]

The Lonely Sniper, on 20 March 2015 - 07:08 AM, said:

If there are mech with sniper on them what would be the best build for it ( im still downloading the game i just want some info before i start playing)

Thank you

Sniping in this game, is a lot different than any other game you've played, and very unlikely that you will see one hit kills, in the mechs that are "good" at being snipers, as they usually lack the weight capacity to mount enough pin point long range damage and heat sinks to do those one hit kills.

[The Lonely Sniper]

Metus regem, on 20 March 2015 - 07:10 AM, said:

Sniping in this game, is a lot different than any other game you've played, and very unlikely that you will see one hit kills, in the mechs that are "good" at being snipers, as they usually lack the weight capacity to mount enough pin point long range damage and heat sinks to do those one hit kills.

just im a massive sniper fan and it would be nice if there a build in this that let me do that and also thank you for the info

[Kenyon Burguess]

panther 10k. 2erppcs mounted on the right arm with the radar derp, range and cooldown mod I typically get 300-400 damage and a couple kills. its got heat quirks and speed buffs to the erppcs. I also like it better than the ecm raven due to jumpjets

[Metus regem]

The Lonely Sniper, on 20 March 2015 - 07:12 AM, said:

just im a massive sniper fan and it would be nice if there a build in this that let me do that and also thank you for the info

Here are a couple of long range builds, that should be doable after your first 25 games, as you will be getting what is called "Cadet Bonus"

Now keep in mind, that this is not an optimized build in any way shape or form, but is something you should be able to afford after your first 25 games.

RVN-3L

Geist Null, on 20 March 2015 - 07:15 AM, said:

panther 10k. 2erppcs mounted on the right arm with the radar derp, range and cooldown mod I typically get 300-400 damage and a couple kills. its got heat quirks and speed buffs to the erppcs. I also like it better than the ecm raven due to jumpjets

Geist, he's new and there is no telling if he is going to like MWO enough to punk down the real cash needed to get the Panther yet, so let's keep this c-bills only for now?

[Voivode]

Sniping in this game will involve, generally, one of several weapons. Due to this being an armored style combat game, sniping will seldom result in instant kills against an opponent that has not already taken significant damage. Most sniping weapons will require you to lead the target at longer ranges, the exception being the Large Laser (LL) and Extended Range Large Laser (ERLL)

Gauss Rifle - this weapon is single shot (all damage applied instantly to a single section of the opponent mech) with very good range. It has a "charge and shoot" mechanic that takes a little getting used to but isn't difficult to master. Has one of the longest cooldowns of weapons in game (4 seconds)

Autocannons(IS) - The AC2 and AC5/UAC5 can be used at long range in a sniper like fashion. They do low and moderate damage respectively but have relatively high rates of fire. The shot require leading the target and it also has drop off over distance so at longer ranges you will need to aim above the spot you wish to hit. They apply damage in the same way the Gauss Rifle does.

LL and ERLL - These weapons do not require leading your target. They are a straight beam that is a hitscan style weapon. The damage is applied over a period of 1 second and 1.25 seconds respectively, though some mechs have quirks that reduce that duration. LL and ERLL instantly reach the target, there is no travel time. The LL has a shorter range than the ERLL but it also produces less heat and has a shorter duration.

PPC and ERPPC - These are high heat weapons that apply their damage instantly to the section they hit. The clan version adds splash damage to adjacent sections in addition to the instant damage. They have a fairly low flight speed that requires significant leading of moving targets. Some mechs contain quirks that increase projectile speed making them more natural PPC / ERPPC snipers.


EDIT: The Clan version of the ERLL (cERLL) has a duration of 1.5 seconds but applies a larger amount of total damage than the IS version, at the cost of greater heat.

Edited by Voivode, 20 March 2015 - 07:51 AM.

[Rogue Jedi]

the Jagermechs can all make good Snipers using the Gauss Rifle ^{(a big long range sniper rifle, but to fire you have to hold the trigger down for 0.75 seconds to "charge" the rifle, then you have 1.25 seconds to release the trigger to fire, if you fail to fire in time the Gauss looses its charge, if not for this Gauss would be the best balistic weapon in the game for almost any situation).} however even with a Mech mounting 2 Gauss Rifles ^{(the second most powerful weapon in the game, the most powerful is the AC20 a short range canon doing 20 damage to the Gauss Rifles 15)} you cannot do one hit kills against most fully armored Mechs, the Head is the weakest part of most Mechs and has 15 structure or "health" and up to 18 Armor, meaning 33 total hitpoints on any Mech.

any Mech mounting ER Large Lasers, PPCs, Gauss Rifles or AC5s can perform a sniper role.

you will have to use preconfigured "trial" Mechs to earn money to buy your own customizable Mech.

the first 25 matches you receive a "cadet bonus" so by the end of the 25 match you should have 9-12 million to buy your first Mech, bear in mind you will probably want money left over for upgrades and after the first 25 your income will seriously slow down, probably to less than 1/3^rd of your cadet bonus days.

I suggest you try the trial Mechs and see of there is any Mech or weapon which you really like, then come back here with some more questions before buying anything

[Tarl Cabot]

There are sniper/long range fire mech setups, just be aware that will not last long during combat. Eventually that distance will be lost and it becomes a "knife" fight.

Understand that in MWO, besides CW, there is no respawning. If your team is on the losing end you will be the last man standing. Even in PUG matches, this comes down to a team/unit engage. If played as a one verses all then the side that plays less as a unit will likely lose the match.

Also understand that using your ECM'd mech like the raven setup in Post 5 as a sniper also means you may have left your team without ECM cover, allowing them to be hit with incoming LRM fire, etc.

[YCSLiesmith]

what aspect of being a sniper appeals to you, OP? is it the stealthy scouting and lurking while you wait for an enemy to move into the open? I recommend the Raven 3L. is it the massive stopping power at extreme range? I recommend you get a dire wolf and load it with three gauss rifles or Stalker 4n and load it with six large lasers.

is it the instantaneous headshot kills? if so you're not really going to find the analogue for that in this game. it's a tank game, not an infantry game.

[Rogue Jedi]

YCSLiesmith, on 20 March 2015 - 07:49 AM, said:

what aspect of being a sniper appeals to you, OP? is it the stealthy scouting and lurking while you wait for an enemy to move into the open? I recommend the Raven 3L. is it the massive stopping power at extreme range? I recommend you get a dire wolf and load it with three gauss rifles or Stalker 4n and load it with six large lasers.

just bear in mind if you take a 3 Gauss Mech you cannot fire more that 2 at a time, so it will be a case of fire 2 then a second later fire the third, it was made so you could not fire 3 or more Gauss because people were afraid some players may try to make a 4 Gauss Dire Wolf, firing a 60 damage alpha strike every 4 seconds, few Mechs could survive 2 of those to even the most heavily armored section.

[B L O O D W I T C H]

my advice would be the spider 5D http://mwo.smurfy-ne...dfe969e0705ec3e
it is an oddball, mainly for the XL255 engine which costs about 4 mil. it also needs upgrades (endo, ferro, double heatsinks)
and overall costs about 9 mil to build.
Thanks to ecm, jumpjets and a topspeed of 150 kph it is very forgiving. (as a new player you will find yourself very often in bad situations, you'll get out of those much easier in a spider then most other 'mechs)
It's only weapon is the er-ppc. which will give you direct feedback how good you're at sniping.

The 5D can run other builds as well (good builds i must add) such as 2 Medium Lasers + 1 (extrem range) Large Laser. 3 Medium Pulse Lasers (Brawl spider) or TAG (you're scouting targets with it for LRM firesupport 'mechs) + Large/Medium Lasers.

Pro:
- high movability,
- Fast ECM doesn't need any modules (such as radar deprivation, which is a MUST for almost every mech without ECM)
- Valid Innersphere Light 'Mech usable for Group queries and Community Warfare.
- can fulfill lots of different roles such as Harasser, Sniper, Scout, Striker, and Brawler (to a certain extend)
- Can play actively solo (behind or beside enemy lines) or as groupsupport (ECM cover) and switch both on the fly.

Con:
- get's outgunned by most other Light 'mechs (especially light 'mechs designed to hunt other (Light) 'mechs)
- expensive XL engine
- low Armor (but semi good hitboxes)

[Crotch RockIt]

For a pure sniper, the Jagermech is a good bet. Specifically, the DD model for your first mech, since it comes stock with a valuable XL260 engine. The other Jagers come stock with heavy standard engines that won't leave you with enough free tonnage for sniping weapons. You can buy a XL engine separately, of course, but it's cheaper if it comes stock on the mech.

The Jager has high-mounted arm weapons, so you can peak over hills and snipe while most of your mech is still under cover. The gauss rifle is a great sniping weapon (super fast projectiles that are hard to trace back to the source), and two paired together is even better for instant 30 pinpoint damage. Other sniping weapons are either hotter with slower projectiles (ER-PPC) or spread their damage due to beam duration (ER large laser). Here's a good build that you can afford after completing your cadet bonus matches. But, as others have said, the dual-gauss Jagermech is easily killed if the enemy closes on you, due to the vulnerable XL engine. You'll also have to get use to the 0.75 second charge mechanic of the gauss.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...f400696e07e21fa


If you get tired of the dual-gauss, another great DD build Is triple U/AC5's. One of the best DPS mechs in the game.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...65aa48f483be5a7

[TheCaptainJZ]

I'd just like to point out, that although some mechs are better suited for the weapons listed above, many mechs available can actually mount the weapons above, so you can slap them on the majority of mechs but to varying degrees of optimization. So it's not so much which mechs can snipe as they all can to a degree, but which ones are ideal for a particular setup.

[Egomane]

Please note that in this game, no mech has a pre-defined role.

You can make every mech perform every role. Some are just better at them as others. A slow lumbering assault mech is not much good as a scout, but a fast light mech can do this job very well. But you can make the assault faster, by cutting down on its armor and firepower, or the light mech carry more weapons by reducing its speed.

Before you do so, make yourself comfortable with the general gameplay. Make use of the trial mechs, which can't be customized, to find a mech that suits you, before you commit to buying your first own mech to fit to your own needs. Use smurfys mechlab for offline builds (linked by above users a few times), before you commit any ingame or real money to a mech.

You will earn a considerable ammount of ingame currency in your first 25 matches. Starting with the 26th match you are treated like every other player in regards to rewards and matchmaking. Those early rewards might still not be enough to buy and outfit your dream mech, so you can keep using the trial mechs until you earned enough.

Please note that you need to skill up three different variants of the same chassis to get the most out of it. A different variant carries a different name. For example a Thunderbolt 5S is a different variant for skilling then a Thunderbolt 5SS. Simply having a different loadout through changes in the mechlab, does not count as a different variant.

Welcome to MWO!

[Rogue Jedi]

LOADED, on 20 March 2015 - 07:54 AM, said:

my advice would be the spider 5D http://mwo.smurfy-ne...dfe969e0705ec3e

only try this if you enjoy light Mechs, the Spider is a great Mech but you need the correct mindset to use it well, also the ERPPC has a rather slow "projectile"(a blast of energy which acts like a projectile), meaning you have to be good at leading a target to make it work, Lasers are instant hit but you need to hold them on target for the whole "burn time" to deal full damage, Gauss have about 3 times the projectile speed that an ERPPC has on a Spider (some Mechs have Quirks to make the PPC or ERPPC "projectile" upto 40% faster)

[Voivode]

Ultimately the best advice we can give you is to use all the available trial mechs during your first 25 matches. See how you like the different aspects of these mechs. After you die in a match, stick around and spectate your teammates. You can learn a lot by watching the successes and mistakes of other players. Once you understand a little more about how the game works you can choose a mech based on the playstyles you most enjoy and have the greatest success with.

[Levi Porphyrogenitus]

Sniping can be fun, but always watch out for people who want to come at you from a flank and pop your XL from your blind side. Also, watch your radar to make sure you don't let your team abandon you. The last thing you want to do is have a good time sniping only to turn around and see that the entire remaining enemy team is where you thought your buddies were, while your allies in the mean time are now a kilometer away and still running.

Here are a few sniper builds you might consider:

JM6-S
Slow and vulnerable to flankers, but it has a really nasty sniper loadout and enough backup guns to be meaningful once your ammo is dry. You can also swap the SLs for a ML and a bit higher engine rating if you want.

AWS-8Q
It runs hot, but not as hot as the heat efficiency suggests due to quirks. Those two PPCs in the arm put 20 damage onto targets quite far away, and the five MPLs will murder anyone who things they can get close and abuse your 90m PPC minimum range dead zone. I don't put endo on because, even with an extra DHS, you don't have the crits to fill in the last 3 tons it gives you. You could run it 3 tons light and take the extra DHS, but endo can be expensive to apply.

CDA-3M
This has the benefit of running at 140 kph after you unlock Speed Tweak (an Elite pilot efficiency), while combining ECM with an ERPPC for nice, stealthy sniping with good repositioning. It also bring a trio of MLs for backup in the event that the enemy tracks you down. Firing all the lasers and the ERPPC will overheat you pretty fast, but the MLs give you some lower heat backup guns that actually hit harder than the ERPPC within their range bracket.

RVN-3L
This one's a super common build. You can swap the torso laser to the arm for slightly better useability, but it means that losing the arm kills all your guns, making it less able to take non-lethal hits. Like the Cicada above, it benefits from ECM and high ground speed, allowing you to snipe from beyond detection range and then reposition quickly.

[Spleenslitta]

If your still taking advice OP please tell us your preferances of what a sniper you would like to be.

For example. Do you relocate every time you shoot whether you hit or not to make certain you don't get an enemy snipers attention?
Coming out of the same piece of cover for every shot will get you a nasty surprise since the enemy knows exactly where you are.

Or is it about dishing out an amazingly damaging shot that comes close to doing oneshot kills?
Do you want to have backup close range weapons for when the enemy comes close.?
Notice that i said "when the enemy comes close" because they will.


If you want to be a light highly mobile sniper that confuses the enemy by constantly relocating then i can give you advice.
If you want a slower mech loaded with longrange firepower you should listen to the others.

Keep in mind that if you want to be mobile enough for mobile sniping the mech needs to able to run around 97kph as a barebones minimum.
My mech goes at 142 kph and it has 4 jump jets to get over obstacles.

Edit: Oh yeah i wont give any advice for how to specificly build your mech unless you ask me to.
The reason is that my way of sniping almost ignores how the mech is built except for how fast it is.
JJ's are a big bonus though. Any mech that meets the speed requirements is capable of doing it.

Edited by Spleenslitta, 20 March 2015 - 09:14 AM.

[Koniving]

The Lonely Sniper, on 20 March 2015 - 07:12 AM, said:

just im a massive sniper fan and it would be nice if there a build in this that let me do that and also thank you for the info

There are many sniper-style mechs. The weapons you want for traditional sniping are called "ER PPCs" or "Gauss Rifles."

For less traditional sniping, ER (extended range) Large Lasers.

Most mechs can carry any of these.

Some sniping demonstrations.
<--Instant kill! Note, I get slaughtered bad here.
<-- King of the Hill. Lots of damage, blown off limbs, and peoples days left in ruin.
<-- Good sniper position, also goes face to face versus superior brawling enemies and wins, too. Barely.

Escorting a sniper mech.
Getting killed by a sniper mech.

Conventional and non-conventional snipers (PPC snipers [the mech I'm protecting] + ER laser snipers [many enemies and myself]).

And for other less ranged sniping, Autocannons. Much more bullet drop involved, bit trickier and not as damaging but super effective up close.

[JC Daxion]

One thing to remember about this game, and even sniper builds.. Staying with your group, or near it to target the same mechs is extremely important. Not to mention to know when to stop hiding and sniping to help soak damage and your teamates survive extended brawls. This can more often than not be the reason for victory, or the demise of an entire team. Pretty much all sniping weapons are still effective at 100m and a lot easier to hit a moving mech at that range too