29 replies to this topic

[MatterBeam]

Hello.

I have a bit of experience playing the game.

I'm aiming to build a capable sniper using only the cadet bonus money. The build should not exceed 9-10 million.

Here's what I am thinking of currently:
CPLT-K2

What do you think?

[Repasy Cooper]

YuGiOhMonster, on 21 April 2015 - 03:13 PM, said:

Hello.

I have a bit of experience playing the game.

I'm aiming to build a capable sniper using only the cadet bonus money. The build should not exceed 9-10 million.

Here's what I am thinking of currently:
CPLT-K2

What do you think?

If you're going to invest in ER Large Lasers, you might as well try the dual gauss K2. It ain't gonna cost you much more C-bills.

Also, if you're looking for a cheap Clantech sniper option, try the Kit Fox A. Just modify the prime variant as follows:

KFX-A

[MatterBeam]

Repasy, on 21 April 2015 - 03:27 PM, said:

If you're going to invest in ER Large Lasers, you might as well try the dual gauss K2. It ain't gonna cost you much more C-bills.

Also, if you're looking for a cheap Clantech sniper option, try the Kit Fox A. Just modify the prime variant as follows:

KFX-A

I'll try both K2 builds.

The Kit Fox is a light, and the build you propose seems slow for something mounting a Gauss on top of low armor.

[CrazyWorm9]

SHD-2K

running with 3 ER Large Lasers ignoring the missile and utilizing 5jj for maneuverability and adding full armor(edit on core primary areas) makes a decent sniper able to fully utilize the battlefield and the other variants of shadowhawks run multiple successful builds with a range of capabilities

Edited by CrazyWorm, 21 April 2015 - 03:48 PM.

[Repasy Cooper]

YuGiOhMonster, on 21 April 2015 - 03:34 PM, said:

I'll try both K2 builds.

The Kit Fox is a light, and the build you propose seems slow for something mounting a Gauss on top of low armor.

It's true that the build doesn't look great on paper, but in practice I've had great success with the build.

Also, running a gauss on a light makes you look pretty cool.

Edited by Repasy, 21 April 2015 - 03:47 PM.

[bad arcade kitty]

if you want to take a gauss kfx you can keep her ecm
kfx can take uac-10 in the right kfx-s torso, but no gauss sadly so you should use kfx-c left arm
it would be pretty limited on gauss ammo ofc, 1-2 tonns

a double large laser sniper kfx with a targeting comp and plenty of other stuff (jump jets, 4 mg, or an active probe and/or a 3rd laser etc) is probably better anyway

[xMintaka]

Repasy, on 21 April 2015 - 03:27 PM, said:

Also, if you're looking for a cheap Clantech sniper option, try the Kit Fox A. Just modify the prime variant as follows:

KFX-A

YuGiOhMonster, on 21 April 2015 - 03:34 PM, said:

The Kit Fox is a light, and the build you propose seems slow for something mounting a Gauss on top of low armor.

Repasy, on 21 April 2015 - 03:46 PM, said:

It's true that the build doesn't look great on paper, but in practice I've had great success with the build.

Also, running a gauss on a light makes you look pretty cool.

Repasy is correct. Making a psuedo KFX-A will teach you a great deal about sniping, in no small part due to the lack of armour. I run the build on my -D variant and it's one of my favourite mechs to play.

But it is absolutely not a good build for a beginner. This C-ERLL sniper Kit Fox would be far better suited to a newer player.
I run this on my KFX-Prime(G) to great effect.

Both are much more suited to a new player. They allow you to make more mistakes than the Guass Fox and teach you to protect your right arm at all costs, Notice how I stack the ECM, Targetting Comp and DHS on the right side of the mech? The entire left side is expendable if need be.


You need to give us more information though OP, before we can suggest builds/mechs that suit you. What trials do you enjoy piloting, or do you own that K2?

[Gagis]

How about Raven 3L with 2 ERLL? It's pretty convenient for a mech you can afford with the cadet bonus.

[Repasy Cooper]

Lunatech, on 21 April 2015 - 03:56 PM, said:

Repasy is correct. Making a psuedo KFX-A will teach you a great deal about sniping, in no small part due to the lack of armour. I run the build on my -D variant and it's one of my favourite mechs to play.

But it is absolutely not a good build for a beginner. This C-ERLL sniper Kit Fox would be far better suited to a newer player.
I run this on my KFX-Prime(G) to great effect.

Both are much more suited to a new player. They allow you to make more mistakes than the Guass Fox and teach you to protect your right arm at all costs, Notice how I stack the ECM, Targetting Comp and DHS on the right side of the mech? The entire left side is expendable if need be.


You need to give us more information though OP, before we can suggest builds/mechs that suit you. What trials do you enjoy piloting, or do you own that K2?

I like your beginner's build man, that's smart. Stacking all the good stuff in the right arm would definitely prepare them for the gauss build.

[Koniving]

YuGiOhMonster, on 21 April 2015 - 03:34 PM, said:

I'll try both K2 builds.

The Kit Fox is a light, and the build you propose seems slow for something mounting a Gauss on top of low armor.

Kit foxes cannot move any faster. It's a trait of Omnimechs.

The availability of the C left arm is limited, but...Kitfox. Much more forward armor. That is actually the stock armor of the Jagermech S, a 65 ton anti-aircraft mech as well as the stock armor of the urbanmech.

Here's my own recommendation, if the Kitfox-C has become available for Cbills. Twin ER LL. MGs + SPL backup. ECM, and triple AMS to stop missiles from bugging your allies.

Edited by Koniving, 21 April 2015 - 04:34 PM.

[bad arcade kitty]

>The availability of the C left arm is limited

isn't it free for c-bills since the last patch

it should be, but i didn't play yet

Edited by bad arcade kitty, 21 April 2015 - 04:31 PM.

[TercieI]

bad arcade kitty, on 21 April 2015 - 04:30 PM, said:

>The availability of the C left arm is limited

isn't it free for c-bills since the last patch

it should be, but i didn't play yet

Yep. CB as of this afternoon.

[JC Daxion]

well catapults really need an XL engine.. For a sniper i would recommend the XL-280, but if you wanna shave a bit of weight, you can go with an XL-265, its what i run in my C4, and i do use it in a bunch of other mechs as well.

with the XL, you can swap over to dual PPC's + your dual AC-5's and add an extra 2-3 tons of AC-5 ammo.. This was a really popular build a while back. (i'm guessing 2 summers ago, it was a big meta mech back then) Now it still works good since quirks, but people kinda forgot about it, or just others work a bit better, but still it is a very good mech. Of course you can always try the Dual Gauss Cat build, which is a decent mech as well. As a sniper i would think both would be worth playing, if you are into Catapults.

I enjoy catapults, the jester is a nice energy boat, but the thunder bolt 5SS will do it a bit better damage wise but the Jester is more maneuverable, and dual AMS can be nice, As for the C1, verse C4, i like the C1 better, but the C4 i seem to do a bit better in. If you like LRM's they are fun mechs. I have never played the A1.. But it tends to learn towards SRM builds, or, 6 LRM'5sm but i just don't like the idea of all the weapons in the arms on a Cat, they are kinda easy to knock off, at least the others, you still can have torso weapons if you do loose both arms, you are not useless.

The C4, also can do some nice SRM builds with a couple of Medium pulse lasers for pin-point. Though i run mine with dual LRM20's a pair of streaks and a pair of ML's. It works pretty good as far as cats go, more of a nitch mech if ya ask me.


I say all this extra as you need 3 chassis to unlock the elite level skills, which are a big help. But really it is hard to go wrong with the K2.


all that said, Cicada's make pretty good snipers, Both the 3C, and 3M really excel. the 3C with a quirked to the moon ERPPC, with 4 machine guns for close range end of the match shreading, and the 3M which can run Dual ERPPC's, or PPC's or Large lasers, or even an AC-5, or combo's, and has ECM. They also only cost about 3 mill, but even with full upgrades, and picking up an XL-300 engine it is gonna come in right around your price range. the extra 5 tons does wonders for inner sphere sniping. Really a great mech when ya get down to it, and a great sniper. It won't put out the damage of a K2, or heavier sniper, but the speed more than makes up for it.

Edited by JC Daxion, 21 April 2015 - 06:11 PM.

[bad arcade kitty]

xl-280 costs 4.5 mln though and raises the cost of the snipercat to 13 mln

Edited by bad arcade kitty, 21 April 2015 - 06:14 PM.

[xMintaka]

Repasy, on 21 April 2015 - 04:23 PM, said:

I like your beginner's build man, that's smart. Stacking all the good stuff in the right arm would definitely prepare them for the gauss build.

I'll be honest and say that wasn't my thought process. I play the Kit Fox a lot, and if there's one thing I learned in all that time it's that your right arm is more important than the rest of the mech. Purely because of the ECM. It's such a tremendous help the team that it makes sense to stack everything in the location you're going protect til the very end.

Edit: The above is why I don't get along with the Mist Lynx ECM builds.. It's a toss up between protecting your main weapons arm, or your ECM arm. So the simpler option is just forgo ECM completely, which makes a bad mech worse.

Of course, there's the added benefit of forcing you to learn to torso twist and roll damage effectively. Which makes you a better player all round.

Edited by Lunatech, 21 April 2015 - 06:23 PM.

[TheCaptainJZ]

The bigger question is what weapons do you want to snipe with?

[Repasy Cooper]

TheCaptainJZ, on 21 April 2015 - 09:24 PM, said:

The bigger question is what weapons do you want to snipe with?

True. When I mentioned the KFX-A, I was sensitive to the fact that he had both lasers and ballistics on his build, and tried to find a cheap option with a similar loadout type but with a slight twist (being it's a light mech and not a heavy).

If he's working with heavier mechs primarily, like the Katapult, then the Jagermech is a great option. I would suggest the JM6-A, it has good quirks and hardpoints for ballistic sniper mechs. You can convert it into a dual gauss sniper with adequate ammo for a full match. Even after maxing upgrades, this option should fit the budget of 9 - 10 million C-bills.

EDIT:

OR, if you're able to go 1 mill over budget, the Mad Dog C is an optimized sniper right out of the box, no customization required (with the exception of low hardpoints - some people won't like that at all). And later on, you could still customize the omnipods to fit the mech for other roles, if sniping role gets tiresome.

Edited by Repasy, 21 April 2015 - 10:03 PM.

[TheCaptainJZ]

My 1st choice would be the Jagermech for gauss. I don't have enough experience with clan mechs to make much of a judgement call on them but for sniping, you ideally want high mounted hardpoints. A shadowhawk would be another well designed mech for sniping, but in a different weight class.

[Elizander]

YuGiOhMonster, on 21 April 2015 - 03:13 PM, said:

Hello.

I have a bit of experience playing the game.

I'm aiming to build a capable sniper using only the cadet bonus money. The build should not exceed 9-10 million.

Here's what I am thinking of currently:
CPLT-K2

What do you think?

While I like the K2 and all, if you want a sniper you might be better off with a ER LL Raven, Blackjack (BJ-1DC has 15% energy range), Shadow Hawk 2K (3 high mounted ERLL are better than 2 ER LL + 2 low mount ACs) or Jagermechs.

The thing is that you won't be able to use the AC5s effectively if you are playing a proper sniper (hillhumper) because you'll have to expose most of your mech to fire them. If you'll just use 2 ER LL most of the time going in a Raven (can bring ECM with 3L or extreme +30% energy range with 4x) or Blackjack while freeing up a heavy mech slot on the team. The Shadowhawk also brings 3 ERLL high mount. Jagers obviously are the dual gauss variety. A few of those other mechs can also bring JJs and having a couple will help get you up those hills quicker so you can start laserhumping.

[xengk]

YuGiOhMonster, on 21 April 2015 - 03:13 PM, said:

Hello.

I have a bit of experience playing the game.

I'm aiming to build a capable sniper using only the cadet bonus money. The build should not exceed 9-10 million.

Here's what I am thinking of currently:
CPLT-K2

What do you think?

I would go for a BJ-3.
2x ERLL for sniping.
4x ML offers formidable defence upclose.
Stock STD 180 engine gives you the same speed as the stock STD 260 on the Catapult.
Comes upgraded with DHS so you save 1.5mil CBills.
Access to Jump Jets for more manoeuvrability for getting to sniping position.

The build is 3mil CBills cheaper and you don't have to wait in line to get in the heavy queue.

Feel free to upgrade to PPC.

Edited by xengk, 21 April 2015 - 11:48 PM.