77 replies to this topic

[oldradagast]

Based upon the number of games played and hours in each mech:

1) Hunchback 4G: Big AC20 build, Standard 250, and all the usual stuff. A classic Note that I'm lumping the 4H in here, too, since it was identical to the 4G in load-out until the Quirks came and changed how each played.

2) Awesome 8V: Surprised at this one, but it's not bad (for an Awesome.) Usually run with a huge SRM punch.

3) Atlas D: A bit of guess here. This mech is the only one I still own from before they reset the stats sometime after open Beta began, and I'm a bit too lazy to add up the before and after numbers, but it's been used a lot. Loadouts vary, but often runs with 2 ballistics (AC5, UAC5) to keep pressure on at a distance.

4) Jagers (S or DD): A near tie here. Both good mechs with lots of guns. Load-outs have varied a lot over the years, though usually with a lot of small guns. I think I've played less than 10 games in an AC40 - I hated it.

5) Banshee 3E: Triple AC5's and some other energy weapons. A relative new mech compared to some of the others, but rising in the ranks for number of games played.

[EX S]

Urbanmech: Surprisingly effective, especially given that I thought it would be completely unusable. Love the dakka from the UAC5, and have tried similar builds on other mechs with significantly smaller returns. There's something magical about the Urbie.

Nova: Horrid mech, but a lot of fun to use and doesn't perform irredeemably badly in pugs. Boating so many lasers just feels so right.

Blackjack: Specifically the BJ 1X. Mega quirks make for some good laser vomit.

Locust: Probably my all time favorite next to the Urbie. It's thrilling to constantly be on the verge of death. Every move is a risky move with the Locust, and it rewards thoughtful play which is always a plus.

King Crab: Feels like piloting a battleship. AC20/SRM/LL rhythm makes KGC the most musically talented mech I have ever played.

[Clit Beastwood]

DONTOR, on 24 April 2015 - 09:34 AM, said:

That was my runner up too! Except I believe it can be good.

heh yeah had some wicked games - I just see it as very "niche" - a good mech is one I can always rely on.

[Muffinator]

Centurion CN9-A "Shooty"
3 ASRM4, 2 ML, SRM4 cooldown module
My fast, maneuverable brawler - specialises in darting in and out of combat delivering SRMS to your back.

Atlas DD-C "Optimus"
The old, old meta build still never lets me down. AC20, 3 SRM6, 2ML. Does what I need when I need to stomp face.

Hunchback 4-G
AC20, 2ML. Liking him more and more - when played cautiously he performs surprisingly well, darting out and popping AC20s at things

Trebuchet 7-M "Boatie"
1 ALRM15, 3ML, LRM15 cooldown module, shitton of ammo
The cooldown quirks and module let me have 3-4 salvos in the air at a time. He is a lightweight missile boat who often does 800 damage in a round (and no kills). Once the LRMs are spent I am still effective with 3ML and jumpjets.

Jagermech JM6-DD "Blammo"
2 AC20, 2 SL (I use a standard engine for more survivability). This guy is cheese on a stick but still so much fun blowing clanners to bits with a few salvos. I love imagining the pilot of that expensive timberwolf cursing as his mech lies smoking in front of me.

[Bishop Steiner]

Wintersdark, on 24 April 2015 - 03:56 PM, said:

There's lots of HBK players, I think, because it's such a classic mech and the "You should start with the Hunchback" advice for most new players for years.

It's a good example of how quirks have issues, though, that what was once the "best" Hunchback, the 4SP, is now probably the least used. It lacks the "huge hunch" vulnerability, but also lacks the OMG OUCH factor the other hunchies have.

I've got a similar issue with my 4P. Back in the day, my HBK-4P would have headed up this list; it was one of the first Mediums that really "clicked" for me, but for some reason now it just doesn't work for me anymore. I'm not sure if this is due to balance changes with quirks, my own play style changes, or my medium Elo climbing, or what... But it just doesn't seem to gel with me anymore.


So... yeah. The 4G. It's a beast now, and definitely on my "don't leave behind" list. Standard build, smaller STD(225?) engine. My Yen Lo Wang, though? XL255, AC20, Large Pulse Laser. 90 KPH, 31pt strike, with a longer reach than your standard ML/MPL Wangs.

Yeah, I sut cant do a slow wang. Range isn't an issue for me. I want in and out, and that extra engine rating make same that much faster to twist and protect my AC20. My CGBI one though did run a 280XL, and and ERLL. But it was mostly an experiment. Worked ok though.

[Wintersdark]

Bishop Steiner, on 24 April 2015 - 06:16 PM, said:

Yeah, I sut cant do a slow wang. Range isn't an issue for me. I want in and out, and that extra engine rating make same that much faster to twist and protect my AC20. My CGBI one though did run a 280XL, and and ERLL. But it was mostly an experiment. Worked ok though.

Well, I suppose that depends on your definition of "Slow" - even a 255 will run you at 90.6kph, after all, which is a perfectly cromulent striker speed in my books

[Johny Rocket]

Kintaro 18(C) and Stalker 3F tie for number one,
The KTO I run 1 erll and 5xlrm5 Baps and an xl300 (Heat of 1.38 with 1 double heatsink in the engine, crazy, rarely overheats)
Highly underated mech by the community. Posted a vid of this one so will brag now, I wrecked a pair of Timbergods back to back in this mech, 1 I chased a quarter of the way around the map until I ran him down and murdered him and his buddy who was all yellow I wiped out in less than 30 sec with the help of a teammate with a LL.
For a 55 tonner this thing takes punishment and hardly ever has a ST death. Takes up to an Xl360 but hits 97.7kph with the xl300.

The 3F 4xerll and 2xlrm5 STD300. I'm sure I need give no reason for this mountain of nastiness being #1. But if you want 1, it has more yaw by 30deg than any other STK, It just won't die and can knife fight lights at kissing range, try and circle me bro I like cheap kills (they always learn the hard way, I bait them in with the lrms hehehe)

Both are master tier with modules.

Raven 3L with ecm and 2 erll don't remember which engine I had in it but I think it was an xl275. Scout Sniper death machine.

#3 really has to go to 4 mechs because they are basically variations of the same build, its the build I like but no fondness for any of the mechs otherwise.
The build is 2xerll and small tubes adding to Lrm20
Hunchback 4J 2xerll 2xlrm10 xl210 (that came in the Raven)
Orion Va 2xerll 4xlrm5 Xl360
Kintaro 19 2xerll 4xlrm5 Baps xl300 (this is the mech that i came up with this build on)
Shadowhawk 2D2 2xerll 4xlrm5 Xl285 3x JJ IV

Jenner 3F(C) I suck at fighting with this mech I just like to fly around the map at 152kph jumping over everything. Only play it in Conquest and rock out the caps.

Stalker 5M 1 erll 2xlrm10 3xlrm 5 tag and a STD 255. Still my bottom ***** for grubbing cbills but number 5 because its a slow slow lrm boat that's best played in the backfield. 250m brawling with the KTO 18 has so ruined me for the backfield play unless its their backfield.
Ole Thunder here gets in the list anyway just for the 1000+ dmg matches it has given me.

Edited by Tractor Joe, 24 April 2015 - 06:30 PM.

[Bishop Steiner]

Wintersdark, on 24 April 2015 - 06:18 PM, said:

Well, I suppose that depends on your definition of "Slow" - even a 255 will run you at 90.6kph, after all, which is a perfectly cromulent striker speed in my books

but still 17 kph slower than the "One True Wang". But like I said, for me, the big difference, for my playstyle is the twist speed. I needs it!

[XX Sulla XX]

Well I like the TW and then some times I take the TW and then other times I take a TW.

[TripleEhBeef]

1. Hunchback 4P.
"NOW WITNESS THE FIREPOWER OF THIS FULLY ARMED AND OPERATIONAL BATTLEMECH!" Downright my favourite Hunchback. When you feel like Grand Moff Tarkin every time you alpha right through some guy's back, you know you're in a fun mech.

2. Hunchback 4G.
That AC20 makes you feel like you can take on anything. Obliterating a pesky light with a single hit to the shoulder is soooooo satisfying. It's a ridge poking, corner peeking, torso twisting bruiser.

3. Orion VA.
Maybe it is badly scaled with funky hitboxes. Maybe it isn't, and will never be "meta". So be it. But a lot of people underestimate it in a short range brawl. In those situations, you can remind the other guy why they used to call it a baby Atlas.

4. Commando 1B.
Drilling people with your lasers as you streak by at 171 kph is an experience. I'm surprised I haven't seen a Firestarter riding an ACME Rocket Cart behind me.

MEEP MEEP!

5. Trebuchet 5J.
It's been some time since I had a Treb in the garage, and I never liked this guy when I first was going through the chassis. But I wanted to add an LRM mech to the stable, so I figured a fast, jumpy mech with lots of backup lasers would fit me like a glove. I was right. No sitting at 900 meters chaining fivers, this guy's bopping and weaving on the line blasting mechs with lasers and a fistful of missiles.

[SilentSooYun]

I mostly played long ago, so most of my "favourite" Mechs are quite dated by today's meta. So, by order of appearance:

CPLT-C1(F) "Magic" My "first" Mech, just plain fun to play... in a nostalgic sorta way.

CTF-3D(C) "Mr. Monster" Lateral upgrade from my non-Champ 3D. Quite versatile, though I wish my JJ still worked.

CN9-AH(L) "Decima" When the AH was first introduced as the "placeholder Wang", I wrote it off for being too ammo dependent. I'm not too proud to admit I was wrong... just needed to learn how to play better. Centy's are still one of my all-time favourite chassis, due to versatility and Alex's brilliant visual redesign.

KGC-000(L) "King Cool" Was supposed to be named something with a bit more gravitas, but the call letters kept overriding my brain. Extremely versatile with an awesome presence. Very fun in my "fiddler crab" configuration.

UM-R60 "Urbie the Love Mech" Okay, so the whole name doesn't actually fit in-game, but that's his name anyways, dammit One of the only Lights I can play without performance issues, and the perfect blend of cute and effective.

Also rans:
PNT-10K® "TomCat", AS7-D(F) "Bulgasari", ZEU-6T "Rodket Nife"

[Bishop Steiner]

TripleEhBeef, on 24 April 2015 - 07:13 PM, said:

1. Hunchback 4P.
"NOW WITNESS THE FIREPOWER OF THIS FULLY ARMED AND OPERATIONAL BATTLEMECH!" Downright my favourite Hunchback. When you feel like Grand Moff Tarkin every time you alpha right through some guy's back, you know you're in a fun mech.

2. Hunchback 4G.
That AC20 makes you feel like you can take on anything. Obliterating a pesky light with a single hit to the shoulder is soooooo satisfying. It's a ridge poking, corner peeking, torso twisting bruiser.

3. Orion VA.
Maybe it is badly scaled with funky hitboxes. Maybe it isn't, and will never be "meta". So be it. But a lot of people underestimate it in a short range brawl. In those situations, you can remind the other guy why they used to call it a baby Atlas.

4. Commando 1B.
Drilling people with your lasers as you streak by at 171 kph is an experience. I'm surprised I haven't seen a Firestarter riding an ACME Rocket Cart behind me.

MEEP MEEP!

5. Trebuchet 5J.
It's been some time since I had a Treb in the garage, and I never liked this guy when I first was going through the chassis. But I wanted to add an LRM mech to the stable, so I figured a fast, jumpy mech with lots of backup lasers would fit me like a glove. I was right. No sitting at 900 meters chaining fivers, this guy's bopping and weaving on the line blasting mechs with lasers and a fistful of missiles.

VA is probably my favorite IS HEavy in game. Mine packs a 340xl, 4x SRM4 and an ac10. Still holds my highest damage (1372) and kills (9) though in separate matches. Might not impress the High Elo Comp teams, but when you're living the PUGlife, it can be pretty dang potent.

[Fleeb the Mad]

1) AWS-8R -2x Large Laser + 4x SRM 6. I hold it so very dearly. She was a harsh mistress, in the early days. Being an Awesome pilot, let alone an Awesome brawler, was a point of both pride and madness. Even now there's nothing sweeter than taking a mech so painfully maligned, finding its strengths and pushing them to best effect. It's still hard to do well consistently, but I can't retire my 8R. Because no matter the difficulty, there is nothing sweeter than bringing down a Dire Wolf or a Timber Wolf in single combat.

2) Stalker-3F - While I dearly love my 8R, the Stalker was the first mech that I felt fit me like a glove. Always so giddy at its sheer number of guns before the coming of the Clans. It was a joy to pilot since the first time I tried it. Weapons are near stock, with more SRMs instead of LRMs. It is a blessed point-blank death blimp, it is the quintessential assault mech and I shall always keep it close.

3) King Crab-000 - They couldn't take my money fast enough when it was out for MC, I'll admit. It was worth it. I find I retreat back to it after frustrating matches, when I feel like I need to make a bigger difference. Either as an AC/20 brawler or a quad uAC/5 dakkamech. It is the one meta configuration I allow myself, because it is so much guilty fun. It is a mighty vehicle, worthy of its crown.

4) AWS-8Q - If I'm honest with myself and look at matches played, this mech marks fourth amongst my favourites. I struggled to do well in it since the coming of the Stalker, but never the less I keep coming back to it. I learned to brawl in my 8R and knowing how to counter its weaknesses served me well in my 8Q. Sometimes I look at other mechs and wonder if they don't do the Awesome's job better, quirks or no. Faster, tougher, better hitboxes. But for some reason it never matters. They cannot replace my Awesome.

5) Stormcrow C- uAC/20 and 5 ER Med lasers. I've moved the configuration around to all my Stormcrows as I skilled them up. I have no touch for maneuverable mechs, though I found this one hit all the right notes for me. Its tough enough that it can survive a mistake or two from my assault pilot clumsiness, while carrying enough weapons to make me feel like I can fight anything.

[Damocles]

1) HBK-4SP Hunchback 'Satyr'
I have been running this guy since closed beta and my KD/R with it before that first wipe was something I look back fondly on . It's a groundbound Starslayer 2LL, 2ML, 1 SL SRM4.

2) AWS-8Q Awesome 'Luna'
3 PPCs 4 MLs, AMS, BAP all stuffed into a barn painted up in a red/white dazzle camo? It's walking chaos.

3) QKD-5K Quickdraw 'Leadsuit'
I like to run fast. I like to appear where the enemy doesn't expect me and reappear where he doesn't want me to be. I frequently outrun my team and push headlong into opportunities that I imagine would lead to glory. 106kph heavy cav mech got me covered. JJs. ( ) 3LL and 2ML makes mostly for a good vulture.

4) AS7-RS Atlas 'Iron Chin'
Between this and my founders Atlas, I've somehow always leaned towards the RS. I've run many builds through it but right now goin with 2 LPL 2 ML AC20 BAP STD 340 keeps me movin.

5) Nova (Prime)
Of all the Clan mechs I purchased (wave 2 and some ala cart W1), this was my first purchase with C-bills and it's the omni I keep coming back to after a bad drop. Prime.

Edited by Damocles, 24 April 2015 - 08:00 PM.

[Mavairo]

Dragon. Fang. Seriously, yes the Fang. LPLs and AC10. I don't know if it's the serious arm articulation the thing has going for it compared to alot of other mechs, or just because I tend to think more carefully about shot placement, but between my battlefield performance in one, and the fact it gives me +30% cbills... It's always on the field.

Thunderbolt 5S. I actually own two of these. One I named Big Daddy (I"m not even sure why... but I even have a theme song picked for it too. ) It was originally armed with 2 ML 2 LL 2SRM6 2MG, before quirks were a thing. It stayed with that armament, until recently. Big Daddy got a retrofit recently moving over to MPLs LPLs, and SRM4s and yes still MGs.

The second variant I call Moonraker, armed with 4 LL and 2 SRM4s.

The 5S was the first non Dragon, non catapult heavy I piloted. And with STD engines. This..and the fact that I got it as a Phoenix Bolt (again Cbills come into play here) it's actually my primary mech.

Battlemaster 1G. Armed with MPLs, and LL. The phoenix battlemaster is reasonably quick (moves at like 73), and has a decent punch, and good armor. Again it makes money via cbills too. added bonus. The Battlemaster is the first assault mech I ever felt comfortable in.

Atlas DDC. UAC5 AC10, 2ML, 2SRM6, 1 SRM4 in it's original config... now with triple SRM4s.

Dragon 1C. That's right a second Dragon. This one's due for a refit, but right now it's armed with an AC10, 2LL, 2ML, and moves at 95 kph. It moves at 95... and has a 38 alpha.

[Eider]

The hunchback.. i hate it.. because i love it so much. Spoils you on everything from weapon locations to your own hitboxes mixed with speed.

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

1. Quickdraw 5K
2. Centurion AH
3. Timber Wolf-PRIME
4. Trebuchet 7K
5. Dragon 1N(5N before the quirks)

[Bows3r]

#1: Dire Wolf S, the Dire Wolf has defined the meta due to its sheer power since its introduction, and the S is no exception, adding jumpjets to an already powerful chassis. 2 Gauss Rifles 2 LPL 3 ML and a JJ. Fantastic 'mech for comp play and the meta in general. I'm a DireWolf pilot in comp, so only makes sense to me to list it for my favorite.

#2: Timber Wolf C, like the Dire Wolf, it has shaped the since its introduction for a good reason. Extremely versatile, able to adapt perfectly to the meta, and even runs bad less optimized builds with success. 5 ML and a Gauss Rifle puts out good mid ranged DPS with a high alpha, and it runs pretty cool to boot.

#3: Stormcrow Prime, like the Timber Wolf and Dire Wolf, has really shaped the meta since its inception, most medium 'mechs have to be compared to the Stormcrow, that's how powerful it is. 1 Gauss 4 ML, 1 LPL 5 ML, 2 ER LL 3 ML, all put out a fantastic mid range alpha strike for a medium, while running fairly cool. Personally I prefer the Gauss 4 ML, but all 3 are very effective.

#4: Jagermech-S, has been somewhat of a competitive staple for a significant amount of time, even with the powercreep that's been happening lately, it still has the DPS to keep up. I prefer running 2 Gauss on my Jagermech-S, but 2 AC/20 and 2 AC/5 2 AC/2 all work well enough. The latter able to put out some serious DPS at longer ranges. Also the Jagermech has been a master hill-humper since its inception, and that ability combined with its DPS allows the Jagermech to retain a spot in competitive play; albeit of decreasing significance.

#5: Dragon-1N, was absolutely horrible not even a year ago, but now has been turned into the definition of glass cannon. Ignore it, and you'll lose, but take off the easy to hit from most angles arm, and it is instantly neutered. 2 AC/5 2 ML XL-300 does the trick for me, it's a strong 'mech in firing lines, but take it to a brawl and you'll get stomped quick. It's decent in comp, but really its too fragile to be truely viable. However it's excellent for stomping bad puggies, and excellent for grinding c-bills as a result.