25 replies to this topic

[Zirac]

Hiya

Fairly new player here. I think I've figured out my favourite role is as a Light Mech Sniper but I need some help deciding which chassis to invest in.

I have found 2 ER Large Lasers to work pretty well. I also like using ER PPC's

think I've narrowed it down to the following:

Spider 5D = JJ's + ECM
Mist Lynx C = JJ's + ECM
Mist Lynx B = JJ's + Missile Hardpoint (not sure how useful missiles would be *shrug*)
Raven 3L = ECM + awesome high mounted Lasers
Firestarter = (dunno which one is best or if any of them would work as snipers?)
Jenner = (again, dunno which is best, or if any of them can be good snipers?)

ADDED: or the Raven 4X = JJ's + awesome high mounted Laser

basically anything that can use 2 ER Large Lasers, 2 ER PPC's, or one of each

I also consider Jump Jets pretty important, and ECM is pretty freakin' awesome, so having both would be great.

At the moment it looks like either the Spider 5D or the Mist Lynx C is what I should go for, as they have at least 2 Laser hardpoints + ECM and JJ's.

Is it better to go the clan route and get the Mist Lynx so I don't die if one of the shoulders gets destroyed? + omnipods sound awesome. But the Spider has more armour... I just don't want to make a bad purchase again!

Edited by Zirac, 29 April 2015 - 01:12 AM.

[Gagis]

Clan lights are very slow and as such very awkward to use.

I recommend the raven 3L, since it has a very high engine cap for insane speeds, asymmetrical high mounted hardpoints, decent quirks, ECM and enough free tonnage to use all this effectively. Only downside is the lack of Jump Jets, but I'd say the trade-off is worth it.

[Anunknownlurker]

First of all, welcome to the game! For long range sniping it is hard to beat the Raven 3L +2 ERLLs. It has a great combination of speed, stealth and hitting power. The trouble with the Spider 5D is it's a real struggle to fit in 2 large lasers, ECM and enough DHS to keep you firing. Don't know if you use it but check out smurfy's mechlab to test builds.

[Koniving]

Welcome to MWO.

I'll be watching you...from the water.

For Firestarters while you could do ER LL or PPCs, I recommend making a Hollander out of one.

(A second one, just because).

Ravens

Spoiler

well the 4X I use as a glorified 35 ton Hunchback (1 AC/20, 3 tons of ammo, a small laser, some jumpjets, and enough frontal armor that I can tank some AC/20 rounds fired at me).

Yes, the ever famous Raven image above is, in fact, my AC/20 Raven. Below is the same 'Mech with the updated weapon models.


The 2X I pack twin PPCs on alongside a TAG.


The 3L I threw some flamers and streaks on. I mean why not?

Come back here, I just wanna be friends!

Jenners?

Spoiler

I'd say it depends on their quirks. I favor the Jenner F, however. 6 energy slots. I use a single ER PPC, a single TAG, and 4 ML to great effectiveness. Yes my 'Mech is slow but that's fine, I use assault mechs as portable cover.

Spiders?

Spoiler

I found them to be super useful.


I also like Spiders for AC and Gauss Rifle sniping as well.

I haven't used Mist Lynxes as snipers. I'm not sure how they would turn out.

But remember: Flamer Raven is bestest Raven.

(Flamers are not actually a good idea in MWO; it isn't a useful weapon in the traditional sense. It is however, a good sign of someone playing the game for fun or trying to make things more challenging. They also lag the living crap out of slower computers -- so they can be awesome in that regard!)

All screenshots here are taken by Lordred. Every screenshot has Koniving within the screen, typically the brightest, most colored or most patterned mech in each image.

Good luck, and honestly I recommend experimenting with the weapons.

[Elizander]

I'd go with the 4X just for the range and you can go 510m with 2 LPLs if you want a semi-brawler. The 2X is fun with regular LL.

[Zirac]

Hi!

So the Raven beats the Spider due to speed and more tonnage?

How fast should a sniper be, exactly? I built 2 quick tests in the smurfy lab:

Spider-5D
Raven-3L

Are those builds totally wrong? I reeeeeally like the Spider having both JJ and ECM... also I would imagine he is harder to hit, being smaller, and having actual arms?

thx for help!

P.S. What do you mean by "asymmetrical high mounted hardpoints"?

EDIT: I changed the builds. Realized better engines = better than adding more Heat Sinks

Edited by Zirac, 29 April 2015 - 02:04 AM.

[Gagis]

Here is how I run mine: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...9f046281cb39e51

It runs a bit hot, but in a hit-and-run type situation you should not end up cooking yourself. The heat comes up mostly when trying to blow up generators in CW.

[Elizander]

Snipers don't have to be too fast in my experience. You need to reposition but if you try to go top speed you won't have space or heatsinks for the guns you need.

At most I try to make do with a 250XL or 255XL engine to get the maximum amount of double heat sinks in the engine and then supplement my energy weapons with a few more extra DHS.

It's easy to go fast with 10 DHS from the engine but your overall damage will be hampered by your need to cool off. If you have a highly aggressive playstyle, you will need more DHS.

Edited by Elizander, 29 April 2015 - 01:57 AM.

[Anachronda]

I love my spider 5D. It's pretty versatile and spiders are fast as heck. I think they are the second fastest mech in the game (locust is faster but has way less armor and less weapons). Plus, they can have a bunch of jump jets so you can decide how high you wanna go. You noticed the ECM already, which is essential for a sniper as are jump jets. You need those to get up high, or to poptart, whichever floats your boat. I have found taking a spider up high where people can't reach is a good way to snipe. Especially on tourmaline desert, those spires, or on Alpine peaks.

[Anachronda]

Zirac, on 29 April 2015 - 01:51 AM, said:

P.S. What do you mean by "asymmetrical high mounted hardpoints"?

Hardpoints for weapons that are high up are really good for snipers because it means you have to expose less of your mech to fire. The smaller the target you are, the harder you are to hit, and the less of your mech that is exposed, the less it can be damaged.

[Anunknownlurker]

Speed is the sniper's friend as it allows you to both get into position and relocate quickly. It also allows you to run if (when!) some Firestarter, Huginn or other fast, light brawler tries to hunt you down. But, as with everything in this game, it is a compromise between speed, resilience and firepower.

Regarding your builds -the Spider is missing a heat sink so is not valid. It's hard squeezing everything into that tiny chassis.

Symmetrical hard points - hard points (weapon mounts etc) spread equally on both sides of a chassis. The advantage being you can lose an arm/side torso and still fight.
Asymmetrical hard points - most/all weapons on one side/arm of a chassis. The advantage being you can use the unarmed side/arm to shield. The disadvantage is pretty obvious

[Zirac]

Ya, it is really hard for me to decide between the Raven 3L and Spider 5D. I've piloted both in trial versions, and they both have their strong points.

For the Raven, it's definitely easier to snipe with, due to the really nice placement of the lasers... but not having JJ's for mountain climbing or quick re-positioning seems... difficult to work with. Of course, on the bright side, I might be a little less crazy if I didn't have jump jets (I literally just got shot in the back by a sneaky Dire Wolf because I overextended - thinking my JJ's would save me).

For the Spider, I just love having JJ's AND ECM on 1 chassis... but the firing points in the arms mean you have to expose yourself a bit more. But then again, the arms protect your torso better than the Raven I think? Of course the Raven has a bit more armour... lol.

Goodness, how to choose, how to choose! I'm almost done saving, (although the Raven seems to be like 13million credits -.- so it will take longer.



@Jimmy DiGriz "Regarding your builds -the Spider is missing a heat sink so is not valid. It's hard squeezing everything into that tiny chassis."

What do you mean? Like... it looks like it works on the website, but it won't work in-game?

Edited by Zirac, 29 April 2015 - 02:20 AM.

[Gagis]

Zirac, on 29 April 2015 - 01:51 AM, said:

P.S. What do you mean by "asymmetrical high mounted hardpoints"?

Assymmetrical in the sense that all of your weapons are on the same side of the mech, so you can shield with the other side or corner peek while exposing only a small part of your mech.

This is only a small perk in a light mech, but in heavies and assaults making asymmetrical fits that have shield sides is often very good.

[Anunknownlurker]

If you check the build on Smurfy's you'll see "Heatsinks 9" to the left with the 9 in red. This indicates an invalid build.

I run the Raven 3L myself and with the Advanced Zoom and Seismic Sensor modules installed (very expensive but I got the Sensor from an event!) you can stay at distance to snipe and spot those sneaky sniper-hunters before they get you.

For what it is worth I would highly recommend the Raven; it's good fun to drive and annoying as hell for the enemy - you can get a lot of attention from them and, adding that to your spotting and damage exp, you can have a real effect on the game - I am not saying you can't be effective in the Spider (never driven one) but I do know what the RVN-3L is capable of. I don't miss the JJs (I use them on other chassis) you just have to adjust your positioning to make up for not having any.

Good luck whichever you choose.

P.S. @Gagis - asymmetrical isn't so useful on a light, agreed, but high weapon mounts are, especially on something like the Raven with its giant beak as a target. The less time you have to spend with your CT exposed the better

Edited by Jimmy DiGriz, 29 April 2015 - 02:40 AM.

[bad arcade kitty]

consider kit fox, 2 large lasers and ecm + heat sinks and/or something else (targeting comp, ams etc) is one of the most common builds for it

also you can get 2 large lasers, ecm and 4 machine guns... who doesn love machine guns

it also has jump jets and can be built like anything - lurm/srm/streak boat (will have to lose ecm for pure boating but you can get lrm30-35 keeping ecm, it mostly hurts streaks/srms which can be only 2x6 if you keep ecm), laser sniper, laser vomit, ballistic sniper (up to c-uac10 in a very high hardpoint above the cockpit) etc

Edited by bad arcade kitty, 29 April 2015 - 02:51 AM.

[Zirac]

@bad arcade kitty - I definitely know what you mean. I am loving the Machine Guns on the current Spider 5K(C) trial mech, hehe. I am getting way more kills than on most mechs I use.

@everyone who said Raven over the Spider - I think I'm going to take your advice.. so often I cannot snipe properly because of the Spider's low mounted laser. I think the Raven would win that one for my playstyle.

My last question (now that bad arcade kitty brought it up): what about Raven 3L vs Kit Fox?

I rather like having the option to close in for a quick Machine Gun kill (feels awesome, hehe). Is it feasible to do this in a Light Mech as slow as the Kit Fox (107 kph, with tweak)? Also, the Clan Lasers have better range / damage, don't they?

I must admit though, I have a soft spot for Clan Mechs (from the old days)

Edited by Zirac, 29 April 2015 - 03:22 AM.

[Anunknownlurker]

Raven vs Kit Fox - In my opinion these are such different chassis it is almost impossible to compare them. The Kit Fox is more of a light medium, where the Raven is a pure light. The speed/armour/loadout differences are too huge to think of them in the same class. I have a KF (mastered so I have all the Omnipods to select from) and keep trying different builds just for fun.

For me, the size, speed and hard point position on the Raven al give it the advantage as a long range, stealthy sniper. But, the Kit Fox is immense as a support for the fatties; with lls it can camp at the back, providing ECM and cover fire for the LRM boats etc., fit it out with mediums or light ballistic and it can support the heavier brawlers, go Streaks or SRMs and you can make life very hard for the enemy lights harassing your team; It is a good "all-rounder".

The choice of Kit Fox or Raven would simply depend on what role you wish to play (or some Clan/IS bias).

[jss78]

Zirac, on 29 April 2015 - 03:16 AM, said:

My last question (now that bad arcade kitty brought it up): what about Raven 3L vs Kit Fox?

I rather like having the option to close in for a quick Machine Gun kill (feels awesome, hehe). Is it feasible to do this in a Light Mech as slow as the Kit Fox (107 kph, with tweak)? Also, the Clan Lasers have better range / damage, don't they?

I must admit though, I have a soft spot for Clan Mechs (from the old days)

How about something like this Kit Fox? It's the KFX-PRIME with 2xERLL, but with a KFX-C right arm for ECM, and KFX-S side torsi for 2xJJ and 2xMG. There was enough space for a targeting computer (for enhanced laser range and crit. prob.) and a fair number of heat sinks.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...af4679c27c23c94

Caveat -- I haven't tried this one yet, only a pretty similar Kit Fox with ECM + 3xAMS, which does do well in a support role.

Edited by jss78, 29 April 2015 - 03:40 AM.

[Insects]

Raven is the light sniper king.
Remember you will need three types to unlock its full performance.

Others are fun though, Spider lacks punch but offers a lot more dynamic rooftop locations.

Beware the cost of XL engines for lights. They are essential for speed and cooling and cost twice as much as the mech did.
At least IS mechs can share engines, Clans come with fixed XL engine but you have to pay for it in every one which blows out cost.
Forget the clan lights, poop. Upcoming one has potential though.

If you want a Raven the champion for $ is currently a good deal half price, can get it with the cheapest MC pack. It comes with the expensive DHS and Endo upgrades done (I'm pretty sure) plus the golden XL295.
This will save you soooooo much grinding pain early game when every cbill is precious.

Edited by joelmuzz, 29 April 2015 - 04:12 AM.

[Banditman]

There are only two things that keep a light mech alive: Speed and ECM. No matter what weapons you put on it, even some of the really powerful lights, you're only one mistake away from dead. Playing as a "Light Sniper" is not usually the best idea for a newish player. While you're spending time lining up that sweet shot, someone else is lining you up. Playing that type of role takes a lot of battlefield awareness.

One mech you didn't list that does kind of fill this role is the PPC Cicada 3M. It brings ECM, decent speed and PPC's. The reason PPC's are better is because you don't have to slow down or stop to use them. In effect, you aren't taking away the things that keep you alive. The thing you'll have trouble with is those Light mechs that are faster than you. This particular mech is best used alongside several larger mechs that offer more tempting targets. You are providing them with ECM, shielding them from missiles, and they are providing you with something even more valuable: anonymity.