51 replies to this topic

[Xannatharr]

All right folks, I am almost ready to try a dedicated Autocannon mech and I am looking for your thoughts on what chassis to buy.

I'm a relatively new player; I started with Hunchbacks and I have just about gotten three of them to Elite and unlocked Mastery. The hunchies I bought are the 4P (ML boat), 4J (LRMs!) and 4G (A/C 20 Dakka!).

The A/C 20 on the 4G has been great fun and I have found that I have a decent knack for using it and dropping shots on people who think they are in cover. Watching others play, I have been impressed with paired or quadded cannons of various types and I am intrigued by the possibility of making my next mech a cannon boat.

I want some dakkadakkadakkadakkadakka...

Here are the rules:

• Medium, Heavy or Assault
  
• Inner Sphere only
  
• Must have 2 or more cannons

Now help me choose my next mech!



Thanks,

Xann

Edited by Xannatharr, 16 June 2015 - 01:10 PM.

[SnagaDance]

While expensive I think the King Crab could fullfill your wildest dakka dreams. Getting all 3 of them you can make yourself a dual AC/20 version, one with 4 (U)AC 5 and lastly one with 6 AC/2's. The last one may not be very effective except versus those that disregard it but hearing those 6 guns go off is pure bliss.

[Koniks]

Jagermechs. Triple UAC5s at shoulder level.

[YaKillinMeSmalls]

Clearly, the Jagermech is what you are looking for. Current dakka meta seems to be triple U/AC-5s.

[JC Daxion]

in order by weight


45, Black Jacks.. If you wanna try your hand at Dual AC2 dakka, with machine guns and energy, they are mobile mechs, about as fast as an HBK, but also carry jump jets. 2's are not the best, but some people like um on this chasis. Hero is a great machine gun mech with a pair of ERLL's or large pulse.

55, Wolverine has a dual AC-5 model, the others are a mix of energy and missiles, which are sorta like the HBK 4SP with jump jets! over all great mechs,, No clue on what the hero will be..

60, Dragon 1n, Dual ac5's, one great mech, fastest of all the Dual Ac5' mechs, crazy dakka.. the 5N makes for a nice gauss mech with dual ERLL's. I play the fang with an AC-10 and some pulse.. (not dakka but fun)


65, Jager, with the new graphics updates, why not! But they have a bunch of multiple ac options, dual UACs with 4 machine guns for example, 3 UAC's, dual AC5+ dual AC2's, machine gun combos, ect Another model has ac5's + srms, which makes for an intersting set up. Hero runs a pair of 5's with PPC's, Sort of the Hero version of the Catapult K2. (can run the boomJag aka dual AC-20's)

65, catapult K2, Dual AC5's and PPC's.. great long rang mech, the other mechs are missile based, and if you like the 4J, the C1 with LRM15's+ ML's or MPL's with a tag or the C4 Bap+ LRM20's with some streaks and energy back up are both fun. Also can run dual AC-20's but this time are in the torso, so they are a little faster than the jag's if you scrap armor from the arms or carry a bit extra ammo.


70, Cataphract, the hero can haul 3 UAC5's and has good armor, with energy back up. the 4X can haul 4AC-5's so that's and AC-20 hit from 500m+, the others are best at AC-20 and some energy back up.. The 2x Can do that, and slso pack a SRM8 punch in the arm for extra brawling ooophhff. the c4 probably has the most dakka punch, but the 5N, can give it a run for it's money, though it is more fragile.




Honestly hard to go wrong with any of them.. I'd try to decide what else you wan't your other mechs to do, to help ya narrow it down..

Edited by JC Daxion, 16 June 2015 - 02:35 PM.

[Rogue Jedi]

I would agree that the King Crab (slow 100 ton assault with ballistics in each arm) or Jagermech (65 ton heavy, again ballistics in each arm) probably offer the best options.

use the crab if you want survivability and are happy running at less than 65.
use the Jagermech if you want bit more mobility however to mount a decent amount of firepower you will need to take a small standard engine, and will not be moving much faster than the KCG or you can take an XL engine, I would not class a Jagermech as XL safe, the side torsos are huge however the added speed and firepower are often worth the risk

[Mr Hunter]

When I hear dakka I hear 2 mechs
The DWF-B
and
KGC-000

Edited by B8hunter, 16 June 2015 - 02:23 PM.

[BigBadVlad]

just to offer another option, i'll share an assault I built, feels like long ago, before quirks that can dakka some too. Either with the PPC or with the mediums...
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ee660f007800ee5

[bar10jim]

Let's not forget the Shadowhawk - 2 variants can hold 2 or more Ballistics. I like loading up the 2H with 2x AC5 and 1x AC2 and throwing down some Dakka.

Mouse 1: Alpha
Mouse 2: Chain AC5's
Mouse 3: AC2

If you catch a mech out in the open, use buttons 2 and 3 to throw some armor-chewing Dakka down range with a ton of cabin shake.

If playing the peek & poke game, 2 high-mounted AC5's are great.

Oh yeah, Jump Jets!

As an aside, I really like the HBK-4H with 1x AC10 and 4 mlas.

[Flak Kannon]

Jager.

nuff said.

Edited by Flak Kannon, 16 June 2015 - 02:33 PM.

[Xannatharr]

Thanks for the suggestions... I like the high-mounted dakka of the Jager for peeking, but the crab has a certain... Majesty.

Keep em coming!

[Unnatural Growth]

Just bear in mind that the Jager has a whole lot of the top of the mech exposed by the time you get the cockpit over the hill to see. So, if you can see the enemy, they can certainly see and hit you back. Also, most of the big dakka Jager builds are glass cannons, either paper thin armor, running XL engines, or both. So they can lay down some serious firepower, but they cannot take a punch well at all. I've kept 2 Jagers, one runs 2 AC10's, 4 MG's, and 2 ML's, and the other is 2 UAC5's and 2 LL's.

Depends on your play style, but for outright face to face brawling, I'll take a Cataphract over a Jager any day. I like the 3D and the 4X for dakka builds. The 3D is faster, carries jump jets, has 2 ballistic hardpoints and 4 energy hardpoints. The 4X is slower, with a smaller engine cap, but has 4 ballistic hardpoints, 2 in each arm and 2 energy hardpoints in CT. I love running that one with 4 AC5's and 2 ML's for backup and when I run out of ammo. Sweet, sweet dakka! I also like the 2X for brawling with SRM's in the left arm for extra punch. And don't forget, there is now the 0X variant that is ECM capable.

I'd take a hard look at the Cataphracts.

[TheCaptainJZ]

If you are considering dropping some cash, the Jagermech just got a Mastery pack added to the store today. It's 3 mechs, one hero, one champion, one regular to level skills with, some premium time and 50% off all the contents. Might be worth considering...

Edited by TheCaptainJZ, 16 June 2015 - 09:16 PM.

[WrathOfDeadguy]

The Enforcer 5P is built for dual UAC5 dakka (but can also run triple AC2s for trolling). Every variant of the Enforcer mounts at least one ballistic, with all but one variant having two or more ballistic hardpoints. No high-mounted cannons, though.

The Mauler in the upcoming Resistance II pack will also offer superior dakka with multiple ballistic slots mounted on both sides of the torso- it may not be here yet, but it'll almost certainly be worth the wait.

[Xannatharr]

Thanks everyone... I believe that Heavy or Assault is going to be the way I want to go, so I have cut my list of candidates down to:

• Jagermech - Good for top or side peeking, no brawling, great standoff mech, up to 3 U A/C5s
  
• Cataphract - Good for side peeking but not top, can brawl, Jump Jets (3D**), up to 4 A/C5s
  
• King Crab - No great for peeking, but can slug it out, slow but possibly 4 A/C5s plus 2 A/C2s, also viable A/C 20 builds

I'd like one last run of opinions, would you folks share your pros/cons for these finalists? Are my assumptions above close to reality?


Thanks!

Xann




**Thanks TheCaptainJZ

Edited by Xannatharr, 17 June 2015 - 06:25 AM.

[TheCaptainJZ]

Only the Cataphract 3D has jump jets

[Mr Hunter]

Did you forget the Dire? or are we just talking IS here?

[Xannatharr]

B8hunter, on 17 June 2015 - 06:26 AM, said:

Did you forget the Dire? or are we just talking IS here?

Yeah, just IS for me... at least for now!

[xeromynd]

JC Daxion, on 16 June 2015 - 01:43 PM, said:

in order by weight


45, Black Jacks.. If you wanna try your hand at Dual AC2 dakka, with machine guns and energy, they are mobile mechs, about as fast as an HBK, but also carry jump jets. 2's are not the best, but some people like um on this chasis. Hero is a great machine gun mech with a pair of ERLL's or large pulse.

55, Wolverine has a dual AC-5 model, the others are a mix of energy and missiles, which are sorta like the HBK 4SP with jump jets! over all great mechs,, No clue on what the hero will be..

60, Dragon 1n, Dual ac5's, one great mech, fastest of all the Dual Ac5' mechs, crazy dakka.. the 5N makes for a nice gauss mech with dual ERLL's. I play the fang with an AC-10 and some pulse.. (not dakka but fun)


65, Jager, with the new graphics updates, why not! But they have a bunch of multiple ac options, dual UACs with 4 machine guns for example, 3 UAC's, dual AC5+ dual AC2's, machine gun combos, ect Another model has ac5's + srms, which makes for an intersting set up. Hero runs a pair of 5's with PPC's, Sort of the Hero version of the Catapult K2. (can run the boomJag aka dual AC-20's)

65, catapult K2, Dual AC5's and PPC's.. great long rang mech, the other mechs are missile based, and if you like the 4J, the C1 with LRM15's+ ML's or MPL's with a tag or the C4 Bap+ LRM20's with some streaks and energy back up are both fun. Also can run dual AC-20's but this time are in the torso, so they are a little faster than the jag's if you scrap armor from the arms or carry a bit extra ammo.


70, Cataphract, the hero can haul 3 UAC5's and has good armor, with energy back up. the 4X can haul 4AC-5's so that's and AC-20 hit from 500m+, the others are best at AC-20 and some energy back up.. The 2x Can do that, and slso pack a SRM8 punch in the arm for extra brawling ooophhff. the c4 probably has the most dakka punch, but the 5N, can give it a run for it's money, though it is more fragile.




Honestly hard to go wrong with any of them.. I'd try to decide what else you wan't your other mechs to do, to help ya narrow it down..

All of these plus the quad ballistic hardpoint Enforcer, and the King Crab.

JM6-DD with 3x UAC5 2x ML is a monster, especially when you have a macro.

[Elizander]

Cheapest would be the BJ-1/BJ1-DC with AC/2s

ENF-5P with UAC5s - More dakka, reduced jam chances

Shadowhawks - High mounted dakka but minimal quirkage

CTF-4X - Quad AC/5 Dakka

JM6-DD or JM6-S



I'd personally go with something like the Jagermech/Blackjack/Shadowhawk for the high mounts or the enforcer for the reduced jam chances.