Posted 01 July 2017 - 09:25 AM
I took a year or year and a half break from MWO and recently came back, with the advent of the new skill trees. While I've seen some issues, I've also seen some good surprises and one of them was lights. While they are not hugely improved, the skill tree really does put a shine on some mechs now, given the ability to max out and improve already good mobility and numbers if you choose the right nodes. As an light pilot initially when I started in summer 2012, commandos are very old hat to me, but I hopped back in them of late and have seen how they can and do shine again, if you are the right kind of pilot.
Both the Locust and the Commando are teeny, fast and manuverable. With the addition of the hefty bonus armor or structure on the commando and the extreme manuverability that is imparted by going heavier into the mobility tree, it makes it very hard to get solid long burns on the commando and leg it. Continually dodging and weaving, turning and snaking across a battle field means that laser shots and missile volleys spread all over the little bugger. Further, the additional HP prevent the fatal legging from happening much more often, allowing the mech to stay in the conflict, even stripped of weapons. Only PPFLD really rains on the commando's parade if it's being played and skilled correctly, even then it's often RANDOM hits that end up getting it, like AC20 to the knee, which finally legs it, then a huge volley like a bug swat on the crippled little commando terror.
In contrast to the locust, the commando has fewer hard points in most models, making serious overheats less likely due to less ordinance or boating. Skilled right it's heat levels make it much less likely to overheat and be paralyzed by a shutdown and restart, whereas some of the multiple energy weapon packing locusts will drive themselves far into overheat shutdown, which is when they get bug swatted severely.
Another thing mentioned in the post above was the ssrm2 change. It's quicker rate of fire due lower cooldown allows a mech like the commando mounting 3, with a tag or a beagle to sand blast another light mech to death. Even if it does not manage a kill due to no aim ability whatsoever, it may well harass an arctic cheetah adder or locust into leaving the vicinity. Posing really no threat to larger mechs, such a 3xssrm2 commando is not the once feared no skill terror of early open beta, but its still got a place in light harassment and can occasionally secure kills if it has been skilled for the missiles to do crits. It also can loiter/linger longer due to missile rack skills allowing it to carry the equivalent of an extra ton of ammo.
Other commando variants range the gamut from death knells 4 energy hard points, to 3 energy, 1 missile, variants on 2 energy and 2 missiles as well, both grouping and seperating missile hard points and making them more amiable in arms or less so in the body. These other commandos with the new skill nodes can carry more appreciable ammo to fuel 2xsrm4 or 2xsrm6 builds, with medium lasers. Running lean on armor and relying on speed still can be good, or they can armor up and rely on those survival nodes as well, getting valuable protection from the terror of light mechs, legging.
Heck, with the TECH update to the 3060's, there are even other variants of all mechs, including the commando. There is a commando from the late 3050's or early 3060's I think designated the 4d. It runs 2 energy and 6 missile hardpoints! It doesn't even NEED hardpoints inflation that PGI brought in to make other chassis viable. One hopes these old chassis types get the release of new variants to eat through our chills and MC soon.
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A_Velociraptor, on 09 February 2017 - 06:45 PM, said:
