46 replies to this topic

[WANTED]

The cicada with the velocity quirk for ER PPC is the king but of course it's actually a medium. I have run a single ER PPC on my commando 2d for grins but man it overheats so fast

[CainenEX]

WANTED, on 23 August 2015 - 07:13 AM, said:

The cicada with the velocity quirk for ER PPC is the king but of course it's actually a medium. I have run a single ER PPC on my commando 2d for grins but man it overheats so fast

"medium" is a very iffy word for the mech. It's more of less a light and fulfills its function there. It just has a few more tons and slight more armor to play with. But I think most players here will call it a light

The Panther is another light mech that makes good use of a twin PPC as the moment. Other variants might have some success with it too, like the raven 3L

[Jack Shayu Walker]

My kitfox packs a single ERPPC with backup from 8 tubes of streaks. It works quite well actually. I just enjoy having low agrro, stand next to bigger friends and allow the pokacolypse to begin. The streaks also make him a nasty foe againt other light mechs, especially when he's got his back against bigger mechs.

[Mercworks]

I run an Arctic Cheetah with just an ER PPC. It's combination of speed, ECM and a low profile makes it a wonderful sniper.

[William Mountbank]

Mercworks, on 23 August 2015 - 08:08 AM, said:

ER PPC

Jack Shayu Walker, on 23 August 2015 - 08:01 AM, said:

ERPPC

Just to note, these builds you chaps mention are good because they use ER-PPC. What I'm talking about are the lights I see that use only one PPC, the normal range PPC. I'm not clear why someone would drop with a line PPC unless the mech had quirks that remove the minimum range and gave it such massive buffs that backup weapons were unimportant.

[Rogue Jedi]

William Mountbank, on 24 August 2015 - 12:21 AM, said:

Just to note, these builds you chaps mention are good because they use ER-PPC. What I'm talking about are the lights I see that use only one PPC, the normal range PPC. I'm not clear why someone would drop with a line PPC unless the mech had quirks that remove the minimum range and gave it such massive buffs that backup weapons were unimportant.

if it is a Light Mech then the range is usualy unimportant, most light Mechs are capable of dictating the range of the engagement unless up against another Light, so a single weapon with restricted range is not a big problem.

provided the Mech has double heatsinks it would be very easy to manage the heat from one PPC but much harder ^{(not to say it would be hard)} with an ERPPC.

for the record I rarely use PPCs or ERPPCs, unless a Mech has the 40% velocity quirk as I have trouble hitting anything with them, I have similar problems with the IS AC10, but am fine with most other weapons

[William Mountbank]

Rogue Jedi, on 24 August 2015 - 12:44 AM, said:

if it is a Light Mech then the range is usualy unimportant, most light Mechs are capable of dictating the range of the engagement unless up against another Light, so a single weapon with restricted range is not a big problem.

provided the Mech has double heatsinks it would be very easy to manage the heat from one PPC but much harder ^{(not to say it would be hard)} with an ERPPC.

I understand your point here, but it's the minimum range of the PPC which is important for a light, if you have a PP weapon then high speed brawling against another light is already tough, but when that other light knows you do zero damage under 90m and they have SRMs or SLs etc, then basically you are completely at their mercy. Even many mediums are fast enough to close with a PPC only light and neuter them in a brawl.

And the heat argument is pretty limited, because normally once an ER-PPC light gets too hot from sniping then he should be repositioning anyway, plus the additional range of the ER-PPC probably wins you more damage than the relative improvement in heat efficiency of PPCs vs ER-PPCs. I would even say that for the same tonnage a LPL is a better investment for a light, because it's a more effective anti-light weapon, and while the range might be shorter, 540m on the PPC is still pretty close for a mech that can't brawl.

[stealthraccoon]

William Mountbank, on 24 August 2015 - 12:21 AM, said:

Just to note, these builds you chaps mention are good because they use ER-PPC. What I'm talking about are the lights I see that use only one PPC, the normal range PPC. I'm not clear why someone would drop with a line PPC unless the mech had quirks that remove the minimum range and gave it such massive buffs that backup weapons were unimportant.

Sometimes it's just the thrill of hard-mode. Another issue is on small engined mechs is the ERPPC is a little too hot for more than a shot or two before you are red-lining your heat. To shoehorn a PPC into th Pirates Bane, you may only end up with 5 or 6 true dubs. I find that an LPL is a more well rounded choice, especially if you meet another fast mover.

Now in my humble opinion, the minimum range really isn't an issue - if you are that close, you are dead anyway!

Edited by stealthraccoon, 24 August 2015 - 09:30 AM.

[UndeadEdd]

A single PPC on a 20-25t light may indeed be dictated by limited tonnage, but on a 35t light, like this: My very successful RVN-3L(C) there's no excuse to go without backup. I like this build more than the single ERPPC Panther because of the ECM, greater speed and better weapon location which gives better accuracy.

Edited by UndeadEdd, 02 September 2015 - 02:12 AM.

[bad arcade kitty]

panther can be played with 1 ppc and srm backup, one of its versions has ppc (not er ppc) speed quirk

[Zordicron]

Some are fine, like Cicada and Panthers, I like it on ECM Myth Lanx cause of it's mad hops.

I ran one on Lolocust when it first released in Phoenix pack for lulz, then found out it was actually not that bad, and I could troll the enemy team so hard, that it was actually affecting their movments and i could break up deathblobs etc just by being zippy and annoying as hell.

Used to be an ECM Spider loadout people ran that way, but not too common anymore.

But you see like a FS9 running around trying to play ubersniper, you know you got a CoD cadet on your hands.

[Neput Z34]

PPCs are solutions to everything? That is news to me!!!

In my limited experience Large Pulse Laser, or 2 ~ 4 of them are solution to most things.

If any one remembers Resistance 1 "Leader Challenge", it was nothing but 2x LPL Panthers, 3x LPL Enforcers, 3x LPL + ML/MPL Grasshoppers, 3~4 LPL Zeus ( don't care about plural ).

Unless there are some ridiculous ERPPC / PPC heat generation reduction quirks, you are much better of with LPL, ERLL / LL or some other combination of beam weapons.

[shellashock]

Saxie, on 23 August 2015 - 05:40 AM, said:

Sure it is, we call it the fat Jenner. lol

@ the OP, yeah... I'm not sure what thats all about. I'm not sure why anyone would put a PPC on a Jenner, unless they are mixing it up as they master it.

WARNING: THIS IS A DOCUMENTATION; NOT A RECOMMENDATION! DO NOT USE A DUAL PPC JENNER UNLESS YOU ARE AWARE OF ITS LIMITATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS. I CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EARLY DESTRUCTION OF UNEDUCATED PILOTS.
/mocklegalstatement

I can give you an answer (albeit my personal opinion). When I play for fun, I like to build a mech that fits what I like to do and use; even if it is not effective. I like frontloaded damage long range weapons. I like hit and run tactics. I like to go fast. I like to have at least one jumpjet for mobility. This narrows it down to a light/fast medium with a PPC or Gauss Rifle.

My Jenners are my Precious; so even though there are better alternatives, I will stick with them. I would have taken a Gauss Rifle, but alas, there are no ballistic slots on any Jenner variant (Gauss Spider is "fun", btw). So the next best thing is a PPC.

I tried a single PPC with one jumpjet; harking back to the days of Closed Beta/ Open Beta. Didn't work too well because I was not able to cause enough damage to feel like I was actually effective. Tried a single ER PPC and enjoyed it, but didn't feel much of a connection to it and got bored quickly. Then I thought "Maybe if I try two ER PPC's on my Jenner it will be more fun."

Needless to say, I quickly discovered that dual ER PPCs on a non-quirked light is not really feasible. I decided to swap out one ER for a standard PPC and hated having to think about which button to press for different ranges constantly while my OCD sent me through the roof with the non-symmetrical travel times when alpha striking. I was about ready to give up when I thought "What if I tried dual PPC on a Jenner?"

It was love at first build. I sucked my first few matches because I kept getting too close to the enemy; but I still had a blast poking away at the heavies and assaults. Once I was comfortable with my poke and retreat strategy, I decided to analyse what was my weakest link in my mech. This obviously was heat management; so I found the smallest engine size I could tolerate and stripped armour as low as I dared before adding heat sinks until I maxed out my critical slots.

The next step was to find the Jenner variant with the best heat management quirks (as of right now, this is the Jenner K). I loaded my build on the Jenner K and then mastered it for the x2 heat management skills + extra module slot. After I popped in a PPC range and cooldown reduction module, I played about 50 matches to determine what armour ratios and additional modules would work for my playstyle. This resulted in an optimized build that finally gave me the mix of fun, speed/maneuverability and long range damage projection I was wanting; at the cost of low armour and the close range vulnerability.

In other words, this was a long-winded way of saying that playing for fun includes using unorthodox builds for the enjoyment of fitting your personal playstyle. Then again, there is just plain lunacy...

EDIT: It should be noted that I have tried the Panthers with (ER) PPCs for their quirks and can safely say that I prefer the higher engine cap and higher energy mounts of the Jenner. In addition, the symmetrical PPC's on a Jenner allows me to keep at least one PPC if an arm is blown off from torso twisting. The Raven is a nice high mounted PPC sniper as well (I have heard good things about Raven 3L ECM + dual PPC), but it lacks a variant that has jumpjets and energy mounts on both sides of the mech. Besides, its just not a Jenner.

Edited by shellashock, 07 September 2015 - 05:22 PM.

[JC Daxion]

Saxie, on 23 August 2015 - 05:40 AM, said:

Sure it is, we call it the fat Jenner. lol

No, It's called a Jenner that ate a locust!

[Christopher Hamilton]

commando ecm with max engine, ER-PPC, DHS, advanced zoom, Radar deprevation - your not a sniper like the raven, but a harasser - run, hit, run, hit. disappear, hit again.
i do pack arty and uav on that one - nothing says "hi" better then a arty Center rear in their mob. when they back out, fire.

[Kurvi]

One thing running only ppcs does is force/teach you to keep to range and poke. One of the easiest ways for a light mech to die is to round a corner straight into point blank range of 2-3 opposing mechs. Learning not to charge into the unknown is a useful talent.

[Fox With A Shotgun]

LCT-1E with a single PPC is actually quite fun. 25% heat reduction and 25% range boost makes for a constant barrage downrange, and since you're a lolcust moving at 170kph, you're next to impossible to catch.

The playstyle for 1-ppc lights is certainly different though. It's more about suppressing and harassing heavies and assaults than actually killing them. That, and keeping those ECM heavies and assaults jammed.

[Elizander]

I'm more inclined to go with a 3L with 1 PPC/ER PPC and 2 MLs since it has ECM.

[zudukai]

lights and mediums can still jumpsnipe, you cannot jumpsnipe with LPL like you can with PPC's since they are burst FLD.

the lights are still able to do this because jumpjets work much better for them, however they do not have the tonnage for a very high alpha, nor do they have good heat threshold, even two C-ERPPC only hit one panel for 20 dmg.

so it's not that large of a threat, aside from the fact that they are almost impossible to return fire to, like ArcturusWolf mentioned, they are the best at harassing and killing slow assaults with near impunity.

Edited by zudukai, 19 November 2015 - 04:44 PM.

[Big Tin Man]

Urbie + XL180 + ERPPC + 3ML. Endo, 12 DHS, 3 JJ's

Do not be afraid for you life. That is not sufficient. Be terrified. Poke, hide, re-position, repeat. You're so small odds are they won't see you, unless you let them. Learn to pilot using only the minimap and fire while running away.

I have had epic games in this, simply because I was hidden, and when I was seen, I was ignored.

Edited by Big Tin Man, 19 November 2015 - 05:12 PM.