46 replies to this topic

[juxstapo]

CainenEX, on 23 August 2015 - 06:42 AM, said:

My friend cynicfrog has a ppc on his ciccada (his favorite mech) and he managed to do well over 700 damage

My hat, were I wearing one, would be off. I've felt very pleased with my 500 dmg matches in a PNT, landing 70+ hits with a particle cannon is a feat to be respected.

[Elizander]

juxstapo, on 20 November 2015 - 04:12 AM, said:

My hat, were I wearing one, would be off. I've felt very pleased with my 500 dmg matches in a PNT, landing 70+ hits with a particle cannon is a feat to be respected.

It is. It just takes way more effort to accomplish compared to playing a heavier mech with more guns. For me playing like that is quite tiring so I can't get that many games in with that playstyle.

[Johny Rocket]

ER PPC heat 15 damage 10 tons 7 cd 4 velocity 1200 (mp/s???)

PPC heat 10 damage 10 tons 7 cd 4 velocity 1100

LL heat 7 damage 9 tons 5 cd 3.25 vel speed of light

ERLL heat 8 damage 9 tons 5 cd 3.25 vel speed of light

LPL heat 7 damage 11 tons 7 cd 3.25 vel speed of light

The extra range of ER/PPC is just letting you exacerbate their real flaw. It takes 3/4 sec(ish) for an ERPPC to reach optimal range, a target traveling 65kph will have moved 144m in that amount of time.

Choice for sniping is obvious when the ERLL falls right between the PPC and ERPPC in range with 0 travel time and you can swing with a crossing target to keep it on them. A miss with a PPC is a miss, ERLL or LL you can still do some damage swinging it onto them when you miss.

Edited by Tractor Joe, 23 November 2015 - 05:30 PM.

[Fox With A Shotgun]

Tractor Joe, on 23 November 2015 - 05:27 PM, said:

The extra range of ER/PPC is just letting you exacerbate their real flaw. It takes 3/4 sec(ish) for an ERPPC to reach optimal range, a target traveling 65kph will have moved 144m in that amount of time.

Divide kph by 3.6, not multiply, for metres.
65000 m / 3600 s = ~18m.

But yes, PPCs are kinda hard to hit with unless they're unaware. Which is why you take potshots as a single PPC light until you are discovered, then you scoot and find another spot or unaware fish to fry.

[Johny Rocket]

ArcturusWolf, on 23 November 2015 - 05:50 PM, said:

Divide kph by 3.6, not multiply, for metres.
65000 m / 3600 s = ~18m.

But yes, PPCs are kinda hard to hit with unless they're unaware. Which is why you take potshots as a single PPC light until you are discovered, then you scoot and find another spot or unaware fish to fry.

dooh I skipped a step in my math.
Math be damned you will still be better off with an erll than a PPC in any situation. That really was the point.

Edit: CDA is technically not a Light

Edited by Tractor Joe, 23 November 2015 - 06:12 PM.

[Fox With A Shotgun]

Tractor Joe, on 23 November 2015 - 06:09 PM, said:

dooh I skipped a step in my math.
Math be damned you will still be better off with an erll than a PPC in any situation. That really was the point.

Edit: CDA is technically not a Light

PPC's almost always inferior to a LPL, yeah. But there are a couple of times when it is superior:
- Shutting down ECM. Lasers don't jam ECM unless you count severing the particular component holding ECM as jamming it.
- Flanking. PPC may be quite visible relative to gauss rounds or ballistics, but it still leaves less of a trail than lasers. You don't attract as much attention as when you're spamming wubs.
- Running and gunning. It's all FLD, so you don't need to keep tracking a target. Running between cover, you can let one rip and then hide again.
- Critting components. Because it's FLD, you do all damage to a single component; critting an open component will always destroy one part inside a component.

Otherwise, wubs are superior; in HPS, DPS and in ease of use.

[Nightshade24]

Single PPC lights has been around for many years. There was a point where they are the most OP light build you can do and they are ALWAYS the last mech alive- and at times they can win the final battle no matter how out numbered they are.

but this was the majority of the time where it was 8vs8 not 12vs12 so you had much better control over the battlefield and your team, you can carry your team or co ordinate enough that simply saying "let's head to B4" can win the game with the pilots skill in battle following it.

But we are not here for a history lesson, we are here for the current game and this is the thing...
Light snipers are popular, always had, always will, Raven 3L is a famous duel ER large laser sniper and we see many other snipers around. But PPC's/ ER PPC's specifically is when it gets fun. You get a lot less facetime and also have a bit more control over your position than the other mechs. Famously a ER PPC Arctic cheetah or spider is the trick, Having ECM, Jumpjets, and an ER PPC. But Ravens, Comando, (even a locust but this is now getting very trolly), etc also do the same PPC builds but jenners tend for 2 standard large lasers instead.

The reason it dropped in popularity is due to reduced velocity but it's still quite fast. If you can aim you can do good with it.