16 replies to this topic

[Pyre Blood]

this is my mech with its loadout i've been doing well with it
what do you all think http://mwo.smurfy-ne...39504d670c6b8d2

also looking for friend to run with
i dont do a lot of kills but i do any where between 50 and 100 points of damage per game
any adive that would make me a better play is always welcome

[Torezu]

2 tons of MG ammo and no MG? You might want to look at that. Also, I'd forward balance your armor a bit more. Unfortunately, maxing the armor like you did doesn't leave much room for weapons with the gigantic engine. You'll go fast, but not hit very hard.

[luigi256]

I would suggest removing the machine gun ammo that you are not using and upgrading the lasers to med pulse lasers.

Arm armor on this Cicada is not really needed, the arms are small and twisting to absorb damage into the arms doesn't work too well with it.

Here is a modified build below.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...9cbab92b46dc357

[Sarlic]

Hello Mechwarrior!

Warm welcome!

As other pointed out there are more suiting builds for you.

Some even put Large lasers or PPCs in it. Not sure how that works out. But i am sure experienced pilots would love to give you more advice.

[TheCaptainJZ]

4 Medium lasers would be the easiest to use. Other energy options exist as Sarlic said. Feel free to experiment. That ballistic slot is unfortunately not very helpful in that mech.

[Spare Parts Bin]

Hello new player. I run Adders which are 5 tons lighter than your Cicada. I suggest one Large Pulse Laser and 2 Medium Lasers. Clan lasers are sync like that. Not sure what IS weights are.

Good Luck Happy Hunting(GLHH)

[Timicon]

In my own opinion, I do not think pulse lasers are a good idea for a Cicada, since they are designed for for concentrated fire on one part of a 'Mech and deal less damage than what regular lasers do (although I can see why a lot of people use them, for their faster recharge cycle and heat management) as well as, agreeing with what others said about having machine guns - they are more effective on lights, like Spiders or Panthers or even the odd Commando - something with speed, since you can hit the enemy hard with them to blast away critical internal slots after your team members have already destroyed the armour, then get out of the danger zone before the enemy has a chance to lock onto you and waste you, because of the slower speeds at which a Cicada maintains.

But hey, those are my own personal thoughts, you have your own game play style, so if it works for you, then use it and do not let anyone who gripes about weapons on your 'Mech being a bad idea (such as so many people complaining of LRM apocalypses). Just keep tweaking and customising your 'Mechs until you find a load out that works best for your style of game play and once you get the hang of it, you will be kicking keester as well as any veteran who has been playing since the game was first brough online to play.

Good luck to you and I wish you many successes in the battlefield!

L.T Boardwalk Defenders (BwD)

[IraqiWalker]

LadyVile, on 09 September 2015 - 08:53 AM, said:

this is my mech with its loadout i've been doing well with it
what do you all think http://mwo.smurfy-ne...39504d670c6b8d2

also looking for friend to run with
i dont do a lot of kills but i do any where between 50 and 100 points of damage per game
any adive that would make me a better play is always welcome

As someone who pilots cicadas as well, and a veteran of fast mechs (lights are the class I have spent most of my time in over the past 2+years). These are the builds I recommend:

CDA-3M It uses your weapons, but a slightly upgraded engine for more speed, and more room for your DHS. If you want, you can also keep your current engine, but swap the lasers in the CT for medium pulses, when you remove the Machinegun ammo.

CDA-3M 2 PPCs for sustained sniping (switch to ER versions if you feel confident you can handle the heat build up). Remain very mobile, and take your shots, but make them count. Use your ECM to stay hidden at a distance.


Your armor distribution should be no more than 10 points in in the rear section, maybe even 8. The rest should be front loaded.

Edited by IraqiWalker, 09 September 2015 - 05:43 PM.

[jss78]

The CDA-3M gets quirks for ML, so it makes sense to use those. The problem however is that they weigh so little that you have trouble using all your weight. You could add more DHS but you don't really need that many. With a 4xML build I'd ideally upgrade to an XL-340 engine, but that'd be colossally expensive and I wouldn't go there as a new player.

As a quick and easy way to modify the build -- and especially to avoid switching to a different and expensive XL engine -- I'd also drop two ML and add one LPL. There's a nice synergy between LPL and ML, as the burn time is similar and they recharge at very nearly the same time. But you'll gain a bit of range with the LPL, which is always useful, while your "alpha" goes marginally up (20-->21). I stripped half of the arm armour -- as said, the arms' only purpose is to soak damage, but they're so small they don't end up doing even that so well, so they're kind of dead weight anyway.

Edited by jss78, 09 September 2015 - 05:59 PM.

[Nimbus Captain Brannigan]

Here, use this

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3a8b9a35253ae5d

[Khereg]

Nimbus Captain Brannigan, on 10 September 2015 - 02:45 AM, said:

Here, use this

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3a8b9a35253ae5d

Seconded.

Edited to add: If it isn't obvious, put the LL's in one weapon group and the ML's in a second one. Alpha if they're in range of the ML's, only fire the LL's if at longer distances. Fire, hide, repeat until dead.

Edited by Khereg, 10 September 2015 - 06:42 AM.

[Torezu]

If you're going to make the poor guy buy a new engine, at least have him get the one that weighs the same and gives a little extra speed (XL 280).

[Koniving]

Hello, LadyVille. First as suggestions have been given, you shouldn't carry ammunition for a weapon you do not have. If you do carry a machine gun I recommend maybe a half ton of ammunition, it will last you more than long enough.

No doubt you are overwhelmed by the amount of information people are giving. It is best to read it intermiddently as help can sometimes be a bit zealous. When you're feeling comfortable, I've taken the time to give you a very affordable set of tweaks to your current design. What I have done is simpified what you have to make it as user-friendly yet effective as possible. I have acheived this while keeping the overall costs as low as possible. It is also designed to be very open to minor improvements such as the replacement of a double heatsink in favor of an AMS somewhere down the line. The reasoning for it all has also been given as well, please click the spoiler when comfortable.

Spoiler

That said, I've modified your design a bit with the interests of survivability and greater damage output. Before you have a look, I must say a few things. One, your build is incredibly fast. That's great -- but it's not. It is great to manuever, get in and get out. However combat at those speeds is very unreliable, especially with laser-based weaponry. You need time to focus in a specific spot on the enemy for the lasers to have full effect. If you get in, grind to a halt, fire and high tail it out of there you're in great shape! Even then, you are better off with "Pulse Lasers." Their firing time is shorter, meaning you can deliver the damage and run sooner. As a result of shorter beam times, they also are ready to fire again sooner. (This does mean that constant fire gets hotter over time, so its not all pluses.) It's worth noting, even further, that pulse lasers do more damage per shot as well. Their real drawback however is range and weight. On a high speed mech, though, the range isn't an issue. That leaves weight, you'd have enough free for almost 3 MPL without reallocating armor.

You have left over weight, with too much space consumed. As such I ditched the Ferro armor, it is not better in any way, shape, or form. Ferro armor is simply lighter. Its weight savings mean nothing when considering what I did with it; in fact it would hurt you to keep it after what I did. I removed unnecessary armor around the cockpit. Between cockpit armor and inflated structure (15 cockpit structure on an area smaller than a pen-tip at 200 meters versus 20 on a side torso the size of a barn or 24 on a CT half the size of a barn), you have more than enough to survive stray and lucky shots. Just in case though, don't remain perfectly stationary; there's usually a sniper on every map.

I have also brought more armor forward. You should never leave your back exposed, even when retreating it is foolish to run directly away, instead run diagonally and twist your 'torso' to face and shoot the enemy even as you retreat. This effectively means you can keep the armor front-ward and take more abuse from the front and sides at the risk of the back being softer. Truth be told any enemy worth their salt would be shooting your legs out so in the end it doesn't really matter how soft your backside is.

Between speed, weapons, armor, we also have the ease of being killed while running around in a Cicada with an XL engine; this is something that I really can't stand. So the next stage is survivability. Per the tabletop rules, any engine counts as destroyed when 3 slots of the engine are destroyed. PGI and by extension MWO, has taken this to mean that since there are 3 slots in the side torso of your engine, ST destruction spells your doom. (Yes it's true in tabletop, but unlike tabletop you can suffer unlimited damage to the engine itself and its not connected, so Clan XL engines can survive incredible abuse that they shouldn't be able to; trust me even without through-armor criticals the Clan XLs are very easy to break without destroying any side torsos). Back on topic, I suited a cheap, affordable standard engine that keeps me around a comfortable speed for maximum accuracy while mobile.

Now on to the design. This has two weapon systems. As such, this mech requires two firing buttons. Pulse lasers for up close heavy damage, and standard lasers for ranged 'touching'. The engine will allow you to lose both side torsos, just like the Clanners, while still going more than fast enough to keep up with almost any group. The design is intended to work within the comfort of a lance, regardless of communication. Even so, with enough knowledge of the game it could do solo-commando work. Remember, lasers for touching, pulse lasers for hard-hitting damage. On fast targets go for legs, on slower targets go for whatever you feel is best. Circle your enemies and try to stay behind them. Never let them see your backside if you can help it. Top speed 111.4 kph (after speed tweak in mech skill tree). Ideal top combat speed for highest accurate/efficient damage with laser weaponry, 90-100 kph.

Good luck.
~Koniving.
For reference in Cicada skills. Yay trial cicada! (The twin computer voices are added in post-recording and are there to give you information from the HUD and the situation).

Edit:
*I often forget to say this because once I get focused I kinda forget all else: Welcome to MWO.
*I play on occasion, often either mornings around 9 AM Eastern or evenings around 7-10 PM EST. I'd be happy to take you along with me if we're on at the same time. With four of the five Cicadas I'm sure one of mine will compliment yours.
*Remember that every build you see is a suggestion; some builds suggested by me or someone else may not work well with how you play while some could greatly improve your experience. For the best build advice, it is suggested you share how you like to play and how you like to engage your enemies. There is no right or wrong, simply "easier" or "more difficult" to use based on how you play.

Edited by Koniving, 10 September 2015 - 09:43 AM.

[TheCaptainJZ]

Leif Tanner, on 09 September 2015 - 05:20 PM, said:

In my own opinion, I do not think pulse lasers are a good idea for a Cicada, since they are designed for for concentrated fire on one part of a 'Mech and deal less damage than what regular lasers do (although I can see why a lot of people use them, for their faster recharge cycle and heat management)

Pulse lasers actually deal more damage in a shot. Check Smurfy for values. Having a shorter beam duration means it's more likely to apply more damage on the target esp. for faster mechs like the cicada. Difference is they weigh a lot more. They also generate the same amount of heat than standard lasers but since you can fire faster and more often, your mech will heat up faster.
Edit: Pulse lasers do have a shorter range as well.

Edited by TheCaptainJZ, 10 September 2015 - 03:15 PM.

[IraqiWalker]

Torezu, on 10 September 2015 - 08:00 AM, said:

If you're going to make the poor guy buy a new engine, at least have him get the one that weighs the same and gives a little extra speed (XL 280).

How is going from a 320 to a 280 gives more speed?

[Torezu]

Nimbus Captain Brannigan, on 10 September 2015 - 02:45 AM, said:

Here, use this

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...3a8b9a35253ae5d

IraqiWalker, on 10 September 2015 - 10:34 AM, said:

How is going from a 320 to a 280 gives more speed?

I was talking about that post. An XL 275 was suggested. The only reasons to use an XL 275 over a 280 are, as you are well aware, I'm sure, either prior ownership of the 275 from another mech, or the mech you're using it in having it as an upper limit (like a HBK-4J, for example). Since neither case applies here...

Edited by Torezu, 10 September 2015 - 10:39 AM.

[IraqiWalker]

Torezu, on 10 September 2015 - 10:39 AM, said:

I was talking about that post. An XL 275 was suggested. The only reasons to use an XL 275 over a 280 are, as you are well aware, I'm sure, either prior ownership of the 275 from another mech, or the mech you're using it in having it as an upper limit (like a HBK-4J, for example). Since neither case applies here...

Ah. Might wanna quote that, to make things clearer. Sorry.