9 replies to this topic

[PeeWrinkle]

There has been a Medium Mechoholic thread I have been following that has me wanting to buy a new (for me) medium mech.

I know it is crazy but I prefer Inner Sphere mechs over Clan mechs. Currently I have piloted all but the following Inner Sphere Mediums:
Blackjack
Trebuchet
Kintaro

And by pilot I mean I currently own at least one mastered chassis of all the others.

So of the three which would you recommend and why?

Yes that is a very open ended question, so I will help a bit. I am mostly a brawler and skirmisher. The weapon I struggle with the most is the Gauss Rifle. The roll I struggle with the most is snipping. But I am not opposed to playing where I am weak, hopefully that would make me better in those areas.

My favorite weapons are AC's - all types even the dreaded LBX10 (although I am not a huge fan of AC2 dakka). I also really like SRMs and boating small to medium lasers of any type.

Thanks in advance for you input and advice. And know I am very excited to spend some of my hard earned CBills!!!!

[Old-dirty B]

I can only recommend my personal favorite: the Cicada CDA-3C fast skirmisher / fire support, crazy quircked erppc + ac5 (or uac5) + xl280 (125km/h speed tweak).

[Grey Black]

Welcome to the fold, brother. It's okay, we know the suffering of medium mech pilots from all over the Inner Sphere. We're here for you. The best way to come down from that sweet medium mech high, in my opinion, of the ones you mentioned, the Blackjack is the way to go.

The Kintaro has always been too weak for me and had a play style that really didn't mesh well if you didn't like missiles. Which, going by your statement, you really might not like that play style. In fact, it has the infamy of being the only medium mech I've ever sold outright.

The Trebuchet, same deal. THere is one variant with autocannons, IIRC, but otherwise it doesn't sound like it suits what you want.

The Blackjack, though, I've recently fallen in love with. Really good speed, small frame, loads of dakka, able to get in, dish your damage, and GTFO before anyone knows what hit them. Think of them as tiny Centurions with smaller engines and more dakka.

Edited by Grey Black, 16 October 2015 - 12:21 PM.

[Roughneck45]

Blackjacks are going to be all about the lasers and AC's.

Kints and Trebs will be SRM boats. (Although a Treb can rock an AC20 3ML build quite well.

I don't pilot those two because I think they are hideous looking mechs, but Blackjacks are pretty good.
BJ-1
BJ-1X
Two of my favorites.

[WrathOfDeadguy]

If you like ACs and lasers, then the Blackjack is the 'Mech you want. It has three ballistic variants, all with high-mounted arm hardpoints for peeking and corner fighting, two of the ballistic variants have jets for mobility, and all of them can mount adequate backup weaponry.

If you like LB10-X, then consider grabbing the Arrow- it can combine the LB10-X's crit-seeking with 5 MGs and a few lasers to double down and make crit confetti. Or it can duplicate pretty much any decent BJ-1 or 1DC build with a c-bill boost... or run a zombie build with a STD engine... lots of potential loadout variety.

If you like boating medium lasers, then the BJ-1X and BJ-3 have you covered. The 1X is one of the better mediums on the IS side right now because of its high-mounted laservomit potential and general speediness.

I can't remember if the BJ-1{C} is still on the trial 'Mech list or not... but if it is, give it a whirl. Few things are as much fun as a flying AC20. Dual AC5/UAC5 builds can be fun, too, but I like the big booms best.

No missile variants... but SRMs aren't exactly in the best place right now, either, so you're likely to get frustrated leveling brand-spanking-new SplatTaros or TrebuSplats. 'Jacks are definitely the way to go.

[PeeWrinkle]

Thanks! I was leaning towards the Blackjack, and now my mind is made up. I think I like the 1X, 1, 3, and Arrow variants the best. I might have to drop some cash on the mastery pack and then get the 1X with CBills!

[Audacious Aubergine]

Yup, Blackjacks are a good bet to ticking all your boxes

[WrathOfDeadguy]

Don't feel like you have to build them to quirks, either... some of the more user-friendly builds ignore quirks completely. The only thing to take under consideration is that most, if not all of the Blackjacks work best with a maxed-out engine; they're decently quick with a 235, but much slower than 90kph and you'll really start noticing that you've only got the armor of a 45-tonner! I definitely like the Jumping Jacks the best... I already have Hunchbacks and Cents for ground-bound medium mayhem.

The AC20 BoomJack is still one of my go-tos for when I'm having a bad night. The combination of mobility and a high-mounted arm AC20 makes it easier to peek from safe cover and get out of bad positions quickly... although I run mine on my Arrow because of the cbill boost.

[Johny Rocket]

Get all of them, each has a star player. The KTO 18 is a damage hose, the BJ-1 does ac-2 in a way that makes them not suck, the Treb 7K I call the Jack Hammer, 2 AC/5 and 2 ML xl 275 (97.2kph elited) decent size for a 50 tonner. Quirks mod and elited it has an AC/5 cooldown of 1.04 sec.

Edited by Tractor Joe, 17 October 2015 - 04:10 PM.

[DA BAWSS]

Personally, I am a HUGE fan of The Centurion chassis. It relies on Autocannon fire to make the enemy mech shake and sway like a drunk man at a fiesta. Along with TONS AND TONS of shielding with your left side. Except the AL, which is pretty much a mid-range laser vomit machine.

Its a great mech for learning how to shield. That's the Centurion's secret: its hitboxes. Its torsos are very small in size, while its arms; particularly its left, are extremely huge and cover almost the entire torsos at the right angle. With a good skill in shielding, the Centurion can last much longer into the fight than alot of its heavier cousins like the Jager, Catapult, Dragon, and even the Quickdraw.

The AH and Yen-Lo are by far the best. I dealt 717 dmg with the AH in one round. The AL is in a close 2nd, and is more close to the current meta. The D is a very interesting and fun variant, not the best, but going 100 kph+ with an automatic LB-10X is fun. The A variant has certainly fell from power, but still isn't terrible.



Builds:
AH: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...7c60ae172dafe5f
Yen-Lo Wang: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...8637996a2ca1ff2
AL: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ea4b9761d77f23c
D: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...807c8396c429969
A: http://mwo.smurfy-ne...4ada3d1530d51ae

Hope this helped, see you on the battlefield!