10 replies to this topic

[Rorvik]

I've been meaning to get the Mad Dog for a long time now but did not have the C-bills until recently, plus there is sale now, so...

...Assuming I get it but I only get three of the four variants, which one should I not get?

Also, any thoughts people have on the Mech itself and how it plays?

[Moonraven83]

It doesn't matter which 3 Mad Dogs you get, since none of them has quirks on the CT (the only part you can't change).

[Takashi Uchida]

Recently mastered one. It excels as a missile platform. Everything else gets low mounts in the arms. It is only 5 tons heavier than the Stormcrow and the side torsos are removed extremely easily.

The best use I've found for it is to fill it up with streaks. 4s or 6s. And there you have it, the "skill dog." Prepare to average stupid amounts of (spread out) damage and vaporize lights by looking at them!

Also can do LRMs. The Timberwolf can do that too and better, but I guess the exception is that the Mad Dog can do LRM5x6 (fire in groups or chain it for ultimate trollage. Firing all gives you a pretty fat heat penalty).

You can make a brawly build too with SRMs or a big AC, but I find the mech just falls apart too quickly for that. Regardless of what build, you have to stick to your team pretty closely.

Depending on how many missiles slots your build needs you can generally shuffle the torsos around. I skimped out on the C variant BUT ended up getting the arms separately because they have a pretty substantial armor bonus you can use to marginally make the side torsos more durable. The missile quirks for the torsos are fairly minor anyway.

[Rorvik]

Moonraven83, on 21 January 2016 - 11:52 AM, said:

It doesn't matter which 3 Mad Dogs you get, since none of them has quirks on the CT (the only part you can't change).

If that is the case, then does it make any sense to own more than one variant once you've Basic-ed the chassis? Presumably, you could just keep swapping the omnipods to make the loadout you want, no?

Edited by Rorvik, 21 January 2016 - 05:34 PM.

[Moonraven83]

Rorvik, on 21 January 2016 - 05:34 PM, said:

If that is the case, then does it make any sense to own more than one variant once you've Basic-ed the chassis? Presumably, you could just keep swapping the omnipods to make the loadout you want, no?

If you don't mind the set-up time when changing loadouts, then there is no incentive to keep more then one.

[Marcel Bekker]

The trick to not having your Mad Dog fall apart from incoming fire is to not twist too much. Yes, you heard me right. The CT is actually quite thin (unless you poke it right into someones face), most of the side of the long Vulture nose is Side Torso Hitbox. By just doing slight left-right-repeat movements, you spread damage over all 3 torso hitboxes. I would even advise skimping on the CT armor a bit to get more payload on it.

I you want ballistics, or a shield arm without weapons... go with the C arms... +20 Armor quirk. If the arms were larger, they would shield like a boss.
But they are not. You will lose the STs earlier than the arms more often than not, so skimping on arm armor is also possible.
Once again, because it is so important... DO NOT TWIST TO THE MAXIMUM LEFT AND RIGHT. You WILL lose your STs that way.

Bonus points if you know how to use arm movement separate from the torso... then you can do the left-right wiggle(you can also call it the "nope"-headshake) while keeping your arm weapons on target... unless you have no lower arm actuators of course. You can get surprising durability out of it that way.
But always keep in mind, it is not really a heavy... it is a large medium. Well, that is how the Ghost Bears use it. Executioner is our heavy mech, Mad Dog is the medium, Viper is the light and the Fire Moth is a big, blindingly fast Elemental that carries the other, small and slow Elementals.

Rorvik, on 21 January 2016 - 05:34 PM, said:

If that is the case, then does it make any sense to own more than one variant once you've Basic-ed the chassis? Presumably, you could just keep swapping the omnipods to make the loadout you want, no?

That is exactly what I have done, the only downside is that you can not take more than one loadout into CW.

Edited by Marcel Bekker, 23 January 2016 - 04:24 AM.

[Digital_Angel]

Moonraven83, on 21 January 2016 - 08:49 PM, said:

If you don't mind the set-up time when changing loadouts, then there is no incentive to keep more then one.

There is if you want a Clan CW deck, but for Quick Play the only advantage to having multiple is saving time swapping parts around.

[Hyperslow]

Not trying to hyjack the thread but I also would like to know which variant I should buy first. I also heard that you need to have the c variant before you can use omnipods on the other variants. Is this true? If so how does that factor into which variant you would buy.

[Digital_Angel]

You can buy omnipods individually in the mech lab. The C is a poplar variant as a missile platform. You can keep all the omnipods when you sell the mech (really just the CT with omni mechs).

Edited by LadyDanams, 25 January 2016 - 07:20 PM.

[Crow Splat]

I like the A but I don't really run cookie cutter builds. LB20-X 3x LRM5 2x SRM4 and ERPPC is what I've been using in solo drops. I like that I have a weapon or 2 for whatever situation or map I'm in. Just hang around punching holes with the ppc and peppering targets of opportunity with lrms. When the brawlers push in, follow close behind and slam whatever lives with the LB-x and srms.

It doesn't put up monster numbers but it is the fluffy way to run a mad dog, running around the edges of combat and picking up cheap kills.

Stock B variant isn't bad either. Runs pretty much the same way.

Edited by Crow Splat, 28 January 2016 - 05:07 PM.

[Cato Phoenix]

Rorvik, on 21 January 2016 - 05:34 PM, said:

If that is the case, then does it make any sense to own more than one variant once you've Basic-ed the chassis? Presumably, you could just keep swapping the omnipods to make the loadout you want, no?

Then you can't drop-deck 4x Mad dogs (though now the total tonnage is upped)