42 replies to this topic

[TexAce]

About 2 weeks ago before one of the events i was a bit bored so I tired something new.

I took my meanest mech, being KGC-0000
Put in the biggest engine possible, because speed is life
Put in the biggest AC possible, AC20
Maxed out the missile hardpoints with LRM5s (4xLRM5 + Artemis) - Note: I haven't played LRM mechs since about 2013)
Maxed out on lasers the best I could

At the end I got this:
KGC-0000

And I set some rules for myself:
- Only shoot LRMs in the range of 200-650m
- Only pack enough LRMs to soften enemies up at the beginning of the match
- Use the LRMs as a supression weapon. Meaning: Fire them at everything that pops up, one salvo at least, make their Bitching Betty explode from missile warnings.
- Don't ever try to rely on LRMs.
- Shoot down UAVs as soon as they pop up.

Heat generation looks bad, but don't forget, the LRMs you dont use while you use the rest. So actually its pretty good with heat. Plus I got okay heat discipline and know how to twist.

Result was: I have never lost a match with this mech anymore (tier 2). I may have died, but I always contributed tremendously to the win.
I never plowed through events as fast as with this mech. The KMDD events were done in a few hours, with an average of 3 KMDD per match (average of 550 dmg per match since then).

I LOVE this mech.

Then I tried the same with my other King Crabs. Same strategy. It worked.
Then I tried the same with the Warhammers (7S mostly). It works.

Conclusion was: I would have never thought that I would enjoy driving a mixed loadout mech like this, especially with LRMs. They are viable, even in Tier2+ matches, They are actually, what everyone dreamt in the last years what they should be.

At least for me.

Take from this post whatever you want, but for me this is a feeling I didn't have for a long time.
All that BS about pinpoint alphas, boat one weapon to the max (The Warhammer and the other KGCs use mixed LRM sizes), assaults being crap, it all doesn't matter for me now, because I play this as I think PGI thought it has to be played and for me it works extremly good.

Funny story: I was on terra and was shooting the LRMs on an enforcer, beginning of the match, spamming him with it, suddenly he tries to charge me and starts to facetank me, I shoot my other weapons into his ST and he pops up. I ask him what of a crap move that was and he only replies "You bring LRMs, you get facetanked". LOL, same thing with my Warhammer on Caustic. This time a Crab pilot, probably the same.

Yeah I do bring LRMs from now on, but dont forget the BMFG next to it.

Edited by TexAce, 06 February 2016 - 03:48 PM.

[Clownwarlord]

I do this with my Atlas DDC and works well.

- Ac20
- 25 lrm tubes
- 2 mediums
- ECM
- Plenty of ammo
- At least a 300 STD if not bigger

It only really works in Solo cue because group play you have better team work, and then in CW it doesn't work because you can always be light rushed and then there goes a 100 ton mech.

[Mcgral18]

...XL, LRM Assault...




Though, Artemis almost seems wasteful on 5s. Lock duration being the largest benefit.

[Clownwarlord]

I agree XL in an assault is a no no but a mix breed of lrms and close range weapons work.

[nehebkau]

clownwarlord, on 06 February 2016 - 03:42 PM, said:

I agree XL in an assault is a no no but a mix breed of lrms and close range weapons work.

On the crab it's fine as you almost always get CT killed because its mostly CT.

Edited by nehebkau, 06 February 2016 - 06:08 PM.

[Alistair Winter]

Been levelling my Maulers since they were out for C-bills. All 4 variants have 2xLRM10, all of them have energy weapons in the arms. Maulers without LRMs aren't real Maulers. Now, not only are LRMs useful for increasing your damage when you have no LOS and getting enemies to run for cover, but it's also a lot of fun. I'm actually using 4 different weapon groups on most of my Maulers, switching between lasers, ballistics and LRMs, and it's really challenging to get the most out of all my weapons, and it's really fun.

I decided that I would run LRMs on all my Maulers long ago, but actually doing it was a lot more effective and a lot more fun than I had feared.

My builds:

Spoiler

• MAL-1P: STD280, 2LPL, 2UAC5, 2LRM10
  
• MAL-1R: XL270 (come at me bro), 4AC2, 2LL, 2LRM10 (trying to stay as close to stock as possible)
  
• MAL-2P: STD275, 2LL, 4ML, 2AC5, 2LRM10
  
• MAL-MX90: STD270, 2ML, 4AC5, 2LRM10

EDIT: Before you l33t players fall off your chair in a fit of rage, I'm not saying that the Mauler with LRMs is actually the best Mauler in a min-maxing perspective. But f*** it, some of us have standards.

Edited by Alistair Winter, 06 February 2016 - 04:14 PM.

[TexAce]

Mcgral18, on 06 February 2016 - 03:39 PM, said:

...XL, LRM Assault...




Though, Artemis almost seems wasteful on 5s. Lock duration being the largest benefit.

Lock time is pretty important. Since I use them as a supression weapon I want the enemie's HUD to display the missile warning as soon as possible, I want him to cancel what ever he was planing to do and abort, move back to cover.
Most pilots forget how important that is. Its not about the damage, its about not letting the opponent do what he wants.

You cant turn the missile warnings off, its a subconscious thing, it works even if the enemy thinks it doesnt work.

Edited by TexAce, 06 February 2016 - 03:56 PM.

[Hit the Deck]

TexAce, on 06 February 2016 - 03:36 PM, said:

...
And I set some rules for myself:
- Only shoot LRMs in the range of 200-650m
- Only pack enough LRMs to soften enemies up at the beginning of the match
- Use the LRMs as a supression weapon. Meaning: Fire them at everything that pops up, one salvo at least, make their Bitching Betty explode from missile warnings.
- Don't ever try to rely on LRMs.
- Shoot down UAVs as soon as they pop up.

According to your rules, I made some modifications: KGC-0000

• 1x Gauss + 3x LPL + 3x LRM5
  
• XL360 (unchanged), 17x DHS (added 3 more)

[TexAce]

Hit the Deck, on 06 February 2016 - 03:53 PM, said:

According to your rules, I made some modifications: KGC-0000

• 1x Gauss + 3x LPL + 3x LRM5
  
• XL360 (unchanged), 17x DHS (added 3 more)

That would be my KGC-000B
Although I always was a AC20 fan, never one of the gauss, so I always take the AC20 over the gauss. In my heart I am a brawler, I just now like to face half-damaged mechs and not ones with still full armor intact.

[himself]

nehebkau, on 06 February 2016 - 03:43 PM, said:

On the crab it's find as you almost always get CT killed because its mostly CT.

Wow stop posting

[Triordinant]

Mixed loadouts and no boating? That's BattleTech!

[ScarecrowES]

You had me at the topic title, but lost me with the actual build. LRM5s... bleh.

But in principle, mixed LRM builds can work in pubs. I just did nearly 1200 damage with 3 kills and something like 7 assists last night in my Warhawk. I think that's 30 lurms from 2 launchers, 2LPLs and 2MPLs. But I'm serious about the utility on my LRMs, and hate wasted tonnage/slots... I use my LRMs for damage, not trolling... so you won't see me ever run a pack of small launchers when fewer would work.

[Wattila]

I leveled my KGC-0000 with 3xLL, TAG, 4xLRM10+A, XL340 or sth (~1.5 WLR and KDR, not good but not terrible either). Ran super hot, and didn't have enough opportunities to use the LRMs to justify the tonnage tbh, fun though. That was before Polar, though .

[MonkeyCheese]

Been doing this forever in almost all my heavy/aslt mechs, usually its just a single lrm10 till I close range but boating builds are too situational for me.

[Deathlike]

I love testing mechs for XL.

It's nomnomnom delicious!

It's a lot easier these days to rip apart the side torso of a mech... if only to reduce the firepower of the mech by 1/2 (it assumes almost symmetrical builds)... but if it happens to outright side-core a mech (assuming IS of course), then it's just a bonus.

You can get away with whatever bad build in the solo queue... chaos is the game, but anyone with any level of intelligence will try to expose your weakness (like aim for the LRM/missile torso of a King Crab build).. just to see you get neutered... or die because of XL.

Edited by Deathlike, 06 February 2016 - 04:21 PM.

[Hit the Deck]

Actually, it would generally be better to use Clan Mechs when you want to pack all of the weapon systems (ballistic, energy,and missile) because of ClanTech. This Warhawk would be a good example: 1x cGauss, 5x cERML, 2x cLRM15 with 5.5 tons of ammo moving at ~70 kph.

[wanderer]

Honestly, when I was playing a Dire Wolf in solo queue, I did pack ALRM30. Because it was nice having something to fire while the PUGs inevitably ran out of my engagement envelope for direct-fire guns and it frequently lured people to "come kill the lurmboat" if I didn't manage to catch up first. Or making them duck into cover would slow them down enough for me to get a clean shot at them when they popped back out...

And then I'd proceed to burn them to death with the main guns. A Clan assault can easily pack ALRM20/30 as a secondary battery due to the low tonnage requirements.

[nehebkau]

himself, on 06 February 2016 - 03:56 PM, said:

nehebkau, on 06 February 2016 - 03:43 PM, said:

On the crab it's fine as you almost always get CT killed because its mostly CT.

Wow stop posting

I might say the same to you. Since you lack knowledge, the king crab is a giant CT and, most often, your CT is what gets hit and therefore an XL engine in a king crab is not as big a concern as in other assaults.

And you might try to not be such a {james cameron} next time.

Oh and by the way, there are a few other Assaults where an XL engine is just ducky.

Edited by nehebkau, 06 February 2016 - 06:13 PM.

[Pjwned]

This is probably something I would do myself if I was inspired enough to try anything heavier than my Victor, but playing anything slower than 80 KPH tends to be a drag for me.

[Bishop Steiner]

TexAce, on 06 February 2016 - 03:36 PM, said:

About 2 weeks ago before one of the events i was a bit bored so I tired something new.

I took my meanest mech, being KGC-0000
Put in the biggest engine possible, because speed is life
Put in the biggest AC possible, AC20
Maxed out the missile hardpoints with LRM5s (4xLRM5 + Artemis) - Note: I haven't played LRM mechs since about 2013)
Maxed out on lasers the best I could

At the end I got this:
KGC-0000

Yeah I do bring LRMs from now on, but dont forget the BMFG next to it.

KGC-0000
different build, same concept. Well, aside from speed. Have to see if in our lower agility world it's still viable. Never had a strong stance on Krabs and Xls one way or another, so if it's too sluggish, an XL 350-360 is easy enough to shoehorn in.