23 replies to this topic

[Krosst77]

First, let me say thank you. It's refreshing to see a community that actually lifts up new people versus tearing them down.

So, I purchased my first Mech, a Hunchback 4P I believe. It came with the AC/10. Which, I promptly removed and added on 2 LG ER Lasers. I just love the sniping play style. But, sadly the HB has left a bad taste in my mouth.

I was looking to step up into a Heavy or Assault with a strong Long Range capability but not completely useless if things get closer.

I'm sitting at about 12 Million Creds.

Any advice, would be very helpful! Thank you.

[The Mecha Streisand]

IS:

CPLT-K2. Choice of ERLL/PPC/ERPPC for your primaries, in nice high mounts on the arms with plenty of pitch. Also, CPLT is getting rescaled soon, so bonus! OR do ballistics in the side torsos, like Gauss or UAC/5.

JM6-x. Any Jagermech makes a great sniper, again with ballistic or energy weapons in high mounts with good arm pitch. Less survivable due to squishy side torsos, but w/e.

Clan:

EBJ or TBR. Either has high mounts in the LT for E weapons, and the EBJ adds a RT high mount for a ballistic. Plenty survivable with those Clan XL engines and built-in CASE in those omnipods. Faster, too (81.0 km/h w/out speed tweak). And TBR has JJ options and is losing its negaquirks tomorrow. They're a little more expensive, of course, but TOTES worth it in PUG or group or CW.

[Wedge Red Leader]

FWIW - My favorite sniper mech is a TBR-C with 4ERL and TC1

[Tickdoff Tank]

Krosst77, on 15 February 2016 - 06:14 PM, said:

First, let me say thank you. It's refreshing to see a community that actually lifts up new people versus tearing them down.

So, I purchased my first Mech, a Hunchback 4P I believe. It came with the AC/10. Which, I promptly removed and added on 2 LG ER Lasers. I just love the sniping play style. But, sadly the HB has left a bad taste in my mouth.

I was looking to step up into a Heavy or Assault with a strong Long Range capability but not completely useless if things get closer.

I'm sitting at about 12 Million Creds.

Any advice, would be very helpful! Thank you.

Do you prefer Clan or IS? Or, since you are new, do you not care? Are you only looking for heavies, or will a medium do? What about a Light?

Quick note, the Hunch 4P is a Laser boat, no ballistic hardpoints. You must be referring to the Hunch 4H, that comes with an AC/10. The 4P is an excellent mech, and one that is usually recommended to new players. It can move fast, packs a serious punch, is not too expensive and is rather maneuverable. But it is not really built to be a sniper, it is more of a brawler. (You should definately get one at some point, even if that is not what you want right now).

As to a "proper" sniper mech, I would suggest a Cataphract 1X. Put the ERLL in the torsos for hill-peaking, a few MLs in the arms (for close range work) and an AC in the torso as your big gun (I use an AC/10 for that build)

CTF-1X

Note: This is not exactly my favorite build for the 1X, but it has been fun to play, and it fits what I think you are looking for.

If you prefer ballistic weapons to snipe with (like the gauss or AC/2), then speak up and I (and others) will make some other suggestions.

One other build just occurred to me, a Battlemaster BLR-1S. Deck it out with 4 ERLL in the torsos, 4 SRM4s, 3 tons of ammo, a large XL engine (I think I used an XL 365) and as many DHS as you can squeeze in. It will run hot, but can really do some long range damage, and the SRMs are pretty nice up close. Of course, it is an assault mech and might be out of your current budget, but it might work for you

Edited by Tickdoff Tank, 15 February 2016 - 06:55 PM.

[PorkedPork]

Get the Mauler-2P. Two Gauss rifles and two PPCs. The rest is up to you. Dont use any other mechs use this one.

[Tickdoff Tank]

Seeing the other replys in this thread made me realize I was not being open minded enough for you, This is one of my current favorite builds, but it is a medium PPC sniper. I am having enormous amounts of fun with it, but it is definitely a niche build.

BJ-3

The key to running this is to not over heat. I have the left side PPC on mouse 1, and the right side PPCs chain fired on mouse 2. I also have the PPCs on the right side linked on mouse button 5 (I use a naga mouse, but you can adapt this to any mouse with at least 3 buttons). That allows me to side peek with either side to get off a shot, but I try to use my right side more often since it has 2 PPCs. I can also fire both PPCs linked if needed, and in the rare occasions where I want a full alpha strike I can just hit 1+5 together and fire all 3, but the heat is brutal. I usually only do that when I have a nice shot at the rear of a stationary mech between 200-500m away, not the most common occurrence.

Also, the BlackJacks have high mounted energy weapons, so hill peeking is also something to make use of.

Edited by Tickdoff Tank, 15 February 2016 - 07:24 PM.

[Vertebreaker]

wait for the archer.

[Tickdoff Tank]

Vertebreaker, on 15 February 2016 - 07:55 PM, said:

wait for the archer.

The Archer is primarily a missile boat isn't it? I am sure there will be a few variants with extra lasers and such (don't know about ballistics, I do not remember an Archer that mounted ACs) but for a sniper mech I think the Archer will be a poor choice

[IraqiWalker]

Let me start by saying that people have listed many viable sniping mechs. However, the Jagermech is the best ballistic sniper mech in my opinion. Simply because it can do what none of the others can: Expose a fraction of its self to unload full damage.

Kiiyor's lovely illustrative guide.

Spoiler

[/img]http://i.imgur.com/gnrb0ar.jpg[/img]

Of course, it's only good as a ballistic sniper, it doesn't mount energy weapons in the arms. However, running it with dual gauss is the most natural sniper build in the game.

[MechWarrior4023212]

PPC are broken right now, with the shots passing through with no damage.

[Void Angel]

I've had no issues. There've always been some hit registration issues with projectiles, but I was just blasting people with my Marauder 3R yesterday, with 2 PPCs and a pair of AC/5s.

Tickdoff Tank, on 15 February 2016 - 08:52 PM, said:

The Archer is primarily a missile boat isn't it? I am sure there will be a few variants with extra lasers and such (don't know about ballistics, I do not remember an Archer that mounted ACs) but for a sniper mech I think the Archer will be a poor choice

Check Out the Page. While the Archer is a very missile-centric build, it has high-mounted energy hardpoints that will easily be usable for long-range energy weapons.

Krosst77, on 15 February 2016 - 06:14 PM, said:

First, let me say thank you. It's refreshing to see a community that actually lifts up new people versus tearing them down.

So, I purchased my first Mech, a Hunchback 4P I believe. It came with the AC/10. Which, I promptly removed and added on 2 LG ER Lasers. I just love the sniping play style. But, sadly the HB has left a bad taste in my mouth.

I was looking to step up into a Heavy or Assault with a strong Long Range capability but not completely useless if things get closer.

I'm sitting at about 12 Million Creds.

Any advice, would be very helpful! Thank you.

You're welcome! Be warned, we do have some bitter people (like, really bitter; some of them tried to sabotage the Steam release with misinformation,) but they don't generally come to the new player forums - it also helps that the player base is built on a core of Battletech fans who enjoy the game world and thus like teaching people how it works.

You started with a Hunchback 4H - that's the AC/10 variant. Personally, the AC/10 isn't a bad weapon if you're quirked for ballistics (and the 4H is very quirked,) but the Hunchback is generally used as a brawler (with the exceptions of the Grid Iron and the 4J.) If you tried to use an un-mastered Hunchback as a laser sniper, though, I can readily understand why the chassis feels frustrating to you. By preference, I'd use that Hunchback as an AC/10 skirmisher, hitting the enemy team from just behind the heavies and assaults.

Speaking of 'mech mastery, before any 'mech lives up to its potential, you'll need to get its Basic and Elite (first and second) skill tiers filled out - if you're just starting, the Master level is completely useless (you won't have the 'mech modules yet.) Just getting the Basic skills is quite helpful, particularly the heat management skills and Anchor Turn. Since you've invested in the chassis, I recommend you stick with it, and pick up the 4G - or if you really, really want to run an ER Large laser sniper (Honestly, I'd stick with the AC/10 and/or (ER)PPCs; the lasers spread damage and make you stare at the target,) then Use This. Just be aware that it's probably not an optimal use of the chassis - I Prefer This for the 4P.

With all that being said, if you are looking for a Heavy with energy sniping capability, I cannot recommend anything more strongly than the Thunderbolt. The chassis is versatile, and amazingly tough if you twist to spread damage. It can support everything from long range ERPPC sniping to Medium Pulse Laser boating - with a wide range in between. It's also one of the more strongly recommended 'mechs for Community Warfare decks (though that meta can and will change,) fitting compactly within the tonnage limits and being very strong pound-for-pound.

Whichever you decide, remember to check the quirks on any 'mech you buy, and use Smurfy's Awesome 'Mechlab and Reference Site to plan your builds (and your c-bill purchases!)

Edited by Void Angel, 15 February 2016 - 10:37 PM.

[VXJaeger]

Mauler 1R FTW

or Hero-BW

Edited by Ovcharka, 15 February 2016 - 11:59 PM.

[IraqiWalker]

JM6-S

[jss78]

Any good sniper needs at least three things: good long-range punch (obvious), high-mounted hardpoints (for best use of cover), and good mobility (to be able to maintain favourable firing positions as the battle develops).

The term "heavy sniper" immediately brings to my mind the image of the dual-Gauss Jagermech. A truly vicious long-range punch, hardpoints as high as they come, and passable mobility. It's a veritable "glass cannon" with the XL-engine, average armour, and the barndoor torso, but then you're fighting from long range and cover, so it shouldn't be much of an issue.

There are plenty of alternatives though, mainly from the light and medium category (the classic ECM+2xERLL Raven, "Mini-Jager" Blackjacks, Shadow Hawks (the variants which can pack multiple weapons on the shoulder)). I'm dubious about assault snipers, as I feel they're just unnecessarily heavy and well-armoured for the job and better used elsewhere IMO. (But I have a hard time arguing against something like a 4xERLL Battlemaster with a huge XL engine for mobility.)

In general I prefer Gauss rifles for sniping, as they don't reveal your position as easily as ERLL's. AC's I don't really consider a sniping as much as a suppression/fire-support weapon, as they require continued face time.

Edited by jss78, 16 February 2016 - 01:18 AM.

[Aeon Veritas]

joemusashi2, on 15 February 2016 - 06:55 PM, said:

Get the Mauler-2P. Two Gauss rifles and two PPCs. The rest is up to you. Dont use any other mechs use this one.

Ovcharka, on 15 February 2016 - 11:54 PM, said:

Mauler 1R FTW

I think quirk wise the MAL-1P would be better for both layouts.

[Audacious Aubergine]

IraqiWalker, on 15 February 2016 - 10:04 PM, said:

Let me start by saying that people have listed many viable sniping mechs. However, the Jagermech is the best ballistic sniper mech in my opinion. Simply because it can do what none of the others can: Expose a fraction of its self to unload full damage.

Kiiyor's lovely illustrative guide.

Spoiler

[/img]http://i.imgur.com/gnrb0ar.jpg[/img]

Of course, it's only good as a ballistic sniper, it doesn't mount energy weapons in the arms. However, running it with dual gauss is the most natural sniper build in the game.

I think the words you're looking for are "If you're willing to shell out cash, get the Rifleman"

[Kyynele]

Like for others before me, dual Gauss Jager was the first thing that came to mind. All the other sniping options besides gauss are just typically way too hot for close ranges. Of course, Gauss is also more unforgiving if you're not yet accustomed to aiming properly: if you miss, you do 0 damage. With ERLLs you probably do a couple points damage even if your crosshairs go all over the place.

New players are typically drawn into the longer range weapons, likely because brawling honestly has a lot more things you need to learn than just pointing at enemies and hiding after shooting. You have to learn to roll damage by torso twisting, shielding with the side of your mech that has the lesser firepower, you have to have very good situational awareness, have to know the maps, have to be able to pinpoint your damage to the weakspot in very brief time and so on. The troublesome thing is, that playing the sniping game, you don't improve these skills.

I'd seriously consider looking into typical midrange mechs instead of pure snipers. For example a very basic "laservomit" Timber Wolf (not the most optimal, but I think one of the easiest ones to play):

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ff5ad5a009ee4f1

The Clan Large Pulse Lasers have an optimum range of 600 meters without modules, which is typically a range in which most of the combat in the game is fought. They'll also do considerable damage all the way up to 800-900m, and outside of Faction Play, it's pretty rare to continuously get to shoot at enemies farther than that. Thanks to the ERMLs, laservomit can also do quite nice alpha strikes within 400 meters. This would allow you to shoot at enemies from long ranges, but would draw you a bit closer to the combat for optimal performance, where you'd improve many of the skills unique to MWO.

Timber Wolf is a fast mech, durable, it's very versatile and can do well in pretty much any role including sniping, brawling, mid range, and even LRMing. Especially if you're leaning more towards the Clan side in Faction play (based on your faction choice), it's one of the safest purchases to do in the game, despite it's highish price tag.

Just my 2c. Good luck and have fun.

[WANTED]

Gauss Jager is built for sniping. Dual Gauss then all the ammo you can stuff and XL engine. No heat issues either and good for all maps. Just stay at range and with group. You get isolated your toast. Get a zoom module and sometimes I use a Target Info module just to see where to shoot the weak point. Otherwise a seismic so you don't get jumped as easily up close. Also practice charging( not moving forward but charging up the shot) and shooting and even moving and shooting.

Edited by WANTED, 16 February 2016 - 04:44 AM.

[VXJaeger]

Aeon Veritas, on 16 February 2016 - 01:23 AM, said:

I think quirk wise the MAL-1P would be better for both layouts.

You are absolutely right, 1P is better. I just rake in CBs w/ 1R® and forgot that not everybody has them
Summarum: MAL-1P for gauss-ERLL-sniper. XL doesn't hurt too much as long as you play as sniper and remember to twist torso to spread incoming fire.

[IraqiWalker]

FreebirthToad18999, on 16 February 2016 - 02:05 AM, said:

I think the words you're looking for are "If you're willing to shell out cash, get the Rifleman"

Or the Firebrand, XD.

Also, I think the rifleman is worse, because it's arms are lower than the Jager. Even if by a bit.