21 replies to this topic

[Nebuchadnezzar2]

I almost exclusively pilot dragon. I just feel that it suits me best so far. I don't think that it is severely underpowered, actually my result is quite consistent with them. I have positive K/D & W/L and seems like it will take about 1 more week for me to reach tier 1 given my current progress rate.

IMO they are hated simply because they are anti meta. You cannot boat energy weapons. You alpha is mediocre at best. Most of your hardpoints are on the arms, and they have very vulnerable ST. They cannot perform alpha and twist effectively due to mediocre alpha and vulnerable ST that can be shot from the side.

But if you can forget what you know about meta and your normal playstyle they do have some strong points
- The ST energy hardpoints is one of the best in the game due to it has the same height with the cockpit and is the highest part of the mech
- They are decently quirked
- FANG, 1C & Flame's left side hardpoints are placed nicely that if you can find suitable cover matching their geometry they can be decent poking mech
- Most of them are thermally efficient due to balanced energy, ballistic & missile hardpoints also quirk
- Fully actuated arms and the fact that most of your weapons are placed there give you edge in circle fight

My builds:

FANG
For me this is the best dragon, it is the most flexible, can be adapted to every circumstances

AC10 + 3x ERLL > this is my most consistent build due to the fact that you can be effective on every phase of the game. Start the game with long range poking using the left hardpoints, when things get up close and personal brawl with AC10 & 2ERLL on the arm. for me it is quite easy to consistently scoring 400+ dmg using this build provided i dont make severe mistake.

AC10 + 2LPL + 1 ML > Strong in medium - close range, good heat efficiency
AC10 + MG + LPL + 2ML + SRM4 > The idea is you can solo kill 2+ meches and still not overheat
3 LPL + 2 MG + SRM 4 > Poking with left side + some extra punch

1C
My 2nd favourite DRG simply due to 4 energy hardpoints on the left side

3 LPL + 1 ML > 38 alpha poking, decent speed + range quirk (speed can be traded with extra SRM)

FLAME
I don't realy like FLAME. I think people praise FLAME simply due to it is closer to the "META" even so it is still mediocre by META standard

AC10 + 2 PPC > This is the one build that for me is FLAME strength compared to other DRG > 30 dmg PPFLD poking
AC10 + 2LPL + 2 SL > Same 30 + DMG poking + some extra alpha punch

1N
Straight forward AC 5 dps + whatever you want normally i add ERPPC on ST for poking or 2 ML + 2 SRM 4 for extra punch

5N > i cannot find any specialty for this that other DRG can't do


General tips:
- Survivability is about protecting your ST, if you face the enemy they will hit your CT or ST, face left they will hit your arm or ST. Most of the time you'll want to face the enemy while moving for damage distribution, only giving them your side if you want to protect the other ST

- going more than 368 armor ( or 376 with FF ) does not increase your survivability + you can shave armor completely and still unlikely dying from headshot

- due to most hardpoints on the arms you are strong if the fight is getting vertical

- during poking if you find you are getting return fire from the enemy then you are doing it wrong, find different cover matching your hardpoints or find different target

- DRG is strong in solo fight against everything that is not assault (high dps low heat heavies are exception). But it requires some finese in duel, it is about abusing your arms hardpoints and your thermal efficiency

[Bud Crue]

Nebuchadnezzar2,

Thanks for the thoughts and ideas. I don't think the Dragon is bad per se. I think it is just bad for me. I indicated a few posts back that I think the problems I have with the mech are really on me due to my inflexibility of play style. It isn't the mech's problem, but mine.

I like to brawl and I like to lead from the front. I like a decent amount of speed and durability so that once I am in the midst of the reds I can kill at least one of them and give at least one other a seriously bad day; live or die that is my goal. I find that the Dragon lacks the ability to do this effectively. Put another way, most folks have told me I need to play the Dragon as a second line mech, keep the enemy at a bit of distance, etc. I am really bad at that.

So the Dragon may be a great mech, but it is NOT something you want to be the tip of the spear in. It is not something you want to really brawl in (especially if you need the XL to get decent twisting...which you really do). It is too big and slow to be sneaky in (most of the time). It is too easily disarmed (or disemboweled when running XL) to really get in the mix and cause a really distraction. I am learning however to make it work, and will likely broaden my horizons and gain some new skills in the process. Nevertheless, I can't imagine my ever preferring this thing over my Quickdraws no matter how much either one is nerfed, buffed, rescaled or whatever; or how much playing it now improves my skills

On a related note, I feel also that the Enforcer (and even a Centurion) can do most of the things a Dragon can do, and the Enforcer feels a lot tougher at 10 tons less. In re the Enforcer, it may be that the Enforcer's better scale gives it the advantage I perceive. In any case I hate the feeling of redundancy. Thus the Enforcer will likely get future play whereas the Dragon will sit on the sidelines once it is mastered.