10 replies to this topic

[MadHornet]

I've come to notice that the Panther 10P, despite the 'mech in general being one of the least used in the game, to be the least used variant as well. Why is this? Is it because of the ballistics weight? Not enough crit slots? For whichever reason, it doesn't get seen a lot.

Me, being a fan of a LOT of less common chassis (i.e. Trebuchet, Kintaro, Commando, Panther, Orion, Quickdraw), decided to get the final Panther variant after cleaning out a few unneeded 'mechs for poor man's c-bills. This is what I came up with:

PNT-10P

Engine: XL 235
Chassis: Endo-Steel
Armor Type: Ferro-Fibrous
Heat Sinks: Single
Armor Values:
Head: 10
CT: 40
RCT: 4
RT: 30
RRT: 2
LT: 30
RLT: 2
RA: 24
LA: 9
RL: 32
LL: 32

Weapons/Equipment:
1x Jumpjet (RT)
1x Ultra AC/5 (RA)
1x SRM-4 (CT)
3x UAC 5 ammo (1x RT, 1x LT, 1x CT)
1x SRM ammo (Head)
1x External Single HS (RT)

This 'mech often suffers from internal claustrophobia when you try to fit an amount of weapons 12 tons or greater while trying to retain 100+ kph speeds. It just doesn't give you enough space using both upgrades, nor do you have enough ammunition. Single heat sinks? AC/10 or 2x AC/2? Forget it. Not enough ammo, too much heat build up, not enough dissipation.

Despite the lack of specific quirks for the UAC5, the existing quirks enable it to compensate for the expected jamming chance. I mean, 25% cooldown, range, and 20% velocity?! That's great! 750 meters with this thing, increased fire rate and velocity makes this effective at all ranges. With the quirked speed of 116 kph and a jumpjet for easier scaling, it has enough to dash to different positions and even brawl with heavier 'mechs.

But what about that SRM-4? Well, you can't JUST have a UAC 5. All that jamming, and no side weapon? Not a good idea. Some might say:

"Well, why not 2x SRM-2's??? It fires faster and is a bit more accurate, and does the same damage!"

Well, let me explain.
SRM-2 = 2 heat
SRM-4 = 3 heat

2x SRM-2 = 4 heat + faster fire rate

Keep in mind we ONLY have 10 SINGLE heatsinks, The SRM system will be our primary source of excess heat. Despite the tempting fire rate, that's a good 30% more heat pumped into a poorly vented 'mech. In hotter maps, it just cannot get rid of it. In brawls, the heat from 2x SRM-2's on hot maps will make it slowly climb until you're stuck at near heat cap and unable to use them. Then your UAC might jam and you're running around like a headless chicken.

Overall, despite its inevitable ammunition cravings, this build lasts pretty long surprisingly, and is good for many roles in supporting the team. I wouldn't suggest fighting other light 'mechs in this, but if you have the aim and patience, the UAC 5 puts the lotion on their skin.

Edited by MadHornet, 25 February 2016 - 12:30 PM.

[epikt]

Please use Smurfy when you share a build. If you don't I bet most of the readers don't even bother to try to imagine how your build looks like.

I don't like the build. The UAC is fun and all, but kind of heavy, much more drawbacks than advantages. Single heat sinks are crazy, not really because of low heat dissipation (you can deal with this kind of weapons with SHS) but because the mechs comes stock equipped with DHS, so you have to pay for single heat sinks...

Here is my build on this mech : XL255, AC/2, 2 SRM2s, JJ
It's faster, has more reliable DPS, better heat management and more damage potential.

[MadHornet]

That build is faster, but seems that's all there is for it from my perspective. 1 AC/2 is extremely lacking in firepower despite more dependibility. The UAC 5 even if it has jamming, offers a good amount of damage in short bursts (5 - 7 shots, 25 - 35 damage) and just enough speed to get out of the way if and when it jams.

[stealthraccoon]

I had luck with a 3/4 Huggin build - 2MG's and 2 SRM4's, tanky style with a STD engine is nice, but with a big XL you are more survivable:
[smurfy]http://mwo.smurfy-ne...222552fc6f31d17[/smurfy]

I can run an AC10 with an SRM2 well enough, but most people wouldn't enjoy that kinda [smurfy]http://mwo.smurfy-ne...fbc2ff7d8ea3899[/smurfy]

Edited by stealthraccoon, 25 February 2016 - 01:55 PM.

[Tiamat of the Sea]

For anyone who feels like pretending they're as insane as I am, I'm going to just leave this here.

PNT-10P Backhand

[jss78]

I love Panthers in general, but this variant I haven't been able to make myself buy. The whole concept of having to run ballistics in this weight class -- but a maximum of two so it can never really be a machine gun build -- just rubs me the wrong way. Especially as it's a non-canon variant and all Panthers in lore have energy gun arms!

If I absolutely had to run this mech, I'd probably go with XL200, AC10, SRM2 to have a halfway decent pinpoint punch in that gun arm, and to have something to fire after the gun arm is gone.

I did see someone run this mech with a gauss rifle -- got three kills too, including me! I believe the optimal gauss build would be something like this. That actually seems like a halfway decent one-trick pony, although it's of course a Poor Man's Hollander which runs the gauss rifle in a low and vulnerable arm mount instead of a far better shoulder mount.

[VitriolicViolet]

Nice Quickdraw i use a very similiar build.
I dropped 1 and half tons of srm ammo and 2 DHS for a XL 225, you can run at 104 without speed tweak.
Also with modules the LBX gets 37% cooldown.

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...a76408f74eb5c47

runs a little light on ammo, but i find the speed is great for harrassing heavies and assaults

Edited by Violet Vitriol Price, 25 February 2016 - 02:54 PM.

[Jordanecus]

I dont know what people use these days for mech builds as far as websites. But i was looking for builds for this variant because a friend of mine that was new to the game bought one. But i ended up buying one and found that the default XL engine and an AC5 with a light AC2 works pretty well. i run NARC as well just to help the team out a bit more. Does need cooldown and armor skills though. I can only fit a ton of each ammo, but that is usually more than enough for a round.

[Void Angel]

Jordanecus, on 07 August 2025 - 03:41 PM, said:

I dont know what people use these days for mech builds as far as websites. But i was looking for builds for this variant because a friend of mine that was new to the game bought one. But i ended up buying one and found that the default XL engine and an AC5 with a light AC2 works pretty well. i run NARC as well just to help the team out a bit more. Does need cooldown and armor skills though. I can only fit a ton of each ammo, but that is usually more than enough for a round.

We use MechDB, since older MechLabs like Smurfy's are shut down.

Edited by Void Angel, Today, 06:31 PM.

[Void Angel]

I'd recommend something like This Build - you don't really care about NARC if you're not using LRMs, and while it does hard-counter ECM, you'll be better off bringing guns. Or This Option, if you want better pinpoint damage capability.

[CFC Conky]

Holy Necro Batman.