Roadkill, on 11 March 2016 - 10:39 AM, said:
Streak boats are a waste regardless of their tonnage. Sure there's the occasional thread from some Light pilot crying about running into a Streakcrow and dying instantly, but they get shouted down in short order because the Streakcrow just isn't any good for anything else.
The 9M Archer will be better served by a mix of missile types. Thankfully it has the missile hardpoints to make that possible.
I agree that Streaks are generally a waste and that the 9M ARC will be better with the other missiles, but you are slightly under-valuing the damage Streaks deal when they are chosen.
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LOLno
I forget, which Archer can do 6M 5E? (And don't forget that those are CLAN M and CLAN E.)
Yes, the Maddog is only 60 tons, but the weapons it carries are lighter so it doesn't need to be as heavy to do the same job. And because it's lighter, it's also faster and more maneuverable unless you're planning on cramming a 350 engine into the Archer.
Don't get me wrong, I think the Archer is going to be a fine Mech. But to say that it will be able to do LRM5 rain better than the Maddog, and with better backup weapons, is just silly.
LOLyes.
First, I can get more tonnage to play with on the ARC without making great or even noteworthy sacrifices in speed.
Second, IS LRM 5 > Clan LRM5. Fact, not opinion. Wads are superior to streams, and the wads on LRM5 home CT very well, even through twisting. More than that, this 'Mech is more durable, and although I'm not running exactly as fast (81 vs 87) I am running comparably fast with more available tonnage to play with. Agility on an LRM carrier is one of its less important attributes; it need only move fast enough to keep a favorable position. That said, most of the ARCs get agility quirks, meaning they don't even need the same run speed to have the same twist and turn.
Third, for Clan lasers, if I'm building to sync with the LRMs then I will take isLL/ERLL all day, every day, over C-ERLL. cERML don't have the reach they once did, so those are out. If we're talking about lasers for close-in defense, I will take isMPL over cMPL or cERML, because the cMPL are too hot, cERML are too slow, cERSL are no better, and cSPL are
too close. While normally, yes, Clan lasers are better, in this case it isn't so because we've had to dedicate so much tonnage to ammo that we can't adequately cool the ideal lasers for defense and we can't carry a pair of cLPL to be not-garbage at long range.
And the ARC with only three missiles? You only need three LRM5 to saturate a single target with isLRM5, the six available lasers would be the primary firepower. So now you're talking about a 'Mech that will be carrying a payload focused around isLL with the ability to pound one target, continuously, with what is essentially a 6-ton UAC/5 fired on double-tap with no jamming that homes CT. With its higher tonnage and quirks, I would wager that over the MDD any day.
Even if the ARC is not out-right better at LRMs, and I think it will be, the MDD won't be superior, either. At best, it will be even. Which doesn't say too much, mind you, when it takes a 70 ton 'Mech to match a 60 ton 'Mech in this silly "tonnage balance" system PGI has going on, but there it is.
Edited by Yeonne Greene, 11 March 2016 - 11:38 AM.