72 replies to this topic

[Bishop Steiner]

As Metas shift, and quirks get re-quirked, un-quirked and the like, pet builds change, new mechs are introduced, stuff happens. Sometimes, we find we still love that crusty old Dragon we've been driving since Closed Beta.... and sometimes the honeymoon is over, the papers served and you're sleeping on a friends sofa.

So as things sit (I ask a similar question about once a year or so) now, what are your "go to" rides, per weight class?

LIGHT MECH:
UM-R63 "Oscar D. Grouch"
-Not going to win any races, and certainly done no favors by the last few sets of requirkenings.... the ol Urbie wins primarily by default, as I just don't run Light Mechs (though my PNT-10K is a close second)...and it's still hilarious fun to score AC10 kills with the little trashcan that could, bounding from rooftop to rooftop like Daredevil's short, rotund twin!

MEDIUM MECH:
HBK-4G(F) "Can Opener"
-OK, so no shock here. Still one of the best examples of a properly quirked mech in the game, and a solid, simple and brutal flanker/skirmisher. My Hunchie is still the epitome of Assault Mech Attitude packed into a Medium Mech's body. Like the Jack Russell Terrier of MWO. I've had my flings, with SHDs, VNDs and of course, have trouble saying no to that naughty CN9.... but the HBK for some reason is always there take me back, in spite of my inequities.

HEAVY MECH:
RFL-3N "Boom Stick"
-A bit of a shocker. I was out of town when she dropped and it was 3 weeks later before I got to use my Rifleman. And truth be told... I wasn't too impressed either. Til I slapped my old standby Ilya loadout on it. Big (for the class) XL for speed and to accentuate it's lovely mobility quirks, combined with absolutely delightful cooldown and velocity for my ballistics, and we went together like peas n carrots. Hit the Deck pointed out it works in a lot of ways like my beloved HBK...and it does. Only more versatile. With Marauders, Warhammers and Archers coming out, with the newer quirks really making mechs like the Jester click for me, I gotta admit, this was the last heavy I expected to be raving about.

ASSAULT MECH:
- Currently, none. I prefer mobile mechs, and there really is no IS Assault that currently get's me excited to play the game. I would probably enjoy the Executioner, or upcoming Kodiak, but not on this acct. Perhaps we can see the Charger added, someday to give a chassis that'll fele mobile enough. (Of course, PGI would probably give them a Huge rating, like poor Mr Gargles, and defeat the sole thing that is supposed to make the Charger work..... )

So. Enough about me. Let's talk about you?

(It's what happens when half of Mexico is in your city for the holidays, and your ISPs bandwidth is so tanked from over traffic that you can't play the game... you forumwarrior!)

*EDIT*
Might as well pop out my Alt Acct/Clan Acct list too, for when I am "Illya Arkhipova".

Spoiler

Light Mech:
ADR-PRIME "Koopa Troopa"
- If I was a better Light fighter, I'd probably go with a near stock Adder Prime, since the 20% heat reduction makes it viable. But the lack of lower arm actuators I have issues with. This fits what I do best in a Light which is scout, spot and support. The only real knock is the lack of ECM. But with Enhanced Narc Module, I like to find cutouts around 400m from the enemy team then stealthily pop NARCs on target. I usually don't use the TAG until out of NARC Pods or on a priority target out of range for my NARC. And the ERLLs I honestly hope not to use at all, as they give away my position, but are there for self defense, mop up, and sniping once out of NARCs.. I run a double barrel NARC because I can't always aim good enough to hit a moving Light, but this gives me an instant mulligan, instead of waiting through the cooldown.

My best matches with this I literally only engage in combat during mop up. But the amount of QQ from the "LRMs no skill" Opfor tends to make up for it.

MEDIUM MECH:
NVA-PRIME "NovaTart"
Back when clan's were released, I would have picked the Nova-S with minor mods. Sadly, 6 MPL just leave the thing wrecked with heat. Still, long before Soy returned and started promoting it, I had swapped to a Pop Tart build in Nova, but came to realize that the actual height difference in the torso and arm PPCs were pretty miniscule. And having the MGs is fun, and can chase off mechs with open armor, while I cool down. The advantage to the arm mounted PPC? Simply that I can elevate and depress my aim, to snipe from high hides on hills, or shoot at mechs on hills, and at UAVs, something the "dedicated" Nova Tart cannot do.

HEAVY MECH:
SMN-PRIME
- I have more matches in this mech than all my other Clan Mechs combined. It's a tad bit of hard mode, and I do also run a modified version from time to time ( SMN-PRIME "Duelist" ) , but most have been in my plain, simple but beloved SMN-P. It's been my favorite Clan Heavy since the day I walked into Virtual World in Walnut Creek. It was my heavy chassis of choice in MW4. And while treated like a red headed stepchild by Russ, it' still remains my chosen chassis. Oddly, I have tried up armored versions, and realistically have not noticed a notable increase in lifespan. If one learns to twist, the Summoner is actually pretty decent at spreading damage, and I am usually one of the last alive in any match, running around with just my PPC left, most games.

-ASSAULT MECHS:
GAR-D "Thailog"
-Oddly, while i am not an Assault guy, I click better with Clan Assaults (and Heavies) than I do with IS, overall, probably because aside from the Whale, they have mobility. I really like Warhawks, which I use when team dropping in CGBI, and I think given more play time I'll click with Executioners. But my semi stock Mr Gargles has treated me well, and is fun to use.
It's undergunned, doesn't pack enough ammo, is shockingly underarmored.... and somehow works, more often than not. My best personal match in it, I had killed 6 of the enemy team in under 4 minutes on Viridian... only to watch my team (up 10 to 6 at the time of my death) somehow go on to lose the match by scattering, hiding, and generally just absolutely sucking.

*sigh*

Edited by Bishop Steiner, 28 March 2016 - 11:26 AM.

[Pariah Devalis]

Favorites per weight class?

Light:
Adder "Gatler." Tiny dakka, and surprisingly effective. Has some sweet UAC jam reduction quirks, too. Even proves to be dangerous to other light mechs, what with the nonstop stream of 2 damage shells and the three ERSLas for knife fighting.

Spoiler

Medium:
Nova "Flashpoint." A simple loadout that works extremely, extremely well. Especially since it abuses the new quirks to provide it with 18% reduced heat on those MPlas, and has a beautiful acceleration and deceleration quirkset, too. Yes, I do keep both the arm and hand actuators on it. The Nova has a beautiful range of arm motion, and it would be a shame to deny it the strong hand.

Spoiler

Heavy:
Ebon Jaguar "Aquila." An intentionally symmetrical mid to close range platform. Reasonably heat efficient and brings a whole lotta pain.

Spoiler

Assault:
Not... really a huge fan of any of my assaults, at the moment. That said, I have never really been an assault pilot.

Edited by Pariah Devalis, 27 March 2016 - 08:52 PM.

[TercieI]

6ML WLF-2. For this old Jenner pilot, 6ML just feels...right. (One of three WLF-2s I have built, but this is on the CB bonus variant and is my fave).

6&2 BJ-1X. I don't care that it's soulless, it's fun and most of my other go-to mediums have gotten punched down hard.

4x5 Black Widow. It's like a CTF-4X without the sucking.

3LPL/4MPL BNC-3M. Though I run the 5LPL a fair amount too.

Edited by TercieI, 27 March 2016 - 08:56 PM.

[TheArisen]

For me,
Light: Firestarter S, I don't do lights much though.
Medium: BJ-1X, but I've got many mediums that I love as well like my Sparky & Wolverine 6K.
Heavy: Black Widow with ×4 AC5 currently. But I love all of my heavies tbh.
Assault: Banshee 3M easily. This is the mech I wanted most when I first started and I've loved every minutes
In my "Wubshee". You should check this beast out sometime Bishop.

[Cyborne Elemental]

IS
Light - Wolfhound, used to be URBY before it got nerfed.
Medium - Enforcer, love em.
Heavy - Warhammer, also enjoy Quickdraws.
Assault - Atlas-D-DC cause BOOM!

CLAN
Light - Adder
Medium - Nova
Heavy - EbonJag
Assault - Executioner

[Mechwarrior Buddah]

Bishop Steiner, on 27 March 2016 - 08:33 PM, said:

LIGHT MECH:
dont run em. The quickness makes me motion sick. I think the only light that ever gets out of the garage at all is the gauss rifle equipped firestarter that I call the highlander lol

MEDIUM MECH:
for meds, the only one I still take out regularly is the B variant and I put lrm 80 on it lol dont really like mediums as a class

HEAVY MECH:
Right now its either my 5w archer or the firebrand. Depends on if I wanna lrm or direct fire
ASSAULT MECH:
Atls Boar's head, the highlander that can fit beastly amountrs of missiles or the warhawk-b

[Chados]

Currently-

Light: None. I just don't like them. I have Urbies but run them rarely.

Medium: WVR-Q, dead stock.

Heavy: RFL-3NS, AC/10x2, MLx2, upgraded to DHS, FF, Endo, more armor and ammo.

Assault: ZEU-6SR, AC/5 build.

[Damia Savon]

Light: Raven 3L or Urbie for lol

Medium: haven't found one I am really good with.

Heavy: Catapult C1, trying to love Archers

Assault: Atlas, Stalker

[MeiSooHaityu]

Light Mech:
Panther 10K: 1 ERPPC and 2 SRM4.

Medium Mech:
Crab 27B: 6 MPLasers

Heavy Mech:
Marauder 3R: 3 A/C5s and 4 MLasers (barely beat out the Bounty Hunter)

Assault Mech:
Mauler 1R: 4 A/C5s and 2 LLasers

The Panther 10K is my hands down favorite light, although the Urbanmech UM-63(S) is very close.

The Medium was a hard choice because I do like the Cicada 2A a whole lot and the Vindicator 1R has been good to me as of late too. Ballistic mediums have fallen out of favor with me as of late.

The Heavies were a close choice too. The Bounty Hunter almost won and the Jester is still one of my favorite rides. The Ilya used to be my favorite heavy for a while, but the MAD-3R stole it's build and does it better. I should take the Black Knight out more, but I haven't felt up to it.

Assaults aren't that exciting to me. I have a few I like though. The Mauler I picked is nice and I have a PPC Battlemaster I like and A fast moving Pulse Laser Zeus that works nice too.

I like a lot of mechs so it is a hard decision. Still, I feel good about the choices I made above.

[NoiseCrypt]

Lights
Cheeta or Wolfhound with pulse lasers.

Medium
Hunchback, Griffin or Stormcrow with MLs and SRM6s

[Rear Admiral Tier 6]

Lights: UAC5 anansi

Mediums: CN9-AH with AC20 + srms

Heavies: QKD-5K with 2 LPL 4 ML

Assaults: Poptart Highlanders

[GonaDie]

Light: Locust(Love all of em)
Medium: Shadowcat with SRM18, 2Mlas and ECM
Heavy:Timberwolf with ASRM20 and 4Mplas
Assault: Ultra-Crab(Tho I am not a fan of assaults)

[Haike]

Lights: Artic Cheetah 6SPL
SPL knife fighting style is fun, extremely OP in the right situations and C-XL!

Mediums: BJ-1X 6ML+2MPL
I consider this one of the most OP mech in the game. Nerfed, but still good.

Heavies: WHM-BW 4AC5. Crazy DPS machine. My favourite dakka machine.
2nd is probably TBR-C(S) with 2LPL 3ML laser vomit. Never fails me when i need a guaranteed performance from any mech

Assault: Atlas-S(L) 1AC20+4SRM6A
Angel camo best camo? Check.
Insane burst 1shotting most XL Heavies/medium/light mechs in 1 alpha? Check
Walk up and kill **** guys.

[sycocys]

Commando - Deaf Snail - 3 MPL, 1 SL. Ninja that is near impossible to overheat. Balls out start/stop/turn speeds make it the best mech to drop uav's with and cause disruption in enemy deathballs. I'll put the other Commandos above this one as soon as they quirk ammo.

---
Hunchback - 4SP - 5 MPL - 2 SRM6/a + 2 tons. Just a fantastic kiting brawler. Puts out large numbers fast and with cover to cover speed.

----
Timberwolf- Prime - uAC20 +3.5 tons, 4 SRM6 + 4 tons. Just blast people's faces off, because you can.

----
King Crab-0000 - 2 AC20 + 3 tons, 4 MPL, 4 SRM6 + 3 tons - 115.6 alpha shot. Doesn't really need much further explanation.

[Clanner Scum]

Light - Kitfox. I love the Utility and the decent firepower. Pretty mobile too. My favorite lightmech. Only complaint is how everything is in the arms. Despite this though it's still my fav.

Medium - Hunchback 4G. Simple and straightforward mech. In the right hands this thing is devastating.

Heavy - Summoner. I like this mech because it can do many things decently but nothing magnificently. Jack of all trades master of none in other words. This is probably my #1 favorite mech in the game. Played it heavily in MW4 as well.

Assault - I don't play assaults hardly but I did pick up a Highlander IIC recently and I'm liking it so far. It's like a bigger version of my Summoner. I can see myself playing assault more often because of this mech.

[Ace Selin]

Light: Jenner IIC

Medium: Hunchback IIC

Heavy: Timberwolf

Assault: DireWolf / Mauler (tie) hope to include Kodiak here.

Edited by Ace Selin, 28 March 2016 - 03:44 AM.

[C E Dwyer]

Go to mechs, haven't had one for ages, been mastering new as they arrive, but mechs I think often, I miss dropping in that, I must do it again, for the fun of them to hell with if they are any good in the current game.

Adder with a streak4 srm4 build its clearly a brawler, and as it happens was talking about the best match I had in it last night, got close to 900 damage and killed five mechs two being Arctic Cheaters, before the structure debuff.

Any Comando, its a sad little mech that needs help and seems to be forgotten, but I like them and if I do badly its expected, but doing good is an achievement.

Haven't really got a clan medium I like, either hopeless like the Ferret though you can get good scores in them, only work well as a sniper, Shadowcat, or frankly easy mode.

IS mediums for one reason or another I like them all, even the Vindi, which I have fun with as a PPC poptart, there are variants I like better than others but not going to list them all, but I really can't point to a chasis and say that one! it depends on my mood.


Heavies, choices choices I want to say Warhammer, as it is my favourite Heavy bar the Crusader, which isn't in game, but I can't, because even with the ppc quirk buffs, it under performs as a ppc user, I still use them this way. I can't stand laser guass uac5 builds which I take great pleasure in destroying when I see them, as I find them the most abused of the lore builds, since the 6 ppc stalker.

Now the quirks have made the Archer not fold to a paper cut, I'm enjoying them, and can get close and personal at around 2-300 meters with my lrm builds, but again depends on the day as I love my Grasshoppers since day one, and really the only meta build I enjoy.

I feel cheesy running with any Clan Heavy but the Summoner, so they wouldn't make the cut.

Assaults

Warhawk with a T-comp and 4 ERPPC's I prefer it over the others, its mobile and fun, and doesn't suffer from losing your right side. sure a dakka dire is fun to listen to the noise and see the flashes, but it never felt good overall.

At the end of the day though Victor 9B brawler, nowhere near as much fun as it used to be, because of JJ nerf killing its ability to spread damage to the legs, used to be truly agile assault and I miss that, but I still take it for a spin

[xengk]

Light Mech
WLF-1B Defender
Dual AMS escort
Hang close to Assault and slow/LRM Heavy, with 4 SPL to fight off enemy lights, If my escort dies, I die. A single PPC for little extra damage on what my ward shooting at.
This light mech packs a small XL 200 engine, giving it only max speed of 99kph after tweak.
It only needs to be fast enough to circle my Assault flock, and chase light for short distance before returning to the flock.

Medium Mech
BJ-3 Bread Knife
A PPC poptart.
The two PPC been moved to one arm for better pin point, and a pair of ML in the opposite arm for point defend.
Packing max engine and 3 JJ to quickly relocated sniping position once the cover is blown.
Preferably using friendly Assault as cover to poptart from.

Heavy Mech
GHR-5N Swamp Bug
Energy brawler.
A single PPC for ranged attack against slow mover and early trading before the brawling starts.
Quad ML in the arms for precision component removal and hitting higher or lower elevation.
3 SPL for heat management and knife fight with circling light mechs.

Assault Mech
AWS-8Q Thunder Punch
Energy brawler.
Max STD engine for speed, agility and survivability.
Twin PPC in the arm for tagging slow target at range and different elevation, while a bank of 5 MPL for upclose face melting.

[Wintersdark]

Bishop Steiner, on 27 March 2016 - 08:33 PM, said:

As Metas shift, and quirks get re-quirked, un-quirked and the like, pet builds change, new mechs are introduced, stuff happens. Sometimes, we find we still love that crusty old Dragon we've been driving since Closed Beta.... and sometimes the honeymoon is over, the papers served and you're sleeping on a friends sofa.

So as things sit (I ask a similar question about once a year or so) now, what are your "go to" rides, per weight class?

Not in game at the moment, and I don't keep builds saved in Smurfy's, so I can't get exact links but this ought to do:

Light Mech: I don't light mech.

Medium Mech: I don't have a single mech/build right now - I'm all over the place with Mediums as I enjoy them most, but if you pinned me down and forced me to answer, I'd have to say the HBK-IIC sporting dual UAC10's. I loved my HBK-4G, and this is basically it's bigger, badder, glassier brother.

Heavy Mech: Mad Dog, 5 cERSL, 5xLRM5, LRM10. Heat neutral, over 20DPS at 200m, constant screen shake, ability to keep damage output going when opponent is evading/breaking direct line of fire for the ERSL's. Heat neutral with ERSL's or LRM's. I'm still astounded that a LRM based mech makes this list for me, but it's a monster. A close runner up is my Orion's, with a variety of builds but generally focusing on 2 LPL, UAC10, and a couple LRM launchers. Most particularly on the ON1-IIC-C with dual UAC10, 2 ERML, and LRM's.

Assault Mech: Warhawk. 5 MPL, LRM's. Continuing along my line of hybrid builds with heavy LRM output alongside potent close range weaponry intended for close range LRM brawling, this thing hits like a truck in CQC with it's 40 damage laser alpha but can also project substantial LRM firepower ensuring the ability to contribute at all times.

Edited by Wintersdark, 28 March 2016 - 04:04 AM.

[Bud Crue]

Go to mechs of fun and profit:
Light (too many choices here, so picking one just because you are making me): Wolfhound (my "alpha wolf"): 5ML and 1LPL.
Medium: A Crab. Any of em, but probably the 20 with an XL340, 2LL and 3ML is my favorite. Moving at over a 100KPH and that low to the ground. Feels like your playing a giant locust.
Heavy: Quickdraw, an odd one atm: A 4G running a std 280 (yep a std) 2LP and 2 SRM4 and 3JJ. Moves at 80kph, and is unfathomably tough. When you get in close, the cooldown quirk on the SRMs makes it feel like the Huggin of old. It just works for me.
Assault. Mauler with 4UAC5s and 2ML.