25 replies to this topic

[Karl Marlow]

So the Viper is cool and all but I don't play clans in CW. Even so I have a 20 here I was going to alocate to MWO and I was thinking about grabbing the Kintaro mastery pack.

You don't really see them around though. Inremeber they used to be efficient little light hunters when they were first released but since then they have faded into obscurity.

Odds are I'm going to grab the pack so I'm not asking if I should or shouldn't. I'm just wanting some insight on what I can expect from the chassis as the game currently stands.

[mogs01gt]

For some reason their quirks were nerfed a while back. This pretty much sealed their fate has one of the worst mechs in MWO.

[Aleski]

BlackhawkSC, on 06 April 2016 - 10:41 PM, said:

Example build: "I can't rely on my teammmates to push"

Why using a build that will always work better on other chassis ?

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...ef141f33aaefe86
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...18dd3caeed4274d

At least, use two launchers in order to brawl well... All lasers loadout are bad ideas on Kintaros. You seen often some catapults with only lazors and no launchers ? (except the K2 and Jester of course)
If you use the Kintaro, use the strenght of this chassis : the missiles HP.

Kintaros are not the worse mechs in game. They are great at 5xLRM 5 and they are very solid with SRM + backup lazors. Of course they have bad hitboxes, but like any other mech in game, with practice you can have fun and great matches with them.

Choose the mech you want to play with, not only the meta mechs. I still have some good matches and a lot of fun on my old Golden Boy, the first hero i ever buy =)

Edited by Aleski, 12 April 2016 - 01:37 AM.

[jss78]

I believe they are still one of the better LRM mediums for the IS. Specifically running the chain-fire "LRM 5 hose" builds, which e.g. the HBK-4J cannot do.

I don't see them often, but occasionally people really impress in them.

[Johny Rocket]

Want to see some crazy missile ****? Run a lance with 3 KTO 18s with 5x lrm5 and an erll and a Griffin 2n with 4x lrm5 and 2x LL.

You can run the 19 with 2x LL 4x lrm5 and 6t of ammo. When the ammo runs dry 2 LL are nice to have.

Check my sig for builds I worked up after the Quirk changes and Skills Tree nerf on Dec 1.


No matter what I buy, the KTO 18 as built above still averages higher cbills than anything I have. It is and will be my go to grind mech.

Edited by Tractor Joe, 15 April 2016 - 05:39 AM.

[Lil Thumper]

I really enjoy the Kintaros(I'll admit they can be a bit of challenge at times...as they are not the most durable mechs out there...I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some improved quirks for them in the future).The Golden Boy is so much fun to play and is quite good at making C-Bills(either in SRM or LRM form).

Edited by Lil Thumper, 16 April 2016 - 10:32 PM.

[DrnkJawa]

Well the new Scouting mode forced me to rethink some of my mechs, Hell i bought Kintaro 18 and im loving how ballsy that mech is.
KTO-18

Now to properly tame the under-rated mech

Edited by DrnkJawa, 20 April 2016 - 01:31 AM.

[The Basilisk]

So....let me think....an Assault sized IS medium with LRM5 against marauding hordes of Clan lights and Streak Crows .... not a good idea.
Ok maybe the SRM variant....against ACHs and similar ilk....... uhmmmmmm nope.

[DrnkJawa]

The Basilisk, on 20 April 2016 - 01:58 AM, said:

So....let me think....an Assault sized IS medium with LRM5 against marauding hordes of Clan lights and Streak Crows .... not a good idea.
Ok maybe the SRM variant....against ACHs and similar ilk....... uhmmmmmm nope.

Wow a Draconis traitor, if they find out you said that you will be dragged out into the street and paraded to a public hanging....

On a more serious side: so what if its that big, Centurion is also a plus sized model. Besides loading up on srms can keep the darn thing running cool and on the plus side its not going to shut down and be penetrated.

[Chillicon]

I own the golden boy... It's not a great mech, but usefull for some kind of event. If the event wantswants you to collect kill-assists it is great, no Problem for da GB! Running it with 5LRM5, TAG LLAS at 90km/h.

[Johny Rocket]

The Basilisk, on 20 April 2016 - 01:58 AM, said:

So....let me think....an Assault sized IS medium with LRM5 against marauding hordes of Clan lights and Streak Crows .... not a good idea.
Ok maybe the SRM variant....against ACHs and similar ilk....... uhmmmmmm nope.

Hardly assault size. Kintaro 18 can pack a usable 70+ alpha and still be faster than a Streakcrow. The trick to killing any of the streak mechs is stay out of range.

On the 19 you can run 4 srm4 and 3 mpl running 114kph. Its the one with the crazy agility quirks.

Even better is I don't play clanners in CW I play Davions in IS mechs.

[Davy J0nes]

DrnkJawa, on 20 April 2016 - 01:30 AM, said:

Well the new Scouting mode forced me to rethink some of my mechs, Hell i bought Kintaro 18 and im loving how ballsy that mech is.
KTO-18

Now to properly tame the under-rated mech

I would find that hot, I need at least 4 d heat sinks and thats in a treb-lg for example

[Johny Rocket]

Fanto, on 27 April 2016 - 03:11 PM, said:

I would find that hot, I need at least 4 d heat sinks and thats in a treb-lg for example

No worse than your average laser vomit mechs.
Try 5 srm6 and 2 ml, now that is hot, but, oh the carnage. 74.5 alpha running 95 kph. Want to know what a Oxide runs from?
Then there is what I call the Special Sauce Build


Or you can run the 19 with 1 LPL and 4 srm4 and an xl340 (107 kph)

Or maybe the 20 with an xl300 (95kph) 4 ml and 3 srm4+ Artemis

Edited by Tractor Joe, 28 April 2016 - 07:53 AM.

[PeeWrinkle]

I still play the KTO's from time to time. They still perform very well, and I don't even play well with LRMs, which most KTO builds use quite effectively.

Still with the scout component to FW now I can see them making a comeback as streak boats. Although a Griffin 2N with ECM is probably still a bit better in that regard.
In FW Scouting mode I see a ton of Stormcrows loaded out with streaks similar to this.
They are pretty nasty, but even though SSRM2's are somewhat week, they can be devastating against other lights, so I could see a Streak KTO being a viable option in scout mode. Good speed, low alpha, but decent DPS with good head management.
Still the Griffin 2N can probably do it better because of ECM, even with slightly less damage potential.

[GLaDOSauR]

I bought a kintaro a little while back...but probably won't be playing it unless:
1: it gets its hitboxes changed
2: maybe gets re-scaled
3: Armor or structure quirks
4: agility quirks

Right now the thing is a big target that has to get close to deal damage. For good results you usually have to run an XL, but I've been taken out with a single meta-alpha to the side torso. (With me twisting!) I run it with 5 srm4's, which is actually pretty awesome if I get close enough to actually use them without getting killed.

[Johny Rocket]

The new scouting mode is really bringing out the Kintaros for good reason. Griffin has ecm, oh well most scout matches end in a point blank furball. The Griffin is no tankier than the KTO and can pack nowhere near the firepower at the same speed of the KTO 18. The GB has a low engine cap so is always packing a huge alpha for its tonnage. The 19 matches the hard points of the 2N but doesn't sacrifice for ecm or jj and has very good agility quirks and decent on the structure to. The 20 can go laser, rockets or both. 3 LPL with a shield side is very effective.

The KTO is slightly smaller than the Griffin and about the exact same size as every other IS 55t and is only marginally wider than a Centurion. The hit boxes are excellent, so what, ever mech has a weak point, learn to play the mech.

No matter what you want to say this is the heaviest hitting IS medium, period. If you don't mind running in the low 80's you can pack an 82.5 alpha on the KTO 18 that gives you long and short range punch.

[N a p e s]

I came to the same conclusion about the Kintaro having the biggest punch for scouting mode but my matches were less than stellar and I definitely felt less survivable than in my Griffins after getting side torso'd twice in a matter of seconds.

Also Tractor Joe, I'm guessing the build for that 82.5 alpha is 5xSRM6 + 2xLLas with a 255 XL?

[STEF_]

Pretty interesting to read this, since the KTO is the only mech I haven't mastered yet....

(I've always refused to pilot a monkey.....)

[PeeWrinkle]

I actually tried both my KTO-18 and GRF-2N in scout mode during the event and also got less than stellar results.

When doing ASRM4 loudouts I felt a little slow, which can be bad in the intel rush games. I also felt like I was unable to hit moving targets with the SRMs efficiently. What look like a direct hit seemed to miss or bounce off those fast moving lights. Not sure if the hit reg was a little off or I was just playing badly at the time. The latter seems unlikely as I love SRM brawling and it is a strong point of my game normally.

I also tried maxing the engine and doing SSRM2 builds. That gave great speed, but the firepower just isn't there. I guess I was thinking it would be almost as effect as the Stormcrow with the SSRM6 build, which in retrospect was a dumb thought.

In scout mode where I found the most success with IS tech was with either my Cicada 3M or my Enforcer-5D. I was able to brawl well, and gather intel quickly. I also ran my Sparky and a few other 55 ton mechs well with Pulse load outs and bigger engines. I found pulse lasers and a speed of 104.5 or faster to be difference makers when playing my IS chassis. I also ditched most longer range weapons for medium to short range weapons as there is no need to fight at range. When you fight in this mode it is straight up brawl time.

Another thing I found helpful in this mode was to reduce my front armor and add a little extra to the rear. Running with 8-14 points in the rear seemed ideal, which is much different than what I run in normal matches. In normal matches I am front loaded with only 5-8 in the rear. In scout when I tried that I was getting my rear chewed up too easily.

Not saying the KTO missle boats won't work, but I just did better with speed and pulse lasers myself.

All that said I don't think this game mode functions well as a scout game as match scores are based on damage and kills. I would thing escaping and intel gathering would be worth more. Right now they should call this fast light brawling game mode! LOL

Edited by PeeWrinkle, 06 May 2016 - 09:07 AM.

[Johny Rocket]

N a p e s, on 06 May 2016 - 08:16 AM, said:

I came to the same conclusion about the Kintaro having the biggest punch for scouting mode but my matches were less than stellar and I definitely felt less survivable than in my Griffins after getting side torso'd twice in a matter of seconds.

Also Tractor Joe, I'm guessing the build for that 82.5 alpha is 5xSRM6 + 2xLLas with a 255 XL?

Yeah something close to that. The build Im running is the 5 ASRM4 and 2 SMPL with an xl300. It's only a 50 alpha but runs much cooler so can stay in a brawl much longer.
1 thing I have to say about this scouting business is Im always playing in a 4 man and we have developed some good strategies mostly focused around heavy hitting 50-55t mechs. No mech is going to survive 2-4 on 1.
The Kintaro usually pulls 300+ damage on protect.

Part of it could be that I have about 2M xp on the 18 and over 250K on the 19 and 20. People checking them out, learn the mech before you discount it.