I came back earlier this year to the PSR and Tier system. I found my DRGs dying to side torso damage almost instantly in Tier 3. Come to find out their side torsos are now gargantuan. XL Dragons are completely dead. I tried the tried and true XL300 Gauss, ERLL build and stay far back back, keep moving, and shooting. But then a clan mech, especially KDKs, peel off all my armor in one volley. That's on large maps. On small ones it's so easy to hit ST that I find people disengage the 4 KDKs I'm second-lining just to get and easy kill on me. I swear there's a bounty on my head sometimes. It feels like a tripped a bunch of AI aggros.
So now that we're forced into STD engines the only variants that retains at least a 300 rating engine is the 5N with UAC5, x2 LL with UAC5 cooldown module. That's only because of it's quirks.
And this
DRG-1N. Same idea, quirk-centered.
It's the only 1N build I can think of that will work. It's but a shadow of it's former
self. Had to drop the two LL for MLs to keep the AC5s because that's what the variant is quirked for. In order to get the two LLL
and AC5 you have to cut you engine size dramatically. So with a 'mech this big and being slow it's not worth trying.
The only FLAME and FANG build I come up with is just and inferior 5N and 1N build respectively. The AC/20 FLAME gets its 20 blown out so easily from the huge ST hitbox. I can't even come up with a 1C build I'm happy with. It's either too slow or is objectively inferior to the 1N and 5N.
I spent the last week trying to just play better with XL DRGs. CW is out completely, too organized on the high end and exactly the same as QP on the low. I thought I could get away with being 'just the DRG' so that I wouldn't be a priority target but most times one jag or timber turns, one alpha maims me and it's over.
So in my T3 QP matches during times I'm in the line of fire trying to be a team player I've tried rolling it around and turning left-right with shooting when I come back center but the DPS and alpha is too high these days. I lose some part of the torso too fast. That's as a second line skirmisher. The DRGs supposed 'role'. That's if they don't think "Oh a DRG! Easy kill!" and ignore the 400 tonne lance. Which happens to me too often. They will actually shoot
between them to hit me.
Then I've tried hanging back and sniping. If a clan mech sees you you're immediately outclassed and have to hide unless you aren't the center of it's attention. If it's an IS mech you have a chance. The UAC5/2LL 5N is the only one that's been any good at this.
So the new role is 3rd line support. The goal is to lurk on the fringes and choose when to strike. Scavenge damaged mechs or draw attention and fade before your assault lance hits. Not an entirely new concept to DRG players but now you're either three times as fragile with an XL, much slower with a STD, or have a smaller bite and medium speed. SO again, the 5N. You need the reach of the LL if you don't want to 'hide' behind your front line. If you're not me maybe it can work at least.
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