111 replies to this topic

[Bishop Steiner]

KHETTI, on 25 May 2016 - 09:42 AM, said:

Just seen this thread, skimmed through a few posts, i'm confused, apart from being a little oversized, which isn't really that much of an issue, what exactly is wrong with the Centurion?

CND-AL does lasorz pretty well, CND-D makes the LBX-10 not only fun, but rather effective if used correctly, CND-A actually does mixed loadouts quite well, or can be a nasty srm boat, and the CND-AH/YLW ...well AC20 need i say moar!.

also, the CN9-D? Only loses a split second of cooldown with a std AC10... which makes it a 104 kph, rapid fire PPFLD that can easily snap and protect it's RA in competent hands. I usually spend the early part of the fight ranging our firing lines giving support wherever needed, mostly with just the AC10, sometimes the lasers, early on. Toss in a volley or two of SRMs if a salient needs containment. Once things have started to take shape then it keep sup a good bit of repeatable firepower.

But if it doesn't have an instagib Alpha, I guess it's Bad, these days.

Edited by Bishop Steiner, 25 May 2016 - 11:50 AM.

[MadHornet]

The Centurion AH and D variants are right now the most common. The AH wins most 1v1 brawls with its absurdly high alpha damage for its weight. The D variant is often paired with a large XL (as it is stock and should be) and either a mix of LBX + srm, or LBX + laser. Usually has plenty of ammo to keep the punches swinging.

As for the other two standard variants, I go old fashioned. In the A variant, I have 230 standard, 2x srm2 1x srm4, AC/10, 2 medium laser. Why? DPS. Being able to put of a stream of damage with low cooldown weapons make standard engine mediums viable. AC/10 + srms does a lot of alpha damage already, but firing that twice within a few seconds is something to be reckoned with. However, place yourself well. In this age of high speeds, you want to get into situations you plan to survive, not run away from. Surviving is the key. Oh boohoo, you lost your right torso AND your autocannon? KEEP GOING. Make gargling zombie noises as you keep pushing into them anyways.

Edited by MadHornet, 25 May 2016 - 12:10 PM.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Bishop Steiner, on 23 May 2016 - 02:57 PM, said:

CN9 is my second most used chassis.

Only thing "dead" about it is most people's understanding of how to pilot one.

I also find that they, along with HBKs are examples of generally well quirked mechs.

The only change I would see making is upping the engine cap on all models to 300, save of course, the D which already exceeds that (and the YLW which is already there).

I like that Centurions aren't "Piloting for Dummies" Mechs, that require tactics, twisting and good situational awareness to succeed.

THIS.

Picked up the CN9s a month or two ago, just to kick around and challenge myself a bit. I AM IN LOVE.

Yen Lo Wang pretty quickly ascended to no worse than #2 among my active mechs in KDR and Dmg/match, and with a fairly common AC/20 & 2xML & STD engine build. The CN9-D does really well for damage/match, and the CN9-AL is doing pretty well too. They're all FUN to pilot!

Not DEAD, just OLD I think.

[Metus regem]

Sister RAbbi, on 25 May 2016 - 12:08 PM, said:

THIS.

Picked up the CN9s a month or two ago, just to kick around and challenge myself a bit. I AM IN LOVE.

Yen Lo Wang pretty quickly ascended to no worse than #2 among my active mechs in KDR and Dmg/match, and with a fairly common AC/20 & 2xML & STD engine build. The CN9-D does really well for damage/match, and the CN9-AL is doing pretty well too. They're all FUN to pilot!

Not DEAD, just OLD I think.

Put a 300xl and two MPL in the ST on that CN9-LYW, trust me and Bishop, you will love it more then...

[Davegt27]

To me its pure logic or physics

The max alpha you probably get out of a CN9-YLW is 32

And a MPL has very short range
Add to that the slow rate of fire for the AC20 makes me think some people are living
In fantasy land

I could probably list out 20 reasons why the Cents are a no go

Doing well in a Cent one out of every 10 matches does not make the Mech good

Don’t get me wrong like the Orion I love my Centurions especially the CN9D
I can fly around the Map scratching the paint off Mechs with my LBX but will I take it into FW
Nope tried it does not have enough armor
Will I use it in 4V4--sometimes but a fast 55 ton Mech like a Griffin or Shadow Hawk is a lot better

I would have loved to have a Cent back when the AC20 kicked butt

[Bishop Steiner]

Davegt27, on 25 May 2016 - 04:32 PM, said:

To me its pure logic or physics

The max alpha you probably get out of a CN9-YLW is 32

And a MPL has very short range
Add to that the slow rate of fire for the AC20 makes me think some people are living
In fantasy land

I could probably list out 20 reasons why the Cents are a no go

Doing well in a Cent one out of every 10 matches does not make the Mech good

Don’t get me wrong like the Orion I love my Centurions especially the CN9D
I can fly around the Map scratching the paint off Mechs with my LBX but will I take it into FW
Nope tried it does not have enough armor
Will I use it in 4V4--sometimes but a fast 55 ton Mech like a Griffin or Shadow Hawk is a lot better

I would have loved to have a Cent back when the AC20 kicked butt

Good to know that alpha strike is the only measure of viability.

Oh wait.......

if you can't maximize a 20 pt PPLFD chunk every 2.52 seconds (with your .6 second duration lasers cycling every 2.19 seconds, which with human reactions and normal play means that essentially every 2.5 seconds you are dumping out that 32 pt alpha) ,well, that explains plenty, I suppose.

Also...most fights happen at less than 400 meters (hence the QQ and whining over the KDK3). Add in a mech that GOOD players all pretty well acknowledge is durable as heck, even with XL engines... on a mech doing 104 kph?

But hey, living in fantasyland goes both ways... some people wrap themselves up inside of one to avoid having to gitgud.

Edited by Bishop Steiner, 25 May 2016 - 04:41 PM.

[Hit the Deck]

Davegt27, on 25 May 2016 - 04:32 PM, said:

To me its pure logic or physics
...
I would have loved to have a Cent back when the AC20 kicked butt

The "logic" is that instagibbing a Light with a single bullet is fun. Try it! The only thing which can match the fun is instagibbing something small with dual Gauss or dual (ER)PPC.

[Steel Claws]

I find it funny when some players (especially new ones) dismiss the Centurion or say stupid things like "I just take the right arm and move on". I find it funny because I almost never loose the right arm. Maybe once in thirty or forty drops. Therefore I can only conclude that I must never run against them in a server, orrrrr maybe a good pilot knows how to protect that arm. Just saying. Then again a mech is only as good as the pilot in it.

[Metus regem]

Hit the Deck, on 25 May 2016 - 05:18 PM, said:

The "logic" is that instagibbing a Light with a single bullet is fun. Try it! The only thing which can match the fun is instagibbing something small with dual Gauss or dual (ER)PPC.

Funniest instagib I've done was with my Timber Wolf with twin ERPPC+SRM24 into the back side of a Dire Wolf, that guy was so mad... wish I kept that screen shot of him calling me everything from a bot to using my PGI clearance to adjust my mech's damage... was pretty funny.

[Davegt27]

maybe I should have said la la land lol

[Rhaelcan]

Malorish, on 23 May 2016 - 02:53 PM, said:

Volume 2 in a series on resurrecting some of the "dead mechs" out there. These are mechs that just aren't anywhere near competitive in the current meta.

Today let's look at another of my favorites: The Centurion



The Centurion was one of the first mechs introduced into MWO, and the first mech that I actually spent real money on. I received one from some event, and in order to master it, I needed to buy two more. But I didn't have enough mechbays, so this is the mech that finally got me to start dumping money into MWO.

The design behind this mech, and all variants except for the CN9-AL, is very simple: it's a short range asymmetric AC / SRM brawler. It even has a shield arm (Left Arm) that is pretty unique to other mechs. Let's look at it's positives and negatives.

Pro's:

• Pretty dang good hitboxes, even after they've been expanded a couple of times.
  
• Pretty nimble with good agility quirks.
  
• Capable of mounting a decent alpha strike for a medium, especially on the CN9-A
  
• Most have a twin Energy hardpoint in the chest, which in theory makes for a decent zombie.

Con's:

• All variants except the CN9-A are very dependent on the right arm, which in today's MWO high alpha environment just doesn't stand up to enough punishment despite additional armor and structure quirks.
  
• Most variants extremely dependent on heavy AC / SRM systems, including the weight of ammo which is tough on a 50 ton mech and builds often require XL engines.
  
• Despite the Left Arm being a dedicated shield lending to what should be an asymmetric design, the missile launchers are in the Left Torso, rather than the Right Torso, making them extremely vulnerable and actually reducing the value of shielding.
  
• "Zombie-ing" a couple of MLs in the center torso was a great idea 4 years ago. In today's high alpha environment it's a bit of a joke.
  
• While not a terribly low hardpoint location, packing so much punch in the right arm makes for a hard time hill humping.
  
• Most variants really don't have that many hardpoints.

Bringing the Centurion Back From The Dead:

So how do we resurrect this mech, especially in light of newer mechs that feature a ton of high mounted hardpoints that can boat some serious Alpha?

• Re-align the hardpoints to match the asymmetric design of the mech - everything should be located either in the center torso or on the Right side of the mech, making the entire left side of the mech shielding. Additionally, quirk the Left shield arm with additional armor to encourage this.
  
• Add an additional energy hardpoint in the head on every variant. This keeps the "zombie" feel of the mech while allowing it to pack a bit more punch.
  
• On variants with multiple energy or ballistic hardpoints in the Right Arm, move one over to the right Torso.
  
• All variants except Yen Lo Wang should carry a +20% SRM Range Quirk
  
• All should have +50% ammo Quirk to free up some tonnage to make better use of builds, and encourage builds with a standard engines (again back to the zombie / asymmetric feel of the mech)

What do you think? How would you revive this dead mech?

I know this was years ago, but...PGI doesn't have the power to change Battletech mechs. I mean, they can make new varients, but you can't change the variants that are already there..

[RickySpanish]

Ah perfect sir, I am sure your opinion will be read by the OP nearly half a decade after it was posted.