14 replies to this topic

[zaibitsu]

Hey guys, so I almost done mastering my 3 hunchies and looking to buy something new.

Am I'm looking for chasis that:
-has a variant that I can turn in to a good sniper build
-has a variant that I can turn in to missle boat
-has a variant that can I turn in to a brawler
-can take a some damage

Cheers

Edited by zaibitsu, 03 June 2016 - 02:14 AM.

[Michal R]

Couldron Born, Timber Wolf.
On Is you can do on Shadow Hawk.

[SlightlyMobileTurret]

Well, there is one chassis everyone is going to recommend, so, yeah, pre-empting it.

Timberwolves are pretty darn costly, but for a jack-of-all-trades type of mech, there is simply nothing better. It can brawl. It can do fire support. It can LRM. It goes pretty fast for a 75 ton heavy mech. Besides, it's a clan mech after your IS hunchie, so you can get used to the clan weapons! Don't expect instant good results since clan weapons are hotter (and in many cases worse performing), but it will be worth it and improve your heat management. After all, Hunchbacks run pretty cool, even the energy boat if built right.

Unfortunately, it does not tank nearly as well as its IS counterparts.

If your focus is more on damage tanking than the other 3 requirements, the Orion (V makes a good mid range build - 2xUAC/5 2xLL OR 3LRM15 missile boat, VA makes a great brawler OR missile boat), the Warhammer (all 4 variants can make good snipers, the 6D and 7S can brawl, 7S has 3 missile hardpoints as well), the Battlemaster are all great choices.

Indeed, most would recommend the Warhammer and the Battlemaster over the Timber. (they actually do perform better).

If you are willing to buy another medium mech, Shadowhawks and Stormcrows are also on the cards. The stormcrow is just as versatile as the Timberwolf, and outshines its IS equivalents in many areas (except for tankiness, again). Just a great mech.

Shadowhawks might have to bite the bullet and take an IS XL for some builds, but you should be able to make good builds with STDs as well, and they have superb hardpoints.

To sum up:
Going for an assault? (not recommended) - Battlemaster
Going for a heavy? - Warhammer or Timber Wolf (Orion is also an option, but it is a "bad" mech*)
OK with a medium? - Stormcrow or Shadowhawk

*I enjoy playing Awesomes, adders and warhawks, so there's no reason you should decide a mech is bad without playing it. Play it and enjoy it? Don't let anyone tell you it's a "bad" mech and you should have gotten something else. Ain't their choice.

Edited by Keshav Murali, 03 June 2016 - 02:30 AM.

[The Basilisk]

zaibitsu, on 03 June 2016 - 01:56 AM, said:

Hey guys, so I almost done mastering my 3 hunchies and looking to buy something new.

Am I'm looking for chasis that:
-has a variant that I can turn in to a good sniper build longrange support fire platform
-has a variant that I can turn in to missle boat (what missiles ? LURMs SRMs ?)
-has a variant that can I turn in to a brawler
-can take a some damage

Cheers

For lights this would be the jenny.
For meds you can choose between a variety of mechs, most prominently the Griffin, Hunchback and Shadowhawk.
For the heavy department its the Catapult on IS side, other heavys excell in one distinct role and the Timby for the Clans.
For the Assault department this would be the Mauler or Zeus but be advised the mauler is a bad brawler ( he can do it though) and the Zeus a bad LR supporter.

[Rogue Jedi]

zaibitsu, on 03 June 2016 - 01:56 AM, said:

Hey guys, so I almost done mastering my 3 hunchies and looking to buy something new.

Am I'm looking for chasis that:
-has a variant that I can turn in to a good sniper build
-has a variant that I can turn in to missle boat
-has a variant that can I turn in to a brawler
-can take a some damage

Cheers

lights is a no go, not enough tonnage for a sniper or missile boat, not durable enough for a brawler

Mediums you have plenty of options,
Griffin does not have Ballistics but could be a laser or PPC sniper, it makes a great brawler or missile boat

Shadow Hawk can do anything depending on variant
Stormcrow or Shadow Cat can fulfil any role, plenty of other Mediums can do 2 of the 3

Heavies
Catapult not a great brawler but Jester or K2 will both make good snipers and the other variants can all do missile boating well, they are being redesigned soon, I think that "great rescale" comes in this months patch, and will involve rescaling the majority of Mechs in the game, but apparently the Catapult was one of the worst offenders.

Jagermech makes a great sniper thanks to high mounted ballistic hard points, unfortunately to take the heavy weapons you need for sniping make an XL almost compulsory, and the JM6 is not XL save, the JM6-A is a good missile boat, and if you use a Standard engine the Jagermech becomes extremely tanky making a STD engine Jagermech rather tanky, so put in a standard engine it becomes a good brawler.

Warhammer and Marauder both have variants able to do ether of those roles, although are a bit low on missile hard points

Helbringer, Ebon Jaguar and Timber Wolf are all capable of fulfilling any of those roles.

I am not really qualified to speak for Assualt Mechs as I hate most of them

[ZeProme]

I can speak for some other chassis that can perform specific roles.

Centurion, most noticeable for its brawling capabilities. Definitely get the CN9-A and build it into a ZombieMech.
Shadow hawk can be used for many roles. Can't really boat missiles.
Trebuchet and griffin are good missile boats. Griffin, in particular can be a great SRM brawler.
Catapult, best used for boating or sniping. Infamous glass cannon with double booms.

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

Battlemaster can tank, snipe, missleboat, and brawl... And it can laser boat

[Rhavin]

Innersphere you can do it on warhammer or Maurader, but lrm wise both are weak, and on the catapult though it's weak in a brawl. Battlemaster can fit what you want too.

Clan wise you could get Hunchback IICs. Or if omni mechs interest you shadow cat, stormcrow, Timberwolf and ebon jaguar could be a good choice. Don't underestimate the summoner either. It's has great speed and jumpjets for pop tart sniping, missle omnipods for every location and can brawl pretty well with srms and pulse lasers. Then there's the Maddog which is a classic lrm boat but can be configured to carry heavy sniper loadouts or brawl with srms.

[Koniving]

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky, on 04 June 2016 - 08:07 AM, said:

Battlemaster can tank, snipe, missleboat, and brawl... And it can laser boat

My recommendation to fit all the bills is also Battlemaster.

[Camx Kerensky]

Hunchback IIC seems like it was only made for one type of thing.

[Moldur]

Camx Kerensky, on 04 June 2016 - 05:26 PM, said:

Hunchback IIC seems like it was only made for one type of thing.

It can do a few. I quite like them. They translate over from their IS counterparts pretty well.

They are sort of jack of all trades if you look at all the variants together, but they also have the capacity to boat stupid useless amounts of weapons as glass cannons.

[Rhavin]

Hunchback IICs are glass cannons for sure. But they can boat anything with room to spare. I don't care for battlemasters, they are ugly in my opinion. That doesn't mean they are not effective, probably the most underrated IS assault mech.

[Not A Real RAbbi]

zaibitsu, on 03 June 2016 - 01:56 AM, said:

Hey guys, so I almost done mastering my 3 hunchies and looking to buy something new.

Am I'm looking for chasis that:
-has a variant that I can turn in to a good sniper build
-has a variant that I can turn in to missle boat
-has a variant that can I turn in to a brawler
-can take a some damage

Cheers

Kodiak. You're welcome.

Oh, you wanted more than that? My bad.

So, Kodiak. Snipe with the -3 or -4 with dual Gauss and dual ERPPCs. Brawl with the Spirit Bear. And, get this: MISSILE BOAT with the Spirit Bear. Actually, you can do a DECENT combo LRM-boat-and-sniper with the SB. The -1 and -5 do great laser vomit and gauss vomit stuff. The -2 does ... stuff ... too.

Fattlemaster works well, too. Also, with the XL 400, runs roughly as fast Speed Tweaked as an untweaked Spirit Bear WITH MASC. So. There's that. Ballistic work with the BLR is weak, because it's all low arm mount. :/

TBR, EBJ, and HBR all do it all sorta. HBR can't really BOAT missiles, per se, and thus can't brawl in the more traditional sense. It kinda/sorta CAN do some missile-SPL hybrid thingy, though. But the hitboxes just aren't there for the knock-down-drag-out stuff. EBJ can boat anything pretty well. Dual-Gauss, dual-UAC/10, triple-UAC/5, laser vomit, Gauss vomit, whatever. Not incredibly survivable, but good enough. TBR is ... well, it's the TBR. Pretty spectacular.

QKD is kinda-sorta close? -4H has three missile hard points, but they're pretty limited on tubes and one is in the CT. So... SORTA. CAN brawl (SRM-4s, MPLs, JJ, FAST or STD engine), but not particularly good at it. Can ERLL snipe like a mofo.

None of the Alpha Lance heavies can really do it all in the same one chassis. Closest you have is the Whammy. -7S can SORTA missile boat, but is limited to only 3 hard points. So it can KINDA brawl, but it's not really GOOD for it? Yeah.

HBK has something for everyone, as does the HBK-IIC.

So, cheap out and go with the HBK appropriate to your side of the world. OR, go big and get you a KDK or BLR. That's the TL;DR of it...

[Sadistic Savior]

zaibitsu, on 03 June 2016 - 01:56 AM, said:

Hey guys, so I almost done mastering my 3 hunchies and looking to buy something new.

Am I'm looking for chasis that:
-has a variant that I can turn in to a good sniper build
-has a variant that I can turn in to missle boat
-has a variant that can I turn in to a brawler
-can take a some damage

Timberwolf.

It's popular for a really good reason. It's omnipods allow for all hardpoints in almost all locations. You can boat anything. It's jump capable. With speed tweak it runs almost 90kph. Really the only thing it doesn't have is ECM.

There is no specialized role it does better than anything else, but its the quintessential jack-of-all-trades mech. It's the Clan version of the Hunchback. I've mastered about a dozen chasis, and this is still my go-to when I want to win.

[Sadistic Savior]

Rhavin, on 04 June 2016 - 10:59 PM, said:

Hunchback IICs are glass cannons for sure. But they can boat anything with room to spare. I don't care for battlemasters, they are ugly in my opinion. That doesn't mean they are not effective, probably the most underrated IS assault mech.

The reseen version is fugly. The classic version is awesome looking.

This is one of the chasis I mastered. I liked them because they had lots of torso hardpoints mounted high up, which made sniping over terrain obstructions pretty easy.