okay it is time to post my builds;
8V (4.5 stars aws build i reckon - easy to drive, noob friendly)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...69b6b7787d64151
this build is great for a couple of reasons.
it's a true jack of all trades. you can shoot the 4 lasers at 500-600m and their component will fall off.
it is also easy to use. it's just a lot of firepower, point at the enemy and shoot. no crazy twisting needed, you play this with armlock
the way to play it is to soften up the enemy first with lasers and then get closer and shoot the srms on their face. since the other mech will probably only be comfortable trading as brawler or trading vomit then there's always a chance to catch em as fish out of water. however if you turn a corner and run into a pure brawler you will die, gotta make sure you hit em once or twice from afar.
shooting locusts with this is also not the easiest.
9M: (4 star mech. ppc shooting, can zombie like the best of em)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...6fbe39dafff9404
i can bring the hurt over long ranges and sustain ppc fire for a surprising ammount of time.
when caught up close it still has all the other weapons. fully capable of dealing with a medium mech just with the backup gear.
losing torsos doesn't put you out of the fight.
when ppcs flew faster this was a 4.5 star mech but in the current game it can be tricky, even with the velocity quirk.
still it's good for picking off things at a distance, light mechs think their size will save them but you can get em easy with adv. zoom.
8T: (4.5 star mech - initially this seems like a 4 star mech at best, but maximizing the usage of the arms will make you see how nifty this is)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...937ef212b788af3
possibly the trickiest mech i run. 6 weapon groups mandatory - main gun is 3 LPL. the rest are secondary weapons.
erll is there to deter snipers and shoot fleeing enemies. the laser vomit trade on this mech is quite good. but staring enemies down isn't always the best option.
playing this mech carefully at first and then becoming more aggressive is the way to go.
this mech pokes really well left or right since the medium laser on the head can most of the time hit the target.
if losing one arm then the mech just becomes heat efficient. if losing both arms mech then becomes very underwhelming.
most efficient use of arms necessary. good things can be done such as shooting sideways on the move with a lot of precision.
can almost shoot backwards (i think 140 degrees is how far the reticle goes) so you can actually core components while fleeing.
you can also put your arm into the opening of a room such as the hangar in river city and burn everything inside with minimal exposure. i like to think this is similar to how ww2 flamethrowers were just pointed at the window in the bunker and indiscriminately burn everything inside.
strongest suit is to focus down weakened components. 3 LPL will do it. just use the radar to identify yellow or orange components and just take em out like a vulture. chain fire mode is also extremely powerful on this one. the damage just keeps con piling up.
if running hot the emergency hot weapon management is medlas+1lpl+srms. should be able to keep shooting even when heat is near max.
8R (4 star aws build, lurmboat)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...9512b3b90705f54
maybe should be 4.5 star but it doesn't have ammo to waste. this build won't let the quirks go to waste. large lasers shoot super fast (add LL cooldown module). lrm15 quirks make them sync up with lrm10 perfectly.
shoot 10+15 from one sidetorso, and follow up with 10+15 from other torso. chain fire the LL. this will make any mech seek cover.
primary target is mechs with a huge center torso such as dire wolf and king crab. poor fellas just get obliterated.
'like i said you gotta save some ammo for when the enemy assault is out in the open. shoot your LL first to lure em into false sense of security. once they stepped one or two meters too far from cover let it rip.
once the ammo is done however the 2 LL still can shoot an unarmored ct and core the enemy.
8R (5 star aws. honey badger)
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...652400494eceb7a
yes im going to give this one five stars. for the fun factor and the amaeezin fyapowah.
at first it seems like this is too hot. but there's a certain rythm that makes it function like clockwork. of course shutting down is still common but the enemy should be exploding by that point.
twisting is essential so it's not easy to get the hang of. usually i don't even drive this mech because it's tricky to be honest, twisting and weapon managing should be really precise.
2x erppc is good at range but the mech really doesn't do well standing out in the open. it's best to use them as you move in or to deal with pesky lights at a distance. of course luckily they also work up close. when stuff is getting desperate and you just shot a srm salvo you can emergency shoot 2xerppc and finish coring the enemy up close. most likely you won't explode.
the meat and potatos of it is 4xsrm6 with the best grouping in the game IMO. should be able to take anything down.
NOTE: builds are for PUG matches. although the 8T has allowed me to kill 5 enemy thunderbolts in faction play by shooting all of the lasers into their ct chainfire.