24 replies to this topic

[northpow]

I just bought the Urbanmech because of the 360 rotation, and I am not impressed.

I was so surprised by the speed (32 KPH - I was being passed by Atlas's on my own team) that I googled to make sure, but apparently that's actually the speed.

The idea is that 360 rotation makes up for it, but the rotation is also SLOW. I haven't leveled it, but even when I do, the rotation will probably be slower than most Mech's turn on their legs... so it's pointless.

What are the scenarios where this build is supposed to be superior? Are there any such scenarios in the current set of maps?

[northpow]

Nevermind, I think I am beginning to see the light. Once you put a different engine in it, it's a different story. You can fire at enemies while running away from them, which is pretty awesome.

[jper4]

first thing 99.9% of urbie pilots do is upgrade the engine. max engine and it can hit 100+kph, a lot of people get rid of the ballistic stuff (blasphemers) and load it up with laser vomit to go with the max engine. MPLs and more usually ERLLs are the most common types of these that are seen.

more crazy folk like me try to keep the ballistics and up the engine just enough to stay with the assaults and slow heavies (100-125 engine). usually enough to cram up to an ac20 and 3.5 tons of ammo if you give up secondary weapons and/or armor. ac10/ac5 give you more flexibility as far as other weapons go. I have 6 of them right now so I don't have to keep changing loadouts. manage around a 1.0kdr in them.

if you're looking for competitive play then you're not going to see them around. PUGging they're fine until I suppose all the tier 1 people start one shotting you with their quintuple guass hexa-PPC builds. basically play them like a very tiny assault mech (except the ERLL ones)- find an assault and wait til it gets an enemy's attention and it will pay very little attention to that assault's "lil buddy" and you can inflict some pain on them. avoid other lights like the plague.

plus either one of two things will happen during a match
1) people will see you and say "just an urbie" and ignore you allowing you to get lots of damage in or
2) they will say "oh an urbie-easy kill" and go out of their way to kill you.

edit- yea the fire as you run away thing is pretty cool until you forget which way your legs are facing and go full throttle towards someone and head off in the other direction

Edited by Tanar, 17 June 2016 - 05:51 PM.

[Koniving]

northpow, on 17 June 2016 - 05:02 PM, said:

I just bought the Urbanmech because of the 360 rotation, and I am not impressed.

I was so surprised by the speed (32 KPH - I was being passed by Atlas's on my own team) that I googled to make sure, but apparently that's actually the speed.

The idea is that 360 rotation makes up for it, but the rotation is also SLOW. I haven't leveled it, but even when I do, the rotation will probably be slower than most Mech's turn on their legs... so it's pointless.

What are the scenarios where this build is supposed to be superior? Are there any such scenarios in the current set of maps?

One: The rotation speed of the Urbanmech in MWO is a factor of engine power. Canonical Urbanmechs (of the three mentons I have seen in the novels) are actually incapable of any significant rotation; then again the rotation is unnecessary because their arms can flip 180 degrees to shoot at things behind them, and the arms have 360 degrees of vertical rotation. Who needs more than 15 degrees left/right twist when you can shoot at any angle above, below, behind and in front? With a building on either side of you, it really didn't matter and arm rotational speed is pretty quick.

Two: UIrbanmechs....
The UrbanMech was designed for just what its name suggests, urban combat and defense. This was achieved by starting with a cheap, easily-produced chassis, giving it six tons Durallex armor to rival the protection found on many medium-weight BattleMechs, and mounting a pair of Pitban 6000 jump jets for a jumping distance of 60 meters. The trade-off was that it could only mount the miserable Leenix 60 engine, making the UrbanMech the slowest light 'Mech in existence with a cruising speed of 21 km/h and top speed of only 32.4 km/h. This was a severe disadvantage if the 'Mech attempted to fight in open country - something for only the foolish or desperate - but off-set by the fact that fighting in the close confines of a Star League city left little room to maneuver anyways and the UrbanMech's low profile made it difficult to target. Thus the 'Mech was primarily used for fighting guerrillas and other light 'Mechs in an urban environment, an arena where it also achieved some success fighting medium and even heavy-weight 'Mechs. Standard tactics for an UrbanMech lance was to split up into its constituent parts and occupy various buildings in order to snipe the enemy before falling back to the next defensive line.^[1][2][3]
Large numbers of UrbanMechs were produced by Orguss Industries from 2675 until the destruction of their assembly lines and could be found in all of the armies of the Successor States. However most military leaders saw the slow little 'Mech as a liability, confining their stockpiles to garrison duty or stripping them of parts. This dismissive attitude towards the UrbanMech saved it from the ravages of the Succession Wars and ensured its continued use into the thirty-first century. The Capellan Confederation remained the largest and only user of UrbanMechs to actually deploy them for front-line duty, a result of the devastation of the Fourth Succession War and their desperation for any 'Mech to replenish their losses. The Confederation Reserve Cavalry and Capellan Defense Force had the lion's share of UrbanMechs, followed by the Tikonov Republican Guard and St. Ives Armored Cavalry; outside the Confederation the Federated Suns' Capellan March Militia fielded the largest number of UrbanMechs thanks to the fact it was mostly composed of captured Capellan equipment. Its prominence within the Confederation meant the UrbanMech was among those 'Mechs within the CCAF to receive upgrades following the recovery of lostech; the other States followed suit with much less priority over improving other 'Mechs. Despite this the sheer costs necessary to replace the UrbanMech's engine and increase its top speed meant even the Confederation limited their refit packages to improving the weapons and armor only.^[2][3]
Weapons and Equipment

The UrbanMech packs a powerful punch for its size. The standard version carries an Imperator-B Autocannon/10 in its right arm and as a back up weapon it carries a Harmon Light Small Laser in the left arm for suppressing infantry. With these two weapons the UrbanMech can constantly harass, or if piloted by an experienced enough MechWarrior, down 'Mechs up to twice its own size. A single ton of ammo for the autocannon, located in the right torso, leaves little endurance for a prolonged fight, though it fits in perfectly with the hit-and-run nature of the 'Mech; one way or another most observers agree the UrbanMech is good for about two minutes of combat.^[1][2][3]

--------------

In MWO, change the engine. Most mechs in MWO are 2x to 3x faster than their canonical counterparts in Battletech anyway.

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

Enemy urbanmechs should be priority focus target number One!!!

They are so overpowered that the new reacale made them bigger, so that their opponents have even a sliver of a chance of surviving in its wake.

Group tonnage minimums were imposed specifically to make sure people didnt boat full teams of the terrifing Urbanmech!

All praise the all mighty Urbie!

[Not A Real RAbbi]

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky, on 17 June 2016 - 10:02 PM, said:

Enemy urbanmechs should be priority focus target number One!!!

They are so overpowered that the new reacale made them bigger, so that their opponents have even a sliver of a chance of surviving in its wake.

Group tonnage minimums were imposed specifically to make sure people didnt boat full teams of the terrifing Urbanmech!

All praise the all mighty Urbie!

You laugh...

QQ's Urbie Derby several weeks ago, featured the likes of Krivvan as one of TEN Urbanmech pilots on a 12-man, along with two Atlases. Favorite enemy comment? "10/10 would get trolled again." It was the very definition of OP. Much death was dealt.

[IraqiWalker]

Sister RAbbi, on 17 June 2016 - 10:38 PM, said:

You laugh...

QQ's Urbie Derby several weeks ago, featured the likes of Krivvan as one of TEN Urbanmech pilots on a 12-man, along with two Atlases. Favorite enemy comment? "10/10 would get trolled again." It was the very definition of OP. Much death was dealt.

I want that video!

[Vonbach]

Urbanmechs rule. My favorite build is max armor a 170 xl engine and 2 PPC's.
I'm too small and fast for most larger mechs to hit when I poke and snipe.
When they do chase me I just run preferably to the rest of my team.
I think my record is 720 damage or so.

[Dawnstealer]

northpow, on 17 June 2016 - 05:39 PM, said:

Nevermind, I think I am beginning to see the light. Once you put a different engine in it, it's a different story. You can fire at enemies while running away from them, which is pretty awesome.

Yes....yessssssss...feel the urb...flowing through you...

[mailin]

Currently I'm running 2 LPLs in my urbie.

[Chryckan]

I run my Urbie with 2sl, 3 MGs and 1 UAC/5. Mainly because it looks like someone went mental and bolted on a crazy number of guns to it.

[Lily from animove]

Tanar, on 17 June 2016 - 05:50 PM, said:

basically play them like a very tiny and cored assault mech

ftfy

[Not A Real RAbbi]

IraqiWalker, on 17 June 2016 - 10:49 PM, said:

I want that video!

I'll ask Johann when he's back from playing Army, if he or anyone he's aware of got video of any of it. I might have recorded one drop, but I'm pretty sure I've cleared it out by now. SUFFICE to say, the Atlases tended to get 800-1200 damage each match, but the other team's headscratching at all those trashcans was priceless. (Kinda like that time we were on a FRR turn in CW, but somehow Johann's deck got messed up, and he dropped with a trial commando and THREE CLAN MECHS FROM HIS LAST DECK. I DO have video of that, off-topic though it is.)

My first drop EVER in an Urbanmech? AC/2, 3x SL. 300-ish damage, 3 kills, loss. I think one of those may even have been a solo kill. That's NO BASIC SKILLS YET. Don't think it even had ferro. Fun stuff. You feel so slow for a light, even with that XL180 engine. And then, you realize that you're shaped (and almost sized) like Humpty-Dumpty (or Humpty-Dumpster?) next to all those other mechs, and you can really get away with some crap in those things.

Now, if I could only find a way to get away with twin ERPPCs in my R60L...

[Ooorky]

Urby is Love.
Urby is Life.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Last night I watched my last living teammate take down three heavy mechs on his own (which also won us the match) while piloting an Urbie w/ 2x Lg Pulse.
Did not hurt that he was also a member of one of the best comp teams in MWO, but still..

Edited by Boogie138, 19 June 2016 - 03:50 AM.

[Sadistic Savior]

northpow, on 17 June 2016 - 05:02 PM, said:

I just bought the Urbanmech because of the 360 rotation, and I am not impressed.

I was so surprised by the speed (32 KPH - I was being passed by Atlas's on my own team) that I googled to make sure, but apparently that's actually the speed.

The idea is that 360 rotation makes up for it, but the rotation is also SLOW. I haven't leveled it, but even when I do, the rotation will probably be slower than most Mech's turn on their legs... so it's pointless.

What are the scenarios where this build is supposed to be superior? Are there any such scenarios in the current set of maps?

Urbanmechs are basically a novelty, added for people who like them from the lore (which includes me...I own one). The only real in-game advantage they have is 360 degree torso twist. But for a light mech they have a hideously easy-to-hit silhouette...which is why I usually target them first if I see them. They are much easier to klll for me than other light mechs.

If you are playing to win, I don't see the point of an Urbanmech. The only reason to use them IMO is their novelty, or maybe to challenge yourself.

Edited by Sadistic Savior, 19 June 2016 - 08:21 PM.

[Nightshade24]

Tanar, on 17 June 2016 - 05:50 PM, said:

first thing 99.9% of urbie pilots do is upgrade the engine. max engine and it can hit 100+kph.

But how else am I meant to fit an AC 20 on my Urbanmech?

[Rushin Roulette]

Ooorky, on 18 June 2016 - 11:06 PM, said:

Urby is Love.
Urby is Life.

I must say... it is absolutely amazing that you managed to survive that match. You got really lucky there.

For future reference, there are a few points you should always remember while piloting light mechs (not only Urbies);

Never stop to shoot
Never stop at all
If you are not sure if there might me an opponent behind you or close to you...never stop
Lower your mouse sensitivity as far as you can (especially if you are shooting at such long distances). You will have much smoother aim and no more shaky re-adjustments like you had in the video
P. S. Never stop

Now for the good things you were doing (keep that up);
Pressing R to see which component is heavily damaged
Correctly focusing on critical components
Making sure that other (heavier) mechs on your team are focused before you, as they are able to take more incoming fire than you are.
You do not try to cross your team mates firing lines much.

Work on those few points and you will definitely find your gameplay experience will get even better.

Later on, once you climb up the Tiers, you may want to change to more short ranged builds, so you might want to practice and learn those now. Your opponents wont stand out in the open and let you pump shot after shot into you, they will be on the lookout for immobile targets (hence the tip to never stop) and sniper mechs will hardly have the luxury of multiple targets at one time. Focusing fire with your teammates is imperative, as your opponents will also try to focus single targets to take them down quicker.

Never stopping in a light mech does not mean that you should leeroy into the enemy btw. You can keep on moving by circling back behind your team and coming at the enemy from a different angle or just running in a circle behind cover fro a while. If you stop, it its easy to focus you and it takes longer to start moving than it does for a mech running in circles to move in a specific direction away or to the enemy.

Edited by Rushin Roulette, 20 June 2016 - 12:09 AM.

[jss78]

I feel like some 'mechs should come with a disclaimer for new players ("HARD MODE", "try at your own peril"), and the Urbie is one of these.

The Urbie's basically an in-game joke. For many a dearly beloved joke, for others simply a joke.

All that doesn't mean that you cannot do well in them, but it's definitely not the easiest path.

[TWIAFU]

northpow, on 17 June 2016 - 05:39 PM, said:

Nevermind, I think I am beginning to see the light. Once you put a different engine in it, it's a different story. You can fire at enemies while running away from them, which is pretty awesome.

Urbies are fun and glad you are starting to enjoy them.

Get yourself 3 other Urbie pilots of skill and do Scouting missions. Some of the most fun I have had is doing all Urbie Scout decks and reading the QQ from the other team after they are rolled by URBIES!