18 replies to this topic

[DarthHias]

Hey, I like my Cicada 3m very much, I have been playing it for almost 3 years and it was my first mech to break 1k damage in.
The one and only build that has never let me down:
2 ERLarge + 2 Medium + ECM

Simple but good. Use the Larges to snipe, when your team is under pressure bring your ECM there and help out with the additional firepower of the mediums. That build just clicked for me.

I also tried 3erlarge and found it to hot for my taste, though I usually can´t stand sniping all game and will always get into action. Tried 3 Larges and had good results, still liked my old build better.

And you are right, its not a Light, its a light medium.

[The Lost Boy]

I DO play mine like a large locust. Peek, but dont more than once an oppononent without repositioning. Im usually in the 2C with 5 or 6 med pulse or the 3M with 2 large pulse. Use the ecm to protect a fattie, and help him kill stuff, use the speed to be VERY MOBILE. Remember tho you are ALL CT, and you have to twist HARD to get any shielding out of your arms. The 2B is nice to with 5 med pulse and 15 dhs. The xl 300 is the right engine most of the time. 130 is faster than most everything out there. Dont brawl, stay away from missiles, and keep moving. The Cicada IS a heavy locust. Its the smallest medium but reallly the biggest light.

[Raso]

I have the loyalty Cicada, or whatever reason it was handed out.... I think I've used it all of 5 times and it was only to fulfill a weekend event criteria.

It's not that I don't like it, or anything. JJs and 4 MPLs is all well and good.... but I can't help but feel like my build is very unoptimized.... Does anyone have a build for the 3F that is a little more interesting?

I think it looks something like this..... haven't invested much into it so it might be a little different.

Edited by Raso, 27 June 2016 - 12:52 PM.

[B L O O D W I T C H]

Source Mystic, on 27 June 2016 - 12:34 PM, said:

Depending on the build I am ether in the fray with the team or nowhere near it.

Like, lights, u'know?

Source Mystic, on 27 June 2016 - 12:34 PM, said:

ecm is great for the sniper builds. but it also works great if you are in with your team and need to extend some ecm love.

Like, ecm-lights, u'know?

Source Mystic, on 27 June 2016 - 12:34 PM, said:

I feel the Cicada is a great support mech it should be harassing the enemy and being a general pain.

That's what freaking lights do.

Source Mystic, on 27 June 2016 - 12:34 PM, said:

I find it to be the best medium because of it versatility speed. It biggest weakness it size and the blockiness. that is why it is not a light and should not be played as one.

Yeah, nobody is playing lights because the speed.. duuhh. Besides, have you seen how freaking big lights are nowadays?

Source Mystic, on 27 June 2016 - 12:34 PM, said:

Stay under cover and peak you can tank some damage just do not be stupid about it.
Best builds are for me 2lpl , 5 mpl or 3erll.

havn't seen a light with such loadouts... oh wait..

Source Mystic, on 27 June 2016 - 12:34 PM, said:

So do you have some tips for the Cicada.

Feel free to post them here thanks

Play it like a light, duuh.

[jss78]

Well, even in lore, the Cicada was explicitly a competitor to the Locust. In tabletop the two mechs have an identical movement profile, identical armour, similar weapons (Cicada just a bit upgunned), with the Cicada mainly bringing in the table the 40-tonner internal structure and robustness. So it's easy to see where the "it's a fat light" comments come from.

But then when you down-engine the Cicada to ~280ish, as many do, and throw in some big long-range guns, then you really start to straddle the line between the classical medium and light mech roles. In lore this was what the CDA-3C did, with 280-rated engine and a big gun by Lostech-era standards (PPC).

So...it depends.

[InspectorG]

Raso, on 27 June 2016 - 12:50 PM, said:

I have the loyalty Cicada, or whatever reason it was handed out.... I think I've used it all of 5 times and it was only to fulfill a weekend event criteria.

It's not that I don't like it, or anything. JJs and 4 MPLs is all well and good.... but I can't help but feel like my build is very unoptimized.... Does anyone have a build for the 3F that is a little more interesting?

I think it looks something like this..... haven't invested much into it so it might be a little different.

Try a 2ERPPC jumpsnipe? Runs hot though.

[InspectorG]

IMO:

Cicadas are poke mechs. The hitboxes are bad. Agility is good and if you vulture and are fairly fresh late match you can shine.
You can support fatmechs and let them draw fire.
You can wolfpack with lights.
You can snipe or harass.

You really cant brawl, hitboxes are bad and average pilots should be able to single out components on you. Good pilots will lg you at range.
You cant out run lights and they will chew you up.
You cant leave yourself exposed, terrain is your friend.

CDA-A , poke with 6 ML, way cooler than lights. Boring but works well. I try to support Assaults doing this as they attract the enemy fire.

CDA-B, 5MPL. Knife-fight with Wubs. Gotta fight dirty because you are a 'catcher's mitt' so know when to pounce and when to GTFO.

CDA-C, yeah dont.

CDA -X5, my Bread and Butter. I dont know why PGI nerfed it. It HAD IS laser duration with CLAN range.
NOW...well, it can be quite powerful at close range with 4ML+2ASRM6.Ammo will be tight but you shouldnt be brawling over long stretches of time anyhow. Alpha is almost 46.

CDA-F, this thing hates me.

CDA-M, yeah i dont use it much. i dont rely on ECM but, people like it.

[Raso]

InspectorG, on 27 June 2016 - 01:19 PM, said:

Try a 2ERPPC jumpsnipe? Runs hot though.

I already have heat problems with just 4 MPLs. Think I'll pass on the PPCs..... I wish I could comfortably fit two LPLs instead of one.

Source Mystic, on 27 June 2016 - 01:16 PM, said:

I was wondering what are the quarks on that mech ?
then might be able to help you out. Radar derp for sure.

Some good laser quirks. Range and beam duration.


IDK maybe I'm expecting too much from such a light mech with such a massive engine cap.

Edited by Raso, 27 June 2016 - 01:38 PM.

[InspectorG]

Raso, on 27 June 2016 - 01:36 PM, said:

I already have heat problems with just 4 MPLs. Think I'll pass on the PPCs..... I wish I could comfortably fit two LPLs instead of one.



Some good laser quirks. Range and beam duration.


IDK maybe I'm expecting too much from such a light mech with such a massive engine cap.

2LPL, right here

[Dawnstealer]

Way back in the long, long ago, I took the 3C as my first mech (this was before I realized that the cadet bonus wasn't the permanent earnings rate). Took me forever to grind it out, and then longer to figure out the skills, and by then I had moved on to the Stalkers and had much better luck.

Once I figured out skills, I came back to the CDAs and picked up the rest. I kind of run mine like you do, but more as harassers and, in the case of the 2A, a Light Hunter.

This one, in particular, is brutal:

CDA-2A

The 3F, with all the fixuns, is pretty fun, able to actually jump OVER the walls in HPG.

CDA-3F(L)

That kind of jumping ability, combined with 130kph, means that you can get away from just about everything, and the ERLLs can just keep poking forever.

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

is the cda faster then the phx?

[stealthraccoon]

I personally prefer the stock 2A - all the firepower and armor of a Locust at twice the weight and cost!

Cicadas aren't as herky-jerky, dancing around mechs as Locusts, they do better at hit-and-fade style, but are still able to take a few hits. Still love a 3C with auto cannons ( [smurfy]http://mwo.smurfy-ne...8ab1f614eb37aa5[/smurfy] ) I just lock my reticle and do drive by attacks on distracted enemies.

Dawnstealer, on 27 June 2016 - 01:58 PM, said:

Way back in the long, long ago, I took the 3C as my first mech (this was before I realized that the cadet bonus wasn't the permanent earnings rate). Took me forever to grind it out, and then longer to figure out the skills, and by then I had moved on to the Stalkers and had much better luck.

Same experience here! Was really having a hard time because I didn't have a larger XL engine yet, and being a kinda slow Cicada isn't conducive to surviving the match!

Edited by stealthraccoon, 27 June 2016 - 03:43 PM.

[Tarogato]

Depending on the variant and loadout, I play my Cicadas just how I play my Panthers, Adders, Ravens, Jenners, or Firestarters. It's basically a light mech. If you don't want to play it like a light, that's your prerogative. But don't call other people wrong when they've had plenty of success playing it their way - like a light.

Maybe you'd be surprised to hear that in competitive play the Cicada and Ice Ferret are both considered viable light stand-ins for drops that are restricted to not allow you to bring mechs below 40-tons?

[InspectorG]

Tarogato, on 27 June 2016 - 02:51 PM, said:

Depending on the variant and loadout, I play my Cicadas just how I play my Panthers, Adders, Ravens, Jenners, or Firestarters. It's basically a light mech. If you don't want to play it like a light, that's your prerogative. But don't call other people wrong when they've had plenty of success playing it their way - like a light.

Maybe you'd be surprised to hear that in competitive play the Cicada and Ice Ferret are both considered viable light stand-ins for drops that are restricted to not allow you to bring mechs below 40-tons?

I wouldn call it a light or a medium. Smedium?
It WAS too big to play as a light and didn't have the agility via movement archetype.
But with the RESCALE it may gain size-parity???

[jss78]

InspectorG, on 27 June 2016 - 01:32 PM, said:

IMO:

Cicadas are poke mechs. The hitboxes are bad. Agility is good and if you vulture and are fairly fresh late match you can shine.
You can support fatmechs and let them draw fire.
You can wolfpack with lights.
You can snipe or harass.

You really cant brawl, hitboxes are bad and average pilots should be able to single out components on you. Good pilots will lg you at range.
You cant out run lights and they will chew you up.
You cant leave yourself exposed, terrain is your friend.

I'll agree with this, I've also had most success running them as something like a skirmisher, which hits and runs, typically from medium range. If you go try to do the close-range stuff ACH/FS etc. excel at, I find you get shot up real quick. You're a bit too big, your hitboxes are too bad, and you're not quite fast enough to compensate.

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky, on 27 June 2016 - 02:07 PM, said:

is the cda faster then the phx?

Generally speaking yes, the fastest Cicada (XL-340) is 148 km/h, and the fastest a PXH can go (XL-355) is 137.4 kph. However the PXH-3S with MASC and a big engine will sprint faster than a Cicada. But in practice Cicadas tend to be a lot quicker. I find most people to run their Cicadas with near-max engines (320-340), while I suspect the largest engines are actually kind of rare in Phoenix Hawks. Looking at people's speeds, I think most run their Phoenix Hawks with 300'ish engines.

[Rock Roller]

I have ran most engine profiles in the PHX since it launched. The XLs that I have ran are the 270, 300, 325, 330 and 340. For me I keep coming back to an XL300. Good mix of speed, armor and firepower. Don't run with less than a 270. Like a light, speed = life.

As I don't have a Cicada I cant say for sure but reading the above post they play very similar. Very much a light feel. You get more armor but with the size it doesn't feel like it because you are a much easier target. Weaponry is very similar to the Cicada. With the engines and JJs you run plus ECM on the variants that are most popular you don't have much more tonnage.

Edited by Rock Roller, 27 June 2016 - 08:57 PM.

[DelRico]

I love that new new (L) they gave out last year. Runs a 129 kph with 4 med las, and those jumpjets are just too much fun!

I can jump in the middle of them and run off before taking much damage, hunt down the wounded or kill the LRM supports that try to hide in the background... Didnt want it, but now its my no1 medium

[Fut]

The CDAs have been a really fun and rewarding Mech for me to pilot.
Currently have the 2A, 3M, and X5 - but will be grabbing the 3F when it comes out for Cbills (will be my first mech with JJs, which is exciting - but while toying around in Smurfy's I find it a tough one to build).

Run them mostly as Skirmishers, sticking to the sides of Heavy or Assault Mechs and pulling hit/runs on their targets. As long as I don't pull too much aggro I can cause some real damage and chaos - plus I'm quick enough to pull out when the baddies start to target me. What I like most about them though is their mobility, can very easily re-position to where I'm needed most, Capture Points, or haul back to base when required. Always run mine with max or near max engine size (speed ~140 +/-)

The toughest part is when I find myself in a duel with a Light Mech. CDA just doesn't have the agility needed to 1 vs 1 against any of those little ********, plus it lacks the speed to hightail it back to the safety of teammates. It's not impossible, but it really depends on how good (or bad) the other pilot is.

Not entirely sure why, but my best stats are in the 2A. Run that thing with 2x ERLL, and 4x SL, which is quite close to the build I use on the 3M. Think that my 2A runs are better because I'm not focusing on ECM duties or whatever.

Typically use the X5 the most. 4x ML and 2x SRM2. With the Cooldown Mod and Quirks for SRM2, those little suckers rapid fire like crazy,

Think the main part of piloting the CDA is really knowing when to disengage. It's a fast Mech, but it's fairly large and can't take too much abuse.

[Old-dirty B]

Cicada's, of course!

I prefer what most not prefer, the unusual, the rare, the challenge... My all time favourite mech, the dark sheep of this odd-ball mech model, the CDA-3C. The great ER PPC keeps me going all day long!

Although it's classed as a medium by its tonnage, labelled "fast medium" by its speed. I prefer to class it as a light because of its speed, labelled "fat light" because of its size or tonnage... In practise, its a great support mech, especially in the role of skirmisher. I consider it the ideal support mech for a light wolfpack because it has about the same speed, ideal to disengage when operating "behind enemy lines" gets too hot...

Alright, brawling can be a problem... it's size and hitboxes make it far less ideal to do this then the known light brawlers. However i have noticed that brawling with lights can often be successful, especially when the CDA pilot has the initiative / is on the chase rather then vice versa. The great speed and torso twist allows it to remain on the lights tail very easily...

The CDA (3C) performs best on the flanks of the enemy, peeking and repositioning. The biggest challenge is to stay in the optimal range and have enough line of sight to the enemy to be effective yet safe not to get too much damage, to keep your situational awareness and knowing when to disengage.