53 replies to this topic

[Mad Dog Morgan]

The Protector has some ludicrous Gauss cooldown capabilities, and can function pretty well as a long-range sniper, but it does have to expose a lot to fire all weapons when using the 3 ERLL+Gauss build. The amount of structure it has though can offset some bad trades.

I dunno. I've been seeing a few onions running around lately, and they're tough to kill, but they're by no means comp-tier mechs. They're fun, durable, but not competitive in today's scene because of hardpoint spacing relative to the cockpit as well as a generally unfocused set of weapons. This is the same problem present with the Cataphracts.

The cataphracts still have reasonably high energy hardpoints on some variants in the torsii, which makes the 3D still viable as an ER-PPC jump-sniper, but it's still got a huge profile. They're now a little bit better as far as relative size to the other 70tonners, but they're still as big as a barn. The Ilya Muromets is still nasty with 3 UAC5's, but that thing is also hugely outmoded by the black widow.

The Jagermechs suffer a similar problem to the Cataphract in that their cockpit sits basically centered in the torso, so silhouetting can be a problem.

Warhammers are right now the go-to IS humanoid heavy.

Edited by Vaskadar, 24 August 2016 - 10:36 PM.

[Chados]

I like the Marauder, Rifleman, Dragon, Catapult, and Quickdraw best.

I have an elited EBJ, and I like the Dragon better. That's just me.

The MAD-3R is the Marauder I prefer. It has armor for days and good PPC quirkage. Lot of staying power.

The Rifleman is what everything else on my roster wants to be. 2 AC10 and 2 ML over a STD 240 works well for me.

The best Quickdraw is the IV-4, at least for how I play. It is mobile, fairly agile, has decent mixed firepower, and enough armor to forgive mistakes. I like it very much. The others are a bit too fragile.

I like the Fang and 5NC Dragons best for their autocannon quirks and mixed hardpoints. Dragons and the QKD-IV4 are the only IS mechs I will happily run an XL in. Fang has AC10 quirks that are 3N Rifleman level but it can only carry one. The 5N has a uAC jam chance reduction and energy weapon quirks.

For Catapults, I like the Jester and A1C best. Jester is a nice laserboat though eggshell fragile since its quirks were stripped. The A1C is a great midrange LRMisher until it gets trapped, and then it goes poof pretty quick even with solid backup SRMs on board. The Cats really need their ear armor quirks and structure points restored. I run XLs in Cats but not gladly, I do it because they need it for weapons and they're so fragile that a STD engine doesn't help their survivability. So it doesn't matter.

Edited by Chados, 01 October 2016 - 09:37 PM.

[Huron Fal]

Cataphracts are slow, have big hitboxes, and low arm mounts. Dragons have bad hitboxes and poor hardpoint configuration compared to their counterparts. I own the hero mechs for both chassis and play them regularly but they are not nearly as good as other mechs in their weight class.

There are other mechs that do what the cataphract and the dragon do, except much better, and for that reason they should be avoided. Im a big fan of the jaeger, archer, and rifleman, but they are not considered top tier. If you want to know the "best" mechs id look up metamechs.

[Huron Fal]

Moldur, on 26 July 2016 - 10:05 AM, said:

Everyone that says all mechs are just as good as each other is full of ****. You don't want to pilot a shitbox. The only people who say this suffer remorse from sunk cost of actually buying them with real money, or they have dozens and dozens of mechs, and can hop out of the ****** "neat" ones at any point. They don't actually have to grind dozens or hundreds of matches in the same ****** mechs like you will have to do if you let them fool you.

Avoid these especially:
Orion
Archer
Dragon
Cataphract



The Marauder is a solid choice if that is what you are going with. Don't touch any of the above until you're just bored with the game though.

I really like my Archer: Tempest

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Dragon and Cataphract are at the top of this list.

It pains me to say it, but the Quickdraw and Thunderbolt are not far behind, because they have long since been obsoleted.

Orion is not too far off either. Like the Cataphract, the Orion lives and dies by its quirks. In otherwords, if an when the Orion gets its quirks rolled back then it will practically lack any redeeming qualities. The Orion does not have good hit boxes or geometry, plus the majority of its hardpoints are very low.

On the flip side, the Warhammer is the undisputed MVP of IS heavy mechs. It is as close as we are going to get to the versatility of the Timberwolf.

Also look at Marauder, Jager, Black Knight and Grasshopper.

[Bud Crue]

Many older IS heavies have been rendered obsolete, or have alternatives that do their jobs better. But to the question of are there really any that should be avoided? I'm not sure. All seem to have their fans, even the Dragon and the Orion. I love my quickdraws but post nerfing there are several mediums that do 3lpl or mixed laser and srms of the 5k, 4g, and 4h just as good if not better. The IV-4 is still unique with its great armor quirks, but the Rifleman 3N does the AC10 build better. That said, I would not say that the quickies should be avoided. Rather the potential purchaser just needs to understand that they may not perhaps be ideal. Still fun, still enjoyable, in some case still competitive, but perhaps not the absolute best. If we only wanted the best, we'd all just play Kodiak 3s and forget IS mechs, let alone heavies all together.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Bud Crue, on 10 October 2016 - 01:12 PM, said:

Many older IS heavies have been rendered obsolete, or have alternatives that do their jobs better. But to the question of are there really any that should be avoided? I'm not sure.

Well, if we put it in context to a newer player that wants a fundamentally sound, but likely small stable of mechs, then the question is fair.

Also something to consider for those of us with limited time, money, mech bays, c-bills etc etc etc. Ending up with a couple sub-optimal (or just plain bad) mechs is no big deal if you already own several really good mechs. Otherwise, it can be pretty frustrating.

[Kaptain]

I've mastered Phracts, Jagers, Cats, Bolts, Hoppers, Hammers, Marauders, and... Orions... and ALL of my Orions are stripped. I just cant get into them.

Hammers and Marauders are both very good. I still like the Bolts and Hoppers.

Edited by Kaptain, 10 October 2016 - 04:24 PM.

[Bud Crue]

Boogie138, on 10 October 2016 - 01:33 PM, said:

Well, if we put it in context to a newer player that wants a fundamentally sound, but likely small stable of mechs, then the question is fair.

Also something to consider for those of us with limited time, money, mech bays, c-bills etc etc etc. Ending up with a couple sub-optimal (or just plain bad) mechs is no big deal if you already own several really good mechs. Otherwise, it can be pretty frustrating.

Well said. I was going by the title. Now having had more time (and back at a computer) and read the OP...then yes if the perspective is what mechs to get for a new player, as opposed to what mechs to avoid, then yup: Warhammer is the winner. Variants cover most weapons and combinations, decent hardpoint height and lots of em. Only thing it can't do is jump. Marauder variants can with similar benefits as the Hammer but at the cost of arms that don't shield and majority of points (arms) being lower. I still think Thunderbolts are a good new player mech too, particularly the 9SE.

[Aggravated Assault Mech]

Warhammer is the best IS heavy, Marauder is definitely the best for a new pilot since most builds don't use XL engines.

Avoid Dragons, Quickdraws, Archers, Cataphract, Rifleman, Orion. All of them suffer from various things that make them harder to play than you deserve.

[Ruccus]

I know by posting this I'm going to jinx it, but I've had some good success with the Cataphract CTF-0XP and I'm doing adequately in the CTF-3D. I bought them in anticipation of the CTF-3L and have only unlocked the basics, but with the CTF-0XP I'm at 11 wins and 2 losses with 14 kills and 9 deaths. I've also had 13 matches in the CTF-3D with a mediocre 6 wins and 7 losses going with 12 kills and 11 deaths. All PUG drops.

Considering both only have basics unlocked, all the matches have been during the event which has seemed to increase the number of heavy and assault mechs on the battlefield, and I still haven't found a comfortable build for my CTF-3D (tried the 2xUAC5 build and a 4xLPL build; a little hesitant to try the PPC/Gauss jumpsniper build) I think the CTF-0XP is more than pulling its weight and the CTF-3D hasn't been a liability and can only get better when I find a build I like.

Granted if you want to buy three heavy mechs you probably wouldn't look at the Cataphract first (or second, or third....) but if you get the CTF-3L loyalty mech on October 18th and want to master it, picking a CTF-0XP as your second Cataphract is a no-brainer then it'd be about finding the right third Cataphract to join the two.

[Bespoke Cheese Cake]

If by avoid you mean heavies that are not as good as other mechs of that weight class then my list would be as follows.

Rifleman: Jäger is better.
Archer: if you want missiles get a catapult.
Summoner: There simply better clan heavies available.
Orion: get a Marauder or black knight instead.
Dragon: no

[Bud Crue]

Ruccus, on 13 October 2016 - 08:59 PM, said:

I know by posting this I'm going to jinx it, but I've had some good success with the Cataphract CTF-0XP and I'm doing adequately in the CTF-3D. I bought them in anticipation of the CTF-3L and have only unlocked the basics, but with the CTF-0XP I'm at 11 wins and 2 losses with 14 kills and 9 deaths. I've also had 13 matches in the CTF-3D with a mediocre 6 wins and 7 losses going with 12 kills and 11 deaths. All PUG drops.

Considering both only have basics unlocked, all the matches have been during the event which has seemed to increase the number of heavy and assault mechs on the battlefield, and I still haven't found a comfortable build for my CTF-3D (tried the 2xUAC5 build and a 4xLPL build; a little hesitant to try the PPC/Gauss jumpsniper build) I think the CTF-0XP is more than pulling its weight and the CTF-3D hasn't been a liability and can only get better when I find a build I like.

Granted if you want to buy three heavy mechs you probably wouldn't look at the Cataphract first (or second, or third....) but if you get the CTF-3L loyalty mech on October 18th and want to master it, picking a CTF-0XP as your second Cataphract is a no-brainer then it'd be about finding the right third Cataphract to join the two.

Try this for your D:
2PPC, 2Uac5, 4.5 tons of ammo, 2JJ, XL285, 400 Armor. Yes the higher mounts allow a Warhammer to do it better, but a Warhammer does not have jumpjets nor the 30% jam reduction quirk. Hardest part of the build for me was ignoring the 20% laser beam quirk. In those rare instances when I play CW I have been known to drop the PPCs for LPLs (except on Boreal) to better take advantage of this, but the PPCs and Uacs ideal range is a near match and works great most of the time. Plus those two high energy points just scream for weapons with a bit of range. Meta build puts in an XL300 and uses Large Lasers but the 285 still has you doing 70Kph with speed tweek and that seems plenty fast to me for most matches.

Edited by Bud Crue, 14 October 2016 - 04:37 AM.

[MaschinenSatan SELFD]

Ruccus, on 13 October 2016 - 08:59 PM, said:

I know by posting this I'm going to jinx it, but I've had some good success with the Cataphract CTF-0XP and I'm doing adequately in the CTF-3D. I bought them in anticipation of the CTF-3L and have only unlocked the basics, but with the CTF-0XP I'm at 11 wins and 2 losses with 14 kills and 9 deaths. I've also had 13 matches in the CTF-3D with a mediocre 6 wins and 7 losses going with 12 kills and 11 deaths. All PUG drops.

Considering both only have basics unlocked, all the matches have been during the event which has seemed to increase the number of heavy and assault mechs on the battlefield, and I still haven't found a comfortable build for my CTF-3D (tried the 2xUAC5 build and a 4xLPL build; a little hesitant to try the PPC/Gauss jumpsniper build) I think the CTF-0XP is more than pulling its weight and the CTF-3D hasn't been a liability and can only get better when I find a build I like.

Granted if you want to buy three heavy mechs you probably wouldn't look at the Cataphract first (or second, or third....) but if you get the CTF-3L loyalty mech on October 18th and want to master it, picking a CTF-0XP as your second Cataphract is a no-brainer then it'd be about finding the right third Cataphract to join the two.

Agree with that.....but to the question ..as a new player (and i made this mistake a year ago) avoid dragons...
get warhammers (really one of the best), marauders and tunderbolts...made the best results with them..

but as other said it depends on your style and how you handle these mechs....