23 replies to this topic

[Ex97Bravo]

Hey all, I'm new to game, and I'm doing research into a light or med mech to do scouting missions for faction play (Inner Sphere). Basically I'm looking to buy and modify an IS mech that can be a descent all around design. Leaning to lights, that can hopefully run an ecm, hit and run, scout and spot...and hopefully be survivable. Any suggestions? Appreciate the input!

[Bud Crue]

Griffin 2N. If your willing to spend real $ then consider also a Pirate's Bane for collecting (that is if your into the whole avoid contact, collect and try to sneak into the circle at the last second strategy. Spider is good for this to. Really though Griffin 2N is about the best ECM equipped IS mech for scouting.

[BaconTWOfourACTUAL]

Pirates bane, small fast mech, really unable to exchange at range...

My personal favorite, is the Raven 3L. Able to scout, run, and exchange at long ranges.

[Ex97Bravo]

Ok. I've heard about the Raven 3l, and spider, but what about commando? And do you have suggestions on using stock or have any good modifications on any of these mechs? Also, what is a VERY NEW PLAYER friendly mech for this? I just faction and don't have enough mechs for assault, so I'm working one for recon (newbie error) Thanks guys, I do appreciate guidance! Your awesome

[Fobhopper]

While the commando isnt a bad mech, it really lacks good hardpoints for any decent wepaons for good fire exchange. with only 20 tons, most of which is going to be eaten up by armor and engine barely leaves you 2-4 tons for weapons/ammo. Not to mention it has very blocky hit boxes, which is normally good for spreading damage, but the boxes are so large that its really easy to be hit with pretty much every weapon in the game.

Raven, cicada, lucust (mostly the pirates bane), spider are pretty much the better mechs in the game for scouting mode. they either have better (slimmer) hitboxes, have more tonnage to work with so can equip better weapons and armor, and give better bang for the buck.

[Havyek]

IMO Raven is best to start, it has some very good other variants besides the 3L, so mastering it won't be nearly the chore that the Locust, Cicada, or Spider will be.
Plus it lends itself to other roles besides just scouting.

If your goal is just to finish the scouting FW challenge, you probably want the Griffin. Most of the scouting matches are 4v4 medium death matches anyway.

[BaconTWOfourACTUAL]

For a very very new player?

I don't recommend a light mech. I started in one, because... I'm a freak of nature.
But seriously, the game is difficult to get the hang of when you're brand new.
Don't make it difficult, at 10 times the speed (with a light mech)

Unless you're incredibly comfortable piloting a mech, knowing how to torso twist, knowing when to fire, how to fire, not shutting down, knowing the team strategy... etc
Don't get a light mech.

Most of the larger mech alphas will cripple or destroy you, if you overheat infront of an enemy in a light mech, go grab a drink because you'll be waiting to play until the next match.

[JC Daxion]

I love cicada's, the 3M is my favorite, with 4 ML's and an AC5. though some use a UAC5, but it is so tight of a build, i rather have the extra ton of ammo. I already skimp on the engine and run an XL-280 as it is.


commando's are great, but the 2D, 1D, and 2A, are ammo based mechs, and in todays game of 100 ton assaults everywhere they just run out of ammo to easily.. They would really be great mechs if they ever get ammo quirks.

the Death's Kneel, hero is an incredible mech though, 4 MPL's, and it still can run over 150 KPH.., it is one tough little bugger.. I've had matches that i hit close to 800 damage in it. Runs a bit hot, but a very solid mech.

there is also another C-bill commando that can run energy builds, with 3 energy hard points. I don't have that one.


Ravens are also a good choice, flexible builds, I like the 2X and 3L the best.. I could never get the 4X to run well for me.

The huggin is in a bad place atm.. It is a good mech verse heavier mechs, but with all the ARC's and locusts boating small pulse lasers if you ever run into one of them, your pretty much dead.. (which is just about every match unfortunately.. a machine gun buff would help this mech greatly. It makes me sad, because i love the mech, but it is just so outclassed by the Pulse boats, especially if you are not the best with using SRM's verse fast mechs.. (which i am not )

.. I have spiders and locusts too, but i have not put much time in them.. they are sorta the same, yet different.. Locusts can boat lots of small weapons to gain an edge.. But spiders have a mobility edge with JJ's, but run typically larger weapons, like medium pulse lasers, or ERLL's to out range the locust, or even an ERPPC.

To me a good spider pilot should take down locusts, because they are about the same speed, but their mobility and range should make them a solid win every time, as long as your a good enough pilot, as you can basically stay out of the locusts range.. outside of the ones that run the single large pulse, but even then, you should still have the edge.

Long ranges spiders are an ARC's worst nightmare, as most run either ERML's, or Boat small pulse,, which means you can always be out of their range.. even the SRM builds are not a worry.

[TooDumbToQuit]

I used to think that I was great at scouting. Then I joined a Unit that would switch from IS to Clan and back. And I found out the reason I was "so good" was simply that I was able to use a Stormcrow.

So the question came, what IS mech can compete with them? From reading posts here and talking to others like Kanajashi, I also go with the Griffin 2N for "protect intel" and the Pirate's Bane for collect.

And Stormcrows are still kicking our butt.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Cicada 3M would fill that roll well.

I have run with with 3 er large lasers with great results, especially for Faction Play on Boreal or Grim.

While technically it is a medium, the reality is that it typically is employed more like a light.

It can take a hit a little better than most lights, but that comes at the cost of being easier to hit period.

Should you ever want to go try Clan mechs, then the Shadowcat would be perfect for you.

[Jingseng]

as far as options go, there's also a Phoenix Hawk variant that includes ECM and energy hardpoints in arms and torsos, and ballistic in arm. It's possible to uprate the engine to jenner like speeds with an XL, but how that will turn out with future power draw is speculative. This variant has jump capacity as well, which is a nice plus. Expect to drop an additional 5-6m in cbills on top of purchase cost.

Jenner Oxides are somewhat popular too... very fast, good punch, but somewhat fragile imho. Also no ecm.

If ecm isn't a deal breaker (it shouldn't be; IS lrms are a bad idea for scouting, and Cl... well you ought to be running streaks or er lasers instead) consider Shadow Hawk, Griffin, Enforcer, Centurion (all very common in IS scouting teams). Vindicator somewhat less so. Trebuchet even less (and also even less usefully).

Or get an urbanmech, up engine the heck out of it, and surprise everyone. PB locusts are always good... a raven can be good too, but you'll need to drop a lot of money on that as well raising the engine (otherwise, its size and speed mix is not terribly good)

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

can i vote for Atlas AS7-D-DC ?

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky, on 12 September 2016 - 06:58 PM, said:

can i vote for Atlas AS7-D-DC ?

What kind of hit and run is that?

You HIT the enemy and they RUN out of mechs?

[Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky]

Boogie138, on 12 September 2016 - 07:10 PM, said:

What kind of hit and run is that?

You HIT the enemy and they RUN out of mechs?

you "hit" them, "and" you "run" at them...

edit: (well... run as fast as you can... which might be more like a brisk jog,,,)

edit2: (also, please note that Maximillion Rex is currently Steiner... so the only scout mech he can choose is the Atlas)

Edited by Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky, 12 September 2016 - 07:33 PM.

[S 0 L E N Y A]

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky, on 12 September 2016 - 07:30 PM, said:

edit2: (also, please note that Maximillion Rex is currently Steiner... so the only scout mech he can choose is the Atlas)

ooooh. Then the matter is settled. Steiner affiliation is a binding contract to always use an Atlas regardless of the scenario.

Do not fear, it could be worse. You could be in House Liao and expected to use the ::shudder: Vindicator.

[WabbitNinja]

Personally when I think about inner Sphere mechs, I shudder at those dark days when I tried to do AC/20 only hunchback (Did one match, 3rd in the game, and got only team damage, yay ) But never fear, there are some good options when it comes to light mechs. First and foremost I would recommend either the Locust (Preferably the 1E or if you can P.B.) because of two reasons. One, I am assuming you are like me and flushed all your c-bills down the drain on trying to find a good IS cheap medium mech then realized there are really none, then went to heavy and lost it all (in my case the k2-catapult) So I pledged to never use I.S. mechs again.
Now that you know where I am coming from you can understand the second reason, cheap. The locust is a cheap, but fast, maneuverable, small, and very educational mech. You could run Medium Lasers with a Tag possibly? If you want a long range mech go Lrg Pulse and sacrifice a heat sink for a Tag because you wanna still have the scouting aspect. No matter what I would recommend the locust for it's speed, cost, and performance. Now I know it does not have an ECM but you are fast enough that you can likely run out of cover, backstab, then run away fast enough that the target has just noticed you. Or you can be that annoying locust who runs around mechs over and over. Either way the locust will get the job done, for other mechs they are fine I guess (don't take my word on that) but... eh.

[JC Daxion]

LikeUntoGod, on 12 September 2016 - 03:52 PM, said:

And Stormcrows are still kicking our butt.

to beat a stormcrow is simple... Long range fast mechs which is what the IS lights excel at. .. Come up against a SRM boat, or MPL boat, and they can't touch you.. ERPPC spider, Dual ERLL raven, LPL locust, AC5/Triple ERLL/dual LPL/ERPPC cicada all fit this job. Now if you end up running around a corner and run into one face to face, then you can have issues, especially if is a streak boat.

IS lights verse clans, run in Long range wolf packs.

For mediums, griffin, or HBK's are nice.. the 4G with the ac20 tanks like a champ, and the 4SP also can hit hard with it's SRM bank, +5 ML's, though the HBK's are kinda slow.


@wabbitninja.. if it was only your 3rd match, you still had lots to learn.. IS mechs are very nitch, and take a long time to get the feel of them to make them shine. Clan mechs, are much more flexible, and more like jack of all trades with the omni set ups. That said, if a certain IS mech doesn't suit your style then you can have a hard time with it. 4G hands down is one of the best brawlers in the game ever since it got it's armor buffs when it got quirked.. same with the 4SP which has about as much armor as a heavy on it's torso. I love to brawl, but a stormcrow will get wrecked by a good HBK pilot

Edited by JC Daxion, 12 September 2016 - 09:22 PM.

[TooDumbToQuit]

I keep hearing that Stormcrows are easy to beat. Much like I hear "shoot their legs" which makes me laugh a little. I've played mine 100's of times (I like to say they bought a lot of my other Mechs) and I do not remember ever being legged. Would you also try to leg a Griffin? They have the same amount of leg armor.

Scouting turns into brawls, Stormcrows win brawls. They are the reason the Clans get Long Tom.

Long range, they can carry any weapon and a lot of them. I love the laser in the head. C-ER LL all day

Boogie138, on 12 September 2016 - 06:35 PM, said:

Should you ever want to go try Clan mechs, then the Shadowcat would be perfect for you.

Good pilots in Shadowcats are doing very well in the PTS. It has made me want to buy 3 of them.

[mailin]

LikeUntoGod, on 12 September 2016 - 11:16 PM, said:

I keep hearing that Stormcrows are easy to beat. Much like I hear "shoot their legs" which makes me laugh a little. I've played mine 100's of times (I like to say they bought a lot of my other Mechs) and I do not remember ever being legged. Would you also try to leg a Griffin? They have the same amount of leg armor.

Scouting turns into brawls, Stormcrows win brawls. They are the reason the Clans get Long Tom.

Long range, they can carry any weapon and a lot of them. I love the laser in the head. C-ER LL all day



Good pilots in Shadowcats are doing very well in the PTS. It has made me want to buy 3 of them.

Leg the Stormcrows, or most clanners for that matter. That or the shoulders if your aim is good. The nice thing about the legs on most mechs is that even if you miss the leg you're aiming for there's a chance of hitting the other leg, in which case once you take one out the other is already damaged.

Also you could potentially leg the enemy and then simply leave them.

Why not leg a Griffin? About the only thing that I don't mess with trying to leg too often are clan assaults. I will sometimes go for the legs on IS assaults, especially ammo heavy builds like lrm boats. It's surprising how many don't use equip case.

Edited by mailin, 12 September 2016 - 11:26 PM.

[Xaat Xuun]

one thing I saw, you would have to give up a lot of fire power, to speed up the HBK. I think to a neck snapping 81 kph.(maybe it was 84, but I think that would be with no weapons)
I wouldn't do it, I stayed with the slower speed, hoping firepower win's it for me . . . too bad I suck at aiming or it would