21 replies to this topic

[vibrant]

Hey all, with the imminent release of the Huntsman, I'm turning my focus to medium mechs (which I haven't done since I started playing with the steam release a year ago!). To those Clanners out there, which would you recommend more - the Hunchback IICs, or Novas - and why?

Cheers guys!

[His Holiness Pope Buster]

I like the Hunchie IICs for their hardpoints better.

[TercieI]

Novas are fun and good but the HBK-IIC is probably the top medium in the game. It jumps, it humps, it reks your face.

[Tyler Valentine]

Hunchback IIC is significantly more weapon versatile and, IMO, significantly deadlier. Hunchie hands down.

[vibrant]

Well, I guess I have my answer there. ^^ Thanks for the quick feedback all!

[Steve Pryde]

Nova has only one niche and that is 10-12 er-small laser(+maybe 4 mgs). Ballistics? Forget it, hasn't the tonnage for it. PPC jump sniper? Hunchback IIC is just better.

[FupDup]

Nova can do small/medium laser vomit or poptarting.

Hunchie IIC can do...almost anything, really. The only limit is weight. Depending on the build, you also get a bit more speed. High mounts make everything better. You've got a huge number of options with this gundam.

[Pariah Devalis]

If you're getting the huntsman, Nova. Only because you can approximate most hunch builds on it, but neither can slas like the Nova.

[SmokingPuffin]

Hunchies are probably the best all around medium. Really quality hardpoints, mount locations, and great build versatility. They are fairly squishy, but everything else about the chassis is almost ideal.

Novas are more specialized. They pretty much only come in energy boat and generally prefer small weapons. They have quite powerful quirks for a clan mech, though, and builds like 12 slas, 10 splas, or 6 mlas / 4 mg are both very strong and hard to replicate on other mechs.

[WrathOfDeadguy]

Hunchback IIC. No locked equipment, decent hitboxes, and most importantly buttloads of high mounts. They're amazing 'Mechs, among the few that wreck face even without any quirks.

*edit: Plus, you can run a proper double-barrel Boomstick with them. Shop smart- shop S-Mart!

Edited by WrathOfDeadguy, 15 October 2016 - 11:26 AM.

[vibrant]

WrathOfDeadguy, on 15 October 2016 - 11:21 AM, said:

*edit: Plus, you can run a proper double-barrel Boomstick with them. Shop smart- shop S-Mart!

Are you freakin' kidding me?! that widdle mech looks brutal! Already got my first hunchie. Feeling a little bad now I didn't upgrade my IIC purchase when they were first released - the jenners were... rather lacklustre. Already having fun in this new Hunchback!

[Moldur]

HBK-IIC for sure. It's just a great mech. It gives a really quintessential medium-mech experience. You can push out some damage, you can move pretty well, you can take some punches.

It can make some pretty ridiculous builds with the hardpoints and space, but I find the HBK-IIC to be really enjoyable with moderate weapons + bigger engine + more armor. I know it's tempting to go AC-40 glass cannon all the time, but if you're willing to rein it in and play a bit more conservatively, it's a consistently good mech.

[Mcgral18]

Nova is the better brawler, but the Hunch does just about everything else better



Avoid MGs on the Nova, because that means you sacrifice quirks. They kinda killed build diversity with the last quirk pass.
Hunch on the other hand can do Dakka, Lasers, Poptarting, and it can TRY brawling...but I hate the B.

[Tordin]

I have both chassi, but like the Novas the most.
Sure a bit more niche. But have better hitboxes, speed and smaller profile. Sure the hunchie can do many things but to have the most weapons, it sacrifices alot of speed and maybe need to get rid of a few JJ for some extra oomph.

[FupDup]

Tordin, on 15 October 2016 - 12:02 PM, said:

I have both chassi, but like the Novas the most.
Sure a bit more niche. But have better hitboxes, speed and smaller profile. Sure the hunchie can do many things but to have the most weapons, it sacrifices alot of speed and maybe need to get rid of a few JJ for some extra oomph.

The Hunchie IIC has a higher engine cap than the Nova, and can use Endo/FF to easily repay the tonnage needed for that bigger engine.

[Tristan Winter]

I like the Novas better. 12xSPL Nova is one of the most fun builds the Clan can offer, but there are also a number of other fun and effective Nova builds.

I don't like the missile Hunchie IIC, and I don't particularly like the ballistic Hunchie IIC's, except for the sake of nostalgia. Dual cUAC20's are quite fun and it's a good laugh to watch assault mechs lose their nerve in a face tanking contest. But the energy boat Hunchie IIC is the best one, and it strikes me as rather dull compared to the Nova.

[Angel of Annihilation]

Steve Pryde, on 15 October 2016 - 10:46 AM, said:

Nova has only one niche and that is 10-12 er-small laser(+maybe 4 mgs). Ballistics? Forget it, hasn't the tonnage for it. PPC jump sniper? Hunchback IIC is just better.

Yeah that is the problem with the Nova. Aside from a couple of builds that are generally very similar and all very hot, the Nova is DOA. The Hunchback IIC on the other hand offers alot more versatility and I would say more fun over all.

[Wintersdark]

His Holiness Pope Buster, on 15 October 2016 - 10:26 AM, said:

I like the Hunchie IICs for their hardpoints better.

This.

Well, also customizable internals and engine, of course, to allow for build optimization.

Tristan Winter, on 15 October 2016 - 12:07 PM, said:

I like the Novas better. 12xSPL Nova is one of the most fun builds the Clan can offer, but there are also a number of other fun and effective Nova builds.

I don't like the missile Hunchie IIC, and I don't particularly like the ballistic Hunchie IIC's, except for the sake of nostalgia. Dual cUAC20's are quite fun and it's a good laugh to watch assault mechs lose their nerve in a face tanking contest. But the energy boat Hunchie IIC is the best one, and it strikes me as rather dull compared to the Nova.

While I won't argue which is better, the HBK-IIC with dual UAC10's is a beast of a mech capable of dealing solid assault-level firepower, sustained. I personally find it way, way more threatening than laser vomit hunchies, which while possessing decent burst are heatcapped very quickly.

My HBK-IIC can push right into an extended brawl and output monsterous DPS the whole time. Losing half the mech doesn't significantly impact it's damage output either, which is something the Laser Vomit Hunchie cannot claim. It's also a strong contender at ranged combat, dealing full damage at around 600m (which is pretty much optimal long range engagement in pug matches).

SPL/ERSL mechs are much more niche, being limited to close in brawls and hindered by very limited armor, while ML/MPL/LPL builds are extremely hot.

HBK-IIC sports 45 20 damage trigger pulls, will only risk overheating if you're really lucky with it never jamming and you continuously doubletap for a long time. A pair of CT ERSL's increase close in burst and give you something for those days where you're having to carry extra hard. 2JJ's is more than enough for poptarting and mobility. 88kph gets you where you need to go. Effective out to around 750m before damage scaling gets annoying, and perfectly lethal in a close in brawl.



As you may be able to tell; I love my HBK-IIC with all my heart.

Edited by Wintersdark, 15 October 2016 - 01:11 PM.

[C E Dwyer]

I like both.

I would start with the Nova if you are thinking of mastering several chassis, mainly because in my opinion the Hunchback IIc is the best medium in the game, and if you do it first, you'll think all the others are bad, which they are not, just not as stella as the Hunchback IIC

[WrathOfDeadguy]

What's not to love about the missile variant? Thing's absolutely savage, and one of the few 'Mechs that can carry a great alpha and still have room left over for enough jets to actually jump instead of hover.