11 replies to this topic

[MadHornet]

I’m going to start purchasing Vipers soon, as I like their mobility but plentiful hardpoints that in certain ways far surpasses the Cicada (not so much long range). I’ve been playing an Ice Ferret for a long time now and only recently found my magnum opus build that is very similar to what you might see on a Viper; 5 SPL and an SRM-6+ART. The speed is the same as well, but the Viper has an overall shorter stature, only 5 tons lighter, has LOTS of jumpjets, and has more energy hardpoints.

The weight classes I do best in are 25 – 30 ton range for lights, and 45 – 55 tons for mediums. I never did well with the Cicada (not even the 3F), but the viper seems to have a Spider level of mobility which seems to suit me well, but with more armor and a better payload.
Does it play well like someone would a spider (assuming you’re not using large/large pulse lasers)? I’d imagine so, especially having 3 times the output and better torso pitch.

I’m guessing SPL/SML and SPL/SRM-4 combos would be good?

Edited by MadHornet, 01 December 2016 - 12:55 PM.

[Daggett]

I play the Viper regularly and in my opinion it feels similarly nimble than many lights. If you count in the insane jump capacity it comes quite close to some spider variants so i guess overall it should suit your playstyle.

The main reason to run a viper instead of a spider however are it's energy-hardpoints, especially if you own the Medusa's arms. Those allow assault-level alphas but as a downside you have no space for efficient cooling. I think of it as an assassin. You pick a target which is easy to flank, unload about 100-150 damage within a few seconds and get out to cool down. This more often than not kills or at least seriously cripples most mechs with only minimal return fire. You can also poptart very well from angles no one expects.

One thing to note is that the Viper feels more squishy than many lights despite its armor. That's because the side torsos draw a lot of fire and fall of easily, halving your damage output. So you need to be more careful compared to a spider which spreads damage much better.

Considering this something like the 5 SPL and SRM6 build you mentioned could be harder to play because the viper is a bit fragile for sustained, heat-efficient brawling and requires good and frequent torso-twisting. In my opinion the mech is more suited for above-mentioned quick high-alpha strikes.

So if you are fine with extreme skirmishing and quite long cooldown times where you just run around approaching the next target, the viper should provide lots of fun.

Edit: Currently my favorite configuration is a "mini-nova" with 10 small lasers with 4 DHS. This packs enough punch to cause serious trouble even to assaults and dissipates heat fast enough to not totally falter in duels i failed to avoid.

Edited by Daggett, 02 December 2016 - 10:32 AM.

[Single Mom]

I purchased the Hero, C and A variants at the start of 2x xp week. At first I expected the mech to be the dud that everyone seems to think it is. I know that I've never particularly felt them as threatening or difficult to kill. I was very pleasantly surprised by the Viper though. You're right in that it plays a lot like a Spider, and to me it has enjoyable elements from Cheetah and Nova play styles mixed in. If you're familiar with spider/cheetah/nova then you should find this thing quite familiar.

My favorite setup is a 5x SPL 4x MG C-Variant, which is currently performing the best out of the chassis after about 30 games (4.33 KDR, 424 Avg Dmg), A typical game starts of with hunting lights & long range mediums, and after the gun lines clash I switch to kill secure. The Medusa with 6x SPL is my second favorite but its performance record is not as impressive. I used the A variant as a LPL/MED poker, which it does okay but not as good as a LPL SHC can.

I kept all variants with their 8/8 quirks intact. Thus far its probably my favorite buy over the course of the 2x exp week.

[MadHornet]

Daggett, on 02 December 2016 - 09:01 AM, said:

I play the Viper regularly and in my opinion it feels similarly nimble than many lights. If you count in the insane jump capacity it comes quite close to some spider variants so i guess overall it should suit your playstyle.

The main reason to run a viper instead of a spider however are it's energy-hardpoints, especially if you own the Medusa's arms. Those allow assault-level alphas but as a downside you have no space for efficient cooling. I think of it as an assassin. You pick a target which is easy to flank, unload about 100-150 damage within a few seconds and get out to cool down. This more often than not kills or at least seriously cripples most mechs with only minimal return fire. You can also poptart very well from angles no one expects.

One thing to note is that the Viper feels more squishy than many lights despite its armor. That's because the side torsos draw a lot of fire and fall of easily, halving your damage output. So you need to be more careful compared to a spider which spreads damage much better.

Considering this something like the 5 SPL and SRM6 build you mentioned could be harder to play because the viper is a bit fragile for sustained, heat-efficient brawling and requires good and frequent torso-twisting. In my opinion the mech is more suited for above-mentioned quick high-alpha strikes.

So if you are fine with extreme skirmishing and quite long cooldown times where you just run around approaching the next target, the viper should provide lots of fun.

Edit: Currently my favorite configuration is a "mini-nova" with 10 small lasers with 4 DHS. This packs enough punch to cause serious trouble even to assaults and dissipates heat fast enough to not totally falter in duels i failed to avoid.

The side torso issue isn't much of a problem for me, as my main reason is that I want better torso pitch than the Spider, which in some situations is detrimental to it, as it either can't hit the enemy on an incline, or doesn't have enough firepower/steadiness in the arms to effectively fight the enemy on said incline. And the spider doesn't spread damage well in terms of legs. Legging lights is the idea, but spiders draw way too much of it, and a better torso pitch would fix that so I don't have to face people all the time to do the most damage.

Single Mom, on 02 December 2016 - 09:16 AM, said:

I purchased the Hero, C and A variants at the start of 2x xp week. At first I expected the mech to be the dud that everyone seems to think it is. I know that I've never particularly felt them as threatening or difficult to kill. I was very pleasantly surprised by the Viper though. You're right in that it plays a lot like a Spider, and to me it has enjoyable elements from Cheetah and Nova play styles mixed in. If you're familiar with spider/cheetah/nova then you should find this thing quite familiar.

My favorite setup is a 5x SPL 4x MG C-Variant, which is currently performing the best out of the chassis after about 30 games (4.33 KDR, 424 Avg Dmg), A typical game starts of with hunting lights & long range mediums, and after the gun lines clash I switch to kill secure. The Medusa with 6x SPL is my second favorite but its performance record is not as impressive. I used the A variant as a LPL/MED poker, which it does okay but not as good as a LPL SHC can.

I kept all variants with their 8/8 quirks intact. Thus far its probably my favorite buy over the course of the 2x exp week.

I've played the Nova before it got rescaled, did ERPPC and ERSML builds, didn't like it, but I probably won't pick it back up. I've never played the Cheetah before, as I'm a (once was) spider pilot (they're outclassed and easier to hit now).

The 5 SPL and 4 MG builds look nice. I won't be getting the medusa right away, so that seems to be the go to once I elite them. Other than that, I think 6 SPL will be my starting build as it will need enough precise firepower to compensate for the lack of efficiencies and my lack of initial skill in it.

Edited by MadHornet, 02 December 2016 - 10:51 AM.

[Single Mom]

MadHornet, on 02 December 2016 - 10:51 AM, said:

The side torso issue isn't much of a problem for me, as my main reason is that I want better torso pitch than the Spider, which in some situations is detrimental to it, as it either can't hit the enemy on an incline, or doesn't have enough firepower/steadiness in the arms to effectively fight the enemy on said incline. And the spider doesn't spread damage well in terms of legs. Legging lights is the idea, but spiders draw way too much of it, and a better torso pitch would fix that so I don't have to face people all the time to do the most damage.



I've played the Nova before it got rescaled, did ERPPC and ERSML builds, didn't like it, but I probably won't pick it back up. I've never played the Cheetah before, as I'm a (once was) spider pilot (they're outclassed and easier to hit now).

The 5 SPL and 4 MG builds look nice. I won't be getting the medusa right away, so that seems to be the go to once I elite them. Other than that, I think 6 SPL will be my starting build as it will need enough precise firepower to compensate for the lack of efficiencies and my lack of initial skill in it.

I guess the good news is that if you end up liking the viper, you'll probably like the SPL cheetah too. They're the same speed, agility while the viper has 2x the jump height and 1 more heat sink. Keep in mind though that outside of Medusa, you can't piece together 6x SPL without giving up on a 5% heat quirk that comes from 8/8 omni pods on the A variant. This for me made the 5x SPL 4x MG C variant more attractive.

[MadHornet]

Just bought one, plays like more powerful spider confirmed. Elite is coming.

[process]

It's a medium that plays like a light. Make use of the 2E right and left side torsos, jump'n'shoot and you'll be golden.

[PhoenixFire55]

Grabbed myself a Medusssa during the latest sale and mastered 3 Vipers during the event ...

You play like a light, you got 8 tons for weapons and stuff so its not like you can do anything that isn't a small laser boat.

Done 6SPLs on Medusa (all in arms) ... a good combat light, but hard to "tank" damage, arms are huge and tend to get blown off quite easy.
Done 4MPLs on "A" (all in torsoes) ... very hot, but pretty decent at poking stuff from 300-400m away, almost useless against other lights tho.
Done 4MGs, 3SPLs, 2 Flamers on "C" ... not good at producing overall damage but hilariously easy in 1v1 against anything that isn't a heavy ballistic boat.
(I've kept the omnipods on all of them "as is" to retain set-of-8 bonuses but its not a must)

Overall ... if for some sort of wierd reason you need a very fast clan medium that can wreck face up close then Viper is your choice. Cicada is better overall for that role (minus clan) unless you need to be able to jump. JJs on Vipers are a bit of an overkill, do generate too much heat but provide you with nearly unmatched agility, especially so in urban combat (also one of the reasons you should choose Viper over IceFerret). Otherwise there is no real reason to pick Viper over say an ACH that is twice smaller, tankier and has ECM.

Loadout-wise you are very limited in tonnage, so all you can do really is SLs, SPLs, MGs, Flamers, MPLs in various combinations. I've seen Vipers with an ERPPc+2/3SL backups and even tryed one myself but can't say I've managed to make it work all that well. LLs, LPL is a waste of time and Clan SRMs are junk, avoid them if possible. Streaks aren't really viable as you can't bring enough with sufficient ammo.

Hardpoint wise, if most of your weapons are in torsoes you can theoretically either use arms as damage shields or strip them for extra tonnage. However, I find it harder to kill stuff in a dogfight compared to when your weapons are in arms. JJs+weapons in arms allow you to attack from angles where enemy mechs with torso weaponry can't shoot you, but as I've said, arms (when they have weapons in them) are huge.

Hope it helps ...

Edited by PhoenixFire55, 05 December 2016 - 04:33 AM.

[Kshahdoo]

I've tried 6 and 8 small ER set-ups. 1st setup can do a lot of alphas even on the hottest maps. 2nd takes some heat management, but if you're good in it, then it's a lot of firepower.

Edited by Kshahdoo, 05 December 2016 - 05:07 AM.

[panzer1b]

Ive had luck in a few builds, mostly 8-9 spl (get behind something and fire all those twice, instant poof unless they are super qucik to turn around), 5 ml (tried LPL but its too heavy, 5 MLs works like a more agile version of the fridge with slightly less heat dissipation), 5-6 spl, and finally MGs with either 4 spl, 4erml, or 4 ersl depending on what sort of heat management i want and ranges.

Its not a great mech, but its alot of fun with its mobility and while i would say the ACH is handsdown superior in 90% of situations, the viper has enough extra tonnage and hardpoints to play with to open up more playstyles/options over the ACH's almost mandatory 6 SPL loadout (yeah you CAN run other stuff, but the only decent loadout ive come across is 6 SPL)...

[Tremendous Upside]

Medusa with 10xERSL (or Viper-C with 9) and 3-4 DHS is rock solid. Group the arms and torso lasers into separate firing groups and focus on firing a half-second apart to avoid the extra heat. When you're high on the heat cap, you can easily sustain just the 4 torso lasers. It'll also alpha all 10 at once if you're low or near zero heat to begin with and won't overheat or blow you sky-high -- perfect for taking those quick hop/drop shots out and back into cover. No one likes eating 50 damage to the face (or anywhere else) from a creepy little bunny-hopping 40-tonner.

My love for the Viper stemmed from a "near-death" experience I had running my MAD-IIC a few weeks back on HPG. Our team was rolling, but the bad guys had a big numbers advantage with the small/fast mechs. I was up top just taking lazy pot shots - with seismic, and lost literally ALL of my rear armor in an instant. Never even saw the seismic indicator he was coming. Turned around to see this poor fool in a Viper overheated behind me and it hit me - like a Batman in the cave moment - If he'd been a better shot I'd have been 75% health to dead in a split second. Having always been a huge fan of the cicada, I sold off all the extra crap I could from the mechlab to buy 3 and started leveling them out. It's definitely been the most fun I've had in this game in a while.

[Reza Malin]

The viper is awesome, anyone that says otherwise simply plays them wrong.

The viper C with 5 x SPL and 4 x MG is nice for backhunting.

I also like the Medusa with 6 x ERSL and SRM6A. Haven't tried it with 10 x ERSL yet, ill give that a go. Then again the 6 x ERSL + SRM6A is similar damage but much less heat and can keep the 8/8 pod bonus too.

All the people complaining about losing torsos, its normally the arms people complain about.

Here is a fun little fact for people that don't know. If you add the hand actuators, it makes more damage transfer to the arms than side torso as they stick out so far. But generally i find arms go first, even without the hands.

The real trick with the viper is hit and run. Either run past and into cover getting off a few good shots, pop up attacks from different positions everytime, or go right out flanking and go back hunting LRM boats (my favourite).