16 replies to this topic

[Shiroi Tsuki]

This is probably the dumbest post in the forums, but how do you actually play Clan Mechs?

Oooookay so I've played with Clanners before, Daishi to be exact, but I mostly play around with Ballistics (since Ballistics is <3 ) Now that I've bought my Second Clanner; Timberwolf Mad Cat Charlie Variant, I'm left with scratching my head, thinking how the frak do you play this.
I guess builds have something to do with it, but my best so far in the TBR-C is doing <350 Damage, whereas I can easily replicate and in most cases do better in my CN9-As. I tried playing the long range game, but I seem to trade very poorly and overheat way too much even when boating DHS.

Edited by Shiroi Tsuki, 19 December 2016 - 11:22 AM.

[RestosIII]

Tristan Winter, on 19 December 2016 - 11:19 AM, said:

There aren't a lot of good choices for the Mad Dog.

• SRM boat with SPLs
  
• SRM boat with UAC5s (not as good, but more versatile)
  
• LRM boat with some lasers (good for solo queue, at least)

And, if you don't know how to aim, the Streak Dog.


So yeah, this particular mech is rather sensitive to what builds you're using. There's a few good options and a lot of bad options. The Mad Dog, sadly, does not offer a lot of variety.

Now, if PGI would just wise up and start giving the C-variant some good ballistic ammo quirks, then we'd be talking.

Shiroi said Mad Cat, not Mad Dog.

Anyways, medium laser+large pulse laser mid-range vomit still works well on the Timber Wolf. I prefer running the S lore loadout myself for some splat fun.

[Snowbluff]

How I play my clan mechs:
Cry about my laser durations.
Cry about my ****** ballastics.
Cry about my PPCs carrying me.

But seriosuly, if you want a more "IS ballistic" style, the LBX are pretty decent now. I use a pair of LB10X on my marauder IIC.

My Timbie builds are:
TBR-D (literally the set bonus for shiggles): 2 ERPPC 4 SRM4
TBR-S (also full set because I wanted more jumpjets): 4 ERML 2 cUAC5 (I might switch to LBX)
TBR-C: 6 ERML 2 ERPPC

Now, these builds are pretty silly. You can get 2 LB10X/cUAC10 on the side torso, though. THat's a decent build.

Edited by Snowbluff, 19 December 2016 - 11:34 AM.

[Paigan]

Shiroi Tsuki, on 19 December 2016 - 11:11 AM, said:

This is probably the dumbest post in the forums, but how do you actually play Clan Mechs?
[...]

If you write

Shiroi Tsuki, on 19 December 2016 - 11:11 AM, said:

[...] Timberwolf Mad Cat [...]

then don't. Just don't.

[Metus regem]

Shiroi Tsuki, on 19 December 2016 - 11:11 AM, said:

This is probably the dumbest post in the forums, but how do you actually play Clan Mechs?

Oooookay so I've played with Clanners before, Daishi to be exact, but I mostly play around with Ballistics (since Ballistics is <3 ) Now that I've bought my Second Clanner; Timberwolf Mad Cat Charlie Variant, I'm left with scratching my head, thinking how the frak do you play this.
I guess builds have something to do with it, but my best so far in the TBR-C is doing <350 Damage, whereas I can easily replicate and in most cases do better in my CN9-As. I tried playing the long range game, but I seem to trade very poorly and overheat way too much even when boating DHS.

Depending on your gunnery skill and trigger discipline...

TBR-METUS

If you can get the skill down to use it, she is beastly.

[JediPanther]

If you know you like certain builds that worked for you on is mechs replicate the build on a clan mech. Do your cnt build on the cat/wolf. Uac 20 and a few med or small lasers is fun. On clan mechs I notice they have two main weaknesses. A lot have arm based weaponry so torso twist and protect your shoulders. Once the should goes you lose the arms and all its weapons. The other is a lot of people gimp leg armor for ammo. Keep a minimal of 40 leg armor.
Few suggested builds:

MDD-C lbc 10s

MDD-C D guass

Once you get the other omni parts you can mix and match them to build with weapons on the torsos too.

[Snazzy Dragon]

If you're losing trades in a laser vomit t-wolf you are probably not holding your lasers as steady as you think and spreading damage. The way I practiced was using the shooting gallery and onslaught features in the Academy. Just have to tune out Captain Adams telling you all about heat, overheating, and taking damage while overheating. There are also hitbox guides out there; gotta learn where hitboxes begin and end for the more common mechs you see on the field to play clan lasers well.

[Snowbluff]

Metus regem, on 19 December 2016 - 11:37 AM, said:

Depending on your gunnery skill and trigger discipline...

TBR-METUS

If you can get the skill down to use it, she is beastly.

Hey, just a heads up. The TBR-D gets bonus ER PPC velocity and heat reduction. I thought that was what your build was going for, but you're using the TBR-C with TBR-D pods instead.

[Metus regem]

Snowbluff, on 19 December 2016 - 11:39 AM, said:

Hey, just a heads up. The TBR-D gets bonus ER PPC velocity and heat reduction. I thought that was what your build was going for, but you're using the TBR-C with TBR-D pods instead.

When I get around to buying a Delta I will enjoy it... as it stands, no delta in my stables, just Prime, S and C from when I bought the Warhawk Pack shortly after I started in MWO.... That being said, that has been my build for it, since they introduced the Delta pods so long ago now, before hand I used S ST's to get the double missile slots.

[Shiroi Tsuki]

JediPanther, on 19 December 2016 - 11:37 AM, said:

If you know you like certain builds that worked for you on is mechs replicate the build on a clan mech. Do your cnt build on the cat/wolf.

OMG I can't believe this really worked
Broke ~650 damage twice in a row, won and survived
Thanks <3

[The Unstoppable Puggernaut]

It's not a dumb post as you get to learn, it's only dumb if you don't bother posting it.

Clan mechs are very heat reliant. It seems most the builds end up having heat issues even though they may look great on paper.

With the general bit over the Timber for me was one of the hardest mech in my whole library to Elite/Master. Once it gets there it flies. Gear it up for heat friendly combat before it gets elited. The mech is flimsy so dont go taking it into the heat of a battle. It's big frame catches everything.

Always put in jumpjets, almost always slip in the -A (triple laser point) shoulder but be-warned this comes with lots of bad quirks and you can hit it from a mile away.

-S is a missile beast from hell, great brawler nuff said.

Prime just had a machine gun boost, I will fit those in when I next launch and test it.

-C and those alike are perfect for classic dual large pulse and 5 med lasers (but that gets hot). It doesnt actually need the big ear -A module. Though I ve seen people swear by 7 sml pls and 2 ppc's.

Gauss laser combos work very well too given the jumpjets.

Overall it's such a great versatile mech and I absolutely love it. I hope this helps.

[Angel of Annihilation]

I generally find myself getting frustrated at the fact that I can't mount ER LLs because of the nearly unusable beam duration length. I then find myself getting frustrated because UACs jam so frequently and so long that they have become unreliable sources of damage. Then they find myself frustrated because I don't have any options other than semi-useless LBX cannons or placeholder ACs that aren't even supposed to be in the game that I can mount in place of the UACs. Then I get frustrated by how much hotter all my lasers run and the ungodly amount of DHS I have to mount in order to keep my clan mechs cool. Then I get frustrated how my Omnimechs, which are supposed to be the most customizable mechs in the game are actually the most restricted.

Of course I get frustrated with IS mechs too, usually involving the instant-death from side torso loss when mounting an IS XL engine so it isn't all one sided frustration.

[1453 R]

Clan 'Mech heat profiles take some getting used to for Sphere guys. I imagine that's part of the issue - until recently*, Clan machines tended to have much spikier heat profiles - you have vastly hotter weaponry but also usually stronger cooling than an equivalent Sphere machine, which ends up with a much different pacing of combat.

Outside of the CN9 thing, my advice would be to build what feels like excessively cool machines while you get more used to the gear. Two cLPL and three cERML with an ashload of heat sinks (with some other stuff shoved in because critslot issues) isn't much by the standards of folks who constantly complain about Clan balance, but it's enough to get the job done.

The other thing to keep in mind is that a lot of Clan 'Mechs are significantly less durable than their Sphere counterparts, or at least durable in different ways. You get no structure quirks at all for the most part, so it's easier for you to lose components than you may be used to and harder for you to shield them given the TBR's unusual shape. You can survive those lost components, but losing half your guns definitely eats into your killing power.

Enough practice and you'll pick it up. These things can be a lot of fun, definitely worth checking out. Hope your ride works well for you, man.

[Chuck Jager]

In the past I would have said to make sure you get the line mastered.

The same idea still holds true, many clan mechs are not at full potential until you get all the bonuses. I find the EBJ played aggressively while peeking and moving forward is about as durable as the Timber. Also spend the money on cool shots, they can pay for themselves.

[chucklesMuch]

The TBR is very versatile mech but generally builds that I could run on a TBR I prefer to run on other mechs.

I do quite like it as a brawler though (other omni’s parts needed). Running some combo of cspl and srms… my preference was 6xSPL, 4xSRM4a with JJ’s.

[Aiden Skye]

Just thought I'd say this now - Anyone who takes the ears of their timber wolf should be publicly executed by la guillotine!

[chucklesMuch]

W A R K H A N, on 19 December 2016 - 04:45 PM, said:

Just thought I'd say this now - Anyone who takes the ears of their timber wolf should be publicly executed by la guillotine!

Those darn red team players are always de-earing them there wolves... reckon you should go have words...