10 replies to this topic

[Bahktosh]

hey guys,When i saw the linebacker...I fell in love..i played that mech way back in the dayin MW2 mercenaries. I looked up how good it was here on the forums and talked to some people and the consensus seems to be that it sucks. Which is a bummer cause I bought all 6. I have been messing with it for a few days now...and i have looked up some builds..but so far the only matches i can say its good at are conquest..where speed and beefy armor really make a difference early on in cases. I was hoping someone could give me some helpful hints on this mech..it handles very enjoyably..it just lacks punch most of the time...currently the only effective build i have is 2 erppcs, and 1 er sml w/ target comp.1.
Any suggestions?

[TercieI]

So I <3 the LBK, but really only a couple builds: 2ERPPC (righthanded Prime or both on the roof of any other) and 5MPL (all torso). The splatbacker is good, too, but annoying to play solo like all brawlers. Others have reported success with 2LPL/2ML, but I felt it played away from the mech's speed advantages, especially vs. 5MPL.

Edited by TercieI, 13 January 2017 - 11:05 AM.

[Tesunie]

The most effective build I've experienced for the Linebacker is 2 ERPPCs and 2 SRM4s on the prime. I've as of yet to find anything for my other 4 mechs (3 variants). I've been told the one with arm missile pods loaded with SRMs can be reasonable, but I can't say as I don't have that one.

It's a good solid mech, but the chassis seems to be hard to work with. Between it's hardpoint selections as well as it's low pod space, I'm just having a hard time finding something that hits hard enough for it's speed. I do like how fast it goes though, which if used to your advantage is rather good. Have to hit and fade and run between cover for best effects.

It does make for a great flanker though. It's got enough armor to stay in a flank for some time.

[TercieI]

Tesunie, on 13 January 2017 - 11:30 AM, said:

The most effective build I've experienced for the Linebacker is 2 ERPPCs and 2 SRM4s on the prime. I've as of yet to find anything for my other 4 mechs (3 variants). I've been told the one with arm missile pods loaded with SRMs can be reasonable, but I can't say as I don't have that one.

I'm curious to see the build. It runs kinda hot even without the SRMs.

[Tesunie]

TercieI, on 13 January 2017 - 11:55 AM, said:

I'm curious to see the build. It runs kinda hot even without the SRMs.

By all means. My builds are never a secret. I will note that armor placement is not exact...

It does run a little warm in a prolonged engagement, but that's where I run in, strike, and then fade away. If I'm running really hot, I will resort to using just the SRMs for a while. Sometimes though, that little burst of damage from the SRMs turn a dual into my favor, especially when I'm facing off with another Linebacker.

My other builds haven't been as successful. I have another Prime with a single ERPPC, 2 MPLs and 2 SRM4s. It's worked alright, but not as good as the dual ERPPC version. Then I have a Linebacker A with two LRM15s and 4 ERMLs, but I'm tempted to change this one again... And then the final Linebacker B I have has 2 LPLs and 3 ERSL. Thinking about changing the B back to stock pods and try and use an LBx AC with some lasers maybe?

I didn't get the reinforcement mechs for this pack (nor my Huntsmen sadly), so that's all I've got to work with. I will say, my Prime with 2 ERPPCs and 2 SRM4s averages 355 damage per match (and that includes the other Prime build in those stats, but most of that work was done with the 2 PPC version).

[Bahktosh]

i have run the ppc/srm 4 builds as well, its best strength is that those ppcs are great pokers and if someone gets close you have extra firepower, although your limited ammo makes that difficult...i have had the idea of building 6 srm4s on the D variant and have had limited success with 1 gaus filling the rest in with er-small...typically my problem is that I find more often then not you cant fully utilize most weapons with the 8 slot-quirks you have because the weapon slots arent enough and there aren't enough other quirks to compensate a mix/match build. In addition the more weapons you pack the less armor you trade for the space. I do think cramming a few heavy wpns is the ticket however the mech can only fit 1 of the three ac20's on it or a guas.
I have managed to try a missile boat option with 2xlrm 20s and ive also tried 6xlrm5s, both are mediocre damage but due to your speed i find I typcally run out of ammo before I die. Im sure more builds will be discovered/refined as more players pick these up..so please keep posted i still looking for more options.

[TercieI]

You could move the LA PPC to the RT and strip the arm for a DHS and a bit of a deadside.

It's interesting but I think more cooling on the PPCs will serve me better.

[Tesunie]

TercieI, on 13 January 2017 - 12:39 PM, said:

You could move the LA PPC to the RT and strip the arm for a DHS and a bit of a deadside.

It's interesting but I think more cooling on the PPCs will serve me better.

I don't do dead sides of my mechs. I understand the concept, but for whatever reason HSR seems to hate me a lot. I often will twist my torso so one side is facing them and it's impossible (improbable) that they can hit the other side... Yet I lose the other side anyway and the side I faced towards the enemy remains untouched... Because of this, I've never liked loading all weapons on a single side of my mech.

I know it can save weight in armor by doing so, and if you can get them to shoot the "dead" side, it can really help. But, I don't seem to have that luck. This is why I have my build so evenly built, so I can lose a side and still survive with at least half my fire power (or more if they only take the arm). If HSR was more reliable to me, and actually let me twist damage I see coming in... Yeah. I'd probably give it a try again. Seen as it doesn't, and most times I twist to no effect (unless I twisted well in advanced or something... Maybe), I don't seem to benefit from that play style. (And yes, I do twist to try and rotate damage around. Honest. And it does help a lot, but not enough for me to one side my builds.)

[WillyPete]

This build took me to 2nd place for the Redline and 11th for the A on the leaderboard when it came out:
https://mwomercs.com...rensky#row-lbkd
I simply didn't bother for the other variants due to time so that's why I didn't score for them.

1LPL, 4ERML.
http://mwo.smurfy-ne...e066e189b3d28d3

As for those who question mixing the omnipods and losing the quirks set of 8, the benefit is that you can move it from one variant to the other and not have to relearn a playstyle, and the damage this puts out more than makes up for it.

Edited by WillyPete, 13 January 2017 - 06:18 PM.

[Leone]

I gotta ask, have you tried going full brawl? LBK-D

~Leone.

[Natred]

Guass rifle is great for hit and run tactics on the b variant.