43 replies to this topic

[Bud Crue]

Any reason to keep the Grasshopper 5N?

I've tried everything including making lesser versions of the 5H 3LPL/4ML build, a LL boat and even the metamechs standard engine 4ML/4MPL build and frankly everything I've tried just sucks. I have the thing mastered and even enough extra XP to fully node it out if/when the skills tree drops, but frankly I am starting to think there is no reason to bother. I have 2 5Ps for both a LL and ERLL boat, I have a 5H running PPCs in the shoulders and another running the aforementioned 3LPL/4ML build, I've even managed to make the 5J work. But the 5N...nuthin worth running that another mech doesn't do better.

Any ideas? Any hope that new tech will give this thing new life? If so please offer your suggestions/anticipated builds because I tell ya, I am frustrated to the point of wanting to dump the damn thing and I know too well from experience that doing so is a bad idea. So any ideas are welcome, to keep me from doing something rash.



FYI: before anyone says "wrong thread", since PGI dumped the Battlemech threads into the archives I guess they want this sort of thing in general discussion now.

[Y E O N N E]

The 5N suffers the problem most of the Resistance 'Mechs do: it's all energy all the time. The quirks and hard-point placement are the only things differentiating them and, in this case, it has nothing interesting in either department.

Sell it. If you don't have either, trade it on a BL-7-KNT-L or WHM-6D.

[Bud Crue]

Yeonne Greene, on 02 April 2017 - 04:13 PM, said:

The 5N suffers the problem most of the Resistance 'Mechs do: it's all energy all the time. The quirks and hard-point placement are the only things differentiating them and, in this case, it has nothing interesting in either department.

Sell it. If you don't have either, trade it on a BL-7-KNT-L or WHM-6D.

That's what l was afraid of. Have all the hammers and BKs so, yeah the redundancy is real.

[Y E O N N E]

Bud Crue, on 02 April 2017 - 04:16 PM, said:

That's what l was afraid of. Have all the hammers and BKs so, yeah the redundancy is real.

Do you have all of the Thuds? I really, really like my TDR-5S-TD as a laser boat.

[Bud Crue]

Yeonne Greene, on 02 April 2017 - 04:20 PM, said:

Do you have all of the Thuds? I really, really like my TDR-5S-TD as a laser boat.

Yup. What are you running on the TD? I have kind of a stupid build on mine...maybe I will put the stupid build on my Hopper instead.

[Y E O N N E]

Bud Crue, on 02 April 2017 - 04:22 PM, said:

Yup. What are you running on the TD? I have kind of a stupid build on mine...maybe I will put the stupid build on my Hopper instead.

Nothing fancy or creative, just a STD 280, three Large Lasers, five Medium Lasers, and eighteen Double Heatsinks. Tanks and pokes like a champ. When you just want to turn your brain off and rake in C-bills, it's a solid option.

[Bud Crue]

While I don't think I will change my TD build I think I will consider trying something similar to this on the 5N. Thanks for the idea.


Edit: XL340, 18DHS, 3LL, 4ML, 2JJ.

Closest thing I have that is similar is a QD 5K with 3LL and 2MP. Seems distinctive enough to justify keeping it.

Any better idea?

Edited by Bud Crue, 02 April 2017 - 04:39 PM.

[Y E O N N E]

Bud Crue, on 02 April 2017 - 04:30 PM, said:

While I don't think I will change my TD build I think I will consider trying something similar to this on the 5N. Thanks for the idea.

Works better on the 5H. You need 8x lasers for it, and with the 4N you don't have an arm you can strip to get more stuff in on that STD engine.

[Y E O N N E]

Bud Crue, on 02 April 2017 - 04:30 PM, said:

Edit: XL340, 18DHS, 3LL, 4ML, 2JJ.

Closest thing I have that is similar is a QD 5K with 3LL and 2MP. Seems distinctive enough to justify keeping it.

Any better idea?

Hrm. Eh. If I had to keep it I'd probably do something silly like run 2x ERPPC and a whole bunch of Small Lasers.

[El Bandito]

Yeonne Greene, on 02 April 2017 - 04:13 PM, said:

The 5N suffers the problem most of the Resistance 'Mechs do: it's all energy all the time. The quirks and hard-point placement are the only things differentiating them and, in this case, it has nothing interesting in either department.

Sell it. If you don't have either, trade it on a BL-7-KNT-L or WHM-6D.

One big reason why I keep on advocating Sized Hardpoints. Adds more flavor to those identical variants, and makes them feel less redundant.

Edited by El Bandito, 03 April 2017 - 07:11 AM.

[FupDup]

Mechs like the Grasshopper highlight why having a half dozen variants of every mech was a bad gameplay choice. Having only one variant that encompasses the "overall flavor" of the chassis as a whole is much better since it makes it far easier to distinguish mechs from one another.

Edited by FupDup, 02 April 2017 - 06:20 PM.

[Pyed]

It's trash. Anything it can do another variant does better, usually the 5P.

I got it for rule of 3, then kept it around long enough to master but I don't know why. I have much more success and fun with the 5P.

[Y E O N N E]

El Bandito, on 02 April 2017 - 06:05 PM, said:

One big reason why I keep on advocating Sized Hardpoints. Adds more flavor to those identical variants, and makes them fell less redundant.

I would rather use quirks for that, since that is also their original expressed purpose. Sized hardpoints would kill more 'Mechs than it saves and they are really just trying to compensate for how some stuff is just way too good for the number of slots it occupies.

[Tarogato]

With the tech update, I think it can run LPL + 6 MPL with a L340 and 18 DHS. So... tanky, fast, with the same or better weapons than TDR-5SS. And four of those energy on the arms for close quarters shenanigans. Plus you never know how requirkenings will go.

But would I still sell it and buy an extra GHR-5P or -5H? Probably yes, if I used Grasshoppers that much... which I don't.

[justcallme A S H]

To date it's one of the only mechs I have sold as the mount points are absolute garbage. No amount of requirk would make it viable IMO. You could give it +15% range and -15% heat gen and I still wouldn't try use it

5P / 5H outclass it in every single way. 5P for ERL/LL & 5H for meta laser vom.

Edited by justcallme A S H, 02 April 2017 - 07:12 PM.

[Ultimax]

El Bandito, on 02 April 2017 - 06:05 PM, said:

One big reason why I keep on advocating Sized Hardpoints. Adds more flavor to those identical variants, and makes them fell less redundant.

Sized hardpoints based off of the stock loadouts wouldn't have done a thing to differentiate the variants of Grasshoppers.

Nearly all of them are simply loaded with MLAS, and several of them all have the same LLAS/ERLLAS placement (CT).


Only one of them even has two "big" weapons stock - and that's already the best variant of all of them.


This was a nice case study in why "sized hardpoints" is not any kind of a real solution.

Edited by Ultimax, 02 April 2017 - 07:20 PM.

[El Bandito]

Yeonne Greene, on 02 April 2017 - 06:55 PM, said:

I would rather use quirks for that, since that is also their original expressed purpose. Sized hardpoints would kill more 'Mechs than it saves and they are really just trying to compensate for how some stuff is just way too good for the number of slots it occupies.

That's just like, your opinion, man.

Ultimax, on 02 April 2017 - 07:20 PM, said:

Sized hardpoints based off of the stock loadouts wouldn't have done a thing to differentiate the variants of Grasshoppers.

Nearly all of them are simply loaded with MLAS, and several of them all have the same LLAS/ERLLAS placement (CT).

Only one of them even has two "big" weapons stock - and that's already the best variant of all of them.

This was a nice case study in why "sized hardpoints" is not any kind of a real solution.

Whoever said PGI had to follow stock Sized Hardpoints? They can make their own to flavor the mechs, just like quirks.

[Ultimax]

El Bandito, on 02 April 2017 - 07:53 PM, said:

Whoever said PGI had to follow stock Sized Hardpoints? They can make their own to flavor the mechs, just like quirks.

You have some amazing faith in PGI.

[El Bandito]

Ultimax, on 02 April 2017 - 07:58 PM, said:

You have some amazing faith in PGI.

I said they can. Never said they will.

[Y E O N N E]

El Bandito, on 02 April 2017 - 07:53 PM, said:

That's just like, your opinion, man.

My opinions have a very good track record of being correct when put into practice.