10 replies to this topic

[Mortalcoil]

For the entire time I have played MWO, AC/2's have been a joke. Possibly the worst weapon in the game, even flamers had more use, but earlier this year AC/2's got a 33% heat buff, and AC/5 UAC/5 got a 50% heat nerf.

Let's compare AC/2 and AC/5 mathematically at 24 tons of weaponry.

3 AC/5's vs 4 AC/2's
with the nerfs and buffs both guns have the same DPH
AC/2 Damage per ton: .46
pros:
4 AC/2's do 11.12 DPS while AC/5's do 9.03 DPS or 10.11 DPS with module
have a much longer range
have a much higher velocity
massive screen shake
more ammo so misses aren't as much of a loss of maximum possible damage
you get an extra weapon module slot because no AC/2 CD module
higher DPT
cons:
much more face time
higher heat
extra ballistic slot
no cd module

AC/5 damage per ton .38
pros:
less face time
more PPFLD
less hot because you are firing one less gun
cons:
less range
less velocity
less ammo (even though your damage per ton of ammo is the same)
less DPS
uses an extra module


For the record. UAC/5's and AC/5 have been my favorite weapon in the game for basically the entire time I have played this game. My favorite mechs all have used UAC/5's or AC 5. I love the weapon. I love the sound it makes, but it just isn't the same weapon it used to be. I think if you have the ballistic slots, AC/2's are superior in many ways. Now most people still say AC/5's and UAC/5's are the superior weapon, but I have been experimenting with the AC/2 on a lot of traditional AC/5 UAC/5 mechs and I am pleased with the results.

Some of my builds:
Mauler MX90 with 6 AC/2 instead of 5 AC/5 allows for a bigger engine and more heatsinks
4 or 6 AC/2 king crab allows me to put large lasers in the energy hard points instead of medium lasers
Ilya muromets I can use 3 AC/2's with 2 large lasers and an xl 300 engine.
The BJ-1 originally was a mech I just bought to elite the other BJ's, now it has become my favorite medium.
My favorite has been the Mauler MX90 with 6 AC/2's. I can do 700 damage with ease.

Has anyone else experimented with AC/2's and liked them? Are people still using AC/5's? Clearly a mech with UAC jam chance quirks would still probably do better with UAC's. What are people's thoughts on the new AC/2 as opposed to the nerfed AC/5 and UAC/5

[Lupis Volk]

AC 2's were the gem people didn't know about. Boat them and you can disorientate the enemy.

[Tier5 Kerensky]

I'd say the range is still biggest difference if you have enough hardpoints.

[Kotzi]

Like them even more now than i used to. Just the cut in the range was unnecessary. Tripple range would make them perfect i think. That difference in heat was needed very much, there was no real drawback in using AC5 to AC2 before. Now they have both distinctive criterias which one should consider in deciding which to choose.

Edited by Kotzi, 24 April 2017 - 12:01 AM.

[chucklesMuch]

What was there old range?

I'm not currently liking them at all. To much face time for too little reward... but maybe I'm doing them wrong. (Tried 4xac2 on a roughneck).

[Kotzi]

Like any AC it was tripple the optimum range. So the AC2 didnt loose much at damage at extreme long ranges making it much more effective if you can aim at those ranges. For me that was one reason to choose the AC2 instead of AC5. Mind you that not all maps offer that advantage.

[Escef]

The AC2 is a cute gun, fun for harassing. My SHD-2H mounts one, and I have 3 on my BLR-1D. Singly, they're unimpressive. Three or more is nasty, about 12 dps at good range.

[Roadbuster]

Mortalcoil, on 23 April 2017 - 11:32 PM, said:

For the entire time I have played MWO, AC/2's have been a joke. Possibly the worst weapon in the game, even flamers had more use,...

Stopped reading after this.
AC2 was never that bad. People just wouldn't use it because it was not a 1hit=1kill weapon and required some steady aim and heat management.
The heat changes just made it better.
AC2 chainfire spam is...well, I don't do this stuff. AC2 is a precision weapon for me. Also, many experienced players are not bothered much by the shake and blind effect.

I started using 4 AC2 + 4 ML on one of my Jagermechs, when it came out, and still use the same build. It's still fun and effective, like it's always been.
Just requires more facetime. But the high DPS makes up for that.

[Orions Belt Belt]

AC 2 were always ok and sometimes (currently) they are good. 1-2 can be used for suppression, but you need 3-6 to go from suppression to killer.

Edited by Orions Belt Belt, 24 April 2017 - 02:03 AM.

[Alexander of Macedon]

I've been playing my 2x AC/2 Blackjack 1 pretty much since I first bothered with MWO, it was maybe the third or fourth 'mech I bought. It's also a solid performer, with 1.92 W/L and 2.38 K/D over my entire play history.

The AC/2 isn't bad, it just isn't great when you're using it in a 'mech that can't boat 4+ (or in the case of the BJ-1 is quirked well enough to mimic the same without the downsides of rapid heat buildup and noticeable upward recoil on a heavy/assault). I ran a CDA-3C with ERPPC + AC/2 for a little while and it did surprisingly well.

But yeah. Run 1-3 AC/2s on most things and you're not going to have much fun. Boat them on a Rifleman/King Crab while using a macro for proper chainfire and they're one of the most obnoxious support weapons in the game. Run them on a BJ-1 and they're lethal. Though I suppose quirks on the level of [50% Cooldown, -30% Heat Gen, 20% Range, and 30% Velocity] would make any weapon system feel good. Even better once you get it mastered and have the modules, you're laying heavy enough fire to mimic a staggered macro boat while doing full damage out to nearly a kilometer and still running cool enough to brawl in TT.

That one stellar example aside, the breakpoint is at 4. That's where you can macro them so that the first will be ready to refire right after the last has fired without noticeable delay between shots.

[El Bandito]

AC2s are there when you wish to have a good time.