15 replies to this topic

[cazidin]

Greetings MechWarriors. Today I have a simple question. Does Skeletal Density help much on mechs using XL engines? Assuming both that they do and do not have structure quirks, in that order. Would armor hardening be simply better?

[sycocys]

Technically I believe it does, but it's probably not enough of an increase to be really meaningful.

[Devils Advocate]

It won't increase your engine's HP but it'll take an extra shot to knock the torso off. You're technically getting more of a benefit from armor increases but in how often I lose a torso before I lose my engine I imagine skeletal density is worth almost the same return in HP for the investment in skill points.

[Kaptain]

As best I understand engines do not have critical hits in this game other than when a section is completely destroyed. So +20 something percent structure on a mech with an XL will allow it to take %20 more damage once the armor has been removed.

So yes, it should be far more survivable with structure nodes.

Edited by Kaptain, 19 May 2017 - 06:48 PM.

[El Bandito]

Armor hardening is always better than skeletal density, cause once you lose your armor you can easily have your weapons critted out. Now if a mech has tons of structure quirks, that another story.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

If your mech has structure quirks then skeletal density is best, if your mech has armor quirks then armor hardening is best. If you want to survive well then just get both.

[DoctorDetroit]

Wow roughneck might be OP with survival tree on top of armor and structure quirks.

Now imagine it with a light fusion engine too.

Edited by DoctorDetroit, 19 May 2017 - 08:29 PM.

[El Bandito]

DoctorDetroit, on 19 May 2017 - 08:28 PM, said:

Wow roughneck might be OP with survival tree on top of armor and structure quirks.

PGI will nerf Roughnecks' quirks after people buy enough of them with money. They always do that to new promising mechs.

[Champion of Khorne Lord of Blood]

El Bandito, on 19 May 2017 - 08:30 PM, said:

PGI will nerf Roughnecks' quirks after people buy enough of them with money. They always do that to new promising mechs.

Its not Clan though.

[El Bandito]

Dakota1000, on 19 May 2017 - 08:32 PM, said:

Its not Clan though.

Tell that to my Unseen heavy mechs.

[Deathlike]

cazidin, on 19 May 2017 - 06:29 PM, said:

Greetings MechWarriors. Today I have a simple question. Does Skeletal Density help much on mechs using XL engines? Assuming both that they do and do not have structure quirks, in that order. Would armor hardening be simply better?

If it's Clan XL, sure. If it's IS XL, you probably need heavy preexisting structure quirks to make it worth your while. Without structure quirks, you should strongly consider investing in the Mobility/Agility tree.

Armor hardening is better as long as you actually allocate armor (it's useless by itself).

Edited by Deathlike, 20 May 2017 - 04:21 AM.

[cazidin]

Deathlike, on 20 May 2017 - 04:21 AM, said:

If it's Clan XL, sure. If it's IS XL, you probably need heavy preexisting structure quirks to make it worth your while. Without structure quirks, you should strongly consider investing in the Mobility/Agility tree.

Armor hardening is better as long as you actually allocate armor (it's useless by itself).

That's part of my thought process. Structure quirks for Clan mechs like the Mad Dog or Timber Wolf which are mostly torso. If I focused on Skeletal Density I could help them survive an extra shot or two, and I don't mind losing a DHS to crit.

[cazidin]

Is it worth the node investment to get around 12-14% Skeletal Density, or about 8-10 HP for ST and CT or would Ops be a better investment for about 6% cool run and 9% heat containment? (Keeping in mind that Clan DHS are both lighter, more compact and abundant.)

[JC Daxion]

El Bandito, on 19 May 2017 - 08:21 PM, said:

Armor hardening is always better than skeletal density, cause once you lose your armor you can easily have your weapons critted out. Now if a mech has tons of structure quirks, that another story.

I have to wonder if this is always true. Some mechs have crazy structure buffs and no armor.. You might be better off getting stucture on those mechs. You would need to do the math though. If you have no weapons and just want max HP to stop from XL death.


Maybe a light mech like a wolfhound or a medium crab that has nice structure buffs? Maybe they are better than armor in this case. You would have to really look at each mech individually to see which is better.

But i agree that armor is more likely the goto node. aka left side

[El Bandito]

JC Daxion, on 20 May 2017 - 11:30 AM, said:

I have to wonder if this is always true. Some mechs have crazy structure buffs and no armor.. You might be better off getting stucture on those mechs. You would need to do the math though. If you have no weapons and just want max HP to stop from XL death.

Maybe a light mech like a wolfhound or a medium crab that has nice structure buffs? Maybe they are better than armor in this case. You would have to really look at each mech individually to see which is better.

But i agree that armor is more likely the goto node. aka left side

I clearly stated in my post that you quoted that "If a mech has tons of structure quirks, that's another story". How have you missed that part is beyond me. Yes, if a mech has structure quirks then invest in structures.

Edited by El Bandito, 20 May 2017 - 11:33 AM.

[Deathlike]

cazidin, on 20 May 2017 - 11:11 AM, said:

Is it worth the node investment to get around 12-14% Skeletal Density, or about 8-10 HP for ST and CT or would Ops be a better investment for about 6% cool run and 9% heat containment? (Keeping in mind that Clan DHS are both lighter, more compact and abundant.)

It depends on the situation and I suggest you do math when it comes to structure vs armor (armor being better generally). It is easy enough to spend like 9 to 11 points in getting half of the Operations tree (for Coolrun and Heat Containment) if you already committed a ton of firepower nodes for heat gen.