39 replies to this topic

[Y E O N N E]

PaquIS, on 25 May 2017 - 08:04 PM, said:

Well the Dragon is one of those rare mechs that has both the armor and structure quirks so it benefits from both in the skill tree. I took all the armor and skeletar skills and it sure can take a beating.

I felt like I dont have to go super heavy on the agility as its quite agile as is. Now Iam just waiting for the LFE engines to come out so I can have a proper shield side without losing too much speed in exchange.

I mean, you can just ask Vxheous or Dakota1000, but the Dragon 1C did not go down easy even before the skill tree. It could tank a lot of damage when built and played right for a given range bracket and its limited weapons are enhanced in all the right ways to let it play with the heavy-weights. It's been something of a hidden gem for about two years, now.

[Carl Vickers]

Yeonne Greene, on 25 May 2017 - 08:31 PM, said:

I mean, you can just ask Vxheous or Dakota1000, but the Dragon 1C did not go down easy even before the skill tree. It could tank a lot of damage when built and played right for a given range bracket and its limited weapons are enhanced in all the right ways to let it play with the heavy-weights. It's been something of a hidden gem for about two years, now.

The only reason it flew under the radar was because of the 1n and its uber AC quirks.

[Y E O N N E]

Carl Vickers, on 25 May 2017 - 08:46 PM, said:

The only reason it flew under the radar was because of the 1n and its uber AC quirks.

I remember all the 4x Dragon decks, where they'd run the ammo out and then bail. If only they knew that, with the 1C, you can get the same effectiveness and not have to worry about ammo running dry. Magic!

[Carl Vickers]

Yeonne Greene, on 25 May 2017 - 08:48 PM, said:

I remember all the 4x Dragon decks, where they'd run the ammo out and then bail. If only they knew that, with the 1C, you can get the same effectiveness and not have to worry about ammo running dry. Magic!

True, but dat hacksaw AC arm with its dakka was just insane, soooo many heavier mechs taken down by it. Truth be told, I think it was more of a psychological thing more than anything else with the 1n. Peeps just got so scared of it rather than taking that arm right off and neutering it.

[SQW]

Take a look at the Cataphracts. With some heavy investment into the Survival tree, you'll have more armor than most 90t while still being very nimble.

Never liked CTFs before the skill change but now, it's a really solid mech. Don't try to tank with it but if played smart and use its speed, the extra armor means you'll be able to trade a lot longer than most IS mech in that weight class.

[ScrapIron Prime]

Trollfeed, on 25 May 2017 - 08:24 PM, said:

Crabs and that one shadowhawk with triple shoulder mount for 3xLPL actually got better due to skill tree because they had very minimal quirks. They were decent before it and now they are actually pretty good.

Im saving that Shadowhawk for July. 280 Light engine, Endo, Light Ferro, 3 Light PPC, 3 MRM10's. Drool.

[BumbleBee]

You cant go wrong with a Huntsman. There is a lot you can do with it, especially for a 50tonner

[Wattila]

ScrapIron Prime, on 26 May 2017 - 06:24 AM, said:

Im saving that Shadowhawk for July. 280 Light engine, Endo, Light Ferro, 3 Light PPC, 3 MRM10's. Drool.

Personally looking forward to the SHD-5M dakka hawk. The SHD-2H AC20/SRM4 brawler should also be super good with a LFE.

[ScrapIron Prime]

Wattila, on 26 May 2017 - 06:54 AM, said:

Personally looking forward to the SHD-5M dakka hawk. The SHD-2H AC20/SRM4 brawler should also be super good with a LFE.

Ooo. Goosebumps!

[Weeny Machine]

cazidin, on 25 May 2017 - 12:04 PM, said:

Greetings MechWarriors. Today I have a few simple questions. With the various agility nerfs and the new skill tree, are Heavies still #1? I see more of them, on the IS side anyway, happily moving at 64-70 KPH as opposed to the high 70's-low 80's to match their Clan counterparts but how are Mediums now?

I'm looking to purchase a 50-80 ton mech to add to my stables but what would be a good addition? I've already tried Hunchbacks, and didn't much care for them. I excel in both a Nova and Stormcrow but I've never played a Summoner, due to their weird shape. How are Thunderbolts? Warhammers? What are some good mechs and of those mechs which is a good variant for either laser vomit, PPCs or Dakka?

Heavies are still the best imo. They have it still easy to keep lights in their firing arc - especially when you invest into mobility.

As for your question: I love my Jager-S with 4 x AC/2. It needs some time getting used to it. But heck it is fun

[sycocys]

For actual heavies, my favorite one that I've played so far is the Jester (other than its new terrible camo pattern).

I suspect that I'll still like the Thunderbolts and Jaegers though, just because they both offer styles of play I enjoy.

[Wildstreak]

Of Mechs I own:
Crabs are decent laser vomit either with XL for ranged or my preference STD for tankiness. They should improve with LFEs and better ranged lasers come July.

3 Enforcers can do mixed Energy with 1 Ballistic or even Energy only. The 5P is limited in build and an acquired taste.

Trebuchet-5J, Quickdraw-5K (have 4G but 5K has more higher mounts) can be done all Energy.

Any Hunchback IIC except the Missile B.

All Thunderbolts, Grasshoppers, Black Knights (have 7-KNT-L), Ebon Jaguars with right pods, Timber Wolves with right pods,

Jagermech-DD (have), -S and Firebrand.

Zeus-6S and -9S but good players know to shoot out your Left Torso to neuter a lot of your weapons and will kill you that way if running XL.

[Ryllen Kriel]

That tonnage slot is an important one for every Mech Warrior. I can't recommend Shadow Hawks enough really. They are a very versatile 55 ton chassis with a nice spread of weapons across each variant and a high mount for ballistics, energy and missiles. I have always run them, and own all of them. They make competent snipers, splat brawlers, heavy scouts or medium range fire support mechs. Great mobility too, never underestimate the investment of a few jump jets in this medium mech.

[Shifty McSwift]

Mediums and heavies in QP in particular, get the immediate advantage of escaping most blame , lights cop a lot of flak for not doing their job as do assaults but mediums and heavies tend to get away with doing whatever they please. They are also in that "just right" place in terms of good speed and weapon loadout potentials.

They are much less defined roles than assault and light that really just supplement those binary positions.

[cazidin]

Alright. I've seen a lot of good recommendations.

Which variant of the Night Gyr is best for ballistics? I'm thinking either the B or C. It's an omnimech, which are expensive, so I'd like to only have to buy one and with decent quirks which I know are subject to change.

I've been meaning to play a Griffin or Shadowhawk but which variants are best? How is the Linebacker? Looks compact to me, but I've never played one tbh. I'll tolerate SRM and Medium Lasers for IS but I'm looking to get away from laser vomit and missiles mostly.

Do Warhammers and Thunderbolts still spread damage effectively and will they be (mostly) using a standard engine, until LFEs anyway?

Edited by cazidin, 27 May 2017 - 07:36 AM.

[Y E O N N E]

cazidin, on 27 May 2017 - 07:34 AM, said:

I've been meaning to play a Griffin or Shadowhawk but which variants are best? How is the Linebacker? Looks compact to me, but I've never played one tbh. I'll tolerate SRM and Medium Lasers for IS but I'm looking to get away from laser vomit and missiles mostly.

SHD-2D2 with an AC and SRMs is great. The 2K wiith only PPCs/LPL or ER PPC and SRMs. The 2H used to be awesome with dakka, but the patch ruined it, so YMMV.

Quote

Do Warhammers and Thunderbolts still spread damage effectively and will they be (mostly) using a standard engine, until LFEs anyway?

Yes, they do. Engine decoupling helped there, too.

A WHM-6R/BW with 2x LPL and 2x UAC/5 on a 275 STD is nasty. Thud with 7x MedPulse also still nasty, but the Top Dog with all the vomit is even better.

[cazidin]

What about the UAC/10 and SRM+A Night Gyr?

Also the Warhammer with 6-8 energy hardpoints seems to be the most recommended.

Edited by cazidin, 27 May 2017 - 11:11 AM.

[Y E O N N E]

cazidin, on 27 May 2017 - 11:08 AM, said:

What about the UAC/10 and SRM+A Night Gyr?

Also the Warhammer with 6-8 energy hardpoints seems to be the most recommended.

NTG is too slow for SRMs, IMHO. The laser WHM is super boring; if you already have an IS heavy with 8xE, there really no reason to bother.

[cazidin]

Yeonne Greene, on 27 May 2017 - 03:19 PM, said:

NTG is too slow for SRMs, IMHO. The laser WHM is super boring; if you already have an IS heavy with 8xE, there really no reason to bother.

Given the rescale, the potential durability of the Warhammer over my Black Knights is appealing but I'm looking more into either an agile PPC sniper, or a durable Ballistic/SRM boat.

[Y E O N N E]

cazidin, on 27 May 2017 - 03:22 PM, said:

Given the rescale, the potential durability of the Warhammer over my Black Knights is appealing but I'm looking more into either an agile PPC sniper, or a durable Ballistic/SRM boat.

BK, WHM, TDR, RGH, GHR all have big, quick laser boats. Played one, played them all. /shrug

WHM is certainly the ideal option for a PPC sniper if you want to stay IS. How agile is agile, though, and are you avoiding XL still?