11 replies to this topic

[Konseq]

Hi,

My current Clan dropdeck for Faction Play consists of 1 Hunchback, 1 Timberwolf, 1 Mad IIC and 1 Arctic Cheetah which makes it exactly 240 tons. My plan is to replace the Timberwolf with another Mad IIC which means I need to get rid of 10 tons. I figured the best way to do this is to replace the 50 tons Hunchback with the 40 tons Viper.

My questions are: Which Viper variant should I get? Which builds would you recommend?

I usually like to play medium range.

Thanks in advance!

Edit:
Btw I noticed that usually there aren't any Vipers in Faction Plays. Is it a bad mech?

Edited by Konseq, 05 June 2017 - 07:09 AM.

[Koniving]

It's an omnimech; get any variant and reconfigure to your tastes. O.o; Far as I'm aware there's no CT differences, so unless there's a set of 8 quirkset you want (which most won't bother with), there really isn't a difference to be had between them as they are all the same mech with different configurations.

As far as builds, the ones I use for mine make use of its speed for high DPS and harassment. However depending on the role you intend for faction play you may want different things.

[Roughneck45]

Get the C, it has an energy hardpoint CT.
VPR-C

6 small pulse or 5 small pulse and 4 mgs are the other "best" builds IMO. You can do some franken stuff too, mixing in a PPC or some SRMs, but there isn't a lot of tonnage to work with so the options are limited.

Edited by Roughneck45, 05 June 2017 - 09:12 AM.

[Konseq]

Thank you for your comments.
A few days ago I got the Viper C and use the same play style as for my Arctic Cheetah. Performance results are still varying between very good and very poor. What I feel is missing is an ECM on this thing. ECM in general feels so hard to get for Clanmechs. What I like about it tho are the built-in jumpjets.

The Viper hasn't become my most favorite mech, but let's see how it develops once it is fully leveled.


Edit:

Roughneck45, on 05 June 2017 - 09:11 AM, said:

Get the C, it has an energy hardpoint CT.
VPR-C

I have a few questions to this build. Why do you use the VPR-C and not the VPR-A which has a -5% Laser Heat Generation? Isn't the lower heat gen more important than that 1 laser in the CT? Also why did you switch the Arms to VPR-D? That doesn't seem to make any difference to me.

Edited by Konseq, 09 June 2017 - 01:29 PM.

[Roughneck45]

Konseq, on 09 June 2017 - 06:10 AM, said:

I have a few questions to this build. Why do you use the VPR-C and not the VPR-A which has a -5% Laser Heat Generation? Isn't the lower heat gen more important than that 1 laser in the CT? Also why did you switch the Arms to VPR-D? That doesn't seem to make any difference to me.

Viper has gorilla arms. They hang low and wide and are easily shot off. The torso lasers are all mounted higher and you won't have to expose as much to get all 5 on target.

Arm omnipods are irrelevant, use anything you want there.

The JJ's are what set this mech apart from the others. Generally you can't fight other light mechs with it because viper hitboxes are easy to pick out in a light fight and small pulse will out dps you. I've always had the most success helping the big mechs up front. Wait for a friendly to expose then use your JJ's to lift over cover and focus fire their target.

metamechs
Great spot to start for builds.

Edited by Roughneck45, 09 June 2017 - 04:09 PM.

[Konseq]

Roughneck45, on 09 June 2017 - 04:08 PM, said:

Viper has gorilla arms. They hang low and wide and are easily shot off. The torso lasers are all mounted higher and you won't have to expose as much to get all 5 on target.

I still don't understand why I should use the VPR-C variant and not the VPR-A variant which has -5% Laser Heat Gen.

[G4LV4TR0N]

C version has extra Center Torso energy hardpoint which other variants don't. As for quirks, yes this is what differentiates many Omnimechs, especially full 8-set quirks but it's really up to build which will use quirks in best way. Also, the most popular C variant will run 5 Clan Small Pulse Lasers and 4 Clan Machine Guns. Cooling mainly comes from good engine, Operations Skill Nodes and Cool Shots, beside that I like Armor Hardening and Anchor Turn nodes but skillset is pretty much individual decision.

Edited by G4LV4TR0N, 10 June 2017 - 10:06 AM.

[Konseq]

If you fully skill Heat Gen you get -10.5%. Since it doesn't make sense to skill that many nodes an additional -5% Heat Gen sounds interesting to me. And just that extra energy slot in the center doesn't seem that extremly important to me. The decision probably depends on personal preference.

Btw after trying out the MGs for a while I equiped it with lasers only now.

[G4LV4TR0N]

You can buy two and sell one you don't like if you need free Mech Bays. You will have to level it.

Edited by G4LV4TR0N, 10 June 2017 - 02:04 PM.

[Yumoshiri]

for me, viper C is the only relevant one.

unless you have the medusa, the laser vomit is not appealing, as a cheetah can do it at the same speed, but with ecm and better hard point distribution - at least imo. this doesn't mean it isn't viable.
what i like is to harass at medium range using 4x ML, which is quite hot, but manageable. when the game progresses though, i like to use the machineguns to get the kill.

my viper isn't made to do damage. it's made to distract fire from my team by shooting at a flank, shoot and run. machine guns become important when the enemies have open components which you can rip off with the mg's.

this skirmisher role i think is not viable though for faction play.

[Roughneck45]

Konseq, on 10 June 2017 - 09:35 AM, said:

I still don't understand why I should use the VPR-C variant and not the VPR-A variant which has -5% Laser Heat Gen.

Because it messes up your weapon grouping. You'd have to armor the arm and put a laser in it. You'd have a higher chance of losing that laser early and you'd have to expose yourself more to get the laser on target.

Its a small thing, so if the 5% sounds more appealing go for it. I prefer the tighter weapon groups.

[Gibson Ibanez]

I am planning to use the Viper as a second drop mech. Usually after the first drop there are quite a few mechs with open components on the field and this mech chews them up. For an IS deck I would be running the Blackjack Arrow for the same reason.

I run a wierd loadout on my Viper that, to me, eats components faster. I run the usual 4 mgs but I also run a nerfed spl on each arm and have them in the same firing group as the mgs. I just hold down mouse button two for mgs and the 2 spls add extra teeth to chew crits. I run an cmpl in the CT for quick pokes with 500ish meter range and it also adds punch. This loadout works GREAT on even hot maps like Tourmaline and Terra Therma. I do not like running laser builds on this mech. Like it was said before, anything more than 4 ermls is not efficient for heat.

Edited by Gibson Ibanez, 08 July 2017 - 03:50 AM.