32 replies to this topic

[GunnerPanda]

Hello Mechwarriors, I am wonder if I can get some input on which heavy to get next.

Right now I have some Riflemen, the Ebon Jaguar and Grasshopper from the steam performance pack, a resistance Black Knight and the loyalty Cataphract. I like my Riflemen and my Ebon Jag, but they aren't exactly the best fit for my fairly aggressive playstyle. The rest of my heavies I just don't like, mostly because of hard point locations.

So I am on the hunt for a new heavy that I can be aggressive with. Right now I am considering the Linebacker and the Night Gyr since I want more clan mechs. So which what are some pros and cons of these mechs? I know the Linebacker is very fast, has decent hard points, but not too much versatility. The Night Gyr has tons of versatility, but is slower and I hear gets focused hard because of how strong it can be.

So which of these heavies, or others, fit an aggressive playstyle? And please, do not suggest the Timberwolf. I know it's a great mech, but I had one before and I just couldn't click with it no matter what I tried. Thank you in advance for your help.

[ChapeL]

Linebacker if you want to be aggressive with... by agressive I mean, you have the speed, armor and enough firepower to plug holes, exploit breaches and/or relocate quickly to where you are needed.

The Night Gyr is an assault mech in a Heavy's body. As such I have seen it best used to anchor a line or press a measured advance. It has plenty of firepower and armor but lacks speed. Where you go you stay.

I guess it all depends on what you call "aggressive" ?

Edited by ChapeL, 03 July 2017 - 07:48 AM.

[GunnerPanda]

ChapeL, on 03 July 2017 - 07:47 AM, said:

Linebacker if you want to be aggressive with... by agressive I mean, you have the speed, armor and enough firepower to plug holes, exploit breaches and/or relocate quickly to where you are needed.

The Night Gyr is an assault mech in a Heavy's body. As such I have seen it best used to anchor a line or press a measured advance. It has plenty of firepower and armor but lacks speed. Where you go you stay.

I guess it all depends on what you call "aggressive" ?

I like to make things happen. With some of my mechs, I am too much at the mercy of my team to do thing. I need something that has enough survivabilty so it can hangout on the frontline for a bit and enough speed to help lead/support flanking moves.

From what you say, I'm thinking maybe the Linebacker is the way to go. But I will have to look at some builds to see how many I like.

Edited by GunnerPanda, 03 July 2017 - 07:57 AM.

[ChapeL]

The Timber Wolf, although less agile than it used to be, could be considered also. You've got excellent speed considering it's at the upper edge of the heavy bracket, very good firepower and can do everything you wish but It's also a large target...

[Angel of Annihilation]

GunnerPanda, on 03 July 2017 - 07:56 AM, said:

I like to make things happen. With some of my mechs, I am too much at the mercy of my team to do thing. I need something that has enough survivabilty so it can hangout on the frontline for a bit and enough speed to help lead/support flanking moves.

From what you say, I'm thinking maybe the Linebacker is the way to go. But I will have to look at some builds to see how many I like.

Linebacker then. It has great speed and agility, plus excellent armor for its size. It is also one of the few chassis that seems to be able to utilize the upcoming Heavy Lasers well which can increase its mid-range firepower capability quite a bit though at the expense of its ability to hunt down light mechs. Also I have found there are quite a few builds for them as well. Toss in a couple ASRM6s and LPL and 2 x ER ML and your looking at a 50 firepower rating. The downside is that you can't really take many heavy weapons because it has such limited free tonnage to work with so most of your combat is straight up brawl range only.

ChapeL, on 03 July 2017 - 08:02 AM, said:

The Timber Wolf, although less agile than it used to be, could be considered also. You've got excellent speed considering it's at the upper edge of the heavy bracket, very good firepower and can do everything you wish but It's also a large target...

Timby is a good choice too though I would recommend staying away from missile builds due to the ears. The box launchers really reduce your survivability quite a bit on the Timby. Without the Launchers it is a pretty solid mech.

[MAD-IIC-D]

Little hard to be really aggressive with Night Gyr. I mean you can push with some loadouts, but what if you push into superior opposition? You can pull back a bit but not really retreat when needed. I think aggression needs more speed to be good.

Linebacker can be aggressive but I think it's lacking firepower. It's more of a hit&run style.

If you didn't like Timber then Im not so sure. Ebon shouldn't be bad to be aggressive, with right pods. It's nose does make it a bit weak on leading, but it has speed and tonnage for weapons.

Try UAC Ebon with some lasers or so, if you don't think it's good enough, then maybe the Night Gyr. I think Night Gyr is better suited for long range poking but it should be flexible with it's weapons, if not speed.

[Escef]

ChapeL, on 03 July 2017 - 08:02 AM, said:

The Timber Wolf, although less agile than it used to be, could be considered also. You've got excellent speed considering it's at the upper edge of the heavy bracket, very good firepower and can do everything you wish but It's also a large target...

Yeah, Timby is a very good choice. If you want to go Inner Sphere I could recommend the Marauder. The 5D and 5M especially for their jump jets, drop a big engine in there and you can be where you need to be when you need to be there. The 3R lacks jets, but has better toughness quirks last I checked. The Bounty Hunter II... is kinda' slow, engine caps at a 300; but it does have jets.

[GunnerPanda]

Teer5 Kerensky, on 03 July 2017 - 08:54 AM, said:

Little hard to be really aggressive with Night Gyr. I mean you can push with some loadouts, but what if you push into superior opposition? You can pull back a bit but not really retreat when needed. I think aggression needs more speed to be good.

Linebacker can be aggressive but I think it's lacking firepower. It's more of a hit&run style.

If you didn't like Timber then Im not so sure. Ebon shouldn't be bad to be aggressive, with right pods. It's nose does make it a bit weak on leading, but it has speed and tonnage for weapons.

Try UAC Ebon with some lasers or so, if you don't think it's good enough, then maybe the Night Gyr. I think Night Gyr is better suited for long range poking but it should be flexible with it's weapons, if not speed.

I don't know why the TBR and I didn't get along. I don't know if it was all just bad luck, if I was too aggressive, or if it was just too big of a target. I will try playing with my Ebon sometime, but right now it's doing alright with basically it's stock loadout.

Escef, on 03 July 2017 - 08:55 AM, said:

Yeah, Timby is a very good choice. If you want to go Inner Sphere I could recommend the Marauder. The 5D and 5M especially for their jump jets, drop a big engine in there and you can be where you need to be when you need to be there. The 3R lacks jets, but has better toughness quirks last I checked. The Bounty Hunter II... is kinda' slow, engine caps at a 300; but it does have jets.

I'll probably get some Marauders at some point, but I wanted to get another clan mech first since I only have a Stormcrow and a Marauder llc vs like 20 IS mechs.

[Dr Hobo]

Depends on what you wanna do.

Dakka spam but squishy? Rifleman LK. Quad AC2s or dual Ultra 5s with some extra energy hard points(not as high of a DPS as the Jager but still decent and fun)

Any of the Maraduers. A good chassis,it's decently speedy with a bigger engine,but smaller engines can be made super tanky.

The CAtapult K2 has always been a blast and pretty versatile on any build you wanna run on it. I prefer the Dual LRM15 with quad MLAS for support roles.

Widowmaker I think it's called,the MC warhammer is pretty fun with quad UAC5s(I think it runs quad UAC5s or standards,can't remember)

Then you have the Hellbringer for a pretty versatile Clam heavy,ECM is on one variant,and then you have plenty of fitting options. Only downside is the height.

Huntsman is a skirmisher heavy that's good at flank and spanking,it's quick enough to keep up with and support faster mediums,but won't get into trouble.

Night Gyr is a fun mech too from what I've seen,decently quick,and packs a mean uppercut but runs toasty from what i've heard from fellow clanmates.

Timby is the versatile go anywhere do anything mech. It's got plenty of pods to pick and choose from,you can go LRM support,laser puke,or go with ballistics,and can even mix and match to your playstyle.

Ebon Jaguar is the Timberwolf Light. It's toastier(lacks the slots to mount as many heat sinks) but it's lower and wider. But packs a glass jaw,so you gotta be ready to back off a trade that isn't going your way.but just as versatile as a Timby.

Basically,pick what appeals to you and see what fits your playstyles.

[PurplePuke]

I concur with others who have suggested the Linebacker:

• It has the speed to turn flanks, and to pop up in the firing line to help your assaults.
  
• Its firepower can be limited compared to many other heavies, so you have to use the maneuverability to compensate.
  
• It's an omnimech, so lots of weapons and builds are possible depending on what you like. Long range, short range, missiles, ballistics, energy. Whatever you like.

My favorite Linebacker is the 'B' variant, with whatever other pods used, to allow it to carry 6 ERML. Reasonable heat, AMS if you like, (I do on this build), and a Coolshot if you need it, and maybe an arty or UAV.

Have fun!

[Obadiah333]

Timby is probably your best bet. I love Hellbringer, but they just aren't built for brawling. I might suggest a Mad Dog. They are fast and sturdy enough (bad hit boxes though), but a splat dog is pretty devastating up close (pack on a bunch of srm 6's and blast away). I mean, if you are looking to trade mech for mech, you are pretty much guaranteed a kill and some serious damage on another mech with a splat dog. Not for sustained fighting, but they are fun.

[Dr Hobo]

Obadiah333, on 03 July 2017 - 09:18 AM, said:

Timby is probably your best bet. I love Hellbringer, but they just aren't built for brawling. I might suggest a Mad Dog. They are fast and sturdy enough (bad hit boxes though), but a splat dog is pretty devastating up close (pack on a bunch of srm 6's and blast away). I mean, if you are looking to trade mech for mech, you are pretty much guaranteed a kill and some serious damage on another mech with a splat dog. Not for sustained fighting, but they are fun.

Maddog is a pretty good support mech,it's the Clams version of the Catapult really. And you can build it a ton of different ways. A shame there's no E ST hard points for it. Would be kinda fun to see that. But the bad thing is,everyone knows how squishy it is and knows how to neuter it quickly by simply removing a torso(ammo explosions kill me the most in that mech)

Splatdogs are great,but the x6 LRM 10 build with MLAS or SPLAS in the arms is fun.

Blackknights are great mechs too,but didnt they get nerfed recently? I can't remember.

[Escef]

Also, Mad Dog is more fun than it has any right to be. 4xERML in the arms, 6xSRM6 in the torsos, 6 tons ammo, max teh armor, rest is heat sinks. Fast and hard hitting.

[Jay Leon Hart]

OK, so not Timber Wolf, gotcha...

Let's start with the Linebacker and Night Gyr, since you mentioned them.

The Linebacker is a great Medium hunter, can carry up to 6 Missile weapons and 9 Energy weapons. SRMs and Small/Medium class lasers are my weapons of choice. It has one high mount per torso, so it can poke decently with PPCs of LPLs. The LBK-B variant can be run almost stock, I just strip the right arm, swap the ERSL for an ERML, add a little ammo and armour-up the legs & CT. Great flanker / harasser / skirmisher. No Jump Jets.

The Night Gyr is another beast entirely. As mentioned, it's basically an Assault 'mech, just with less armour. If you don't care about quirks, get the NTG-D for that CT Energy hardpoint. I find Missiles next to useless on this Slowbro, so swap those other pods out. It does UAC dakka very well, with 7 Ballistic hardpoints. The unique heat quirk (well, except for BLR Hero) means it doesn't matter if you are stood in snow or lava, your heat sinks work the same. It lacks the slots for DHS to effectively run laser vomit, so stick to Ballistics and Energy weapons. Tried and tested Gauss + PPC platform. Comes with Jump Jets.

For another pair of Clan options, there's the Hellbringer and Orion IIC.

First the OmniMech, the Hellbringer. You will likely always want the HBR-F left torso, for the 3 Energy hardpoints and that lovely ECM. Laser vomit, PPCs, ACs + lasers, ACs + PPCs or light (AC2/AC5) dakka builds work well. Can be played aggressively, but works better as a second line 'mech. No Jump Jets.

Now, the Orion IIC. This a a BattleMech, so it works like all the IS ones. It can carry off Guass + PPC or ACs + Energy, but where I've seen it excel is LBX-ACs + SRMs. The ON1-IIC-A and/or ON1-IIC-C would be my picks. Can brawl like a boss. Excellent line breaker. No Jump Jets.

OK, on to IS 'mechs!

Thunderbolt, the old CW workhorse! It's not as good as the glory days, but it's still a solid 'mech. Runs Energy builds very well. Adequate brawler, poker or PPC sniper. The TDR-9SE has Jump Jets.

Warhammer, another old CW workhorse. While it, too, has seen better days, it is still a very capable 'mech. The WHM-6D is excellent for laser vomit. Black Widow Hero does AC5 / UAC5 dakka well. WHM-6R can be deadly with AC10s + lasers, AC10s + PPCs or good old AC20s. No Jump jets.

Marauder, progenitor to the deadly MAD-IIC. MAD-5D can do LL and LPL builds well, I tend to skip the Missile slots. MAD-5M works well with ACs or Gauss paired with PPCs and/or Lasers. I'd skip the MAD-3R, as it's the only with with no Jump Jets. and the only thing it can do over the MAD-5M is 3 Ballistics. Bounty Hunter II Hero is a little slow for my tastes.

Finally, the Orion. Not the IIC again, the original! I'd run it with pretty much the same builds as the IIC version. This one will move slower, but be more durable. Some builds will hit harder (SRMs), others will hit softer (lasers, PPCs). Another excellent brawler and line breaker. I'd pick up the ON1-V, ON1-M or maybe the ON1-VA. No Jump Jets.

Honourable mention - Roughneck. When it drops for C-Bills, check them out. Excellent mounts and with new tech dropping, not nearly as fragile.

[Escef]

Jay Leon Hart, on 03 July 2017 - 09:32 AM, said:

Thunderbolt, the old CW workhorse! It's not as good as the glory days, but it's still a solid 'mech. Runs Energy builds very well. Adequate brawler, poker or PPC sniper. The TDR-9SE has Jump Jets.

Warhammer, another old CW workhorse. While it, too, has seen better days, it is still a very capable 'mech. The WHM-6D is excellent for laser vomit. Black Widow Hero does AC5 / UAC5 dakka well. WHM-6R can be deadly with AC10s + lasers, AC10s + PPCs or good old AC20s. No Jump jets.

Marauder, progenitor to the deadly MAD-IIC. MAD-5D can do LL and LPL builds well, I tend to skip the Missile slots. MAD-5M works well with ACs or Gauss paired with PPCs and/or Lasers. I'd skip the MAD-3R, as it's the only with with no Jump Jets. and the only thing it can do over the MAD-5M is 3 Ballistics. Bounty Hunter II Hero is a little slow for my tastes.

Finally, the Orion. Not the IIC again, the original! I'd run it with pretty much the same builds as the IIC version. This one will move slower, but be more durable. Some builds will hit harder (SRMs), others will hit softer (lasers, PPCs). Another excellent brawler and line breaker. I'd pick up the ON1-V, ON1-M or maybe the ON1-VA. No Jump Jets.

As a side note, if you are the type too conservative (or c-bill poor) to run these mechs with XL engines (which admittedly is risky), the Light Fusion Engine coming into the game later this month will help these mechs greatly.

[Snowbluff]

My personal favorite is the Warhammer right now. You can bump up the speed with a bigger engine, and LFEs will help it a lot. Probably not fast enough, but I like it. I use the builds mention above, including my Pay-to-Widowmaker 2 AC5/2UAC 5. However, the missed builds for it are the WHM-6R 2 AC5/2 PPC, and 2 UAC5/1 PPC (with a bigger engine).

Have you tried your Cataphract? With a maxed out engine and MASC, it can really move. The armor is top notch, so it lives up to the name, "Cataphract" a class of armored horse cavalry.

The linebacker is a good agressive mech. Good speed. Comes with strong armor. A real good brawler.

The Night Gyr is not an aggressive mech. It's certainly less aggressive than the EBJ, being slower than it. The Night Gyr is best for poking and power positioning. It's really weak up close.

[Escef]

Snowbluff, on 03 July 2017 - 10:46 AM, said:

However, the missed builds for it are the WHM-6R 2 AC5/2 PPC, and 2 UAC5/1 PPC (with a bigger engine).

I tried the 2xAC5/2xPPC build with a 300XL, it's ok, but not really my style. On the Civil War PTS I refitted it with Snub-nosed PPCs in the arms and a PPC/LPPC combo in each side torso. A little hot, but it hits like a truck.

[GunnerPanda]

Jay Leon Hart, on 03 July 2017 - 09:32 AM, said:

OK, so not Timber Wolf, gotcha...
-snip-An amazing amount of info-snip-

Thanks first of all for actually noticing I didn't want to be recommended the Timberwolf. Second of all, that's a lot of info that I'll keep in mind for when I want more mechs.

I ended up buying a Linebacker, and initial impressions are good. Just need enough money to fiddle with some omnipods and weapon loadouts. =P

[Jay Leon Hart]

Escef, on 03 July 2017 - 10:49 AM, said:

I tried the 2xAC5/2xPPC build with a 300XL, it's ok, but not really my style. On the Civil War PTS I refitted it with Snub-nosed PPCs in the arms and a PPC/LPPC combo in each side torso. A little hot, but it hits like a truck.

On the PTS I went with all new tech on my WHM-6R - 2 RAC5s, 2 LPPCs, 4 ERMLs and an LFE. It is... not great, but it is fun

[Humpday]

Warhammers, Roughnecks....
Marauder after the new tech drops...2xSnubs, 2xERMlas, 1xUAC10 = boss.

Edited by Humpday, 03 July 2017 - 11:28 AM.