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Considering A Rifleman...


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#1 AJBennett

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Posted 25 July 2017 - 07:45 AM

...I'm about to move into a Heavy Mech and am considering a Rifleman to start...suggestions?

Edited by AJBennet, 25 July 2017 - 07:45 AM.


#2 Anunknownlurker

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Posted 25 July 2017 - 08:02 AM

Don't, just don't.

Of course this is a personal opinion and others may disagree but nearly every other IS heavy is superior. For me, it's an under-weight glass cannon with a small cannon! Get it if you are a "Pokemech" kind of player (gotta get 'em all) but unless it's the last IS heavy you need to complete the set, I'd save your space-bucks for something better.

Yeah, we've all seen Baradul or Snuggles (or other top tier player of choice) knocking up cricket score damage in the Legend Killer but that's because they are really good players, not because of the mech.

If you really want an IS heavy then I think the Warhammer is a far better choice as your first mech in that class.

#3 AJBennett

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Posted 25 July 2017 - 08:28 AM

View PostJimmy DiGriz, on 25 July 2017 - 08:02 AM, said:

Don't, just don't.

Of course this is a personal opinion and others may disagree but nearly every other IS heavy is superior. For me, it's an under-weight glass cannon with a small cannon! Get it if you are a "Pokemech" kind of player (gotta get 'em all) but unless it's the last IS heavy you need to complete the set, I'd save your space-bucks for something better.

Yeah, we've all seen Baradul or Snuggles (or other top tier player of choice) knocking up cricket score damage in the Legend Killer but that's because they are really good players, not because of the mech.

If you really want an IS heavy then I think the Warhammer is a far better choice as your first mech in that class.



...the Marauder, any thoughts?

#4 Anunknownlurker

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Posted 25 July 2017 - 08:36 AM

I enjoyed the Marauder when it first came out, there was just something about how it played that just felt right. It got a bit of a nerf a couple of patches later which, for me, made it less fun but with the new tech (light engines in particular) I think the Marauder may be making a comeback.

I'd put it above the Rifleman but below the Warhammer in pure "which one's best" terms.
It's always difficult to recommend because certain pilots suit certain mechs but I only really enjoyed playing 3 heavies; Ebon Jag (for nostalgic reasons more than anything else), Marauder (see above "felt right" comment) and the Catapult (only the K2 because I don't like missiles very much; but as I said in my initial reply, this is only my personal view. Good luck out there!

#5 Gaius Cavadus

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Posted 11 September 2017 - 12:39 AM

Rifleman are a lot of fun. I keep it fairly classic with 2xAC5s and 4xMLs, LFE and some speed tweaks get it up to 81kph, and max armor. One of my favorite mechs and very easy to rack up damage and kills in.

#6 Shinichi Yamamoto

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Posted 11 September 2017 - 02:57 AM

I am having a lot of fun and success in my Rifleman 3C with 2 AC2s and 2 UAC2s on an XL engine.
BUT, as already mentioned above, you always need to keep in mind what it is: a fragile fire support mech. So it might not be the best choice for rather new players.
The Marauder is in that regard much better. Slim front profile for maximum facetime. No need for torso twist in order to spread damage, just wiggle your nose. And with a LFE or even STD engine tanky as hell.

#7 Gagis

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Posted 11 September 2017 - 08:25 AM

The legend killer is genuinely good with LB10Xs and ERMLs due to its amazing quirks. The energy variant is also decent at hit and tun tactics with lasers. For every other configuration, a Jagermech or a Warhammer does it better.

The Marauder is decent, but badly held back by sparse hardpoint options.

#8 WrathOfDeadguy

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Posted 11 September 2017 - 07:17 PM

If you're willing to risk an XL build, try dual UAC10 on one of your ballistic RFLs. The burst damage is just so good that you don't even notice that you're armored with happy thoughts and tissue paper- whatever you unload on is too busy running away or dying to shoot back effectively. I run my LK with 2xUAC10, 4xERSL, XL255, armor tree, ops, speed tweak, and 10pts sensors to get 60% derp and 50% seismic. It's so much fun there ought to be a Surgeon General's Warning about it giving babies cancer or something, because nothing that fun can be healthy.

Alternately, you could slap a pair of HPPCs on the 5D. The high mounts make the RFL a very good platform for dual HPPCs. I don't like laservomit on the 5D because of how squishy the RFL is in general- too much facetime, even with pulse- and dual PPC/ERPPC just feels too anemic for a heavy, but dual HPPC is downright magical. You still have the tonnage for LFE, a bunch of sinks and enough backup lasers that you won't feel like you're shooting blanks when something gets up in your personal bubble. Until HPPC came along the 5D was my least favorite variant, but now it's my second favorite after my LK.

#9 Mercworks

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Posted 11 September 2017 - 07:54 PM

I've been playing around with them since the new tech came out, and it's really given them a new lease on life. I would particularly point out the Rifleman with the PPC quirks. It has a high weapons profile so it's good for hill humping.

#10 CFC Conky

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Posted 11 September 2017 - 09:29 PM

My first mechs were Riflemen and Marauders. Both are very good mechs, the RFL is a tad squishy but has good mobility and while not really a front line mech, it is excellent just behind it. A good escort for the assault mechs.

Imo, you can't go far wrong with either chassis. Better yet, get 'em both Posted Image .

Good hunting,
CFC Conky

#11 Audacious Aubergine

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Posted 11 September 2017 - 11:38 PM

View PostMercworks, on 11 September 2017 - 07:54 PM, said:

I've been playing around with them since the new tech came out, and it's really given them a new lease on life. I would particularly point out the Rifleman with the PPC quirks. It has a high weapons profile so it's good for hill humping.

I'm running this one with 2x heavy PPC and 2x ERML for backup. It's probably not meta and needs an XL but it's pretty satisfying

#12 WrathOfDeadguy

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Posted 12 September 2017 - 05:48 PM

HPPCs with LFE.

I prefer SL as a backup for the HPPC build because the large number of hardpoints means that I can stuff enough in the chassis to actually hurt something, and because the range is so short I'll never be tempted to alpha them with the HPPCs and derp myself into an overheat. Dropping a few of the lasers would only get me one more sink the way I have it set up, and IMO the lasers are worth more as a panic option because I don't mind running a bit on the toasty side when I'm poking. For the 5D I maxed heatgen in the weapon tree, all cool run and containment in ops, some mobility, and my standard 10 points into sensors for partial derp and seismic.

Or with ERMLs.

Or with a bigger LFE.

But... yeah. XL isn't strictly necessary with HPPC. LFE means you run a little hotter or a little slower, but not enough to make the build unmanageable.

#13 Athom83

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Posted 13 September 2017 - 05:34 AM

Rifleman is a pretty good heavy mech, but not recomended fro beginners to heavy mechs. The Marauder or Warhammer are better choices for starting out with heavy mechs.

#14 Shinichi Yamamoto

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Posted 13 September 2017 - 01:03 PM

View PostJimmy DiGriz, on 25 July 2017 - 08:02 AM, said:

Baradul or Snuggles (or other top tier player of choice)


Oh, and Baradul is not a top tier player. But what he is good to excellent at is positioning and map knowledge. Two very important skills for a fragile fire support mech like the Rifleman. If you know where to position yourself on the map and within your team, you will shine, as long as your aim and situational awareness are not horrible ;-)

Plus, he only uploads the matches where he did well, which distorts the impression.

Edited by Shinichi Yamamoto, 13 September 2017 - 01:04 PM.


#15 MechaBattler

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Posted 13 September 2017 - 02:10 PM

If you're feeling cheeky and have the C-bills. Try Quad UAC2s on a Rifleman 3C or the hero version. You have to run an XL200 to accommodate enough ammo to be useful in a regular fight. But you'd be surprised how well it chops through people and the range lets you harass at a distance. :)

#16 Koniving

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Posted 13 September 2017 - 02:39 PM

I personally own all the Riflemen. There are some good and some bad ones, but it really depends on how you set the skill tree. Definitely capitalize on defenses for ones with high armor/structure quirks.

Someone whom bought a slightly higher than stock STD engine and on a strict cbill budget had some issues with an AC/5 build he had made with ER MLs... I offered a few suggestions based on theory crafting. One was a twin heavy PPC + LMG build. Later tried it out, modified to have it run twin ER PPCs and this was the result of my first run with it. Sequential runs were also quite good. Only the two or three unlocks required to get Advanced Zoom were acquired.



#17 Jake1967

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Posted 20 September 2017 - 05:21 PM

I love my Riflemen. Once you get the hang of them and get them tricked out to your liking and
learn them inside and out. You definitely want the advanced zoom.

#18 Ximi Prime

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Posted 29 September 2017 - 10:19 PM

Heres my alt account Rifleman loadout,with that i get the crippling death gxp score:

http://mwo.smurfy-ne...23db1847ad0218d

#19 The Basilisk

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Posted 30 September 2017 - 03:33 AM

View PostAJBennett, on 25 July 2017 - 08:28 AM, said:



...the Marauder, any thoughts?


Both mechs ... NOPE.

The rifleman IS the very deffinition of underpowered Glasscannon that only works out of the shadow of more able mechs 5D with Lasers can do some tricks but still any kind of solid hit will probably penetrate your armor at once.

The Marauder was good once but now it is just too easy to just take its side torso out and remove most of its weapons if you use the 3R with ACs.
The 5D has not enough Missile slots to be worth building SRM builds and the 5M has the same problem as the 3R if you use big ballistics.
If you use energy only you either end up using heavy PPC and beeing quite situational or using 5M with 5 LLasers in its arms causing the mech to expose lots of surface to fire the lasers.
All Variants have outright useless quirks since structure quirks will not protect your weaponry or are outright too low to provide an large enough number of hitpoint to matter.

If it has to be an IS Heavy Mech considder the Warhammer, Grasshopper or Roughneck.

#20 Chados

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Posted 02 October 2017 - 05:24 PM

Dual AC10, LFE240, 2xML for heat purposes. 4 tons ammo, all the armor, light FF, endo. On the RFL-3N, and build it for full survival tree, plus all the cooldown nodes in firepower you can get. It's still nasty.





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