41 replies to this topic

[Snazzy Dragon]

Personally I feel they're really lackluster now, and looking ahead to the future the gap between mediocre mediums and good mediums is only going to get wider when the arctic wolf releases. They're only 40 tons so they don't have any spectacular builds utilizing the light engine and even with XLs they tend not to carry a competitive amount of DHS. Their agility is also pretty lacking for their tonnage without jumpjets on all variants save one.

Do you agree? What do you think should be changed about them if so?

I would start with a bump to their agility and some buffs to existing offensive quirks, since those were what defined it pre-skill tree, especially in the case of the 2B.

[Bombast]

We could start here...

[mogs01gt]

They need more energy mounts to be effect.

[Snazzy Dragon]

Bombast, on 27 September 2017 - 10:02 AM, said:

We could start here...

Engine size isn't a huge factor for the cicada, considering most of the builds use XL280s and 300s anway, with 340 330 hitting the sweetspot for the 2A and its 6 (ER)medium laser build

I'm more concerned about those agility values

Edited by Snazzy Dragon, 27 September 2017 - 10:47 AM.

[Mole]

This little number always has and still does suit me just fine. Obviously before new tech I was running standard Medium Lasers. Now it's even better with ERs, if not a little bit toastier. Remember, the Cicada isn't really a Medium. It's a light with an obesity issue.

Edited by Mole, 27 September 2017 - 10:27 AM.

[Quicksilver Aberration]

Snazzy Dragon, on 27 September 2017 - 10:12 AM, said:

Engine size isn't a huge factor for the cicada, considering most of the builds use XL280s and 300s anway, with 340 hitting the sweetspot for the 2A and its 6 (ER)medium laser build

330 is the true sweet spot for the 2A, go higher and either you are sacrificing a DHS or armor and neither are worth sacrificing for 4kph.

It also didn't help when they dropped the skill tree and obliterated the CDA-2Bs cooldown and heat gen quirks for MPLs that basically killed its meta presence.

The problem is they are glass cannons without the cannon part. Ever since the mauling of the CDA-2B, they have never had firepower to justify the risky nature of their terrible hitboxes.

Edited by Quicksilver Kalasa, 27 September 2017 - 10:34 AM.

[Duke Nedo]

+1 I would really like my cicadas back...

[Rovertoo]

Ive got a 3m, and its a bit tricky to do anything with ballistics, especially with ECM and stealth armor if you try to squeeze that in with a 300xl. And personally anything smaller than Rac5 or lb10 just doesnt have enough punch for me. For stealth I did find some success with AC2 and some Med lasers, or a UAC 5 and some smalls because the heat is so low though.

That said they do feel a bit sluggish. But then again my goto speedy mech is a max speed locust, so anything slower than that that feels like a light is slow for me.

[Quicksilver Aberration]

Rovertoo, on 27 September 2017 - 10:59 AM, said:

Ive got a 3m, and its a bit tricky to do anything with ballistics, especially with ECM and stealth armor if you try to squeeze that in with a 300xl.

That's because you are overloading on crap that doesn't matter.

Stealth is pointless for anything but trolling.
ECM just isn't worth the tonnage given the skill points you need to invest on top of that.
Ballistics are pretty terrible for any light mech wannabe, especially when you can only mount one.

Basically it ends up being a weaker CDA-3F because it has 4 energy mounts and a piece of equipment that isn't near as useful as JJs.

Edited by Quicksilver Kalasa, 27 September 2017 - 11:02 AM.

[Snazzy Dragon]

Rovertoo, on 27 September 2017 - 10:59 AM, said:

Ive got a 3m, and its a bit tricky to do anything with ballistics, especially with ECM and stealth armor if you try to squeeze that in with a 300xl. And personally anything smaller than Rac5 or lb10 just doesnt have enough punch for me. For stealth I did find some success with AC2 and some Med lasers, or a UAC 5 and some smalls because the heat is so low though.

That said they do feel a bit sluggish. But then again my goto speedy mech is a max speed locust, so anything slower than that that feels like a light is slow for me.

A ballistic on the 3M might be worth taking if it had -80% jam chance for any uAC mounted, but otherwise lol crap variant

[Johnny Z]

Cicada is an excellent mech. Ct is a magnet most of the time but that's good for the XL engine.

My Phoenix Hawk has a tougher time.

[Husker Dude]

Snazzy Dragon, on 27 September 2017 - 09:59 AM, said:

I would start with a bump to their agility and some buffs to existing offensive quirks, since those were what defined it pre-skill tree, especially in the case of the 2B.

Pre-skill tree 2B was one of the most fun mechs to pilot (*cough* *cough*) but I think it's still pretty decent. I do find myself taking it less than, say, a Firestarter these days, though.

[Quicksilver Aberration]

Husker Dude, on 27 September 2017 - 11:12 AM, said:

Pre-skill tree 2B was one of the most fun mechs to pilot but I think it's still pretty decent. I do find myself taking it less than, say, a Firestarter these days, though.

Pre-skill tree the CDA-2B was actually part of the meta. If you couldn't take a Nova, the CDA-2B was a great choice in its place because it could just pump out the damage. Combined with a pre-skill tree LCT-3S you had a serious amount of damage you could just pump out.

Then the Skill Tree came out with nerfs to both, and then the Assassin and its little brother the Javelin came out making both even more superfluous.

Edited by Quicksilver Kalasa, 27 September 2017 - 11:52 AM.

[Bigbacon]

isn't the engine de-sync what really killed off a lot of things?

Like FireStarters? Rarely see them now. they maneuver like trucks and get melted by laser vomit in an instant.

Edited by Bigbacon, 27 September 2017 - 12:10 PM.

[Rovertoo]

Quicksilver Kalasa, on 27 September 2017 - 11:00 AM, said:

That's because you are overloading on crap that doesn't matter.

Stealth is pointless for anything but trolling.
ECM just isn't worth the tonnage given the skill points you need to invest on top of that.
Ballistics are pretty terrible for any light mech wannabe, especially when you can only mount one.

Basically it ends up being a weaker CDA-3F because it has 4 energy mounts and a piece of equipment that isn't near as useful as JJs.

Eh, I like stealth armor if only for its "armor" benefits in that if an enemy cant lock onto you and target weak locations, and theres no dorito to target, a mech tends to last quite a bit longer in my experience. That said it has some huge downsides, namely anything but ballistic weaponry is just way too hot. before stealth armor I normally ran the thing with two Lpulses or an LB10. I would like to run one with dual snubs sometime though, that sounds fun.

[Quicksilver Aberration]

Rovertoo, on 27 September 2017 - 12:30 PM, said:

Eh, I like stealth armor if only for its "armor" benefits in that if an enemy cant lock onto you and target weak locations, and theres no dorito to target, a mech tends to last quite a bit longer in my experience.

I don't really care about "weak" locations when shooting targets like Cicadas because they don't have that much armor and generally aiming for the nose gets good results regardless (it has bad hitboxes, so you already have good chances of hitting a weak section by aiming for the CT or legs). Granted I'm used to piloting assaults which can burn through Cicadas who think they are sneaky using it and standing still. The lack of a doritio is protection, but as you mention, you can't really do much with it on because of the heat generated which basically makes it a net loss because you can't sustain damage to really make the most of that lack of dorito.

Rovertoo, on 27 September 2017 - 12:30 PM, said:

That said it has some huge downsides, namely anything but ballistic weaponry is just way too hot. before stealth armor I normally ran the thing with two Lpulses or an LB10. I would like to run one with dual snubs sometime though, that sounds fun.

It doesn't matter, in the end the 3M is one of the weakest Cicadas, it simply doesn't have good weapons and the equipment available are better off ignored.

Edited by Quicksilver Kalasa, 27 September 2017 - 12:37 PM.

[Rovertoo]

Quicksilver Kalasa, on 27 September 2017 - 12:36 PM, said:

I don't really care about "weak" locations when shooting targets like Cicadas because they don't have that much armor and generally aiming for the nose gets good results regardless (it has bad hitboxes, so you already have good chances of hitting a weak section by aiming for the CT or legs). Granted I'm used to piloting assaults which can burn through Cicadas who think they are sneaky using it and standing still. The lack of a doritio is protection, but as you mention, you can't really do much with it on because of the heat generated which basically makes it a net loss because you can't sustain damage to really make the most of that lack of dorito.


It doesn't matter, in the end the 3M is one of the weakest Cicadas, it simply doesn't have good weapons and the equipment available are better off ignored.

Yeah thats probably true, I cant list the times I wish it had I jump jets. Still, I originally got it for ECM and it remains my only ECM mech, (except my clan mechs) so by golly am I gonna use it for that role, even if it gets me killed over and over again.

[Brain Cancer]

Quote

Engine size isn't a huge factor for the cicada, considering most of the builds use XL280s and 300s anway, with 340 330 hitting the sweetspot for the 2A and its 6 (ER)medium laser build

I do find it kinda hilarious that the Cicada, a 40 tonner with it's engine ramped up to the point of overdoing it stock, has less max engine than the Assassin, which although fast isn't quite as fast to begin with.

At least give it a 375 for the sake of ludicrous speed. But honestly, it's an older chassis and suffers from being "balanced" into mediocrity at this point.

[Bombast]

Snazzy Dragon, on 27 September 2017 - 10:12 AM, said:

Engine size isn't a huge factor for the cicada, considering most of the builds use XL280s and 300s anway, with 340 330 hitting the sweetspot for the 2A and its 6 (ER)medium laser build

I'm more concerned about those agility values

I'm not saying bumping the engine cap would fix it, but 'normalizing' it to the modern MWO standards would, at least it seems to me, be the obvious first step to 'fixing' the chassis.

Also it really bugs me. Way more than it should, especially since I don't even run the damn thing.

[zzoxx]

For me the pre- skilltree 2B with 5 mpl was my absolute favorite. But the loss of quirks really hurt it a lot. I have 829 matches under the belt with it. And it was pretty strong i think. Speed and mobility for Cicadas in general is still fine with me around xl280 - xl300 around 130 kph and i don't even consider the larger engine for the 2A as a "must have". Standing still sure is always a bad idea in CDAs. The 3M is still fun with 2 LPL, nothing else (like UAC5 and Meds) worked for me in the long term. Maybe the Assassin and even Viper pretty much outclassed it. Whatever. I will complete my 1000 matches with the 2B for nostalgia reasons, no matter what.

Edited by zzoxx, 27 September 2017 - 01:48 PM.