6
I have 4 major builds i run on it as of this moment, plus 2 joke builds that actually work insanely well on certain maps and situations but make little sense in practice...
1) 1ERLL, 6ERML, 53 alfa strike, ~4.8 sustained DPS
2) 1HLL, 6ERML, 60 alfa, ~4.8 DPS
3) 1GR, 5ERML, 50 alfa, ~6.2 DPS
4) 1GR, 1HLL, 4ERML, 61 alfa, ~5.7DPS
5) 2HLL, 6ERML, 78 alfa, ~4.3DPS
6) 1GR, 1HLL, 4HML, 73 alfa, ~5.9DPS
I would say that based on my experiences, build 2 and 4 are the most consistent (these are my QP builds). The general idea is to have enough alfa strike to outtrade most things at medium ranges, while also having enough DPS behind it to actually work acceptably in a push. Thing is, with high alfa strike (relatively speaking at least), you only need ~2 good shots on target to remove a ST (120 damage is enough to ST almost every heavy and under with good aim, and even some of the lighter assaults). Since you run hot, it requires alot of patience to play this style of build, but it allows you to use the time the enemy shields to cool down instead of spamming at their shield arms or such since you cant afford to not be firing in a DPS build. If you time your shots well, most of the damage will hit its mark, and should be around 90% effective damage (you wont ever hit 100%, but you can get close to it if you shoot at the right time and at the right mech).
Builds 1 and 3 are my FW builds which i use when the team is going to do a aggressive strat but doesnt want true brawlers (obviously if everyone wants to brawl ill take SRM boat or something similar). These are alot less lethal with trading, but i gain the ability to fire almost non-stop on most maps (4+ alfa strikes and even when im redlining i dont need to wait long to fire off another), and still do acceptable alfa strike so im not going to loose every single trade (ECM is nice for this too since you dont always attract so much attention when exposing). Not as powerful in QP though, since the lack of alfa strike really hurts your overall effectiveness when you have much less opportunities to be engaged (in FW ive had games where i can fire upwards of a minute straight at targets, in QP its usually 1-2 good shots then i need to move on or enemy dies/hides).
Build 5, or as i like to call it, "aids-vomit", is about teh maximum alfa strike you can stick on a HBR without cooking yourself on the first shot. It has no sustained DPS to speak of, and will bring you from 0 to over 80% heat on 1 shot, but its got the ability to decimate components at mid ranges. Build 6 is also a joke, but its about the maximum alkfa strike you can pull off on the mech without completely killing sustained DPS, with the obvious downside of terrible range. That said, on maps like crimson and mining, it is actually superior to build 4 since it has more alfa strike, AND more sustained DPS not to mention the weapons sync a tad better (reload on the HML and HLL is closer then the ERML and HLL). Really, if it wasnt for the obvious range limitation, this is the only HBR build id consider running (2 100% shots will remove the ST on any mech, and you can fire twice on any map without melting
).All in all, to answer your question, ive found that laser/gauss vomit is the more reliable performing choice right now, specifically heavys with ~60 or so alfa strike. Sustained DPS is also great to have, and you want to have between 5 and 6 so that you arent screwed over in a push. 4.8 is acceptable but it gets hot really fast on maps like terra, tourmaline, and worst of all the FW map with the bright blue star above it (not sure if psychological, but that map feels like its the hottest of every map in game). 6 is still better since it lets you sustain combat alot more effectively.
Edited by panzer1b, 03 October 2017 - 07:49 PM.
