10 replies to this topic

[tutzdes]

Hello, fellow mechwarriors!

After spending some time playing assaults, heavies, mediums and lights I found myself gravitating towards fast mechs, that are still somewhat durable and still offer a decent firepower.

From this category of mechs I already own Shadow Cat (love it), Assassin ASN-23 (very good, but less versatile), Wolfhound WLF-GR (crazy powerful, not much of the options are present here too), Raven RVN-3L (versatile but a bit big and squishy), Arctic Cheetah (crazy strong and so many build options available) and want more.

The one I'm currently wish to buy the most is the Osiris, which is not available for C-Bills yet. So I'm trying to figure out which mech to buy next. My current options are Cicada (I dig the look), Javelin, Wolverine, Uziel, Viper or another Assassin. I'm IS player, so the mechs listed are mostly IS.

So, which mechs of this type do you prefer? Chassis, variant? Like, can you list your top five chassis types with a couple of best variants each plus the explanations why do you like those and how do they fare compared to the other options?

Which ones to avoid? (Like "don't buy this mech, it pretty similar to your WLF-GR, but a lot weaker") Which tactics do you use? Play tips, hints, build suggestions would be nice.

I know there are a lot of people around who are very good at "being a royal pain in the back of the enemy, driving people mad and bailing when it's hot" playstyle and would really appreciate any input :}

[Leone]

Take what you can from that thread, and the linked one in there as well. It's more about movement and controlling the flow of the game, but that's still useful stuff.


1st place:LCT-3S I know it's not on your list, and to be fair, it's not really 'durable' if it takes hits. You're supposed ta avoid 'em. But it's bloody good fun. Fast vicious and short lived, I love me my locusts.

2nd:WVR-6K Fast brawler. Now for these mechs, the Wolverine's a mech of the line. It's durable an can get some decent firepower, but I'd not consider it speedy. Don't get me wrong, I love it, an I'll take mine scouting, but just know it's not what I'd call fast. You could throw hunchbacks n' Shadowhawks up here if this counted. I also love the WVR-6R Which is a faster rebuild of an older defense mech I made that had actually benefited from engine desync.

3rd: PXH-1B I love the phoenix hawk! I mean, in Battletech it's awesome! As much as I love it, and keep using it, this is the only build I can really love in MWO. And weirdly, It's like the only mech I've got that uses large lasers. It takes a bit of a different playstyle than I'm used to, but I do have fun with this one, but I cannt suggest the chassis for more'n nostalgia reasons. That said, I'd totally pay a 10% tonnage tax for a unique map entry animation.

4th:RGH-2A I love the roughneck, but most of my builds are a bit slower'n it seems you prefer. But this is a fairly decent fast brawler with tonnes of armour and a bit of damage. Note the speed. Might be a bit slow for you.

5th, and honourable mention:CDA-3M I'm not even sure if the ecm's worth it anymore, but I love the load out. I'm actually not a big fan of the cicada, but this one I can roll with. I just feel teh chassis as a whole doesn't have the armour or firepower I want. I'll either go bigger and meaner, or smaller an meaner with all the rest.

I don't really use vipers or uziels or javelins or assassins. Might grab a few javs and assassins now that my unit's IS for the nonce, but nothing solid I can say about em for now. And yes, I'm a terrible person for not including the urbie, but whilst it's durable, I don't really consider 'em fast for their weight class. They are a solid tanky little light though.

As for further tips and suggestions, I'd point you towards... Assaulting Thy Enemy the assault guide that's not just for assaults.

~Leone.

Edited by Leone, 01 March 2018 - 03:06 PM.

[Eisenhorne]

Of the ones you've listed, I like the Assassins the most. I've been using this one:

ASN-23 https://mwo.smurfy-n...f4eb680eabd08b4

and this one

ASN-21 https://mwo.smurfy-n...a73906a5ed21074

a lot. Great at killing things 1v1, but you need to be VERY careful about positioning. I generally try to hold in reserve or fight off light mechs harassing heavies or assaults, then at the end help clean up. Leads to me not doing much in the beginning of most fights.

[Exilyth]

The Cicada is a medium that wants to be a light mech: fast, but squishy.
The ECM variant is often played in a sniper role with 2x (ER-)PPCs, using speed to relocate, or as a harasser w/medium (pulse) lasers.
I'd say it's a (much) bigger locust: easier to hit but also hitting harder.
For more info see e.g. https://mwomercs.com...ly-not-a-light/


If 80-ish kph is fast enough for you, grab a bushwacker. It's nice and durable and can fullfill all your missile or dakka needs. Also good in FP. I'll just point you at the following thread for builds:
https://mwomercs.com...r-lover-builds/


Griffin 2N w/ECM, 4x ASRM6, Flamer (or ER Small) is good for scouting in FP, but if you can do without ECM, take a bushwacker instead. Typical splat build.


Urbanmech is just fun to play (if you replace the STD60 engine) - find your urbie enlightenment here:
https://mwomercs.com...3-urbie-builds/
Be warned though: the biggest strength of the urbie lies in being ignored. It's also a bit more on the slow side (80-90kph).


Honourable mention:
The crab is a nice little laser boat, but a bit boring because being a laser boat is all it can do.

Since OP asked about IS I won't go into clams.

Quote

Uziel, Viper

Viper is prone to loosing arms and Uziel has squishy side torsos. Just something to be aware of if you decide to go for thoose.

Now for the not so nice things...

Mechs to avoid:
ASN-DD (hero) suffers from a lack of hardpoints.
Panther: some people can make it work, but loosing the main gun arm hurts.

[GenghisJr]

Cicada 2A or JR7 F or K are the most fun mechs in the game...imho

[Yumoshiri]

tutzdes, on 01 March 2018 - 01:06 PM, said:

Hello, fellow mechwarriors!

After spending some time playing assaults, heavies, mediums and lights I found myself gravitating towards fast mechs, that are still somewhat durable and still offer a decent firepower.

From this category of mechs I already own Shadow Cat (love it), Assassin ASN-23 (very good, but less versatile), Wolfhound WLF-GR (crazy powerful, not much of the options are present here too), Raven RVN-3L (versatile but a bit big and squishy), Arctic Cheetah (crazy strong and so many build options available) and want more.

The one I'm currently wish to buy the most is the Osiris, which is not available for C-Bills yet. So I'm trying to figure out which mech to buy next. My current options are Cicada (I dig the look), Javelin, Wolverine, Uziel, Viper or another Assassin. I'm IS player, so the mechs listed are mostly IS.

So, which mechs of this type do you prefer? Chassis, variant? Like, can you list your top five chassis types with a couple of best variants each plus the explanations why do you like those and how do they fare compared to the other options?

Which ones to avoid? (Like "don't buy this mech, it pretty similar to your WLF-GR, but a lot weaker") Which tactics do you use? Play tips, hints, build suggestions would be nice.

I know there are a lot of people around who are very good at "being a royal pain in the back of the enemy, driving people mad and bailing when it's hot" playstyle and would really appreciate any input :}

Cicada (1) , Javelin (3),Viper (2) or another Assassin (4), Osiris (last)

Cicada is a great chassis. Truly great. Buy them all - they are worth it.
BOOMCADA - AC20 cicada for fun. Also works with Heavy Gauss.
boomboomcada - uac10 + 3x er small actually decent build
Zapcada - ECM + 3x Large Laser
Pingcada - Heavy PPC + light machine guns, also works a miracle with ERPPC and 140 kph.
Jumpcada - 4x MPL + 120 kph + jj
Mastercada - 5x MPL + 130 kph
Lordcada - 6x ERML + 140 kph
X4 - the one hero i don't have >.> i'd go with 2x srm 2 and 4 MPL

Treat your cicada like you treat a light mech. Don't face tank. Don't push in the assault. Always try to shoot them from second line, or in flanks or rear. With MPL's, you are also a perfect light hunter. Use your arms to shield. Be careful with your legs.

I put viper on 2 because it is underrated. Always considered the weaker cheetah - but this is not completely true. Yes it lacks ecm, yes it is less tanky. But your builds will be much cooler. The thing with vipers: keep the stock builds for set bonus.

Viper C: 4x ERML + 4x MG
Viper A: 4x MPL or 3x ERML + LPL or 2x HLL (strip armor from arms in all cases)
If you get Medusa, you can do some nice small laser vomit.

Play it like a cicada with jump jets: on the flanks. Avoid 1v1 fights, just shoot and run. The reason I like the viper so much might be because it feels like a clan cicada.

I put javelin above Assassin for the sole reason the javelin can almost mimic any build, but with better speed. It is less tanky, but has the advantage of going almost unnoticed in games. Javelins are true terror mechs. Run, pump some SRMs and vanish. Oh - usually you have to skip on jump jets.

Edit: Osiris stinks. Javelin can do any build (except machine gun mixes) while being much more survivable. For some reason the Osiris just easily loses a torso - and thus the game.

The only Osiris I'm marginally interested in, is the one that looks like the Raven Huggin. 4 x ballistic, 2 x missile + 2x laser.

Edited by Yumoshiri, 01 March 2018 - 04:56 PM.

[Mole]

If you are anything like me, then this right here is your baby: CRB-27B

I got my Ace of Spades in the above 'mech.

[tutzdes]

Thanks for lots of useful information, people!

I mentioned Wolverine here for MASC variant, since it can be agile. I actually tried Bushwackers already (I own BSW-P1 and BSW-X2), Urbies (UM-R63), Crabs (CRB-27B and CRB-27SL). I haven't listed those only since I consider those more of the tanks than agile harassers. Crabs can even be quite fast and mobile, but deceleration and acceleration is lacking. It should have some drawbacks after all to compensate for great hitboxes. Fun thing that you guessed a lot of my favourite mechs right :}

Leone, on 01 March 2018 - 01:22 PM, said:

3rd: PXH-1B I love the phoenix hawk!

4th:RGH-2A I love the roughneck, but most of my builds are a bit slower'n it seems you prefer. But this is a fairly decent fast brawler with tonnes of armour and a bit of damage. Note the speed. Might be a bit slow for you.

I'm looking forward to receive Roughneck and Sun Spider heroes, so I could actually try the former without needing to buy one.

I played trial Phoenix Hawk, it was fun, but had serious problems surviving the attention which it receives. It is big, known as squishy and people tend to focus it a lot. Shielding with arms helps a bit, but the weapons are arm mounted so it forces this big mech to be extra sneaky.

Yumoshiri, on 01 March 2018 - 04:52 PM, said:

Cicada (1) , Javelin (3),Viper (2) or another Assassin (4), Osiris (last)

Good amount of info here, thanks! Seems like Javelin is underrated mech and deserves more attention. It's sad that Osiris is not as good I hoped it to be (it looks so great:{ ). I remember my Raven being hard to keep alive compared to other lights and hitboxes of those two mechs bear a good deal of semblance, so I see there can hide a root of the problem.

Mole, on 01 March 2018 - 05:10 PM, said:

If you are anything like me, then this right here is your baby: CRB-27B

I got my Ace of Spades in the above 'mech.

I love Crabs, one of my best matches was 800+ dmg ones with 5 kills, 2 of which were solo kills with CRB-27SL.


It seems like my priority buys should be Cicada (I believe it is closest to the Shadow Cat of the mechs I own) and Javelin (Assassin/Wolfhound like).
I'm also considering pre-ordering Flea. MASC Locust should be fun, right?

[Zookeeper Dan]

For the mix of agility and survivability nothing will compare to your Assassin. I like the Darkdeath. 2 SRM6's and 2 MPL's works well.

I actually like the Phoenix Hawk. My favorite varient is the ROC with 2 MRM 10's, 3 MPL's, and 2 AMS. Second woul be the 1B with ECM.

Cicada is a good mech. I ran my X5 again for the first time in a while and it still held up.

I like my Hellspawn too. It has decent games.

[Daggett]

I love the CDA-2B with 5 Medium Pulses and 15-16 DHS because of it's 10% Heat Gen and 15% Cooldown quirks. Since it also got decent structure quirks you can make it sturdy enough to survive some unlucky big hits when amplifying these with the survival tree.

So for me it's a pretty good mix of speed, alpha-damage, sustain, range and durability (compared to lights). Just twist a lot when under fire to avoid your torsos getting focused.

Here is a nice example how it can perform it the right hands:


I was in that match too and while spectating i decided to give this variant a try and was not disappointed.

Edited by Daggett, 02 March 2018 - 03:39 PM.

[tutzdes]

Daggett, on 02 March 2018 - 03:35 PM, said:

I love the CDA-2B with 5 Medium Pulses and 15-16 DHS because of it's 10% Heat Gen and 15% Cooldown quirks. Since it also got decent structure quirks you can make it sturdy enough to survive some unlucky big hits when amplifying these with the survival tree.

So for me it's a pretty good mix of speed, alpha-damage, sustain, range and durability (compared to lights). Just twist a lot when under fire to avoid your torsos getting focused.

Wow! What a match! I bought me Cicada CDA-3M and after a couple of disastrous "whoops, dead" matches I started to feel more comfortable, surviving longer and being an asset to the team.

My current build is CDA-3M. I'll probably switch to a smaller LFE after maxing the mobility tree.

About Javelins: people recommended me the JVN-10P boating SRM2, I've seen one of these in action already and was quite impressed. So it will probably be my next buy.