50 replies to this topic

[Christophe Ivanov]

I discovered I could mount a Heavy Gauss on one. If your nuts enough, try that.

[Ruccus]

Christophe Ivanov, on 18 October 2018 - 04:53 AM, said:

I discovered I could mount a Heavy Gauss on one. If your nuts enough, try that.

Yes, it's good at running a Heavy Gauss. You can squeeze a Heavy Gauss in a Bushwacker but the extra 5 tons the Champion has along with its ballistic cooldown quirks makes it an even better option. A Heavy Gauss and 4 to 5 medium laser build can be run on every Champion except the hero.

[Bud Crue]

The Invictus or at least its potential load out, looks like the Quickdraw 4H I’ve always wanted. A fast 60 toner with 4 SRMS and 2E that is jump capable. Yeah, when it is available on its own, I know I will be buying it.

[caseysrevenge]

Armour is not good get quickly killed off by CT shots.Take my dragon it is has a huge CT but is far out better then this mech .I'm dissapointed by this mech ,has been a waste of money.

Edited by ceesje, 19 October 2018 - 05:54 AM.

[Nightbird]

I asked a few people about the mech and faced it myself a few times, it apparently rolls over and dies easily... far more so than the dragon and carries less firepower than the rifleman.

[Ruccus]

ceesje, on 19 October 2018 - 05:49 AM, said:

Armour is not good get quickly killed off by CT shots.Take my dragon it is has a huge CT but is far out better then this mech .I'm dissapointed by this mech ,has been a waste of money.

What kind of builds are you using? The Champion is good at spreading damage through torso twisting but if you're using long duration burn weapons or DPS weapons that need constant face time you might be giving the enemy too clear a shot at your CT.

Nightbird, on 19 October 2018 - 06:28 AM, said:

I asked a few people about the mech and faced it myself a few times, it apparently rolls over and dies easily... far more so than the dragon and carries less firepower than the rifleman.

I don't have a Dragon so I wouldn't know about its durability (and just judging by the quirks the Dragon has even more CT armour than the Champion to go through), but the Champion can carry many of the same builds as the Rifleman.

The only thing it doesn't do as well as the Rifleman is a pair of bigger ballistics (AC10s, LB10Xes, RAC5s) due to needing a standard engine or being unable to fit them at all. The Champion is an excellent AC20 or Heavy Gauss platform. The Champion also does big MRM launchers (MRM40 or dual MRM30s) well, something the Rifleman can't do.

[caseysrevenge]

I changed the builds the thing is builds and maps , as we all know take a long range build and you get a brawler map , and visa versa.What is so difficult to make it so that you have 3 the same mechs one dakka the other laser vomit and a longrange one but you can choose between them depending the map.Now i mostly have the wrong mech in the wrong map.For the champion results in a quick dead.When i get the right map damage output is 400 to 600 , a so so map 200 - 300 and a totally wrong map 85 - 155.
As i stated with a rifleman our dragon i make the same builds as on the champion but thet are far out better even on a totally wrong map.

[Throbbinwood]

I'm working long shifts and won't be able to play until next week however have been theorycrafting some builds on smurfys. I'm liking what I'm coming up with, it looks like this is gonna be a fun mech.

[Zookeeper Dan]

Only played a couple games so far. It does seem squishy if you aren't able to twist damage away. However it does have good maneuverability so you can get in and out easily. I was also surprised by how far you can twist. I wasn't paying attention and got hung up on a wall because it took longer than I thought to allign my movement with my view.

Light 300 seems to be the engine of choice.

N1 tried LB10 and SRMs with lasers, but it was too squishy when brawling. I'll try out two UAC5s tonight.
N2 looks like it really wants an MRM40 and MLs.
N3 went laser vomet. 3 LPL 2ML. Works fantastic especially with hill humping. If you can seeit you can shoot it

[Lightfoot]

Arms absorb damage that would otherwise miss the mech and yet get no armor buff to the arms to counter this effect. Consequently the arms explode the first time you turn sideways sometimes. Don't use them for weapons, unless it's ER Smalls or something.

Unless you go XL your load-out will cap at about 24 ton unless you wan't to go really slow, which in a mech that is this fragile, is a bad idea. It does moderately well with XL Engines, better than the Orion. It reminds me of the Shadow Cat for durability, but of course carries more.

Best role is likely Assault mech escort as it can deal with harassers adequately and at the same time add some punch to whatever the Assault's target is. Just be sure they are shooting at the Assault before you pop out.

[FLG 01]

ceesje, on 19 October 2018 - 12:15 PM, said:

As i stated with a rifleman our dragon i make the same builds as on the champion but thet are far out better even on a totally wrong map.

I like all three Mechs but I prefer the Champion. The Dragon has greater survivability but much worse hardpoints, limiting its offensive capababilities severely. The Rifleman has better hardpoints but fails in terms of survivability, and cannot mount missiles or a 300+ engine.

Rifleman vs Champion is basically a matter of philosophy and playstyle because they are very different Mechs. Being a fan of the cavalry playstyle, I am more comfortable with the Champion. And the Dragon... that one has no use for me anymore.

[MischiefSC]

Like a dragon with better hitboxes and high mounts.

Which is to say, a solid performer. When it's out for cbills it'll be a standard for the IS.

[Nightbird]

MischiefSC, on 20 October 2018 - 08:20 AM, said:

Like a dragon with better hitboxes and high mounts.

Which is to say, a solid performer. When it's out for cbills it'll be a standard for the IS.

So it's good enough to replace the 12 crab rush? That's interesting, I look forward to it!

[MischiefSC]

Nightbird, on 20 October 2018 - 09:05 AM, said:

So it's good enough to replace the 12 crab rush? That's interesting, I look forward to it!

The 12 Crab or 12 Bushie rush is always a niche. The Champion can fill the Crab or Bushies role, speed and performance - but with high mounts and a better profile for a loss of like 2 KPH.

I expect it to be in 1 or 2 slots in almost every IS dropdeck.

It's like a Roughneck if all the arm mounts were on the shoulder.

[Lightfoot]

You can brawl with a Bushwhacker or Crab and walk away. You can't with a Champion usually. It's a fragile mech for a heavy mech. Reminds me of piloting a Shadow Cat. If you compare it to an Ebon Jaguar or Rifleman even the Champion can't compete. You are really forced to take a long range or escort role. The only advantages are speed and it's agile.

[Anastasius Foht]

Champion is great if you liek to lose hands before torso

[Ruccus]

Lightfoot, on 21 October 2018 - 08:36 AM, said:

You can brawl with a Bushwhacker or Crab and walk away. You can't with a Champion usually. It's a fragile mech for a heavy mech. Reminds me of piloting a Shadow Cat. If you compare it to an Ebon Jaguar or Rifleman even the Champion can't compete. You are really forced to take a long range or escort role. The only advantages are speed and it's agile.

I disagree, though I should note the 1N I'm using the majority of the time now has many of the armour nodes. I'm liking the Champion as a Heavy Gauss or AC20 mech with medium lasers for the secondary weapons.

I found that I have to be vigilant on the torso twisting though; for my first several games I was doing excellent in the mechs then I got some sub-par games, but thinking back to those games I decided that I'd become lax on my torso twisting. I'd stare too long at an opponent for the perfect shot, walked too far out in the open, and wouldn't face away while the weapons recycled.

I corrected my bad habits and have been back to average to good games.

[Dogstar]

Saw on yesterday, ugly, looks comical, arms are HUGE, I'd be embarrassed to buy it. Pilot tried to overheat and suicide when he was the last mech standing.

Edited by Dogstar, 21 October 2018 - 11:34 PM.

[Poggle]

I really struggled with this Mech first. Picked up a 3N but finally tonight found a build that is manouverable and plays well for me with sustained firepower.

LBX 20 and 4 x Med Pulse Lazors.

Its got a 245 engine, plenty of heat sinks so you can blat your life away so no mega alpha but a nibbler.... I will see how it goes and consider lowering the engine if needs be for more lazors but at the mo the last game I had was the most satisfying in terms of sustained firepower.

Edited by Poggle, 27 May 2019 - 01:49 PM.

[thievingmagpi]

I've actually been enjoying the 4ac2 champ more than I thought I would. I don't absolutely hate Skilling it up