Jump to content

Clan Mech Experts


42 replies to this topic

#21 Maddermax

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Knight Errant
  • Knight Errant
  • 393 posts

Posted 25 April 2019 - 03:16 PM

There are some clan mechs on sale at the moment for half price Cbills to consider. The Stormcrow is definitely worthy if you have a few extra Cbills - it’s a solid Clan medium that can run Pulse lasers, SRMs or Streaks very well, and one of the best options for scouting in my opinion, if you want to dip into faction play later on. The good part is that because it’s on 50% off, you can buy a mech, strip it of any weapons and omnipods you want to use, and sell the rest back at no loss, meaning you can essentially get half price omnipods, which is nice.

The rest are mostly decent mechs, but might not be as easy to play. The Kitfox is a squishy support light, but can be a lot of fun. The Summoner is a decent pop tart heavy. I would avoid the Direwolf, Nova and adder completely though, they are not great starter mechs.

Edited by Maddermax, 25 April 2019 - 03:19 PM.


#22 BrunoSSace

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Guide
  • The Guide
  • 1,032 posts
  • Twitch: Link
  • LocationAustralia

Posted 25 April 2019 - 03:40 PM

Grab the Huntsman. Awesome little medium. Start small than go big later. Gl.

#23 BigFatGator

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Shredder
  • 265 posts

Posted 25 April 2019 - 03:52 PM

HBR is the clan mech I pilot when I'm too drunk to play well in any other mech. Not overpowered but certainly easy to play and not be a detriment to you team even if you're not 100% or that good to begin with.

ONIIC is all brawl/close range. If you like that sort of thing, it's a great mech. Ballistics + SRM's for facesmash but 75-82KPH fast.
Personally I love it, but you have to get used to picking your spot and time to engage. Need patience and situation awareness to use to full extent.

#24 RickySpanish

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Veteran Founder
  • Veteran Founder
  • 3,510 posts
  • LocationWubbing your comrades

Posted 25 April 2019 - 05:29 PM

Hellbringer is effective, but perhaps not exciting. The reason is that it is a Clan Omnimech with locked internals, a lot of potentially free tonnage is locked down. This and its hardpoints more or less force it to use laser weapons, as you can get plenty of bang for your bug for fewer tons of space. Thankfully, the Hellbringer is excellent at boating lasers.

I would also recommend a look at the Vapor Eagle when it releases for c-bills. It is a Clan Battlemech at the 55 ton medium weight limit with plenty of hardpoints. This means it can carry lots of big guns, as you are free to play with the engine and internals. For example, the VGL 1 runs 2 gauss, 3 er medium lasers at about 80kph. The VGL 2 does the same speed, but with 5 uac 2s. Meanwhile the VGL A can run an LB20-X and 4 SRM 6s for about 75 kph, making it excellent for FP Scouting.

#25 FupDup

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Ace Of Spades
  • Ace Of Spades
  • 26,888 posts
  • LocationThe Keeper of Memes

Posted 25 April 2019 - 05:31 PM

View PostRickySpanish, on 25 April 2019 - 05:29 PM, said:

Hellbringer is effective, but perhaps not exciting. The reason is that it is a Clan Omnimech with locked internals, a lot of potentially free tonnage is locked down. This and its hardpoints more or less force it to use laser weapons, as you can get plenty of bang for your bug for fewer tons of space. Thankfully, the Hellbringer is excellent at boating lasers.

In the case of the HBR the excessive free slots from not having Endo or FF is actually pretty helpful because it lets you stuff everything in your torso and legs and ignore the arms.

#26 TELEFORCE

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Ardent
  • The Ardent
  • 1,549 posts

Posted 25 April 2019 - 05:49 PM

I'm a huge fan of the Stormcrow. It's fast, hits hard, and is pretty well-armored. It will give assault 'mechs a hard time. And it's on sale right now!

#27 FRAGTAST1C

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Fighter
  • The Fighter
  • 2,869 posts
  • LocationIndia

Posted 25 April 2019 - 06:57 PM

I have the Hellbringer, Orion IIC A (C), Mad Dog Revenant, Night Gyr Jade Kite and Sun Spider Vanguard as clan heavy mechs.

Here are my loadouts...

Hellbringer :- ECM (Very Improtant), 2 Heavy Large Lasers, 4 ERML and all the DHS it can fit. Early on, without the skills, it can be difficult to handle but consumables will help a lot. Once you start getting the heat management skills, it'll be extremely good. You can be very active and constatly shoot enemies and alpha strike when required. It's quite fast and you can reposition very easily. ECM makes you an uninteresting target most of the time.

Orion IIC A (C) :- LBX 20, 4 SRM 6+A. Pure brawling power. Bad hitboxes means you'll be stripped of your firepower (the missiles side) very easily if you don't stay mobile and twist efficiently. Skilling-wise, go for torso speed and speed tweak (mostly left side of the tree) along with the Radar Deprivation first. You'll be running at over 83kph so you'll be hard to get focussed on. Just DON'T GO head-on into the firing line. You won't survive. You can even do ATMs with an UAC 10 or something to stay at 400m away if you want.

MAD Dog :- This is the first ever mech that I piloted. You can use it as an LRM boat but also be very mobile such that you can get your own locks and be extremely efficient in dealing damage while staying out of the enemy firing line. You can flank easily with this and launch your LRMs. Get a Tag (very important) and shoot with direct LOS. You can ditch the LRMs and do full splat build with SRMs if you want or change the omnipods and do laser vomit or some sort of dakka builds.

Night Jyr Jade Kite :- I went with the loadout suggested by denAirwalkerrr's list of going full dakka on a different model. I used an ECM, 3 UAC 5s and an UAC 10. It is slow, kind of sluggish and behaves like a turret. But it's got JJs. So, use it wisely and make double use of your ECM. On its own, it'll get vaporised quickly. So, stay with the assaults, use your JJs to get into positions where you can unload your dakka while the focus is not on your and quickly escape when you come under fire.

Sun Spider Vanguard :- I again went with the loadout suggested by denAirwalkerrr. I'm using 2 UAC 10s and an ERPPC. It is mobile enough to get into positions to flank the enemies. But it is brittle and has no JJs. You can use an ECM and try a different build if you want. I'm currently at 63/91 skill points used and I'm having fun with the mech. You just need to remember to not brawl unless your team has the upper hand. Always deal your full compliment of damage but from the second line and flank the enemies as much as possible. NASCAR ruins your day in this mech though. So, keep one eye on the minimap all the time.

So, those are the heavy mechs that I can talk about with personal experience. I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the Vapor Eagle for C-bills and MC so that I can have a clan Medium mech (I should've just pre-ordered them but I didn't and I'm regretting it).

#28 RickySpanish

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Veteran Founder
  • Veteran Founder
  • 3,510 posts
  • LocationWubbing your comrades

Posted 25 April 2019 - 08:21 PM

View PostFRAGTAST1C, on 25 April 2019 - 06:57 PM, said:

...Helpful tips...

So, those are the heavy mechs that I can talk about with personal experience. I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the Vapor Eagle for C-bills and MC so that I can have a clan Medium mech (I should've just pre-ordered them but I didn't and I'm regretting it).


Well you can still buy em, but you did save yourself a bunch of money and they are out soon. As a clan medium it really is a good 'Mech. It took me ages to figure it out, because it epitomises the clan play style of choosing when to go all in so very well, but it is now my favourite 'Mech hands down. There are some great builds up on Grimmechs, although I'd give ATMs a miss for now. Oh also, the A is a Scouting monster. Dear God I played a few games now and a couple I swear I could have deleted the IS chumps single handidly.

#29 Ilfi

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 576 posts

Posted 25 April 2019 - 08:24 PM

Lots of good recommendations in the thread. Going to +1 the Huntsman as your first go-to since it can do everything at a decent level, although yes the most effective out of the bunch is the laser vomit Hellbringer.

#30 Cazador88

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • The Mercenary
  • The Mercenary
  • 125 posts
  • LocationHungary

Posted 25 April 2019 - 09:53 PM

I have the Vapor Eagle standard pack and can say they are good. They can run some loadouts that are found on heavy class mechs. Like 3xatm12, 2xuac10 and 1xerppc, or even lbx20 with srms and so on. Anyone who doesn't have a few already should consider picking up a bunch when they are available for cbills until then though either go for the Huntsman, Hunchback IIC or the Arctic Wolf if your looking for Clan mediums.

#31 Ilfi

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 576 posts

Posted 25 April 2019 - 10:00 PM

Vapor Eagle C-Bill patch will be the biggest increment in openly available Power Creep since either the Piranha or the Civil War update. Between 3x ATM 12, LBX20 + 4 ASRM6, Gauss Vomit and then some, the thing is the perfect blend of mobility, effective tonnage and geometry. The damn thing runs loadouts equivalent to most Clan Heavies.

Only a couple more weeks to go...

#32 FRAGTAST1C

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Fighter
  • The Fighter
  • 2,869 posts
  • LocationIndia

Posted 25 April 2019 - 10:36 PM

View PostRickySpanish, on 25 April 2019 - 08:21 PM, said:

Well you can still buy em, but you did save yourself a bunch of money and they are out soon. As a clan medium it really is a good 'Mech. It took me ages to figure it out, because it epitomises the clan play style of choosing when to go all in so very well, but it is now my favourite 'Mech hands down. There are some great builds up on Grimmechs, although I'd give ATMs a miss for now. Oh also, the A is a Scouting monster. Dear God I played a few games now and a couple I swear I could have deleted the IS chumps single handidly.


Yeah, I was theory crafting on Mechdb a couple of weeks ago and this one can carry some of the same loadouts as my Orion IIC or do lots of Gauss or ERPPC and can even do full dakka builds at 55 tons while having great mobility, hitboxes and JJs. Besides, I really like the look. I don't know if some still remember the old Unreal Tournament characters but there are some there that are AI automatons and looked really intriguing and I'd always recruit some of them in single player career mode there. I have a soft spot for the Veagle 'cause of that as well Posted Image

#33 Prototelis

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Shredder
  • Shredder
  • 4,789 posts

Posted 25 April 2019 - 10:52 PM

Honestly, I'd go with the ebon jag over the HBR.

That ECM can make you awfully lazy and reinforce some bad habits.

The HBR is objectively better in many ways tho

#34 Ilfi

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 576 posts

Posted 25 April 2019 - 11:49 PM

View PostPrototelis, on 25 April 2019 - 10:52 PM, said:

Honestly, I'd go with the ebon jag over the HBR.
I agree only because of the new player slant. EBJ does multiple builds well and allows for experimentation (Dakka, Gauss Vom, Laser Vom, Wubs, -- remember wubs? I 'member -- twin ATM12 kitchen sink setups... et al); it's just that HBR is THE BEST at what it does, unequivocally.

#35 Telemachus -Salt Wife Salt Life-

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Deadly
  • The Deadly
  • 364 posts
  • LocationTerra

Posted 25 April 2019 - 11:56 PM

Hellbringer

#36 RickySpanish

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Veteran Founder
  • Veteran Founder
  • 3,510 posts
  • LocationWubbing your comrades

Posted 26 April 2019 - 04:12 AM

View PostFRAGTAST1C, on 25 April 2019 - 10:36 PM, said:


Yeah, I was theory crafting on Mechdb a couple of weeks ago and this one can carry some of the same loadouts as my Orion IIC or do lots of Gauss or ERPPC and can even do full dakka builds at 55 tons while having great mobility, hitboxes and JJs. Besides, I really like the look. I don't know if some still remember the old Unreal Tournament characters but there are some there that are AI automatons and looked really intriguing and I'd always recruit some of them in single player career mode there. I have a soft spot for the Veagle 'cause of that as well Posted Image


Oh man I remember when UT and Quake 3 came out. Best. Christmas. Ever!

#37 Alienized

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • Rage
  • Rage
  • 3,781 posts
  • LocationGermany

Posted 26 April 2019 - 07:05 AM

all hail the ER PPC myst lynx Posted Image Posted Image Posted Image

#38 SlippnGriff

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • CS 2019 Gold Champ
  • CS 2019 Gold Champ
  • 220 posts
  • LocationSpud farm

Posted 26 April 2019 - 07:36 AM

Black lanner is garbage. Sunspider is ok but there’s better i think

Try Hellbringer with 2HLL and 4erML + ecm (get as many heat sinks in there as you can)
Night gyr can do 6 uac2, gauss lasers, gauss ppc
If you want assault, MKII-B 2 uac10 + 2 uac5 (i think i use a 335xl engine for higher ammo)

Sunspider can do high mounted 3ppc but if you dont have one of the hero’s (for quirked 2 uac10 1ppc) then it aint worth too much

#39 panzer1b

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 703 posts

Posted 26 April 2019 - 08:14 AM

If you like heavys, the hellbringer is by a long shot the best clam heavy in the game right now because it fits perfectly into the laser vomit meta and carries ECM which is a very very useful feature in QP (soft counter to LRM/ATM at range, lets you engage without drawing attention, lets you jam ECM on enemy team without a useless probe, ect). As for loadouts, your best bet is the tried and proven 6 lasers in the top mounts option, with the most common being 4ERML+2ERLL/HLL depending on whether you want range utility and cooldown sync or maximum single exposure damage with slightly better DPS (and all that with 25-26 total DHS so you have the sustained DPS of many assaults). You can also run something like 6ERML+1LPL (which i personally like better then the other 2 as you get better sustained DPS and more alfa then the ERLL model). Then if you want to add some challenge to the mech you can always use the omniset pods on the prime variant (get that 1 as it is the only one with useful set-8 pods) to run either gauss+2HLL/ERLL+1ERML (what i like to run when i want to still carry games but actually have a challenge over pure lasers) or some dakka setup like 2UAC10+3ERSL which is not even close to HBR meta but can still do alot of damage if you play it correctly.

If you want something else, you can try the ebon which is currently the top clam heavy in the alfa strike department as it can carry 2LPL+6ERML with enough DHS to fire it twice on cold maps skilled up. It does have bad hitboxes (prepare to get CT cored alot in it), but the raw damage coming out of it is just absurd especially when you consider that it goes 81kph unlike all the IS heavys which rarely exceed 70. Its a bit better at dakka (can actually do triple UAC5s comfortably with backup lasers), but in general its convergence sucks so its extremely hard to use dakka loadouts on anything moving sideways at a distance (same issue MCII-B has, but that 1 has so much firepower that a single arm hitting you is still going to hurt).

Another heavy that i personally really like is the linebacker, but it takes a whole different playstyle then what ud expect out of a heavy. It has mobility superior to many mediums, and likewise carries rather low tonnage so you need to build it around shorter range weapons (forget dual HLL, ive seen those builds and they suck cause no DPS and still not enough alfa strike to 1 shot anything). If you like MPLs on clam side, its the best mech to put 6MPLs on by a long shot (crow can do it but is way too squish to survive any damage), and can even play some somewhat wimpier vomit setups like 1HLL+5ERML (damage isnt great, but if you really need range its playable). Finally, you can try SRMs as well which is harder to play (and arguably way less deadly then 6MPLs at brawl range), but its a change of pace if you get bored of lasers.

next decent mech is the sunspider. The free christmas hero can run 2 UAC10s and a PPC to devastating effect (best clam heavys for dakka behind the night gyr), and the frees can run LRM-80 or ATM-36 comfortably with ECM and enough ammo to last any game that you dont have to singlehandedly take down 9 mechs in. Really the only thing it flat out cannot do is heavy ballistics (most you can do is 2 UAC5s and 1 UAC10 but even that is low on ammo), and laser vomit (the other hero can sorta, but 5 hardpoints really doesnt cut it for laser, you need at least 6 to get anything viable out of it).

The last good one is the night gyr. It can run gauss vomit and dakka, with the latter being absolutely devastating to anyone dumb enough to try and facetank you directly. Put 2xUAC10+UAC5 on it and go ham, abusing the JJs as much as possible (it somewhat compensates for the atrocious mobility the mech normally gets). That said, if you dont plan to bring heavy ballistics on it, it really isnt a very good mech cause its just too slow to get out of a bad spot unless you put so many guns on it to remove anyone who tries to push you headon.

now the rest are not bad, but arent really all that reccomended either from my experience.

The maddog is ok if you really want missiles, but pales in comparison to the ECM+LRM-80 sunspider (which is imo the ONLY clam mech that you should run a LRM-80 on, its fast enough to relocate, it has ECM, and its not completely squish).

The summoner is very good at the top levels of play (on long range maps at least) with its dual ERPPC, but it has no DPS for QP, and is generally stupidly niche in the 1st place (and if you want to brawl, there are better things out there then the SRM summoner). Ive managed to get some UAC5+UAC10 to work cause of god tier quirks, but its just so short on ammo (but until it runs dry you have like almost no jams and like 30% crazy cooldown on those UACs).

hellfire suffers from a wide chassis with both convergence issues (if you run the dual ballistics hero) and generally bad hitboxes. You really need the hero to get any mileage out of it though since the standard models just dont have the ballistic hardpoints (and if you want to laser vomit on it get a hellbringer).

novacat has some of the worst hitboxes in game (for clam heavys), extremely wide so ballistics or PCs have major convergence issues, and just way too easy to core out before it does any major damage. Only upside is the ability to bring ungodly amounts of LRMs on a clam heavy with the heatsinks and ammo to sustain them, but whether a LRM-90 is worth it above a LRM-80 sunspider with ECM and useful hitboxes is up to you to decide.

orion-2c used to be the best clam brawler by a long shot, but is currently sorta beaten at that role by the linebacker which is faster, tankier, and can carry a much more effective and versatile 6MPL setup over the orion's 1 trick LBX20+SRM-24. Dont get me wrong, it can devastate a team if you manage to get a good position and dont get focused down instantly, but the inability to do squat past 300m and the high spread of its weapons (forcing you to engage at sub 100m for optimal effect) limit its effectiveness n maps that arent super brawl friendly (and thats over 50% of maps in current rotation).

And finally the iconic timberwolf. It used to be the flat out best heavy on clam side (and FP was more or less filled with these things back in the day), but the agility nerfs and releases of some other mechs have more or less left this thing in the dust. That said, you can still run some devastating builds on it (best for me is 2LPL+5ERML), and it has JJs which make it better then the ebon on certain maps, but that one minor benefit just doesnt outweigh the fact that the mech gets cored out instantly by anyone with good aim (you cant entirely shield the CT either as it sticks out to the side and if you overtwist your back gets shot off). Ive had quite a few carry games in mine even recently, but unless you love it looks or want to play it for nostalgia, you are better off in a ebon or hellbringer which can both run superior laser vomit to the timber without the inherent weaknesses of the timber.

So yeah, tahts my rundown of clam heavys. Obviously some of them might appeal more to certain people (like the orion-2c which im not that big on but is still a very good brawler is thats your thing), but overall if i had to reccomend a single clam heavy to get, its the hellbringer because it fits the QP meta perfectly, and because of omnipods it will still give you a taste of other playstyles if you really want it to (not optimal, but it can run dakka, gauss vomit and even missiles if you drop ECM as non heros give you 3 hardpoints, hero gives you additional 2 in arm which is actually quite solid for missile boating, 4 with ECM).

#40 VonBruinwald

    Member

  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • The Undisputed
  • The Undisputed
  • 3,460 posts
  • LocationRandis IV

Posted 26 April 2019 - 08:30 AM

View Postpanzer1b, on 26 April 2019 - 08:14 AM, said:

The maddog is ok if you really want missiles


You're forgetting dual LBX-20s... not a lot of clan can.





1 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users