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Ecm Mech For New Player?


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#1 ZO1

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Posted 25 September 2019 - 10:19 AM

Hi. I'm new here.
I've learned all terminology, watched a lot of vids, and got familiar with mwo smurphy awhile ago, but got a chance to actually play the game only just now. A bit overwhelmed by all the build possibilities, though.
I'm planning to play a random quickplay match or two a day, no group or faction matches. Thus can only count on myself, which sets the ECM-equippable mech criteria (probably?). Also, i don't like missiles, poptarting, or doing "tickle damage" with a scouting build. Here's some of my build ideas. Do feel free to respond with an advice.

https://mwo.smurfy-n...216f4395f5215ff

https://mwo.smurfy-n...e0b568ee1c07203

https://mwo.smurfy-n...b3234a944a790c7

https://mwo.smurfy-n...a9421f482d5c8ae

https://mwo.smurfy-n...a71b399c7bc54af

https://mwo.smurfy-n...3491355b865f9d4

https://mwo.smurfy-n...2dfe228f4eac208

So... which one's going to perform best? Or maybe i should forgo ECM entirely, and do something else? Must choose wisely, i'll have but so much cadet bonus c-bills.

#2 Tesunie

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Posted 25 September 2019 - 11:02 AM

View PostZO1, on 25 September 2019 - 10:19 AM, said:

So... which one's going to perform best? Or maybe i should forgo ECM entirely, and do something else? Must choose wisely, i'll have but so much cadet bonus c-bills.


ECM is not a big enough boon (anymore) in the game to warrant it's requirement to being taken, but it can help in a lot of ways still. So, if you don't want to take a mech that can equip ECM, you don't have to.

As for your builds you posted, I'll cover each individually:

1. That Warhammer Seems reasonably enough to me. Watch out for that heat though, the build looks like it might be a bit toasty. Shouldn't be uncontrollably warm, but might not be "new player friendly" levels of cool either. 2 pts of rear armor may be insufficient for a new player as well. As a new player, you are going to be more likely to have a larger lack of awareness of what is happening around you. Otherwise, seems like a solid build choice to myself.

2. Thanatos are known for being "rather poor mechs" for many people, impart because of their barn door size, huge side torsos that can easily be picked out and removed, etc. Your build may be warmer, and unless it's changed and I missed it (which is of course possible), 4 LPLs will produce Ghost Heat. If they do produce GH, be warned that you wont be able to alpha that without feeling it. If you are okay with these points, then it can be a reasonable mech. (Once more, back armor may be a little low for your skill level at the moment.)

3. Hellbringers are normally recommended for starter players interested in Clan tech, but I would not suggest yours. For one, big GH problems from having three HLLs. You want to set up your mech to alpha most times, so you can peek around a corner and unload, then slink back behind cover. Your build is already going to run like a furnace, you don't need the risk of additional heat buildup. Consider changing a HLL into something else, or change all the HLLs into two LPLs. LPLs have shorter burn times, so it will make it easier to land damage where you want, as well as typically share similar ranges to ERMLs. Use extra tonnage (if there is any) from the change for more heat sinks and to buff up the armor on the head and arm. The concept here is, shoot, twist to your side, and let them hit your arm. More armor on your arm means you can do this more often.

4. Bloodasps are good mechs from what I have observed. But your build suffers the same problems as the Hellbringer. UAC20s are also known for not being the most viable of ballistic weapons. However, it can pack a punch. I'd probably remove the TC, and replace it with ammo, but that's me. Also, this mech looks like it's going to be far to hot to consider using, unless you have some amazing heat management skills... Also same note as above for rear armor. If you were a more experienced player, I'd say 2 rear armor if you want would be fine. I normally run 4-6 rear armor myself on most mechs.

5. GH galore. Again. Weapons are of similar range brackets... but the GH will prevent you from effectively leveraging your weapons at those ranges. I would not recommend this build at all.

6. Stalkers are good solid mechs. Your build could work IF and ONLY IF you did very well spacing your LPL shots into two groups, shooting no more than 3 LPLs within a 0.5 second interval. I might also recommend reducing the arm armor levels ever so slightly (Stalkers are known for not getting hit in the arms much) and shifting a little more armor in the legs. Your legs look rather low on armor for my tastes, and if anyone brushes your leg with damage and see it change colors almost right away... They will target and take out your legs.

7. I do not know the Fafnar very well at all... Not a mech that interested me any. Your weapon loadout doesn't seem bad, though LBx10s or even UAC10s and AC2s might make for a more friendly combo. My biggest concern here is having so much of your ammo in a single arm. If you ever lost that armor before anything else, you could be hurting between possible ammo explosion to just a complete lack of remaining ammo counts. I'd also balance your ammo types between sections more, such as having an UAC5 and a RAC5 ammo in each leg, rather than dedicating a leg to just UAC5 and the other to RAC5.

My take on your Fafnar, which is based on my rather successful Nightstar build. It should serve similar roles with slightly less range, but still have that high DPS you might have been looking for. It's got two UAC10s and two AC2s, which I've found are good complimentary pairs. Try to trigger your shooting taps to match the pace of the AC2s, to prevent unneeded UAC10 jams. (Each time you press the trigger, rather the UAC shoots or not, it triggers a chance for the weapon to jam. This can help with the timing.) You should also find that this build can shoot for good lengths of time, so it's got some longevity. The MLs are more or less backup weapons for when you are out of ammo, UAC10s are jams, or you need that burst of damage to finish a target off.

With my above build, I'd set ballistic weapons to shoot per side, so one trigger would be your left mounted ballistics, the other would be the other side (if you use 3 or more trigger buttons). This can permit more of a continuous stream of fire to shake your opponent around, and keep the pressure on them. MLs would be all on a final trigger button. (Alternatively, if you have a more standard two button mouse and do not wish to configure another keyboard button to a third weapon group (I have left shift set up as a third fire group), you can also place all ballistics on one trigger pull and all lasers on another.)


Last few notes:
- It is normally not recommended to new players to play assault mechs, but at the same time I wont tell you that you can't.
- The shop can let you try out mechs and builds you don't own for free. So give any of your builds a try in the store before you purchase by going to the testing grounds first. THIS IS VERY HELPFUL.
- I have a matto. C-bills come and C-bills go. If you make a mistake on your first mech, there are always other mechs/builds to try. You'll earn enough C-bills eventually to get more stuff, so don't worry too heavily about making a mistake with C-bill related changes. (This of course presumes you play enough.)
- Never be afraid to ask for advise, but also don't be afriad to experiment and see things for yourself. It's a game. Explore and have fun.

#3 Tesunie

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Posted 25 September 2019 - 11:17 AM

Realized I didn't actually post which of your builds I'd have suggested, though I presume it is implied.

Out of all the builds you posted, your Warhammer is the best looking one on paper to me. Though, if you do like assaults, you may enjoy my concept for the Fafnar.

#4 Ruccus

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Posted 25 September 2019 - 12:51 PM

For a first mech with ECM, I'd suggest the Hellbringer HBR-Prime. For skill nodes remember to get the ECM nodes first, as ECM without the skill nodes is not very useful.

edit: I guess I should clarify; get a Hellbringer but your specific build isn't ideal. Run a standard laser vomit build that doesn't run into ghost heat issues.

edit 2: I remembered BlackhawkSC had a 'best first mech' video a while back:




Initial build was this: HBR-PRIME (he mentioned in the comments to the video to swap out the targeting computer for another heatsink because of a heatsink tweak that was done after the video was released) swapping over to this build after you'd unlocked enough skill nodes to make the build's heat scale tolerable.

Edited by Ruccus, 25 September 2019 - 01:20 PM.


#5 Sneaky Ohgoorchik

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Posted 25 September 2019 - 10:27 PM

The best way to use ecm at the moment is to poke enemy from afar (you are radar-invisible in this case), or to run in a small fast mech to the enemy lrm position to screw their targeting. I believe its the exact type of gameplay you don't like to get. Yet, if you eventually want to try it, you need something like long range medium with a set of decent high/assimetrical mounts. like 3erll cicada. Or a flea-like little dude for messing lrms. You may use any ecm energy light in this case.

In case of brawl/midrange situation, ecm actually quite a decent addition to any mech. But the problem is: its not addition, it usually has a price of some weapon mounts. Ecm mechs can't get a decent weapon loadout.It literally never worth it to try an ecm mech for a brawl.

Related to the builds you've posted: Warhammer is the best and a very solid choice in general. But its not the best Warhammer in general. Also I want to try Thanatos, but for some long range pocking with er lasers.

Edited by Sneaky Ohgoorchik, 25 September 2019 - 10:28 PM.


#6 Tesunie

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Posted 25 September 2019 - 10:48 PM

View PostSneaky Ohgoorchik, on 25 September 2019 - 10:27 PM, said:

The best way to use ecm at the moment is to poke enemy from afar (you are radar-invisible in this case), or to run in a small fast mech to the enemy lrm position to screw their targeting.


It's also good for delaying missile lock times, even if they can get a target lock on you. So it does help even closer up peek and shoot play. Add that with the ECM skills, which means you can get closer without detection (via sensors at least, eyeballs will still see you), and with Radar Deprivation skills (if you get all Radar Deprivation skills, enemies will drop locks as soon as you break line of sight, even if they have maxed Adv. Target Decay). Mix those two skill sets together, and it can make lock on missiles (with probably exclusion to SSRMs to some extent) basically something you don't need to worry about as long as you don't stand in the open without nearby cover.

As for ECM loadouts, there are plenty of ECM mechs that can get good loadouts. The Fafnir seems to be able to get a decent loadout. Hellbringers are known for being really good mechs, despite being an Omni with no Endo equipped. I know the Nightstar can get a rather decent loadout on it's ECM version, which is arguably better than my own Nightstar (which was a free Champion given from an event some time ago).

A lot of ECM, and any variant that has it, will depend upon what the individual player wishes to get out of it. There are cases and points for and against them, it's all a matter of if the pros outweigh the cons of those choices.

#7 Tesunie

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Posted 25 September 2019 - 10:56 PM

View PostSneaky Ohgoorchik, on 25 September 2019 - 10:27 PM, said:

Also I want to try Thanatos, but for some long range pocking with er lasers.


Though I don't believe the Thanatos is necessarily a "bad" mech, it's got a lot of drawbacks. Just be aware of the choice you are getting yourself into is all I'm saying. It's a large heavy mech, with a large torso and easy to pick out and target side torsos. It's not the easiest mechs to work with, and I found it hard to get a working build on the one I selected. Most people do a Gauss or H. Gauss stealth version, which can do decent.

I bought the all missile one, with the intention of using MRMs on it. I didn't like how that worked and just kept getting shredded. Then I tried SRM boating on it... and I thought it was a disaster (but I seem to suffer some kind of hit reg problem with SRMs, where about 2/3 of the missiles I see connect seem to deal no damage. Probably a lag issue I'm guessing). In the end, I turned it into my one and ONLY pure LRM boat. It does alright in that role, but I've got to have a good team to support and protect me as I support them. (FYI: I have Artemis on mine with those LRMs, and I try to shoot the LRMs when I have line of sight myself. So I am still sharing armor and such.)

Just trying to give you details so you can make an informed decision. If you are looking at heavies, I'd recommend a Marauder in most cases. A Marauder for nearly any flavor. The ECM Marauder (I don't know if it's out for C-bills yet) can easily do some lasers, MRMs and maintain stealth armor (and have it active nearly non-stop). I find it performs better than my Thanatos... But I never did try the dual Gauss build (but I am really bad with Gauss).

#8 Sneaky Ohgoorchik

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Posted 25 September 2019 - 11:39 PM

To Tesunie. I said the best, not the only.

Thanatos has the high mounts variant for erll pockes. I guess it will work as a fat cicada.

Ecm mechs do have decent builds, but only decent

#9 ZO1

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 04:29 AM

Well then. What do you suggest in the end? About ditching ECM in the first place, and going for some serious firepower.
Although, i can't really imagine anything even more frightening than Fafnir 2xRAC5+2UAC5 (and 1xersmll for zombie purposes). Except maybe the Annihilator crazyness like this ( https://mwo.smurfy-n...39e00de3d1b716c ), but his hardpoints suck by the looks of it.
What else? Maybe some sort of laserboat assault? Will i be okay by myself though? I've seen that in random quickplay assaults are usually left behind to die to packs of lights running around, so...

#10 Aidan Crenshaw

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 04:47 AM

I think Hellbringer is a solid way to start. Mobility, firepower and ECM.

#11 Ruccus

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 08:03 AM

View PostZO1, on 26 September 2019 - 04:29 AM, said:

Well then. What do you suggest in the end? About ditching ECM in the first place, and going for some serious firepower.
Although, i can't really imagine anything even more frightening than Fafnir 2xRAC5+2UAC5 (and 1xersmll for zombie purposes). Except maybe the Annihilator crazyness like this ( https://mwo.smurfy-n...39e00de3d1b716c ), but his hardpoints suck by the looks of it.
What else? Maybe some sort of laserboat assault? Will i be okay by myself though? I've seen that in random quickplay assaults are usually left behind to die to packs of lights running around, so...


Personally I'd advise against starting out in most assaults because if you're not familiar with proper positioning and are not able to predict what your team is doing based on where teammates are going you can find yourself caught out and not have the speed to get back into position.

Clan assaults that can go around 65kph aren't as susceptible so they can sometimes get away with it but mechs like the Fafnir and Annihilator are SLOW and you need to know exactly where to position at all times because you don't have the speed to get back into position if you're caught out. In the more advanced tiers you'll usually have a light or three making a b-line towards the enemy Charlie Lance's normal entry path to try and take an assault off the board before the real battle has even begun. I'm definitely not saying the Fafnir and Annihilator are bad - they can be your worst nightmare if you turn a corner and find one staring at you, but the pilot has to know how to position his mech on the battlefield or else it'll be food for light mechs or group pushes.

The Hellbringer can bring good firepower to the battlefield along with ECM and still be moving at 81kph which is fast enough to get back into proper position if you realize you've been caught out of position. It's ideal at laser vomit but just by changing out omnipods you can build missile-centric or ballistic based loadouts to sample all the clan weaponry and see what you like and don't like.

#12 Tesunie

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 08:46 AM

View PostZO1, on 26 September 2019 - 04:29 AM, said:

Well then. What do you suggest in the end? About ditching ECM in the first place, and going for some serious firepower.
Although, i can't really imagine anything even more frightening than Fafnir 2xRAC5+2UAC5 (and 1xersmll for zombie purposes). Except maybe the Annihilator crazyness like this ( https://mwo.smurfy-n...39e00de3d1b716c ), but his hardpoints suck by the looks of it.
What else? Maybe some sort of laserboat assault? Will i be okay by myself though? I've seen that in random quickplay assaults are usually left behind to die to packs of lights running around, so...


There are some assaults that can work well within solo play and for newer players, but assaults are typically so slow that most new players don't know where to position themselves, get left behind, and then have someone get behind them and shoot them in the back. Most of said new players don't even realize they have been flanked, and don't even turn to shoot their attackers back in those situations.

If you were looking at non-ECM assaults, I have a mostly energy build Zeus that works well while remaining nimble. It has 2 LLs, 4 ERMLs (I shoot them in groups of 1 LL and 2 ERMLs for cooling spacing, but it can alpha with this full payload no problems) and an MRM10. It goes 76 KPH and runs rather cool. A Battlemaster can create a similar styled build as well.

However, as far as actual "new player friendly" mechs I can think of, Crabs are good solid energy mechs. 6 MPL versions can go fast and remain rather cool, though I like my 2 LL and 4 ERML build myself as I like mid range engagements. It's got good hitboxes to work with. The Marauder is also a good selection, as well as the Warhammer (though I don't like my Warhammer).

Huntsmen and Linebackers are also excellent choices, but are harder to create builds for due to weight restrictions left for weapons or critical slot limitations.

As you seem to like "the dakkadakka", the Jagermech also comes to mind as a reasonable selection. It's a ballistic boat of a heavy mech, and can get a lot of good builds on it. My favorite is a dual AC2 and dual AC5 build that can just chug damage downrange. I use LB versions for better crit rates on internals and added range (as LB weapons are the only ballistics I know of in the game that has a maximum range that is triple their optimum range still). Of course, you could do RACs if you still desired.


I've noticed you seem to have a fondness for RACs. I would like to mention that, though RACs have good DPS, they require a lot of stare time and have moments of ineffectiveness (their wind up times and jam chances). They are great in a staring contest, but if it's a peek battle it's going to be harder pressed to deal their damage. There is a reason I recommended replacing the RACs with UAC10s. The AC10s permit more immediate fire, you don't need to stare, you can poke and scoot if you need to, while still maintaining that higher DPS you seem to be looking for.

Now, I'm not saying "don't use RACs" here. I'm just warning you about their dark side so you go into their use aware of what you are getting yourself into. They can be great weapons and deadly in the right hands. (My hands are not the right hands, for the record.)

For RACs, you could use them on a Marauder if you desired. Then you'd have a mix of RACs and complimentary lasers to work with, and I know I've seen triple RAC2s on enough Marauders. Still should be able to do the RAC5 and AC2 (if not two AC2s) with a splattering of MLs. A Marauder 3R build you may enjoy. I converted my UAC10 and two AC2 build real quick for this. Obviously, alter as you feel if you go with it. RAC5, 2 AC2s and 4 MLs.
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Without knowing your preferences to combat, it's really hard to narrow down a mech selection for you. There are just so many mechs in the game today that it's impossible to say "this is the one for you".

Edited by Tesunie, 26 September 2019 - 08:57 AM.


#13 Tesunie

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 08:55 AM

Could also do a dual RAC5 build without much difficulty. Is slower than my build posted in my previous post, but it's doable. I found it warmer than the other build I posted, and also lacked any immediate return fire (which the AC2s provided previously). It's also slower. Still worth a try if you desired.

MW:O Mechlab code: AI5820G1|i^|ibpm0|S@|S@ql0|i^|i^|i^r`0|Y?|Y?s`0|Y?|Y?tl0|AP|APul0|AP|APv<0|APw504030

Edited by Tesunie, 26 September 2019 - 08:57 AM.


#14 Void Angel

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 11:04 AM

View PostTesunie, on 25 September 2019 - 11:02 AM, said:


ECM is not a big enough boon (anymore) in the game to warrant it's requirement to being taken, but it can help in a lot of ways still.

Did they rework ECM while I was inactive? I've been playing only intermittently for a while now.

#15 Joshua McEvedy

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 11:04 AM

Can't go wrong with a Cataphract 0X with ECM, AC20, and 4 Medium Lasers. I even have stealth armor on mine to sneak up on enemies and go BOOM right in their backsides!

#16 Void Angel

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 11:04 AM

I've looked, but if it was in the patch notes I reviewed, I missed it.

#17 Tesunie

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 11:40 AM

View PostVoid Angel, on 26 September 2019 - 11:04 AM, said:

Did they rework ECM while I was inactive? I've been playing only intermittently for a while now.

View PostVoid Angel, on 26 September 2019 - 11:04 AM, said:

I've looked, but if it was in the patch notes I reviewed, I missed it.


So you all good and I don't need to go into details? Or should I anyway?

#18 ZO1

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 11:43 AM

No, i'm not necessarily a huge fan of RACs. Out of all the builds in the first post, only the Fafnir is RAC-heavy, i believe?

Anyway, the topic has already shifted to any, even non-ECM mech builds, so, yeah...
How bout those laser-vomits? I just figured, that i'll have a better chance at dealing with swarming lights if i have a pinpoint weapon, and not a (relatively) slow projectile-based one.

https://mwo.smurfy-n...7189ec26676ca27

https://mwo.smurfy-n...f98a45ea6dfb080

https://mwo.smurfy-n...7c029d788e8529a

https://mwo.smurfy-n...d85bc0628cc7750

https://mwo.smurfy-n...0872a1b1a9fdf83

(and the already mentioned Stalker...) :
https://mwo.smurfy-n...5c60e07d6a38b99

Which one is better?
Yeah, i know they're basically a walkig toasters, and i'll need to split my salvos to avoid GH, so what.

Edited by ZO1, 26 September 2019 - 11:43 AM.


#19 Tesunie

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 12:20 PM

View PostZO1, on 26 September 2019 - 11:43 AM, said:

Which one is better?
Yeah, i know they're basically a walkig toasters, and i'll need to split my salvos to avoid GH, so what.


Like before, I'll provide a breakdown of what I see for each build. Take the advice as you please.

1. Banshee: GH as you've already noted. I would probably drop the fourth LPL, and maybe consider changing all ERML into MPLs (if you don't mind a range disparity and being better up close), or try to squeeze in a ballistic weapon. This would remove the GH limits, and make your build better for an alpha hit. Of course, you can always split your shots up, just be very mindful of the GH. This build would avoid the GH, has better sustained DPS and cooling. You will lose 10 points off your alpha, but you couldn't alpha with the other build anyway. I removed a LPL and changed it to a ERML. I also dropped the ML in the arm, as it can cause disparity between the torso and singular arm weapon. Mk2 TC is there as tonnage filler mostly, but can provide some minor benefits. Or we can downgrade the engine a tiny amount, make it a Std engine, and get more cooling by removing the TC...

2. Marauder II: Besides being a little low on leg armor, and maybe a little wasted tonnage on a single JJ and a TC (3 tons), I don't see anything really off with this one. Seems solid to me. My posted Banshee above may be a better choice because it should run cooler, as it's got a higher sustained DPS. But this build has a slightly higher alpha.

3. Marauder IIC: These can be great mechs. Good balance on speed and firepower, with nice armor values. I would just caution away from 9 MPLs. Besides GH limits, this could be a reasonable choice. I wouldn't use it because it can too easily produce crippling GH levels.

4. Executioner: This mech is normally not one seen in matches. MASC is a more advanced mechanic, but it's not hard to get use to, as well as JJs. 10 MPLs may be a bit unwieldy, and when I see this mech it's normally got clusters of small lasers and such. If you think you have the trigger discipline, this could work. But it wont be an easy mech to use from my experience.

5. Bloodasp: With 4 LPLs, you are fairly likely to accidentally trigger GH, and if you do... you would probably be dead before you wake up (due to internal damage and enemies shooting at you) or cook yourself alive if you have override on. If this was your first mech, you would at least have the option to change it in many different ways at least, being an Omnimech. It's a versatile mech chassis, so even if this build doesn't work for you, you can most likely find a replacement build without much difficulty. (The current meta for this mech are dual Guass and lasers, similar to the Madcat MK2.)

6. Stalker: Besides the GH mentioning (it's an obligation to say this), it's a good mech. Easier to shield a side by twisting and has high mounted energy slots in the arms. Having almost half armor on the legs might be asking for a bit of trouble in my opinion... If you can stick to shooting your LPLs in batches this could work. Also be mindful that your torso lasers are mounted lower than your arm lasers. I might suggest something easier to use that avoids GH, but in the end the choice is yours.


Overall, decent selections (ignore GH limits). Out of these I'd be willing to pilot a slightly modified version of your Banshee, Marauder II, and Bloodasp. The Stalker I'd want to heavily modify, and personally I like my Stalkers with missiles on them.

I'd recommend to take these builds to the testing grounds in game via the markets "mechlab" and see how they hold up. Go to Tourmaline and kill all the mechs there. Act like you are in combat when shooting, and see if you overheat in the attempt. I find it's a great way to test my mech builds outside live combat. I test for alpha heat, spaced heating and how much damage can I deal while under as much shooting as I can manage and see how easy/hard it is to overheat. (I also test it to see if I have enough ammo. Should be able to clear or nearly clear out all the mechs before running out of ammo.)

#20 Tesunie

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Posted 26 September 2019 - 12:37 PM

Wanted to comment that, out of all your builds posted so far, I think the following would be your best selections (either for mechs themselves and/or the build you posted):

- Warhammer: Your build seemed solid from the first post with this one. It's a reliable heavy mech that has good hitboxes.

- Bloodasp: These are solid mechs, and you've already managed to post three different loadouts for the beast. It's versatile and I'm certain you could make a build that works for you, even if your first few aren't good fits. I mean, you've already created three so far!

- Fafnir: You had a reasonable build on it, and there are other options for this mech. I know it can be a solid choice, but at 100 tons it will be SLOW. Maybe not a great new player choice, but maybe something to look into later down the line for you?

- Banshee: Wubshees have been popular in the past and still are reasonable mechs to work with. For their tonnage, they can get reasonably fast. Your build wasn't bad and really needed only minor work to be "better". It's a consideration.

- Marauder II + IIC: The Marauder II I found to be a good solid mech. I got the three basic ones from the preorder, and each are reasonable. I've had the hardest times with the ballistic one, but they all seem good. The Clan version also is a solid choice, but be careful with variant you select. Some IICs are better than others, depending upon what you are wanting to do. The IICs can get to reasonable speeds with good firepower.

- Stalker: You've posted this build twice now in this thread. Overall, the Stalker is a solid choice for new players. Easier to shield a wounded side, high arm mounted energy slots... It's largest drawbacks are speed, easy to hit side torsos (which is also kinda a strength) and typically low twist rates (with exclusion to the 3F). Most of the chassis variants are flexible enough to go heavy laser, mix of lasers and missiles, or even heavy missiles. MRMs. SRMs. LRMs. Laser. PPCs. Lots of choices that aren't ballistic.

- (EDIT) Marauder: The basic IS heavy Marauder may also be a reasonable choice. The 3R has ballistic and laser mix and is a common and popular choice. Something else to consider.



It seems like, from what you've posted, this list is your "short list" of selections. I think I may have even placed them by order of viability, though honestly I just posted them by order of your posting of the builds...

Edited by Tesunie, 26 September 2019 - 12:39 PM.






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