8 replies to this topic

[Valdarion Silarius]

I've been looking to get another clan hero, and with the sale I had my sights set on the Warhammer IIC Maul and the Marauder IIC Scorch. So which one should I go for? To me the pro's and con's are keeping me at bay before I jump the gun on which hero I should purchase. However, it seems like I'm leaning more to the Scorch than the Maul. I listed out some personal pro's and con's with both of the heroes.


Pro's and Con's of the Warhammer IIC Maul:

Pro's:

1. I'm a bigger fan of the Warhammer IIC family and design over the Marauder IIC. I've just always preferred their overall tankier look both in lore and in MW:O. Since MW:O went with more of a reseen redesign concept with the MAD-IIC I'm just not the biggest fan of the mech's overall design.

2. Since it mainly runs energy and ballistics, I like KISS concept builds like the 2xLBX10 and 2xERPPC tcomp1 which I was planning on doing with the Maul. I prefer playing at range but do like the potential brawling that it can do with mediums and lights.

3. Can torso twist and safely use the arms as shields, which I'm pretty sure the MAD-IIC Scorch needs it's arms for a majority of it's firepower. However the torso twisting and speed deceleration leads it into the con's.

Con's:

1. I think this mech was swept under the rug by PGI's concept for it in MW:O, which is unfortunate. PGI's solution of lazily increasing it's armor, instead of giving what the mech needed like reduced crit chance quirks (this was a lore quirk since the WHM-IIC's internal engine was blanketed by double heat sinks) and perhaps buffing the torso twisting speed and radius. Instead what we have in MW:O is a very clunky over sized CT glass cannon and is no way a proper representation of the Warhammer IIC battletech counterpart.

2. Therefore I think the Marauder IIC has better hitboxes and might be better overall in MW:O. It's frontal narrow profile and ability to absorb damage makes it more attractive to brawl and do a variety of builds that the Warhammer IIC Maul can't.



Pro's and Con's of the Marauder IIC Scorch:

Pro's:

1. Slimmer frontal profile and can brawl better as said above. I see many more Marauder IIC's fielded than Warhammer IIC's. That might be a testament of how each of the individual chassis' perform on the battlefield and what is more effective as assault mechs.

2. Can do some KISS concept builds like the Maul. Can also mix ballistic, energy and missiles fairly effectively. If I ever felt like brawling or playing range I feel like there would be more options here.

3. Can brawl more confidently than the Warhammer IIC without worrying about getting CT'ed.

Con's:

1. As stated above I like the artwork and looks of the Warhammer IIC more. I feel like the design of the Marauder II and a hybrid of the classic redesign is what the Marauder IIC should have been in MW:O. See Bishop Steiner's Marauder IIC over on DeviantArt to get a better visual picture of what I'm talking about. Just not a big fan of the reseen concept artwork in general.

2. Most of the firepower is in the arms for the Scorch, while the Maul has a majority of it's firepower in the torso. However, this might not be a minor issue since the overall frontal profile of the mech is slim.

3. Giant turkey butt that lights will have a field day with if unchecked. Warhammer IIC doesn't have this issue but is still vulnerable to backstabbing lights.



Does anyone own both heroes? What do you like more, and do you prefer fielding the Maul over the Scorch and why?

Edited by Arnold The Governator, 07 January 2020 - 09:20 PM.

[Nightbird]

Own both, recommend neither. Maul can do 2 gauss 2 PPC pretty well, but its agility is painful to play with and mounts are rather low. Scorch can do LBX SRM splat, but hitboxs are not as good as Keeper (Highlander IIC hero).

[FRAGTAST1C]

I don't have the Maul but like everyone else, have the Bludgeon. It is absolutely good if played as a long-range mech with quad ERPPC but I absolutely hate that it can run fast but turns like a train. Its agility is crap. If you're planning on doing 2x Gauss + 2x ERPPC, then it is decent and has good location for hardpoints. You can cram in a good number of heatsinks and is decently fast enough. You can use the arms as a shield with the Maul.

I don't have the Scorch but I have the laser boat that I use for FW with 5 ERLL, a big TC and STD engine to be able to do zombie mode a bit. The Scorch has a few options with LBx40 + SRM6s or quad ATM12 or Guass + PPC as well. The thing is, the ballistic and energy hardpoints are on the arms and is very low compared to the torso mounts of the Maul. Even this handles like a train despite being able to move at a faster speed relative to the assaults. But this thing is pretty huge. Not as huge as the Marauder II, mind you, but it is pretty huge and doesn't have any quirks to help it.

Since you want a ballistic + energy build to stay at range, the Maul is better 'cause the mounts, despite not exactly at the cockpit level and forces you to expose more of the mech, are decently located and has shield arms with some tiny armour quirks. 2x LBx10 + 2x ERPPC (your build) is easily viable and you could even upgrade to 2x Gauss + 2x ERPPC for better range and pinpoint damage. The Scorch has more options but doing the energy+ballistic build on it seems like more trouble here since the mounts are lower. It is a better brawler though.

[Prototelis]

The scorch is hilarious when it works, but often gets turned into a bad medium mech.

[RickySpanish]

^ This. One fateful season my Scorch put me into the top 1% on Jarl's. When the stars align there's nothing quite like showing up to the party with 2 LB 20s and a hamper full of SRMs.

[Teenage Mutant Ninja Urbie]

as you prefer the looks of the whammy, go with it.

but tbh, the marIIC does most things just better.

[Valdarion Silarius]

Alright, went with the Maul because I really enjoy the dual lbx10 dual erppc build. Thanks everyone.

[RickySpanish]

Arnold The Governator, on 08 January 2020 - 12:49 PM, said:

Alright, went with the Maul because I really enjoy the dual lbx10 dual erppc build. Thanks everyone.

That's an interesting build, not least because crappy clan ACs make the LB-10 more attractive than if this were an IS 'Mech.

[Valdarion Silarius]

RickySpanish, on 08 January 2020 - 01:08 PM, said:

That's an interesting build, not least because crappy clan ACs make the LB-10 more attractive than if this were an IS 'Mech.

With the few matches I ran with it so far, it's pretty fun. The alpha damage makes anyone engaging you turn the other way. Killed some lights that were brave enough to brawl me from the front which was pretty hilarious. My builds runs a little hot since the original build i looked up sacrifices the arm armor and shaves off a little bit of leg armor for a spare DHS, but as long as you don't spam the ER PPC's it's fine. I imagine once this is maxed out the heat gen from the ER PPC's will be less of an issue.